Chapter 765: Rafael’s Education of the Dragon
“Rustle.”
A series of crisp sounds came from the rice fields, followed by the slight swaying of the mature rice stalks, indicating that something was moving quickly within the fields.
The weather in the Southern Continent is hot and humid, surrounded by the sea with abundant rainfall. Subhumans have been planting rice here for a long time, and due to the advantageous geographic conditions, the rice can be harvested three times a year. After a while, one can see the fields filled with dense, ripe rice swaying gently in the sea breeze.
At this moment, among the rice stalks that reached about half a person in height, a small dragonboy of the Dragon Race, covered in sparse red scales, carefully bent down in the rice field, picking out the grayish meat snakes moving beneath the water pools.
The water in the rice fields is abundant, and the subhumans would keep some small fish and shrimp to enhance their meals, but no one had ever raised meat snakes caught from the deep mountains in the fields.
But, are these snakes even delicious?
The young dragonboy thought to himself as he randomly caught a meat snake, brought it to the bank, cleaned it, and then killed it to roast it over the fire.
As the slippery snake’s meat emitted a fatty aroma under the flames, the not-long red dragon tail behind the delicate boy couldn’t help but sweep around. He finally couldn’t resist putting the thoroughly cooked snake meat before his slightly quivering throat.
Then, he opened his big mouth and…
“Ah!!! Daddy!! Bakal bit my tail!!”
Bakal, drowsily chewing on the so-called “snake meat”, felt that something was off with the texture but didn’t want to let go, feeling annoyed by the noise in his ears.
In the next moment, a pair of warm hands gently rubbed his rounded cheeks and picked him up.
Bakal rubbed his eyes but became sleepier the more he rubbed, only able to catch a glimpse of his sister, a dragongirl, pitifully curled up on the other side of his father’s arms, hugging her tail.
The dragongirl was entirely covered in black scales, while her hair was a fiery red, just like their mother, which was the complete opposite of Bakal.
At this moment, because Bakal had bitten her tail in his sleep, the originally ferocious “sister” was clenching her fists, eager to give Bakal’s face a round of payback.
Thinking of this, Bakal’s mind became a bit clearer, but he kept his eyes tightly shut, pretending he was still asleep, unaware that the dragonboy who bit his sister’s tail was him.
Bakal closed his eyes and quickly buried his head in his father’s arms, pretending to sleep again.
Meanwhile, deep within the Dragon Court’s hall, surrounded by a pile of stacked books, a broad lounge chair was covered with a cotton cushion and blanket. It was afternoon, and a black-haired scholar in a robe was napping with two little ones in his arms.
As for himself, he was wearing single-framed glasses, holding an academic paper sent from Nali, reading it with great interest. If it weren’t for the sudden disturbance, he probably wouldn’t have made any other moves and would have just enjoyed this rare and warm moment.
Hmm, everything seems over. Why still say it is a rare moment?
Only because Bakal’s sister, Noll, was certainly not a gentle and virtuous lady, she was practically a replica plus version of her mother in her childhood, causing a ruckus.
Sure enough, in the next moment, Noll, who had been bitten on the tail, was fully awake. At just a few years old, her scales were already standing up, releasing hot air, and she was ready to give her twin brother a “love education.”
“Rawr!!”
Fortunately, before that, Fisher, with a smile on his face, caught her little paw and lifted her up. In mid-air, the little girl still tried to claw and attack Bakal, hiding in his father’s arms, causing Bakal, who was pretending to sleep, to act even more determinedly.
“Shh, look who’s here, sweetheart.”
Fisher smiled slightly, after putting the raging little Noll down, he rubbed her chubby little face, and then whispered in her ear.
Upon hearing this, Noll’s anger immediately extinguished. She cautiously leaned against Fisher’s neck to peek at the door of the hall, afraid that a giant red-scaled Tyrannosaurus would be standing there, but to her surprise, it was empty.
“Hmph! Daddy!”
It seemed Noll felt even angrier after being tricked by Fisher and began to sulk against her father.
Her thick black tail shook, and just as she was about to say something, a giant shadow that seemed to breathe fire and was waving its tail completely overshadowed Fisher, Noll, and Bakal’s figures on the lounge chair.
“Buzz!”
Noll’s swinging tail instantly straightened like a cat’s, and she hurriedly leaned into Fisher’s embrace, pretending to be sleepy like her brother.
Before she could settle in, she was grabbed like a little chick by the red Tyrannosaurus unleashing a terrifying aura.
Noll pursed her lips tightly, being lifted and turned around to face Rafael, who had a flat expression.
“Mother.”
“Daddy says you two sneaked back to rest halfway through the class at Grandma’s?”
“. No.”
Noll was about to deny it, but under Rafael’s sharp emerald-like gaze, her head lowered more and more. Even with her father’s support behind her, she couldn’t lie anymore.
“I’m sorry, Mother. Wuu wuu wuu.”
As she spoke, her sobs grew louder, and in the end, she cried out loud with her head tilted back, leaving Rafael, who flew back from the balcony, dumbfounded.
“Don’t cry!”
“.”
Noll immediately shut her lips, holding back her cries and not daring to breathe.
Now that the crying was halted, Noll appeared pitiful, while Rafael hadn’t just come for her; she also grabbed Bakal, who was pretending to sleep in Fisher’s arms by the tail. The two little dragon cubs spun slightly in mid-air, looking particularly pitiful.
Seeing this, Fisher broke out in a sweat, thinking if they were human children, he really wouldn’t dare handle them this way.
“You slept soundly here at noon while leaving Grandma hanging. What do you two have to say? Hurry back to class!”
“Yes.”
Rafael glanced at the door, where Keshil, dressed in a robe from the Blessing Tower, had been waiting for a long time.
Upon hearing Rafael’s command, she quickly ran forward to hold the two pitiable babies in her arms. Just as she was about to leave, their mother’s terrifying voice came again.
“What do you have to say before you leave?”
“Daddy. Goodbye, Mommy! Waaaah!”
As the two dragon cubs spoke, they cried again. Keshil almost couldn’t hold it in, so she forced a smile, tightly hugging the two siblings, who had their mouths open, crying, and after a brief bow, turned to leave, leaving Rafael in the midst of a room full of books, huffing in anger.
Rafael sighed, her expression gradually settling. She then looked down at Fisher, who was sitting in the chair covered by a blanket.
Fisher looked up at her and gently closed the book he had been reading, along with his single-framed glasses, and then stayed in the reclining position, opening his arms towards Rafael.
The meaning was quite obvious.
Rafael’s fair face slightly flushed, and she pouted, saying,
“Do you think I’m like those little cubs, sneaking back to rest in the afternoon?”
“You certainly aren’t, but… I want you to rest for a while.”
At this moment, the afternoon weather was warm. The sea breeze swept over the rice fields, bringing a pleasant rustling sound.
Rafael’s face turned redder, and her pout became more pronounced.
As her tail behind her swayed slightly, she said,
“Alright, since you put it that way, I’ll reluctantly…”
As she said this, she gently leaned closer to Fisher. After glancing around to confirm that the place was quiet enough, she boldly leapt into Fisher’s embrace.
“Creak, creak.”
The wooden lounge chair creaked as she arrived, moving back and forth with a crisp sound.
Her scales were soft, and her body temperature was even hotter than the two little ones who hadn’t fully grown, but even so, Fisher still rolled up the blanket on his body, covering both her slightly curled form and himself.
She stretched her huge tail comfortably and soon took the same sleeping posture as Noll and Bakal from earlier, except that her size seemed to be more than a circle bigger.
Fisher patted her back, covered by the blanket. Her crimson hair, filled with warmth, draped across Fisher’s chest. As she leaned against his neck, her strong breathing unconsciously produced a comfortable snore.
“Creak, creak.”
The wooden chair swayed slightly, and Rafael enjoyed the comfort for several seconds, but her face grew redder. Then she abruptly propped herself up, flustered, and said to the smiling Fisher before her,
“Wait! If this is the case, me sending the kids off to school seems just to occupy you, right?”
“Is that such a bad thing?”
Rafael’s face, however, became even redder. She took a breath and then immediately covered her face, burying it in his embrace, glancing at the door as if she were afraid that those two little dragon cubs would return and find their mother occupying their place.
If that were the case, wouldn’t she be completely humiliated? And it wouldn’t seem mature at all!
But Fisher helplessly ran his fingers through her fallen rose-colored hair and comforted her, saying,
“What does it matter? Weren’t they already used to it?”
Rafael pouted slightly, her heart relaxing a bit; she suspiciously turned her head to look at him and asked,
“Earlier, why didn’t you say anything when I was scolding them?”
“What could I say?”
“I mean… when I’m being fierce, you would say something to comfort them or something?”
“Was that how your father and mother were when you were little?”
“Probably,” Rafael lay in Fisher’s arms, recalling her childhood and said, “My father was very strict with me, whereas my mother was very gentle. So, I was very close to my mother when I was little, afraid of my father, and very annoyed by him interfering with me.”
“Is that so? Since you know that, why ask why I said nothing?”
Fisher pinched her paw gently and said softly,
“I don’t like it when parents play the good cop and the bad cop; I prefer that we stand together. They were already reprimanded this morning when they sneaked back, but even sending them back wouldn’t make up for the class at noon, so I let them eat and rest until the afternoon class.”
As he spoke, Fisher gently pinched Rafael’s face just like he had done with Noll. He finally said,
“So, you can pick them up tonight and let them play outside for a while before coming back. This way, it won’t be too strict, nor too indulgent. They won’t remember the bad or the good. But in the long run, it may help them not to have a biased perception of you and me.”
“This way, it might be better than simply being a strict mother and lenient father, or a strict father and gentle mother. It’s just that we are parents, and that’s enough.”
Under Fisher’s gentle words, Rafael leaned closer to him, even that tail behind her unknowingly crept into the blanket, tightly wrapping around his waist.
Maybe, this isn’t so bad.
“Is that so?”
“Mm-hmm.”
“I’m just worried that Bakal is too timid and Noll is too violent, making me anxious. I just want to correct their weaknesses immediately, afraid that they would suffer or go astray in the future because of our negligence. Sometimes I unconsciously become like my father.”
“Bakal may be timid, but he has a lot of patience in many things. He can spend a day in the mountains catching snakes and even names each snake, assigns them territories, and records their data and pictures.”
Fisher glanced at the glass jar beside the books, which was filled with all the snakes Bakal had caught from the mountains. He must have gotten the idea from seeing farmers keeping fish and shrimp in the rice fields.
“As for Noll…”
Fisher tried to find a few good points for his daughter but thought for a long time and ultimately said,
“She’s physically strong, just like you were back then.”
“Bam bam bam!”
Before he could finish, Rafael, pouting her cheeks, punched his chest hard, as if silently protesting.
“What do you mean by physically strong? Don’t I have any other merits?”
“Hahaha.”
“You!”
Looking at Rafael, who resembled her former angry self, Fisher’s expression softened even more. He tightly hugged Rafael in his arms and said gently,
“Those are all merits, Rafael.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean, we are both too anxious. Look, you are now the perfect Dragon Queen loved by the entire Dragon Court. You possess virtues that everyone admires, but isn’t it true that these didn’t come overnight? It’s time and experiences that have honed them.”
Fisher squinted his eyes, looking at the bay mountain range in the distance and advised,
“As parents, we always hope our children can gain the understanding hidden in the world without experiencing the hardships we went through. The original intention is good, but we cannot ignore that some things can’t be understood without going through them, no matter how many times we verbally advise. Those words will always feel superficial and won’t penetrate their minds.”
Rafael thought carefully and realized that Fisher was right.
Just like many issues, parents telling her not to leave the tribe was for her safety, and only when she truly faced danger would she remember what her parents once said, and understand the so-called “experience.”
The so-called education can only probabilistically reduce the chances of them making mistakes. Ultimately, it’s still up to the parents to bear the cost when they do go wrong.
But while thinking, Rafael’s gaze shifted to the side of Fisher’s face, becoming pensive. After pausing for a moment, she suddenly said,
“Earlier, you said I’m the perfect Dragon Queen, but there’s actually one thing that everyone in the Dragon Court criticizes me for.”
“Ah?”
Fisher was momentarily stunned, unable to comprehend what could still cause dissatisfaction among the subhumans towards Rafael at this point.
The entire Southern Continent was peaceful, with abundant food, harmonious races, thriving prosperity.
There were no internal or external troubles. Could it be because of himself?
At the thought of those other ladies eyeing him, Fisher couldn’t help but break into a sweat.
“What’s… wrong?”
It can only be said that Fisher’s intuition was quite accurate, but he only guessed half of it.
Under the blanket, Rafael’s tail, which was wrapping around his waist, tightened even more, as if afraid he would run away.
“Of course, it’s about offspring!”
“Ah?”
“We’ve been married for so long, and Noll and Bakal are over four years old now, right?”
“What’s… wrong?”
“After all this time, I still only have two kids; this is simply unacceptable! Mama has been urging you both openly and covertly for a long time, and you seem completely oblivious?”
“Ah?”
“What do you mean ‘ah’? Mill already has nine children!”
“Ninety-nine children?”
Right, Fisher just remembered this aspect. The reproductive mechanism of the Dragon Race concerning Suitable Tail Partners is such that, due to the remarkably low pairing rate, the entire tribe’s survival and decline are basically dependent on the Few Suitable Tail Partners.
A family having eight offspring is already quite few in the tribe; once a suitable pair is formed, they generally have at least ten.
Moreover, with the current Dragon Queen, En De, being so revered, the populace hopes for her offspring to continue the stable situation. They wish for an heir who can inherit her abilities under the wise and powerful Dragon Queen’s education.
The importance of offspring spans across generations.
Fisher swallowed a mouthful of saliva. Although the Dragon Race was vigorous, ever since the arrival of those two little dragon cubs, it had only been several times a week, which was sufficient.
After all, Fisher was only one, and those he could share himself with were far more than just five fingers.
Now according to Rafael’s meaning, do they have to restart their hidden reserves and enter the “demanding era”?
“So, you know, don’t you? To help me become a better leader of the Dragon Court, to take off.”
“Wait a minute, this has nothing to do with you becoming the leader of the Dragon Court.”
“Take off!”
The red Tyrannosaurus makes another appearance!
“.”
In the afternoon, the pleasant breeze returned again. Perhaps because of this, the wooden lounge chair in the room continued to rock incessantly.
“Creak, creak, creak, creak.”
(End of Chapter)
