"So which beast are you making your partner?" Mr. Clifford asked, taking a bite out of the bread in his hand.
Hesitant, Alyeen chuckled lightly as she said. "Alistair, he seems to be the best and since I've known him for a long time our bond should be really strong."
"Don't make such jokes." Mr. Clifford warned sternly, looking at his daughter with a serious expression on his face.
Labeling his daughter's words as a joke, he continued. "Which do you prefer the Nyx Three-eyed Panther or the Rainbow Winged Tiger?"
Aware that her father doesn't want her choices to affect her future, Alyeen bit her lips as she muttered. "I don't want either of them."
"If they aren't to your liking I can also get you other ones." Mr. Clifford said, seeing his daughter had not replied to him even though a few minutes had gone by.
"They are both good." She smiled, looking at her father she added. "I prefer the Nyx Three-eyed Panther."
"I had a feeling you would say that." Happy at his daughter's choice, Mr. Clifford stood up from where he was seated.
Wiping his mouth with a tissue, he said. "I'll be going down to the facility now and your new pet will be brought soon."
"Bye." She replied, having a light smile on her face she added. "Thanks for everything."
Mr. Clifford replied with a nod before proceeding to leave the dinner table with a small smile.
"He never understands," Alyeen grumbled, looking at her father's departing figure.
"But it's all for my good right?" She sighed, having happiness well within her as memories of the things her Dad did flashed through her eyes.
****
Outside the house or in the garden to be specific, a blue slime could be seen moving around a bunch of plants while occasionally contracting.
"Isn't this Alderia rose!" Alistair yelled within him, contracting his slimy body as if he wanted to show his excitement.
Taking a closer look at the half-pink half-black rose that seemed to have dozens of stars within, he said. "I've never seen one of this color."
"But isn't it supposed to be pretty rare?" Alistair wondered, vividly remembering that he had seen about a field made of this rose.
Unaware that the rose had become quite common after he passed away, Alistair asked the freeloader within his mind. "How many years had passed since I died?"
"More or less five thousand years" The being replied, keeping his focus on the book in his hands.
"Oh." Surprised, Alistair was left speechless by the being's reply.
It wasn't completely due to how long he had been dead but because he was never expecting the being to reply as after he got that System the being suddenly kept ignoring him.
There was even a time that Alistair thought the being had either left his mind by some strange means it was hibernating.
"Should we trust Eleven or rather can we believe her words?" Alistair asked, using the chance to ask the being another question.
"Do whatever you want." The being said, taking his eyes off the book he added. "All I know is I don't trust her kind."
Having given his answer, the being buried his focus into the book in his hands.
"I see," Alistair replied, falling into deep thoughts after hearing the being's answer.
"If you can't even make decisions for yourself I'll never acknowledge you,"
Eleven said, having her monotonous voice resound within Alistair's mind.
Unbothered by the AI with misplaced pride that kept talking in his mind, Alistair muttered. "For now, I can't be sure any of them are my allies."
With memories of his talk with the being resurfacing, he added. "At least he's a far cry from an ally."
Aware that the being had access to all that he was thinking about, Alistair stopped bothering himself with those thoughts as he looked at the flowers in front of him.
"What does she want?" Alistair wondered, staring at the figure of a purple-haired girl who was five meters away from him.
"That old coot also came along." He said, looking at the figure of a black-haired man who was walking side by side with the girl.
Since he had gained Mana Sense, Alistair had been able to identify that man who looked to be in his early forties as Alyeen's dad.
Although Mr. Clifford didn't emit a wisp of his aura, Alistair always felt uneasy around the man. It felt like his every move was being monitored and the slightest mishap may lead to his demise.
He had a hunch that was being monitored ever since he left the underground facility four years back, and thought he felt uneasy around Mr. Clifford was due to his race.
"Must be because Slimes are one of the lowest races in existence." Alistair thought, deciding to forget about the uneasy feeling he got around Mr. Clifford.
"How shallow." The being scoffed, labeling Alistair as a toad who had been staring at the sky from the bottom of a well.
"When you're out of this shit hole, you'll witness the true might of a Slime." The being added, having a smile on his face.
Unaware of what the being implied, Alistair looked at the slightly protruding chest in front of him.
"Smaller than how it was when she was the same age." Alistair thought, subconsciously comparing the chest of this Alyeen to the one he knew in his past life.
If he wasn't mistaken, this Alyeen should have a cup size of B while the one in his previous life had a C when she was the age of the former.
"You plan to take it along right?" Mr. Clifford asked, looking at his daughter who was holding Alistair in her hands.
"I can't just leave him behind, he has been my friend since I was little." She replied, hugging Alistair who was in her hands.
"Tch. F*ck this slimy body." Alistair cursed, irritated that it was his body getting squished instead of the mounds behind him.
"If that's the case I suggest you go to Wyrm Ruins." Mr. Clifford sighed, placing a hand on his daughter's shoulder he added. "It's safe and relatively close by. Besides you might get information about Dragons from it."
"From what I read they are mostly extinct," Alyeen said, looking at her father she continued. "Even their current habitats are unknown."
"Extinct?" Alistair asked, having his mind go blank as those words continuously struck the depths of his heart.
"My whole race has gone extinct? Didn't I get rid of the ones who were hunting us?! They're still alive, right?! How could the mighty Dragons perish?! Aren't we meant to be the strongest?!"
As countless thoughts surged within Alistair's mind, he struggled to accept the truth that his race had almost gone extinct.
In the blink of an eye, the perverted thoughts and regret that he had were replaced by a mix of denial and anger as images of that cursed church surged through his mind.
"I'll burn it all down," Alistair swore, having his rage directed at the Church that ruined his life and killed those close to him.
— –
[Ding!]
[The host is slowly regaining his Draconic Lineage.]
[Draconic Pride has been unlocked.]
[Bow to none and slay all who cross you.]
— –