Chapter 162
Standing in front of the Ganesha’s statue crotch, Draco pondered whether he should enter.
There were no guards at the entrance, which meant he couldn't announce his arrival.
He hesitated to walk in uninvited, concerned about being mistaken for an intruder by the Ganesha familia members.
“Are you perhaps the ‘Club Demon’ Draco, captain of the Bahamut familia?” a voice called out, pulling Draco's attention.
‘Ugh, that alias’ Draco thought, his expression cringing at its mention.
“Yes, I am. And you are?” he replied, his voice monotone.
In the middle of Ganesha's statue crotch, a young girl with short blue hair and cerulean eyes stood before him, creating an odd picture in his mind.
Draco felt her face was somewhat familiar but quickly dismissed the thought; she seemed like someone he wouldn’t forget if he had met her before.
“I am Adi Varma. My sister is expecting you,” the girl introduced.
“Adi,” Draco repeated, now certain he recognized her.
‘Ah, Shakuti’s younger sister who died at the beginning of the great feud,’ he recalled.
“Do you perhaps know me?” Adi asked, her expression brightening slightly.
She had noticed his reaction after he repeated her name, hoping he recognized her since she had levelled up the same time as Draco and his familia.
“No, I don’t believe so,” Draco replied, watching as her expression deflated.
“Oh, come in,” Adi said, her mood visibly lowering.
‘She seems like an interesting person,’ Draco thought, observing how she wore her emotions on her sleeve—a trait rare among adventurers who faced many challenges daily.
Removing his cloak, Draco glanced briefly at Ganesha's statue crotch before hesitantly following Adi inside.
“Wow, so the rumours are true. You’re some type of dragon Demi-human,” Adi exclaimed upon seeing Draco’s features.
“I would prefer to be called dragon-kin; the term ‘demi-human’ feels degrading,” Draco replied with a serious expression.
“Oh, hehehe, sorry,” Adi hastily apologized.
“Relax, I was just joking,” Draco said with a smile.
“Oh, that was a joke,” Adi muttered, feeling a bit awkward.
“By the way, is it true that you’re only twelve? You don’t look it,” Adi asked, changing the subject.
“It’s true, but why are you curious about me?” Draco inquired.
“I mean, you’ve been the talk of the town for a few months now. Many are eager to learn anything they can about you and your familia,” Adi explained.
“I see. Then ask away. I will answer what I can,” Draco replied.
“Really?” Adi asked, her excitement evident.
“Hmmm,” Draco replied with a nod.
The two conversed on various topics until they reached their destination.
Knock! Knock!
Adi knocked on Shakuti’s office door to announce Draco's arrival.
“Who is it?” a tired feminine voice called from behind the door.
“Onee-chan, Draco is here,” Adi replied.
“Hmm, let him in,” Shakuti responded.
Upon entering the office, Draco saw a beautiful woman with azure hair and eyes, though she appeared exhausted.
Observing her desk piled with paperwork, he understood her plight; the Ganesha familia wasn’t small, and their god hosted events year-round, leading to an overwhelming amount of paperwork.
‘It feels nice to be part of a smaller familia, with a reasonable goddess. I can’t imagine doing this all day,’ Draco thought.
“Nice to finally meet you, Draco. Our god has informed me about you,” Shakuti greeted, rising from her seat and extending her hand.
“Nice to meet you too, Shakuti. You’re as beautiful as the rumours suggest,” Draco complimented, shaking her hand gently.
“Hey, are you trying to hit on my sister?” Adi interjected, jumping between Draco and her sister, finding their exchange somewhat odd.
“As much as I would love to, this is just formality,” Draco replied.
Adi felt embarrassed for jumping to conclusions and wanted to exit the room immediately.
Shakuti smiled, pleased that her little sister defended her.
“Adi, you can leave; we have things to discuss,” Shakuti said, giving Adi a chance to escape.
“Hmmm,” Adi nodded, quickly walking to the exit.
“It was nice talking to you, Adi. Hopefully, we meet again at a more favourable time,” Draco said, genuinely pleased with their brief conversation.
He appreciated that Adi hadn’t asked him for a quick way to level up, a question he was sure many adventurers would have posed.
“Sure, I would be glad to meet the siblings that you bragged so much about,” Adi replied without looking back, not wanting Draco or her sister to see her embarrassed expression.
Adi had expected Draco to be arrogant based on the rumours surrounding the Bahamut familia, but to her surprise, he was easygoing and enjoyable to talk to, even in their short interaction.
With Adi gone, Shakuti sat down and offered Draco a seat across from her.
“So, I heard you wanted to discuss something about taming from Alise,” Shakuti began, getting straight to the point.
Draco didn’t mind this approach; he knew Shakuti was busy, and he appreciated her taking the time to meet with him.
He then explained his situation with the firebirds, sharing only the necessary information.
After he finished, Shakuti appeared contemplative.
“Hmm, this is my first time hearing of such a thing. Firebirds are very difficult monsters to find, much less tame, because of their rare spawn and magic,” Shakuti remarked.
“Well, it was my first time trying and I was lucky; I too didn’t know it was possible to tame them,” Draco replied.
“Are you sure you don’t have any taming skills?” Shakuti asked, her eyes narrowing on him.
“I don’t; there’s no point in me lying about it,” Draco responded.
Shakuti fell silent for a moment, pondering before continuing.
“If what you say is true, then I would like to negotiate some terms regarding the full method you used. Of course, I will assist you with your tamed monsters as well,” she said.
“Is my method really that valuable? I have only tried it on three firebirds,” Draco asked, surprised.
“I don’t know how valuable it is, but if it is replicable, it might lay the foundation for a new school of taming,” Shakuti explained.
Normally, one needed some kind of taming-related skill or had to repeatedly beat a monster into submission, before teaching it to obey.
Draco’s method was similar, only slightly different; he managed to make his tamed monsters accept another source of magical energy—his own.
While this might not seem significant at first, Shakuti believed it could lead to something new.
However, she remained skeptical, which was why she refrained from assigning any value to Draco’s method until useful results were produced.
“Hmm, since we both can’t judge its value yet, how about waiting till my research is completed. The only support that I need is a place to safely take care of, and experiment on my tamed monsters” Draco suggested.
“Sounds reasonable, let’s discuss the details of our cooperation” Shakuti replied.
Within a few minutes, everything was decided and now Draco could take his tamed firebirds out of the dungeon.
Keeping them with the Ganesha familia was just a temporary thing, until the Bahamut familia home would eventually be built.