Scylla-sama shouted the name 'Dulia' and a beautiful silver-haired girl with golden eyes, wearing a decent dress unlike the other snake people, went in the hut. Her slightly pointed ears caught my attention.

Is she an elf? Why is an elf like her here? Aren't elves the enemies of the beastmen? Why on Walpurgis did Scylla-sama pick her up? And where?

It's my first time seeing someone with silver hair, and she even has golden eyes. And her face, she's so beautiful. Okaasama is a spirit so she's practically pretty, but she will pale in comparison to this girl right here.

The wife of the Snake Clan Leader introduced us to each other; I greeted her as polite as I could and all that I got is a raised hand. I lost my cool but I suddenly had an idea of playing with her. I pretended to be an innocent boy and brought her somewhere.

The scenery is quite beautiful, honestly, but her amazed look is better to look at.

I called her 'Sese-chan' to wrap up my act and she had this dumb look on her face. I slipped out my thoughts once in a while.

"... my beautiful canary, you belong to my cage now." I saw her shudder at my words so I beamed out a smile that she pushed her suspicions to the back of her mind.

I tried to persuade her to talk but she won't budge. Until I showed her an amorous smile that she accidentally muttered "cute."

Even her voice is cute, is she an angel? Even if it was barely heard, she sounded like gay brass bells. I feel like my mind is being purified by her voice alone.

I've decided, she can only be mine. No one shall steal her away from me, she'll be my beloved canary forever. I'll kill anyone who dares to make a move on her.

I'll kill ottousama and marry her.

"You're the cutest Sese-chan!" Her face and the tips of her ears reddened. She fiddled with her fingers while looking at me with her teary eyes. "How can you be this adorable?"

"... op..."

I'm so lucky to have met her before anyone else did. Hah, what would she look like when we grow up?

She tugged on my sleeves while shivering that alarmed me. When she blinks, her white eyelashes fluttered like the wings of a butterfly.

"... ax... un" She called me that I snapped back to reality.

Were she trying to call me 'Max-kun'? Cute!!

Let's focus, it seems that she's bothered by something.

"Sese-chan, what's wrong?"

"... ster... ere..." She pointed to a gigantic two-headed snake.

Oh shit, a D-Rank monster!!

"Stay here, I'll try to distract it while you run and ask for some help. Understand?"

"... ful... ax... un..." She stuttered while looking away.

What? I'll perceive it as 'Be careful, Max-kun.'

*shiing

*slash

*tap tap tap

*huff huff

I was preoccupied with fighting with the monster that I didn't notice its tail, it was about to slash towards Sese-chan.

*hiss

Everything went in slow motion. The slow movement of the tail, her defending of herself by crossing his arms around her and her closing eyelids. I swiftly ran so I could save her in time.

*slash

*splurt

I cut its tail that it dropped to the ground causing a light rumble. I pulled Sese-chan to my arms to calm her down.

*hiccup

"Shh, it's okay Sese-chan... everything's okay now..." I tried to coo her. "... don't worry, nothing's gonna hurt you now..."

"Hn." She briefly replied and looked up to me.

Her eyes were in the verge of tears but she tried very hard to stop it. Her cheeks were flushed and her entire body was still trembling.

Will it traumatize her? I hope it doesn't, I don't want my toy to be a scaredy cat. However, being submissive to me is tempting too. My beloved canary, just imagining her cowering in fear under my presence... ah, how satisfying.

"... un..." She said that I sweatdropped.

What? Un what?

I ruffled her hair and showed her a toothy grin. Her frightened self just a moment ago returned to being quiet and mysterious. She, little by little, closed her eyes, hiding her golden irises.

Her head fell on my chest that I stiffened.

*bump

This girl, doesn't she have any idea what it means to be alone with a man? Well, I'm technically just a little boy but still, she has to draw a line between us. Hah, how careless of her.

I slowly laid myself down the grass and placed her head on my spreaded left forearm. Her chest rose and fell repeatedly and her breath was steady, meaning she's fast asleep.

"Hah..." I sighed as I stared at her. "I can't believe I'm being kind to her when I'm cold-blooded to others, ready to kill. This girl is... unique."

*rustle

*sfx for a broken twig

My ears perked up when I heard those suspicious noises. I was about to stand up when Sese-chan hugged me. She refused to let go even after all my light struggles.

A russet-haired man with dull gray eyes, wearing an all-black outfit revealed himself from the shade of a tree.

"... who are you..?" I angrily asked, but I maintained a lower voice.

"I am from the Dragon Clan, young human prince. My name is Ryuuji, the personal butler of Philippe Raizen Dracaena-sama. I am here for her, if you want to ask." He replied in a monotone voice.

Wait what? But didn't that half-dragon prince die seven years ago?

"I see. What business do you have with her, Ryuuji-san?"

"She needs to return home. I guess it's not exactly home considering her lineage..." He said and whispered the last sentence.

What?!! Her home, isn't she an elf? Why is she going to Daemonorops, the dragon kingdom, of all places?!

"We-Wait a minute, what do you mean? Isn't she an elf?" I asked, still in confusion. He just chuckled.

"Human prince, I can't tell you all I know yet. Right now, we need to move. The monster that you fought earlier was sent by a secret criminal organization who exploits hybrids. It just so happens that she's a hybrid herself."

"Why should I believe you when you can be one of them?"

"I, in the name of the Icytheus Viscounty of Daemonorops, swear to have said the utmost truth. Does the oath suffice?" I balked.

What, a draconic viscounty? What the heck? He even stated an oath that could kill him if he ever broke it.

What kind of ancestry does this girl have?

"I bet you have a lot of questions, future sun of Coelacanth, but I need to take her now. If you may excuse me," He easily took Sese-chan out of my grasp. "It's all okay now Seraphine-sama, this loyal servant of Philippe-sama will be the one to care for you." He whispered to her ear.

"... hngg..."

Seraphine-sama? Seraphine... where did I hear that name from?

"... if Rena and I had a daughter, it would probably be a combination of both our names..."

"What would it be, Philippe-ouji?"

"Hm, I wonder... would you like to decide for me?"

"But then, Serena-hime would scold me..!"

"Haha... don't worry, she won't."

"Then, it would be... it would be... Seraphine!"

Wait... She's the daughter of Philippe-ouji and Serena-hime?! What a weird coincidence!

Now that I think about it, Ryuuji-san usually watches Philippe-ouji from the shadows. All the assassination attempts failed because of him, or known as 'Sang-Froid' in the underworld.

(A/N: 'Sang-Froid' means 'cold-blood', I think?)

"I'll leave now or those bastards will follow my tracks and I won't be able to bring her back." He said as he looked around.

*snap

*swish

The two disappeared into thin air right before my eyes. Due to my exhaustion, which was because of fighting a monster and overloading information, my knees felt weak and fell to the ground.

Hah, she keeps surprising me. I wonder if I can meet her again.

*sigh

This day might be strangest for me, I even met someone from the past.