Chapter 100
After some serious discussion between the Bahamut familia members, everyone quickly finished their breakfast, ready to face the day.
As the table was being cleared up, Draco suddenly exclaimed out-loud.
He had just remembered something important.
“What is wrong?”. Clair asked, concerned.
“I forgot to sell the magic stones I brought back 5 days ago” Draco explained.
He had been unconscious for 3 days and took an extra two days off, completely forgetting the loot he had brought from the dungeon.
"Oh, do magic stones depreciate in value that quickly?" Vasiliki asked, picking up on the reason for Draco's panic.
Draco's expression turned contemplative. "I'm not entirely sure," he admitted.
"Magic stones from the dungeon are usually sold to the guild immediately, so I haven't had much experience with how quickly their value depreciates." he added.
The value of magic stones diminishes over time as the magic stored within them escaped its confinement if not properly stored.
Draco's dungeon bag had remained untouched for the past five days, and he was worried that the stones might have lost a significant amount of their value.
"Well, there's no need to fuss about it," Dimitra said as she gathered the plates from the table.
"We're heading to the guild this morning, so you'll be able to find out the answer then." she said.
"That's true," Draco replied, his expression lightening.
‘I wonder what method the guild uses to store magic stones without them degrading’ Draco couldn’t help but wonder.
As everyone was getting ready to leave, Draco suddenly spoke up again.
"Oh, I almost forgot to ask – Bahamut-chan, how long was the punishment you gave Michalis and Vasiliki?" he asked, a mischievous smile playing on his lips.
"Geh, how did you know about that?" Michalis exclaimed, his face flushing with embarrassment.
Dimitra, who had been the one to inform Draco about the incident during one of her visits while he was recovering, quickly scurried away to the kitchen with the dishes in tow, trying to avoid any form of confrontation.
"It was about two weeks," Bahamut replied calmly.
"Let's make that a month," Draco said, his tone stern.
"What? Isn't that unfair?" Vasiliki immediately protested.
"Hmm, did I hear something complaining?" Draco asked sarcastically.
"Do you want me to triple it?" he questioned Vasiliki, raising an eyebrow.
Michalis, sensing the futility of arguing, wisely kept his mouth shut, though his internal grumblings were evident.
'A whole month of chores for three houses? When will I have time to do anything else?' he thought, resigning himself to the punishment.
Draco, seeing both Vasiliki and Michalis accept their punishment turned his attention to the other only to see them still lounging in their seats.
"What are you all sitting around for? Grab your dungeon gear and let's get going!" he barked.
A bit startled, they quickly scrambled to their feet, and began preparing their dungeon gear.
"Go easy on them today, okay?" Bahamut said as she chuckled lightly.
Draco's expression softened slightly as he nodded.
He understood what Bahamut meant – it would take everyone a while to readjust to their previous schedule and pace after taking five whole days off.
He needed to start the day off easy to avoid any accidents.
With everything settled at home for the morning, the Bahamut familia departed for the dungeon.
Bahamut stood by the door, bidding them farewell, and waited for them to disappear into the distance before returning to the house, already making plans for dinner.
……………………………………………………………..
It didn't take long for the Bahamut familia to arrive at the guild.
Upon entering, Draco immediately spotted Rose, her expression as stoic as ever as she interacted with the adventurers who approached her booth.
Despite her outwardly composed demeanor, Draco could sense an underlying tension in the way she carried herself.
It didn't take long for Rose to notice the Bahamut familia's arrival.
She greeted them with a subtle nod and a slight upward tug at the corners of her lips - a gesture that, to the untrained eye, may have seemed no more than a polite formality.
But to them who had spent time in her company, that almost imperceptible change in her demeanor spoke volumes.
'Ugh, she is definitely angry, but there was a hint of disbelief and surprise mixed in as well. Did she perhaps think we were dead?' Draco wondered, his keen reptilian eyes studying Rose's subtle expressions.
The line of eager applicants crawled slowly forward, and soon Rose found someone to temporarily relieve her at the booth.
Now free from her duties, she gestured for the Bahamut familia to follow her to a more private meeting area.
But Draco insisted on a secluded room, citing the sensitive nature of the information he had to share.
"Welcome back, Bahamut familia," Rose began, her voice calm and steady, betraying none of the emotions that Draco knew must be raging within her.
"We are the ones who should be apologizing," Draco immediately responded, the others quickly following his lead.
"We put you through unnecessary worry and concern." he added.
Rose was visibly shaken by the sudden apology, though she managed to maintain her composure.
Draco then began recounting the events of the past five days, carefully omitting the more gruesome details and his own solo foray to the 15th floor.
"Wait, can you repeat that again?" Rose interjected, her expression shifting to one of shock and disbelief.
"You're a what now?" she asked.
"Uhm, a Level 2," Draco repeated, his reptilian eyes meeting Rose's gaze steadily.
"But how?" Rose questioned, her furry red tail lashing out wildly in a clear sign of her inner turmoil.
"It's only been about a month and a half!" she muttered.
"Well, that's a bit of a sensitive topic," Draco replied, unwilling to divulge the specifics of his and his familia's accelerated growth.
Rose stared into his eyes, clearly struggling to process the information and determine whether she could believe what she was hearing.
She knew that when the information got out, a lot of trouble was going to follow.
"Wait, don't tell me the others too," she asked, glancing at Clair, Michalis, Eleni, Nikolaos, Dimitra, Vasileios, and Vasiliki.
"No, we're not monsters like Draco nii," Eleni hastily replied.
"Our stats are just average." Dimitra added.
Draco noticed the relief that washed over Rose's expression upon hearing this.
Her concern was understandable - being the guild advisor to eight budding adventurers with such monstrous potential would undoubtedly be a daunting burden to bear.
'Look at these kids, thinking their stats are normal,' Draco thought, a weird grin unknowingly creeping onto his face.
'I really want to brag about them, but I should probably keep quiet for now. It will be more interesting to see her expression in two months' time.' he mused.
"Ahem," Rose coughed lightly, quickly recomposing herself.
"As a Level 2, I know that you must be eager to delve deeper into the dungeon, Draco. However, I would advise against that for now." she said.
She paused, seemingly choosing her words carefully.
"While it is true that you are stronger, the same cannot be said for the others. Ah, I mean that the deeper floors are a bit difficult for you alone, Draco, so it's best to wait a bit for the others to catch up." She advised.
Draco nodded in understanding, recognizing Rose's concern not only for his own well-being but for the safety and cohesion of the entire Bahamut familia.
Though they had proven their mettle, the deeper levels of the dungeon were undoubtedly treacherous, and Rose was right to counsel caution.
"I completely understand what you are saying, but can we at least dive down till the 12th floor? I believe that we can handle it," Draco suggested, his tone measured and thoughtful.
Rose pondered on his proposal for a while, carefully weighing the risks.
"I can allow you all to reach the 12th floor, but you must agree to avoid fighting a baby dragon at all costs," she said, her voice firm yet tinged with a hint of concern.
Draco nodded, his expression resolute. "We can do that, but if it's a situation we can't avoid, we will fight it," he replied.
The room then fell into an uncomfortable silence.
Rose made several attempts to say something but every time she opened her mouth, the words didn’t come out, after a short while Rose composed her thoughts then spoke.
"I'm glad to see you all safe and sound. When you didn't return after the usual time, I... I must admit, I was worried that something had happened to you," she confessed, her voice softening ever so slightly.
Her words came as a shock, because the Rose they all knew wouldn’t say such a thing, but it was warming to know how concerned she was for them, especially Clair who didn’t particularly get along with her.
“Thank you for your concern, I will try to ensure such a situation doesn’t happen again” Draco replied, pleased with the growth in their relationship with her.
Rose found herself staring at Draco, her gaze lingering on his partially obscured features, a veil of mystery surrounding him.
She knew from the information he had provided to the guild that he was something called a "Dragon kin," but the intriguing details had piqued her curiosity even further.
Despite having known him for over a month, the reasons behind his desire to conceal his appearance still eluded her.
Rose was confident that it was not due to a lack of trust, but the very nature of this enigma only served to heighten her interest.
"Rose-san, Rose-san," Draco called out several times , snapping her out of her pensive reverie.
"Oh, sorry. I spaced out for a bit," Rose replied, a slight tinge of embarrassment colouring her words.
The meeting continued for a while, eventually drawing to a close.
Afterward, Draco sold his loot to Rose before leading his familia towards the dungeon.
A/N: Will be doing some time skips to speed things up ?. 100 plus chapters and haven’t reached any major arc’s, frustrating to read even for me the writer.