As I entered the house, I realized that the living room was directly connected to the main door, so without thinking much, I walked in and sat on one of the seats.

"I'll go call my sister, wait here." He said as he left my field of vision.

He's kinder than I thought…. I reflected. Being alone, I quickly took the opportunity to look around the interior of Angelica's house.

Wow… her house is very… very different from mine. I thought, amazed at the furniture, the tapestry, and the decorations they had. Maybe it's different because they're demons. I noted. Yeah, that must be it.

I wonder who those demons are. I thought as I saw various paintings adorning the wall in a somewhat eerie way.

While I was still admiring their culture, I heard some voices that caught my attention.

"—did he tell you his name?" Said a familiar voice in the distance. "I don't know, but he seems strong, so I let him in." Said the demon who let me in.

As they approached, I tried to think of a way to look cool when she saw me, but with no ideas in mind, I could only think to smile when they arrived, creating a short but awkward silence.

"Paul, leave us alone." Finally, Angelica said, breaking the silence that seemed to last forever. "Okay, but I'll come back every now and then." He said as he left the room.

"So… are you my owner?" She asked timidly in the world language. "What?" I said, not understanding what Angelica meant. Wait! Does that mean what I said earlier was….

"Sorry! I tried to speak in the demon language, but I forgot how to say a word, and—" I said quickly after seeing the embarrassed expression on her face. "Just sorry."

I hope she doesn't stop talking to me…. I thought, scared. "So that was it…." She said softly as she blushed a little. "It seemed too forward for you to say something like that, although, I wouldn't mind if it became something similar in the future."

Wait! What did she just say!!? I thought as my body froze in shock.

"Well, anyway, what brings you here today?" She said, cutting off the strange ideas that were popping into my head about the future.

"Right! I-I just came to get to know you a little more like we said the other day."

"Ahh…" She said, standing up. "In that case, how about we go outside? Since the best way to get to know someone is by playing with them." She said cheerfully.

Even though she's 17 years old, she's still a child for her race…. I thought before mentally laughing inside my head. "Sounds perfect." I said, smiling.

When we left her house, we walked a few meters through the forest until we saw some branches that we used as target practice.

Apparently, in this world, kids usually play with magic. Well, I don't blame them; after all, it's a lot of fun. I thought, smiling as I hit three targets in a row.

Something interesting I noticed while we were playing is that Angelica used long incantations before casting a spell. When I asked her, she explained that incantations help the caster have more control over their spells.

Wow… But why didn't Zoe tell me about this? I thought, confused. Since the beginning of my magic training, I thought there were only one-word incantations, but when you try to say the longer incantations, there's a noticeable difference in mana control.

"By the way, Angelica, what's your core rank?" I said while we were resting, sitting on an old log.

"Huh? My rank? Mmm… a few days ago I just reached advanced, why?" She said, confused.

What!!? I thought, very surprised. "N-not for any reason, I just noticed you use magic more easily, but now I understand why." I said, trying to hide my astonishment.

From the way she controlled mana, I knew she was superior to me, but how is it possible that someone her age is of Advanced rank? I wondered, confused.

It just doesn't make sense, even now Zoe is still at Advanced rank, and I… I'm barely entering Intermediate. Angelica is very talented…. I thought with embarrassment.

"And since you asked Drake, what rank are you currently?" She asked, looking at me with curiosity. Damn it! I shouldn't have asked!

"Me-me? I'm at Advanced rank just like you." I said nervously.

"What!? That's amazing!" She said excitedly. "Even my brother is only Intermediate rank." Only? Good thing I lied.

"That's right Angelica, I'm also someone spectacular." I said, puffing out my chest. "Yeah, in that case, we can have more fun than just casting a few spells at the trees."

Huh? How? I thought, confused by Angelica's words. "Drake, what do you think about going monster hunting in the forest tomorrow?"

Wait! What!? "Bu-but Angelica, that's for older people, besides, it would be dangerous for just the two of us to go monster hunting." I said seriously, trying to dismiss her idea.

"You're right, if we want to go deeper into the forest, we need to go with someone exper… I know! How about we go with your sister? With Zoe." She said, jumping up before looking me in the eyes.

Ah… ahh…. "Yeah… maybe, bu—" "Great! Then tomorrow before noon we'll meet right here." She said, cutting me off.

"But Angelica, I—" I said before stopping abruptly as I reconsidered her idea.

Wait, she's right, if we go with Zoe there won't be a problem, right? I quickly thought. Besides, if all this goes well, I'll be able to build a friendship with Angelica that could someday turn into a deep relationship and then this with her in the fut…

"Alright Angelica, it sounds like a perfect idea." I finally said with a smile. The only problem will be convincing Zoe, but I'll think about that later.

Once we agreed to go monster hunting, we talked a little more and then said our goodbyes after a few minutes since it was getting dark.

On the way home, I started thinking about a way to convince Zoe to come with us, but as I couldn't find the right words in my mind, my worry grew. Ahh!! I can't think of anything!

…

"No, don't even think about it." Zoe said firmly after hearing what had happened with such enthusiasm on the way home.

"But sister, I'm ready to take the next step and besi—" I tried to insist before Zoe cut me off by raising her hand.

"One, you're not ready. Your core is barely at Intermediate rank and two… our parents won't let you be in danger under any circumstances." She said before going back to writing in her journal.

As I suspected, she doesn't want to listen to me. Damn it! I need to find another way. I thought after her rejection.

"I know those things, Zoe." I said seriously as I looked into her eyes after a few seconds of silence. "But… I also know that I won't go hunting alone, like I said, I want you, my sister, to accompany and protect me."

"Huh? And why do you want me to go with you?" She asked, raising an eyebrow in curiosity.

"Because you're the person I trust most in this world." I finally said, making Zoe think for a few seconds before giving me a final answer.

"If I help you with this mess you got yourself into" You didn't have to remind me… "You'll owe me one, got it?" She said, looking me in the eyes.

Why do I feel like this is going to be a bad idea…. I thought before giving her an answer.

"If you help me with tomorrow, I'll agree to do whatever you say." I said, leaving the worries for my future self.

"In that case, I'll take care of getting permission from our parents." She commented with a smile before going back to writing.

"Yes! You're the best!" I replied before Zoe asked me to keep quiet. Oops, sorry….

After waiting for her for a few minutes, she put her journal aside and explained some very interesting things about monsters that I needed to learn before going to hunt them.

Monsters are animals or spirits that evolved by absorbing too much mana with their cores, so once they evolve, they become a completely different species, which is why they also group or mate like other animals.

They're called monsters because they're very aggressive and territorial, so they always stay a bit away from cities to avoid being disturbed.

Right, I remember reading something similar somewhere. The animals and plants in this world also need mana to survive, and they can evolve if they come to understand the mana within their bodies or something like that.

After Zoe explained that to me, she instructed me on combat against monsters. She explained that their attacks are usually clumsy, and that if I use the techniques she taught me in training, even someone like me could defeat a few.

She really didn't have to say that last part…. I thought with a mental tear.

We talked for a few more minutes until mom called us for dinner. Zoe told me she would take care of getting permission after dinner, so I just went downstairs without worries.

I'm glad to have a sister like her. I thought of Zoe as I noticed how she was thinking the whole time during dinner. She's probably thinking about how to get our parents' permission.

We all ate together, and then Zoe asked me to go upstairs and rest for tomorrow, so she talked to Kadian and mom. Although I couldn't hear their conversation, Zoe later came to my room saying that everything was ready, that I should just sleep because we'd be leaving early tomorrow.

Once Zoe left my room, I started thinking a bit while polishing the sword that Irisha had bought me a few days ago.

It's strange, but I feel like time is passing so quickly. It's already been over 13 years since I came to this world, and I still haven't achieved anything noteworthy. I'm just like any normal person in this world… or so I'd like to say, but my fate is certainly sealed. I thought, recalling the deal I made with Bernal.

I have to become the new Dragon God, I don't know how I'll do it, but I must so that I can survive in the future. I told myself as I gazed at my dull reflection in the blade of my sword.

But it's comforting to know that I still have time to increase my strength, and besides, I haven't played all my cards yet, because I haven't dedicated time to learning those techniques that Bernal left me. I thought as I turned my sword to the other side.

And I also haven't used much of Bernal's fragment mana in my spells, and lastly… I still don't know how to use my other core as I should. I thought before the beating Zoe gave me this morning came to mind.

But it's true that I have to keep training, I have to resolve some doubts I had when I came to this world. After all, I wasted a lot of time thinking I could have a normal life, but every time I review Bernal's knowledge, I know more strongly that it simply won't be that way.

Tomorrow, I'll take a very important step in my progress because I'll finally be in a real fight, I'll finally be able to cast spells with the intent to kill, and I'll finally be able to… test out this beauty. I thought, finally, as I looked at my beautiful sword.

"Right, now that I think about it, I didn't give you a proper name." I whispered to my new companion. "I'll call you… Belarus, the Dragon's Guardian." I said before letting out a soft laugh.

It seems like a good name, but I think I'll drop the last part. I thought before laughing again at how cheesy it sounded.