The days went by fast.
The grill shop became more popular after Sly introduced condiments for the meat and we earned a significant income from it.
The castle felt less empty now that Lion had purchased much-needed furniture.
Meanwhile, Ghost happily spent his share on random items that began to fill his room.
Lion refused to expand the space, much to Ghost's dismay.
Sly went on a shopping spree, buying all sorts of shiny things. Based on myths, I guess dragons really do enjoy glittery objects.
Of course, we shared the profits with Orm, Nyma, and Puoma, who helped whenever they had free time.
Orm happily declared that this would be his forever home, noting it was much better than his old one.
I often wondered how he had been treated there.
Nyma pledged her loyalty to me, while Puoma told me she was willing to work without breaks.
I thanked Nyma for her declaration and told Puoma that while I appreciated the thought, she should rest occasionally so she wouldn't get sick.
She looked confused and explained that since she knew how to make medicine, it wasn't a problem.
I honestly didn't have a reply for that.
.....
Nyma and Puoma eventually decided to take a break and visit their old home.
I agreed and they hurriedly bought gifts to take back with them.
Sly offered to fly them home and they happily hugged him out of gratitude. They are all getting along quite well.
Since only five of us were left with too much work, we all decided to take a break.
Sly is wondering what to do while Ghost shrugged, saying it was his first time taking a break, too.
Orm thought for a while before asking if I had visited other places outside the territory.
When I told them I had only seen the forest, Orm, Ghost, and Sly all turned to glare at Lion.
Lion confessed he had been busy and that his other work had demanded too much of his time.
However, he noticed his tasks had lightened lately, so he eagerly took the opportunity to rest.
With a smirk, Orm told Lion he was welcome not to take a break and that he would be the one to take me somewhere nice.
I had never seen Lion look so scary. Sly hurriedly pulled me out of the room and Ghost followed immediately without a glance back at the two magic users.
....
The three of us went to the garden to check on Pinky.
He moved his branches toward me, caressing my face in greeting before returning to his silent state.
He is growing taller and soon, he will be too big to stay in my room.
I suddenly felt sad.
Sly and Ghost noticed and tried to cheer me up.
They brought me to the wall and pointed into the distance. Sly described a place that was very hot but had pleasant waters for relaxing. Ghost added that the area was full of magical energy that could replenish a magic user's stamina quickly.
Curious, I asked for more information.
After many conflicting descriptions, it sounded like a beach near the sea, though I expected it wouldn't look like a beach on Earth.
Thinking Orm and Lion might benefit from the trip, I decided we should go. Ghost and Sly rejoiced.
Before returning to our rooms, Sly stopped me and asked if I had anything to wear.
He warned me that the place is quite hot, noting the forest was cold by comparison.
Ghost gave me a mischievous look and whispered that Lion might like it if I wore something similar to my dancing outfit.
He chuckled and I turned red.
Eventually, he admitted that he and Sly also liked seeing me wear it.
I glared at him while he laughed. Sly must have overheard, as he looked at me seriously and said that while it seemed funny, the heat was no joke.
He told me to trust his advice. He was rarely wrong, so I hurried to my room, sat at my desk and began designing vacation clothes.
....
A naughty thought crossed my mind. I had become quite daring with Lion and I remembered the incident in the clinic.
My body grew warm and naughty thoughts filled my head.
I wondered what it would be like to be with him. I remembered the look in his eyes, the raw hunger and desire intertwined with pure affection and soon my body felt like it was on fire.
Like literal fire.
That's weird.
Then, I felt something.
I looked down and saw... blood.
Really? My period? After all this time?
I grabbed my magical notebook and pen and headed for the bathroom, blood dripping onto the floor.
I hurried to remove my clothes, seeing stains on my legs.
Suddenly, a sharp pain hit my abdomen.
No, no, no! Not dysmenorrhea!
I sobbed loudly, trying to draw something in my notebook, but failed because the pain was too intense.
I collapsed near the pool, feeling faint and closed my eyes, crying. I didn't know what to do as I could barely stand.
.....
Suddenly, Lion appeared.
He looked shocked and terrified at the blood on the floor. He approached me, his hands shaking and told me he was going to summon Puma.
A bright light surrounded the room and I fainted.
.....
I woke up feeling tired.
The pain was gone, replaced by fatigue. I noticed I was clean and dressed, though I felt a thick bandage covering my lower half.
I need to invent napkins soon.
Puma appeared with fresh bandages. She smiled and told me I'd feel better after some rest.
She must have noticed me looking for Lion because she told me he was in his room.
I must have looked confused but Puma guffawed before telling me why.
It turns out that when they discovered where the blood was coming from, Lion had a strange reaction.
He told her to take care of me and hurriedly left.
She explained to me that when some female creatures are in heat, they bleed a lot, signaling a need for intercourse.
Ah.
But I'm not in heat, I'm in pain!
As for the pain, Puma gave me a potion to drink.
To my relief, the pain slowly subsided.
...
Afterward, she asked about the human cycle.
I explained that human females usually bleed every 30 days or so, though I reminded her that time flows differently here.
She was amazed, exclaiming that humans were lucky to have such a fast cycle since for creatures, it takes years.
Years?!
With a knowing look, she told me it's one of the reasons why their bonding period lasts a long time.
No wonder Lion reacted that way.