“Keep some of them for me then. Their leaders. I’m going to teach them what happens to whoever dares to touch my grandbabies!”
“...Grandma, you just came to have fun, didn’t you?” chuckled Tessa.
Before she could react, a loud and scary smack echoed. Sabael only had to turn his eye to see Lady Kareen with a closed fan in her hands, and Tessandra holding her head with a grimace.
“Grandma, what the heck was that for?!” she cried, rubbing her painful scalp.
“Discipline,” she shrugged. “You’re way too noisy. Now, Cessilia, my dear.”
“Yes, Grandmother?” Cessilia stepped forward.
“Did I see my dear Cece flying earlier? Your dragon is back?”
“Yes, Grandmother,” she smiled. “She’s back and she’s fine.”
“...Hmpf. It was high time.”
With a complex expression, Lady Kareen suddenly opened her fan and began fanning herself slowly, glancing around. It was as if she was annoyed to even be gracing the soil with her presence. Then, her eyes settled on Nana and Sabael, an eyebrow raised. The two of them were still mute and very unsure about the scary arrival of the legendary War God’s own mother. The older lady was unlike any elder they had ever met before.
“Grandma!” exclaimed Darsan, jumping at the occasion.
He suddenly pushed Nana forward with his big smile.
“This is Naptunie!”
“Naptunie, is it?” said Lady Kareen.
“Y-yes, my lady...”
Nana was literally sweating bullets, unsure if she was supposed to hold her stare or not. Fidgeting with her fingers as her nervousness rose, she glanced toward Cessilia and Tessandra, who both seemed just as confused. After a long while, Kareen smiled.
“I like her,” she simply said.
“Right?!” exclaimed Darsan with a proud expression. “Our Nana is the best.”
“...That’s it?” muttered Tessandra. “It’s not like Nana’s wearing her big brains in plain sight...”
Kareen then turned to Sabael and Tessandra tensed up. Meanwhile, with an amused smile on her lips, Cessilia subtly moved toward Ashen, leaning against him while watching the poor, nervous Sabael being scrutinized by her grandmother.
“...What is your name?” she asked coldly.
“Sabael, Your Highness,” he immediately answered, bowing with his soldier’s reflexes, “from the Dorosef Tribe. I’m a Royal Guard and Naptunie’s older brother.”
“Are you?”
“He’s my boyfriend,” added Tessandra with a confident smile.
Her grandmother’s eyes very briefly shifted to Tessandra.
“...Is he?”
It was as if she was testing the two of them. Cessilia saw Sabael very clearly take a deep breath in and nod, his hand tight around his sword’s handle.
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“My granddaughter is quite the wildcat,” said Kareen, rubbing her finger against her lips with an enigmatic expression.
“I know, Your Highness. But I’ve learned to like her character.”