Vol 8. Chapter 17: Lonely Adults, Lonely Children

Compared to the noisy, playful energy of the husband-and-wife group, Hefei and Orion’s side was much gloomier. The exam had been going for over an hour, and Orion had spoken exactly three sentences to Hefei:

“Don’t ask me.”

“Mm, not bad.”

“Keep it up.”

And all of it with a cold face, embodying aloofness to the extreme.

It reminded Hefei of her father. At home he too kept a stern face all day. Apart from handling clan affairs and the necessary daily exchanges with her, he rarely spoke. But he did show his love through actions—taking her out to play, buying her toys she wanted, teaching her new magic.

Orion, however, seemed to have no intention of communicating at all. Her role as examiner in this test looked like nothing more than a task to be completed.

Hefei didn’t really mind. After all, nobody said that examiners and examinees from the two races had to be friendly, chatty, or build bonds.

Everyone had their own way of doing things. Hefei wouldn’t dwell on it too long. At most, she just felt a little disappointed and bored.

Thinking that, the little red-haired girl couldn’t hold back a soft sigh.

That sound immediately caught Orion’s attention. Walking beside Hefei, she turned her eyes to the little one’s drooping red tail.

Books said you could read a dragon’s emotions from their tail—especially children. A tail hanging limp meant they weren’t happy.

Orion’s gaze shifted slightly. She opened her mouth, ready to comfort the little one—but the words stuck in her throat, and she swallowed them back.

Instead, she looked around and pointed ahead to a boulder.

“Let’s rest there.”

“Mm? Oh, okay.”

They went to the rock and sat in the shade. Hefei leaned her shoulder back, curled her small tail in front, hugging it lightly with both arms.

She missed Muse a little. If her best friend were here, she definitely wouldn’t be this bored.

Seeing the girl sink lower, Orion finally forced a topic:

“How old are you this year?”

Hefei blinked, surprised her stone-faced examiner was actually making conversation.

“Six.”

“Oh... You look younger than most of your classmates. Wasn’t starting school this early a problem?”

“No problem.”

Hefei said, “Father wanted me to start early, so I could become a dragon warrior sooner.”

“Your father?...”

“Mm. Constantine. He’s the Dragon King of our Redflame Dragons.”

“Constantine?... That warmonger...”

So Orion’s impression of Old Con was stuck in the version from over ten years ago—a shallow stereotype.

Hefei explained right away:

“My father hasn’t been in war for a long time. And during the Void Realm incident, he helped Uncle Leon a lot.”

The child’s honest defense of her father made Orion nod.

“Sorry. I misjudged him.”

“It’s okay. A few years ago lots of classmates misunderstood him too. I’m used to it.”

Those words cracked open a little knot, and Hefei wasn’t quite so down anymore.

She sat with hands braced behind her, stretching out her short legs and swinging her feet, tapping her toes together.

“And your mother?”

Orion thought, if the father was controversial, maybe talking about the mother was safer.

“I don’t have a mother.”

“...”

Orion immediately felt she had stepped in it again. This was why she didn’t talk much—she always managed to hit landmines without meaning to.

But seeing her examiner suddenly cautious, Hefei realized what she was thinking and quickly added:

“It’s alright, Sister Orion. I’m a pupa-born dragon. I never had a mother.”

Never had a mother...

“That sounds... strange.”

Orion didn’t know much about dragon reproduction. She couldn’t keep pressing about mothers, so she grabbed the other word.

“Pupa-born dragon?”

“Mm-hm. Dragons with mothers are live-born—like Muse, Sister Moon, Sister Aurora, and Senior Noa. But pupa-born dragons are nurtured directly by the previous generation. One person can complete it.”

Orion finally understood.

“So that’s it...”

A race where either sex could reproduce—this was too beyond Orion’s world. She couldn’t imagine what it was like to grow up missing a parent.

Maybe... that’s why this child kept wanting to talk to her, but hesitated?

The absence of one parent’s presence—no matter how mature the child, it left some cracks in the personality.

Orion often visited orphanages to spend time with abandoned children. So she knew what kids this age were like. Hefei had grown up without any adult woman in the family. No one to guide her, to fill in the missing parts of her thoughts, her personality, her worldview. Over time, that would leave her a little different from other children.

After all, a father’s way of thinking wasn’t the same as a mother’s. A child raised by only one would inevitably turn out different. If not for her early awakening of spirit sense and hand-holding Constantine through how to raise a daughter, Hefei wouldn’t be as bright as she was now.

For a child to grow up healthy and happy, both parents mattered.

But the dragon race had passed down their methods for tens of thousands of years. In pupa-born families, as long as the child didn’t grow crooked, life went on with scolding and beatings as usual, eating and drinking as usual. So the pattern continued.

Orion considered Hefei’s nature. If this child craved interaction, then she could at least give her more words.

Even if Orion herself wasn’t the warm type, she could treat talking with Hefei as just another task to complete.

As Orion racked her brain for topics, Hefei spoke softly:

“Sometimes I envy Muse and my sisters.”

From the draw lots earlier and Hefei’s words, Orion could tell the one called Muse was her close friend.

“Why envy them?” Orion asked.

Hefei curled her legs up, hugged her knees, and rested her chin on them.

“Because they have Auntie Rosvisser. She treats them so ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ well. They can hug and kiss her anytime. I wish I had someone to hug and kiss me...”

If General Leon overheard that, not even celestial soldiers could imagine Constantine kissing and hugging Hefei. But it only confirmed what Orion had thought...

A child couldn’t grow up without a mother’s love.

Faced with Hefei’s wish, Orion was at a loss.

She didn’t know what to say. The silence stretched for over a minute.

Hefei, head down, heard no answer, and assumed her examiner had gone back into cold silence mode.

But when she looked up, Orion was suddenly leaning close, her flawless face expressionless as ever—yet she opened her arms.

Hefei froze, instinctively leaning back.

“Sister Orion, what are you doing...”

“Hugging you.” Orion said bluntly.

Hefei: ?

This was the only method Orion could think of. She wasn’t about to deliver some fluent comfort—her gift with words was in the negatives.

A hug was simpler.

The little red-haired girl blinked, her gloom already lightened by Orion’s surprising gesture.

“I didn’t mean it like that, Sister Orion...”

“Oh... sorry...”

Orion awkwardly lowered her arms. But just as she pulled back, Hefei suddenly darted forward, burying herself in Orion’s embrace, hugging her waist.

“Thank you, Sister Orion,” she whispered.

Before Orion could react, Hefei had pulled away again. Standing up, her face faintly flushed, she said:

“Let’s keep looking for point cards.”

Orion’s blue eyes wavered faintly, dazed. After a pause, the corner of her lips curved almost imperceptibly.

“Alright.”

They set off again, heading deeper into the valley.

Ten minutes later, a rustle came from the roadside brush. Hefei instantly tensed, dragonfire flaring in her hand.

But the figure that stumbled out was just a boy, a little older than her.

“Sister Orion!”

The boy waved excitedly the moment he saw her.

Orion recognized him.

“Anton. What a coincidence.”

Anton was one of the kids she had played basketball with that day.

“Hefei, this is my Blazing Sun student, Anton.”

“Oh, hello~” Hefei replied politely.

After the brief introduction, Orion asked:

“Where’s your examiner?”

“Ah, he’s behind me! Listen, Sister Orion—my partner, the dragon warrior I drew, he’s super handsome, super stylish, looks like he’s born invincible!”

He paused, then pointed at Hefei’s hair.

“And like Hefei here, he’s got flaming red hair. So cool!”