57 Chapter 8 14 : How NOT to keep a low profile, part 12 (2/2)
”Please do take care of her... Also, I have to ask... can I ask some questions of the great divine beast?” (Grace)
”Oh, you woke up fast. Don't worry, I will take excellent care of every single one of my wives. The day I let something bad happen to one of them is the day this world is fucked, because there'd be something stronger than us. Remember, I'm the one who killed a dragon solo. As for the second bit... Ver?” (Ryuu)
”Please, call me Ver, or Verene. I'm just an ordinary girl, save for being a wyvern and all that. That being the case, ask away” (Ver)
”Well then... Verene... uh... first off, how old are you, in human years... or would centuries be better?” (Grace)
We all looked at one another, the Duke included, and then laughed, creating a puzzled expression on Grace's face.
”Centuries would be awful. I'm barely over a year old, after all” (Ver)
”I... monsters grow differently, I guess. Well, how did you meet my daughter?” (Grace)
”Well, the first thing I saw when I hatched was Ryuu, who'd just finished killing my blood parents, not that I mind, and so I just went with her, she raised me, and she did so when she was Char's roommate... and lover, and teacher” (Ver)
”And... what made you fall in love with Ryuu?” (Grace)
”Instinct, I guess? Is it wrong to love the strong, the beautiful, and the kind? Beyond that, I'm not sure. She's kind, funny, and... Well, I'm not sure how to describe it... honestly, who can truly describe love?” (Ver)
”Fair enough. Lastly, what makes you a divine beast? Not- not how did you become one, but what are the defining features?” (Grace)
”I think it's the ability to take a humanoid form, not sure what other shared traits might be” (Ver)
”So, are changelings all divine beasts? What about beastkin?” (Grace)
”Uhh...” (Ver)
”Changelings are a subclass of magical beast, namely, devils, not divine beasts. Beastkin... this is unverified and somewhat restricted information, but... they're the descendants of divine beasts” (Ryuu)
”We're still trying to figure out what my kids would be! Lizardkin? Wyvernkin?” (Ver)
”And that's just if you had children with a human. With an elf, a demon, a dwarf, or a beastkin, it could change even more. Imagine the mini-wyvernkin you'd have with a dwarf, the demonic lizardkin with a demon, or... you get the idea” (Ryuu)
”Don't remind Tuare of that... remember the last time she thought about that?” (Ver)
”Oh right... that was fun, but... this is neither the time nor the place” (Ryuu)
The conversation moved on to my upbringing before the war, how life is in the demon lands, and so on, until the food was ready, at which point we went to eat and have a more innocuous discussion while doing so. This continued for two more days, at which point Gloria, the Duke's second wife, came back, her arm half cut off by an ogre. The best healer the Duke had looked at her arm, and shook his head.
”I'm sorry, I don't think I can heal your arm with any more certainty than about a 1 in 100 chance. The only thing to do in the other 99 cases is remove it completely” (Healer)
”Excuse me, mind if I try to heal your arm? I think I'd have at least a 1 in 2 chance” (Ryuu)
”And who might you be, little girl?” (Gloria)
”My fiancee, that's who, and the best healer I or even the royal family knows” (Char)
”Oh, Char, you're back. Well, in that case, if it might work and won't make it worse, go ahead and try. Wait, fiancee? You have one now? And it's a-” (Gloria)
”Don't talk, don't move. Okay... Arm's set in the right position... let's try healing it now” (Ryuu)
It worked. Her arm was good as new, and I asked her to keep quiet about it, and instead say that it was some potion. After another round of introductions, and another day of conversations, including talks about when, where, and how to have the marriage ceremony, we left to head back to the capital with Levia. We wanted to get there before news of my identity spread too far, so Ver gave us all a ride on her back, traveling several times faster than a horse.