Elves, dragons... Hughes raised his eyebrows but had been there long enough not to be leap to disbelief.

"That sort of stuff's all kid's stories, where I come from," Hughes said, remembering the fairy tales and things he read to Elysia. "And dragons... well, they aren't usually the sort of creatures that take in orphans. What are they really like?"

Alfons seemed more interested in the girl Shana than in talking to Roy or Hughes. Hughes picked up on this, but attributed it more to the fact that Alfons was a young man, and Shana was a very pretty young lady.