Mid Evening - Mid Summer : Asimi's Estate
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*fw-fw-fwoosh* *fw-fw-fwoosh* *th-th-thud* Krystallo and I gawked at the sheer scale of the estate as we approached before eventually landing in front of its massive gate.
Standing guard by the gate was also a massive light-orange scaled dragon that stood just over 50 meters tall as well. -Man.. 50 meters is.. really giant…- Frankly, he made me feel tiny.
As we landed though, his imposing demeanor quickly changed. "It has been a while, young Miss." His voice was deep, but shockingly soft.
"It's been a while, Orion. Sorry I left you alone with Mother for so long." Mother spoke with a hint of guilt as she walked over to him.
But he just smiled. "Haha, she treats us well; you don't need to worry." He paused as he glanced at me. "In any case, I should introduce myself to the new faces. My name is Orion Cirillo; nice to meet you." His aura slammed into me as he spoke.
But it was honestly less oppressive than I expected. -Is this how larger dragons greet each other, or is he just trying to size me up?- Feeling a little competitive, I didn't back down. "My name is Vasilias Ragnarok. It's a pleasure to meet you, sir Cirillo." As I nodded to him, I moved my aura over his head and slammed it down on him.
*CRUNCH* The ground shattered as his knees buckled and his head fell toward the ground.
Noticing Mother's laser-like gaze, I immediately released it, but it was already a bit too late. -Did I.. misunderstand him?-
But my concerns were quickly eased as Orion shifted into a proper kneel with a lowered head. "I sincerely apologize for my rudeness and for failing to recognize your excellency."
Mother's look of dissatisfaction toward me made an immediate 180. "Hoho~. To think you would kneel to him less than an hour after you two met." The smile that crept onto her face was incredibly smug. "I thought you would at least last a couple days."
He paused to look up at me, likely to read my mood, before finally standing up. "Well, I didn't expect your son to have your mother's fighting spirit and have the strength to back it up…"
His response made me want to laugh. -He definitely didn't recognize me…-
But Mother seemed to believe it. "His fiery spirit does indeed resemble hers in many ways… In any case, I think if we make any more noise, she will come out and tackle him, so let us head in."
"Haha, right. Please head in, everyone. If any of you ever need anything, please just ask." He quickly moved back to the gate before pushing some mana into a small orb and having the gate swing open.
-Is that kind of security even necessary with such a huge dragon standing at the gate?-
But that question quickly became meaningless as we walked through the gate and came into the massive, beautiful courtyard.
Filled with flowers, trees, and statues of massive dragons far larger than me, the courtyard felt truly otherworldly. -But.. that dragon feels.. familiar somehow…-
Although I was already familiar with the statue of our family's ancestor, Atlas Ragnarok, as there was one of him in our estate, the largest statue standing in the middle of them all felt unusually familiar. -Who is that?-
The carving was covered in easily visible scars, and looked unlike any dragon I had ever seen. -He looks like a monster…- I even felt a slight sense of oppression just looking at it.
Glancing back and noticing me looking at it, Mother puffed up her chest. "Aren't those statues beautiful?" She sounded like she was proud of them. "The three smaller dragons are the ones who assisted Bahamut, the strongest dragons of the Golden Era, with the one in the middle being Bahamut, himself! Even as a statue he is truly imposing, isn't he?"
"Y..yeah…" My gaze turned troubled the more I thought about it. -Why do I feel like he is familiar, though…-
*CRACKLE-WHAM* Immediately pulling me out of my thoughts, the huge double doors to the estate were slammed open, revealing a 43-meter dragon that looked just like Mother.
Almost immediately, her eyes locked on Kystallo and me. *FWOOOSH* She darted up to us in an instant. "My sweet grandbabies!" She wrapped her neck and wings around us in an instant.
"M-mother! Be careful!" Mother immediately ran over in a bit of a panic.
"Oh, sorry! Did I use too much strength?" She quickly released us with a worried look.
But Krystallo's face was covered with a pure, childish joy. "Hehe! I like your hug!"
Grandmother's worry instantly melted away as she went in for another hug. "Oh, you cute little thing! Make sure to let your grandmother know if you want anything. I'll be sure to get it for you!" She winked as she pulled away.
*Gasp* Krystallo's eyes lit up like a firework. "Does that mean I can get a cookie?!"
"Of course, sweetie!" She reached out and patted Krystallo's head with her wing as she glanced back at a young, blue-and-white-haired maid in the doorway.
The maid nodded without hesitation before running back inside.
And that was when Grandmother turned back to me. "Just like your Father said, you are a truly stunning piece of art…" She momentarily paused while she looked me up and down. "In any case, while I do wish to hear what happened, we can do that later. For now, let me just spoil you two kids." With her previous smile coming back to her face, she reached up and rubbed my head just like Krystallos.
It sent a soothing sensation through my body in an instant. -It feels like Mothers…- Before I even realized it, I was smiling like a normal, innocent kid.
"My goodness, you two are too adorable!" She immediately looked like she was going to go in for another hug, but Ilios interrupted her by jumping onto my head. "Hm? Now, who is this little guy?"
-Oh, she knew about me but not Ilios?-
But before I could say anything, Mother chimed in. "That is Ilios. He's pretty special as well, but we can discuss that later."
"Hoho~, how ominous... Well, let us head inside. As for the maids," She looked back at Maria and Chloe. "Meet my butler in the main hall when you finish bringing everything inside, he will show you around."
After momentarily waiting for their acknowledgment, Grandmother finally turned around and brought us inside to give a short tour.
And while I wasn't sure what to expect, the inside was just as lavish as one could imagine, with a nearly 200-meter tall ceiling in the main hall and an astronomical amount of gold, artifacts, artwork, and statues that each looked incredibly nice and expensive.
But while it was true that the lavishness of the estate was unmatched, it was truly eye-opening to see how well-decorated everything was. -It somehow feels homier than I expected…- Even after only spending a few minutes walking around, it was obvious the estate had history and character. -It really makes you wonder what all happened inside these walls…-
When I eventually asked Grandmother about how old the estate was, she just laughed it off and said it was longer than I could imagine, but simply judging by the pictures and much of the artwork, it at least predated the Great War. -Maybe I can have her tell me some stories later… Maybe the estate has a library I could check out as well…-
But while I was hopeful, my hopes were shot down when we came up to the massive doors at the end of the hallway.
"This room here is the library, but unfortunately, as per family tradition, I cannot let you two inside until the coming-of-age ceremony."
"W..what? Why?" I immediately gave her an odd look, hoping she was joking.
But that sadly wasn't the case. "This library contains countless ancient texts about the history of our family and the origin of this land. The content discussed in many of the texts is not fit for children.. no matter how mature they are." She looked me in the eyes as she spoke, as if to make her point clear.
-I can't even push my aura through the wall to try and sneakily read one…- I was truly disappointed, but there was nothing I could do about it.
After that, the tour continued, leading us to the dining hall and kitchen, introducing us to a few notable servants, and showing us to our rooms before eventually coming to an end.
Just after that, Grandmother, Mother, and Father left to speak privately for a while, and Krystallo wanted to go unpack her things, so I was left alone and decided it was about time to get comfortable.
*clank-fwoosh* Eventually making it back to my room, I pushed open the door and was greeted with a warm gust of air. "Haah…"
The inside of the room was quite large, but cozy; being mostly made of wood, with several large cushions, near and far from the large, artifact-controlled fireplace, and several large paintings of beautiful landscapes hanging on the walls, it had a similar atmosphere to a cabin in the wilderness. -It's quite nice…-
*click* As I closed the door, Ilios hopped off my back and moved over to lie down on one of the large cushions, and I walked around to look a bit closer at the artifacts and bookshelves to see if there was anything interesting.
But other than a few books telling tales of ancient times long before the Great War, there was nothing to really take note of. -I might read that book later, though…-
Finally walking over to the cushion next to Ilios, I laid down and immediately started feeling a bit drowsy.
But just before I dozed off, I felt Ilios hop into his signature spot and give my cheek a single gentle lick.
The next thing I knew, I had fallen asleep without a single unnecessary worry or thought on my mind.
It was truly peaceful.
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