“If I suddenly die after you escape to the forest with our baby, I’ll feel really bad for little Smartie. It’ll have to grow up without its parents… I really have to apologize in advance, hahahaha…” I explained while laughing.

Dialugia’s eyes quivered. She looked flustered at first, but the urge to kill started filling her eyes, and it was obvious what she was thinking. She was gentle and more of a pushover, but I don’t know what kind of unexpected action a mother would make to protect her child.

“I trust that you won’t make the decision to do something to me and lock me up with only my life. I’ll feel bad for little Smartie, who will grow up without a father, and I’m not dumb enough to come here without a safety device.” I warned her.

“That’s…”

“I don’t know if you understand what authority is, but I’m a pretty important person among the humans. Many people care about me… and I receive a lot of love from the women around me, so it’ll be difficult for you to carry out whatever you’re thinking,” I added.

“I didn’t… have that kind thought…” she mumbled.

‘I know you did…’

I thought it would be best to explain, so she could better understand. When I pulled Smartie over to my side, Dialugia looked surprised, but she didn’t try to stop me because she saw her child wagging its tail with its tongue out.

When I drew a small circle on the ground, she looked at me quietly with a questioning look.

“This is Castle Rock, the city you’re in right now.”

“...”

“And this mid-sized circle is the Free City of Lindel, players live in this place… and the largest circle that includes all of these circles is the land of the humans. It’s the Benigoa Holy Empire,” I explained.

“What does that have to do with the current situation?” Dialugia asked.

“The size of the land you own isn’t the only difference. The bigger the land, the larger the population, and the difference in the quantity and the quality of the troops that can fight is also there. Whatever the reason, you attacked Castle Rock first, and after losing the war, you ended up in this place,” I replied.

“It would’ve been different if I fought with everything I had,” she retorted.

“Humans are persistent and wicked. Oh! I’m not talking about myself, so there’s no need to glare at me. The story will be different if we assume that you’re able to kill everyone in this vast land, but in my opinion, I don’t think you can. In other words, I’m at a fairly high position in this massive land, and the reason why you chose me as your spouse was that you discovered that.” I pointed out.

“Humans are—”

“Let’s assume that you kidnapped and locked me up somewhere. Some of the humans will look for you to save me. Your fierce attack will kill most of those humans, but humans are persistent, and it’s all because they know your worth,” I added.

“What kind of worth are you talking about?” Dialugia asked.

“The value of your body…” I replied.

She was surprised, and she blushed for some reason. I noticed her trying to move away, but unfortunately, that wasn’t what I meant.

“To be honest, the fact that they discovered a legendary-ranked named monster is more important than the fact that I got kidnapped. Your sharp horns, beautiful and durable scales, long tail, and even your heart and jewel-like eyes are what I meant…” I continued.

“Y-You don’t need to compliment…”

“I wasn’t complimenting you. Haha. As I mentioned before, those are the things that are useful for humans, and hm… they could make a lot of money with those. Are you familiar with the concept of currency?” I asked.

“I don’t know much about it, but I think I know what you’re talking about,” she answered.

“Your body can make humans money. Leather can be made into armor, and horns can be made into weapons. The organs that make up your body will be used as experimental materials, and they have an enormous value. The only reason the humans haven’t been looking for you yet is that they haven’t discovered the dragon named Dialugia just yet,” I said.

“...”

“Humans are greedy. Since the legendary-ranked named monster, Dialugia, had appeared, the humans will hunt you down even after you escape from this place. The majority of the humans within this large circle will have heard about you by now, and I can guarantee that they’ll run at you like dogs once your shield is gone,” I added.

“...”

“It’ll probably be a long fight. There could be other humans who’ll take Smartie hostage just to kill you…”

“T-That’s what you did, and as I’ve said before, the name is Dialuria,” she responded, correcting me once again.

“Anyway, no matter what you choose to do, you’ll end up in a bad situation because you have already stepped deep into human society. It was your choice to come here, but you can’t leave here just because you want to,” I told her.

“How unreasonable…” Dialugia remarked.

“What?”

“It’s unreasonable. Humans are the ones who persecuted us first. We had nothing to do with them. Humans stole my egg first, and they’re the ones who separated me from my child. It’s not like I wanted to fight!” she exclaimed.

I felt her quietly expressing her anger toward me, so I didn’t need to say anything else.

“I just wanted to live quietly with my child. I didn’t want to start a war with the humans…”

“I already told you that it wasn’t up to you to decide. It may not be the best example, but don’t you hunt other monsters to survive?” I asked.

When I slowly stroked our child, it stuck its tongue out as it came up to me. Dialugia didn’t seem pleased with the sight because she took Smartie from my hand and continued talking, “It’s completely different because humans do it out of greed.”

“I don’t think it’s that different. We’ll end up having a long conversation if we take a deep dive into it, so let’s just end it here since I have already explained my point. Let’s change the subject for a moment. Come here, Smartie,” I called out.

“Kyah.”

“Who’s the reason you’re alive right now?” I asked.

“That’s—”

“I’m sure you know better than anyone else. The legendary-ranked Dialugia invaded Castle Rock, causing many casualties and injuries, as well as an enormous amount of damage. Of course, we’ll receive some benefits thanks to the monsters’ corpses, but basically, you’re an enemy to mankind,” I said, interrupting her.

“I’ll say it again, but it’s the humans who persecuted us first,” she repeated.

“The humans don’t care about that. To them, you’re nothing but a monster. Strictly speaking, I’m the one who’s taking care of you, not the other way around. Even though we’re sharing a life, the only reason you’re able to spend time with our little Smartie and spend somewhat of a comfortable time in this underground prison is because of our connection,” I explained.

“...”

“If I were to tell you the worst-case scenario—if you hadn’t chosen me as your spouse, you and your lovely Dialuria would’ve died back then. Didn’t you connect our lives together because you realized that? Basically, I can’t let you die…” I said.

“Grr…”

“It won’t be a problem as long as you’re alive, right? I already know cutting off your horns or skinning won't kill you. If I continued to take care of Smartie, what could you do? If you think about it, I’m treating you with a lot of respect right now. Don’t you agree, Smartie?” I asked.

“Kyah! Pant!”

“I’m being considerate by letting you spend time with the child without suffering. Hahaha…” I laughed.

Dialugia probably realized I was right. She was still recovering, and she was also in a special situation where she had to protect her child.

“I know nothing about the dragon’s ecology, but I can make a few guesses. It’s about why a dragon needs a spouse…” I started.

“...”

“Why do you think Dialugia’s egg was stolen?” I asked.

“That’s—”

“That’s probably because dragons need nutrition. Dragons also use energy, so staying by the child’s side around the clock is a difficult thing to do. You probably had to prepare for when the egg hatched, get ready for winter, and build a nest, among other things…” I continued.

“That’s right,” she acknowledged.

“Taking care of a baby isn’t something you can do alone. It might be fine if you lived alone in the forest, but as long as there’s something you have to protect, it’ll change the situation. That’s why dragons look for a spouse despite being able to bear a child alone. What do you think of what I thought?” I asked her.

“You’re… right…” she softly said.

“It feels good when I get the answer right. Now, it’s your turn to guess the answer. As I mentioned earlier, you have already made a connection with a human, and whether you want to be involved with the humans or not, you’re in a position where you have no choice. If you have to start living in a city full of humans instead of the deep forest, who do you think will be the ideal spouse?” I asked.

“...”

“Who do you think will be able to keep our child safe, guarantee minimal freedom, provide education and a lot of good-quality food? Who do you think has the ability to provide a sturdy and safe nest for his lovely family? Who’s the ideal spouse you’ve been looking for?” I asked.

I guess Dialugia didn’t want to acknowledge it because she bit her lips. Since Smartie couldn’t understand what we were saying, they simply licked my hand. However, everything I just said was true. If she decided to live in the deep forest, then she wouldn’t need a spouse like me because I was nothing but a weak, selfish, and powerless human based on their standards. I wasn’t sure if there were other dragon races, but a suitable mate would be a dragon or a strong legendary-ranked monster since they would be able to keep the dragon’s nest safe. But the current situation was different—I was sure everything wouldn’t go as planned, but since she had already made a connection with a human being, and the fact that we had to live together meant that she had chosen her ideal mate.

“It’s… you…” Dialugia could only admit.

“That’s correct!” I exclaimed.

When I slowly approached her, I saw her flinch, but all I was trying to do was help her up. She didn’t know why I was doing this, but she quietly grabbed my hand.

“Let’s get out of here. I’m sure Smartie feels suffocated being here.” I suggested.

“What?”

“You’ve been through a lot, so you should go out and stretch your body. You also have to eat delicious food,” I explained.

“But…”

“It’s better if we thought slowly about how to explain our situation, but letting people know that I’m your spouse will make you feel uncomfortable, so we should think of something that sounds convincing. I honestly didn’t want to start a family in this state, so I hope you’ll understand, and there’s a woman that I’m actually seeing. There are just a lot of complicated issues. I probably won’t be a good husband, but I know I can be a good father, so you don’t have to worry about that. That’s advantageous for you too, right?” I asked her.

“Wait—”

“We have a lot of work to do. First, we need to get a document stating that you belong to me, and I also need to figure out what to do with the damage you have caused. The human world is complicated, after all. Let’s go outside, Smartie.”

“Kyah! Kyah! Pant!”

“Our cute Smartie has a lot of work to do as well,” I added.

I guess Dialugia was a bit flustered by my sudden change in attitude, as she was having a hard time keeping up, but she finally realized that she and her child were finally safe. She probably had a lot of thoughts in her head, as she once thought of me as a mean person, yet I was doing things a spouse was supposed to do for her.

Before we could leave the underground prison, she said, “I’d like to… ask a question.”

“Go ahead…”

“Humans are greedy…” she started.

“Yes, that’s right,” I acknowledged it.

“You’re greedy as well so you don’t have to lie. I can see it in your eyes,” she said.

“Yes, I’m a greedy human as well,” I told her, nodding.

“What is it that you want?” Dialugia asked.

“Hahaha. It’s nothing. I want you to worry about my safety and your own as well as participate in my experiments. I’ll prick you with a needle at most, and it won’t be life-threatening. You just have to lie still,” I replied.

“Experiments?”

“I guess I didn’t explain that part. I’m an alchemist,” I answered.

“I don't exactly know what an alchemist is…” She confessed.

“You’ll find out soon enough,” I said.

“Is that really all I have to do?” she asked once more.

“Excuse me?”

“If I just do that, will you provide a nest, food, and provide safety for my dear Dialuria?”

“As long as you follow the regulations, I can provide more than that, and I was already thinking about doing, as I want to become a great father for our child. I won’t make you work, and I’ll do my best to ensure that we’re happy as a family. As I’ve said before, it’s not just that…”

“...”

“Your body is valuable. If you lie still, everything will be taken care of. Hahaha,” I explained with a chuckle.

I felt like a scumbag even though I said it myself, and that was when I saw Dialugia nodding her head as if she had made up her mind.