Chapter 356 [Bonus Chapter]Teasing
When Mira sensed people coming in her direction, her expression went from gentle and playful to neutral. She may have come to accept these new emotions she's feeling, but that doesn't mean everyone is worthy of seeing them.
At her very core, she's still the same Mira who would slaughter men, women, and children alike if it aligned with her goals.
However, when she saw who it was, her face was no longer so cold.
When she looked over towards the doorway, she saw two people who looked oddly similar to Maria. Naturally, these two are Maria's parents, Erika and Cole Zaria!
A few minutes ago, they just got a report that two unknown beast-like individuals entered the residence along with a giant golden wolf. When they heard this, they immediately stopped whatever they were doing and ran over to where these people were last spotted.
They were a little suspicious since they could also feel Maria in that direction. They also knew from Maria that Mira was supposed to visit the city and possibly the house at some point, but the Mira they knew didn't have fox tails, so they didn't correlate this incident with her.
However, now that they had finally seen the two beast-like beings, they were too shocked to say anything. Even Erika couldn't help but stare in shock and awe at the two beauties in front of her.
Of course, this is only natural for those with such powerful bloodlines, especially the Phoenix and nine-tailed fox species; they are some of the most beautiful creatures in the universe, after all.
Everyone just stared at each other for a while before Maria coughed in embarrassment and decided to break the ice.
"Ahem! Mom, Dad, you remember Mira, right? Well, this is her! However, don't ask me why she looks like this because she just got here and we haven't had any time to talk. The woman over there with the wings is Elenei, and well… let's just say she's a good friend of ours. As for that golden wolf, that's Rhydian, Mira's beast companion."
Even after Maria said all that, the two of them still couldn't help trying to compare the being in front of her to the Mira they knew.
Of course, they found some similarities. However, nothing else looked the same except her face, eyes, and aura.
Mira stood up to properly greet them, with her tail still wrapped around Dominique of course, and maybe it was due to Mira's height, but the two of them felt like a mighty being was looking at them.
"Erika, Cole, I see those trials benefited your cultivation greatly. Stage 2 Core Formation Realm, not bad." Mira looked them up and down, causing their bodies to tremble, feeling such a dangerous and predatory gaze roaming their bodies.
They could tell from that gaze alone that they stood no chance in a fight against the being in front of them.
"Mira! Stop bullying my parents! Look at how pitiful they are, trembling from your gaze alone! Why didn't you guys react like that whenever I looked at you? I might be slightly weaker than Mira, but I'm more than strong enough to beat the two of you up!" Maria said while looking at them with an aggrieved expression causing her parent's mouths to twitch.
The two of them glared at Maria before coughing to change the subject.
"Ahem! I see! I see! So you're Mira! You grew up to be quite the beauty, huh? Well, I always knew you would with that face of yours. Though I must say, you gave my family quite the scare with how you just strolled inside the residence. Anyways, it's good to see you again after all these years." As Cole spoke, he felt his wife and daughter look at him with sinister eyes, especially when he complimented Mira's beauty…
Mira, on the other hand, ignored the compliments and said, "It's not my fault that your guards are so weak that they fainted before I could even tell them to go fetch you."
Cole's eyebrows now started twitching, and he quickly changed the subject, "Ah! I just remembered I still have work to do, so I'll let you guys catch up. We can talk more later!"
After he said that, Cole ran off under the judgemental stares of his wife and daughter.
Erika regained her composure and stared at Mira and Elenei for a second before asking, "So, what's up with the tails and wings and stuff? Were you always part fox? Or is this some kind of mutation?"
Mira replied, "Well, for me, this is because I recently acquired a bloodline and the way it merged with my body was quite unique, so it turned out like this."
Erika could take a hint and could tell that Mira wasn't willing to say anymore regarding this, so instead, she said, "Well, it seems like you got much stronger from it. Anyways, since when did you become such a hotty?! Is this also because of your bloodline, or are you just a natural beauty? You know, I'm sure if you were to walk around looking like this, you'd attract the attention of both males and females alike. How are you going to deal with such situations as I'm sure they will happen quite frequently in the future?"
When Mira heard Erika's words, her expression turned mischievous, like that of a fox, and she walked up to her and said, "Oh? What are you trying to say, Mrs. Zaria? In front of your daughter, no less."
Mira tilted Erika's chin up and stared at her directly in the eyes. Erika blushed slightly before pushing Mira's hand away, then stared back at Mira while ignoring the angry look on her daughter's face.
"I'm serious, Mira. You can't just kill every person that stares at you, can you? How are you going to prevent all the troubles that will eventually come your way? I don't think a simple mask will be able to cover up your beauty now that you look like this."
Mira didn't answer her immediately and instead walked over to Maria before swiftly picking her up in a princess carry.
"Kyaa~" Maria yelped, not knowing what was going on.
"I think you're asking the wrong person here, Mrs. Zaria. You should really be asking this little girl what she'll do when all those people come proposing to me, wanting me to be their wife."
"Eh?"
"Eh?"
Maria and Erika said in surprise, but Maria's entire face went beet red immediately after, and she buried her head in Mira's bosom to try and hide her embarrassment.
Erika was surprised by Maria's reaction but then gave her a knowing look and said, "I see. Well, I'll let you girls catch up with each other. It's good to see you're doing well, Mira."
Erika waved goodbye and left.
The room fell silent for a while, and it became slightly awkward, but Mira didn't like wasting time by simply standing around doing nothing, so instead, she carried Dominque and Maria over to the bed.
She made Maria sit in her lap and put Dominque to her side while lightly wrapping her in her tails.
"Why don't you tell me all that happened over the last few years, Dominque?" Mira asked lightly.
"Okay, Mother!" Dominque said excitedly before sharing her story.
She talked about her experiences in the Trial, which weren't too far off from Mira's expectations. However, she was surprised by how skilled Dominque had become with her dual Butterfly Swords.
Mira also learned that Dominque has an affinity for the Water element, but she wasn't too shocked by this discovery. However, she was happy because she would be able to offer some help if Dominique ever had any questions about the water element.
Well, after she broke through to the Core Formation Realm, Mira can feel that she has at least some affinity toward most of the eight elements, excluding light. She also has the Water Body Transformation Technique, which Dominque should be able to make better use of than her considering her affinity with water.
Other than that, Mira learned that Dominique had just entered the broke through to the Foundation Realm not long ago, which Mira was happy about. She could also tell that Dominque's foundation when she broke through was incredibly solid. Though it seems Dominque has been training hard every day to reach her current strength.
Part of Mira felt bad that Dominque was working so hard for her sake, but she knew that this was necessary. If Dominque wants to follow her, she has to be strong.
As for the rewards that Dominque got from the trial, it seems she went a different route compared to what she and Maria wanted for rewards. Of course, for her first reward, she took a pair of dual Low-Grade Earth Rank Butterfly Swords.
However, it seems the Caretaker took a liking to her and gave her a few bonus rewards. So, she obtained the strongest Water Elemental Essence he had, an ancient Water Cultivation Technique, a few weapon techniques, and even a few body tempering pills.
However, when she asked Dominique if she could take a look at the Cultivation and weapon techniques, the girl shook her head and refused. She said she wanted to surprise Mira.
Unfortunately for Dominque, Mira has a near-omnipotent being in her Soul Sea and decided to ask him. The Guardian said that the technique Dominque was cultivating was very good and suited for the little girl.
That's all Mira needed to hear, so she stopped worrying about it and continued listening to Dominque's story until the little girl eventually fell asleep due to the long, eventful, and peaceful day.