Draco’s Resolve

"Why did I come to your room unannounced? Well… maybe it has something to do with this!" 

With a flourish, Zara brought out an envelope from seemingly out of nowhere. The envelope seemed ordinary, wrapped in cheap parchment, and sealed with candle wax, but once Draco saw it, his eyes lit up.

"Mom finally responded?!" His eyes beamed with delight.

The truth was, even though Draco couldn't stand returning to his hometown, the first thing he did after returning to Argo was to write a heartfelt letter to his mother. He expressed regret at being unable to return, but he made sure to explain his experience in the Cave of Trials, and his achievements in great detail.

That way, she could brag about him well… something he knew she was bound to do.

He wouldn't even be surprised if she exaggerated some details.

Naturally, he omitted a great deal from his letter. Pretty much anything involving the System or his new Legendary Class was not included, but even without those things, he painted a rather impressive picture of himself.

He was certain she would be proud of him.

Last, but not least… he told her how much he loved her, and how much he missed her, and how much he was going to make his deceased father—her husband—proud.

"Yup! Here you go!" Zara smirked, bending the knee as she bowed her head to present the letter to Draco—almost as if he was some kind of royalty.

Draco snickered and quickly yanked the letter from her open palm. His excitement could not be contained, and his eyes flashed with such intense radiance that one would think they were glowing.

In a flash, he gently opened the envelope, revealing a neat parchment inside.

Draco hurriedly unfurled the sheet and read its content.

Dear Draco,

My sweet little boy!

Your mother is so proud of you. You have exceeded all of our expectations, and all of the townsfolk have heard of your mighty deeds. Honestly, I always knew you would get the best result, but even finding Essence Stones… that was unexpected.

You have definitely contributed to humanity's fight against the spawns of evil, and I'm sure your father would be so proud of you as he watches from the embrace of the stars.

By the time this letter reaches you, there should still be a week before the Academy resumes. I hope you can write back to me at least once more before them. Right now, my ears are always filled with praises of you from everyone here, and my eyes are constantly occupied by the many gifts they send my way.

But, more than anything… your words are what I desire most.

I hope to see you soon, Draco.

Stay in good health until then, and make sure you send my warmest regards to that lovely girl, Zara, and her wonderful family. One day, I hope you both can give me grandchildren… ah, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

In any case, I look forward to hearing from you, my dear child.

Your loving mother,

Marie

"M-mom…" The tears in Draco's eyes nearly spilled out, but his quivering lips kept moving to let out more of his words. "... I promise to do my best in the Aca—!"

"Pfft! Did you hear that, Draco? Give your mom grandkids!"

Zara's laughter interrupted his very emotional moment. It turned out, while he was so engrossed in the letter, she had snuck up behind him and caught glimpses of the letter. Her eyes instantly picked up her name, and from there… well… she saw it all.

"Come on… let's make grandkids for your mom… hehe!"

"Zara!" Draco cried out, beyond stupefied that she could be so perverted. "If mom could see you now, I'm sure she would want a different girl for a daughter-in-law."

"Pfft! Are you sure? I'm pretty sure she called me lovely, though…"

"That's because she doesn't know your true nature." Draco spat out, his eyes flashing with intensity, though his expression clearly showed he was being playful.

"If all the girls around knew your true nature… that you were a mama's boy, I wonder how they would look at you."

"W-what? I don't care about any of that!"

"Sure you don't!" Zara sneered playfully. "I'm sure everyone would respect you more after seeing you get so emotional over a letter."

"YOU—!"

Draco lunged at her, but Zara was very slippery. She easily dodged him and ran out of the room, laughing very loudly.

"Hahaha! Dinner is ready, by the way! Come downstairs when you're ready."

"That girl… she just finds new ways to drive me crazy." Despite saying this and itching his hair, Draco was actually smiling. A warm expression formed on his face as he chuckled silently and took another look at the letter, before glancing at the slightly open door.

"Thanks, Zara…"

Before proceeding downstairs, he made sure to write a response letter to his mother, packaging it in the same envelope she used to send a letter to him. This conserved resources, and was a common practice for him. In fact, the envelope she used to send a letter to him was originally his.

Draco made a satisfied smile and nodded once he was done, leaving the envelope on his bedside table before proceeding downstairs.

'The post office would have already closed by now. I'll take it there as early as I can tomorrow…' His thoughts flowed as he finally reached the dining area where the whole family was already seated.

Zara, her frail and scholarly-looking father, and her slightly plump mother. The food presented before them looked delicious. Just the smell alone made Draco's stomach growl, and he hurriedly took his seat so he could partake in the meal.

"Glad you could join us, Draco." Zara's father said. 

He was a scholar whose specialty was in archaeological ruins and researching ancient civilizations. It wasn't a very lucrative field, since the mainstream was Dragon-related, but he had a recent breakthrough in his work that caused him and his family to move to Argo and have a much better life than what his peers were experiencing.

"Thank you, Mr Norrin. The food looks delicious, as always, Mrs Norrin."

"Oh, you sweet child." 

Draco was polite in his response to Zara's parents, and this caused Zara herself to roll her eyes. 

Despite how terribly they behaved when they were together, the two of them were very nice when around their parents. This gave the Norrins a very pleasant opinion of Draco, while Miss Marie—Draco's mother—also thought Zara was very nice.

If only they knew that the two—Draco and Zara—had very terrible behaviors.

"Now then… a moment of silence…" Mr. Norrin said with a solemn smile. 

Everyone closed their eyes and waited for about ten seconds, allowing silence to pervade everything in the room. Once they were done, they all opened their eyes and the patriarch's voice echoed once more.

"Now then… let us eat."

Religion wasn't really a strong force in the Southern Territory. There were certainly some who had religious beliefs, but they weren't really enforced here. This created a rather loose and varied belief system in the Continent.

The Norrins had one of few beliefs that could be considered rather niche.

They believed that the dead could interact with the physical world, but only during moments of silence. And so, by being completely silent before a meal, they could feed their loved ones who were deceased in the afterlife.

Draco did not believe any of such, and he considered it to be superstitious nonsense at best, but he understood why people would find comfort in the belief, especially the Norrins. Due to that, and his respect for the Norrins, he participated in their rituals when he could. 

It wasn't always a bad experience.

Silence… once in a while… was not too bad.

The dining room soon became loud, as the couple began to stir conversations, drawing Zara and eventually Draco into the discourse.

Draco smiled as he partook of the wonderful food, and he grinned even more whenever he spoke amidst the meal. The peaceful moment of simply enjoying dinner in a home like this, it warmed his heart immensely.

But—

'This is why I have to exterminate them… those DRAGONS!'

—It also added fuel to the blazing flames of resolve that had consumed his soul.

'Such a peaceful home… such wonderful people… how many of them exist in the Southern Territory, no, in all of Te'rah?' He asked himself. 'How of them have been completely obliterated by the Spawns of Evil?'

Too many!

Far too many to count!

Dragons killed indiscriminately; they ruined countless lives and destroyed innumerable homes.

They had to be stopped!

'To protect powerless citizens and ensure homes like this are protected, I must become a Dragon Hunter and rid this world of the Dragons.'