My Dragon Family (Kounari Family Chronicles)

(Yuuta POV)

"Yesterday was so much fun," I murmured, settling into the creaky old chair at my study table.

It wasn't a fancy setup—just a humble desk parked near the living room window—but it had become my personal corner of peace. I couldn't use the bedroom anymore. Not since Elena developed a peculiar habit of eating my diary pages like they were bedtime snacks.

Yes. Eating.

I still don't know if it was out of curiosity, rebellion, or because she genuinely believed my handwriting was made of chocolate.

Anyway, I cracked open my diary and stared out the window for a moment.

The morning was peaceful.

Sunlight filtered in like golden silk. Birds chirped somewhere in the distance, the world moving just slow enough to feel like a dream.

Erza was sprawled out on the living room couch, fast asleep, her chest rising and falling in the gentle rhythm of a morning nap. Even in sleep, she carried that regal aura—though her light snoring kind of ruined the effect.

Elena sat cross-legged on the floor, watching cartoons with the volume low, glancing every few seconds at her sleeping mother like she was guarding her from noisy commercials.

And me?

I had a memory to record.

---

Mr. Diary – Dragon Family Edition

Yesterday felt like something out of a fairy tale.

Elena… flew.

Really, actually flew.

It wasn't perfect. Her wings flapped like an excited duck and she wobbled like a balloon in a breeze, but she was airborne. For a brief, shining moment—my daughter flew across the sky.

And then… something I didn't expect.

Erza.

She showed me her wings for the first time.

They were huge. Crimson. Majestic. A living storm wrapped in beauty.

When they opened, the sun lit them up like fire and silk. For a moment, I forgot to breathe.

She looked like the dragon queen from my dreams.

The same woman who calls me "idiot" at least five times a day… was flying beside me.

We soared above the clouds, her hand in mine, the sun setting like a fireball on the horizon.

It was… magical.

She fulfilled a childhood dream of mine I didn't even know I still had.

And despite her cold attitude, sarcastic tone, and complete inability to admit when she's flustered—

I love her.

I love her so much it hurts sometimes.

And I love this little family we've somehow created.

– Yuuta Konuari

---

I closed the diary with a soft thud, resting my fingers on the cover as if sealing a treasure chest.

"Phew," I exhaled, rubbing my temples with a tired but happy smile. "This one's definitely going in the archives."

Someday, I'll show it to them. When we're older. When Elena's grown. When Erza's finally learned to admit she enjoys my company. Maybe we'll sit by the fireplace, flipping through these old pages, laughing at how awkward and embarrassing I was.

Speaking of which…

I glanced at Elena, now laying flat on the floor, kicking her feet lazily.

I wonder what she'll look like as a grown-up. Probably the most beautiful girl in the world, with her mom's sharp features and that smile that melts hearts. I just hope—no, pray—she keeps her kind, gentle soul.

And then… the terrifying thought hit me.

Someday… she's going to introduce me to her boyfriend.

> "Dad, this is my new boyfriend from Blue dragon clan! Isn't he cool?"

No.

Absolutely not.

I raised my hand to the sky like a wise sage casting away evil.

"No boyfriends until you're at least forty," I declared aloud. "No—make it fifty. And even then, only if he's a monk."

In my head, the scenario kept playing.

> "Dad, I'm going to marry him."

"No. Stop. Delete. Rewind."

My eye twitched.

And just as I was waving away this mental nightmare, the doorbell rang.

Ding-dong!

I flinched. The timing was suspiciously perfect.

Then came a cheerful shout from the front door:

> "Congratulations!!"

I stood up slowly.

Eyes narrowed.

A chill ran down my spine.

"Don't tell me… it's the wedding invitation already…"

Elena's tiny hand slipped into her husband's—yes, that abomination of a word—and she gave me a dazzling smile.

"Dad," she said, already halfway down the stairs. "We'll be going now. Bye-bye!"

"No!" I shouted, reaching out as if my heart had physically detached itself and started running away. "Don't call me Dad! You used to say Papa! What happened to 'Papa'?!"

They just kept walking.

Down the stairs.

Into the abyss of betrayal.

I chased them, stumbling like a tragic hero in slow motion.

"No! Come back!" I gasped, clutching my chest. "Elena… please… give me back my daughter!"

Tears welled up. One rolled dramatically down my cheek like a scene from a cheap soap opera.

"You said—you said you'd marry me when you grow up!"

SLAP.

A meteor hit my face.

No—wait. That was Erza's hand.

My eyes flew open.

"OW!" I yelled, recoiling like I'd been hit by the goddess of war herself. "Why does it hurt so much?!"

Standing over me, looking less like my wife and more like an ancient executioner, was Erza.

Eyes glowing. Jaw clenched. Aura: murderous.

"Good morning, Erza!" I said quickly, forcing a grin that definitely looked more like a nervous twitch. "My lovely, elegant, terrifying wife!"

She leaned in, voice sharp enough to cut steel.

"What. Were. You. Dreaming. About?"

I gulped.

"Oh, uh… just a nightmare! A silly one! Nothing serious! Totally fictional!" I laughed weakly. "Anime-style family drama, you know how it is—ha ha…"

She glared harder.

"You said," she began, voice dangerously calm, "Elena's going to marry you someday."

My soul left my body.

"Wait, wait! It was a dream! A hallucination! Not even canon!" I stammered. "It was just a flashback mixed with anime filler! Don't take it out of context!"

Erza's eyebrow twitched.

"You think I'm not enough for you?"

"What?! No! Where did that come from?! How did we go from 'dream' to 'divorce' in three seconds?!"

She turned without a word, scooped Elena off the floor—who was now dual-wielding cereal and TV remote—and summoned a massive suitcase with a flick of her tail.

Wait. What?

"Where the hell did that come from?!" I shouted, pointing at the suddenly materialized suitcase that looked like it had been packed by a tornado. "Who even packed it?!"

Erza didn't blink. She turned her fiery eyes on me and delivered the line that would haunt me forever.

"It doesn't matter," she said coldly. "How dare you even think of replacing me… with our daughter. You perverted mortal."

"OH COME ON!" I threw my hands up. "It was just a dream! My subconscious is the one you should be mad at! Not me!"

"Then go live in your subconscious," she hissed. "Maybe you'll find your imaginary wife there."

"Wait, what does that even mean?!"

"Don't care," she replied, flipping her hair like a dramatic soap opera queen.

Elena, who was somehow enjoying all this chaos like it was a morning cartoon, giggled from her spot in Erza's arms.

"Mama, did Papa do something weird again? Where are we going?"

"We're going home," Erza said, like she was banishing me from heaven.

She raised one hand. With a sizzle and shimmer, a glowing portal opened up in the air behind her.

And just like that—woosh!

She vanished into the magical sparkles of dramatic exit.

I stood there for a second. Processing.

"…Wait a second," I whispered. "She's actually gone?"

A long pause.

I looked around.

Quiet.

Still.

Safe.

"…I'M ALONE!" I dropped onto the couch like it was made of clouds. "FINALLY!"

I spread out like a starfish, arms wide, eyes closed, breathing in freedom like it was oxygen after years of captivity.

"I love my family," I muttered to the ceiling. "But sweet mercy, this… this is bliss. I know she will be back soon."

I reached for the TV remote. It was sitting next to a half-finished bowl of cereal Elena had abandoned earlier.

Of course, like the genius I am, I ate a soggy cereal ring straight from the bowl before even thinking about it.

"Ew. Not bad though."

TV on.

Volume up.

Brain off.

This was the dream. This was paradise.

Then—

"Cough."

My soul froze.

No. No, no, no. That wasn't on the TV. That was real.

And worse—it was female.

I felt a cold sweat slide down my back. My hand trembled, still holding the remote.

I turned my head—slowly, carefully—as if I was in a horror movie and the monster was right behind me.

And there she was.

ERZA.

Standing.

Arms crossed.

Looking like she had just walked out of hell to personally drag me back.

"So…" she said in a voice that could kill gods, "you were happy… when I was gone?"

I stared at her.

She stared back.

My life flashed before my eyes.

The couch creaked as I sat up. My survival instincts took over.

"Welcome home!" I said way too cheerfully. "Didn't even notice you were—ha ha—gone!"

She blinked. Slowly.

"You look awfully relaxed for someone who just got divorced by portal."

"Whaaat? Relaxed? No! I was crying! On the inside! I even—look—" I held up the cereal bowl, "—I was emotionally eating! See? That's not happiness. That's deep emotional suffering!"

Her eyes narrowed.

She cracked her knuckles slowly—the sound echoing louder than thunder in my ears.

"I came back because I thought you'd be crying over me…" she said, her voice ice cold. "But here you are. Enjoying yourself."

I froze mid-cereal bite.

Sweat.

Terror.

Regret.

"…I'm sorry, my lovely wife," I said, trying to flash my most charming smile. "You're so beautiful… like… too beautiful to be mad right now."

She smiled.

Not the good kind.

"You are dead, my dear husband."

And I swear, I saw my soul leaving my body right there.

---

To be continued…