‘It’s likely that your daughter will intensely reject it at first.’

Dr. Kang Hyun-Wook’s warning popped into my head. The way Smartie screeched made it obvious that she was worked up and when I glanced at her, I saw fire in her eyes.

‘What’s wrong with her?’

The way she snorted and glared at us was kind of scary and her stance looked as if she was about to charge toward us. Naturally, Dialugia looked kind of surprised because she had never imagined that Smartie would react so violently.

‘It’s still a relief though.’

I guess she still had some common sense seeing that she still hadn’t charged toward us. It was important to point out that she was restraining herself and it meant that there was still a chance. If she had always been this way from when she was still a baby, we would have to think really hard about how to fix her behavior.

“Have you been doing well, Smartie?” I asked.

“Kyaaah!”

I greeted Smartie after greeting Dialugia because Kang Hyun-Wook’s solution said that we should show her that her mother was always first. Smartie kept jumping around while panting as if asking me to look at her, but other than patting her head, I didn’t show any other reaction. She was showing me her shimmering eyes, but I tried my best to ignore them as I spoke toward Dialugia.

“Have you eaten?” I asked.

I wanted to speak casually, but I was more comfortable this way. But when I tried to talk as affectionately as possible, the dragon in front of me had to have felt nauseous because she looked pale.

‘It’s understandable.’

This side of me was extremely cringey. Even though Dialugia had polymorphed into a really beautiful humanoid, she was neither my type nor I had any other feelings for her in the first place. Since she had a pretty ordinary habit, I was sure I wasn’t her type as well. We knew better than anyone that we didn’t have any romantic feelings for each other, so obviously, acting in this kind of situation was kind of difficult.

“No, I was waiting for you so that we can eat together,” she replied.

“What about Smartie?” I asked.

“Not yet…” she mumbled.

“We should eat a light meal then,” I suggested.

“Since you were coming today, I actually prepared something for you, honey. Let’s go in,” she told me.

‘This is so awkward.’

It was awkward seeing Dialugia being as nice as possible while maintaining a smile and the fact that she had even dressed up more than usual made me feel weird. Her hair neatly tied around her large horns was wavier today, and even though makeup wasn’t really necessary, she looked like she had put some makeup on. And it also looked like she carefully picked her clothes. The saying that a person was highly influenced by the atmosphere they were in had to be right because Dialugia looked like she was trying to imitate the women in their 20s walking around Lindel square.

‘It doesn’t really fit her though…’

Anyway, she did look beautiful, and I was sure she was shocked when she was told that Smartie didn’t think of her as a charming woman.

‘I’m sure of it.’

If she had changed this much as a human, I was curious about what she would look like as a dragon. Of course, I couldn’t judge her based on the beauty standards of the dragons, but I was certain her black scales would be shining today.

Anyway, we started spending time while maintaining this awkward family atmosphere. During all of this, Smartie continued throwing herself toward me to try to get my attention, but I followed the doctor’s advice and didn’t give her my attention unless it was necessary. Of course, I was still reacting to her.

“That’s great.”

Or…

“Our Smartie is cute.”

These were the comments I made. Usually, I would clap and pet her here and there, but I didn’t show an enthusiastic reaction this time. Instead, I talked and looked at Dialugia more. I was sure she would get worked up and screech once again, but I had to do this to show Smartie that this area didn’t belong to her. It was the same when we were eating. I acted as if I cherished Dialugia more than anyone else, and it didn’t take long before Smartie realized that she was second place in the family.

“How was the food?” Dialugia asked.

“It was delicious. I enjoyed it thanks to you. I’ll wash the dishes so you can just sit and relax,” I told her.

“No, I’ll do it. I haven’t really been out on a hunt…” she said.

“No, I’ll—”

“How about we do it together?” she suggested.

“It’s really fine…” I mumbled.

“No, let’s do it together,” she insisted.

This wasn’t like me at all and I could guarantee that anyone else, aside from Smartie, wouldn’t fall for my acting. Trying to play along with Dialugia was harder than I thought, but I was relieved that the situation itself wasn’t that bad.

Standing happily next to each other while washing the dishes was extremely bothersome, but whenever our shoulders slightly touched, it looked kind of romantic. However, I didn’t like the fact that we just washed the dishes without much laughter.

‘She’s ticklish.’

It was a distinct memory because she almost crushed me flat during the experiment back then. I touched Dialugia’s hand discreetly with my bubble-covered hand, but she looked at me as if she was questioning what I was doing, but she didn’t reject it. She knew she shouldn’t push my hand away right now. And when I scratched the back of her hand lightly, I heard her giggle, and I instantly knew it was a success.

“I-I’m ticklish. Keke…” Dialugia giggled.

“Haha.”

It was such a typical romantic sight, but it was effective and we continued talking to each other. I was the one doing the talking while she listened. The conversation was mostly about the things that happened in the city, but it did feel like we had a mutual understanding.

Since we had never talked to each other for this long, I noticed more strengths than weaknesses from her, the more we talked to each other. We were getting along better than I had expected, and the things we had in common were surprising.

“Keke, that’s kind of funny,” Dialugia commented.

“Really?” I asked.

“Yes. It’s the funniest story I’ve heard recently. Ah! Now that I think about it, is… is that museum manager doing okay?” she asked.

“He’s adapting well right now. He’s stronger than ordinary children, so he wasn’t that badly injured to begin with,” I replied.

“How’s your work?” she asked.

“The research just started, but I should be getting some results soon,” I answered.

“That’s interesting,” she responded.

“What is?” I asked.

“The fact that you can display mana holograms in different directions from one location. Humans have always been like that; they would always create interesting items. I honestly wasn’t that friendly toward humans, but I know there are things I can learn from them,” she answered.

“That’s kind of interesting. If you read the ancient books of the Empire, the dragons were mostly described as possessors of high-level magic and were quite skilled in that department as well…” I commented.

“I’ve heard. And that’s a misconception humans have toward us, but if you think about it, you’ll find the answer. Our race—” she paused.

“Hm, you don’t need it,” I said, finishing her sentence.

“Yes, we don’t need magic. Of course, we can learn it, but there’s no need. All dragons can use magic, and they tend to take a huge interest in the human world, so the elders will most likely treat them as freaks. In some ways, humans are pretty amazing,” she explained.

“I don’t really understand why you’re telling me this,” I told her.

“It’s exactly as I said. Humans continue to advance because they’re weak. They keep making weapons, learning magic, and keep searching for new things. Of course, that greed has led to some negative results, but there are positive results as well. Honestly, you…” Dialugia stopped.

“What?” I asked.

“It’s nothing…” she mumbled.

“What is it?” I asked again.

“Don’t worry about it,” she replied.

“Please tell me, wife,” I begged.

“Th-That kind of nickname is gross,” she muttered.

“Our child is watching,” I reminded her.

“...”

“...”

“I said it because I’m really curious, Dialugia,” I added.

“It’s really nothing. As I explained earlier, I just think you’re amazing. Especially the Dragon Breath Potion and the serum you made… You’re even more amazing if we consider the fact that your physical capabilities and magic affinity is lacking compared to other humans. So, I’m saying you’re not that bad,” she complimented me.

“Am I different from your first impression of me?” I asked.

“Thinking about that moment even now makes me angry, so please don’t mention it…” Dialugia warned.

“Ah, got it. Pffft,” I replied.

“Pffft.”

When I chuckled, Dialugia giggled and she wasn’t acting this time. She was laughing because our first meeting was so ridiculous. She was also probably surprised that we ended up like this after everything we had gone through. I had no clue about her actual feelings, but she was probably thinking that life here wasn’t all that bad.

‘That makes me happy…’

Reacting naturally was much better than a forced act.

At some point, I stopped hearing Smartie’s screech, and naturally, I thought it wouldn’t be so bad to maintain this atmosphere. When I slightly raised my hand and pushed Dialugia’s hair back, she looked at me with her eyes widened.

‘She sure is pretty...’

Maybe it was because of her large horns, but the atmosphere felt strange. Seeing her blushing made it seem like she was kind of flustered, but I think showing this much affection was okay. At this point, I was sure she was determined to create a peaceful family for Smartie.

‘I think this is peaceful enough…’

When I thought about kissing her forehead to really show Smartie our affection, I saw her grabbing my leg and trying to separate me from her mother.

‘This girl…’

“Keeeek, keeeek… kyaaaah!”

As if she couldn’t stand it, Smartie used her strength to pull me away and I resisted fiercely because I thought she was going to drag me away if I didn’t resist.

“Kyaaaaaaaah!”

To make things worse, she started crying as if she was telling me to stop. Her face reminded me of a tragic heroine and a wife whose husband was taken away by a gold digger.

‘She’s your mom, Smartie.’

“Keeeek… keek…”

She kept on glaring at her mom while crying. I thought that maybe Kang Hyun-Wook’s diagnosis was wrong, but regardless of the outcome, we had to do this.

‘Right. We have to… We have to correct this family’s discipline method.’

I just had to do it slowly, one step at a time. Right now, Smartie was making a fuss because she didn’t want her mom to take her dad away, but with repetitive learning, I was sure she would realize it. I was worried if Dialugia would be able to endure Smartie’s glare, but when I saw her determined expression, I felt like she was more than capable of enduring it.

“I’m talking with your mom, Smartie. Don’t act like this,” I told her.

“Kyaaaaaah!”

“Hey! Stop making a fuss,” I scolded her.

“Keeeee… Pant, pant… Pant.”

To grab my attention, Smartie started jumping around because I had always liked seeing her do that while she was still a child. But my heart broke when I saw her jumping around while crying.

“You can’t keep acting like this. You have to learn how to stand on your own,” I informed her.

Dialugia had to have seen this as her chance because she gathered her courage and started talking, “D-Dialuria. Listen to your father, okay?”

She had the face of a determined mother, and I nodded at Dialugia to tell her that she was doing the right thing.

“N-No!!!”

When I turned back again after hearing the unfamiliar voice, I saw a little girl glaring at Dialugia as if she wanted to kill her.

“Huh? Smartie?”

When I saw what she looked like, I had no idea if I could call her Smartie again.