Chapter 54

Chapter 54: You Are My Sun

In the end, Naya only told Illya a story and then returned to her room to sleep with Iris, instead of staying the night with Illya.

After all, her wife had already been like a pressurized gas tank during their bath, and leaving her alone in the room could very well lead to an explosion.

As soon as Naya got into bed, Iris wrapped her in a firm embrace, her gaze carrying a hint of intimidation.

“Illya is old enough now. You should teach her to be more mindful of her actions. It’s inappropriate for her to just casually touch another girl’s chest.”

Leaning on Iris’s shoulder, Naya’s purple eyes shimmered with a soft smile.

“What’s this? Are you jealous of your own daughter?”

“Yes, I’m jealous. Now, let me have a taste.”

With that, Iris playfully dove toward Naya’s chest, causing her to burst into laughter.

Sure enough, like mother, like daughter. Naya cradled Iris’s head.

“Stop that, Iris…”

If this keeps up, she won’t be able to get out of bed tomorrow.

Naya easily pushed Iris’s head away, and Iris didn’t press the matter. After all, she had eaten her fill during dinner and couldn’t generate energy around the clock.

“Why did you make me eat bitter melon?”

Iris asked the question again, still confused about why Naya would prepare that dish. Surely it wasn’t just for teasing?

“I told you, it’s for training, to get stronger.”

Naya grasped Iris’s hand, guiding it to rest on her chest, just below her collarbone. She gazed at Iris with sincere eyes.

“Iris, can you help me find some things? It might be difficult, but I really want them.”

“What do you want? The stars? The moon?”

Iris’s tone was that of a domineering CEO, but Naya’s wish was far less romantic.

“Hmm… I want the completely intact spine of a 30-year-old python, 100 liters of lava from a volcano that’s been active for over a thousand years, and 10 premium magic crystal ores.”

“Why do you want those things for?”

“To repair that Holy Spear of mine.”

That Holy Spear?

Iris’s thoughts drifted back five years, to the long spear that had pierced her heart—Naya’s spear.

She stared at Naya, her expression momentarily stunned.

“Can you do that, Iris?”

“What do you need that Holy Spear for?”

“I want to become stronger. That way, when we go out together, I won’t always need you to protect me. I was once one of the top Heroes among humans, after all. Even though I’ve become a dragon, I can still use my old skills.”

“Alright.”

Even a second of hesitation would tarnish her trust in Naya’s sincerity.

Iris erased any doubt in her heart and agreed to Naya’s request.

“Yay! Iris, I knew you were the best!”

Naya threw herself into Iris’s arms, in a motion almost identical to Illya’s, with similar words. Indeed, like mother, like daughter.

[System, what should I do? I feel like I’m really falling for her.]

She loved being held tightly by Iris, loved the faint fragrance that clung to her, loved the heat that pulsed from Iris’s body and merged with her own as their skin pressed together.

Whenever she saw Iris, she couldn’t help but want to cuddle with her, to be a little girlfriend who nestled in her embrace.

[How can you even say that? Haven’t you already fallen in love?]

[But it’s not the same…]

It was a strange feeling, one that words couldn’t fully capture. But if she had to describe it, Naya thought of pink clouds and breezes like those in spring.

Naya lifted a hand and gently twirled Iris’s cool strands of hair with her finger.

“I have one more request, Iris.”

“Hmm?”

She brought a lock of Iris’s hair to her nose, inhaling the faint scent of red roses.

“I want ten scales from dragons of at least gold rank. Is that alright?”

Surely, in a nation as large as the Dragon Empire, there had to be a few criminals. Iris could just pluck ten scales from one of them.

“What do you need those for?”

“To repair the Holy Spear, of course. The higher the rank of the dragon, the stronger my Holy Spear will be after it’s repaired.”

“What if we use mine?”

But Iris only smiled softly.

“No matter what, I want to give you the best of everything. What’s ten scales? I am willing to pluck a hundred for you.”

“Iris… don’t joke like that.”

A hundred scales? Wouldn’t Iris be stripped down to look like a brown dragon?

“So, what’s the principle behind this? Didn’t I already destroy that Holy Spear?”

“No, it’s not completely destroyed. After you shattered it, it entered a different dimension. I can use a similar kind of energy to repair it—energy that’s found in Heroes like me.”

Naya said all this in one breath, and sure enough, she heard the system screaming in her mind.

[Host, what are you doing! Are you planning to self-destruct again?]

[It’s not like I’m fully self-destructing. Iris loves me so much. What’s the harm in telling her a little bit? I haven’t broken any promises.]

Iris’s curiosity was piqued. She had been waiting for Naya to reveal the truth for a long time. Her eyes gleamed, like a scholar eager to learn.

“The kind of energy found in Heroes… what kind, exactly?”

“Hehe… goodnight, Iris ~”

Naya quickly released Iris and dove under the covers, turning her back to her.

Now Iris knew exactly how Illya felt when Naya stopped her stories on a cliffhanger. It was maddening.

Iris lay down beside her.

She gazed at Naya’s long silver hair flowing gracefully over her snow-white shoulders, her delicate bones subtly outlined beneath the skin. Unable to resist, Iris placed a gentle kiss on that fair skin.

“Goodnight, Naya.”

She wrapped an arm around Naya’s slender waist, whispering sweet words while vowing to herself.

Next time, I’ll make sure you know how it feels to be cut off!

The next morning.

Naya slowly opened her eyes.

A head dangled over the edge of the bed, startling her. As her vision cleared, she realized it was Iris.

Naya pressed her hand to her forehead.

“You scared me! What are you doing?”

Iris had been crouched next to the bed, her head hanging just enough to peer at Naya. For a moment, Naya had thought she was looking at a decapitated head.

“Just admiring your beautiful sleeping face.”

“That’s not the way to admire it.”

Naya pouted. In the past, Iris would simply lie beside her, silently watching until Naya woke up. This way, Naya could sense Iris’s presence and wouldn’t be startled.

“I stepped out for a bit earlier and got up before you. I didn’t want to wake you by getting back into bed. Here, these are the scales you wanted.”

Iris smiled as she dragged a large transparent bag up from under the bed. It was filled with bright red dragon scales, each one the size of a hand.

“Ten pieces, not a scale more or less.”

“You really took them from yourself?”

Naya sat up, staring at the bag of scales in Iris’s hands. They were as pristine as newly minted treasures—clearly Iris’s.

Naya had never seen scales as clean as these from anyone else.

“Who else? I promised you the best, so I gave you the best.”

As someone who had lived as a dragon for nearly six years, Naya had read many books about the Dragon Empire. She knew exactly what dragon scales meant to a dragon.

However, Iris casually plucked her scales for her without hesitation. Even though Iris is the Dragon Queen of the dragon race, standing at the very pinnacle of their kind.

No—not without hesitation. Iris had done it willingly, without a single complaint, because it was for her.

Before Naya realized it, her vision had blurred, and two streams of warm tears were running down her cheeks. In both her past and present lives, she had never been so deeply moved.

As soft morning light streamed through the curtains, bathing Iris in golden hues, she looked as serene as a deity—like a holy figure descended to earth.

Iris, you are my sun, always shining so brilliantly upon me.

With her eyes closed, she felt rain-like kisses land on her face. Her tears, like pearls, were tenderly kissed away by the dragon, as though cleansed by the loving touch of the Virgin Mary, purifying her once-tainted soul.