Chapter 12: Khan and Kani (1)

After a long pause, Genelocer’s unexpected words finally emerged:

”…It seems your father won’t be home for quite some time.”

“Huh? How long?”

Typically, dragons rarely leave their hatchlings unattended due to unpredictable dangers lurking everywhere.

Under his son’s bewildered gaze, Genelocer hastily explained himself. “Parents usually avoid external activities while raising their young, but this time, there was nothing I could do. Among the fire attribute dragons, none surpasses me… The process normally takes an incredibly long time, but I’ve done my best to minimize it!”

“How long will it take then?”

“W-well, about ten years, I believe.”

As soon as Genelocer finished his explanation, Louis’s surprised expression quickly turned dismissive.

“Oh, that’s not bad at all,” he said nonchalantly.

“…Excuse me?”

“I thought it would take you several hundred years to return. Ten years is nothing.”

Louis’s perception of time had fully adjusted to that of dragons now. For a dragon with a lifespan of ten thousand years, ten years was akin to just one month for a human. While a hatchling might struggle with such isolation, Louis, who had already completed their first hibernation period and was now two hundred fifty years old, could easily handle being alone for this long. In fact, he welcomed it.

Perfect. This gives me some much-needed personal time! His eyes sparkled excitedly.

A home without parents present is every child’s playground.

On the other hand, Genelocer wasn’t sure how to react and felt somewhat flustered.

“I-I guess you’ll be back soon, then?”

“Well, I just started learning black magic theory recently, so it might take some time.”

“…”

The casual response from his son left Genelocer feeling rather downcast instead. Louis’s eyes narrowed at this sight.

“What’s wrong with you? What kind of face is that?”

“…”

“Oh please, don’t tell me you were expecting me to cling onto you, begging not to go?”

“Uh, do-do you want anything else to eat?”

“No thanks, I’m full.”

“Heh-heh-heh.” Genelocer let out an awkward laugh at Louis’s question but insisted on finding more food for him despite Louis’s insistence he was full. This made Louis chuckle.

“I’m not a child anymore…”

Objectively speaking, Louis was indeed still quite young. It’s just that he didn’t see himself that way.

With Genelocer gone, Louis struggled to climb down from the high dining table. Once safely on the ground, he muttered while examining his snow-white hands:

“You know what… I really am not growing taller.”

The comment about being childish triggered thoughts about his height. Although dragon transformation was a blessed ability, it wasn’t omnipotent. Even when transformed, one’s size remained consistent with their original body.

“Ugh… Why won’t I grow taller despite eating so much?”

Currently, Louis had the body of a mere seven-year-old child. His growth required several times more energy than others, inevitably making him develop slower compared to hatchlings of his age.

“Sigh… Let’s train instead. Fin!”

“Yes, sir!”

Realizing he couldn’t control his physical growth, Louis quickly gave up and summoned Fin for training. He eagerly headed off with his servant.

Two days passed after that.

On a bright morning with a red sun rising in the sky:

“Keep up your training, but don’t skip meals. There’s medicinal elixir in the fridge to help you recover. Emergency pills can be found in the third drawer of your room if anything hurts. I’ve labeled each bottle for easy reference.”

”…Yes, Dad.”

“If you need anything else, feel free to take it from my inventory. And when you’re bored, make yourself at home in the study!”

”…I got it already. Please leave now. You’ve been repeating the same things for an hour!”

“It’s just that I worry about you…”

“I’m not a child anymore; there’s only a ten-year apart. No need to fret so much!”

“You’ll always be my baby… And ‘only’ ten years?! That’s nearly a decade!”

“I understand already, so please go! The elders are waiting for you!”

On the morning of their departure to Silver Flower City, Genelocer stood before Louis, giving him various instructions and reminders. As his speech dragged on, Louis grew impatient and started nudging Genelocer forward.

“O-okay, I’m going! I’ll be off now!”

Despite being pushed along by Louis, Genelocer managed to reach into his inner pocket and retrieve something while resisting Louis’s forceful shoves.

It was a gem as clear as a glass bead. He handed it to Louis.

“Take this.”

“What is it?”

“It’s called a communication stone. It’s quite valuable.”

Nature occasionally creates mysterious wonders, and communication stones were one such phenomenon.

“A pair of communication stones allows you to converse with someone regardless of distance when infused with Attribute Power!”

“Ah-ha! So this is a talisman!”

“Yes. A naturally occurring one.”

Louis’s eyes sparkled as he gazed at the transparent gemstone.

It’s an artifact!

In his previous life, Louis had read about magical items called artifacts in fantasy novels. In this world, they were known as “talismans,” divided into artificially crafted and naturally occurring ones. The value of natural talismans often defied conventional understanding.

Is it truly a natural talisman?

Aware of its worth, Louis cautiously accepted the communication stone. Upon seeing Louis hold the communication stone, Genelocer then revealed his own counterpart.

As Louis infused it with his Attribute Power, the communication stone turned black. Simultaneously, his own communication stone also darkened.

“Oh! This is fascinating!” Louis marveled at the blackened stone as he rotated it between his fingers before infusing his own communication stone with his Attribute Power. His power displayed four colors: white, black, red, and blue.

Soon, both stones mixed their colors, and a voice emerged from them.

“Ah, can you hear me, Louis?”

“Yes?!” Intrigued by the voice resonating in his mind, Louis responded to the communication stone.

“Yes, I can.”

“Great! Use this to contact me if anything comes up!”

“By the way, does its range extend throughout the universe?”

“Can you hear me?”

“On second thought…I can’t…”

Louis internally rolled his eyes at Genelocer’s confused response.

Even though he’s usually so sharp, moments like this happen once in a while…

After all, dragons were known for their intelligence, and it would have been impossible for a dimwitted dragon to reach Zero’s level of mastery. However, Genelocer occasionally displayed some goofy tendencies, most often when dealing with Louis.

With a small sigh, Louis shoved the communication stone back into his pocket.

“They say no news is good news. Don’t worry about him; focus on your work instead.”

“Oh, alright. Ughhh.” Genelocer let out a sorrowful groan as his carefully prepared gift turned out to be useless.

Seeing that Genelocer might not leave if left unchecked, Louis gently nudged him again.

“Now, now, don’t worry about our son. He’ll be fine! H-he’s planning to stay home and train diligently! So if you come back because you miss him, he will truly resent you.”

“Gah…”

“I trust you, my boy!”

“O-okay. I’ll see you later, then!”

After much persuasion and one more heartfelt “my boy,” Genelocer reluctantly left for space, feeling rather dejected.

Louis let out a sigh of relief after seeing his well-meaning father off, a subtle smile gracing his lips. He understood that Genelocer’s actions stemmed from genuine concern for him.

Father even watched over me during my hundred-year hibernation.

Louis had secretly read Genelocer’s parenting diary found in his study room, shedding light on how Louis managed to safely spend those years asleep.

Finally, Louis understood how he had survived unscathed for one hundred years.

Staying awake all that time to keep watch over me must have taken its toll…

From reading his father’s journal entries, it seemed Genelocer was already aware of their precarious situation. This helped Louis understand why his father had been so overprotective.

“But you went too far this time…”

When Genelocer learned about Louis’s impending ten-year absence, he took extensive measures to ensure Louis’s safety within the lair. He increased the number of guardians and spent several days patrolling around the lair to check for any weaknesses in the protective barrier. Thanks to these efforts, the lair transformed into a fortress solely dedicated to protecting Louis.

Louis smiled at his father’s efforts and stretched leisurely.

“So I’ll be alone for some time now?”

Apart from hibernation periods, they had been together constantly for the past one hundred fifty years, so Louis felt a bit lost without him. But it didn’t take long to adjust.

“It feels strange being by myself…”

At this stage of his life, Louis preferred having some alone time over constant care and attention. He grinned as he pondered how to spend these ten years without his father around.

“I have permission, after all, so I can browse Father’s treasure trove and read some books…”

Louis casually spoke words that would’ve greatly disappointed Genelocer. Instead, he gleefully shouted about his newfound freedom.

“The world is mine!”

“…but that didn’t last long.”

It had been only one week since Genelocer’s departure. Louis’s dream of single life barely lasted seven days.

“Haaah…” He let out an exasperated sigh as he watched a girl slightly taller than him and her twin brother running around.

“Finn, Finn!”

“Yippee!”

The twins were chasing after the flying doll with all their might. The sight of silver hair and teal eyes, which Louis had grown tired of seeing over the past few decades, caught his attention once again, accompanied by the ruckus they created.

“L-Louis, save me!”

“Wheee!”

“I got you!”

“Aieeee! Louis, help!”

Finally, Fin was captured by the twins, returning to being just another doll at their mercy. Louis shook his head at the pitiful sight.

“Eek! Eeekkkk!”

Louis couldn’t bear to watch Fin’s anguished cries any longer and intervened by freeing him from the twins’ grasp. The relieved Fin hastily hid behind Louis, trembling uncontrollably. Feeling the vibrations against his back, Louis sighed deeply.

”…What brings you two here?”

“L-ouiss!”

“I wanna talk first!”

The twins, despite being taller than Louis, looked up at him with twinkling eyes. Louis involuntarily let out another sigh.

“Sigh…”

Around the same time, the dragon residing on the ridge adjacent to the Genelocer crater gave birth to fraternal twin hatchlings, the first born in 10,000 years. Kani, the elder sister, hatched one second before her younger brother, Khan. Despite their different genders, they bore a striking resemblance to each other, making them unmistakable as twins.

Louis heaved another heavy sigh at their unannounced visit. “Either of you can start…”

The twins eagerly interrupted him.

“Our dad went to Silver Flower City!”

“And left us behind!”

“He said he’d be back in ten years!”

“He told Louis the same thing!”

“So we came here so you wouldn’t get bored!”

“But it’s not for us—it’s for Louis!”

As they bickered back and forth, Louis felt his veins bulging with frustration.

“You little rascals…” His response was typical when dealing with creatures who disturbed his peace. “Could you two…just leave already?”

“Aww! Louis used a bad word!”

“Louis, Louis! Don’t talk like that!”

“That’s right! We even brought toys in case you got bored!”

“Oh boy…”

Growing increasingly irritated, Louis rubbed his forehead as the twins started making themselves at home without any regard for him.

Oh heavens, why must you test me so…?

Louis had a sudden realization that the peaceful single life he’d enjoyed for ten years was about to be disrupted by a storm of chaos.