B4 - Chapter 3 - Parents

Lily gathered her courage and slowly approached. After all, it wasn't like she could just run away after coming this far. To her relief, though, it became a little easier as she got closer and overheard the cheerful conversation between the family, with Hana looking particularly happy.

It's a relief to see that she loves her parents. I've heard too many horror stories about noble families being cold and distant.

Honestly, Lily had been a bit worried about that, considering all the drama about the two families being separate and having arranged marriages between them, in the hopes of creating the legendary mixed-bloodline. It certainly sounded like something only a stereotypical noble family would do.

When she got closer, she finally got a good look at the pair and was shocked by how towering they were. Hana was already tall, but her parents were like giants, especially her dad. He had extremely short white hair, though Lily could imagine that if he let it grow out, it would be fluffy and voluminous like Hana's. He had blue eyes and wore a simple, mostly unadorned black suit, but what was more catching was the pair of wings folded neatly against his back.

Pegasus bloodline… Just like Hana said.

Hana's mother had long, straight, smooth platinum blonde hair, unlike her daughter, but her eyes were the same striking yellow as Hana's. She wore a simple yet beautiful pale blue dress that seemed to accent her eyes and hair well. Again, the real eyecatcher, though, was the horn on her forehead, indicating her rich and noble unicorn bloodline.

So Hana got her mom's eyes and her dad's hair. Strange that she got both bloodlines, but neither horn nor wings. I'm surprised that neither her mom nor her dad is wearing glasses.

All three had the usual Equinia traits of soft, furred ears and bushy tails, but without the bloodline itself physically manifesting, you'd swear Hana was just an ordinary demi girl. There was always the chance it would manifest just before the peak of her adulthood, when she might undergo unfortunate changes like Rose did, but after that, it apparently never happened.

Not that Hana needed a horn or wings, she could cast both her wind and light magic without any issues. The wings might make her a better flyer, but they would also force her to relearn any magical flight she achieved before they grew. As for the horn, supposedly it amplified magic, but Hana would need to learn to channel her Mana through it, and at the cost of losing somatic hand gestures.

Although maybe you don't even need to move your hands with a horn?

[Um… Lily, you might want to say hello.]

Hearing Arakil's voice snapped her back to the present situation, and she realized rather embarrassingly that she'd escaped to her own little world of thought either out of curiosity or to calm her nerves. Obviously, mentally checking out was not a good solution, and it might have just made things worse.

"Hi, nice to meet you both, I'm Lily…" she managed to squeak out, thankfully without any stuttering.

The two adults, however, simply smiled back. Maybe Hana had warned them that she was shy and a bit weird, so they didn't seem offended.

"Nice to meet you, Lily. I'm Darien Vandriel," the man said, placing his one hand across his chest and giving a polite but curt bow.

"Yes, it's a pleasure to meet you after Hana has told us so much about you," the woman added. "I'm Selene Lucaryn."

"Ah, the pleasure is mine. Thank you for inviting me, Mister Vandriel, Missus Lucaryn," Lily said, before trying to give her best polite curtsy.

"Darien is fine," he replied with a welcoming smile.

"Selene, too. Being called Missus Lucaryn makes me feel old," she joked.

"I told you my parents aren't too fussy," Hana giggled, giving Lily a friendly elbow nudge.

"I deal with far too much fussing when I'm on the clock, so when I can avoid it, I do," Selene explained.

"And since I work with adventurers, I'm used to much more crass behavior," Darien added.

Lily immediately pictured Alice and nodded in understanding. Hana probably did the same, as she couldn't help but let out a small laugh in response.

"Anyway, now that we've met, shall we head inside? I dunno about you two, but I'm starving," Darien said, gesturing toward the door.

Hana and Lily both nodded, and the group entered after Darien knocked and opened the door. It was a very small establishment, but the atmosphere was very warm and inviting. It looked like it could fit at most a dozen or so guests, but considering it was run by only two people, that was understandable.

The decor, however, was quite eye-catching, even though it featured very expensive-looking furniture; the decorations on the walls and tabletops all looked like spoils of war. Weapons and armor lined the walls, and there was even the skull of a ferocious-looking monster mounted above a fireplace mantle. If Rose's story hadn't told Lily they were former adventurers, this setup certainly confirmed it.

Welcoming them as they entered were the married couple, as well as a young boy dressed as a server, who, judging by the resemblances, was their son. He looked to be around ten or twelve, yet he was taller than Lily, much to her frustration. The husband was wearing a white chef's outfit, though rather than the iconic chef's hat, a stereotypical coned wizard's hat.

Magician in the kitchen…

The wife was wearing an outfit that could best be described as a formal chef outfit, or maybe a mix between server and chef? Lily assumed that if the husband was the head chef, then she was his assistant while also seeing to the guests. Their son must have been a very recent addition to the setup, as he looked quite nervous.

"Darien! It's good to finally see you again," the man said with a toothy grin.

"If you stuck around for more adventuring, you'd see me plenty," Darien chuckled. "How's the retired life treating you, Noah?"

"Can't complain. I get to spend every day with the wife and kid."

"And without risking our necks," the woman added. "It's good to see you're still in one piece, Darien."

"Well, I'm doing more pencil pushing than monster killing these days…" Darien admitted. "But I'm glad the slow life is treating you well, Paige."

The adults were busy greeting one another and casually catching up. It really looked like a group of old friends who hadn't seen each other in years.

While they were occupied, Hana nudged Lily, then leaned in close and whispered into her ear. "My dad worked with them before. They were part of one of the adventuring groups working under the Vandriels."

"That explains it… I knew they were former adventurers from Rose, but I didn't expect them to have worked with your dad."

Hana was about to say something else, but then the boy walked forward to the two of them and gave a short, quick bow before standing up straight. "I'm Christopher!" he declared loudly and a little awkwardly, maybe trying his best to copy the adults.

"Nice to meet you, Christopher. I'm Hana."

"I'm Lily, and I can't wait to try your parents' food."

Christopher's face erupted into a massive smile. "Their cooking is the best! It'll knock your socks off!"

Christopher's actions drew the adults' attention, and they quickly introduced their offspring to each other. That only left Lily, but before she could speak for herself, Hana took charge.

"This is Lily. My friend, classmate, and rival."

"Classmate?" Darien said with a hint of confusion for a moment before he clicked into clarity. "Ah, so that is the Regarth uniform. Apologies, I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me.

"You're going to Regarth!?" Christopher asked, his jaw practically hitting the floor.

"Yes, I'm in my first year," Lily confirmed.

"But how? You're smaller than me?"

Lily was trying her best to be polite, but she couldn't avoid pouting at such a blatant statement. Even if it was true, it had been what felt like ages since someone had mistaken her for a little kid, especially with the rumors that she was Alice's niece, or even her love child from some of the more outlandish gossip.

"Because of her bloodline, she's a little shorter than others. But don't let her fool you, she's one of the best mages in our year!" Hana explained, hoping to soften things over.

'Bloodline' was literally like a magic word, and just by mentioning it, it seemed to suddenly explain everything to everyone. Even the childish Christopher seemed to instantly know what that meant, and became somewhat awed as a result.

"I guess those rumors were true after all," Paige said, giving Noah a nudge in the ribs.

Lily very nearly shouted that she wasn't Alice's secret love child, but thankfully held herself back. Those rumors were so long ago that it would make more sense that her more recent antics, especially after the festival, had replaced them.

It seemed the catching up was done as everyone was led to their seats, and drinks were served to the guests. Noah and Christopher left the room, no doubt to prepare the meal, while Paige stayed behind just to confirm there were no dietary restrictions or allergies with the group.

"Great, I'll let Noah know there's nothing to worry about. The first course will arrive very soon," Paige said and politely left the table.

With that, it was just Lily and Hana's family now. She nervously touched her cup before cautiously sipping at the sweet juice she had been given. Hana, who was sitting next to her, gave her a gentle foot nudge, as if trying to reassure her.

"You don't need to be so nervous, dear. We don't bite," Selene said calmly.

Lily tried to smile, but it was still a bit awkward. "Sorry… I've just never been in a situation like this. Usually it's my big sister who's drawing all the attention."

"Yeah, Rose is a real character; it feels like she naturally steals the spotlight wherever she goes," Hana agreed.

"Most Dragia do," Darien said after a sip of his drink. "I've worked with a few of them, and they're almost always the center of attention. If you thought your sister was bad, you should see how some of the men can behave."

"And it's not pretty on my side either," Selene sighed. "Even the lowest-ranking Dragia noble acts as if they were king or queen. It can make negotiations quite tedious…"

It didn't take much for Lily to imagine both scenarios, using Rose's previous antics as a baseline. Yet despite that, the positives must have clearly outweighed the negatives, or there wouldn't be so many people fighting to recruit them into their families.

"Anyway, judging by what we've seen already, I can imagine that you'll not be that far behind her," Selene continued. "Your unique situation aside, as the first Lagia with a mage's bloodline, you seem to be racking up several achievements. Alchemy, conquering the dungeon, glyphs, and I presume, eventually enchanting as well."

"I don't exactly want to stand out…" Lily replied, although even she had to doubt the validity of her words, considering her current plan to build enough of a reputation around her glyphs.

"Then maybe your sister is rubbing off on you more than you realize," Darien joked.

Lily wanted to giggle at it, but it came off stiffer than she would have hoped. Regardless of how nice they were being, it was still a bit uncomfortable for her.

"It almost seems like my daughter under-exaggerated your skittishness," Darien said with an apologetic smile.

"Maybe this will ease your mind. We don't necessarily want to adopt you, or Rose for that matter," Selene said.

Lily blinked. "You don't?"

Hana also seemed surprised by the sudden declaration, as it seemed to go against whatever they had discussed beforehand.

"I mean, we'd be happy to have you, if that's what you want," Darien explained. "But you don't have to actually join our family if you don't want to. We'd be happy to employ you, your sister, or both, with or without an official adoption."

Selene nodded. "I'd love to have another enchanter under my employ."

"Or if you'd prefer to stick to exploring dungeons, then the Vandriels would welcome you on board with open arms," Darien added. "If things go well, you and my daughter could form an official team, or something like that."

"No pressure on that front from me, you're welcome to do whatever you want," Hana quickly said to Lily.

"I really didn't know there were other options… I thought it was all or nothing," Lily admitted.

"There are plenty of options. You could also marry into the family rather than being adopted. I have several single nephews I could introduce you to."

"Mom!" Hana gasped.

"Or if you'd prefer someone a bit more manlier, then speak to me. Less risk of getting accidentally stabbed by a horn, too," Darien commented.

"Dad!"

Lily immediately went as red as a tomato. "Umm… I think I'm alright, thanks…"

"I can't believe you two!" Hana reprimanded, looking like she was on the verge of throwing her cup at them.

"Sorry, dear, I thought it might lighten the mood," Selene revealed.

"Really?" Darien asked. "I thought it was a decent idea."

Hana reached for her cup when Darien quickly threw up his hands. "I'm joking! I'm joking!"

Hana gave him the stink eye before settling down, and it looked like it was just in time as both Paige and Christopher entered the room with trays and bowls.