Chapter 17: Punishment Segment
The door creaked open, revealing her clawed hand with red scales. Raphael pursed his lips and slowly stepped out of the steam-filled bedroom, his tail swaying behind him as he finally maneuvered half of his body out of the bathroom after some time.
The man seemed to have bought a new shirt, now dressed and standing at the edge of the room, lighting the coal lamp.
“Although it isn’t as bright as the light from the carriage, it’s manageable.”
He held a small booklet with an unreadable cover. Fisher glanced at the “Dragon” section in the second sub-category, where lines of text only he could see floated before his eyes.
[Body Research Progress: 10%]
[Dragon Race Social Research Progress: 2%]
[Next Stage Rewards: Body Research Progress 20%, Dragon Race Social Research Progress: 20%]
[Rewards: Constitution +2, Reproductive Ability +10, Feimabaha Dragon Court Grimoire]
Fisher closed the notes in his hand, meeting Raphael’s half-concealed gaze at the door. For some reason, after she had gone through such heavy clothes today, she now felt particularly uncomfortable in the linen clothes, especially when the human in front of her was about to engage in a punishment activity with her.
“Don’t just stand there. Come over and re-bandage your wound.”
Raphael glanced at the area from which the scales had fallen off; the wound there had been washed with clean water, revealing deep red flesh, which would surely bleed if pressed.
“…”
She silently walked in front of Fisher. Without a wide chair like in the carriage, Fisher had no choice but to let her sit on the bed. It was her first experience of such a soft bed, and she curiously swept her tail across its surface before comfortably wrapping it around the pillow at the end of the bed.
Fisher picked up the bandages and herbs, and while applying them, suddenly asked,
“I have a rather curious question. You mentioned before that the reproductive ability of your Dragon Race families is very strong, meaning that such a number of offspring should be considerable among the subhuman races. So why does the overall number of the Dragon Race not exceed that of other subhuman races?”
Raphael didn’t expect him to bring up this topic suddenly. Initially, she didn’t want to answer, but considering it was punishment time in the game, she hesitated and then replied,
“Although we desire such things.”
Raphael’s scales slightly parted, releasing warm steam from within. Fisher noticed that these steams clearly reflected her emotional state; for example, the warm temperature indicated shyness, and when angry, the steam was even hotter than that from a steam engine.
So she was likely shy at this moment.
“But such matters only occur with a Suitable Tail Partner.”
“Sewed Tail Partner?”
Fisher’s hand momentarily paused while bandaging the wound.
“Ha, do you think it’s as casual as courtship among you humans?” Raphael sneered, seemingly disdainful of his earlier action of accepting the rose from that woman today. “A true Suitable Tail Partner for Dragon people is one that must be meticulously selected; both body and soul must absolutely match before such reactions can occur.”
I see, it seems finding a suitable partner for the Dragon Race is quite difficult. If they do not find a suitable partner, they may choose to live alone and thus will not feel the drive to reproduce. However, once a Suitable Tail Partner is found, the hidden reproductive impulse in the Dragon Race is unleashed, ensuring the number of offspring.
No wonder there are many offspring among the couples in her tribe, although most of those descendants end up single for life.
“I see.”
After clearing her confusion, Fisher gently placed her injured right leg on the bed and then stood up, “The wound has been treated. Now let’s continue with our research. This time it’s part of the punishment, so there will inevitably be some discomfort. Please try to endure it.”
The more he said this, the more fearful Raphael became, worried he might do something terrible, like a declaration before a punishment.
“Lie down.”
His devilish voice rang out, and Raphael bit her lip, following his command. Her long, unkempt red hair spread out like an ocean of roses on the white bedsheets, her tall and beautiful Dragon Race form highlighted by the white.
“By the way, in case you’re not used to it, I have an eye mask to cover your eyes. Do you need it?”
“How could I be scared? Just come.”
“That’s good.”
“Wait! Wait!”
Feeling her clothing being slowly pushed up, Raphael immediately panicked and called out, halting his next action.
“Do you need the eye mask?”
Fisher asked again.
“…no..”
Raphael trembled and closed her eyes.
Fisher’s eyes seemed devoid of warmth as he nodded, his finger trailing up her lower abdomen; he was about to begin confirming the magical circuits of the Dragon Race. As the magic surged, the Dragon Race’s magical circuits, which were completely different in color from humans, revealed themselves—bright red circuits that glowed like nerves.
It seemed that the magical circuits of different species were fundamentally different. Although humans have slight variations in shapes, the basic structure of the magical circuits in the Dragon Race differs greatly.
Fisher was unaware of her research contents; she could only feel his fingers gently gliding over the skin that was not covered by scales. As she saw his fingers heading toward a more dangerous area, she quickly spoke up,
“Maybe just give me the eye mask.”
“…”
In the next moment, her vision was obscured by darkness. In a pitch-black silence, her visual sense was stripped away, enhancing her other senses as Fisher’s fingers glided across her body, making her tremble uncontrollably.
“Wait, maybe don’t use the eye mask.”
Fisher’s expression showed exasperation as he reached to remove her eye mask, ignoring her trembling gaze. His face was serious; once it came down to this kind of research, he became particularly earnest.
“Don’t move.”
“Uh.”
Raphael’s scales emitted hot steam continuously, resembling a warm stove or sauna in winter. Fisher noticed how many parts of the Dragon Race were similar to humans. Through the magical aura on the ring, he could also directly sense the shapes of her internal organs.
The metabolic organs of the Dragon Race beneath the skin were vastly different from those of humans, which seemed to explain why she could always release steam-like substances, just as she was doing now.
The whole room resembled a sauna, visibly emitting steam, causing the maid cleaning at the door to cover her mouth and rush away. The inside of the room was unbearably hot; even someone as focused as Fisher noticed something felt off.
He slightly lowered his head, only to see Raphael with her eyes closed, breathing heavily, as if she were enduring something very uncomfortable.
“What’s wrong?”
“Ha, ah?”
Raphael also opened her eyes in confusion, gazing at the mist around her and then at her weak, limp body. The scales on her limbs tingled like electric shocks, particularly with a severe headache.
Fisher glanced at her pale face and silently covered her snow-white body with blankets before standing up.
“Your current state seems a bit off. I’ll go get Mill.”
“Mm.”
Just as he was about to rise, he felt something pulling at him. Looking down, he noticed a red tail had somehow wrapped around his thigh. When he looked up, he saw Raphael’s flushed face resembling that of someone with a fever, stirring something in his heart.
Just as he had said, the body of the Dragon was indeed beautiful.
He gently reached out to hold her restless tail and unwound the not-too-tight grasp.
“This can’t really be counted as a punishment, right?”
Due to some real-life reasons, the author has only been able to update once today, my sincerest apologies.
Regardless, I still wish you all a happy Children’s Day.
(End of this chapter)
