Supreme Hunter of Beautiful Souls

Chapter 548: A dragon wants to adopt me.

Nidhogg practically dragged the two of them inside the small house built within the colossal root, closing the door behind them with enough enthusiasm to make the bells hanging from the ceiling jingle merrily. The cozy warmth of the interior immediately enveloped Kael, replacing the cold wind from the dimensional rift with an atmosphere perfumed with tea, freshly baked bread, and sweet spices. Lanterns hanging from the inner branches cast a soft, golden light on the sturdy furniture, the neatly arranged piles of ancient treasures, and the dozens of giant cushions scattered throughout the main hall.

"Sit down! Sit down quickly!" Nidhogg announced with overwhelming energy. "The food will get cold!"

"You talk like you’re feeding soldiers after a war," Elion commented as he settled into one of the enormous cushioned chairs.

"Hot food is important for emotional stability," Nidhogg replied immediately, as if it were an absolute universal principle.

Kael barely had time to choose where to sit before being gently nudged by the shoulders into an absurdly soft armchair near the central fireplace. As soon as he settled in, he noticed another worrying detail: everything there seemed scaled for someone much larger than ordinary humans. The chair was too deep, the table too wide, and the cups were almost the size of small pots.

Nidhogg disappeared into the kitchen for exactly three seconds.

Then she returned carrying a colossal tray full of dishes.

Kael watched silently as she placed before him an alarming amount of food: enormous biscuits covered in dark chocolate chips, warm bread fresh from the oven, candied fruit, small filled cakes, and a steaming mug of hot chocolate whose aroma alone seemed capable of resolving emotional traumas.

"Eat," she said with a glint in her golden eyes. "You’re too thin."

"I’m not—"

"Emotionally thin counts too," she interrupted with complete conviction.

Elion immediately chuckled.

"She does this to everyone."

"Because nobody eats properly!" Nidhogg replied, horrified. "People live tense, sad, and malnourished lives. It’s a collective disaster."

Kael picked up one of the cookies more out of politeness than genuine interest.

Then he took the first bite.

...

He was silent.

The cookie was absurdly good.

Not "good" in the common sense. It was dangerously good. The dough was soft inside, slightly crispy at the edges, with a warm flavor of vanilla and cinnamon mixed with melted chocolate in an almost offensively perfect proportion. There was magic involved. There had to be.

Kael looked slowly at the cookie in his hand.

Then at Nidhogg.

She was watching with childlike expectation.

"...That’s unfair," he murmured.

Her eyes immediately lit up.

"YOU LIKED IT!"

"This thing probably violates some divine law."

"I put cosmic nutmeg in it," she explained proudly. "And celestial butter."

"Of course you did," Elion commented, already stealing three cookies from the tray.

Nidhogg then approached Kael again, carrying a huge, extremely fluffy blanket.

Before he could question anything, she carefully placed it over his legs.

"It’s cold," she declared.

Kael blinked once.

"...It’s not."

"Yes, it is."

"Nidhogg, I literally survived dimensional storms."

"And yet your hands were cold." She crossed her arms with absolute domestic authority. "No discussion."

Elion watched everything with a dangerously amused expression.

"She adopted you in less than ten minutes."

"I can hear you," Nidhogg replied without taking her eyes off Kael. Then she turned to him immediately. "Want more hot chocolate?" "I haven’t even finished this one yet."

"I can warm it up later."

"Nidhogg."

"Yes?"

"...Do you treat all your guests like this?"

She tilted her head slightly, as if the question were strange.

"No."

"Then why?"

Nidhogg flashed a huge, sincere, and dangerously warm smile.

"Because I like you very much."

Kael was silent for a few seconds.

There was no malice in it. No hidden agenda, no political games, no elegant manipulation like the ones Eleanor loved to do. Nidhogg simply seemed genuinely happy to have him there.

And honestly?

That left him a little unprepared.

"You barely know me," he finally commented.

"I know you well enough." She sat down in the enormous armchair before him, her scaly tail swaying slowly behind her dark dress. "You are Elion’s son, Eleanor’s grandson, you’re in love with a girl trapped behind the emotional bureaucracy of Yggdrasil, and you seem spiritually weary." She pointed to the cookies. "That already gives me enough information to want to take care of you."

Elion dramatically placed his hand on his chest.

"She understood my son perfectly."

"That’s not hard to notice," Nidhogg replied. "He has the aura of someone who solves too many problems and sleeps too little."

Kael took a sip of the hot chocolate.

Then he immediately noticed another problem.

This, too, was absurdly good.

The flavor was rich, warm, and intense, with a sweetness balanced by subtle spices that left a comfortable feeling in his chest. It felt less like a drink and more like a coordinated attack on accumulated stress.

"...You put magic into it."

"Just a little."

"Elion."

"She always does."

"Because happy food improves sad people," Nidhogg replied with complete conviction.

Kael slowly looked at the steaming mug.

Then at the blanket on his legs.

Then at the cookies.

Then the colossal dragoness watched him with almost maternal expectation.

"...That’s strange."

"It’s cozy," Nidhogg corrected immediately.

"It’s intimidating."

"You get used to it."

She then suddenly stood up and disappeared back into the kitchen.

Kael looked at Elion.

"I feel like I’ve been kidnapped by a domestic entity."

"Technically, that’s what happened."

"Does she always act like this?"

"Worse." Elion grabbed another biscuit. "You haven’t seen her start asking if you’re sleeping properly."

Kael immediately sensed the danger.

"Nidhogg!" Elion shouted towards the kitchen. "Kael only sleeps four hours a night!"

Silence.

Then a horrified metallic clang came from the kitchen.

"WHAT?!"

Kael slowly closed his eyes.

"...Betrayal."

Nidhogg reappeared instantly.

She looked genuinely scandalized.

"Four hours?!"

"Sometimes five."

"KAEL!"

"I’m functional."

"That doesn’t count!"

She placed her enormous hands on her hips, clearly indignant.

"You’re undernourished, emotionally exhausted, and sleep-deprived. That’s terrible!"

"I’m fine."

"Liar!" she replied immediately. "Even your dark circles look tired!"

Elion was already laughing without any dignity.

Kael slowly rested his head on his hand.

"I should have stayed with Eleanor."

The two women looked at him in silence.

Then they answered together:

"No, you shouldn’t have."

Kael remained silent for a few moments, holding the enormous mug of hot chocolate in his hands while observing Nidhogg’s dramatically indignant expression. The comfortable warmth of the room, the smell of freshly cooked food, and the absurdly welcoming energy of the entire house created a strangely dangerous atmosphere. Not dangerous in a mortal sense. Worse. Dangerous in an emotional sense.

He let out a long sigh before finally raising his eyes to the dragoness.

"I’m fine."

This time, however, his voice came out differently.

Firmer.

More serious.

There was no real irritation in it, no aggression, but there was enough weight to immediately alter the surrounding environment. The natural energy that accompanied Kael—that silent and overwhelming presence that normally remained contained beneath his calm—leaked slightly through his words.

It was instantaneous.

Nidhogg stiffened his shoulders.

Her golden eyes blinked once, and her naturally expansive posture lowered a few inches almost instinctively. Not exactly out of fear. It was more of an ancestral reaction, the automatic recognition of a powerful creature perceiving another imposing space without even trying.

Even the roots of the house seemed to vibrate gently.

Elion observed everything in silence, leaning on the arm of her chair, clearly accustomed to this sudden change in her son’s presence.

Nidhogg looked away for a moment before letting out a small sigh.

"Sorry..." she murmured, now much less energetic. "I just..." She absentmindedly fiddled with a dark blue strand of her own hair. "I don’t usually receive visitors."

Kael blinked slowly.

The pressure around him disappeared almost immediately.

Nidhogg slumped slightly as she continued speaking, now in a lower and genuinely embarrassed tone.

"I literally live between worlds," she said with an awkward chuckle. "People usually avoid the place where the dragon that gnaws at the roots of the universe lives."

"What dramatic exaggeration," Elion commented.

"You found me because you’re troublesome," Nidhogg retorted immediately.

"True."

She sighed again and crossed her arms over her generous chest, glancing towards the fireplace.

"Almost no one comes here without trying to kill me, seal me away, negotiate some catastrophe, or desperately ask for help." Her tail moved slowly behind her. "So... when someone shows up just to chat or have tea, I end up getting too excited."

The last sentence came out accompanied by an absurdly dejected expression.

A genuinely sad little face.

Kael stared at her silently for two full seconds.

Then he let out another sigh.

"...Ah."

Elion immediately sensed the danger.

She narrowed her eyes.

"Kael," she murmured slowly, like someone seeing an inevitable tragedy approaching, "don’t do it."

He completely ignored her.

Kael rose slowly from the armchair, letting the blanket partially fall from his legs as he walked over to Nidhogg. The dragoness lifted her face to look at him, still clearly disheartened, though she tried to hide it.

Then he simply opened his arms and embraced her.

Nidhogg froze.

Literally froze.

Her golden eyes widened so much that even her pupils narrowed slightly in surprise. Her enormous scaly tail stopped completely in mid-air, rigid as stone.

Kael calmly wrapped his arms around her waist, resting one hand on her back while the other moved up to her dark hair.

"Calm down, calm down," he said in a tranquil tone. "I’m here."

Then he slowly ran his hand over her head.

Silence.

Absolute silence.

Elion immediately brought his hand to his own face.

"No..." she murmured in spiritual anguish. "Don’t tame a dimensional dragon..."

Nidhogg remained motionless.

"...This is going to be troublesome," Elion finished, already anticipating cosmic consequences.

Kael continued to ignore it.

"You don’t need to apologize for being happy with visitors," he said calmly to the dragoness. "You just went too far."

Nidhogg emitted a small, muffled sound.

It seemed like an entire emotional system was collapsing.

"He’s petting my head..." she murmured in utter shock.

"I can see that," Elion replied with immediate exhaustion.

The dragoness looked slowly at Elion without moving from the embrace.

"He’s very gentle."

"Don’t encourage it."

"I’m going to cry."

"EVEN WORSE."

Kael felt Nidhogg’s enormous body finally relax slowly under his arms. Her natural warmth was absurd in that proximity, almost like embracing a comfortable oven covered in sweet perfume and soft fabric. Despite the monstrous strength she certainly possessed, at that moment she seemed only... alone.

That made it all the harder to ignore.

"Thank you..." she said softly.

Then, before Kael realized the strategic error, her enormous arms closed around him again.

Only now there was emotional intent involved.

Kael instantly disappeared between gigantic breasts and draconic heat.

Elion pointed immediately.

"And it began."

"Smothering," Kael replied from within the embrace.

"HE’S BEING SWALLOWED!" Elion announced like a sports commentator.

Nidhogg squeezed Kael against her with an expression completely enamored with his existence.

"He’s so small..."

"That’s because you’re almost three meters tall!"

"He smells good..."

"This is getting worse quickly."

Kael finally managed to raise a hand out of that padded prison.

"...Air again."

"Oh! Sorry!"

Nidhogg released him immediately, horrified at nearly suffocating him for the second time that day.

Kael took a step back, breathing deeply as he tried to recover his crushed dignity along with his lungs.

Nidhogg, on the other hand, seemed absurdly happy now.

Her tail swung from side to side with enough force to knock over small pieces of furniture.

"Elizinha," she said in an emotional tone, "I really liked him."

"I noticed."

"Can I keep him?"

Kael slowly turned his face away.

"...What?"

"Like a nephew."

"You don’t ask for people like that," Elion replied immediately.

"But he’s polite, warm, and accepts hugs!"

"That still doesn’t justify it."

Nidhogg then looked at Kael again with an intensity that was too sincere.

"Can you visit me more often?"

Kael opened his mouth to answer.

Then hesitated for a moment.

Because honestly?

That house was comfortable.

The cookies were amazing.

The hot chocolate felt like liquid therapeutic magic.

And Nidhogg was clearly one emotional step away from adopting any living being that showed him the slightest affection.

"...Maybe," he finally replied.

The gleam in her eyes immediately intensified.

Elion let out a long, defeated sigh.

"Great," she murmured. "Now the ancient dragon has formed an emotional attachment."