Or a lot of sleep.

The kind that ended in one of the guest bedrooms after a whole lot of effort from one diligent golden dragon who made sure to clean up after the ordeal.

Well, at least "clean up" when it came to Riley and himself. In contrast to the level of care he used when trekking back with his twig, the golden dragon simply ignored the state of the manor as well as the furniture that very clearly needed to be replaced.

Now, it wasn’t like he couldn’t fix them with magic.

But what was the point of keeping furniture that wouldn’t be up to par?

At this rate, and considering everything, would they have to keep repairing things every day?

Now, if the sleeping Riley had any idea what his mate was calculating inside that very golden head, he would have probably run for the hills.

Because every day, really, Kael?

Really?!

However, at that point, the extremely sated immortal who had gone through something like hell and back before being shaken to his core was busy taking a very well-deserved rest in the arms of his mate.

And only a little later would he wake up to a very curious golden dragon.

A state that was very similar, albeit far less serious, than that of a particular dragonling who was currently dealing with something that looked extremely suspicious.

"You! Who—no, what are you?!"

The screech came from a big bed in another room entirely.

Young Orien had woken up to something absolutely unacceptable.

At first, there had been confusion.

Then shock.

Because who wouldn’t wake up with their life span reduced upon seeing something insane?

Like a very large serpent head hanging over the bed.

Like very, very large.

The kind that absolutely belonged to something capable of swallowing an entire person, much less two well-fed children.

For a brief moment, Orien simply stared.

His brain worked very hard.

Then it promptly panicked.

The dragonling lunged to the side and practically threw himself on top of one sleeping Liam.

"Don’t move!" he whispered fiercely, spreading himself over the little sprite like a very tiny shield.

Liam, who had been sleeping peacefully moments ago, woke up in immediate distress.

"Oof!"

The poor boy blinked several times as he tried to figure out why the great golden dragonling had suddenly attacked him in the middle of his sleep.

"Orien...?"

But Orien wasn’t listening.

The golden duckling was staring very seriously at the enormous serpent looming above the bed. He looked very small compared to the creature hovering there, but the determination on his face was unmistakable.

"You!" Orien demanded again, his tiny voice filled with righteous indignation. "Who are you?!"

The massive serpent paused.

For a moment, the creature simply looked down at the two children.

Then it spoke.

"Apologies, Lord Orien."

The deep voice was calm and extremely polite.

"It is I. Thyrran."

The golden dragonling blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Then his eyes widened dramatically.

"WHAT?!"

He stared at the enormous serpent again, his gaze traveling from the massive head down along the absurdly long body that was coiled across a concerning portion of the room before returning to the face once more.

The youngling had never seen Thyrran in any form other than a very fat worm that liked to curl up and exist like a lazy noodle.

But what he was seeing now was most definitely not a noodle.

So he blurted out the only logical question his brain could produce.

"How are you even fatter?!"

The serpent immediately hissed.

It was a deeply offended hiss.

Because clearly there was something wrong with dragons.

He was majestic.

Absolutely majestic.

He had just completed a molt that should have left him looking appropriately dignified for a proper guardian.

Ex-guardian, yes.

But still a majestic familiar.

Yet the first thing this dragonling said upon seeing him was that he looked fat.

Fat.

Meanwhile, the small golden dragon in question could easily eat his body weight fifty times over in a single sitting, and yet he had the audacity to call him fat?!

"..."

"..."

But a respectable familiar could not say such things for the sake of personal peace.

So Thyrran inhaled slowly and forced his voice into something dignified.

"I have finished molting for now, young lord."

His tone carried the long-suffering patience of someone who had already accepted that dragons were simply unreasonable creatures.

"However, because of certain circumstances, I couldn’t return to my master’s side right away and am staying here in the meantime."

The two children stared at him.

Then they stared some more.

Because the serpent was absolutely gigantic.

He really filled an unreasonable portion of the room, and they could only hope their precious floaters survived such a disaster.

Eventually, the boys exchanged a look.

If Thyrran mentioned a master, then he likely meant Riley.

Liam suddenly pushed himself upright, his hair sticking up wildly in every direction as he fought through the remnants of sleep.

"What?!" he asked immediately. "Lord Thyrran, is something wrong with my big brother?"

The panic in his voice was instant and very real. The adults simply insisted that both his brother and the dragon lord were just busy, and since then, the two hadn’t gotten news in what felt like forever.

It wouldn’t be too obvious, given their shiny skin, chubby cheeks, and rounded stomachs, but in truth, both Liam and Orien had been worried enough about those two that they even remembered to think about them during snack time.

Yes, that bad.

So hearing the great familiar say something about Riley really got the child going.

Thyrran, ever considerate, thought about the question for a brief moment before answering calmly.

"Master seems to be fine."

Both boys visibly relaxed.

"But for a few... reasons," the serpent continued, "it would be best for me to remain here as a guard for now."

Orien frowned.

"Huh?"

Then he narrowed his eyes suspiciously.

"But aren’t you unable to leave Auntie’s side?"

The dragonling crossed his arms.

He was young, but even then, he knew about that.

Thyrran had to remain tethered to Riley because of the mana situation.

The massive serpent nodded, or at least tried to.

"Initially, yes."

Then he calmly added, "But as of the moment, there is more than enough mana to allow for this arrangement."

The room fell silent as the contemplative children tried to process the information.

Now, the reputable ex-guardian had several reasons for doing this, but the main one was that he had no intention of bearing witness to his master’s activities. However, no one in their right mind would explain that to the children, so it was better to let them draw their own conclusions.

Orien and Liam slowly turned their heads toward each other. It was a rough guess, but it could also be a sign that Riley had really succeeded in getting his inheritance.

Now, the little sprite may not understand just what that meant, but the golden dragonling certainly did, and he wondered how much mana was considered enough when his Aunt managed to maintain a mature form!

If he could get the same amount of mana, would he also be able to grow as big?

Well, they were definitely valid thoughts, but actually, no.

Saying there was "enough" mana was definitely an understatement.

Because there was even more mana going around than anyone would reasonably expect.

Enough that even Kael noticed it the moment he woke up. If anything, he practically woke up because of it.