Finally, I can Retire, Or so I Thought

That night, Dion lay in his bed with his eyes wide open, staring up at the ceiling with both hands resting behind his head.

”Nothing happened... which means the people in the capital were just being dramatic over nothing... But I guess you can’t blame them, it’s just a classic case of miscommunication... there’s no decent long-distance communication technology in this world yet,” Dion thought in his head.

He turned his head to the side and saw Gina curled up asleep on the pillow right beside him, looking completely cozy. He reached out his hand and gently stroked Gina’s head, causing the little dragon to smile and stretch contentedly. After that, he looked back up at the ceiling, placing his hands behind his head once again as a thought crossed his mind.

”Earlier today... Luna, Mei, and Sheila were acting really weird. Why was that?” Dion asked himself in his head, pondering the strange behavior.

***

Rewinding to earlier that afternoon, when Dion walked down the hill behind his mansion after finishing up cleaning his parents’ graves at the summit—

”Eek!”

He heard Luna’s screech echoing from inside the mansion. Without a second thought, he bolted through the back door into the house. Stepping into the kitchen, his eyes widened at the sight of massive flames leaping off the stove. Two golems were frantically trying to smother the fire, while Luna was backing away holding a frying pan, wearing an apron over a simple tunic and skirt instead of her usual nun attire.

”What’s going on?!” Dion asked, rushing over to Luna.

Luna turned her head and looked slightly startled, mixed with a flush of disappointment at seeing Dion. She immediately turned her back on him.

”It’s nothing! Just wait in the dining room! I’m still trying to cook dinner for us!” Luna said curtly, her face flushing bright red.

”Oh... I see... okay,” Dion said, glancing over at his kitchen, which looked like an active warzone, then back at Luna, who looked like she had just lost a hand-to-hand combat match with meat and vegetables, leaving her face splattered with black soot and green smudges.

Seeing Dion standing there frozen in place, Luna spun around, grabbed his shoulders to turn him around, and shoved him toward the door.

”Okay... okay... don’t push,” Dion said, raising his hands.

”Go on... get out!” Luna replied, embarrassed.

Dion gave in and walked out of the kitchen. As he strolled down the hallway, he spotted Mei stepping out of the bathroom.

”Mei,” Dion called out.

Mei turned to look at Dion, her face instantly lighting up with joy. She walked over and stood right in front of him.

”All done? Do you want to take a bath before eating?” Mei asked cheerfully.

”Umm... maybe later. Did any monsters attack, or were there any signs of danger?” Dion asked.

”Nope... everything is completely under control! How about you take a bath first? I just filled the tub with warm water for you, come on in,” Mei said, inviting Dion inside.

Without waiting for Dion’s response, Mei shut the bathroom door and began unbuttoning her clothes. Naturally, Dion reacted instantly.

”Umm... what are you doing?” Dion asked, taken aback.

”Bathing you! I’m going to help scrub your back and keep you company in the tub,” Mei answered casually.

”Umm... that’s really not necessary, I can just bathe later...”

Before he could finish his sentence, Dion caught the look on Mei’s face, her lips were trembling as if she were on the verge of bursting into tears. Sigh. Dion let out a long breath.

”Okay... fine... you can scrub my back... but that’s it... and keep your clothes on,” Dion conceded.

”Yay! Will do! Remember, I’m all yours, so if you ever need anything at all, just say the word!” Mei replied, her cheerful demeanor instantly returning.

And so it happened: Mei washed Dion’s back while remaining fully clothed. Once finished, Dion leaned back to soak in the massive hot bath, while Mei left him to enjoy the quiet moment alone. Dion leaned his head back, letting his mind go completely blank.

”This is nice... I hope I can just keep relaxing like this,” he thought in his head.

Blam!

”Kyuuuu!”

The bathroom door burst open, and Gina waddled inside with a bright, cheerful face, her tiny arms stretched out wide as if she had missed Dion terribly. But suddenly—yank!

”Kyuuuuu!” Gina’s expression twisted in utter shock, nearly bursting into tears as Dion watched Sheila grab the floating dragon by her tail, pulling her back and smothering her in a tight hug.

”Hey... Gina... don’t go disturbing Dion!” Sheila scolded gently.

”Kyuu... kyuu!” Gina squeaked in protest despite having her mouth covered.

Sheila gently held the little dragon’s snout shut and looked up at Dion, who was staring in total disbelief at the scene unfolding in front of him.

”Sorry about that, Dion! Please enjoy your bath! If you need anything at all, just give us a holler, okay? Bye!” Sheila said quickly.

Blam!

Sheila pulled Gina out of the room and slammed the door shut, leaving Dion completely bewildered, since Gina usually joined him whenever he took a bath.

”Hmm... weird,” Dion thought to himself, starting to piece things together.

From that point on, the strange behavior only escalated. During dinner, the three women practically competed to pile food onto Dion’s plate, even taking turns trying to feed him directly until he was completely overwhelmed. Afterwards, when it was time for bed, all three swept through Dion’s bedroom to make sure it was as comfortable and peaceful as humanly possible. Throughout the entire evening, they kept a firm grip on Gina, keeping her at arm’s length so she wouldn’t disturb Dion, leaving the poor little dragon looking utterly miserable.

It wasn’t until Dion specifically requested it that Gina was finally permitted to sleep in his room, leading to her currently being curled up on the pillow right beside him.

***

Bringing his thoughts back to the present, Dion knitted his brows together before closing his eyes. He recalled how his ex-wife, Tessa, used to act back when he lived on Earth.

One day out of nowhere, Tessa had cooked him a fancy meal even though she never cooked during their entire marriage, offered him a foot rub after work, kept the kids away so they wouldn’t bother him, and dropped the kids off at school even though that was usually his job. She had even snuggled up beside him on the couch every night to watch movies, an unusual streak of affection that eventually led to the birth of their third child.

However, shortly after their wedding anniversary, after Dion, or rather Marcus, had gifted her an insanely expensive, designer-brand handbag and a necklace practically made for flexing on Instagram, he had come home from work the following day to find Tessa in the kitchen preparing dinner. He had wrapped his arms around her waist from behind, but before he could even land a kiss on her cheek, Tessa had shoved him off violently and spun around.

”Don’t bug me, I’m cooking! Go take a shower!” Tessa had snapped coldly.

Dion opened his eyes, glancing down at Gina, who was now sprawled comfortably on her back across the pillow. He looked back up at the ceiling.

”They... don’t secretly want something from me, do they?” Dion thought in his head.

Meanwhile, at that exact same moment, Luna, Mei, and Sheila were lying in their respective bedrooms staring up at their ceilings, equally unable to sleep.

”Starting tomorrow, I need to work even harder for Dion’s sake,” all three thought in their heads, completely synchronized without even knowing it.

***

In the city of Phobos, inside the private reception lounge of the Aetherias Trading Company, Edgar sat on the couch he typically used to entertain high-profile guests. He looked across the table at Aria, who was sipping tea from a delicate porcelain cup. After Aria set her cup back down onto the saucer,

”So you intend to travel to the Thetor Kingdom and take all of them with you?” Edgar asked.

”Yes, Uncle. That’s why I stopped by here first. I want to ask for your help in contacting your associates over there to arrange a temporary shelter for them, so I have enough time to set up a permanent home for everyone,” Aria answered.

”Hmm... I see. Very well, I’ll draft a letter tonight and have a courier deliver it tomorrow morning. Now, what about the order of iron ore I requested? I have a client in Thetor who needs a massive quantity,” Edgar replied.

”I’m sorry, Uncle, but I haven’t been able to procure it yet. As you know, my secret operations back in Minatheras are starting to get exposed,” Aria explained apologetically.

”Isn’t it too risky for you to return to Thetor then? Why not just head to Lutherias instead?” Edgar asked thoughtfully.

”Things aren’t looking good in Lutherias either, Uncle. I’m sure you know that they and Minatheras are currently squabbling over that filled crater lake acting as the new border passage between the two realms,” Aria answered.

Edgar paused to process her words, looking at Aria sitting across from him. Aria met his gaze with eyes full of hope. But before either of them could say another word, blam! the lounge door burst open, and a staff member rushed inside.

”Master Edgar! Emergency news from our branch in the Thetor Kingdom! Please read this immediately!” the staff member urged, handing over an official dispatch.

Edgar took the letter and skimmed through its contents. His face darkened instantly, while Aria looked on nervously.

”What’s wrong, Uncle?” Aria asked softly.

”The Kingdom of Thetor has been completely locked down. The calamity dragon Gemmeth was spotted over there, the realm is currently under a state-wide emergency, and... it looks like you won’t be able to go there for now,” Edgar answered in a grim voice, handing the letter across the table to Aria.

Aria read the dispatch, her neutral expression darkening further as her eyes scanned down the page.

”Oh man... what am I supposed to do if things are this bad?” Aria thought, her face looking far more exhausted and stressed than ever before.