Xuefei was quite shocked on her first visit to the town.
These folks were definitely more than just caged exhibits for show.
The so-called “Monster Town” was worlds apart from Demon society and the human world. Even if she were still human and drunk out of her mind, she never would’ve imagined that monsters could be such creatures.
After the maids departed from the palace, most of the monsters in Arios—unlike her own hibernation—began diligently going about their work. Without the help of certain maids, infrastructure and management had become quite challenging, but thanks to the moral code shared among the monsters, things were limping along somehow.
Already, several nobles had taken a liking to the goods from Arios Town.
“Excuse me, could I get an ice cream? Fruit flavor, please.”
“These are fruits grown by the big sister herself~” That’s right—this monster girl had grown the fruits on her own. They even traded these sweet, refreshing treats with other races.
Tilly held Xuefei’s hand, staring blankly at the little girl deftly crafting ice cream with magic.
Her skin was pallid enough to be called “ghastly white.” In the human world, she’d be denounced as a cultist or mistaken for a gravely ill patient. Yet her well-developed figure and her cotton-candy-lazy expression proclaimed her a perfectly healthy young woman.
To be precise, a monster girl.
She was an existence formed from a plant turned monstrous, quite possibly an adventurer who had died here centuries ago, their body and soul absorbed and preserved by the plant. After being steeped in the power of Dark Filth, they had “revived” in the form of an Alraune.
Xuefei knew all this thanks to her hard-knock days as a human.
The Alraune girl scratched her head, seemingly noticing Xuefei and her daughter. Hearts popped up on her head.
“Ehehe, don’t look at me like that. In winter~ I’m just like this—no energy at all… Um, little one, here’s your ice cream.”
After scooping several wobbly balls of ice cream onto a crispy cone, the Alraune girl used a vine hidden beneath the shop counter to hand over the paper-cup treat.
Tilly beamed with joy as she took the ice cream.
Xuefei finally understood why she and Tilly had every reason to enjoy ice cream in winter.
A dragon’s heart and stomach were like a roaring fire.
And since it was fire, they could cool it down anytime, any way they pleased.
It was like a deep-tissue massage for an aching back—for the Evil Dragon, even a slight drop in temperature, a fraction of a degree, brought waves of exquisite relief.
“So cool~”
“Tilly, after you finish that, make sure to sign up properly with Mama. If you take first place, Mama will grant you one wish.”
“Okay!”
Her daughter agreed readily.
Tilly always showed tremendous drive for things that interested her.
Xuefei had no idea what Tilly’s wish might be, but she was just a little kid—how could she wish for something beyond Xuefei’s power? Seeing that confident little expression, Xuefei felt like she could make the sun rise in the west.
Ahem, of course, it wasn’t quite that exaggerated.
But fulfilling a small wish like that would be a piece of cake. At least a pure-hearted child wouldn’t have the sort of filthy thoughts that plagued Leia, right?
And besides…
Truth be told, Xuefei was just trying to motivate the little one. Her real goal was to let the young dragon see a bit of the world and prepare her to stand on her own someday, outside Xuefei’s protection. After all, she was only a few months old—Xuefei could never bear to let her child run wild unsupervised.
So that wish would be granted no matter what. Perhaps that was simply one of the burdens of motherhood~
“Mom, I want to have babies with you. Ah~ Why’d you hit me? It’s just my wish!” Tilly made a pouty face, then stuck out her scorching little tongue to gently lick the scoop of ice cream.
“Absolutely not!!”
“Ah, why? I’ll explain it to Mama Leia. She’ll definitely agree…”
“Who the heck taught you these messed-up values? If you find a normal, pretty girl to marry, Mama would be fine with that!”
Xuefei felt faint.
She certainly didn’t remember instilling any such bizarre ideas in Little Tilly. And even that scoundrel Leia wouldn’t let her own daughter steal her away. Most importantly, if Leia truly wanted to claim Xuefei for herself, she might shatter the ancient taboo against a tiger devouring its cubs and lash out at Tilly.
The danger to Little Tilly in that scenario didn’t bear thinking about. Xuefei never wanted to see her family turn against one another—not in this lifetime.
“But…”
Little Tilly pulled back her ice cream-smeared tongue and twisted her body, her long hair swaying in the breeze.
“Mommy’s just so pretty, though?”
“Sigh. Tilly, you’re just confusing dependence with love.”
“It’s just that Mama’s being too sensitive. I only said having kids, not making Mama my wife!”
Tilly declared righteously.
In her eyes, Mama was both cute and beautiful. Every day, they chatted through the eggshell, and simply nestling in Mama Xuefei’s soft embrace filled her with an endless sense of security.
Xuefei sighed.
No wonder they said Evil Dragons were so amorous and lustful. But now, she could clearly see the unmistakable shadow of Leia lingering on Tilly.
It was a very subtle sensation.
The child she adored beyond measure—the one Leia had taken from her—also carried that shadow.
A constant reminder that this was “family.”
Xuefei pictured Leia’s smiling face, shrugged, and said, “Anyway, make sure you develop the right ideas about love. Don’t go sowing your genes in every pretty face you come across. Evil Dragon bloodlines are precious, after all. And once you give your first time to another Evil Dragon, there’s no going back. So before you find your true love, think it over very carefully.”
“Oh…”
Tilly nodded in understanding, gripping Xuefei’s hand even tighter.
“Um, how did you and Mama fall in love? Why are there only two dragons in the Palace?”
“Well…” Xuefei slowly lifted her head, her gentle eyes gazing off into the distance.
“We met at the entrance to Purgatory. And at its deepest heart, we gave birth to you.”
“Mama’s talking in riddles again!”
“Hmph hmph. Even if I explained, you wouldn’t get it.” Xuefei suddenly crouched down, scooped Tilly up by the waist, and pulled her into a tight embrace. She ruffled her little head vigorously as she spoke.
“Better focus on how you’re going to win that championship, you little dummy~”
“Muu…”
~~~
The registration point for the Demon Race’s “friendship match” was on a hill just one kilometer outside Arios Town.
Several black villas had sprung up a few kilometers away amid what had once been an abandoned estate. The vast fields lay neglected, blanketed in ice and snow.
Contrary to expectations, the place was surprisingly lively.
“Mama, who are they?” Tilly pointed at the caravan.
“Students from Ephise Academy.”
They were impeccably dressed in neat, luxurious attire that screamed aristocracy. Confident smiles played on their lips as handsome boys and beautiful girls nodded and shook hands in greeting, turning the scene into a bustling tea party. A few aloof types stood apart, eyes closed in silent meditation, blending seamlessly with the snowy landscape. Even the male Demons standing at the front of the group radiated the unmistakable aura of powerhouses.
“They’re not like the maids at all!”
“That’s right. They’re way weaker than the maids—practically fragile, aren’t they?” Xuefei chuckled. “Your goal is to beat every last one of them and claim the championship.”
“Isn’t that just a piece of cake? Hehe~”
