In the two weeks that followed, David, who had already made his choice, seemed to have staked his entire dragon life on the Wheel of Fate.
During the quiet time before the answer was unveiled, his entire being fell into an unprecedented state of emptiness.
When hungry, he would head to Katjana Valley for a beef buffet.
When angry, he would charge into the Southforest and crush every High Elf he saw.
When tired, he would simply find a cave to spend the night.
One day, on a whim, after exploring the boundaries of the entire Northland of the Old Continent by flying and resting intermittently, he was shocked to discover a geographical fact that left him somewhat bewildered:
At the eastern end of the Northland stood the Endless Peak Mountain Range, piercing the sky endlessly.
Towards the south lay a vast desert. Aside from a few dilapidated ancient tombs and roaming Undead, life was hard to find.
And there was no need to speak of the north. The latitude in the Northland was already high enough; if he flew further north, he might just see polar bears beating up seal pups. David simply couldn't be bothered to even look that way.
The entire Old Continent was left with only this barren, desolate land where not much could be farmed. It was inhabited by Highland Barbarians who, subsisting on raw flesh and blood, were struggling to rebuild civilization from the Elven ruins.
If I really followed my initial instinct and chose to flee, then no matter which direction I flew, I was doomed not to find my promised land anytime soon.
Heading west and taking a boat might indeed be a way to reach the legendary, fertile New Continent.
But that land is under Elven monopoly, and right now, a group of High Elves' ships is heading this way. Wouldn't that be walking right into a trap?
So... did she do it on purpose, or was it an accident? David, being a Red Dragon, couldn't help but feel puzzled.
Could it be that Tania already knew about this plight? Is that why she was unwilling to flee with me and live a life of eating dirt every day?
But he immediately dismissed that thought.
Given that Tania was a Silver Dragon, there was no need for her to deliberately hide such a thing from him.
He could feel Tania's sincerity; she truly had his best interests at heart.
It's just... I always have this shitty feeling that she's leading me into a pit of fire...
This wasn't a bias against Red Dragons; it was a damn fact.
Even if one searched throughout the entire dragon heritage, except for a few old Red Dragon females who only began to show a little affection for their offspring as they approached menopause, the rest were truly one worse than the other.
Perhaps exceptions existed in the world, but David never harbored such hope, nor would he ever entrust his life completely to someone else.
It was like when he drove to work in his previous life: he was always one hundred and twenty percent alert, never gambling on the condition or skill of other drivers and pedestrians.
And even then, he still had a traffic accident once—someone hit him.
It was precisely this caution that made him choose not to confront the Dragon Mother five years ago, praying for her to have a change of heart and show mercy.
To him, the chances of survival felt about the same as running onto a highway with a stack of Sin of Lust pamphlets to distribute to drivers, expecting not to be hit on the spot and sent spiraling heavenward, then later safely collecting full payment from the snakehead, all while evading the long arm of the law.
But now, David looked at the silhouettes of a few Elven warships that had appeared on the coastline.
Looks like I have to brace myself and go through with it.
In some ways, facing the Dragon Mother was even more stressful than confronting those Elves right now.
The only difference from five years ago was this: if things really went south with the Dragon Mother, he might have a slight chance to escape. His Dragon Breath Evasion Technique, three times faster than an ordinary Red Dragon's, coupled with the hundreds of layers of Wrath he'd accumulated over these days, could potentially allow him to flee from her jaws if she lost her senses on the spot.
With that in mind, David took a deep breath of the cool sea breeze, secured the pile of spoils wrapped in sailcloth, and turned to fly towards the towering Katjana volcano.
Tania.
And... Mom.
I'm coming...
「Deep within the Katjana volcano」
In a cave formed by flowing lava and igneous rock, the Crimson Calamity Pafila had been awoken early by her daughter. Coiled atop her massive hoard of treasure, she was slowly savoring the assorted stream of Dragon Food meticulously prepared by Tania.
The light inside the cave was faint, with only the blazing lava and the glimmering light emitted by the Red Dragon herself flickering. These glimmers reflected off the sparkling Gold Coins and gems, dazzling the eyes with their brilliance.
Inside the cave, the temperature was extremely high. The air was filled with the smell of roasting and sulfur, and every breath Pafila, owner of the Dragon Nest, took was like a scorching wave sweeping in all directions. It was so hot that Tania, the Silver Dragon serving her mother's meal, had her tongue lolling out. She only found some relief by intermittently casting a blast of cold Dragon Breath upon herself.
Perhaps sensing something, Dragon Mother Pafila stopped her meal, which had lasted for two weeks. She delicately picked up a silk napkin, wiped the grease from the corner of her mouth, and her fiery eyes glanced at her busy Silver Dragon daughter.
"Let him in," she said irritably. "This time, you've actually been willing to endure the heat and stay in the nest, keeping this irritable old mother company for so long. That must have been hard on you."
Tania was startled. "Ah? He finally came? No, Mom, how did you know he was coming home?"
"Hmph," Pafila snorted. "You've already stuffed me full in advance; what else could it be for? I don't usually see you staying home so obediently and diligently. Don't worry, I really don't have much of an appetite for that brother of yours."
Pafila, perhaps recalling something with a hint of disdain, then added meaningfully, "Besides, do you really think you can hide every little thing that happens within our territory from my eyes? Hmm?
"Your mother is just lazy, not stupid."
As she spoke, before Tania could whine or explain, Pafila, having mostly digested her meal in an instant, coiled her tail around an Elven sacrificial vessel the size of a wine barrel and placed it before her daughter.
Tania quickly breathed a puff of icy Dragon Breath on it.
The Dragon Mother immediately curled her tail around the chilled wine and drank it all in one gulp.
Just as she put down the 'wine cup,' David, fully alert and carrying a large bundle of 'treasure' on his back, strode in from the cave's long tunnel. He was watched with keen interest by Pafila and with a mix of excitement and worry by Tania.
David stopped before the nest, unloaded the canvas-wrapped bundle from his back, and set it aside. Then, as if he had entered a state of stress but was desperately trying to suppress his instincts, he lay down before Pafila, turned his head, rolled over, and exposed his pale underbelly, demonstrating his harmlessness and obedience.
He took a deep breath, looking up somewhat upside-down at the mother he hadn't seen in five years, and said in a deep voice, "I'm back, Mom."
Instead, he saw Dragon Mother Pafila raise a claw to pinch her nose and mumble by way of greeting, "Hmm... uh, did you take a bath before you came?"
"..." David was silent for a moment, then nearly ground his teeth to dust.
[Wrath +9]