(Yuuta POV)
"Yesterday was so much fun," I murmured, settling into the creaky old chair at my study table.
It wasn't a fancy setup, just a humble desk parked near the living room window, but it had become my personal corner of peace. I couldn't use the bedroom anymore. Not since Elena developed a peculiar habit of eating my diary pages like they were bedtime snacks.
Yes. Eating.
I still don't know if it was out of curiosity, rebellion, or because she genuinely believed my handwriting was made of chocolate.
Anyway, I cracked open my diary and stared out the window for a moment.
The morning was peaceful.
Sunlight filtered in like golden silk. Birds chirped somewhere in the distance, the world moving just slow enough to feel like a dream.
Erza was sprawled out on the living room couch, fast asleep, her chest rising and falling in the gentle rhythm of a morning nap. Even in sleep, she carried that regal aura, though her light snoring kind of ruined the effect.
Elena sat cross-legged on the floor, watching cartoons with the volume low, glancing every few seconds at her sleeping mother like she was guarding her from noisy commercials.
And me?
I had a memory to record.
Mr. Diary – Dragon Family Edition
Yesterday felt like something out of a fairy tale.
Elena… flew.
Really, actually flew.
It wasn't perfect. Her wings flapped like an excited duck and she wobbled like a balloon in a breeze, but she was airborne. For a brief, shining moment, my daughter flew across the sky.
And then… something I didn't expect.
Erza.
She showed me her wings for the first time.
They were huge. Crimson. Majestic. A living storm wrapped in beauty.
When they opened, the sun lit them up like fire and silk. For a moment, I forgot to breathe.
She looked like the dragon queen from my dreams.
The same woman who calls me "idiot" at least five times a day… was flying beside me.
We soared above the clouds, her hand in mine, the sun setting like a fireball on the horizon.
It was… magical.
She fulfilled a childhood dream of mine I didn't even know I still had.
And despite her cold attitude, sarcastic tone, and complete inability to admit when she's flustered, I love her.
I love her so much it hurts sometimes.
And I love this little family we've somehow created.
– Yuuta Konuari
I closed the diary with a soft thud, resting my fingers on the cover as if sealing a treasure chest.
"Phew," I exhaled, rubbing my temples with a tired but happy smile. "This one's definitely going in the archives."
Someday, I'll show it to them. When we're older. When Elena's grown. When Erza's finally learned to admit she enjoys my company. Maybe we'll sit by the fireplace, flipping through these old pages, laughing at how awkward and embarrassing I was.
Speaking of which…
I glanced at Elena, now laying flat on the floor, kicking her feet lazily.
I wonder what she'll look like as a grown-up. Probably the most beautiful girl in the world, with her mom's sharp features and that smile that melts hearts. I just hope, no, pray, she keeps her kind, gentle soul.
And then… the terrifying thought hit me.
Someday… she's going to introduce me to her boyfriend.
"Dad, this is my new boyfriend from Blue dragon clan! Isn't he cool?"
No.
Absolutely not.
I raised my hand to the sky like a wise sage casting away evil.
"No boyfriends until you're at least forty," I declared aloud. "No, make it fifty. And even then, only if he's a monk."
In my head, the scenario kept playing.
"Dad, I'm going to marry him."
"No. Stop. Delete. Rewind."
My eye twitched.
And just as I was waving away this mental nightmare, the doorbell rang.
Ding-dong!
I flinched. The timing was suspiciously perfect.
Then came a cheerful shout from the front door:
"Congratulations!!"
I stood up slowly.
Eyes narrowed.
A chill ran down my spine.
"Don't tell me… it's the wedding invitation already…"
Elena's tiny hand slipped into her husband's, yes, that abomination of a word, and she gave me a dazzling smile.
"Dad," she said, already halfway down the stairs. "We'll be going now. Bye-bye!"
"No!" I shouted, reaching out as if my heart had physically detached itself and started running away. "Don't call me Dad! You used to say Papa! What happened to 'Papa'?!"
They just kept walking.
Down the stairs.
Into the abyss of betrayal.
I chased them, stumbling like a tragic hero in slow motion.
"No! Come back!" I gasped, clutching my chest. "Elena… please… give me back my daughter!"
Tears welled up. One rolled dramatically down my cheek like a scene from a cheap soap opera.
"You said, you said you'd marry my choice, when you grow up!"
SLAP.
A meteor hit my face.
No, wait. That was Erza's hand.
My eyes flew open.
"OW!" I yelled, recoiling like I'd been hit by the goddess of war herself. "Why does it hurt so much?!"
Standing over me, looking less like my wife and more like an ancient executioner, was Erza.
Eyes glowing. Jaw clenched. Aura: murderous.
"Good morning, Erza!" I said quickly, forcing a grin that definitely looked more like a nervous twitch. "My lovely, elegant, terrifying wife!"
She leaned in, voice sharp enough to cut steel.
"What. Were. You. Dreaming. About?"
I gulped.
"Oh, uh… just a nightmare! A silly one! Nothing serious! Totally fictional!" I laughed weakly. "Anime-style family drama, you know how it is, ha ha…"
She glared harder.
"You said," she began, her voice dangerously calm, "Elena's going to marry you someday."
"What?" I stared at her, completely dumbfounded. "Wait, I didn't say that!" I immediately tried to clear myself, but the look on Erza's face told me she had already reached whatever ridiculous conclusion was forming inside her head.
Her eyebrow twitched.
"You think I'm not enough for you?"
"What the fuck?!" I blurted out, genuinely shocked. For a second, I could only stare at her while my brain desperately tried to understand how our conversation had somehow taken such an absurd turn. "Erza, you've got this all wrong!"
But Erza didn't even try to listen to me. She turned away without another word and scooped Elena off the floor, who was somehow still happily dual-wielding a bowl of cereal and the television remote as though the argument happening around her had absolutely nothing to do with her. Then, with a casual flick of Erza's tail, a massive suitcase suddenly appeared beside her.
I blinked.
Wait. What?
"Where the hell did that come from?!" I shouted, pointing at the suddenly materialized suitcase. It looked like someone had thrown an entire wardrobe inside and then sat on it until it closed.
"Who even packed it?!"
Erza didn't blink. Instead, she slowly turned those fiery violet eyes toward me and delivered the sentence that I knew, with absolute certainty, would haunt me for the rest of my life.
"It doesn't matter," she said coldly. "How dare you even think of replacing me… with our daughter. You perverted mortal."
"OH, COME ON!" I threw both hands into the air. "Would you just listen to me?! I said Elena would someday marry a person I approve of! I never said she would marry me! And whatever stupid thing came out wrong before was subconscious!"
Erza's eyes narrowed.
"Then go live in your subconscious," she hissed. "Perhaps you'll find your imaginary wife there."
I froze.
"Wait, what does that even mean?!"
"Don't care."
She flipped her hair over her shoulder with enough dramatic force to make me wonder whether she had secretly spent her free time watching soap operas.
Elena, meanwhile, seemed to be enjoying the entire disaster like it was her favorite morning cartoon. She giggled from Erza's arms before stuffing another spoonful of cereal into her mouth.
"Mama, did Papa do something weird again?" she asked innocently. Then she looked at the enormous suitcase. "Where are we going?"
"We're going home," Erza replied.
The way she said it made it sound less like she was leaving the apartment and more like she had personally banished me from heaven.
"Erza, wait....."
She raised one hand.
A sharp sizzle filled the room as space twisted behind her. Silver light shimmered through the air before expanding into a glowing portal, magical particles spilling from its edges and scattering across the apartment.
My eyes widened.
"Wait, wait, wait! You're actually leaving?! Erza!"
She didn't even look back.
With Elena comfortably held against her chest and the ridiculous suitcase floating behind her, Erza stepped through the portal. Elena managed to peek over her mother's shoulder at the last second and cheerfully waved her spoon at me.
"Bye-bye, Papa!"
"ELENA, DON'T ENCOURAGE HER!"
The portal closed.
Just like that, they were gone.
I remained standing there with one hand still stretched toward the empty space where my wife and daughter had disappeared. My mouth remained slightly open while my brain slowly attempted to process the absolute nonsense that had unfolded over the last few minutes.
"…Wait a second," I whispered.
I lowered my hand.
"She's actually gone?"
A long silence answered me.
I looked toward the kitchen.
Nothing.
I looked toward the hallway.
Nothing.
No angry dragon glaring at me. No daughter running around with cereal. No tail threatening to smack me across the room. No accusations about imaginary wives or marrying my own daughter.
The apartment was quiet.
Still.
Safe.
My shoulders slowly relaxed.
"...Huh."
For the first time that morning, I could hear the birds outside.
Peace.
"…I'M ALONE!" I dropped onto the couch like it was made of clouds. "FINALLY!"
I spread out like a starfish, arms wide, eyes closed, breathing in freedom like it was oxygen after years of captivity.
"I love my family," I muttered to the ceiling. "But sweet mercy, this… this is bliss. I know she will be back soon."
I reached for the TV remote. It was sitting next to a half-finished bowl of cereal Elena had abandoned earlier.
Of course, like the genius I am, I ate a soggy cereal ring straight from the bowl before even thinking about it.
"Ew. Not bad though."
TV on.
Volume up.
Brain off.
This was the dream. This was paradise.
Then—
"Cough."
My soul froze.
No. No, no, no. That wasn't on the TV. That was real.
And worse, it was female.
I felt a cold sweat slide down my back. My hand trembled, still holding the remote.
I turned my head, slowly, carefully, as if I was in a horror movie and the monster was right behind me.
And there she was.
ERZA.
Standing.
Arms crossed.
Looking like she had just walked out of hell to personally drag me back.
"So…" she said in a voice that could kill gods, "you were happy… when I was gone?"
I stared at her.
She stared back.
My life flashed before my eyes.
The couch creaked as I sat up. My survival instincts took over.
"Welcome home!" I said way too cheerfully. "Didn't even notice you were, ha ha, gone!"
She blinked. Slowly.
"You look awfully relaxed for someone who just got divorced by portal."
"Whaaat? Relaxed? No! I was crying! On the inside! I even, look," I held up the cereal bowl, "I was emotionally eating! See? That's not happiness. That's deep emotional suffering!"
Her eyes narrowed.
She cracked her knuckles slowly, the sound echoing louder than thunder in my ears.
"I came back because I thought you'd be crying over me…" she said, her voice ice cold. "But here you are. Enjoying yourself."
I froze mid-cereal bite.
Sweat.
Terror.
Regret.
"…I'm sorry, my lovely wife," I said, trying to flash my most charming smile. "You're so beautiful… like… too beautiful to be mad right now."
She smiled.
Not the good kind.
"You are dead, my dear husband."
And I swear, I saw my soul leaving my body right there.
To be continued…