"You are his..." A trace of astonishment flashed in Irene's eyes but was quickly concealed, replaced by deeper vigilance and wariness. "You came here specifically; it shouldn't be to reminisce about Vitarnus with me, right?"
"That dead dragon's matter no longer matters. I'm here only for my child now." Selene answered in a matter-of-fact tone, her gaze seemingly casually sweeping over the half-eaten cake in Irene's hand. "I absolutely will not allow him to be abducted again by any ill-intentioned villains."
Not long after Tike returned to this world, Selene had found him through their blood connection and had been hiding in a one-way dimensional space, silently watching his every move to ensure his safety.
Irene gently placed the unfinished strawberry cake on the bedside table, revealing a slightly playful smile.
"I never thought about abducting your child."
"I know." Selene continued to respond condescendingly. "I appeared this time because I want you to teach that child the fighting style proper for the Dragon Clan. Although you are not a true dragon, as the first human in this world to learn Dragon Slayer Magic, you are barely qualified to guide my child on my behalf."
"Oh?" Irene raised her eyebrows, somewhat surprised by Selene's proposal. "Why don't you teach him yourself?"
"There is some unpleasantness between him and me. Although not to the point of a complete break, he currently cannot accept my expectations for him."
Even though the future Tike traveled across spacetime specifically to treat her, the mother and son still hadn't reached a true reconciliation on this issue.
"True." Irene recalled Tike's distant and indifferent attitude when mentioning his mother just now. "Looking at his performance, he doesn't exactly 'like' you as a mother very much either."
"Hmph, you seem unqualified to evaluate the relationship between me and my child, right? At least I wouldn't be heartless enough to discard my own flesh and blood."
Facing Selene's unceremonious counterattack, Irene couldn't utter any words of refutation. She turned her face slightly, the corner of her mouth immediately curling into a habitually cold arc.
"What benefit is there for me to help you?"
Selene didn't answer directly but instead threw out a question like a curse. Her voice wasn't loud, but it clearly struck upon Irene's deepest desire:
"Have you ever thought about truly turning back into a human?"
"! You have a way?!"
Turning back into a true human—this was Irene's obsession after being trapped in a dragon body for hundreds of years.
Although Irene could maintain human form with magic now, the essence of her body was still a dragon.
To break free from this shackle, she had even tried to attach her personality and soul to her newborn daughter, attempting to gain a new life through this, but that fragile infant couldn't contain her soul at all, and thus the method failed.
"Correct." Selene affirmed. "Par... Tike is the only child who fully inherited Vitarnus's magic. As long as he is willing, he can help you shed your dragon scales and reshape your human body right now."
"Right now... he can?!"
"But the current you cannot gain his recognition, and he absolutely won't do anything for you. To win his favor, you must first make him feel your love for your daughter."
Before Selene and Tike recognized each other as mother and son, he always felt abandoned, so he was extremely sensitive to similar situations. Precisely because of this, facing Irene, who blatantly abandoned her biological daughter, he naturally wouldn't give her any good looks.
"As long as I have this body, I cannot love her."
Irene shook her head slightly, her gaze cast toward the empty distance.
Even if she could, Erza would never forgive her, a mother who abandoned her for many years.
"That is your own problem."
Selene's response carried not a shred of sympathy.
"I have pointed out the path for you. As for whether you can walk it through, it all depends on yourself. Additionally," she paused, adding a hint of warning, "don't even think about using any coercive means on Tike. That child is very stubborn. Once provoked, he would rather fight to the death with you. However, if it really comes to that point, the only one who will die is you."
"Heh, I wouldn't go so far as to make things difficult for the son of an old friend, but aren't you underestimating me too much?"
Irene straightened her body slightly, a trace of displeasure flashing in her eyes.
"Accumulated within this body is a full four hundred years of magic power. Even if you act for your child, don't dream of gaining any advantage from me!"
"Four hundred years of magic power?"
Facing Irene's implicit indignation and pride, Selene merely raised her eyebrow extremely lightly.
"Who isn't?"
---
A month later, Grammi returned safely from Ishgar.
That evening, after enjoying the last dinner prepared by Grammi, Tike timely bid farewell to the mother and daughter.
Brandish was somewhat reluctant to see Tike go. Her usually lazy eyes were now slightly widened, gazing at him.
Tike gently wiped a bit of cream from the corner of her lips with his fingertip and teased: "What's wrong? Is it me you can't bear to part with, or the magic cakes I made? Don't worry, I've already planted a gourmet tree here. That tree will bear snacks of various flavors. Picking one to eat every day is enough for you to eat for a year."
Brandish puffed up her cheeks slightly and retorted righteously: "Both!" Finally, she didn't forget to huff lightly and emphasize, "Besides, that bit of fruit on the tree, how is it enough for me to eat for a year!"
"Brandish, you should eat fewer sweets," Grammi educated helplessly.
"Aunt Grammi is right. Eating too much will cause cavities," Tike chimed in with a smile from the side. "If you really get cavities, don't forget to notify me; I'll be responsible."
Brandish tilted her head in confusion: "Responsible for what?"
Tike smiled mysteriously. At his raised fingertip, a crystal-clear aqua-blue pliers quickly condensed, feinting toward Brandish.
"Responsible for pulling out your bad teeth, of course."
"Eek!"
Brandish immediately covered her mouth and shrunk back, afraid that the water pliers would fly over in the next second.
Seeing her cute look of surprise and fear, Tike couldn't help chuckling. The water pliers at his fingertip dispersed into specks of water light and vanished in the air.
"Alright, no more playing, I have to go back."
Saying this, Tike drew a circle glowing with water light in the air before him, opening a spatial passage to Ishgar.
Just then, Brandish suddenly stepped forward and asked seriously: "Are you willing to stay and accompany me for so long because Mom wasn't home during this time, and you were afraid I would feel lonely alone?"
Tike paused his step toward the spatial passage, turned his head, a meaningful smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.
"I just wanted to mooch a few more meals~"
The boy stepped into the rippling water circle, his figure vanishing instantly, leaving only gradually calming water waves.
Gazing at the empty space ahead, Brandish clutched her chest gently, feeling her slightly accelerated heartbeat.
Then she looked back at the fruit tree.
(I'll get up and pick a few more to eat after Mom falls asleep!)