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“Fire elementals!” Stella said, throwing her hands into the air. “I want to see the fire elementals.”
“And what do you think about that?” E glanced at Vur. After they had finished their negotiations, the dwarf king had asked Vur what he wanted to do. And Stella had answered before he could speak.
“Let’s go see the fire elementals then,” Vur said with a nod while Stella cheered again.
E furrowed his brow. “Why does it seem like the fairy makes all the decisions?” he asked. “Do you not have anything you want to do for yourself?”
Vur shook his head. “As long as my friends are happy, I’m happy,” he said. “If Stella wants to see the fire elementals, then I want to see them too.”
“Really?” E asked as Stella flew down from Vur’s head and hugged the dragon-boy’s face. “You’re fine with that? Someone who’s strong enough to tame a mountain elemental has such low aspirations. You’re just like me.” E paused as Vur plucked Stella off his face and put her back on his head. “Then did the fairy want you to become king of the dwarves?”
“Her name’s Stella; stop calling her the fairy,” Vur said. “But no, I conquered your people because of the dragons’ code of honor. My uncle failed to conquer the dwarves since they ran away, so I finished the job.” He nodded as E tilted his head.
“What do you mean dragons’ code of honor and uncle?” E asked. “You make it sound like your uncle is a dragon. It must be a miscommunication since your manner of speech is a bit archaic.”
“No miscommunications,” Vur said, shaking his head. “My uncle’s Grimmoldesser. I’m a dragon, but I don’t have my wings yet.” He raised his head to meet Stella’s gaze. “If I make a contract with a fire elemental, I’ll grow faster, right?”
Diamant’s voice spoke up from the runes on Vur’s arm. “I’m not sure there’s enough space for another—”
“Yup!” Stella said, her voice piercing through Diamant’s. “You’ll grow super-duper fast with another elemental contracted to you. You can definitely get at least three more.”
“Wait,” E said. “Did you say Grimmoldesser, the cursed black dragon from our legends, that Grimmoldesser?”
Vur nodded. “It’s most likely him.”
“And … you’re a dragon?” E asked, raising an eyebrow.
Vur nodded again.
E stared at Vur for a few seconds before sighing. He shrugged and shook his head. “Well, my intuition’s never failed me before,” he said. “I’ll trust it again this time. I think it’ll be a hassle to explain to everyone else though. Telling them I’m no longer king was going to be difficult enough. Ah, I thought my life was supposed to be more relaxing now that I’m no longer king.”
“Why can’t everyone be as carefree as him?” Stella asked, tilting her head to the side. “Alice had such a huge reaction. But it’s a bit sad there wasn’t even a gasp coming from his mouth.” She clicked her tongue and shook her head.
“Grimmoldesser…,” E muttered. His eyes widened. “Ah! That black dragon that invaded Plumby’s capital. Was that him?”
Vur shrugged. “Do you have a mana-image-but-not-really image of the dragon?”
“A picture? No,” E said. “But shouldn’t you know where your uncle is?”
“Do you know where your uncles are?” Vur asked.
“No…,” E said. “But they aren’t people that can destroy towns on a whim.”
“If I had to keep track of everyone I knew that could destroy a town on a whim,” Vur said, rubbing his chin, “then I’d never have time to do anything else.” He nodded. “Besides, Auntie does that for me.”
“Let me guess,” E said, rolling his eyes, “this aunt of yours is Grimmoldesser’s mate.”
Vur scratched his head. “I’m not sure actually,” he said. “But she’s not a dragon. She’s an elf. Mostly.”
E stared at Vur. “Out of curiosity,” he asked. “What is Stella to you?”
“She’s—”
“He’s my dad!” Stella said, her voice cutting through Vur’s. “He gave birth to me with the flower in his chest.” She nodded and patted Vur’s head. “Isn’t that right?”
“But you planted it there,” Vur said.
“No, no, no,” Stella said, shaking her head. “That was my past self. It doesn’t count.”
Vur turned his gaze back onto E. “She’s not my daughter, but—”
“Wow! Rude! I’m going to cry,” Stella said and puffed her cheeks out.
“I do have a son,” Vur finished.
E chewed on his lower lip. “Is he a dragon?”
“No, he’s a boar,” Vur said. A wrinkle formed on his brow as Stella pouted and plucked one of his hairs.
“A boar,” E said, his expression neutral. “Then your wife’s—”
“A demon,” Vur said with a nod.
E sighed. “I don’t know if you’re serious or not,” he said. “But I suppose that doesn’t really matter, does it?”
“Dragons never lie,” Vur said. “And you might meet my wife, so you should know in advance—she has horns; if you look at her strangely, I’ll punt you.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” E said. He glanced at the fairy throwing a tantrum on Vur’s head. “You said you wanted to see the fire elementals, right? I can take you to their main headquarters—benefits of being king, well, ex-king. Why do you want to see them?”
Stella stopped rolling around and sat up. “I need a sun.”
“I thought fairies only had daughters?” E asked.
“A sun, not a son! Dummy,” Stella said and stuck her tongue out. She crossed her arms, wrinkled her nose, and looked away.
E raised an eyebrow. “…You mean a boar?”
“I’m going to curse you,” Stella said.
“I think I’ll keep my mouth shut about relationships until I see your family tree,” E said to Vur.
Vur nodded. “It’s only a sprout right now, but it’ll grow in time.”
E scratched his head. Are we talking about the same thing? “I don’t know what to think anymore.”