"S-Son!" Pedro's mom rushed towards him with teary eyes. Dr. Ecar Mahgilom and Pedro could only force out a smile in response as Pedro's mom grabbed his hands. "How are you feeling son? Does it hurt anywhere? Don't hesitate to tell the doctor if it hurts somewhere, alright?"
Pedro simply closed his hands—holding his mother's hands and said in a weak voice, "I'm fine, Mom… It just feels a little bit heavy…"
His mother nodded in response with a priceless smile painted on her face. This, in turn, made Pedro avert his gaze from his mother and shift his attention to his grandma—who had dark circles under her eyes. Then, he smiled and said, "La… Your health… Sleep early…"
"Aish!" His grandma grumbles in response. It seemed like she wanted to hit Pedro but given his current state, his grandma could not help but retract her hand and flick her tongue instead. Then, she sighed heavily and said, "Brat, you even got time to worry about me despite being in that state! Hurry up and recover fast so that I could get back my goodnight's sleep!"
"I will…" Pedro said in a weak voice. Then, he glanced to his mother and asked, "Ma… How is dad doing?"
"Your father…" His mother sniffed a couple of times, before saying, "He's fine! You don't need to worry about him. He had a lot of work in the company but it's nothing compared to the work he had last week. In any case… He'll be here after his office hours. I hope that he'll be able to see you awake. I am sure that he'd be very happy!"
Pedro simply forced out a smile and said in a weak voice, "That… I can't… I need to log back…"
Pedro's mother and grandma could not help but frown in response. Fortunately, before his grandma could even scold him, Dr. Ecar Mahgilom walked towards Pedro and said, "The patient is right, Madams! I'll tell you more about the details later, but it is truly best for Patient Pedro to stay in his hibernated mode. His recovery was at its fastest during his sleep. And based on how his body recovers, it might only take him a week or two before we can move him to the VIP ward and start his physical therapy partially. In any case… we need to let patient Pedro recover all his injury first before we proceed to anything else."
"T-Then, please put him back to sleep, doctor!" She said, worriedly. "If that would hasten his recovery then we could only wait patiently until he is fully healed!"
"Ma…" Pedro could not help but force a smile in response.
His mother simply patted his hand and said, "It's alright, son! You don't have to worry about us! What is important is that you recover your health as soon as possible! Okay?!"
Pedro could not help but nod in response. At this moment, his grandma spoke, saying, "Oi brat… You better recover fast! You need to properly introduce us to your woman! And… I want to see the future generation of this family, so you better not die on me!"
"Maaa!" Pedro's mother cried out of embarrassment to Dr. Ecar Mahgilom. On the other hand, Pedro could not help but avert his gaze from everyone else out of embarrassment.
While his grandma frowned and flicked her tongue in response as she heads out of the intensive care unit. At this moment, Pedro's mother could only glance back towards him with a smile on her face and said, "Your grandma is right… I also can't wait to have grandchildren-s! So, you better get well fast, son!"
With one last tap on his hands, his mother stood and followed after his grandma—leaving the intensive care unit. She nodded towards Dr. Ecar Mahgilom as if mentally saying, 'Doctor, please take over from here.'
Dr. Ecar Mahgilom could only nod in response—acting as if he had not heard about the 'grandchildren' or 'future generation' part, and simply smiled towards Pedro, before saying, "Can I know if you would like to log back into the game already?"
Pedro simply nodded in response and said in a week voice, "Please…"
"Very well…" Dr. Ecar Mahgilom nodded in response and smiled at Pedro. Then, he said, "Enjoy your recovery!"
Dr. Ecar Mahgilom closed Pedro's transparent VR Box and activated it in one of the panels near it. Then, slowly, Pedro's vision faded as he logs back into the game. After a few seconds, his eyes shot wide open, while his body shot up, shouting, "Faaaaaaaaaack!" as if he just woke up from a nightmare.
At this moment, his VIP room in the Auction Mansion became filled with awkward silence, where everyone was staring at him. He can't help but force out a smile in response as he slowly adapts back to his unrestricted limbs and normal breathing interval of his body.
'Ah, shit! This is awkward!' He cursed deep inside. He glanced to Ragas, Clara, and Auction Guide Weese before shaking his head, thinking, 'Well… The transition from a weak body to a healthy body… The sudden change is a bit surprising. Anyway… It is probably my years of experience playing this game that I was able to adjust quickly. Else… I would have vomited in this bed already. In any case…'
Pedro glanced to everyone else and waved his hands, saying, "I am alright! I am alright! You don't need to worry about me! I had just a bad nightmare, that's all!"
Deep inside, he could not help but force out a smile, thinking, 'BUT… WHAT THE HECK IS THAT GRANDCHILDREN THAT MOTHER WAS TALKING ABOUT? D-Don't tell me that they are already planning to marry me to Sabrina? Why are they even thinking one step ahead of me? We have not yet even celebrated our monthsary?! And they dare talk about the 'future generation' of the family?! I-It's not that I don't l-like Sabrina! I-If it was my past self, I would have even agreed with them already! But… After experiencing six years of hellish life in Bearth Online, I don't dare make such decisions too rashly! In any case… I need to focus on the game first! Kageyama and other Players might have infiltrated Kingdoms already! It is only a matter of time before they start to find out about dungeons and start the First Adventurer Tragedy! In any case… The Continental Quest would hold everyone at bay for a few more weeks at the least. I could only clear as much as a dungeon as I can, and focus on establishing the Adventurer's Guild. It would be a rare chance to monopolize the resources all over the continent. Besides… Duke Albert's ascension as the new King is already assured! The vampires would surely attack tonight and they would be the perfect excuse for Duke Albert to be crowned as the new King.'
From his calm demeanor—seemingly in deep thought, Pedro could not help but to smirk, making Clara and Ragas frown in response. Ragas could not help but ask, "Is there a problem, young master?"
"Oh!" Pedro gasped as he got back to himself. Then, he rubbed the back of his head and said, "Sorry about that! I just can't wait for the Grand Auction. I can't help but wonder what other goods did Duke Albert prepare."
"If that's the case, then I won't bother young master already." Ragas said, respectfully. "But if I may… I suggest that young master shares the story about your nightmare so that it won't happen in reality."
Pedro could not help but force out a smile in response. Then, he glanced to Ragas and said, "Relax… Even if it became true, it won't be that frightening or life-threatening to me."
Then, Pedro glanced outside—to the sky, and thought, 'After all… It's not that I completely do not want to marry Sabrina…'
Since Pedro had nothing to do at this moment, he used this time to establish a slave contract to the demi-humans that he bought earlier. Thanks to the potion, he did not suffer any backdrops due to severe blood loss.
Indicated in the blood contract that the slaves would be treated decently and would be given the freedom to build their own family. However, they were required by Pedro to work under him with absolute loyalty. On top of that, their future generations would be bound to this contract and only Pedro could nullify the contract between them.
Normally, they would have not agreed with such conditions. However, because they were originally his slaves. It was only evident that they would be bound to Pedro to eternity.
At the same time, Because Pedro's blood was even exposed to Ragas—which had traces of Dragon Blood, even Ragas wanted to form a blood contract with Pedro for eternity. However, Pedro did not do so because of several safety reasons.
First of all, he does not know very well the traits and characteristics of Ragas. In case he turned out to be someone evil, it would soon bring huge trouble to Pedro, especially that he was a strong entity. And second, Pedro does not know the real reason behind why Ragas wanted to follow him.
He was a human, an adventurer, a player. He was not a dragon or someone from the dragonkin like Faunia, the goddess of beasts. Though he has a dragon transformation, it does not necessarily mean that he was from the dragonkin of some sort. That is why he was confused as to why Ragas revered him as if he was a deity.
He can't simply build a bond with Ragas by simply knowing a few things about him. And it's not like he was way weaker than him like the demi-humans. Thus, Pedro decided to establish a contract once he has a sufficient understanding of Ragas, and also Clara.
Though it was indeed a rare opportunity, Pedro could not help but choose assurance and safety. After all, it was the real start of the game already. Not some closed beta trial where he can just simply do anything just for fun.