“Why isn’t Miss Aurora here today? Don’t you usually train together?”
Loki glanced at the empty facility beside them and asked.
“She’s focusing on breaking through to Five Crown right now. She probably won’t come out for a while,” Lockes replied.
Ever since Aurora’s body recovered, she had vaguely sensed that her magic power had risen to another level, as if she had encountered some kind of bottleneck, leaving her at a loss.
Aurora knew this was a sign of a breakthrough.
As long as she focused on condensing her magic power, she could truly elevate her strength to the Five Crown level.
So Lockes no longer needed to stay by Aurora’s side at all times.
Because of his special constitution—and considering that the nature of the Vampire race might cause him to compete with her for magic power—he decided to stay as far away from her as possible.
With nothing else to do, he buried himself in Virtual Cultivation.
His strength had been stuck at the Five-Crown Peak for a long time, yet he still felt no sign of a breakthrough.
If he could reach King Rank sooner, not only could he ease Demigula’s burden, but he could also protect Aurora better.
That was what Lockes had always hoped for.
“You’ve been training alone for so long. Aren’t you going out to look around?”
“It hasn’t been that many days. I plan to go out after Aurora finishes her breakthrough,” Lockes said to Loki.
“Anything else? If not, I’ll continue training.”
He was about to re-enter the simulation space.
“Wait. I brought an order from the Demon King this time,” Loki said with a smile as she stopped him, waving a scroll in front of his eyes.
“An order?”
Lockes looked at her skeptically.
Although Loki was usually casual and lacked manners, she wouldn’t dare falsely relay an order from the Demon King.
“A new guest has arrived at the Demon King’s Castle. I heard they’re connected to Mr. Qiaolin. The Demon King thinks our Demon Race should be hospitable, so we’re going to accompany that guest and Mr. Qiaolin on a tour of the castle.”
“Do… do you even realize what you’re saying?”
Lockes thought he had misheard.
Of course he understood what Loki meant—the Demon King wanted him, an elite of the Vampire race, to act as a guide!
“Hey, don’t make that face,” Loki said with a wry smile.
“I got stuck with this job too. Nothing’s happening in Lin City for now, and the Demon King’s Castle is short on manpower, so I’ve been reassigned here as well.”
“If it’s the Demon King’s order, then there’s no helping it. Speaking of which, I still haven’t thanked Mr. Qiaolin for saving Aurora. I’ll take this chance to repay him properly.”
“Mm-hm~”
“But who is this new guest?”
“Heh… you’ll find out when the time comes…”
…
Lin City, early morning, Qiaolin’s bedroom.
For some reason, Qiaolin felt unusually warm under the blanket, as if there were a hot water bottle tucked inside.
When he woke up, his neck was covered in sweat.
“Why is it so hot…”
He absentmindedly scratched his waist, completely unaware that the blanket had shifted on its own.
It wasn’t until he bent his legs that the area between them slowly bulged.
“What the—!”
That startled Qiaolin.
Even though he no longer considered himself fully human, both his physiology and other characteristics were no different from a twenty-year-old human male.
For more than three hundred years, morning reactions were perfectly normal—but this was way too exaggerated.
Was this even humanly possible?!
“No, he had to take a look!”
With a mix of excitement and fear, Qiaolin prepared to lift the blanket. Just then, the small “hill” moved, and he felt something soft brushing against him.
“Huh?”
Slowly, a small silver head poked out from under the blanket.
Qiaolin’s eyes widened.
A petite, loli-like girl was lying on his lower abdomen. She opened her small mouth, revealing cute little fangs, yawned, rubbed her eyes, and lazily smiled.
“Good morning, Brother Qiaolin.”
“Y-you are…?”
Even though the silver-haired girl before him looked small and delicate, her sudden appearance left him momentarily speechless.
Seeing his shocked expression, the girl tilted her head in confusion, then climbed onto his chest and licked his neck.
“Salty… Brother Qiaolin’s taste.”
“Fafna? You’re that white—”
Qiaolin held his forehead and took a deep breath, using Clear Heart and Mind on himself. All his sensations became calm and clear.
“Even—”
“Hm?”
Fafna suddenly felt something beneath her go limp rapidly.
“Oh, it softened.”
An awkward expression flashed across Qiaolin’s face.
“Why are you here, Fafna?”
He clearly remembered that last night, Fafna had been blasted away somewhere unknown by Gabriela’s Gluttony Reversal.
How did she end up in his bed the very next day?
She couldn’t have flown all the way to his house, could she?
“Because I missed you, Brother Qiaolin, so I came to find you,” Fafna said affectionately as she hugged his arm and nuzzled his neck.
Qiaolin’s expression softened with helplessness.
“But we met just ten years ago. Wasn’t that your Molt Day?”
Because the Dragon Race has long lifespans, their perception of time is much slower than other races.
They treat each Molt Day as a growth cycle, usually lasting between five and ten years depending on the dragon. Fafna molts once every ten years, which is equivalent to aging one year.
In other words, ten years ago was her birthday, and Qiaolin had naturally gone to celebrate it.
Hearing this, Fafna puffed up her cheeks in dissatisfaction, like a younger sister upset with an older brother who was too busy to visit.
“You clearly knew that was my birthday ten years ago. What about now?”
“There are still a few months left.”
“Ten years ago, you were already at my home by this time. Hmph… and now you’re here instead. Brother Qiaolin, you didn’t forget about me, did you?”
“You silly girl, how could I forget you?”
Qiaolin said, gently patting her head.
“Don’t worry. On your birthday, I’ll stay with you just like before. What gift do you want this time?”
“Anything you bring me, Brother Qiaolin, I’ll like—”
Fafna’s soft tone suddenly changed. She raised her small hand excitedly as her silver-white hair visibly turned black.
A thick black tail extended from behind her, and a pair of dragon horns emerged from her head.
“I want chocolate!”
“Hey! Don’t just butt in when I’m talking to Brother Qiaolin!”
Watching the silver-haired girl turn into a black-haired dragon loli, Qiaolin scratched his forehead as if he were used to it.
“Alright, alright. Everyone gets a share.”
As he stroked Fafna in his arms, a trace of doubt flickered in his eyes.
Over the past several hundred years, he had remained in close contact with Fafna.
When he heard rumors about a Dragon Race member breaking through to Saint Rank, he had strongly suspected it was her.
Even though they were close, Fafna wouldn’t casually leave her territory—let alone come all the way to the Demon King’s Castle to find him.
There was probably something more going on behind this.