A Dragon Idol's Reincarnation Tale

“Lady Hestia. Miss Saori. Here are your drinks — a frozen fragassa smoothie for my lady and a lemon cocktail made from dwarven sake which arrived today for Saori. Please, enjoy.” Tasianna placed our drinks on the table placed between Saori and me.

Standing there, she watched us in anticipation as we took our first sips. I don’t know how it was for Saori, but the moment the cooling smoothie entered my mouth, the warmth of this sunny summer day vanished immediately for me. The sweet and sour fragassa spurred my taste buds to celebrate from the invigorating taste.

““Cheers!”” Saori and I softly touched our glasses together in jubilation from the taste. ““It is amazing, Tasianna!””

Tasianna let out a sigh of relief before bowing and retreating into the RV. As she did so, we stayed sitting in our wooden sun loungers, enjoying our drinks and the sun as we relaxed here in House Helvas’s garden.

“We deserve this,” I said with closed eyes.

“After yesterday? We sure do,” Saori agreed with me, taking another sip from her cocktail. “Mhmm, arg, this stuff is strong. The stark quality difference between imported dwarven sake and the sake made in the lower city is quite obvious. Well, I think it is worth the money we spent.”

“Treat yourself, Saori. Our first actual political meeting and we got out of it with what we wanted. Sure, we had the advantage for our own terms, but the relationship between Shaturein and Griffonpeak could have broken apart. They could have just continued working with a false smile,” I comforted Saori, telling her the money we spent on something she liked was not a waste.

“Thanks. I honestly do not remember when I last treated myself to something expensive. Maybe before my father died? Then again, most of them were decently priced and I just wanted them because I was a child.”

“Oh? I do wonder how you were as a kid, Saori. Less uptight maybe?” I showed her a devilish smile, but Saori didn’t look as amused.

“… If you want me to be even stricter on our finances, I could, if you were trying to provoke me here, Hestia.” I quickly apologized to her. The last thing I needed was an even more merciless Saori. “Haaaa, whatever. Speaking about our past, did your ‘second personality’ appear again?”

“Mhmm, sadly, nope. I haven’t had a dream with her since I woke up after my coma,” I told her. My party was aware of my dream and soul separation. “Still pretty wild that was the reason for my [Parallel Thoughts] skill, right?”

“Yeah, I honestly was a bit worried about your mental state. I thought you might have been bipolar or something.”

“Ehh, I became a bit unhinged with my solitude in Belzac before you came, so maybe I was. Still, multiple soul personality disorder, as I call it, isn’t very normal, either. My parallel minds were questioning their existences, you know. Hahahaha!”

‘Oi, shut up, Original Mind! We never said anything like that! Stop lying for a joke!’

Sorry, sorry, #2. Ehehehe.

But there was a small truth behind it. My parallel minds and I did question how much my personality as “Hestia” differed from my previous self. I guess, quite a bit, since my other half didn’t accept me as her. She wasn’t even willing to tell me my original name. What a weird case of double persona, huh?

But, she did seem adamant to “die.” Have the last pieces of her inside me forgotten, so there was nothing left of her. Sadly for her, I wasn’t having any of her bullshit. It’s obvious my past self couldn’t handle all the stress to become an idol. All those failed auditions, that promise to not cry, and also seeing our parents’ continued worry for us. I can still feel it.

I really should have just gone indie to build my brand. Make a video of myself, promote through social media, and then collab with people in the future. I was so stuck on the ‘proper’ way to become an idol that I forgot about all the other options.

I’m not sure if Papa ever tried to persuade me to stop being an idol, maybe he did and I couldn’t remember it. Still, just like how I had my first concert on a stage made from dirt, earth, and stone, I should have also just started from the bottom instead of dreaming to join some agency. I could have also just begun my career as a singer then transferred into becoming an idol.

Ahh, I’m starting to regret all my dumb decisions. If I had been a bit more open-minded, I probably could have achieved something instead of turning into a depressed bitch. But, all of that is in the past now. My other half’s past. What is important now is my future in Peolynca, and to get her to accept our new chance in life.

“We’ll be going now, Sensei!” As I was daydreaming of my past, present, and future, Tamae’s voice appeared, prompting me to turn my head around. There, I saw her manning the RV with Grimnir, driving the carriage forward with Sarasa and Quatre.

“Yes, good luck out there, Tamae!” Saori wished her luck. “Grimnir, do not forget about the correct location! If you make a mistake, I will have to pay a fine to the chef and merchant guilds!”

“Argh, I know, I know, Saori! Do you think of me as an old geezer? Just cuz I’m stuck in my smithy all the time doesn’t mean I forgot where our usual spot is! I got it!” Grimnir replied in exasperation. “Lass, the next batch of [Room] runes are done. This afternoon, you gotta come back in and help me with the next.”

“Goooot it.” I showed him a peace sign. “Tamae-chan, good luck out there! Tell Kazumi-chan and Kohaku-chan good luck from me, too! You can rely on Tasianna to perform perfectly as the waitress!”

“Thank you! See you later!” And with that, they left the noble district.

The one week of preparation to make the meeting a success for us wasn’t the only thing everybody did. While I had my hands full with Mother and the meeting, Tamae continued getting everything ready to take over the restaurant. That meant adapting Saori’s former menu while keeping prices low enough for people to pay.

Not to say that was all she did. Our main goal with the restaurant was to get it ready for nobles and rich merchants. Lord Helvas was kind enough to help us hire the staff for it, with Josine and Svena personally overwatching the hiring process. They would train as waitresses and chefs under Tamae’s command to serve our party and House Helvas Earthen dishes.

Today, Tamae wanted to re-debut the restaurant to our customers in the lower city. As such, Kazumi, Kohaku, and Tasianna were there to help her. Our restaurant helpers weren’t comfortable managing common people, as they were trained to serve nobles and influential personages. It wasn’t a big deal. It meant we could keep the street restaurant more carefree and lax, perfect for the demographic in the lower city.

Concerning the others of our party, Tasianna had been keeping up with her alchemy training and has even asked Mother to train her in magic. You know, ice dragon and ice mage; a perfect fit if you ask me. In other words, I’ll be training with Tasianna once Mother believes it’s time to train me.

Nishio and Misaki went to the mages guilds and archery field, respectively, for training. The Misfits members weren’t lazy either, as Kyouya and Tatsuya went out to the dungeon, and Asaka and Haruka went out to explore the city, while Daichi, well, I dunno what he was doing. I thought of him as a bootlicker, but it doesn’t seem like he particularly likes me at all. Every time I tried to speak with him, he made up an excuse to leave.

I could understand Asaka and Saori not getting along. They have a bad history together, but what did I do to Daichi? Considering we will be travelling to Estralia together, it doesn’t seem like we will get along too well. Hopefully, it won’t cause any problems.

“Mhmmmm!” I stood up from my lounger and stretched. “I’m going to give Ellaine a visit. Do you want to come too, Saori?”

“I am fine, Hestia. After all that politicking, I just want to turn into mush and pudding,” she said before summoning Uno, Song, Shoyi, and Rajah. While her garms laid down on the grass to enjoy the sun, she placed Shoyi on her chest. “Ahhh, everybody, let’s enjoy our break for now~”

Wow. Then again, she’s been working for a whole month pretty much everyday. She deserves this.

With Rajah following me, the both of us entered the Helvas mansion. Svena welcomed us inside and took the smoothie glass I had from me.

“Rajah sure is very obedient. Even Saori’s garms can be rough when they dislike doing something,” Svena began small talk, complimenting how much of a perfect virigress Rajah was.

“Hmm, that is true. The garms usually fight amongst themselves when Saori hands them something good to eat. They will always fight for the best pieces.”

The garms had a weird dynamic. They were extremely faithful and obedient towards Saori, while showing respect and interest towards the rest of us. They were good wolves, you can say. A bunch of good boys and girls… The only problem was they were constantly fighting amongst themselves who was the best.

Like a bunch of siblings, neither could accept the other as the “Beta,” the secondary leader after Saori, who was their alpha. At first, I thought Uno was the Beta, but after I asked Saori about it, they thought of no one but themselves as the beta. To Saori, Uno was her beta due to how much more responsibilities he was willing to take, but the rest weren’t as receptive.

Outside of battle or washing them, I didn’t spend as much time with them as I wanted to. I should. They were part of the party. Just like Rajah and his family.

“Rajah, when did you learn how to be like this?” I asked my virigress, who seemed to have learned some common tongue words.

[“I. See Master speak with Saori. I copy. Goddess grant power. I believe. Good.”]

From what I could clue together from his broken common, I understood that Rajah copied everything he could when he was still with me in Belzac. Unlike his siblings who grew up as normal virigress, Rajah learned [Telepathy] after his first evolution, and used this chance to develop himself mentally.

Seeing as the entire virigress family received Aurena’s protection after they went their ways, they pretty much abused the experience boost it gave to level up. It wasn’t as powerful as mine with Kargryxmor’s blessing, but still good enough that they could level up faster. Rajah believed he should be acting more regal, like the heroine who saved his life back in the forest — me, in other words.

Was I really that regal back then? I guess I had my [Princess] title even back then, but I wasn’t even trying to act at all pompous and shit. Well, whatever, it didn’t matter too much. I was just happy to see Rajah developing himself.

However, there was still one question I hadn’t asked him yet.

“Why did you want to come back, Rajah?”

When he left me, Rajah chose his family over me, and I was perfectly fine with it. If you have a family, you shouldn’t abandon them so easily if you love them. I greatly admired Rajah’s choice. I was a bit sad when we had to say goodbye, however, Rajah’s happiness was more important.

Which is why I was surprised when he came back with Tamae and the others. Why did he bring his family with him? What caused him to leave the forest?

[“Home. Changed. Gruu? Word, not know to say.”] It was obvious now that I had to help him with his words. He hasn’t mastered common yet.

“Hey, good morning, my little aunt!” As we were walking through the hallway, Yorshka appeared from a corner. “Oh, and good morning to you, Svena and Rajah. Hope I wasn’t disturbing anything.”

Yorshka wasn’t in her armor nor her casual clothing, but in a yukata with scales floating around it. Her silvery hair was tied into a bun, making her look like a stereotypical traditional Japanese housewife.

Due to the Revolution Queen, Japanese stuff had spread to Loatryx, so seeing a dragonewt in a kimono or yukata wasn’t weird. It was just a bit surprising to see her having her yukata with her.

“A yukata?” I questioned.

“Oh, oh right, I picked it up when I visited my husband and Priscilla in Firwood. I mean, since it’s Earthen inspired and so on, I thought, why not, right? Lets me fit in with you guys, haha,” Yorshka released some of her silver powder to make it seem like she was glistening, reminding me of what Mother said about dragonkins liking to show off their control of scales. “Anyways, what are you up to? Visiting Ellaine?”

I nodded to her question, but then figured I could probably ask Yorshka about Rajah’s situation. She picked him up with his family. Maybe she knew why Rajah wanted to come with us. When I asked her about it, she picked Rajah up and asked him a question.

“More monsters and competition, right?” Rajah nodded in response. Yorshka placed him down and began explaining to me. “You know, I heard from Muraina you were one of the reasons for the recent large monster spawning recently. It even hit Cedaraille, so hunters have been working well.”

My fight with Astalos the wyvern caused some serious problems after we defeated him. Mostly, we forgot to drain the mana from the area, resulting in a high concentration which caused a lot of monsters to spawn from it.

Yorshka remembered how I explained how we escaped the Belzac forest, about how Astalos was escorting us only for an entourage of grimgarians to ambush us. Astalos used the level six lightning spell [Ramuh] to destroy them, allowing us to escape in the chaos. Yorshka believed this was the reason for a general increase of monsters.

“There have been no reports of an ecosystem-altering monster, but I do think the forest might be more populated. In any case, Rajah might have wanted to flee the area, and he might have thought staying with you would be better. He felt your [Hestia’s Retainer] on Tamae and the other kids, so he knew we knew you.”

I picked up Rajah and gave him a large hug. “Don’t worry, once we’re back on the road, I promise we’ll do some training, alright? We’ll get stronger together, Rajah!”

[“Rajah. Make Master happy!”]

To rest, Yorshka told me to not train in my week of preparation for the meeting. Now that it was over, all I needed to do was to enjoy my break day and get back into it. I needed to get stronger. I would not allow another friend to die like Eshe. I will protect my happiness, and I will prevent that damn demonkin’s plans for endangering my enjoyment of life any further.

Yorshka then asked me if I could open up a portal for her to visit Mother, knowing Tamae should have brought the RV down to the lower city by now. I did so and Yorshka was back in the subspace. With Rajah and Svena, I walked to Ellaine’s room.

“Ah, Hestia, good morning!” Ellaine greeted me, standing up from her desk to embrace me.

Once we let go of each other, I noticed her armor was placed on a mannequin right next to her closet. I couldn’t detect any damage to it.

“Oh, did Grimnir finish the repairs already?” I wondered, to which Ellaine confirmed my question.

“Yes, but it took quite a bit for him to do so. It’s mostly because Francesca’s transformation caused some internal damage to it. Otherwise, the armor managed to protect her body from getting crushed from the ruins… but not her head.”

Ellaine’s armor was stolen from her by the Chezaic twins during her scuffle with Charleslyt. Francesca, the elder twin, wore it to taunt Ellaine and used it to fight against her. Ellaine managed to defeat them by causing the whole house she was trapped in to collapse, crushing everybody aside from her, Jonathan, and Amelia.

The young lords and ladies who died on that day were all traitors, all willing to help Charleslyt in his pursuit to overthrow his father, so there was no reason to pity them. All of them even accepted the demon tonic Charleslyt gave them. Francesca and Iracela, the two twins, seemingly even attained a form similar to Ellaine’s demonic assimilation form, so they were already kind of a lost cause.

Thankfully, Ellaine’s armor survived all of that. Speaks of the quality of Grimnir’s craft.

“However, Master Grimnir decided he had to reforge it one day, seeing as how it was damaged from internal transformation. With my cooperation with Klea, that has to be solved.” Ellaine shrugged, telling me to sit down.

Josine, Ellaine’s maid, and Svena already knew about Klea’Hatma, as Ellaine decided it would be better to trust them with it, seeing as they were trusted attendants. Josine was Ellaine’s maid since childhood and Svena was slowly taking on more responsibilities due to her decision to continue serving me. She was even the head waitress for our restaurant now due to her hard work.

Once we sat down, Josine and Svena went out to prepare tea for us, allowing us to talk freely with Klea’Hatma. “Klea’Hatma.”

[“Mhmm, I had a feeling you wanted to talk with me, dearie. So long since we last spoke, so you naturally would want more of me~”]

However, contrary to Klea’Hatma’s more carefree tone, Ellaine had a wry smile. She knew what was about to come. “Hestia… this is about my future with Klea, right? About what happened during the fight?”

“Yeah… I’m sorry. I just- When I heard from Saori how you looked in that ‘demonic assimilation’ form, I felt a bit apprehensive of it. A bit scared. That you might be lost to us, and that Klea’Hatma is controlling you right now. You’ve also changed a bit, Ellaine,” I told her without holding back anything, and Ellaine nodded in acceptance.

“I can understand what you mean, Hestia. I guess with all these demonic moments we had in our adventure, it’s natural to be more wary with anything concerning demonkins or demons. However, from the looks of it, [Okl’Luthier’s Power] seemed to be a good backup plan against Klea possibly rebelling.”

Ellaine had told me that when she was decapitated by Charleslyt, she met a figment of Aurena in [Ok’Luthier’s Power] where she was lectured by her about Klea’Hatma. She was able to subjugate the demon if she wished, but Ellaine, out of the goodness of her heart, declined and decided to make this symbiosis work.

The issue was that this Aurena warned Ellaine to not be careless. Klea’Hatma might have found this gesture touching, but a demon of lust wouldn’t idle for too long. One day, it might bite us in the butt. Prevention is the best cure, but I also respected Ellaine’s decision. I want to talk to her and get my own opinion on the situation.

“I presume you understand what ‘lust’ in the context of a demon of lust means, right? The actual meaning?” Ellaine asked.

I nodded. “Yes, lust doesn’t just mean sexual desires, but desires in general. A desire to find new experiences as the old ones die out. You quench your thirst in excess, before throwing things away like a broken toy in boredom. That is what I understood from my interactions with her. Am I right?”

[“Spot on, honey.”] Klea’Hatma sent a thumbs up to me telepathically. [“Sexual pleasure is, of course, the most distinguishable desire attached to the definition of lust. Sexual strive is as natural to life as eating. However, I personally consider it primitive thinking. Lust is so much more. The strive for perfection, the desire to break free from monotony, the eagerness to change one’s life. Just like Ellaine. Her lust for happiness is a good example, and can be used to explain some of the problems in her life. Not all, mind you.”]

“Even Brother had his phase where he was envious of my development. He wanted to train himself more, to the point we misinterpreted his wish to join Charleslyt. Nevertheless, his experience as an adventurer did bring us closer once again.”

“Isn’t that just envy, though?” I questioned, still confused on how these demons construe the seven deadly sins.

[“Every emotion is affected by one or more sins, Hestia. Don’t think of all of this so simply. Emotions are complex. Your wishes are difficult for others to completely understand. Your rage for somebody can trigger wrath, envy, and pride for example. Never think of us demons of sins as simple beings, Hestia, we will feast and trigger sins even by abusing the other emotions.”]

Now that was something I could understand. Thinking of them as complicated as emotions might help me create a better understanding of them. But that was why Klea’Hatma was making me so damn nervous.

“But, then, what is stopping you from betraying us one day, Klea’Hatma. Yes, you explained you are interested in Ellaine and us right now, but what about the future? I don’t want you to harm Ellaine. I don’t want to face another tragedy.” I massaged my temples anxiously. “I am thinking of taking your rings away if you can’t persuade me, Ellaine.”

“Urk.” Ellaine clutched her hands together.

“I don’t want to impede your progress, but I also don’t want to mourn for another friend like Eshe. Please, tell me you can persuade me, Ellaine.”

“…” Ellaine stayed silent for a moment, before answering with a wry smile on her face. “All I can really tell you is to trust me, Hestia. Just like before.”

“Ellaine.” I scratched my head in exasperation.

[“Well, that is the only answer she can give you, dear. The only proper answer without lying to you,”] Klea’Hatma spoke to me. [“However, I can understand your feelings. Well, I literally can feel them, but that is beside the point. In any case, as a demon of lust, someone who has fully accepted the life of a hedonist, I am something like a wildcard. Aurena explained that to Ellaine in detail. I can change my opinions at any turn.”]

Images of Ellaine speaking up for Klea’Hatma when she spoke to Aurena’s figment entered my mind. I could feel Ellaine’s and Klea’Hatma’s feelings during this moment, all delivered to me by the latter.

[“Yes, I am grateful to Ellaine. Yes, I am currently enjoying my pseudo-life with all of you. Yes, learning so much about Earth and its culture tickles my lust for knowledge. Even your adventures intrigue me.”] But her cheery tone quickly changed. [“But, I do admit I wish to have my body back. I am safer to you and Ellaine while inside these rings, but it also makes me desire a new body. I can still lend Ellaine my powers through a demon contract, but it also opens up possible problems. Problems you are already thinking of, Hestia.”]

“Yes. You can betray us,” I confronted her earnestness with my own. “I know Aurena can stop you, but I don’t think I want to rely on it perfectly. I think Aurena once said that gods aren’t omniscient, right? Well, that is why I have to be careful. Just like how she couldn’t warn me about Eshe in time, I can’t rely on her for everything.”

Mother mentioned the Origin Gods will not allow the planet to be endangered by the demonkins and their Edjurl gods, but she didn’t mention our everyday life. The gods will not intervene if their blessed were to die. Eshe’s death is proof of that. As such, to ensure my own happiness, I needed to take things into my own hands.

[“Hmm, that fire. A lust for happiness, just like Ellaine’s.”]

“Hestia, I understand your worry in all of this, but I also cannot just give up on this power. I don’t think Klea is a good person, I can already imagine what she did when she first came to Peolynca. But, I am still of the opinion that using her power to fight our enemies is the best way to use her. Fight fire with fire,” Ellaine argued.

“Then why did you not just subjugate her. Tame her. Break her. Do everything you can to suppress her urges? If you had done that, we could have one less random possibility. Didn’t Aurena mention that?” I pointed out.

“Because I do not believe that is what a knight should do, Hestia.” And Ellaine’s answer was still out of the goodness of her heart. “I personally do not believe that tormenting an evildoer is true justice. I believe that is just a way to fulfill your sadistic side to attain closure. Charleslyt was a traitor, a traitor who deserved the highest punishment available. However, once he had repaid his debt to the kingdom, he was given a quick and merciful death. There was no public fanfare. Nobody gloated at his deceased body. Afterward, his remains were handed to his brother, the current Duke Equevanna, to bury and mourn him in his way. To me, that is justice.”

She paused as she looked at her rings. “Klea’s debt to Peolynca is to aid us in the name of the Goddess. An enemy forced to work off her debt. To me, this is the appropriate punishment for Klea in our current age. What will happen afterward? I will not know, but that is for the future to decide.”

[“I am an archdemon in strength, Hestia. A demi-god, but I must still follow the rules given to me by the Edjurl gods. Contracts are to be followed, I told her such. For that reason, Ellaine wanted to form a contract with me to hold me on a tighter leash, but, you know, don’t make contracts willy-nilly with a demon. It won’t end well, dear”]

For that reason, Klea’Hatma didn’t form a contract with Ellaine at the end. They were still going around in a symbiotic relationship without any real connection between each other aside from [Okl’Luthier’s Power]. The demon mentioned she didn’t want to abuse Ellaine’s goodwill and drag her into an unfavorable contract.

[“If you cannot trust in me, there are two paths forward for the both of us — a contract which binds us in a mutual, but eventually parasitic, relationship, or we go down the subjugation route, dear. The latter option will have Ellaine dominate me and suppress my free will, turning me into just another source of power. A slave. You will need to prepare her, in this case. Help her become strong enough to defeat my willpower, and then, you may do whatever you wish with me.”]

“You make it sound like we are the bad guys in this, Klea’Hatma,” I said, noting how she worded everything.

[“Evil and good are subjective. If you ask me, this is not evil, this is the natural course of life. I do want to keep my free will, but even I understand that I have lived for a very long time already. A hedonist hates endings, but realistically, it cannot be warded off forever,”] Klea’Hatma stayed real with me. [“However, if you want to keep me under control through less ‘bad guy’ tactics, just give me enough stuff to enjoy. Endless streams of stimuli, so much that I cannot digest them before your Quest is over, and I will stay with you forever~ My little darlings~”]

“Oh, goodness gracious,” I shook my head. “You know, Ellaine, this is exactly like when we first met Klea’Hatma. Grrrr, it was so infuriating to listen to how much you wanted to use Klea’Hatma! Even now, you defend your right to use her! Fuck this!”

I stood up and grabbed Ellaine’s arm, pulling her up.

“H-Hestia, what is wrong?!”

“Fick dich! Und fick dich ins Knie, Klea’Hatma! Both of you are turning me into that worrywart Saori! No, Saori has dialed her cautiousness down for us, I am turning into her previous self! All I want is just fewer risks! Less stress!” Pulling Ellaine, I opened up the door, where I saw Josine and Svena pushing a tray table. “I’m sorry you two, but there will be no time for tea. Please, get Ellaine ready for an outing.”

“Wait, what?” Ellaine exclaimed in surprise.

“As I said, fick dich! But…” I took a deep breath. “I’ll trust you and Klea’Hatma, alright? I’ll make sure to keep us on the good guy route for now, but the moment that bitch even shows a hint of betraying us, you will have to take responsibility, Ellaine! This is not a joke, alright?”

“Y-Yes! I understand, Hestia! I will not fail you!”

This girl is so infuriating sometimes! Now I understand what her mother thought of her rebelliousness!

After Josine and Svena helped Ellaine in walkable clothing, I grabbed Rajah and dashed outside. Locating Saori, I pulled her up from her lounger and told her we were going to the merchant district.

“We’re going shopping! We’re spending time together as party members! No more slacking off!” I announced.

“Wha-What?! Hold on, what is this for?! What exactly are we buying?” Saori questioned me in a fluster.

“I don’t know. I don’t care. We’re window shopping if we have to. Let’s just go and enjoy ourselves, dammit!”

“Hahaha…,” Ellaine laughed nervously. “I apologize for this, Saori. This is my fault.”

“What did you do to our Hestia, Ellaine?!”

Friends were supposed to trust friends. Klea’Hatma was undoubtedly evil, but Ellaine’s justice wasn’t to do evil for good’s sake. Her moral compass was far whiter than mine, and that was something I could respect.

Still, there had to be something we could do to ensure Klea’Hatma’s allegiance to us. Until then, we had to keep a lookout for it for Ellaine’s sake. She knew the risks and she still held onto it for the ability to keep Aurora strong. I will trust her. At the same time, she had a responsibility to find a way to make Klea’Hatma trustworthy.

But until then, I needed to get rid of this irritation. It was time to bond.