Chapter 99: The Child from the Pay-to-Win Parenting Game (16)
Shui Que’s first instinct was to run.
Eldran’s gaze on him was terrifying.
His intuition screamed that if he didn’t run now, something bad might happen.
But he was so exhausted from training today.
His legs felt like jelly—just standing made his calves tremble.
As he stumbled backward in panic, his foot stepped on a small, cold patch of water on the ground.
He had removed his shoes at the entrance before entering the bath area of the living quarters.
His bare, smooth soles met the overly polished marble floor, with a slick layer of cold water in between.
The moment he stepped on it, he completely lost control and slipped backward—
He fell.
But landing on the stone didn’t hurt as much as he expected.
Shui Que slowly blinked and, upon seeing clearly, instinctively shrank back.
Eldran had moved through the water with inhuman speed. Just a second ago, he had been on the far edge of the bath, away from Shui Que. Now, he was right in front of him.
Maybe it was because he wasn’t human.
Even with them this close—separated only by the edge of the stone platform, close enough for their breaths to mingle—Shui Que didn’t dare glance beneath the surface of the water.
He was afraid of seeing a body covered in pitch-black scales.
Now that he had discovered Eldran’s secret… would Eldran kill him?
Was it still possible to pretend he hadn’t seen anything?
Eldran’s breathing gradually grew heavier. Shui Que didn’t know if that meant he was nervous too.
“Get up,” Eldran said.
His Adam’s apple bobbed, as if agitated. Black scales silently flexed in the white mist of steam.
Eldran moved his hand slightly.
Shui Que had been so focused on checking for any attack that he didn’t even notice the odd sensation beneath him.
It dawned on him all of a sudden—Eldran had crossed more than half the bath in a flash…
To catch him.
Or rather, he had placed his hand under the stone platform where Shui Que fell.
Shui Que scrambled to get off him.
The soft, slippery feeling beneath his palm disappeared, leaving behind only cold air.
The back of Eldran’s hand, pressed directly to the stone, slowly withdrew its covering of scales, folding them back into his silent body.
Except for the black scale on his neck—the one Shui Que had touched earlier—Eldran looked completely human to anyone else.
“Thank you.”
“Even though I only fell because you scared me…”
He spoke in a weak voice, trying to shift the blame for his fall onto Eldran.
Now that he realized Eldran wouldn’t harm him, Shui Que picked up the clothes he had dropped—ones he had planned to change into later.
One corner of the garment was so wet it could almost be wrung out.
It must have gotten soaked when it hit the floor.
But it wasn’t too bad—the wet patch wasn’t large, and it’d probably air dry soon.
Or he could just quickly finish his bath and change into something dry back in his room.
Shui Que said, “I’ll keep your secret.”
As he said this, he was already trying to leave before Eldran could change his mind.
Eldran: “Where are you going? Weren’t you here to bathe?”
Shui Que paused mid-step, his voice low: “I’ll go find another bath.”
Eldran frowned. “There are a lot of people in the other places.”
He added, “You were too slow. They’ve already finished dinner.”
He was reminding Shui Que that peak bathing time had arrived.
Sure enough, Shui Que hesitated, stuck in place, unsure what to do. “T-then I’ll go eat dinner first. I’ll wash up after they’re done.”
Eldran said coolly, “It’ll be late at night. The water will be cold.”
Shui Que: “…”
“I’ll just go to another bath and wash with the others.”
He pressed his lips together, the red tint of them dampened by steam.
He had made up his mind and was walking out.
When Eldran heard that, his pupils narrowed vertically. He spoke: “Come back!”
Shui Que was startled by the sudden volume.
Eldran said, “I’m done bathing.
“…You can stay and wash.”
Behind Shui Que came the sound of water splashing—along with footsteps that didn’t sound like bare human feet on stone.
Probably the grating sound of scales and claws dragging across the ground. It sounded harsh.
He was probably doing it on purpose.
Shui Que thought.
Eldran could retract his scales at will.
He wanted to scare him—that was the only reason he’d let his claws scrape the floor like that.
Shui Que was sure of it.
How could someone be so mean?
[Foster Character [Shui Que] Mood: -1]
He was fuming inside. No matter what Eldran said, he stomped his feet on the stone floor and headed out.
Eldran raised his voice again: “You want to bathe with that crowd?”
“There are at least a dozen people in one bath.”
“You only enrolled this year. You’ve always lived in the castle before, haven’t you?”
His tone was indifferent, like he was casually making conversation—but every sentence hit a nerve.
“Ever been to a public bath?”
“You’re so pale. They’ll all crowd around you asking if you ever go out in the sun—and get curious about how you bathe.”
“They’ve got nothing better to do. Since it’s your first time coming to the bath, they’ll want to make friends, get in your good graces.”
“They might even hang around after finishing their own baths, just waiting for you to be done. And while they wait, they’ll be bored—so they’ll stare at you the whole time.”
“Or… is that what you want? To be seen?”
Eldran casually adjusted his clothes, but his gaze never left the figure turned away from him.
Shui Que used to think Eldran was just naturally quiet.
But maybe it was actually because the things he said were so unpleasant no one wanted to talk to him—so eventually, he stopped speaking.
[Foster Character [Shui Que] Mood: -1]
A cold, unnaturally temperatureless hand landed on Shui Que’s shoulder.
“Give me your clothes. I’ll hang them up. Go wash.”
Shui Que swatted his hand away.
His lower lashes were damp, a faint red ring forming around his eyes.
Even his lips seemed to tremble.
“You’re wrong,” he said. “No one wants to be friends with me.”
Eldran froze, not expecting that to be Shui Que’s takeaway.
His hand was knocked aside—though the force was nothing to him, it clearly meant something to Shui Que.
He seemed… genuinely upset.
[Foster Character [Shui Que] Mood: 0/10, still decreasing—]
Shui Que felt like he had really been spoiled—overly sensitive, overly fragile.
He used to… not care about these things.
Being alone was fine. Not being noticed didn’t matter.
For a long time, he had been like a little mushroom tucked away in the corner of a lab—only occasionally, just occasionally, receiving a sliver of response from the outside world.
There were so many people in the mission world who treated him exceptionally well.
Even just a slight frown from him would have someone asking if he was upset, immediately buying him something new and fun to cheer him up.
He had gradually become too pampered, needing constant attention, comfort, and to be held like a rare and precious treasure.
Shui Que sniffled.
The tip of his nose was pink.
Even Eldran had never looked this helpless before. Not even when he had been stripped of his position as crown prince—at that time, he could still sneer coldly at those in power.
But now, it was as if a fruit pit was stuck in his throat, and he couldn’t utter a single word.
Shui Que lowered his head.
“They don’t even want to pair up with me in class.”
A tiny teardrop glistened on his lower lashes, hanging there without falling.
Guan He let out a long sigh of relief—thankfully, he had spent his money quickly enough to stop the continuous drop in mood points.
He had only been gone a short while, and came back to see this damned Eld-something making Shui Que cry.
If the game released a pay-to-win package for eliminating an NPC, Guan He would be the first to assassinate this guy!
【Oh no, baby’s little pearl tear! Let me kiss it, kiss it】
【Damn it, teacher, why did my Shui Que come home from school unhappy? He even said someone at school was isolating him? My child has always been the cutest—before transferring, every kid at his old school wanted to be friends with him. People would fight every few days over who was “Shui Que’s best friend.” What kind of hell school is this new place?!】
Overseer 10 suddenly spoke: “Don’t cry… baby. Don’t cry.”
Shui Que bit his lower lip and casually wiped his eyes with his sleeve.
His emotions always surged quickly—and faded just as fast.
As long as he could stop them, it was fine.
Instead, he started worrying about his character rating.
Would it get docked?
System 77 came out to tell him that there were no deductions and even furiously cursed Eldran out on his behalf. Even though they knew Eldran couldn’t hear it, the insults were vicious.
77 then comforted Shui Que, telling him his performance was completely in line with the character setting of Que Louis: sensitive and quick to tears.
Shui Que thought about it, then felt relieved. After all, Garrick had called him a crybaby before.
“I’m sorry.”
Eldran suddenly spoke.
“I stopped them from partnering with you. At the time, I thought they might… injure you during practical combat.” The black-haired young man lowered his eyes halfway. “I’m not good at socializing, and I might have expressed myself in a way that made them misunderstand my intentions.”
“They like you very much.”
“It’s because of me that they didn’t invite you to be their partner.”
Eldran admitted this calmly.
Shui Que was half skeptical: “Really…?”
Eldran: “Yes.”
“If you were in the same bath as them, they’d definitely stare at you without blinking.”
He had barely spoken a few proper words before turning unpleasant again.
Shui Que couldn’t help rolling his eyes at him.
His eyes were as beautiful as amber and gemstones.
Eldran looked at him and said, “So, bathe here. No one will come in except me.”
Shui Que muttered, “Who wants to bathe in your dirty water…”
He said it quietly, but Eldran heard and explained seriously, “The water is flowing. The system’s open, and new hot water keeps coming in through the inlet.”
He reached over Shui Que’s arms to take the clothes from him.
After a few encounters, Shui Que knew his body temperature was as cold as bare branches in winter rain, but somehow, Eldran used an unknown ability that dried the damp clothes instantly.
“All done.”
Eldran hung the clothes to the side for him.
Shui Que asked curiously, “Are you a snake? Or something else?”
He had only seen Eldran’s black scales, but from the sound of his footsteps earlier, there was the sharp clatter of claws against stone. Snakes didn’t have claws.
Eldran: “Dragon. An evil dragon.”
Then he turned to Shui Que and asked, “Are you afraid?”
Shui Que answered honestly, “A little.”
He even held up two fingers to show, “No, maybe a bit more than a little.”
Shui Que slowly widened the gap between his thumb and index finger.
Then he even gave a reason: “Because you yelled at me before. Really loudly.”
As he complained, the corners of his eyes drooped, and the pink hue around them hadn’t faded yet.
Eldran softened his voice, “I’m sorry.”
【Achievement Unlocked: [Sincere Apology of the Evil Dragon]】
【Favorability with key NPC [Eldran] has reached 80/100】
【Character Shui Que has earned the title: Dragon Tamer】
Huge shoutout to @candycorns2 on Discord for commissioning this! The chapter will be posted regularly, show your support for Ciacia at Kofi.
![Delicate, Yet Shamelessly Freeloading [Quick Transmigration]](https://i2.wp.com/lazygirltranslations.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/65f44bbaf6c5968b008249902dc4ddcf5823.png?resize=151,215 "Delicate, Yet Shamelessly Freeloading [Quick Transmigration]")
