Dragons’ Cry Genesis (Part 23)
After a bowl of milk from some animal with berries sprinkled on, Dragon Mom was in much higher spirits. The extra day of sleep also relieved most of her hangover. Speaking of which, I had to admire dragons’ ability to recover. I did notice something not so good in her gaze, though. After experiencing the sweetness of having me take care of her, the affection in her gaze was incredibly prominent, especially when I fed her. There was a chance she’d deliberately get drunk so that I took care of her in the future… I seriously reckon she’d do that…
Once content, Mom lied back down on the bed, while I peered at the setting sun and slowly drank my tea. If you ask me, the most boring part about this world was the lack of entertainment I was used to having at the snap of a finger. There were no cell phones, and there was no internet. At times I had nothing to do, all I could do was watch the setting sun and space out while drinking tea. I guess that was why there were so many poems from back in the day. That was all you could do when you were bored, after all.
From Behind, Dragon Mom played with the spoon and asked me, “Son, where did you go today?”
I stopped to think. I decided to hide my trip to the brothel. After all, be it Dragon Mom, Vyvyan or Elizabeth, none of them would want to let me go to brothels. Let it remain a painful memory for me.
After my deliberation, I replied, “Oh, I went to the hall of the town and then for a stroll at the market. I bought your milk and berries from there. It appears this town was formed from the people coming and leaving. I think we can turn it into a train station or something in the future. I’m sure we can continue to expand the Imperial City.”
“A what station?”
“.. Sorry, pretend it was drivel.”
I guess it was understandable. Trains didn’t exist yet. When I last went back, having said that, Lorana had already created the front part of a car that was powered using mana. In saying that, she didn’t seem to think of the possibility of using it to pull cars. What she was had in mind was to turn it into an automobile. However, because the dimensions couldn’t be reduced, it ended up being the size of a bus in the world I came from. Plus, it could only seat about a dozen people, so she had to drop the idea. In the end, I pointed out that a train was plausible, which gave Lorana some inspiration for something. I was certain she’d soon be able to create a train with the technicians around. The other requisite component was the tracks.
Lorana was no longer alone. I gathered up a group of educated engineers and highly-skilled artisans to research and manufacture things at the factory. I’d say that was where my entire empire’s biggest production ability stemmed from. Although we didn’t have much to show yet, I undoubtedly had the patience to wait for it.
“This town… If you weren’t the King of the North and were born in the desert, Mommy considered the possibility of transforming into an elf to take you to the elven town to live with you. I didn’t want you to live in the desert as I did, but in the end, I didn’t act on it,” said Dragon Mom. She rolled over and nostalgically looked at me. She wore a look of regret: “I couldn’t have my own child. Perhaps it was because my mana was different to your father’s. I couldn’t conceive my own dragon egg, and nobody kept me company. If Mommy wasn’t alone in the desert back then and transformed into an elf to live in their lands, instead, would I have a child by now?”
“What? Dragons reside in the elven lands?”
Dragon Mom nodded: “There are.”
Honestly, that sort of shattered the image I had in mind. I thought the proud dragons wouldn’t be willing to be associated with elves. I thought they’d kidnap elves to treat as toys if they couldn’t resist. I never thought they’d forsake their pride to transform into an elf and hide themselves in the elven cities and towns. Dragons and elves were enemies who refused to coexist, yet the dragons were pathetically weak against loneliness.
I turned around to look at Mom. I could see that she wasn’t angry with those dragons. Of course, I could also see the intense jealousy in her gaze. She was proud of being a dragon, but she was eager to have a family member, nonetheless.
I walked up to Mom and said, “It’s the same thing now. We’re not in the elven lands, but you’re with your son in a town. Also, don’t you think that it’s nice living in the Imperial Palace?”
Dragon Mom smiled then gazed at the ceiling: “It’s just nostalgic. Mommy had a dream today. Mommy dreamt of the past. It was a very long time ago. Mommy dreamt of life before, where Mommy flew in the skies and played with friends. The dream was very vivid, so vivid that I could practically feel the temperature of the water. But then, in the next instant, I saw a floor of corpses. There was a mountain of corpses and ghastly bones. I saw the remains in the desert lit up by the moonlight. I was the only one in the desert. I saw it in my dreams. I saw it in my dreams…”
Speaking of that dream, I was glad I came back early. I noticed Mom had a problem when she was dreaming, because I saw her tears at the corner of her eyes. Had I not been back when she woke up due to the dream at sunset, the intense loneliness would probably have totally buried her. There was nobody in the bar during the day. In other words, there would’ve been nobody around and nothing to be heard when she woke up.
I wondered if that loneliness would make Mom afraid. After she woke up, would she have felt she was still in the desert?
Dragon Mom was different to Ling Yue in that Ling Yue had lots of jobs. Not to mention the fact that she had Evelyn, Leah and our Liu Yue. Dragon Mom, on the other hand, suffered from loneliness for centuries and, therefore, very afraid that she’d have to be alone for another couple of centuries. She has no family and has lost her lover. That was why she’d be even more scared of loneliness.
I grabbed hold of Dragon Mom’s hands: “Am I not here? I’m here with you, Mom. You don’t have to worry.”
Dragon Mom tightly grabbed one of my hands and gently caressed it. After revealing a smile, she said, “That’s right; Mommy has you, and Mommy will finally be able to find Mommy’s dragon kin again this time. Mommy is so glad, so glad.”
I nodded. The sun finally vanished from the sky. Footsteps were finally audible beneath us. There was nothing to do to relax in the town, except alcohol and women. Hearing the footsteps down below, I noticed Dragon Mom switch to a happy expression as though she wanted to go down there and play as she did yesterday. However, I was worried about her getting drunk again…
Although it was true that we weren’t in a rush, it wasn’t wise for us to continue staying in a nearby town as a consequence of Dragon Mom getting drunk over and over… It didn’t matter to me, but my wives and two other moms were waiting for me. If they found out I was playing around here instead of returning, I think I’d suffer the most excruciating punishment when I returned.
Dragon Mom sat up and covered her body in her scales again. She went up to the mirror and placed the candle nearby. She gently ran her hands through her hair to fix it up. Once content, she nodded, and then looked at her somewhat pale face. She took in a deep breath and exclaimed, “I will not drink tonight! I won’t!”
“It’s fine to drink; just don’t get drunk. Mom, you don’t look too well. You should look after yourself. You’re not a human or anthropoid, but you still have to take care of yourself. What are we going to do if something urgent comes up? You should maintain perfect condition.”
“I know,” replied Dragon Mom, with a nod. She then touched her belly: “Lunch was very good, but I’m still slightly hungry. Son, I want to eat the meat I ate yesterday. I won’t drink today, though.”
“All right.”
When we reached the bottom floor, the people in the bar weren’t as perplexed and shocked as they were yesterday. Instead, they raised their dirty bottles of beer up. Some had already opened the lid and filled up cups to welcome the victor of yesterday’s drinking contest. The owner gave me a friendly smile when he saw me. He must’ve been very happy with the gold coins I left with him.
After turning down the drink offers from yesterday, Mom sat down at the table. She stuck to her oath and chose to pass on drinking. She opted for fruit juice, instead. Everybody asked her why she wasn’t drinking. I explained that we had to leave tomorrow, so they didn’t egg us on to drink. They all understood, so they didn’t have any hard feelings. Being a town where people constantly came and went, it was natural for them to have considered it a town of departure.
Yesterday’s meat banquet was served up once again. Dragon Mom’s eyes shimmered at the sight of the meat. The absence of beer didn’t dampen her appetite. She cheerfully busied herself with her meal. She essentially ripped the meat apart and shoved it into her mouth, causing me to worry as I watched.
I reckon she would’ve transformed into her dragon form to wolf it all down if she could. She had already consumed so many vegetables and fruits, yet still considered meat to be the best food. I guess that was just the appetite of dragons… Dragons thought meat was tasty. No wonder why they loved fighting. Look at the elves, so nice and peaceful. Nevertheless, watching Mom eat so happily oddly made me feel accomplished. After all, making one’s family happy and blissful is a big accomplishment for a man, right?
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