Dad demanded that Orm make him a painting of him and me together.
Everyone saw the huge portrait of me that was placed in the hallway, much to my embarrassment.
Seeing that the visitors liked my portrait, the pack led the visitors to the castle's gallery, which is filled with numerous portraits of me.
Oh gosh! I want to hide out of pure embarrassment!
But I'm the only one embarrassed by the attention, as the pack seemed quite proud to show visitors my portraits.
Now, Dad wants portraits of him and me together, solo portraits of me and...
Orm doesn't look happy after listening to Dad's demands.
I cleared my throat and told Dad to pay Orm for his work.
Dad must have offered Orm something extremely valuable as Orm immediately lit up and took a list of Dad's demands on a piece of parchment.
Now it's Leon's turn to make demands, as he wants a family picture of him, Lion and me together.
Besides that, he want a portrait of himself, a portrait of me, a portrait of him and me...
Of course, he offered Orm something extremely valuable for his effort. Despite having many other demands, Orm even asked if he wanted more paintings, even though he already had several requests from both Dad and Leon.
As for Aagon...
By the time Aagon finished with his demands, both Orm and I didn't look happy, as just listening to everything he demanded had already drained our energy.
But Orm lit up when Aagon offered him a rare artifact.
What about me?!
Wait. This is a good business opportunity, as dragons are well-known to be very, very wealthy and quite generous.
That reminds me, I have a hidden set of liquor that I was planning to send as a sample to him.
Hehe..
This is payment enough..
I whispered into Lion's ear, telling him to use his magic to summon the package I had hidden in one of the chests in our room.
He knows where it is, but not what's inside.
While Aagon was offering me all sorts of payment to have my portrait done with him and Sly, who wasn't offered anything by his no-good, deadbeat father, I gave him the package, which he looked at curiously, though he received it with thanks.
But when he opened it, he gave a huge grin, which grew even wider when he took a taste.
After a few sips, his face turned extremely red, much to Dad's amusement. Dad made all sorts of lighthearted insults towards him about his current state.
Realizing that the liquor I gave him was extremely potent, Aagon closed the bottle and mentioned that he would drink it after the meeting or he might pass out.
Tasting it, he complimented me on the fine liquor I gave him and begged me to tell him the name of the shop where I bought it.
Immediately, the room became silent as everyone chortled and gave knowing glances towards each other. Sly simply gave me a wink while Lion tried his best not to laugh out loud as he gave several nips on my neck.
Dad, with a knowing look towards us, offered Aagon the name of the shop where I bought the liquor...
For a price that is outrageous for me to hear.
Everyone tried their best not to laugh, especially Ghost, who looked too red in the face from trying to hold back his laughter.
Orm acted like he found one of my portraits extremely fascinating while biting his lip as a feeble effort to hold in his laughter.
As for Alpha and Khamsin, I can see them trying to pinch each other to distract themselves from laughing.
Leon... excused himself as it was quite obvious that he couldn't hold back his laughter anymore and hurriedly left the room.
Thankfully, Aagon didn't seem to notice anything, immediately giving Dad a magic pouch, who inspected the inside of it one by one and...
What the...
Now I'm feeling guilty!
Aagon is too generous!
After seeing the thirtieth violet jewel that Dad kept on showing me, I just rested my face on Lion's chest and pretended I didn't see anything, while Lion's shoulders were shaking with suppressed laughter.
Finally, Dad was done counting every violet jewel inside the magic pouch and told Aagon that the transaction was successful.
It took several moments of silence before Aagon impatiently asked Dad about the name of the liquor store.
Then, with a grin, Dad pointed toward me.
....
Aagon didn't get it at first, but soon the realization sank in, so he just facepalmed and murmured that Dad got him again.
Thankfully, he took the trick quite well and commented that the payment was worth it considering the quality of the liquor that I've made.
Seeing that this was a good business opportunity, Sly and Leon approached Aagon and discussed it with huge enthusiasm, along with our other businesses.
Leon told them that the liquor should be sold in limited quantities to increase its value and demand.
Not bad! That's a good business technique!
Now Leon finally found the business he wanted.
Seeing that Sly needed his help, Lion gave me a tender kiss before handing me to Orm. Alpha also joined Lion, as well as Ghost, in discussing the businesses.
In fact, everyone except Orm and me ended up discussing the liquor business as Dad made a generous offer to mass-produce it, since he has a lot of free labor that can do it, freeing me from doing it by myself.
I feel sorry for his underlings and the creatures who are his eternal prisoners.
Sigh.
Orm gave me a gentle lick on my neck before showing me the list of demands...
Oh my gosh!
Those are too many portraits!
We won't be able to finish everything for a long time!
Among the portrait demands from Dad, Leon, Aagon and Khamsin, it is Khamsin who takes the crown, as he had already prepared a long list of demands before Orm even asked him.
Are they all insane??!!!
Sigh...
Not only I, but Orm also gave a huge sigh, murmuring that the pay was too low for the amount of work he had to do.
To cheer him up, I whispered in his ear that we had a few moments to ourselves while the others were too busy talking about businesses.
He didn't need a second invitation. He immediately carried me out of the room, announcing to everyone that he was going to take some portraits of me until they were done with their discussion.
Then we left the room without a glance.
.....
Orm's cheerfulness was on another level by the time we returned to the portrait room.
Earlier, he managed to finish several solo portraits of me at world-record speed after I teased his body to the point that he was panting hard, telling him that I would continue after he finished.
After he was done, he was about to take off my clothes when I immediately reminded him that for now, it's only him I want to please.
It took him a bit of pouting before he remembered that I'm on my menstruation.
He laughed in embarrassment while I continued teasing him all over his body, his laughter soon turning into groans and moans.
It was quite enjoyable and fascinating for me, as I'm intrigued by his unique... body..
Ahem.
Since he has two...
So, is it double the pleasure for him, maybe?
The face he makes while I'm making an effort to please him is payment enough...
Even though it's double the work.
I don't mind and would definitely do it again.
My mouth is cramping though!
.....
Everyone crowded around Orm to take a look at the paintings before giving them to their owners.
As for me, I curled up on the bed because I was feeling a bit exhausted earlier.
That Orm!
Even if he was obviously about to finish, he kept on delaying it as he quite enjoyed the show that I gave him.
My mouth is cramping until now!
Oh and I definitely drank several mouth cleaning potions after doing the deed though.
Yeah, several!
As.. I didn't expect that both... would..
Anyway, Orm helped me clean up as it would be quite awkward if we returned to the shared bedroom and everyone would smell... you know...
He also cleaned up too.
Dad told everyone to settle down as we are about to resume the meeting.
Sly finished telling Aagon everything and thankfully, he can now catch up with the meeting.
Dad suddenly asked me if I could feel a demonic aura around Maelsa. I admitted that I didn't feel any, but I told Dad about him speaking a strange language that I somehow understood while in my monster form.
He glanced towards Aagon, who was also pondering and admitted they needed an intense investigation, as Maelsa was definitely suspicious.
Dad murmured to Aagon and Leon about something the three of them would discuss later.
Out of earshot of us younglings.
Oh, we don't mind not hearing about it, thou ancient ones!
....
Dad proudly told everyone about the vast amount of knowledge I had regarding rare materials. He even admitted there were some he didn't know about yet.
Aagon and Leon looked a bit doubtful at first, but their doubt turned into astonishment when I mentioned everything, from where it is usually found to its uses.
To Dad's amazement, I also mentioned the mythical and legendary materials, as well as materials that they hadn't yet discovered or heard about.
I can see the pack looking at me with pride while Khamsin's face is a mixture of wonderment and reverence.
Hey! I just read about it! I'm just a huge fantasy nerd!
Oh well...
Let them think what they want anyway...
Ten silently watched us, sitting like a statue and as if he was about to worship me.
Don't do that!
Ugh!
I'm just sharing what I know!
Whatever...
I nearly jumped in surprise as Dad yelled at Ten, asking him if he took note of everything.
Thankfully, he did.
While Sly was cuddling me on the bed, he smiled smugly towards Aagon, briefly reminding him that I don't deserve the term 'lesser being' as I am much more amazing than their kind.
Oh, stop it Sly!
I'm sure that Aagon will...
What the..
Aagon agreed?!
Not only him, everyone else too?!
Lion gave a gentle bite on my earlobe as he was lying beside me and told everyone that I'm a godd...
Stop!!!
He laughed while nuzzling my cheek.
It's embarrassing, but somehow I accepted it, as it's one of the ways they show how proud they are to be my mates.
Dad seemed to think so. He commented that he now understood why whoever they made a contract with had changed the price, as I'm clearly extremely valuable.
Upon hearing this, the mood of the room instantly changed.
....
They all had a discussion about the obsidian glass we found, in which Dad harshly scolded Aagon, who looked like a wounded puppy, for being a featherbrain and not knowing the value of the obsidian despite it being near his territory.
Dad advised Aagon, Leon and Khamsin to make a new set of weapons for their warriors using obsidian glass but told them to mix it with other materials to make them even deadlier.
The pack gloated and showed the four of them their weapons, which were made from the materials I managed to identify, along with their armor.
Leon gave a whistle as he examined the weapons, while Khamsin made all sorts comments on how he would have a new weapon made as he tested each one.
Aagon has an envious look on his face as he holds Sly's favorite weapon, commenting that he wants to have a duel with him using only weapons.
As for Dad, he gave a chuckle when he saw the armor and mumbled that the flesh sack has finally met its end.
What did that beast do to him?!
While the others were busy discussing the weapons, Dad admitted that although I've been overthinking a lot, a huge number of my speculations have ended up being correct.
He couldn't tell which ones were correct because of the Demon King, but he admitted the Demon King is looking for someone like me.
After pondering for a bit, he asked me what makes demons crave humans, based on what I learned from my previous world, as he can't understand why, even though he finds me extremely fascinating.
But not fascinating enough to destroy the world.
That's why he wants to know about my kind.
I was about to tell him, but he stopped me and told everyone to settle down. He said it was better if everyone knew, so they would understand why.
After everyone had settled down and looked at me with curiousity, I began telling them about humans.
.....
About why demons, especially the Demon King, crave humans is because:
1. The quality of their souls. For instance, my soul's value is equivalent to all the souls in this world combined. That gave their powers a huge boost.
To make them understand what I meant, I told them to take a novice magic user for example.
If that novice magic user consumed my soul, he would become an instant demon king.
A bit of an exaggeration on my part, but who knows? It might be true.
All of them, especially Dad, had horrified looks on their faces as they understood the gravity of my unfortunate situation.
2. Human emotions. Everyone agreed and they all admitted, even Dad, that after meeting and spending time with me, they felt a range of emotions they hadn't experienced or noticed before.
I also agreed with it, as Dad, despite being a lich known for being emotionless, ended up having emotions, much to the surprise of his underlings and the rest of us.
But I told them it's a different kind of emotion that the demons want from humans, such as suffering, despair and fear, to name a few.
They all stared at the floor silently, deep in thought about what I said.
3. A human being corrupted and experiencing destruction.
I didn't need to explain. They were all looking at the corrupted transformation stone embedded in my forehead.
4. The taste of human flesh and blood is ambrosia to them.
The room became silent as I reminded them of the time Rahab drank my blood, even though I was dead.
I didn't need to discuss further as they all had mixed emotions on their faces...
Disgust, anger, horror...
Lion's fists clenched tightly as he buried his face in my shoulder, while Sly's hold on my waist tightened.
Alpha snuggled toward me, nuzzling me all over, while Orm curled his tail around my legs and murmured all sorts of menacing, unintelligible stuff.
Ghost did not say anything as he joined us, placing his head on my abdomen while staring blankly at the ceiling.
With the pack snuggling against me, I can't get up and have resigned myself to lying on the bed for the rest of the meeting.
...
Dad gave us several moments of silence before resuming the meeting.
To lighten the mood, he asked the pack if they still had the pinkish-violet jewels we found.
Sadly, it took a while for the pack to cheer up, so I answered for them instead.
Lion floated one of the jewels to Dad, without changing his position while keeping his face buried in my shoulder.
Dad, Leon and Aagon had such an enthusiastic discussion about it, asking me all sorts of questions and for my opinions, that the pack lightened up a bit.
Just a bit though.
Khamsin is kind of silent, but I can't see him because I'm stuck.
The three 'elderlies' finally agreed to make the value of the jewel equivalent to five violet jewels.
Great!
Seeing my excitement, the pack finally cheered up and after hearing Khamsin's voice, he did, too.
Dad told Aagon to secure the area, saying it will belong to everyone in the room. He added that they will mine it periodically to increase its value and slowly introduce it as a new currency to other territories.
Lion then gave the three elderlies, Khamsin and even Ten a sample each.
How generous of him!
Then he went back to burying his face in my shoulder again.
.....
Dad told us he will adjourn the meeting for now as he wants to play riddles.
Hahaha!
But only after I answer his final question.
Okay.
What is it?
He asked me how long the average human lifespan is.
Silence filled the room when I answered that it is somewhere between 75 and 80 years.
Give or take.
Also, it would be a record if someone did manage to live up to 130 years.
Dad stared at me for a moment before asking me an even more awkward question.
How old I am now?
I told him honestly that I didn't keep track, but I'm positive that I'm more than 150 years old, which is already an amazing feat considering that I'm a human.
Thanks to Lion's spell.
And yes, I admitted to them that a human's appearance changes as they grow older, unlike them.
My appearance right now is the same as when I was 25.
Dad told everyone that he saw my memories from when I was forced to return to Earth. He noted how humans look and act differently as they age, becoming helpless and unable to take care of themselves when they live past their expected lifespan.
A human's life is but a blink of an eye to them.
Ignoring the horrified and devastated looks of everyone, he cast a spell that showed my memory while I was talking to Lavender.
They couldn't hear me talking to her, thankfully, as the scene I'm looking at was where Lavender and I were discussing the pack.
And my.. activities.. with Lion...
Thank goodness for the mute button.
Dad told everyone that the person I'm with was my younger sister.
Lavender.
Yeah...
That's my sister...
Lavender was her name..
I didn't notice tears flowing down my face as I kept staring at Lavender, knowing I would never see her again, except in this memory.
Dad seemed to understand me, as he didn't say anything and made the spell last as long as he could manage.
Then finally, the spell ended.
I gave Dad a tearful smile, thanking him that I could see my sister one more time.
He simply nodded, murmuring that a human's life is fleeting.
Too fleeting.