So it ended up being a duel with Dad... I used to think that once I got stronger, I’d beat the crap out of him and get revenge for all those times he spanked me as a kid. But having everyone watch just feels awful.

Aya slowly beat the huge membranous wings on his back and stared straight at his dad, several dozen meters away.

A thousand meters above Mount Goldcust, a few tiny black dots—almost impossible to spot from the ground—hovered among the drifting clouds.

Both sides of the duel were at Holy Rank, after all. Even if they held back, once they started fighting, it’d be hard to avoid damaging the surroundings. Never mind wrecking a few houses—if a powerful spell shook the magma deep beneath the volcano, they’d have a real headache on their hands.

Since almost everyone could fly, the sky was naturally the best battlefield.

“Miss Tiran’s crystal wings are so pretty.”

“Hehe, right? I spent ages shaping them with Chi to get the prettiest design possible.”

Tiran nodded, a little proud, then glanced anxiously down at the estate built along the mountainside. “But, M-Mother-in-law... Miss Luko, wouldn’t someone still be able to spot you if you turned into a Dragon here?”

“But this form feels more comfortable. I’m still not used to keeping a human appearance all the time when I travel through the human world. And we’re so high up, with clouds around us. It’ll be fine.”

In Dragon form, Luko was a whole size smaller than Aya. She was still enormous by human standards, but compared to the colossal beasts Tiran had seen that were big enough to besiege a city, she was positively petite. Small, beautiful, and perfectly formed—the texture of her scales and the curves of her body were both works of art.

“I think I’m starting to understand the furry crowd...”

“Hey, hey. Are you two really here to watch the show?” Aya, who still had the contract’s telepathic link open, cut in helplessly.

“Of course. But I’m definitely cheering for you, Aya.”

“Thanks...” Aya sighed, then pulled himself together and refocused on his opponent.

Dad had already been at Holy Rank when Aya was a kid. Even if he hadn’t reached The Realm yet, he’d still be the strongest Holy Rank opponent Aya had ever faced.

“Son, are you ready?”

Though Anticas, still in human form, asked the question, he didn’t look ready to fight at all. If anything, his loose, casual stance looked a lot like an old man taking a stroll around the town square.

“I’m ready...?”

Aya answered offhandedly, then hesitated. Something felt a little strange.

But before he could think it through, his dad vanished from sight.

There was no fluctuation in the laws of time or space. In other words, the visual effect came entirely from his sheer speed.

Before Aya’s mind could catch up, his body had already moved. He beat his wings to turn, raised an arm to block, and caught the kick that came at him from behind—as if he’d rehearsed it in advance.

“It’s been years, but your reflexes are still there, son.” Anticas looked a little surprised as Aya blocked him.

“How many times did you use that cheap shot from behind when you were beating me up?”

Aya shot back with a disgruntled look. He twisted both arms, trying to trap Anticas’s right leg, but his dad kicked free. Aya dropped a dozen meters before steadying himself.

With his sneak attack foiled, Anticas immediately launched a frontal assault. Still in human form and without a weapon, he clenched both fists and charged Aya. The powerful gusts and swirling air from his punches slammed into Aya, making his Chi scales shudder.

Aya knew this style of fighting well. With the Dragon race’s unique golden Chi and Chi scales boosting his already formidable strength and physical toughness, he could unleash a storm of golden fists with ease. A slightly weaker opponent would be crushed outright.

Aya had used this move to bully the weak whenever he fought other enemies. He hadn’t expected it to feel so oppressively powerful in his dad’s hands.

The thought, “I absolutely can’t afford to take a hit,” surfaced in Aya’s mind. He instinctively retreated, beating his wings to open up the distance.

Anticas wasn’t annoyed when his attack missed. As Aya dodged, he sped up and gave chase. In an instant, a pursuit began across the vast sky and through the clouds.

Aya still hadn’t reached adulthood as a Golden Dragon. In every aspect, he was behind Anticas, who had been fully grown for years and was nearing his peak. The gap between them was perhaps smallest in speed—after all, a larger, heavier body faced more resistance in flight.

Even so, Aya couldn’t easily shake Anticas off.

Aya had accelerated first, but after weaving left and right through the clouds for a while, he looked back and saw that the distance between him and his dad had actually shrunk.

Was it a difference in flying experience? No. Every turn and maneuver Aya made was already as efficient as it could theoretically be. The air, wind, and clouds were all factors. Even the strongest flight Magic could do no more than match him.

Damn it. In that case—

Magic light suddenly flickered around Aya. A dozen or so clear ice spears formed and shot toward Anticas, who was close behind.

Intermediate Magic: [Instant Cast: Ice Spear]

At this speed, even without any extra launch force, a direct collision with the spears would hit Anticas hard. If Aya could force him to change course even slightly, he’d have a chance to pull away, use the clouds to block his line of sight, and launch a sneak attack—or lay a Magic trap.

But that plan failed too.

Faced with a dozen ice spears hurtling toward him, Anticas didn’t dodge at all. The spears shattered into a shower of ice several meters in front of him, as if they’d struck an invisible wall of air.

“Are you kidding me?! Is that thing Chi scales too?”

Tiran, following close behind, froze for a moment as she watched Anticas ignore Aya’s Ice Spear spell.

“That’s right, Miss Tiran. Adult Golden Dragons have the highest level of both Magic resistance and physical resistance from their Chi scales. Human researchers call them ‘perfect specimens.’ So before little Aya reaches adulthood, there’s no way he can match his dad in that regard.”

Beneath Tiran, the giant Dragon that Miss Luko had transformed into spoke in a young girl’s voice. It sounded a little odd.

—After all, once the chase started, Tiran’s wings, formed from Chi, could barely keep up with creatures that were born to fly. So she had to inconvenience her mother-in-law a little.

Come to think of it, this means I’ve ridden a Dragon other than Aya. Does that count as betrayal for a Dragon Rider?

Eek, now that I think about it, that’s kind of exciting...

“What’s wrong? Afraid to face me head-on? Tsk, tsk. I didn’t expect you to be less brave than you were as a kid.”

Elsewhere in the sky, Aya burst through another floating tower-shaped cloud. His dad’s voice came from behind him.

“You think I’m gonna fall for such an obvious taunt, you bastard?”

Aya clicked his tongue, whipped around, and raised a hand to summon a bolt of lightning. At the same time, he released the Chi scales on his right hand, gathered Chi, and followed with a punch straight at his dad.

—Of course he was.