Naya felt she'd really, completely fallen into being a dragon.

She'd actually had a joyful two-dragon dance with Elise in dragon form.

And it was out in the wild!

This was way too embarrassing!

Forget it. Why even bother being human anymore? Just let it all burn.

Back when Naya read novels and watched anime, the protagonists in those stories always cared a lot about whether they were still human. They'd cling to their identity as righteous knights and fight for humanity to the very end.

But Naya realized she didn't seem to be like them. The moment being Dragonkin made her happy, she could throw everything from before aside.

To be born a dragon made me happy.

No.

Naya had never cared about what kind of body she had. As long as she could be happy, as long as the person she loved most was still by her side.

So.

Whether she was a dragon or not didn't matter at all. What mattered was what form Eli liked her in.

When a sharp dragon's cry tore across the sky, Naya lay on the ground in a hazy daze. Her whole body glistened with watery sheen, like she'd just come out of the sea, looking thoroughly played senseless.

"Tired?"

"Mm."

Naya couldn't get up anymore.

Though to be fair, she didn't really need to get up in the first place. But for her first time turning into a dragon, things had gotten way too intense. She really couldn't take it.

A dragon's body was simply too huge. Even turning over was difficult. It took almost three times more effort than dancing with Elise in human form.

She lay there on the ground and turned back into her dragon-girl form.

Elise reached out with her foreleg and caught Naya.

Then she flew back to the castle like that. After landing, she also changed back into her dragon-girl form, scooped Naya up in a princess carry, and walked toward the castle gates.

The gates stood open. Bella and Nidia were guarding the entrance.

"Your Majesty."

"Your Majesty."

The two maids lowered their heads to greet Elise, doing their best not to look at the gorgeous, alluring Naya in her arms.

Their clothes were a mess. Their expressions were dazed. There was even some unknown liquid still clinging to them.

One look was enough to tell what had happened. Her Majesty and Miss Naya had clearly gone wild outside, taking the sky as their curtain, the earth as their stage, insect chirps and birdsong as their music, and the green forest as their audience while they danced in total abandon.

Bella couldn't help feeling worried.

With Her Majesty doing this to Miss Naya every day... could she really handle it?

"Close the gates. You can go to sleep."

"Yes, Your Majesty."

Elise carried Naya to the bath.

They'd rolled around outside for so long that they were already covered in dirt. It was time to clean up.

Weak and limp all over, Naya let Elise touch every part of her body in the bath. But by now, she didn't even have the strength to feel embarrassed anymore. She could only obediently let Elise wash her.

At this hour, it was basically midnight on a twenty-four-hour clock.

Naya soaked in the water while Elise's hands slowly swept across every corner of her body.

Her eyes were half-open, half-closed as she murmured in a daze,

"Elise, we won't hurt the babies, right?"

"What?"

"We do this every day. I'm really worried it'll affect the babies being born."

And every time, it was intense.

Naya couldn't help voicing the worry she'd been holding inside. The System had said it would protect the children for her, sure, but how could she possibly trust the System's word?

"It won't. Our children aren't that fragile. Dragonkin aren't like humans either. It's not like our water breaks at the slightest thing. Dragonkin babies are protected by dragon eggs."

"But they haven't become eggs yet, right?"

"Then there's even less to worry about. What, do you think I'd go in there and stir the babies to pieces? Relax. I won't touch that area."

"Oh..."

Naya leaned back and fell into Elise's embrace. Resting against Elise's reassuring shoulder, maybe because of all the exercise just now, Naya's expression and voice had both turned soft as water. She instinctively wanted to act spoiled with Elise.

"Elise, today Eliya listened to my belly. She said I'm carrying twins."

"Hm?"

"You listen too. See if it's really true." Naya grabbed Elise's hand and pressed it against her lower abdomen. "I want you to confirm it yourself."

Elise's fingers circled Naya's stomach several times before she slowly let out a reply.

"It's true."

"That's great. Then... now we have three children all at once."

At last, the mother of the children had confirmed it herself.

Only then did the weight hanging over Naya's heart finally lift. She'd learned everything she wanted to know. Naya closed her eyes, and a happy smile spread across her lips.

"I'm really so happy, Elise. Two at once... when the time comes, the house will be so lively, full of your children. I'll just watch them, hear them call me Mama, hear them call you Mother..."

After mumbling out that string of words in a daze, Naya sank into her fantasy. Her head tilted to the side, and she fell asleep.

Elise held Naya in her arms.

She lowered her head until it rested against Naya's cheek. Her gaze was deep, and she stayed silent for a long time.

She looked at Naya's slightly tilted head, at her gentle and beautiful face. The beauty had lightly closed her eyes, lovely enough to outshine flowers and shame the moon.

Elise let out a long sigh.

She lifted Naya out of the bath, sat by the tub, and patiently, carefully dried her body.

At last, she fixed her gaze on the warm, smooth body resting across her thighs.

Then her eyes shifted to Naya's flat lower abdomen.

"I'm sorry, Naya. This one thing... I don't dare tell you. It is two children, that's true, but... there's something a little special about them. When the time comes, will you forgive me?"

Elise lowered her head and gently kissed Naya's little navel.

Then she used magic to dry Naya's hair, stood up, carried her back to the room, lay down with her on the bed, pulled the blanket over them, and fell asleep holding her close.

The next day, Naya woke up.

The person beside her pillow was already gone.

She turned to look out the window. The dawn light was still dim. It was very early.

Elise really was full of energy. Even after fighting that late into the night, she could still get up this early.

Naya sat up, still bleary-eyed.

It probably wasn't time for Eliya to wake up yet, so she'd just zone out for a bit.

[System, good morning.]

[Morning, Host.]

[You're still here? I thought Supreme Deity had invited you away for tea.]

[No.]

[Then why didn't you talk yesterday?]

[I was angry.]

Shocking!

The System could have emotions too? Naya swallowed.

[Seriously?]

[By the way, let me tell you this. You're a Bronze-rank Dragonkin.]

[Huh?]

[So don't even think about plucking dragon scale armor off yourself.]

[Am I really that weak? If I'm this weak, will it affect my babies? If I'm this weak, will Eliya get downgraded too?]

[Your cultivation is only Bronze-rank! If you train hard, you can still reach Gold-rank! Also, I don't recommend using your own scales. The higher the rank of the Dragonkin scales, the stronger the Holy Lance's restored attributes will be.]

Naya's eyes went wide.

[You don't mean you want me to pluck Elise's scales, do you?!]

[I didn't say I wanted you to. I'm just giving you the hint. What you do with it is up to you.]

[Hmph! Dream on. System, you're still trying to lure me into harming Elise, aren't you? I'm not falling for your slander!]

[Then don't repair the Holy Lance.]

[...]

Was it really true that the higher the Dragonkin's rank, the stronger the Holy Lance would be after being repaired?

Just then, the door opened. A red figure stepped inside, a faint smile on her face.

"Good morning, Naya."

The instant she saw Elise, Naya's eyes lit up.

"Elise! I thought you'd gone to work!"

"No. I was planning to wait until Eliya wakes up, then go to the royal palace with you both. Didn't I say yesterday I'd take you to watch a play? We should get ready properly."