Chapter 158: A New Objective (2)

Genelocer and Valentina were taken aback by Louis’s unexpected declaration of independence.

“I-independence?!”

“But why all of a sudden?”

Similar to humans, dragons usually become independent from their parents once they reach adulthood. Of course, the timing varied slightly, but typically, they would spend tens to hundreds of years with their parents preparing for independence. Thus, it wasn’t surprising that Genelocer and Valentina were bewildered by Louis’s announcement.

“Louis… You’ve just become a fully-grown dragon.”

“Yes, why don’t you give it some more thought?”

Despite his parents’ pleading gazes, Louis remained firm.

“When?” Genelocer hesitated, sensing the growing coldness in his son’s eyes. “Well… how about after a thousand years?”

“…”

“A-all right then, nine hundred years?”

“…”

Seeing the gradual loss of interest in Louis’s eyes, Genelocer became flustered and blurted out:

“H-how about five hundred years?”

“…Maybe I should just pack my bags and leave now.”

“…?!”

The father’s firm response was too much for Genelocer, whose face crumpled as if his whole world had come crashing down around him. He began to mutter dejectedly.

“Oh dear… I miss the days when our son would toddle after his daddy.”

“But I never toddled after you, Dad…”

“I can’t believe our son, who used to tell me I was his favorite person in the world, has grown so big…”

“…I don’t remember ever saying that?”

“Sheesh… Time really flies, doesn’t it?”

Valentina soothed her husband with a gentle rub of his side, then turned to Louis. Even she looked disappointed. “Is there a reason you’re eager to move out so soon?”

“Of course!”

Louis’s eyes sparkled at Valentina’s question.

“What’s that?”

“A home of my own!”

“…?” Both Genelocer and Valentina blinked in confusion.

“A home of your own?”

“I mean a place here.”

“But no! That’s different!”

Louis spoke animatedly.

“This is Mother and Father’s house! What I want is a home completely for me! A sanctuary!”

Although Louis had his room in Genelocer’s lair, it was just a room. No matter how you dressed it up, he was still living with his parents.

My own house! My proper home!

In his previous life, when Louis had struggled to make ends meet each day, he’d had only one dream.

A magnificent house all my own! And I don’t care how big it is!

At the time, he’d lacked the money and time to pursue such a dream. But things were different now.

I’ve got overflowing wealth and more time than I know what to do with!

With those two factors, he could easily afford to build a home just for himself.

No monthly rent… No lease! My very own lair!

Even just thinking about it made Louis’s eyes sparkle with excitement.

When Pamus heard Louis’s idea, he burst out laughing.

“Ha ha ha! Of course! Once you become a Holy Dragon, you naturally want your own lair!”

“Exactly! Grandfather, you do know a thing or two after all!”

“There’s great joy in finding the perfect spot, then building and decorating your lair however you please! Oh yes!”

“You’re absolutely right!”

As they bickered playfully, their close bond was clear.

Suddenly, Pamus glanced at Genelocer and snorted.

“You and my grandson are certainly worlds apart, aren’t you, boy?”

”…What am I?”

“You’ve been clinging to my home for five hundred years just because you didn’t want to leave.”

”…”

“And only after I kicked you out did you finally go away, didn’t you?”

“T-There’s no need to bring up such things now, is there?”

“Heh-heh-heh, how could such a splendid child come from that guy?”

Resentment clouded Genelocer’s face as he looked at his father.

“You couldn’t even stop me!”

“Why would I stop you? My granddaughter is doing so well, I should be cheering her on as she becomes independent! How self-reliant she is!”

“Grandpa, thank you!”

Louis flashed a bright smile at this unexpected staunch support.

Seeing the mood was solidifying around Louis’s independence, Genelocer made one last attempt at negotiation.

“Father.”

“Yes.”

“Th-then let’s just live together for another h-hundred years.” Genelocer refused to give up on his son.

Valentina seemed helpless and lightly flicked her husband’s side as Louis sighed softly.

“I’m not planning to pack my bags and leave right away.”

“So what does that mean?” asked Valentina.

“Well, I can’t just make a lair anywhere.”

“Where do you plan to build it then? Do you have any particular place in mind?”

“Not yet, but I’ll take my time to find the perfect spot. That’s why…”

“…?”

“I-I’ll go on a bit of a journey.”

“A journey?”

“Yes. I want to scout some places suitable for building my lair, and also have some fun while I’m at it.”

Valentina smiled and nodded in understanding at Louis’s explanation.

“Well then. I can’t stop you since you’re grown now. You should do what your heart desires.”

He wanted to hold on to his son but couldn’t find a way when Louis felt so strongly about it.

“Ha-ha, I guess that settles it. Then I’ll be off. Louis, if you find a nice den, be sure to invite Grandpa over.”

“Of course!”

With the situation mostly resolved, Pamus took his leave.

Of course, not everyone was convinced of the decision.

“But… son? Can’t you just make your den near daddy’s? The Snowy Mountains are so great! Good water, good air, and plenty of mana! So why…?”

“Come on, let’s go…”

“H-honey?”

VALERIA, not wanting to part with LOUIS, was dragged away by VALENTINA.

As Louis watched this scene unfold, the corners of his mouth curled into a grin.

Heh-heh. It’s mine now. All mine!

And so, the day after the second sleep incident,

Louis’s independence was decided.

After declaring his independence, Louis didn’t immediately embark on his journey. Instead, he questioned Valentine and Genelocer about what had transpired while he was asleep. As Louis listened to their accounts, handed down from his parents, he became lost in thought.

A human entered my sleep chamber…

The barrier, erected by dragons, had been breached effortlessly by a human. Moreover, it happened in a manner not anticipated even by his parents. The moment Louis heard this, he knew instantly:

It must have been that human.

The human noble who had assaulted Louis in the original story. He was undoubtedly the catalyst for the future birth of the Mad Dragon.

If that man had taken advantage of my mother’s momentary lapse to attack me as well… we would have found ourselves repeating the events of the original narrative.

However, events such as ‘Valentina’s suspicion,’ ‘Louis’s preparations,’ and ‘Genelocer’s alliance’ intervened, leading to completely different results from the original story.

I’m alive—I survived.

A smile spread across Louis’s face at this realization.

Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind:

Come to think of it, what happened to my mother in the original story?

In the original narrative, Genelocer was the only Mad Dragon mentioned. Given Valentina’s personality, she should have become just as powerful a Mad Dragon as Genelocer. Yet there had been no mention of her in that version.

Was there some backstory I wasn’t aware of?

Since the original story didn’t cover events before its beginning, Louis had no way of knowing what became of Valentina.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter now.”

The past was irrelevant when there were no Mad Dragons to contend with anymore.

His thoughts suddenly turned to the Coercive Force.

Has the Coercive Force abandoned me?

Louis had been worried about the Coercive Force activating during his sleep periods. Over two hundred years, an immense amount of it had accumulated. If its purpose was indeed his death, there could have been no better time than during his secondary hibernation phase to achieve this goal.

Yet, for some reason, the Coercive Force failed to manifest. The only threat Louis faced during his sleep was the predestined fate that had unfolded in the original timeline.

Has it given up? Well, that’s good enough for me.

Even if the Coercive Force hadn’t truly abandoned him, it no longer mattered. He had fully transformed into a Holy dragon and forged the power to protect himself. No longer could any accumulated Coercive Force pose a significant threat to him.

As he muttered, “Unless it’s something capable of annihilating several continents…”

As Louis muttered to himself, his face suddenly hardened.

Ptooey!

He spat onto the ground without warning.

“I nearly fell for that lie. Ptooey, ptooey!”

Louis continued spitting as if trying to rid himself of lingering unease. Having purged the false words from his mind, he stretched lazily.

“Ahh, that’s better. Now it’s time to start getting ready to leave.”

Although his primary goal on this trip was to find a suitable location for his personal lair, he had many other tasks to attend to.

He called out to Fin, who had been bustling about nearby.

“Fin!”

“Yes, sir!”

“How’s the packing coming along?”

Upon hearing that Louis planned to embark on a journey several days ago, Fin had promptly begun arranging her master’s belongings.

“There’s more to pack than I initially thought.”

“…And by that, you mean you’ve just thrown everything into the bags, don’t you?”

“You never know how long your trip will take, so you need to pack thoroughly!”

Louis stared blankly at his empty room.

This isn’t just a vacation; it’s like we’re moving out…

Instead of packing luggage for a typical trip, Fin had packed everything as if they were relocating. Without their spatial powers, they would have needed ten one-ton trucks.

Of course, Louis didn’t try to stop her. After all, it wasn’t bad to pack early, even if she was including items he planned to bring later.

I’ve already taken care of everything important, Louis thought as he waved off Fin’s concerns. “Take your time. If you get tired, I’ll help you.”

“Oh no, there’s no need to trouble you! This is my job! You shouldn’t be doing this, Louis!”

“All right, I understand…” As Fin looked utterly determined not to let him help, Louis shrugged and retreated with a casual nod.

At that moment, Fin cautiously opened her mouth.

“Um… but Louis?”

“What is it?”

“Why aren’t you bringing your twin brothers on this trip? Shouldn’t you come too—omp!”

Before Fin could finish her sentence, Louis swiftly covered her mouth.

His face was more cautious than ever before.

He urgently exclaimed, “Fin, spit it out! False alert!”

“Huh?”

“Quickly!”

“Oh, right! Ptoo!”

“One more time!”

“Ptoo!”

Relieved after seeing Fin spit, Louis whispered to her.

“Don’t say such terrible things anywhere.”

“I-is it really that bad?”

“Do you want me to deal with them again?”

“Uh… I guess not?”

Fin nodded, understanding the situation.

But then she couldn’t help but laugh inwardly.

He really can’t be honest, can he?

In Fin’s eyes, Louis actually liked the twins very much.

Regardless of what others might say, they were his long-time friends.

Fin smiled and asked, “You haven’t seen them since waking up from the sleep device, right? Even if you’re leaving, shouldn’t you at least say goodbye to—”

“You still don’t get twins, do you?”

“Huh?”

“Do you really think revealing my face to them now will help me escape those persistent ones?”

”…That’s true.”

“The moment I show my face, it’s over—finished! Anyway, from now on, don’t even utter the ‘twins’ word again.”

Louis once again clamped his hand over Fin’s mouth.

However, he was unaware that Fin had already let slip the forbidden name.

“Luuuuuuis!”

“Luuuis!”

Hearing the voices from afar beyond the door, Louis’s head snapped around.

“That voice?!”

Moments later, the door burst open.

“Louis, I’m here!”

“Louis, me too!”

The moment he spotted their sparkling silver hair, Louis’s face contorted.

“Damn it…”