Chapter 102
The next day, the cool morning breeze swept through the Bahamut familia's houses mingling with the refreshing dew drops that adorned the lush greenery outside them.
The sun had yet to fully emerge from the horizon, and the streets remained mostly empty as the city's residents were still in the embrace of slumber.
However, within the walls of the Bahamut household, the familia was already wide awake, their spirits brimming with eager anticipation for the day's events.
Michalis, could barely contain his excitement, his tail swishing restlessly back and forth, betraying the elation that bubbled within him.
"It's finally time!" he squealed, a few stray tiny morsels of his breakfast escaping his mouth and landing on the table before him.
Vasiliki, couldn't help but be irked by his lack of manners.
"Can you just shut up and eat your breakfast peacefully?" she interjected, her voice tinged with annoyance.
"Hmfff!" Michalis retorted, refusing to be cowed.
"You don't get to tell me what I can and can't do!" he said.
"Why can't you act more mature like Nikolaos or even Vasileios?" Vasiliki asked, her brow furrowing in exasperation.
"Are you stupid or something?" Michalis shot back.
"They are them, and I am me." he added.
"Ugh, you're so..." Vasiliki's lips parted, her words trailing off as Dimitra, stepped in to diffuse the situation.
"Now, now, you two shouldn’t be arguing so early, here eat some more" she said, placing two more trays filled with a bountiful breakfast spread on the table.
"Just why did he turn out like that? Sometimes I wonder how we are related to that... thing?" Vasiliki muttered, her face scrunching up as she watched Michalis continue to eat in his characteristically messy manner.
"What did you just call me?" Michalis asked, his sensitive ears picking up on Vasiliki's disparaging remark.
"I called you a thing, no, more precisely a pig," Vasiliki replied, a small smile playing on her lips.
"I'll show you what a pig can do," Michalis muttered, his mouth already stuffed to the brim with food, making his words come out muffled.
"This is what a real pig looks like," he continued, the large bits of food in his mouth flying out in all directions.
Vasiliki seeing his action simply used the water in the jug on the table to make a thin ice shield to block the debris.
"Sigh, can we just have one morning in peace without you two arguing." Vasileios muttered as he reached for more food from a tray further from them, doing his best to avoid being caught in the crossfire of Michalis and Vasiliki's squabble.
"I know, right? She baits him, and he falls for it every time," Eleni observed, turning to Clair, who was seated next to her.
"I find his behaviour kind of cute," Clair replied, her gaze fixed on Michalis.
Eleni tilted her head, staring at Clair in disbelief.
"Please enlighten me about what you found cute from that," she asked, her tone dripping with skepticism.
Clair opened her mouth to respond, but before she could, Nikolaos tapped her arm.
"The honey, please," he requested, his voice calm and measured.
"Oh, here," Eleni said, handing the honey to Clair, who then passed it on to Nikolaos.
"Thanks," Nikolaos replied, turning his attention back to his breakfast.
Turning back to Eleni, Clair contemplated a bit before giving her answer.
“Well he is the most childish one among all of us” Clair answered.
“Pffff, hahahahaha” Eleni immediately burst out laughing upon hearing the reason.
“Why are you laughing?” Clair asked, a bit perplexed about what was funny about her answer.
“Ah, my sides are killing me” Eleni muttered while holding onto her sides.
“Please never say this directly to Michalis” Eleni answered her.
“Why?” Clair asked, tilting her head in confusion.
‘How do I answer this’ Eleni pondered.
Just then, Draco and Bahamut exited the kitchen with Dimitra trailing behind them.
Upon entering the dining room, Draco immediately stopped in his tracks upon seeing the mess that Michalis and Vasiliki were making.
"Michalis, Vasiliki," Draco called out, his voice unusually serene considering the scene before him.
"Please tell me that the food I'm seeing scattered across the floor and table is not the one we made," he said, gesturing towards himself, Bahamut, and Dimitra.
Michalis nervously swallowed the food in his mouth, a visible gulp betraying his unease.
"Draco nii, I didn't do anything. It was all..." Vasiliki immediately tried to shift the blame onto Michalis, but Draco cut her off sharply.
"Shut up," he said loudly, and Vasiliki fell silent, not daring to utter another word.
Draco had very few things he wouldn’t tolerate when it came to his siblings, and wasting food was one of them.
In the past, none of them had ever been so careless, so the sight before him was truly shocking.
'It seems I've been a bit lax in their discipline,' Draco thought, reasoning that their newfound abundance of resources had led to this behavior.
"You two, follow me," he said, turning and walking out of the dining room, Michalis and Vasiliki meekly trailing behind him.
Dimitra let out a worried sigh. "Aaaah, ah, they really made Draco nii mad this time. Why didn't any of you stop them?" she scolded the others.
Vasileios shook his head. "Will they actually listen?" he countered, normally the one who tried to mediate arguments, but even he had given up on Michalis and Vasiliki at this point.
"Sigh, let's hope he isn't mad enough to do 'that' to them," Dimitra muttered, and the others in the room shivered at the thought, each sending positive vibes towards the wayward siblings.
A few minutes later, Draco returned to the room, accompanied by Michalis and Vasiliki, but the two troublemakers didn't look their usual selves.
Eleni upon observing them, grunted, 'Ugh, it definitely happened. We should probably give them some space.' she thought.
Michalis simply walked to his previous seat with a hollow expression and began eating the scraps he had spilled on the table and floor, while Vasiliki grabbed several rags and mechanically cleaning the water that had spilled from her ice spell.
Draco ignored them, clearing his throat to draw everyone's attention.
"As you all know, today is the day you must accomplish a major feat in the dungeon to level up," he began, his gaze sweeping the room to ensure he had their full attention.
"I have selected a monster for each of you to slay alone. Failure is allowed, as your life is much more important, but..." Draco trailed off, knowing they all understood the implications.
They all knew that it would be embarrassing to face the others who had passed, and Draco had fostered a healthy sense of competition between them over the years.
Everyone would do what was necessary to pass, just to avoid being teased by the others or falling behind.
Looking at their faces, Draco could see the determination burning in their eyes, well except Michalis and Vasiliki.
"To spice things up, you'll all be timed, and the fastest will be awarded a special prize," he continued, pausing for a moment to let the information sink in.
"The challenges will be modified to better suit your current levels. I expect you all to push yourselves to the limit and come out stronger than ever before," Draco said, his voice filled with a mixture of pride and expectation.
He then proceeded to outline the specific tasks and monsters each of them would face, carefully tailoring the challenges to their individual strengths and weaknesses.
Michalis and Vasiliki, despite their earlier indiscretion, were given challenges that Draco believed they could overcome with the right mindset and effort.
As Draco finished his explanations, the group burst into a flurry of activity, each member eagerly finalizing their preparations and strategizing for the challenges ahead.
Dimitra and Vasileios offered words of encouragement and support, while Eleni and the others quietly wished their siblings the best of luck.
The atmosphere in the room was electric with anticipation, and Draco couldn't help but feel a sense of pride welling up within him.
These were his familia members, his precious family, and he knew they were more than capable of rising to the occasion.
"Remember, your safety is the top priority," Draco reminded them, his voice tinged with a hint of concern.
"Push yourselves, but don't take unnecessary risks. I'll be monitoring your progress from the sidelines, and I'll be there to assist if any of you find yourselves in genuine danger, but I don’t mind an arm or leg breaking before I intervene” he added, to give them some relief and pressure but not too much.
With that, the group began filing out of the dining room, each member filled with thoughts on how to tackle their assigned opponents with their current abilities.
Michalis and Vasiliki, though still somewhat subdued from their earlier encounter with Draco, walked alongside the others, their eyes burning with a fierce resolve to prove themselves.
As the door closed behind them, Draco let out a deep breath, a small smile tugging at the corners of his lips.
"Alright, let's see what you're all made of," he murmured, already making his way towards the storage room to grab his dungeon gear.