His mind was already made up, "But I can't leave them here, as I said, the mission of the Rocket Team is to aid the monsters in distress."

...

When Ethan came out of the basement with a group of baby dragons, the dragon maids in the estate were stunned; no one saw how he got in.

But Ethan, who was skilled in social interaction, quickly bonded with the maids. He first personally demonstrated how to cook a healthy breakfast for the baby dragons, where mist antelope milk and a protein-rich diet were key to ensuring the hatchlings thrived. He quickly finalized a week's menu with the maids and mobilized the dragon maids to clean up the mess in the underground research facility.

This was the first time the dragon maids had seen the underground lab, and they were all terrified by the hellish scene they witnessed.

Ethan cremated a long-dead azure dragon and then took the lead with broom and mop, demonstrating by example.

During the cleanup, Little Octopus and the big wolf took on the core responsibilities of the team, one capable of spraying water, the other possessing boundless strength.

The dragon maids in the estate were also inspired by Ethan and threw themselves into the task of renovation.

They could hardly explain their emotions, even though they knew what they were doing could lead to their death — Black Steel didn't allow anyone into the basement, and whenever he returned to the estate, he would drop his disguise, unapologetically revealing his most violent side.

This was the inherent nature of a dragon that flowed through his veins.

Neither humans nor monsters could suppress their true nature forever.

Ethan learned from the dragon maids about their origins — it turned out Black Steel's seeding plan was not restricted to dragons; he had sought many "high-quality" individuals among humans in the past, although the outcomes of these unions never pleased him. These hybrid maids were his offspring, or survivors, to be precise.

Most hybrid dragons died shortly after birth, and those who survived received no proper care. They remained in the estate only because Black Steel needed servants to manage it for him.

"It's getting late, Mr. Sakaki, please leave as soon as possible."

As time passed, the atmosphere in the estate grew increasingly tense.

One of the maids finally couldn't hold back her anxiety and spoke up.

When she said this, her broad tail drooped to the ground, and her body relaxed.

No one blamed the maid who spoke up; instead, someone said, "Someone as honorable as you shouldn't die here."

They all knew what Black Steel would do when he returned to the estate and saw the changes.

The dragon maids put down their cleaning tools, pausing to gaze at the bright moon in the night sky. It was only now that they understood their emotions.

Even if only for a brief day, they experienced what it was like to be treated as humans rather than slaves.

"Desertion is not the style of the Rocket Team."

Ethan waved his hand; as a mediating officer of family disputes among monsters, he still had a crucial mission to complete.

Upon hearing this, the dragon maids' expressions changed.

"Lord Black Steel is not a Summoner; if you go against him, you will..."

A scorching heat interrupted the dragon maids' words when a towering black figure appeared at the door, causing some of the more timid ones to fall to the ground in fright.

"What will he do? Go on."

Black Steel's voice was deep, and his aura as a superior monster pressed down on the dragon maids until they could barely breathe.

"...Die."

After an indeterminate amount of time, such a voice finally emerged from among the crowd.

For the Summoners in this realm, death was not a common word. Everyone would encounter countless dangerous monsters during their adventures; they might be defeated many times, but they would always awaken at a rescue station in the wilderness — all of this was by the grace of the Crimson Queen, and it was precisely under her protection that peaceful coexistence between humans and monsters could endure.

However, they had all witnessed Black Steel killing people.

The Royal Association's Summoners who opposed him initially had people who would break into his estate to protest.

But Black Steel had broken the Crimson Queen's rules many years ago. Those humans' bodies would be torn apart and taken through the study's dark door, never to be seen again.

Shortly after Black Steel assumed the position of chairman, numerous disappearances occurred in the Royal Summoner Association, and to this day, the prevalent belief among people in the Royal Capital is that these disappearances were due to dissatisfaction with Black Steel, resulting in them leaving the Royal Capital in anger.

After all, in a world without slaughter and death, this was how conflicts between people were resolved.

The scene before them stirred fearsome memories in the maids.

There had been others who, like Ethan, came here unaware of Black Steel's true nature.

"Mr. Black Steel, you're back just in time; I have something I'd like to discuss with you."

They watched as Ethan unhesitatingly walked toward Black Steel, while taking a neatly organized list from the inside pocket of his clothing, "I've arranged your offspring into three different areas of the estate, prepared different nutritional plans for them according to their different species, but you must know how quickly children grow. It might not be long before your estate can't hold them all, so after surveying the estate's layout, I've drafted a renovation plan for you."

Ethan handed the renovation blueprint to Black Steel.

Their team was full of talented individuals, and unexpectedly, someone from the Other Shore had expertise in architecture, drafting the blueprint in just one afternoon.

"The maids and I cleaned your underground lab; it has a solid foundation, and with some modification, it could provide the best growth environment for the children."

Ethan believed this was a suggestion any responsible father wouldn't refuse, given Black Steel's broad range of seeding which resulted in his offspring nearly covering all common attributes.

Ice dragons resided in snowy mountains, fire dragons liked soaking in lava — he designed the facilities with such diversity in mind to meet the hatchlings' needs.

The dragon maids were ashen-faced.

Ethan's previous words had undoubtedly touched Black Steel's reverse scale.

Cracks on Black Steel's face instantly erupted with dark red energy, "Sakaki of the Rocket Team, I've heard of you."

"Oh? Am I that famous already?"

"It's impossible for the news to spread throughout the Royal Capital so quickly with just two little upstarts like you suddenly showing up."

Black Steel slowly extended his palm; the object grasped within looked somewhat familiar.

A withered piece of brown wood still retained a trace of unsnuffed energy.

"Was it that old tree that sent you? How unfortunate, it seems you're destined to have wasted your efforts."

With that, Black Steel crumbled the withered wood into several pieces, and before the shattered wood chips hit the ground, they were incinerated to ashes by dark red energy, "It entrusted me to tell you, your mission is over."

Black scales continuously released terrifying heat, spreading upward along Black Steel's forearm until they covered his entire face, his eyes transforming into vertical pupils like a lizard locking onto its prey.

A wide grin revealed a row of sharp teeth.

The issue that had troubled Ethan for so long had finally been resolved. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

The reason he could see Black Steel's panel was that the rumor of "hybrid human" was false; what he faced at this moment was not a hybrid but a dragon that had transformed into human form, hiding within human society.

Ethan felt his hopes were destined to be in vain.

Species like Black Steel's would be hard-pressed to turn into responsible fathers; that would probably require genetic-level work.

A claw enveloped in dark red energy struck toward him.

"Thankfully, I also have 'Accompanying You As You Grow Package B'; the feature of this package is that it doesn't require parental presence."

"I'll tell them that their father went on a business trip far away to make money to support the family."

As he spoke, a figure appeared almost instantaneously between them.

Black Steel's poised claw paused for a moment.

He clearly saw a wolf transform into a human right before his eyes.

He also saw that Ethan had never retreated a single step.

— "If it's a business trip, which city would you like to be sent to?"