Ragni hesitated to answer. It took her almost two minutes to gather her strength.
"Because it's you," the dragoness shriveled almost to the limit, burying her head in her knees.
"I thought you didn't like me that much."
"You fool," Ragni straightened up and moved away from me. "You're indeed a fool, a pervert, a blockhead, a talentless person, an idiot, and a weakling."
"Hey! That's way too many epithets!"
"But you're the most reliable person I've ever met. You always think everything through, no matter what trouble I get into, I know you already have a way out of it. Although you may be the weakest in the team, you're the only one I can count on in any situation. Every girl wants to feel like a fragile princess behind a mighty prince."
"That doesn't sound like you at all."
"Shut up! What do you know? You always save us, come up with such schemes, pull out a new trick from your sleeve in hopeless situations... How can I not fall in love with someone like you, uuuu," Ragni howled and tried to curl up again, but I stopped her.
"Then you could have simply asked for my help," I subtly moved closer and embraced the trembling girl.
"Uwaa, don't come close," Ragni tried to free herself, but her strength was leaving her. "I know you don't feel the same way about me. I don't want your pity."
"Silly, how could I leave you suffering here alone?" I held the shivering girl close and gently kissed her lips.
"Villain," Ragni closed her eyes and relaxed in my embrace.
In the morning, I stealthily slipped out of Ragni's room and went outside. I needed to stay unnoticed, or things might not go well for me. The sun was rising in the east, but a strange shadow enveloped the Academy.
"It seems they didn't predict rain today," I looked around. There wasn't a cloud in the sky, yet something in the distance blocked the sunlight. Something massive was flying toward us, gaining speed. "Looks like we have visitors. EVERYONE, GET UP!"
I quickly ran through the floors, waking up everyone who spent the night at the guild. Only Katrina, Seleria, and Levris had separate rooms, so I asked Kurone to contact them.
The shadow kept growing, covering the academy. Perhaps the low angle of the sun made it appear colossal, but whatever was casting that shadow must have been enormous.
"It's flying towards the square," I dashed to meet the guest, and Katrina joined me on the way. The rest stayed at the guild until we returned.
On the square, the Rector was already waiting, accompanied by Levris. A white dragon of enormous size occupied almost the entire area, which could accommodate thousands of people during a tournament. Proudly sitting on his neck was a girl in a gray dress.
"Hello," she deftly climbed down and greeted the teachers. "You must be the Rector. I apologize for this unexpected visit, but he couldn't wait to see the children."
"Cough, excuse me for this form," a flash of white light momentarily illuminated the entire square, and in place of the mighty dragon stood a handsome man who appeared to be in his thirties, dressed in a long white cloak. He had long white hair reaching his waist and white horns on his forehead. His human form was also quite large. Like Ignis, he towered over an average person, standing a little over three meters tall. "And you must be the Guild Master who took on Ascareza's demise."
Katrina lowered her head guiltily. After a brief pause, she kneeled on one knee.
"I apologize for that. If we had stopped her then, perhaps we could have cured her. She died because of my lack of restraint."
The dragon's gaze showed no emotion, but he nodded understandingly.
"Lady Reines has already told me everything. There's no need to justify yourself. Ascareza was a strong and proud woman. She would have preferred to die in battle rather than become food for those creatures. I am grateful to you for honoring her. I won't move her body to the dragon cemetery and will ask Siegfried to leave an ice monument in her memory."
"But still... I won't be able to forgive myself for this."
"You did what was in your power. At least I am grateful to you for saving my children. I'd like to see them as soon as possible."
"Please follow me," the Princess led the guests into the guild's house.
"Nice place," approaching the Guild, Azaron took a deep breath of the pleasant sea air. "It's filled with strong magic, and the vast open spaces will provide them with room for games and training. I think it's a suitable place."
His words raised my suspicions, but for now, we led him inside.
We all sat peacefully in the main hall of the guild, which was already quite crowded with guests.
Only Ragni was a little late. It seemed she was still asleep, but we decided not to wake her just yet.
The girls huddled around Hilda, while the boy sat peacefully next to Katrina, occasionally glancing at his father.
"Hmm, they've become very attached to you. That's good," Azaron scratched his chin thoughtfully.
"But it wasn't intentional; she orchestrated everything," Hilda gave a disapproving look to Reines, who sipped her tea, pretending to be a plant.
"Yes, that's quite typical of her – to act without considering the consequences," another displeased look met the indifferent gaze of the gray dragoness. "But in any case, they will consider you their mothers, no matter what happens."
"Huh? But we can explain everything to them..." Katrina looked hopefully at the dragon, but he merely shook his head.
"Right now, they're acting based on instincts. The one who gave them warmth when they first woke up and who embraced them at birth, for them, that person is their mother. And when they begin to understand what's happening, it will be too late to separate them from you."
"Really?" Katrina sounded uncertain.
"Now you have to take care of them. I hope I'm not asking the impossible, and if you want, I'll reimburse you for all the expenses."
"Oh no, that's not necessary. I just didn't expect to have children so soon..." Katrina looked at her "son" who gazed back at her with a pitiful look. "But how can I refuse?"
"By the way, where's the third girl?"
"She's probably still sleeping; she loves to sleep, just like her daughter, hehe," Vina quickly flew up the stairs and called the dragoness again. "She'll be down in a moment. Oh, by the way, we finished the scarecrows yesterday."
The merchant opened the storage room and rolled out two massive slabs with crafted spider heads.
"They were finished yesterday, but you were all busy."
The kids clung to their mothers fearfully, and even the boy timidly held onto Katrina's dress.
"Hmm, those creatures again," Azaron frowned. "We checked the caves on the eastern and western slopes; they weren't damaged. Only the seal on the central lair was cracked. I don't want to allow such a tragedy to happen again, so we'll organize posts around the caves where Nordic warriors, together with white dragons, will be on duty."
"The tragedy with Ascareza must not be repeated, but I wouldn't open the caves sealed with white flame without extreme necessity," Reines shook her head and took another sip of tea.
"Uvaa, why so noisy here," Ragni yawned peacefully, fully recovered, and leisurely descended the stairs. Everyone involuntarily stared at the dragoness... The reason was quite obvious; overnight, she had undergone some changes. She had grown significantly. Now her height was around two meters, and her body had grown proportionally, rounding out in all the right places. Her hair, which previously reached her mid-back, now reached her waist. The dragoness's attire had also changed; it somehow elongated and became thinner, tightly fitting her body.
"Ho-hoo," Vina stared at the dragoness, but due to the height difference, her eyes were at the level of the dragoness's chest, creating a somewhat ambiguous feeling. "Someone was brewing a growth potion all night? And it worked exactly where it needed to."
The merchant gave an annoyed squint, and Ragni hurriedly covered her chest with her hands.
"Vina, don't be silly. I don't know what happened."
"Hmhm, such rapid growth is only possible with the right catalyst... Mmm, only one thing comes to mind..." Reines's words were interrupted by the teacup accidentally breaking in her hand. Although the scorch mark left by the fire left doubts about the accident: "Well, perhaps it's better if I keep quiet."
Without any ceremony, the dragoness grabbed an untouched cup from her neighbor, the great white dragon, who, however, let it slide.
"So, now you've entered the adult stage, congratulations," Azaron said, scratching his chin thoughtfully.
"Um," Katrina leaned towards Reines, "Does this mean she'll keep growing even more?"
"No-no, her human form has reached its development, but now the restrictions on her dragon form are lifted, and she will gradually grow year by year. Of course, she won't reach Ignis's size, but she'll definitely be bigger than her siblings."
"Mmm," Vina still irritably examined a certain part of the dragoness's body. "But it does seem like a convenient way to grow up."
"Mama," the fair-haired girl finally recognized Ragni and rushed into her arms. Now she barely reached her waist, so the dragoness lifted her up.
"There, there, I'm sorry I left you yesterday. Now I'll always be by your side," Ragni sat the girl on one arm and gently hugged her close. "There, there, everything's fine now."
Now Ragni not only looked older but also behaved somewhat more mature. They looked like a real mother and daughter to an outsider.
"Hmm, now I see that the kids are in good hands," Azaron smiled contentedly. "According to our customs, when they reach a hundred years old, I should take them under my guardianship, then they'll reach adolescence. Until then, the mother must teach them the language, customs, and knowledge of the world. I understand that a human's lifespan isn't that long, but if you pass away before that time, I'll ask Ragni to take care of them; she can handle it."
"So they'll be like that for a hundred years, hehe," Seleria licked her lips alluringly.
"Huh? I don't think so. If they were growing like dragons, their human form would change gradually, and by a hundred years, they would look about fifteen. But if they live with you in their human form, they'll reach that appearance around seventeen to twenty years. But don't forget to give them the freedom to take their dragon form so they don't forget who they are."
"Hm-hmm, I think I can arrange that," the Rector peacefully stroked his beard. "We'll call it, um, the guild's talisman, and we'll present it as battle trophies on our reports, and they can peacefully live in our guild on legal grounds."
"Thank you for your understanding, Rector."
"Oh, by the way..." I looked at the children, "Do we also get to name them?"
"Even before their birth, Ascareza and I chose names for them, don't worry," the dragon stood up and approached his children. First, he patted his son's head, "Arzan, I hope you'll be as brave and strong as your mother but won't lose your father's prudence."
Then he approached his daughter with short hair, who was sitting on Hilda's lap.
"Zarisa, you inherited caution and curiosity from your mother. Look after your family."
And finally, he approached the daughter with long hair, dozing on Ragni's arms.
"Asarina, you clearly inherited the troublesome habit of falling asleep at the most inconvenient times from your ancestors, but I'm sure you'll always come to your family's aid."
Saying goodbye to the children, the dragon headed towards the exit.
"It's time for me to return, but if anything happens, Reines knows where to find me," he opened the door but hesitated on the threshold. "Lady Reines, are you sure you don't want to go back to your clan?"
"Don't talk nonsense. My clan is the gray dragons, and I have nowhere to go back to. I'd rather stay with the only necromancer I still know," she replied.
"As you wish," the dragon spread his wings and soared into the sky. Rising higher, he shifted into his true form and flew away.
"Hmm, why did he show such respect towards you?" I looked at Reines with doubt.
"Well, he's my little brother after all, and after Azure, I was the ruler of the white dragons, so I can give them orders, in a way."
"Oh, come on," I squinted skeptically. "And who's this last familiar necromancer you mentioned? Please don't tell me you'll stay here?"
"Why not? This place is suitable, not rotten, and there's enough space," Reines glanced around the hall with an assessing look.
"And I have already given permission," the Rector chuckled. "She will work as a teacher starting next month and may become your mentor."
"Yes, Rector has been so kind," Reines playfully leaned on the old man's shoulder, eliciting a satisfied laugh from him, and his eyes ran over the dragoness's slender figure.
"The old man is quite lascivious," I remarked.