Primordial Villain with a Slave Harem

Chapter 1395  Discovering New Races

Thindlebrim waved a dismissive hand. ”That sentimental creature heard weʼd have a new student and immediately began baking welcome cookies. Or cakes. Or some other inefficient use of perfectly good ingredients. She insisted it was important for morale.”

He scoffed. ”Utter nonsense.”

Before Quinlan could respond, the clearing stirred again.

More figures stepped out from the paths, the crowd thickening with familiar and unfamiliar faces alike. Quinlanʼs gaze paused when he noticed a pair approaching together, their presence carrying a familiar elegance, yet something was different.

Their skin was dark, and their ears bore the same long taper as Luminaraʼs, their features refined in the same elven way. But unlike the serenity of elves, he sensed a deeper animosity there, a generic tendency for violence that the elves lacked by nature.

”Dark elves?” Quinlan asked, honestly curious.

Miri yelped. ”No, Quinnie, you canʼt call them that!”

The woman laughed softly, lifting a hand in greeting. Her white hair fell in a dark curtain down her back, eyes bright with amusement. ”Itʼs fine, Mearie. Babies will be babies. We look a bit like elves, and our skin is dark, so the mistake makes sense.”

”I didnʼt know youʼd grown so accepting,” Luminara raised an eyebrow.

”Spending eternity staring at empty walls does that to you. I think I lost some of my edge.”

Luminara grimaced with understanding.

The man beside her did not share her ease.

His eyes narrowed, shadows deepening around his feet as something heavy stirred in the space behind him. His voice carried a low edge when he spoke. ”We are drows.”

Quinlan inclined his head immediately. ”My apologies. I made a mistake due to my ignorance. Iʼm currently stuck in the Continent of Iskaris, which means I have no access to information about your people… I wonʼt repeat such a mistake.”

The shadows stilled.

Both of them blinked, caught off guard. The woman tilted her head, studying him anew. The manʼs posture eased by a fraction, tension draining from his shoulders.

She glanced toward Luminara and Mearie and gave the pair a knowing wink. ”Your parenting skills are improving even after all this time.”

The male drow snorted quietly. ”What kind of magic did you do? When I tried, my children bit me and then cried.”

”Thatʼs why I did the parenting,” the woman replied without missing a beat. Her smile seemed fake for a moment, losing some warmth. Quinlan sensed dissatisfaction there.

But then, the drow turned back to Quinlan and her previous warmth returned. ”Iʼm Kiryssa. This is Vaelor.”

Vaelor gave a short nod, arms crossing again, though the shadows no longer pressed so close.

Quinlan felt it then, the shape of the gathering settling into something warm and alive. Laughter drifted between old acquaintances. While the eyes were strictly on him, studying with immense curiosity, conversations began to spark. The weight he had expected from having to meet so many primordials never came.

He had braced for scrutiny. For judgment. For cold appraisal.

Instead, while some of them were most certainly eccentric, he found a warm welcome.

As he looked around, understanding followed. This celebration, or ʼpartyʼ as his mothers had called it, had not been arranged solely for him. A new primordial was reason for those who had endured time in solitude to gather again, to speak, to remember what it meant to belong to something larger than themselves.

Quinlan let out a slow breath.

This was not just his party.

It was a family reunion.

The ground shifted, drumming. Something heavy was approaching.

Quinlanʼs head turned.

Far off, beyond the edge of the clearing and past the distant treeline, two shapes moved against the horizon. At first, they were silhouettes. Then scale settled in.

His eyes widened.

”…Giants?!” he asked, unable to keep the lift out of his voice.

”Hehe, yes,” Luminara replied at once, pleased. ”They are very gentle people.”

Quinlan squinted.

Even from more than a mile away, the details were clear. The male was massive beyond reason, his frame wide enough that each step pressed shallow impressions into the land. Thick cords of muscle wrapped his legs, layered and defined like living stone. Beside him walked a female giant, slightly smaller, one hand raised as she spoke to him with sharp gestures.

The male suddenly stopped.

He bent one knee.

The femaleʼs arm shot out, palm slapping against his thigh as if to stop him. She shook her head, visibly scolding him.

He ignored her.

Muscles tightened. Even from this distance, Quinlan could see the way his legs bunched, power drawing inward. Then the giant crouched.

”Oh,” Quinlan murmured.

The ground cracked outward in a wide ring as the giant pushed off.

The sound came a heartbeat later, a heavy thunder that rolled through the clearing. The giantʼs body lifted cleanly into the air, arcing upward with frightening speed, blotting out a stretch of sky as he sailed toward them.

Quinlanʼs breath caught. ”Wait. Isnʼt this bad?”

The shape grew larger far too quickly.

”Idiot!” Miriʼs voice snapped, sharp enough to cut through the noise. She stepped forward, eyes blazing as she glared at the flying figure. ”Hagnar! When will you learn that youʼre titans?! Youʼll destroy the village when you land!”

High above, the giantʼs limbs flailed in a sudden loss of confidence. His eyes went wide.

The voice that followed was the deepest Quinlan had ever heard, impossibly heavy, as if the air itself had to move aside for it.

”Sorry…” the giant muttered. ”I was too excited…”

Miri pinched the bridge of her nose and exhaled. ”Fine.”

She planted her feet. Her body shifted into motion with practiced ease, spear sliding into her grip as she turned side-on. Her shoulders set. Her arm drew back.

The muscles along her back and arm tightened, power gathering in a way Quinlan recognized all too well. He had seen her fight. He knew exactly how strong she was.

For a moment, she looked less like a mother and more like a Valkyrie. She intended to shoot him out of the sky.

”Mother, wait,” Quinlan said, stepping forward.

Miri paused, her arm locked in place just before release. She glanced back at him, brow lifting.

”Hm? What is it, Quinnie? Are you scared? Donʼt worry, Mommy will protect you.”

”Itʼs not that,” Quinlan smiled, putting a hand on her throwing arm. ”Let me try. I donʼt want you to skewer him.”

”I donʼt think this is a good idea. Hagnar weighs more than some mountains, and heʼs flying toward us at a rapid pace. Let us take care of it, Quinnie. You can show us what a strong boy you became afterwards,” Luminara spoke up with an extreme amount of motherly affection and protectiveness. While what she said mightʼve seemed condescending at a first glance, the way she said it made it clear she only wanted to protect him.

But that was the exact thing. After being treated like a literal evil demon who was the worst thing to have happened to an entire kingdom, to now being treated like a newborn baby... The contrast was too stark for him to take easily.

”Mothers, you could trust your son just a tad bit more,” Quinlan grinned while stepping forward. Mana gathered at his fingertips.

He knew that he was out of his league among these people. He knew that they likely had a way to get the giant out of the skies even without literally skewering him on a spear. These beings had many tools to do the job.

But while being treated like a kid was fine and all, especially when that meant being pampered by his mothers, he much preferred being treated with just a tad more respect. ʼIs this what my Ayame calls primordial arrogance…?ʼ Quinlan mused inwardly as he called upon his powers. ʼFailing now will ensure I never drop the incompetent baby allegations…ʼ