Reincarnated Dragon Goes to the Academy!

Chapter 224 : Epilogue (3)

"Oppa!!!"

Lucas, who was startled by the shrill voice that was heard before the tea in his teacup had even cooled, almost dropped his teacup.

"Keek! Kek!"

Skir, who was sitting next to him, was choking, as if the tea had gone down the wrong pipe.

"Oh dear! Hey! Unni almost lost her baby."

"Huh? Unni, are you pregnant?!"

"No, a baby that doesn't even exist almost fell."

Nella appeared, as if she had heard the news from somewhere.

"No, you should have told me you were here!"

"Nella. You've gotten a little angry."

A cold sweat trickled down Lucas's back.

"Isn't it right? You should have told me you were here! No, and where on earth have you been and what have you been doing to block all tracking? And what did you say to Ellaim-nim that he wouldn't tell me your location!"

Nella's barrage of words, like a machine gun, was now making his ears bleed.

"Well..."

As Lucas scratched his head awkwardly, Nella pounded her chest as if she were frustrated.

"Nella. Have some cold water first. Huh?"

Pola, who couldn't watch any longer, handed her a glass of cold water, and Nella, who had received it, drank the water in one gulp and then wiped her mouth roughly.

"Nella. Are you working in a mercenary group these days...?"

It wasn't just Pola and Lucas who were surprised by Nella's much rougher attitude.

"What mercenary group? Ugh! I'm so annoyed."

Nella, who had collapsed onto the sofa, put one leg up on the sofa with a gesture that seemed to have been seen in a back alley.

"No, do you know what the old geezers at the Magic Tower are like these days?"

"..."

"I can't just cut off all those humans' heads! Ugh!"

"N-Nella! Such language is not right."

Nella glared at Skir's dissuasion.

"N-no. Please continue."

Skir, who had shrunk back, quickly bowed his head and fidgeted with his fingers.

'She's become a gangster.'

Nella had entered the Magic Tower before she had even graduated from the academy.

She must have been about seventeen at the time.

Nella showed her talent in all fields.

She had greatly developed herbology, and the same was true for alchemy.

That was why Nella had now become a person who was no different from a pillar of the empire, and the Rodrigo Count's family had become a solid position that no one could touch.

"Nella. Calm down a bit."

"Calm down? Do I look like I can calm down?! I felt like a fool who couldn't even find out your location!"

"If you had set your mind to it, you would have found out long ago. Of course! You're the great mage Nella Rodrigo."

"Hmm, hmm! That's right. In fact, if I had wanted to find out where you were hiding, I would have."

"Of course, of course!"

It was when Lucas was about to let out a sigh of relief, having barely managed to calm Nella down a little.

"No, but still!"

Nella's voice rose again.

"Why on earth are you hiding! Did you commit a crime? Why on earth! For what reason!"

"There was a reason. So please stop being angry."

"Then why aren't you answering the crystal ball?"

"..."

"Unni, oppa, mom, dad, you answered everyone else's calls, didn't you?"

Lucas forced himself to swallow the words that were about to come out.

'Because I'm scared of you.'

He was afraid of what would happen if he said those words out loud.

That's right. Lucas was afraid of Nella.

Since she had entered the Magic Tower, she had become so sensitive that she had been given the title of 'great witch' along with the title of 'great mage'.

A witch. Right, a witch in the bad sense that everyone knows.

It was said that there was even a superstition in the Magic Tower that if you ran into Nella, your luck for the day was over... so that was all that needed to be said.

"I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry. For some reason, every time you called, I would leave the crystal ball behind..."

"Don't lie."

Nella's cold gaze pierced through Lucas as if it would burn him.

"Ah, r-right! I have something I brought to give you."

In the end, Lucas took out his subspace pocket from his bosom to change the subject.

"Oh, what, what is it!"

Skir also helped Lucas with an awkward voice, trying to play along.

"Tell the kids to come too. I have presents for the kids too."

"Hey, then we shouldn't be doing this, you should go to the Count's mansion quickly. We'll go there too."

"Shall we?"

At that, everyone glanced at Nella.

"Do as you please."

Nella put down the leg she had raised and raised her hand.

"I'll be back in time for dinner. I came in a hurry while I was taking care of the lab kids."

"R-right. Be gentle."

As Pola waved her hand awkwardly, a light arose from Nella's hand.

-Paaat!

"Hoo..."

"Hah..."

As Nella left, a sigh of relief filled the room.

"How on earth does her personality keep getting worse?"

"Wife, don't say that. How hard must the work at the Magic Tower be for that good-natured child to become like that?"

"You're kidding me. You're saying you also admit that her personality is bad, aren't you?"

"A-ahem!"

A thought also came to Lucas's mind as he listened to their conversation.

'Her personality has gotten a lot worse. Our Nella.'

She was a child who couldn't even say a word properly because she was so shy when she was young.

He had wondered what kind of things she had gone through in the Magic Tower for her personality to become so bad, but.

'Still, that's better.'

It was a relief that the risk of her getting into trouble somewhere had decreased.

"Haha. But Nella thinks a lot of us, doesn't she?"

"That's true."

"That's right. Last time, too, when our Amarok had a nightmare, Nella came running and gave him a good present."

"Ah, that's right. Haha! At that time, a monster appeared in Amarok's dream every day."

"It turned out that it was all growing pains."

Lucas nodded his head with a bitter expression.

Lucas also knew about the many things that had happened while he was away, as he had heard them through stories.

'But I couldn't see them.'

It was a pity.

The fact that he couldn't see Pola and Skir's son and daughter growing up every day.

He also couldn't see Nella's personality getting worse as she went through hardships in the Magic Tower.

All the things he had only heard and seen through the crystal ball, these people had seen, heard, touched, and experienced directly.

'Although I ran away for their happiness...'

A thought suddenly came to him that he might have run away for his own happiness.

'That's also right.'

Because it was his last rest. It wasn't entirely wrong.

But seeing them now, he had a thought that it was time to come back.

The number of young ladies who would covet him would have decreased by now. Since they were all past the marriageable age.

'Well, there might be some crazy people who would try to sell their daughters to an old geezer.'

That was something he could deal with as he had before.

'Will Nella take care of it?'

Since there was a scary 'great witch' in the family, his worries might have been a little less.

"What are you doing? I told you to go to the Count's mansion."

Pola's voice, which had woken Lucas, who was sitting blankly and thinking about this and that.

"Right. I have to go."

Lucas got up from his seat, fumbling.

"Right. I'll see you at dinner later."

"Right."

***

Lucas, who had left the ducal mansion, looked around and slowly moved his steps.

Although he could have gone by teleporting, he wanted to walk this distance and look around.

As the large gate of the Count's mansion came into view, Lucas's heart began to pound.

'It's been a while.'

He had never thought he would be away for so long.

Although he had thought he would be away for about three years at most... nearly ten years had passed.

'Time flies.'

He wondered if this was why humans lamented that time flew by.

As he approached the gate, the expressions of the two knights who had recognized him brightened.

"Lucas-nim?"

"Is it really you, young master?"

Lucas, who had smiled gently at the two of them, nodded his head.

"Haha! Please, please come in."

"The Count will be pleased."

Lucas's steps were energetic, as he also felt good at the welcome he had received from the entrance.

"Right. You've worked hard."

A garden that was incomparably larger and more splendid than before.

The numerous flower trees and rare trees planted here and there swayed in the wind, making a pleasant sound.

"Lucas!"

"Son!"

Did someone quickly deliver the news?

Lucas's steps quickened at the sight of his parents, who were waving their hands from the entrance of the mansion and coming down the stairs.

'They'll fall!'

A worry that his now old parents would fall and get hurt while running to greet him suddenly came to the fore.

-Paaat!

In the end, Lucas teleported to get to the two of them a little faster.

"Don't run."

"Son!"

Blain and Cibie, who hugged Lucas, who had suddenly appeared in front of them.

"Oh my! Oh my!"

Blain shed tears, hitting his back.

"Where have you been and what have you been doing to only come now! Didn't you miss this mother?"

"I missed you."

"You're really stubborn! How could you not come and see me!"

In fact, he had wanted to come.

"I'm sorry."

But he had endured and endured, not knowing what kind of harm would come to them.

"Are you going again?!"

Tears welled up in Cibie's wrinkled eyes.

"Don't say that you're leaving again! If you do, I don't know what will happen to this old mother!"

Lucas shook his head slightly at Blain's continued threat.

"Don't say that."

"So! Are you going again!?"

Blain's voice rose.

"No. I'm not going anymore."

"I-is that really true?"

A broad smile appeared on Blain's mouth, as if she were so happy.

"My son!"

Cibie hugged Lucas again.

"Yes. I'm not going."

It was time to return to the embrace of his family.

"Right, right."

"They say you suffer when you go out. Look at this. Our son's cheeks have become so thin."

It was a funny thing to say. Lucas's cheeks were plumper than anyone else's.

'I ate well.'

He had rested well, eating all kinds of delicacies. So there was no way his cheeks would have become thin, but in Blain's eyes, he must have looked like a skeleton.

"No! Let's go in. This mother will make you some delicious food."

It was a lie. Blain couldn't even cook a common tomato stew.

"Yes. Mother."

"Let's go in. I have so many stories I haven't told you!"

Cibie also grabbed Lucas's arm and urged him.

A smile never left Lucas's mouth as he saw the two of them standing right in front of the door, urging him to go in.

"The children will be here soon too."

"Don't tell me... you stopped by the ducal mansion first?"

"..."

Lucas wanted to turn back time at the words that had slipped out by mistake.

"Is that really true? Is that really true?"

Cibie's eyes also widened.

"No. I sent a message."

"Is that so?"

Blain's eyes narrowed.

"Can I trust you? As you know, Nella is not the type to lie."

"...Yes. It's not a lie."

Although it was better to get the scolding over with, now was not the time.

"Right. This mother trusts you?"

"Right. I also trust you?"

As Cibie and Blain's eyes turned gentle again, Lucas also did not miss the opportunity and nodded his head.

"Yes. Of course."

Although the truth would be revealed anyway, he had to get out of the situation, didn't he?

'Even if I have to manipulate their memories...'

He would just make it a fact.

Lucas, who was being held by Blain and Cibie's arms, moved his steps happily.

[End of Chapter]