Hope yall enjoy this chapter even though its a little short i feel these types are necessary sorry if they bore yall.
Also i will give yall till the end of next week for character voting for the pairing (last chapter in the comments)
Chapter 41: Adventures
Varion tilted his head, waiting for her to explain, but Prinz only squeezed his hand tighter, mind racing behind her careful smile.
She took a slow breath, golden eyes searching his face as if making sure he was ready for what she was about to say. The picnic basket sat forgotten between them, the afternoon light softening around the hilltop.
"Veldanava," she said at last, voice quiet but steady, "isn't just a name here, Varion. In the Cardinal World… he's a legend. The Star Dragon King. One of the True Dragons — the oldest, most powerful beings that shaped this entire world. They say he created the very foundations of existence. The magicules, the laws of nature, the balance of the world and everything else. People speak of him like a god, he was real. Ancient. Untouchable."
Prinz's fingers traced small circles on the back of his hand, almost absentmindedly, as if grounding herself.
"And you… you're his son. His direct creation. That makes you one of only two Dragonoids in existence." She paused, letting the words settle. "You and Milim Nava. That's it. Not a single other entity like you two exists. True Dragonoids aren't just strong — they're something else entirely. 99% of people go their whole lives without ever meeting one. And here you are, sitting on a hill with me, telling me about your creation and your life."
Varion stared at her. The casual warmth of the picnic, the soft grass under them, the distant sounds of the village — it all felt suddenly distant. His emerald eyes widened as the weight of her words sank in.
"One of… two?" he repeated, voice low. "I thought… I don't know, I figured there might be more of my kind or similar. I knew I was different, but I never imagined…" He trailed off, looking out over the treetops toward the village. His free hand flexed once, then stilled. "All this time I've been trying to figure out where I fit in this world. How to get home. And now you're telling me I'm… one of two. That my father was basically the creator of everything here."
Prinz watched the emotions flicker across his face — surprise, realization, then a quiet wave of being slightly overwhelmed. His shoulders tensed slightly, the easy confidence he usually carried cracking just enough for her to see the young man beneath it.
She shifted closer on the blanket, her shoulder brushing his. "Hey," she said gently, squeezing his hand again. "Breathe. It's a lot, I know. But it doesn't change who you are. You are still Varion Nava, the same guy who let me tease him all night a couple of days ago." A small, teasing smile tugged at her lips as she bumped his shoulder, trying to lighten the moment, but her voice stayed soft. "You're still the one who's trying to get home to see your family. This world… it just happens to think you're pretty important, too. So you're connected to both, you belong to both worlds you don't have to choose who you are, you just have to be you"
Varion let out a slow breath, running his free hand through his crimson hair. "I thought I was just… surviving. Making my way. Learning how to open a gate back. But if Veldanava was that big of a deal here, and I'm his son… " He shook his head, a faint, overwhelmed laugh escaping him. "I feel like I have a sort of… responsibility? To be here to look after it you know. It's weird, ever since I got here I felt this strange little pull to make things balanced, to keep them in order."
Prinz leaned her head against his shoulder, the red streak in her white hair brushing his arm. "Maybe it's part of the world itself recognizing you or something, Maybe that's what your purpose is, to balance things either way it doesn't matter right now, for now your just Varion." she said while leaning against his shoulder.
They sat like that for a long moment, the picnic forgotten as the sun dipped lower and painted the sky in soft oranges and pinks. Varion's hand stayed laced with hers, the warmth of her presence steadying the quiet storm inside him. He didn't speak again right away, but the way he relaxed against her said enough.
After a minute or two Varion got curious and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, voice soft as he asked a question. "How do you know so much about all of this? About Veldanava, about Dragonoids… it sounds like you've studied it for a while."
Prinz visibly hesitated. Her gaze drifted to the horizon for a long moment, fingers tightening around his as she clearly weighed how much to say. The playful mask she usually wore slipped just enough for him to see the internal debate playing out behind her eyes. She considered telling him a slightly twisted version of the truth. Then she shook her head once, small and decisive.
"Can I tell you later?" she asked, voice quieter than usual but warm. "It's… a lot and kinda complicated on my part, I promise I'll tell you later"
Varion studied her for a beat, then nodded without hesitation. "Of course. No need to rush or anything."
The relief on her face was immediate. She smiled softly and shifted closer on the blanket. Without another word she laid her head on his shoulder, silver-white hair spilling over his arm like moonlight. He let his own head rest lightly against hers, the quiet of the hilltop wrapping around them both.
They stayed like that as the sun sank lower, painting the sky in deep oranges and pinks that slowly faded to twilight. Neither spoke much more. The weight of what she had told him lingered, but her presence beside him made it feel less overwhelming. When the first stars began to prick the darkening sky, Prinz lifted her head and gave his hand one last squeeze.
"Ready to head back?" she asked, voice light again.
Varion stood first, offering her a hand up. "Yeah. Let's go."
They walked down the hill together, fingers still loosely linked, the village lights growing brighter as they approached.
The next morning Rimuri was awake again, her small blue body practically vibrating with energy. She bounced around the village square the moment she spotted Varion, eyes sparkling.
"Varion! Come on, you have to see everything!" she exclaimed, already tugging at his sleeve with a limb-like appendage made of her slime. "The new houses are almost done, and the training grounds Kaijin set up — it's all so much better than before!"
Varion smiled, falling into step beside her even though he had already walked every inch of the village over the past few days. He let her lead him anyway, listening as she pointed out every small improvement with obvious pride. The goblins waved and called greetings as they passed, and Rimuri's excitement was contagious enough that he found himself nodding along and smiling, asking questions just to keep her talking.
-time skip-
A full week slipped by in a blur of steady progress. Under the combined guidance of Kaijin and his brothers, the goblin village transformed. What had once been simple mud-and-branch huts were now solid wood-and-stone houses, sturdy and well-built, their designs pulled straight from Rimuri's detailed plans and the dwarves' expert hands. The streets were wider, the storage areas built better, and the training grounds ringed with fresh wooden fencing. The goblins moved with purpose now, tools in hand and confidence in their steps.
In the morning the last of the village was finished; it looked like a completely different place, a small settlement rather than a scattering of shelters it had been. That same afternoon, shouts echoed from the forest path a short distance beyond the village edge.
A group of adventurers burst from the trees at a dead run — three humans and one masked woman, all breathing hard. Behind them swarmed a writhing mass of giant ants, mandibles clicking and legs churning across the ground. The masked woman drew a glowing magic sword and sliced through several of the creatures in a single fluid motion, but the horde kept coming. She was about to attack but all of a sudden she fell to her knees.
Rimuri shot forward. "I've got this!"
Varion moved with her without hesitation, positioning himself at her side even though she clearly didn't need the backup. Black Lightning crackled from Rimuri's body and slammed into the remaining ants, frying them where they stood. Varion raised a hand anyway and used a small bit of energy, "Star Dragon Light Shot." He meant to only do a few small light shots to finish off the ants but instead produced several person-sized balls of energy that erased the ants that tried to flank her. Varion looked down at his hand, then the small section of devastated forest. "Oops," he said sheepishly.
The adventurers skidded to a halt, chests heaving. The three adventurers stared at the tiny blue slime with open amazement.
"I hope I didn't hurt you with my black lightning, that stuff is way stronger than I thought it was."
"You… you can talk?" one of the men managed, eyes wide.
The masked woman, tilting her head as she studied Rimuri more closely. "And you're… not hostile?"
Rimuri jiggled happily, already shifting back to a more casual shape. "Nope! My **name's** Rimuri. I'm not a bad slime! Slurp. Welcome to the village. Those ants looked like they were giving you trouble." The masked swords woman giggled at that, confusing everyone but her and Rimuri.
The blonde woman started introducing the group. "You could say that. I'm Ellen. This is Kaval and Gido. And this is Shizu."
Introductions went around quickly. Rimuri's eyes lit up when she realized Shizu was another otherworlder from Japan due to her laughing at her joke. The adventurers explained they had been sent to investigate the forest; Rimuri assured them the Freedom Association would have no issues from the village.
"Come on," she said, waving them forward. "Let's get you some food. You all look like you could use it."
The group followed her back into the village, where the goblins had already set out a simple but hearty meal. While the others ate and recovered, Rimuri pulled Shizu aside for a talk.
Near the edge of the gathering, Prinz stood beside Varion, her shoulder brushing his. Her golden eyes flicked toward Ellen who looked over and locked eyes with her and for the briefest moment her expression softened, a flicker of recognition passing between the two that no one else in the group noticed. Ellen's gaze lingered a heartbeat longer than necessary before she looked away, the surprise carefully hidden behind her usual bright smile.
Prinz leaned closer to Varion, voice low and playful once more. "Looks like we have guests."
"Yeah we do, they seem alright, if a bit goofy," he laughed.
The adventurers were quickly ushered toward the center of the village where the goblins had already laid out food and drink. Laughter and conversation began to fill the air as everyone started to relax, the earlier tension from the ant attack fading away.