This was definitely a very embarrassing situation.
The human appearance of Tol To-ri, who was still angered, was definitely Dialugia’s daughter.
Her head still had undergrown horns, and her small stature and large eyes were reminiscent of her mother’s. It appeared that Tol To-ri’s cuteness was now at its peak, one I wasn’t able to see develop as I had not spent enough time with her.
Her hair was just down to her waist, and her skin was white like her mother’s.
When she had first transformed, she had been utterly naked, but now she was, thankfully, wearing clothes that were similar to Dialugia’s. I didn’t know if Dialugia intended this or not, though. All I could see was how similar they were to each other.
Even their mannerisms were similar. The way Tol To-ri kept her mouth shut, her habit of touching the hair around her horns, the way she impatiently tapped her foot…
‘She really looks like…’
Dialuria was definitely the spitting image of her mother. Of course, it appeared as if she herself didn’t care, seeing as she was clinging onto me and ignoring Dialugia.
After a brief silence, a perplexed Dialugia spoke.
“Dialuria… What’s going on? Why are you being like this?”
What was ridiculous was that Dialugia felt happier than anything else. Apparently, it was an unusual occurrence for a dragon to be able to transform this early on. I could see how proud she was of her daughter for being so advanced.
Of course, I couldn’t blame her for thinking that way. What I didn’t like, however, was how she openly showed how pleased she was.
The disciplinary period was going well as it was, but it was undeniable that the situation had taken an unexpected turn. However, I could admit that there were more positive points than there were negative ones.
Being able to actually communicate with Tol To-ri was one such positive point. However…
“…”
Her focus was entirely on me, having ignored Dialugia’s question. At this, Dialugia spoke once more, the disappointment evident on her face.
“Dialugia, you have to pay attention to what your mother says.”
Now I could see how Dialuria treated Dialugia while I was not present.
‘She is really a saint.’
I couldn’t understand how Dialugia could endure being treated like this, but I never did understand how maternal love worked in the first place.
“Dialuria, how are you feeling? C-Can you walk? Your magic power is also good… That’s great. Mother wasn’t able to do it like Dialuria until I was over 100 years old…”
I shook my head. The more Dialugia praised her, the more she would think of her mother as a pushover.
“I knew you were smart, but… you have higher magic power than kids of your age…”
‘Don’t praise her.’
“I didn’t know you could speak right away… That’s amazing. Can you tell your mom how you felt?”
She had evidently forgotten about yesterday’s discussion, fawning over her child like this. I knew I had to intervene.
When I went to speak, Tol To-ri’s attention eventually shifted to me.
Though I wasn’t much of a leader, I still needed to act like an authoritarian.
“Luria.”
“Yes, Dad!”
“You have to answer your mom’s questions sincerely.”
“Oh, okay…”
“And keep your posture straight. I haven’t said anything so far, but your mom is still the person your dad loves. I still haven’t forgiven you for what you did last time… I wouldn’t have been here if your mom hadn’t told me to forgive you. Of course, I’m happy that you’ve grown up and achieved results, but it’s not good to have this kind of attitude. Have you treated your mother with this attitude since the start?”
“N-no… I haven’t…”
“I’m glad that’s the case, but I hope you’ll be careful from now on.”
I knew I had to emphasize that part about loving Dialugia, so I did.
“First, you have to apologize to your mother.”
“I… I’m sorry.”
“I-it’s okay. Dialuria… Our Diaruria is apologizing… Your mother is crying for nothing…”
“Go and give her a hug.”
“Okay.”
Dialugia looked thrilled to have Tol To-ri acknowledging her, but I honestly felt like the situation itself hadn’t improved. She still obviously saw Dialugia as a rival.
I couldn’t even believe that what I had feared would happen would actually happen.
Of course, I knew she was someone to take care of, but Dialuria always felt more like a pet. Seeing her transform into a human created a new sense of responsibility for me.
I was vaguely aware that I had become a father, but now this was even more emphasized.
‘Now what do I do…’
As I mulled this over, Dialuria began to speak once more.
“Er, dad. By the way…”
“Yes?”
“Can I be with dad every day now?”
Upon hearing this, a peculiar sense of burden began to overwhelm me. Of course, I would be Tol To-ri’s real interest. Though she felt jealous of Dialugia, her biggest concern was getting separated from me.
Naturally, I didn’t know what to say. I didn’t want to lie. Even as I thought about what to say, Dialugia’s sad expression was apparent.
Though I would hate to give this type of answer, it was still better to be honest than to lie.
“It’s impossible right now. I have many things to do. I have more work to do in the following weeks… You understand that daddy is busy, right?”
“Yes…”
“But if I have a little less work to do, I can be here every day. Of course, even from next week, if I finish my work early, I’ll try to visit.”
“Really?”
“Sure. However, Luria has to make a promise, as well.”
“What is it…”
“The first is to respect your mother’s words and treat her well. The second is to apologize to your younger brother, who you saw the other day, and get along with him. Oh… And one more thing. Blend well with people in the human world and be quiet. If you keep these three things well, I think dad will also like Luria very much…”
“I can keep it! I can keep it!”
“Really?”
“Yes! I can keep it!”
As we interlocked our pinky fingers and made the promise, she hugged me tightly, apparently in a very good mood.
“I like this so much!”
Though I knew I had to be a little stricter in order to discipline her, it was hard to do so when she was acting in such a cute manner.
I felt like now wouldn’t be the right time to continue being so strict with her.
As I nodded a little and patted her back, she displayed her cuteness, lying down as if asking me to touch her belly. Though her appearance was still a human’s, she was, after all, still Tol To-ri.
“Purr… Purr…”
It was a spectacle to see her starting to make a purring sound as I gently stroked her lower chin.
I knew that if her tongue was long, she would lick my cheeks like she used to do before.
“Good job! Good job! Good job!”
“Kiek! Kiek! Kiek!”
She looked so adorable, responding to me in such a childlike manner. Though this wasn’t normal behavior, she wasn’t a real human, so I felt like this would be alright for now.
Meanwhile, Dialugia looked between the two of us unsurely, not knowing what to do with her.
It seems that she wanted to participate, so I slowly gestured for her to come closer. Though Tol To-ri was highly aware of her mother approaching, she didn’t seem openly upset.
That, or she knew she had to keep her promise to me.
To be honest, Dialugia was the one who seemed to be enjoying this more than Tol To-ri. At times, Dialuria would turn to her mother and give her an awkward hug like before, but it only lasted briefly, as Dialugia intensely showed her happiness.
I didn’t know if Dr. Kang Hyun-wook’s solution worked or not, but upon seeing her positive reaction, I felt like it was working some wonders.
‘This is a family. Family.’
Although it was still a mess… It would have been impossible to say that we could make good progress just a few days ago.
“I like dad very much!”
The strange aspiration in her eyes still made me nervous, but I had to believe that time would eventually fix it.
[Checking the unique characteristic of the legendary-grade named monster, Dark Dragon, Dialuria.]
[Twisted and Dangerous Affection in the Dark]
[#Why isn’t he calling me Tol To-ri?] [# I’m not sure, but my dad is mine.] [# I’m not going to give him to mom either.] [#Love changes.]
Yes, time would definitely fix it.