Returning to his room, Genasar finally couldn’t resist the exhaustion and fell into a deep sleep.
When he woke again, he inexplicably felt his whole body was especially stiff.
“Hmm… I must be tired out. Ever since I reincarnated, I haven’t been this worn out…”
For Genasar, this was even more tiring than Gori’s torturous training methods.
As he tried to get up, he felt as if something was pressing on his back. When he moved, that something lost its balance and slid off his wing.
Looking back, he saw it was Karu, curled up into a ball and fast asleep.
She was dead to the world—even with all this movement, she didn’t wake up.
“……”
Turning his head to look at her, Genasar felt utterly helpless.
“Why is she here?”
Just as he was feeling at a loss, he suddenly noticed a small note in front of him.
It was left by Gori, and the message was just a few simple lines:
“Recently, I’ve found the warehouse supplies running low. I’ve gone out to restock and don’t know when I’ll be back. Take care of the house.”
“……”
Genasar looked at the note, then turned to look at the sleeping Karu. It was hard not to connect the two of them.
“Could it be that even Master can’t handle Karu’s mischief? That can’t be right, hmm…”
In the end, Genasar gave up on thinking and lay back down.
“Forget it, I’ll just catch a bit more sleep.”
You can never have too much sleep or food. Genasar flopped back down again.
But this time, when he woke up, he felt a faint, ticklish sensation on the scales of his face.
“Hmm?”
Opening his eyes, he found Karu’s little face just inches away.
Meeting his gaze, she gave a radiant smile and then leapt onto Genasar, bouncing on him non-stop.
“Since you’re awake, get up and play with me, play with me~”
“Alright, alright, I’m up, stop bouncing.”
He hurriedly stopped her, and only then did Genasar reluctantly get up.
Scratching an itch on his body with his claw, smacking his lips in confusion for a while, he finally jumped down from the bed and stretched with a heavy yawn.
“So… hmm, what should we do now? Oh right, did Master teach you anything? Tell me about it.”
Not knowing what topic to bring up, Genasar could only steer the conversation to her studies.
But she cheerfully raised her claw.
“No idea~”
“……Ah?” How can you be so happy when you don’t know?
“Well… forget it, let’s not talk about that. Did you draw something on my face while I was asleep?”
With that familiar feeling, Genasar instantly guessed she must have doodled on his face while he slept.
He spoke as he walked over to a relatively smooth Fire Crystal to use as a mirror.
Sure enough, she had used some kind of herbal black juice to draw two dark circles under his eyes.
“Er-heh.”
Squinting, he turned to look at her. She blinked her big eyes, trying to get away with cuteness.
“Ah? What? Karu doesn’t know anything, hehe~”
She laughed and ran away, peeking back through the half-open stone door before slipping off again.
What could Genasar do? He couldn’t really hit her, and if he scolded her lightly or heavily, she never remembered the lesson anyway.
“No, I need to figure out what she likes, otherwise, if this keeps up, who can stand it?”
It was just like Aishi: if he made her upset or needed a favor, a cup of ice cream would fix everything.
“Hmm… What could I use to guide—ah, no, to teach her?”
He didn’t know her specific preferences yet, but for now, he could try the general likes of Dragons.
Thinking of this, a comical smile appeared on his face.
Stepping out of the room, he saw Karu playing with that shiny Metal Sphere.
Genasar wore a big smile as he approached and spoke up:
“Little sister, what kind of gifts do you like? Now that I think about it, I still haven’t given you a meeting gift. Think about what you like.”
“Eh? Gifts, something I like… this.”
She held up the Metal Sphere, but Genasar waved his claw.
“You can play with that as much as you want, but it doesn’t count as a gift. Think again.”
Karu’s chibi-like little paw scratched her head. After thinking for a long time and getting nowhere, she shook her head.
“Bu ji dao.”
“Then… how about this.”
With that, Genasar took out a shiny Gold Coin.
As expected, the moment Karu saw it, she seemed entranced, unable to take her eyes away.
“Whoa~ So shiny~”
“I don’t have anything else, so I’ll give you this as your gift. Do you like it?”
“Like it~”
She excitedly accepted the Gold Coin, threw it on the ground, and circled around it again and again, admiring the brilliant glow.
Seeing how effective this was, Genasar felt relieved.
“As expected, while each has their own way of loving treasure, in the end, everyone is interested.”
Most Dragons love treasure, but the reason varies by individual.
Chromatic Dragons either purely enjoy the process and result of hoarding.
For example, pillaging and plundering, then treating treasure as trophies to showcase their power.
Or, just like a Tuantuan Mouse, hoarding simply for the sake of hoarding—no complex reasons, just pure simplicity.
Metallic Dragons are a bit different. Karu was a classic Gold Dragon—she simply loved the shine of treasure.
And some Metal Dragons, who had even integrated into Wisdom Races’ society, enjoyed the fun of trade, making them even fonder of wealth.
Either way, as long as Gold Coins could attract Karu for now, that was enough.
“Hehe~ Who would’ve thought that the Gold Coin that old man dropped could come in handy so soon? I was planning to save it for later.”
This was the Compensation paid by Bartke after nearly confusing Aishi. He and Aishi had split it evenly.
Bartke: So you used my bullets to shoot my own men?
“From now on, you have to behave, especially don’t come doodle on my face while I’m sleeping, got it?”
Genasar spoke while leaning close to Karu’s face, wanting to make a strong impression so she wouldn’t dare next time.
“Got it~”
“Good. Now, call me ‘big brother’ for once.”
“Big brother~ big brother, big brother~”
She called sweetly and then leaned in again, giving Genasar’s face a big lick.
“Eh? Uh… Oh right, I’m not used to this, gave me a fright.”
That sudden lick almost made Genasar freeze, but he quickly realized—this was a social gesture most creatures used when they reached a certain level of affection.
Much like family or lovers kissing each other’s cheeks, it meant Karu now truly accepted Genasar as family from the bottom of her heart.
After she helped Genasar wipe off the doodles from his face, Genasar suddenly remembered something serious.
“Speaking of which… does Aishi dislike me? She’s never done anything like this to me. No, I have to go ask.”
Without another word, he ran to Aishi’s room. She was burying her face in a book even bigger than herself.
Noticing Genasar’s arrival, she looked somewhat helpless.
“What is it?”
Genasar, face solemn, stuck his big Dragon face in close, eyes sharp.
“Don’t say anything, lick me.”
“……”（ᗜ△ᗜ）
“If you don’t move, I’ll do it myself.”
“……”→_→
Finally, Genasar left the room completely satisfied, leaving behind a speechless Aishi.
“This idiot, sigh…”
With a helpless sigh, she continued reading.