“Exactly! Doris has nothing to do with them!”

The red-haired girl folded her arms and gave a little huff, turning her pout to the side. She didn’t seem too happy about being mistaken for Anticas and Ruko’s daughter.

“My daughter hates me… My heart hurts.” Anticas clutched his chest and dropped to his knees with a thud. Beside him, Miss Ruko gave his head a comforting pat.

“So she’s their adopted daughter?” Tiran seemed to be getting the picture. No wonder Doris’s hair was a vivid red, so different from Aya’s and Anticas’s. Going by the Dragon race’s simple, straightforward color-to-element system, was she a fire-type Red Dragon?

“This child’s parents are no longer with us, so we stepped in and took their place a little.”

Miss Ruko left Aya’s side, came up behind Doris, and gently wrapped her arms around her.

“Don’t just come up and cling to Doris like that… Ugh, I hate it!”

Even as she said that, Doris didn’t try to wriggle out of Ruko’s embrace. Come to think of it, those two were surprisingly in sync when it came to their parents.

That makes it even sadder, Uncle Anticas.

The princess felt sorry for Anticas for a whole second. She also wisely refrained from asking how Doris’s parents had died.

“But what does that have to do with you suddenly sneaking into Aya’s room and ambushing him today?!”

Tiran pointed at the girl and demanded an answer, clearly annoyed.

“Of course it has something to do with it! Doris is the last of the Red Dragon clan, so naturally we have to find a way to carry on the clan!”

Doris answered with complete confidence.

It did make some sense. The Golden Dragon was the mightiest Dragon species, reigning supreme even among a race made up entirely of ridiculously powerful monsters. If you wanted strong offspring, they were clearly the best choice. And after hearing from Ruko and Anticas that they had another son, it was obvious that Aya had become Doris’s ideal candidate.

So that was it, that was it. You’ve really thought this through, little Doris.

The princess nodded again and again, stroking her chin. Then she suddenly slapped the table. “Even so, what’s that got to do with me?! Let me make one thing clear: Aya’s already decided to marry me! So get lost, you little brat!”

“Ptooey, ptooey! My brother’s a Dragon. How could he possibly marry a human like you?! You’re just a short-tempered, flat-chested old hag!”

Doris stuck her tongue out at Tiran, then darted behind Aya.

“My, what a way with words.” Tiran clenched her fist and gave it a couple of shakes, a kind smile spreading across her face. Then she suddenly charged. “Looks like you’re overdue for a beating from me!”

The fierce-looking princess clearly startled Doris. At first, Doris tried to fight back using the Dragon race’s strength, but Tiran was the woman who could pin Aya down and beat him senseless even before he’d reached Holy Rank. A young Dragon barely in her teens had no chance of fighting back. Before long, she could only scurry around the villa, using its furnishings as cover.

Well, she did have to be careful of the villa. They were letting her stay there practically for free, so smashing the place up would be terribly rude.

Taking advantage of the distraction, Anticas and Miss Ruko moved in front of Aya and began looking him over carefully.

“Hey! Why are you suddenly getting so close?”

“A few dozen… No, over a hundred years? Anyway, it’s been ages since we last saw you. Isn’t it only natural that we’d want a good look at what our son’s like now?”

Anticas laughed heartily and patted Aya on the shoulder.

“Oh, give me a break. You don’t even know how long you left me behind while you went off to enjoy yourselves.”

Aya slapped his father’s hand away. “I almost died several times. What kind of irresponsible parents are you two?”

“About that… We’re truly sorry.”

Ruko lowered her head guiltily. Whenever the subject of leaving Aya behind came up, she never quite dared to meet his eyes.

Aya didn’t respond to their apology. He just walked over to the sofa opposite them and sat down, staring in silence at his parents, whom he’d just left speechless.

How should he put it? He’d thought that when he saw them again, this unreliable couple would still be acting like they could do whatever they wanted and didn’t care about a thing. They wouldn’t care about him at all—and if that had been the case, he could’ve turned them away without having to worry about their feelings.

“Honestly… You apologize to me looking all guilty, and now I can’t just give you the cold shoulder and kick you out, you two jerks…”

Muttering under his breath, Aya lowered his head, looking a little troubled.

But when he wasn’t looking their way, Anticas and Ruko exchanged a glance, wearing smug expressions that said their plan had worked.

Son, you’ve still got a lot to learn~

Anticas’s expression slowly turned into a smug doge face. Well, he really did feel guilty about Aya and wanted to make it up to him, but getting Aya to drop his plans to settle the score so easily was an absolute bargain.

“You think I didn’t see that?!”

Whoosh! A cushion from the back of the sofa spun through the air and smacked him in the face. Aya, who’d just been looking down, tossed another cushion from hand to hand, his expression utterly unimpressed.

Sorry. I was too naive to still have a shred of hope for you.

“Looks like I still won’t feel better until I give you a proper beating.”

“Oh-ho? Little Aya, have you forgotten how your dad used to spank you?”

“You think there’s something to be proud of when you bully kids?!”

Aya walked over and knocked his forehead hard against his good-for-nothing dad’s, then rolled up his sleeves as if ready to fight.

“Heh heh. You want to fight? Bring it on! Let’s see how much my dear son’s grown after all these years.”

“I’d love to!”

Anticas grinned even more broadly as he bumped foreheads with his son, who was nearly a head shorter than him.

“Now, now, husband, Aya—be careful not to get hurt.”

Miss Ruko seemed quite used to the way father and son behaved. Not at all surprised, she rested her cheek in her hand and reminded them with a smile.

“Oh? Aya’s going to fight? I wanna watch!”

“Is big brother going to fight Uncle?”

“I told you to call me Dad, little Doris!”

The Dragon dad collapsed face-first and pounded the floor in despair. Once again, Miss Ruko let him rest his head in her lap, stroking his hair and softly reassuring him. “There, there, dear~ Little Doris didn’t mean it.”

Well, she’d always called him that, so she was used to it.

…Even the princess and Doris, who’d been running around like the place was on fire moments ago, had been drawn over. They called an unspoken truce and waited for the show.

“You two weren’t just waiting for us to start fighting, were you…?”

Aya gave the princess and the Red Dragon girl a weary look.

“Not at all! How could you think that? We’re just worried about you, Aya!”

“Mm-hmm! Doris is looking forward to seeing big brother’s heroic fighting pose too~”

Doris, who’d been chased all over the place just moments ago, now looked like the very picture of good behavior. She placed her hands on her knees and gave Aya a serene smile.

“…Yeah, right. Like I’d believe you!”