"Leave a young animal out of your sight for a while, come back to a beast you've never seen in your life." - Old Hunter adage, on raising animals and how fast they grow.

A week after the conclusion of the senior tournament, Cal led her group as they returned to Paradise. Her students said their fond farewells to the friends they made over the past month, before they left and followed her.

The teleportation gate in Sabaya was placed in a small, well-guarded fortification, not far from the imperial palace. Some members of the imperial guards, easily noticeable from their tall, hulking stature and intimidating armor, watched over the place.

Her group naturally attracted attention, since there were quite a few of them, plus some additions. The Edelstein siblings were going back to visit their parents as well, as apparently their shift was done by now.

Kyara and Ashani had also joined the group, as the matron had struck a deal with Cal, in that she'd let them tag along her trip in the next year, then she'd take them to the hidden villages the year after. Cal happily agreed to the deal without much thought.

The guards at the gate waved them through without a fuss. The signet ring Aideen gave Cal years ago still functioned as a free pass when it comes to using these teleportation gates.

Aideen had actually told her in private recently that due to where Paradise was located, they had no need to use resources to keep the gates powered. Just the mana veins alone were plenty to keep them operational even if used heavily.

While they had charged a relatively exorbitant cost to use the gates, that only applied to outsiders. The fees were mainly to keep the city from being overcrowded, as it would likely be if travel with the gates were free. Those considered family and friends could use the gates free of charge, of course.

A single step brought them out from the sweltering, humid heat of central Elmaiya, and into the cold air of late autumn in Paradise. Ashani looked surprised by the sudden temperature and humidity change, and stared at the gate as if it was some inconceivable witchcraft.

They split up from there. The siblings took Kyara and Ashani over towards Aideen's residence together with Kino, while Cal's students and Dan went towards the inn she now knew were operated by Aideen's family.

She herself brought her two nieces towards the house her family had bought, eager to see them all again. It was a rather short trek through the ever-expanding city, taken with unhurried steps

What first greeted Cal and her nieces when they arrived was the sight of Ilena running around the courtyard, as her Serval Ida ran alongside her, easily keeping up with the active toddler.

The Reaper Serval had grown, easily the size of a small horse now, and likely strong enough to carry even one of Cal's older nieces at her back. She noticed that Elaina's and Sidonie's dogs seemed to look elsewhere though, as they tucked their tails between their legs and gave a worried whimper. The source of their distress soon became evident.

From around the side of the house, Leila came as well. She rode on the back of Lumi, her young drake. Whereas Lumi only measured around two meters on her hind legs when Cal left earlier this year, she had grown massively since.

Now just the torso of the young drake easily matched a large horse in size, if more slender. With her long, sinuous neck and tail Cal estimated the drake to be at least five meters long from snout to tail nowadays, and considering how big her wings looked even when folded, likely twice that in wingspan.

"Aunt Celeysria, Elaina, Sidonie!" said Leila from atop her drake as she gently nudged Lumi with her legs. The drake turned towards Cal and quickly ate up the distance on her strong, muscular hind legs. "You're back!"

"Hey, Leila," said Cal as Lumi stopped just before them and Leila nimbly jumped down from the drake's back. The drake itself nuzzled her head against Cal and gave a cooing noise when she scratched her chin with one hand. "I see Lumi has grown very well."

"She sure grew up fast over the past few months, she did," nodded Leila with a satisfied smile on her face. Considering the drake's current size and how effortlessly it had carried Leila on her back, the next word she said had not surprised Cal much. "She even took me flying for the first time last month!"

"That's nice," said Cal honestly. Leila was obviously ecstatic from the experience, and when Cal recalled the size of the adult drake they had taken her from… she would not be surprised if Lumi could fly with several people on her back in a few more years.

"Auntie~" said Ilena - now five years old - as she hugged onto Cal's thigh, her pet following right behind. Ida looked at everyone with some suspicion before she seemed to recognize them and relaxed, as she laid down next to Ilena.

The natural instincts of Reaper Servals made them care strongly for members of their packs, and it was that very instinct that Krystal had trained Ida with. The Serval saw the little girl as part of her pack, and her family naturally were similarly a part of the pack to her.

It wasn't until Lumi rubbed her head against the two dogs that they took a good sniff at her and finally relaxed in her presence. They licked the drake in a friendly manner as Lumi nuzzled their faces with her snout.

Together, Cal led her nieces towards the house, while the animals had run off together towards a shed built for Lumi's residence. The shed was massive, easily able to accommodate even the adult drake Cal saw before, so clearly it was built with the future in mind.

She smiled as the thought crossed her mind.