I Received System to Become Dragonborn-Chapter 928: Calm Day

The afternoon sun cast a warm glow through the windows when the front door opened and Arty stepped inside, her bag slung lazily over one shoulder.

She kicked off her shoes and called out casually, "I’m home!"

Erend was in the living room, stretched out across the couch with one arm behind his head and the other holding the TV remote.

The television flickered with some forgettable show of some drama or documentary he wasn’t really watching. He looked up, smirking slightly.

"You look like a normal person when you do that," Arty said with a grin.

Erend snorted. "It’s been a long time since I got to act like a normal person."

She disappeared into her room for a few minutes, then came back wearing loose, comfortable clothes and holding a peeled orange.

Without asking, she sat cross-legged on the floor, leaning against the couch he was lying on.

They sat in silence for a bit, watching the TV. But whatever was on the TV didn’t hold their interest for long.

Arty tossed an orange slice into her mouth and turned slightly. "So... what did you do in the other world this time?"

Erend’s eyes stayed on the screen, but his voice softened. "I fought a mad god with Eccar and some adventurers."

Arty paused mid-chew, then let out a low whistle. "Okay. That sounds... amazing and terrifying at the same time."

"Yeah. That’s pretty accurate," Erend said with a small laugh. He didn’t add the sad part.

The conversation drifted again. Arty talked about her school, about how nothing particularly exciting had happened here lately.

"It’s kinda nice, though. Boring. Peaceful."

Erend just smiled faintly. She didn’t know, and she didn’t need to. As part of the special forces, he was aware of how much was actually happening.

Just before he left for the other world, he’d helped neutralize a foreign espionage group working deep inside a major city to gather information about their Magic experiment. If it weren’t for him and a few others, classified military secrets would’ve already been gone. And that was just the most recent case.

He didn’t say any of that. He just sighed quietly, brushing his fingers across the couch’s fabric.

"I’ve been thinking," Arty said suddenly. "About advancing my Magic talent. I’m kinda stuck here. No one in this world really knows how to help me grow anymore."

Erend turned his head toward her slightly, listening.

"So I thought," she continued, "maybe if I could go to that other world again... the Elf one... I could learn more. Get stronger. Really see what I can do."

There was a pause after that.

Erend didn’t answer right away. He stared at the ceiling and thinking. He couldn’t predict how many more threats might appear in the future and not all of them would remain happening in other world. Some maybe apppear here.

The last mad god they fought had very nearly broken through and cause so much chaos. If things went wrong, this world might not be safe either. If that happened Arty would need to be able to protect herself and their mother.

"That’s a good idea," Erend finally said. "You want to go to the Elf Palace again?"

"Yeah. If that’s okay."

He nodded slowly. "Well... not yet. They just got raided recently. It might still be chaotic over there."

Arty’s eyes widened. "Wait, was that when you went missing for a while?"

Erend nodded again.

"Hmmm. Then I probably shouldn’t go. I’d just be bothering them while they’re trying to rebuild or recover."

"Exactly. They’re likely still busy," Erend said.

He leaned forward, elbows on his knees, and thought for a moment longer.

Arty was human, and while the Elves were amazing teachers for Magic powers, maybe someone closer to her roots would be better for now. Safer too.

Someone strong, but human enough to understand her way of thinking.

"I do know someone," he said. "Someone who can teach you Magic in the other world. Not an Elf. But they’re good. You’d learn a lot."

Arty brightened immediately. "Really? Can I meet them soon?"

Erend nodded. "Yeah. I’ll arrange it. Just give me a few days."

She grinned. "Thanks. I’m serious about this, you know."

"I know," Erend replied, giving her a small smile. "And I think it’s time for it as well."

Outside, the sun continued its slow descent.

---

A few hours later, after dinner and the warm chatter around the table had faded into the soft clinking of dishes being washed, the backyard lights flicked on with a quiet hum.

The night had settled gently over the neighborhood, wrapping the trees and rooftops in a curtain of calm.

Billy and Captain Adrien arrived not long after. Familiar as ever, they slipped into the house without ceremony, exchanging brief greetings before the three of them moved to the backyard.

They brought cold bottles of beer and the kind of heavy presence that always followed men who had seen too much and kept walking anyway.

The three of them sat beneath the wide open sky. The breeze had turned cool now, rustling the trees and bringing with it the scent of earth and grass.

They leaned back in their chairs, bottles in hand, and let the silence rest between them for a while.

Eventually, talk stirred. As it often did, the topic turned to Erend’s latest mission beyond the world and then to the next wold where he was in the battle with Thar’Zul-Vekar.

Billy listened, brow raised, barely blinking as Erend described the fight in broad strokes.

"A mad god?" he repeated once, low and almost disbelieving. He wasn’t surprised that Erend had done something absurd again, but every time it happened, it still hit differently.

Adrien the calm one, didn’t interrupt much. But his eyes were sharp and focused as he absorbed every word.

Even though he had long known the scale Erend operated on now—gods, dimensions, ancient threats—he still sat in quiet awe at the thought of someone standing toe to toe with madness itself and coming back whole.

When Erend’s retelling wound down, Adrien took a sip from his bottle, then looked out toward the trees beyond the fence.

His voice came low, but clear. "As for our side... I think we’ve got most of the spies. Maybe all of them. But we can’t be sure yet. We’re running deep sweeps, and confirming ties. A few slipped through our net early on. We’re not taking chances this time."

Erend nodded, his expression tightening. The calm in his face melted away, leaving behind a sharpness that hadn’t been there during dinner or even during the early parts of the conversation.

He turned his gaze to the stars above, the reflection of the sky glinting faintly in his eyes. Then he spoke with quiet an heavy voice.

"There might be something more dangerous waking up."

Billy and Adrien both turned to look at him. Neither said a word, but the weight of their silence was enough.

---

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