Aravel

Chapter 76

Upon walking inside of one of the main caves, the group came upon a smaller group of dragonkin, already dressed and waiting patiently for their arrival.

"Laevia-sama," one of the dragonkin got to their knees immediately and bowed to the Empress.

"Everyone, meet the Caretakers," Laevia grinned, gesturing to the rest. "They are the ones who are responsible for taking care of the mother dragonkin as soon as they passed the 6th month of their pregnancy."

With this quick introduction, the group quickly settled down and began getting a tour of the place. Although there wasn't much to see since most of the things involved a lot of explaining and practical experience rather than it being a sightseeing trip, there was still a lot to learn and be fascinated by when it came to childbirth and pregnancy of the dragonkin race.

The reason why they chose to nestle in caves and holes instead of the surface was due to mother dragonkins needing to transform into a true dragon. As such, a large cover was needed to protect them, being the function of the caves. Once they settled down, their bodies immediately subside into a weakened state where most of their energy got sapped by the egg inside of them. Because of that, daily activities like hunting and moving about become a struggle.

To help retain the mother's activity over the next 6 month, the Caretakers were essentially the mother's limbs and heart. From preparing food to making sure the mother was active enough, a lot had to be done to take care of a dragon without much help from the outside world. As such, each 6 months and pregnancy were precious as there would be constant visits from their lovers and relatives, who were concerned for the progression of the pregnancy of their loved ones.

"Occasionally, there would be cases where more than 1 mother gets pregnant, so that is quite a struggle for us," one of the Caretakers concluded. "From what you have seen, being a Caretaker can be quite stressful at times since we need to find ways to entertain the mother and care for them."

"Now that we are done with the long talk, why don't we get you guys to experience some of the things that we have to do?" Another caretaker proceeded with the next activity. "Please split yourselves into small groups. We will be heading to another cave where we have equipment set up."

Kaze and Lunaria naturally got together as they were couples. Excited to work together, Lunaria linked arms with him and watched her friends began grouping up.

"Can I join?"

"Lucentia?"

Unexpectedly, Lucentia approached the duo and requested to form groups with them. With a slightly confused smile, Kaze agreed to her request and glanced at his girlfriend for confirmation. Lunaria simply gave him a reassuring grin, as if she had predicted that Lucentia would be doing this.

Continuing into the activities planned, Kaze quickly forgot about the weird smile that Lunaria had. He quickly became intrigued with what they were taught to do by the Caretakers as a way to experience the life of a Caretaker.

While getting a first-hand trial at all sorts of daily occurrence like washing the scales of a dragon mother to caring for the habitat of the mother, Kaze's mind unconsciously focused on Lucentia for the most part.

It was no secret between him and Lunaria that Lucentia had already made a move on him, despite knowing that Kaze and Lunaria were in love with each other. After what happened back in Tristania, nothing really happened that allowed Kaze to have the chance to approach Lucentia or work together with her. After all, it was both a coincidence and by chance that he managed to fight alongside Lucentia in an attempt to rescue Lunaria, when in the end none of them contributed much to the cause.