Arad and Aella walked into the bath, looking around to see the maids standing at the walls. They were still there, doing their job as the last time.

“Sir, it’s only you two this time?” One of the maids asked, wanting to know if she needed more tools ready inside for the other girls.

Arad nodded, smiling, “Just the two of us, as far as I know.” He started taking his shirt off, “We had a fight in the garden, and wanted to take a bath to wash the sweat away.”

The maid stared at Arad, “Also blood, I should say,” She looked at his clothes, “Shall we take and give them a good rinse? A bit of soap and they would be cleaned. Only that they might take the whole night to dry.”

Arad looked at his clothes. His pants were drenched in blood. “Can you get our clothes?”

The maid nodded, “Of course, I will ask Lady Aella for them, don’t worry,” She smiled, “Even if she didn’t, we would have…” She stopped, staring at him, “Clothes for Lady Mira, but sadly, I don’t think we have anything that can fit you.”

Arad and Mira took their clothes and walked into the bath, washing in the shower with the maid’s help before taking a dip in the hot bath. He relaxed in the hot water, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.

Mira stretched her arms, soaking up to her neck, “That hammer hurt like hell,” She smiled.

“Hammer?” The maid said with a puzzled face.

“An explosive hammer that shoots nails. I just made it and tested it on him,” Mira pointed with her thumb at Arad.

The maid stared at Arad with open eyes, “That was your

Of course,” Arad replied, “That hammer is quite powerful,” He smiled.

One of the maids stared at Arad, “We heard explosions from the garden, was it you?”

Arad pointed at Mira, “She’s the one swinging the hammer.” A grin crossed his face, “One hit is enough to blow a human’s guts out,”

The three maids stared at each other, terrified, but Mira added with a smile. “It isn’t finished yet. I can’t be sure it can kill a monster in one hit. I doubt I can get lucky to land more than one hit.”

Mira was well aware of her fighting capabilities and that Arad held back against her. If she fought a serious opponent, she would have been killed before she could swing. “This is why I need it to hit harder and also armor. That would help a lot,”

Looking into Mira’s eyes, the maids could spot a flare of mad intellect, something they found extremely disturbing. It felt wrong for them to see someone so keen on making such a leather, and violent weapon, and even talk about it with a smile.

“You know it’s not like a sword, right? One hit and the target’s guts would spill out,” One of the maids gasped, imagining a graceful slash and the gore mess Mira’s hammer could make.

“Does it matter? If the choice is between me dying and them. Then it should be.” Mira replied with a passive face. “I already caused Arad and the others a lot by getting kidnapped twice.” She looked down, “At least, now I can defend myself a bit,”

Arad patted her head, “I’m proud of you, but you don’t have to worry. I’m always watching, and I shall come flying as fast as I can if anything happens to you.”

Mira looked at Arad’s face, “Then I should be good enough to hold out until you arrive,”

“Only a few seconds. You can achieve that by running away,” Arad replied. “What could hold me for longer?”

“I don’t know,” Mira rested her head on his shoulder, lifting her palm and dripping the water down, watching each drop as it landed back in the bath. “Two many droplets and it’s become a flood. One person might not hold you, but many will.”

Hearing her thoughts, Arad’s mind quickly slipped into the paladins. To kill him, they must go through his humanoid body, then the half-dragon body, then the dragon body, and then the vampiric wyrmwolf dragon. That may seem a lot, but considering that one divine smite could end one of his forms. It would only take four hits for him to perish.

^So it’s a contest to see how long can I dodge their attacks and how fast I can kill them before they attack.^ Arad smiled. ^That is what they would think, but the stars won’t be on their side.^ Arad’s evil smile scared the maids, causing them to back away and fall. The disturbing intellect in Mira’s eyes couldn’t be compared to what shows on Arad’s face.

Arad stared at the maids as they fell, “Are you okay?” He asked.

You scared them. In the same way, your magic shows in your eyes, your emotions do, and so does your will. It’s the same thing when a human innately senses a devil’s lies or the benevolence of a god. They can sense you’re a powerful dragon, but their conscious mind rejects that idea.

^They were also scared of Mira’s gaze, but that’s the same as a necromancer’s stare. They can sense the unhinged ability to create something terrifying.^

Arad stared at his own hand, ^I still need to control my emotions and magic, my aura and mental barrier. As well as the animals in my void range… That’s a lot to keep track off.^

Don’t worry, you’ll get a hold of it soon. 𝐞𝗼𝐯𝐞𝗹.𝗰𝗼𝗺

Arad pulled Mira toward him with his arm, catching her in a one-arm hug. Holding her like that helped him relax, like a kid holding a teddy bear, but the bear is a human girl. She smelled a bit sweet, but Arad quickly washed that thought from his head.

Mira stared up at Arad with a confused face and blushing cheeks, “Arad, the maids are here,” She whispered.

Arad looked directly into her eyes, wondering why is he with her. The question Zephyr instilled in his head, is why is he with any of them, and what does he like about them? What can he give to her, and what is she giving him?

It only took his draconic brain a second to conjure one thought, Mira’s rough hands, her sweating under the sun as she hammered the wood, the suntan on her arms and shoulder from wearing sleeveless clothes to work in the heat.

^I know it. I like her hardworking nature and outgoing courage. She doesn’t fear charging at me with a hammer that could kill her, nailing an armored man, or standing tall to protect Tina from the zombies despite being just as helpless.^ He smiled, lifting her palm in his hand, “Rough and strong hands, the marks of dedication,” He mumbled.

Gasping, Mira tried to snatch her hand away feeling like her eyes were on fire, “You don’t like them?” She cried, but her hand was stuck firmly in his palm.

Arad bent down and kissed her hand, “The opposite, I like them,” He smiled as she couldn’t breathe.