"Girls, I'd like to introduce my friend, Valerie," Lux said. "These are her maidservants, Ali and Ari. Valerie, this is Leah, Emily, and Alexa. I hope that all of you will get along well and become good friends."
Lux had led Valerie and her maids inside the Guild Headquarters and introduced them to Garret and his family, who acted as his stewards whenever he was away.
Valerie frowned after seeing the three beautiful ladies, and she wondered if the three of them were Lux's lovers.
Although the youngest of them, Leah, was only six years old, in Valerie's eyes, anyone who could breathe in Lux's headquarters had a chance to become the Half-Elf's future lover.
Emily, who was fourteen years old, might still be young, but her beauty was slowly maturing.
For the time being, Valerie's gaze landed on the oldest daughter, Alexa, who was nearest to Lux in age.
For some reason, she felt a prickling pain in her chest after knowing that the Half-Elf, who always talked to her affectionately in her dreams, was around other girls aside from her.
"It's a pleasure to meet the three of you, Leah, Emily, and Alexa." Valerie did a curtsy, which she had practiced many times in the past. "I hope to get along with the three of you as well."
"I hope for that as well," Alexa also did a curtsy.
Leah and Emily did the same. As daughters of a High-Ranking Noble of the Haca Dynasty, all of them had been trained to act in accordance with their rank.
After exchanging greetings, Valerie finally asked the question that had been on her mind since she saw the three girls in front of her.
"Um, why do all of you have Baby Slimes on your head?" Valerie asked. "Is that what they call a trend?"
She was already used to seeing Eiko perched on top of Lux's head. But, seeing the three girls, whom she had one-sidedly recognized as her rivals, having them as well, she felt as if she was at a great disadvantage.
Leah happily held her Baby Slime, Holly, and presented her to Valerie with a big smile on her face.
"Isn't she cute?" Leah asked. "Her name is Holly! She and I are best friends."
"Ei!" The pink baby slime, Holly, jumped up and down on Leah's hand as if affirming that what her Master said was true.
Valerie's heart melted after seeing such an adorable gesture, making her temporarily forget the feeling of rivalry she had with the six-year-old girl in front of her.
"Can I hold her?" Valerie asked.
"Un!" Leah nodded and handed Holly over to her.
Holly swayed on Valerie's hand like jelly, making the plain-looking girl giggle.
"Do you want one as well?" Lux, seeing that Valerie seemed to like Holly very much, asked.
"I'd love to! May I?"
"Of course."
Lux smiled at the Dragon Princess, making the latter's heart skip a beat because Lux's smile was the same one he gave her in her dreams.
A few minutes later, the Half-Elf took Valerie to the Nursery he had made for the eggs of the Baby Slimes that he took from Leaf Village.
"Wow! There's so many of them!" Valerie said in excitement. "They also have different colors. It's like looking at a rainbow."
"Amazing, right?" Leah said with pride as if she was the one that owned the Nursery.
She and Holly would often visit the Nursery to clean it from time to time, so for them, this place was as good as theirs.
"Yes," Valerie nodded. "There are so many of them that I feel overwhelmed. I know I said I wanted to have one, but with so many eggs to choose from, I don't even know where to start."
Seeing her difficult expression, Lux decided to make a proposal.
"How about I choose one for you?" Lux proposed. "Are you fine with that?"
"You're going to give me an egg?" Valerie blinked once then twice before a red flush started to creep from her neck, up to her cheeks, until it reached the tip of her ears.
"You don't want me to?" Lux smiled.
"W-Will you take responsibility for it?" Valerie stuttered. "I mean, please, give me an egg. I promise that I will raise it with love and care."
The plain-looking girl looked so fired up and enthusiastic that Lux felt as if he was about to have a shotgun wedding with Valerie.
However, he swatted those thoughts away because it was ridiculous.
He was just giving her an egg. As for taking responsibility for it, I guess he would have to, since it was an egg that he gave her.
"Okay, I will take responsibility for the egg," Lux said. "But promise me that you will raise it with love and care, okay?"
"Y-Yes!" Valerie replied in a heartbeat. "I will raise it properly!"
"Good." Lux nodded. "Now, which egg should I give you?"
Lux rubbed his chin as he gazed at the hundreds of eggs that were currently inside the Nursery.
He wasn't aware that the plain-looking girl by his side was looking at him with a dazed expression on her face, her heart beating wildly inside her chest.
'Oh no, what should I do?' Valerie thought. 'Sir Lux is going to give me an egg. He also said that he is also going to take responsibility. Is this what my mother meant when she told me that making babies is sometimes done out of a moment of passion?'
Lux was unaware that Valerie had already gone to Lala Land and was already thinking of the name for their baby.
If only he knew that his proposal had been misunderstood by the Dragon Princess, he would have definitely put greater care in his choice of words, since her report back could make the Dragon King drag him to a fishing trip by force.
"How about this one?" Lux said after picking up a purple egg with wing symbols on its surface. "For some reason, this egg stands out among the rest. It was as if it was calling out to me."
Valerie looked at the egg in the Half-Elf's hand and gently traced its surface with her finger. For some reason, the egg started to wobble from side to side, as if it felt ticklish after being touched.
At that moment, Valerie felt as if something clicked inside her head.
Just like the final piece of a puzzle falling into place, she felt as if this was fated to happen.
She then glanced up to look at the handsome Half-Elf, who was looking at her with a kind smile.
Suddenly, Valerie's body subconsciously moved as she cupped Lux's face with both of her hands.
Since the Half-Elf was holding the egg in his hands, he was unable to do anything but stare as the plain-looking girl, whom he had only met for the second time in his life, stood on tiptoe and kissed him on the lips.
Ali's and Ari's expressions immediately turned to shock after their mistress did something unexpected right in front of their eyes.
Even Faustina, who was there with them, could only look with a dumbfounded expression on her face, as the Princess of the Dragon Kingdom kissed the Half-Elf, who would soon be known as one of the Heretics, who were being hunted down by the Divine Army of Light.
