Chapter 240: What Family Means
It was the final confirmation.
Qiong Xing had never intended to kill them from the start.
Still, he could not forgive what they had done and he had used magic as a warning and a way to intimidate them.
"No. We acted without thinking. I’m sorry."
The man looked at him directly and bowed his head.
Qiong Xing exhaled in relief.
When he glanced back at Albe, he smiled and nodded and Qiong Xing smiled back.
Everything wasn’t completely resolved.
Still, he hoped Albe’s heart would feel a little lighter.
Family was irreplaceable to Qiong Xing, it was something that he had always cherished.
If anyone tried to take that away for selfish reasons, he would never forgive them.
"I am not denying everything about you. You have certainly worked hard as a hero in many ways. But that doesn’t give you the right to impose your thinking on everything. There are demons who, like him, are not harmful. Just as I, a human, can use magic, there are some demons and he is one of them just as you, a human, have the power of a hero."
Ten people, ten colors.
For every person, there are their own will, opinions, and ways of thinking.
Just as they called Albe an enemy, to Qiong Xing he was his precious family.
He understood that humans would find his perspective difficult to comprehend.
Even so, he would not compromise.
He would never lose his family again.
"I’ll leave the rest to you. It doesn’t matter if they can’t understand like you do, but if they try to lay a hand on my family again, I won’t hold back next time."
"Understood."
He extinguished the flaming arrows and scooped up Lian who had running to him.
Perhaps it wasn’t something to do in front of a child, but Lian clung at him without fear.
She understand and she know that Qiong Xing had acted like that to protect his family.
"Now, let’s go home. Papa and the others are worried about you."
"Yeah!"
"Yeah, let’s go home."
He smiled at Albe, then walked back alongside Raon and the others who were waiting for them.
...
"What should we do about Mayo..."
As Mayo grew bigger by the day, Fei had warned him.
It would only be a matter of time before Mayo could no longer be hidden here.
He was already too big to sleep on the same bed and had been sleeping on the floor, so Qiong Xing had a vague sense of this, yet now, as the moment of parting drew near, a sense of loneliness sank in.
As he stroked Mayo’s head resting on his knee, Leander wrapped him from behind.
"Even if we return him to the forest, what happened the other day might happen again."
He didn’t expect it to be so easy, but Leander was clearly worried.
"It’s not like we’ll never see him again..."
It wasn’t a farewell for life, but as a parent, worry lingered.
"I wish there had been a place where he could live with us."
He couldn’t let go of Mayo who pressed close to him.
It was moving to think that the child entrusted to them back then had grown so much.
"When Mayo is gone, Rui and Yue will be sad. I’ll be the loneliest of all, though."
"Mayo~"
His adorable, precious child.
As with Cari, Rui and Yue had grown very attached to Mayo and the other day, he had even let the two of them ride on his back as they strolled through the room.
Surprisingly nurturing, Mayo had been helping Qiong Xing who struggled with raising the three children.
"I want to ride on Mayo’s back someday."
"Mayo~ Mayo~"
"Thank you. When that time comes, I’ll be counting on you."
"...Does he even understand your words?"
Leander let out a wry smile.
No matter what, Mayo would surely manage well even without Qiong Xing around.
In the end, it was Qiong Xing who felt the loneliness and reluctance to part.
"He used to be so small that he could fit in my palm..."
"He’s gotten big, hasn’t he?"
Leander also felt Mayo’s growth deeply.
He wished Mayo had stayed small forever.
The little Mayo who used to hide on Cari’s back had now grown large enough to carry Cari on his back.
"It feels so lonely."
Qiong Xing hugged him tightly and Mayo stretched his body as he nuzzling his cheek against Qiong Xing’s.
In his previous life, he had never had the chance to touch a snake like this, but perhaps because it was Mayo, there was no sense of disgust; rather, Mayo’s smooth scales felt pleasant for him.
"I wish Mayo could have turned human like Iseul... ah."
"What is it?"
Mayo would continue to grow bigger and keeping him here wasn’t an option.
So what could they do?
They would make a solution.
If it didn’t exist, they would create it.
"Let’s make a house for Mayo at Iseul and Raon’s place."
"Huh?"
"Even Iseul and Raon who are originally dragons had a place to rest their bodies, right?"
Although they spent most of their time in human form, being dragons, they also had places designed to accommodate their massive bodies.
"We’ll take a little of that space. With fewer dragons now, there’s extra room. If we build a house there for Mayo, we can visit him anytime, and if anything happens, Iseul and Raon will be nearby to respond immediately."
"That makes sense. If dragons can fit in, Mayo will be fine too."
With Leander’s agreement, they asked Mayo who chirped happily and wagged his tail energetically.
"If Mayo ever wants to live outside, we’ll let him go then."
Until that day, Qiong Xing wanted to stay together and Mayo nuzzled against him in response.
...
"Caribert, do you want to meet your real mother?"
Albe suddenly asked and Cari blinked his eyes in confusion.
Several years had already passed since he had been taken in by Qiong Xing.