Arrangements Before the Deep Sleep

Fido was initially left speechless: ???

However, after hearing the second half of the sentence, he instantly understood.

This fellow was afraid Her Grace would find other traveling merchants to sell the wine.

He had actually heard Irene mention this before.

However, Irene's view was that the current red wine production wasn't very high, so one traveling merchant was enough.

Once production increased in the future, they would expand the scale of sales. Therefore, the other merchants who had visited recently were still kept in the dark.

“How about it, my dear Chief?”

Magricius put his arm around Fido's shoulder with great familiarity, whispering,

“Don't you worry. As long as this deal goes through, I'll cover all the salt the tribe needs from now on.”

“This is a matter for that esteemed individual. I...”

Halfway through his sentence, the old kobold seemed to receive some sort of instruction. After a brief pause, his tone suddenly shifted.

“In that case, follow me. I believe it would be best for you to speak with Her Grace in person.”

“Excellent, excellent. That works too.”

The smile on Magricius's face instantly grew even wider.

Ever since that mysterious little girl mixologist had signed the contract with him, he had never seen her again.

Every time he came to trade, he only dealt with these kobolds.

He was confident that once he met the young-looking mixologist, he could use his silver tongue to persuade her.

Even if he had to yield a bit of profit, he had to monopolize all the wine she had.

Of course, it would be even better if they could sign a fairer contract. He had even prepared several draft contracts in advance.

Following Fido, they arrived at a secluded stone house within the tribe.

Magricius looked around the empty stone house with some confusion, asking the old kobold standing at the doorway,

“Chief, where is the esteemed mixologist?”

However, he was met only with cold, mocking laughter.

“Heh, heh, heh, heh.”

The stone house had no windows, and the sneering kobold now blocked its only source of light.

In the dimness, his eyes gleamed with an eerie light.

Like a demon from hell announcing the arrival of death.

The old kobold spoke in a low, ominous voice:

“First of all, thank you for selling wine for Her Grace all this time.”

Hearing this, Magricius's relaxed mood tensed up slightly.

He keenly noticed that the other party's form of address for the mixologist had changed from 'esteemed individual' to 'Her Grace.'

Just as he was about to ask, the old kobold continued.

“However...”

Fido narrowed his slitted pupils at the human before him, and his body began to undergo a violent transformation.

The old kobold, who usually walked hunched over and stood less than 1.3 meters tall, began to expand uncontrollably!

Black scales emerged all over his body, and two ferocious dragon horns extended from his head.

A python-like tail whipped the ground violently behind him, kicking up a large cloud of dust.

His once-cloudy eyes now resembled a pair of sword blades forged over countless years.

His sharp gaze seemed as if it could pierce right through the human in front of him.

“Boy, being too greedy is never a good thing.”

Magricius's eyes widened, staring at the dragonborn kobold in utter disbelief.

“A drag—”

Before he could even finish the word, the kobold lunged at him with the sound of rushing wind.

“Crash!”

As dust exploded into the air,

Fido slammed a claw onto Magricius's head, pinning him to the ground.

The unfortunate man's mouth was covered, preventing him from making even a single sound.

He could only widen his eyes, staring through the gaps of the claw covering his face into those murderous, golden slitted pupils.

A pool of pale yellow liquid began to spread across the ground.

Amidst the foul-smelling air, Fido's cold sentence echoed.

“Her Grace says that greedy people easily breed variables.”

“And Her Grace does not like variables.”

“Therefore, you must die...”

“Splat!”

With just a slight squeeze of Fido's claw, the poor merchant's head burst like an overinflated balloon.

Red and white matter splattered across the ground in a wide arc.

Standing up, Fido licked the blood from his claws. His golden eyes tinged with a trace of bloodlust, he opened his mouth and muttered to himself,

“Your Grace, it is done.”

A voice suddenly echoed in his mind, carrying two simple words: “Very well.”

...

Meanwhile, in the underground wine cellar, almost all the dragonborn kobolds stopped what they were doing at the exact same moment.

A telepathic message, originating from their very bloodline, echoed in their minds simultaneously:

“In the name of the great black dragon, Irene Afra Christina, Black Knights, mobilize.”

“Crush those greedy humans.”

“Leave none alive.”

“Yes, Your Grace!!!”

Amidst the shouts that echoed through the entire cellar, the muscular dragonborn men cracked their knuckles and bared their sharp claws and fangs.

In the darkness, their golden eyes seemed to ignite...

...

In the dragon nest at the bottom of the lake,

Irene, seated on a stone chair, closed the magic book in her hands. Her golden eyes gazed up at the shimmering lake water outside the opening above.

Greedy people easily invite unforeseen variables.

This merchant named Magricius was simply too greedy.

Today, he could harbor thoughts of monopolizing the sales rights; tomorrow, he might bring people to seize her wine-brewing method.

Initially, she had only wanted to find a random merchant to help sell the wine.

Now that the Iron Tooth Tribe's stock of old wine was sold out and the production of the newly brewed red wine was on track,

this man was no longer of any use.

Irene disliked trouble, and she disliked variables.

She only wanted to lay low in peace and develop her strength quietly.

Since this man posed a potential risk, he would serve perfectly to blood the Black Knights.

Her gaze drifted toward the little black dragon beside her.

As early as a week ago, Daviel had fallen into a deep sleep.

This hibernation would be very long.

All the food he had eaten and the nutrients he had accumulated over this period were for this very sleep.

Upon waking, he would likely transition out of the weak juvenile dragon stage and enter the adolescent dragon stage, which boasted much stronger spellcasting abilities.

And Irene could also sense that she was about to fall into her own deep sleep soon.

Time was running out.

Irene had to arrange everything more securely before she went to sleep.

She had to prevent waking up to find a group of adventurers instead of her kobolds.

...

Footsteps echoed from the dim passage. It was Fido, drenched in blood.

He walked out of the passage with heavy steps,

slowly making his way to Irene before dropping heavily onto one knee with a dull thud.

Thick drops of blood slid down Fido's scales and fur from the impact,

splattering into tiny crimson blossoms on the ground.

“Your Grace, not a single one escaped. They have all been dealt with.”

Bowing his head as he spoke, Fido held out his blood-soaked palms, presenting several blood-stained storage rings with both hands.

“These are the storage rings retrieved from their bodies. The ninety percent profit share he was meant to deliver to Your Grace is also inside.”

“You have done well.”

Irene placed her book on the stone table beside her, her narrowed eyes scanning the storage rings.

Reaching out to take them, she toyed with the rings and said,

“The tribe's current red wine production is still a bit too low.”

Hearing this, Fido looked up and said,

“Your Grace, that is because...”

But Irene raised her hand to cut him off halfway.

“I know. The number of grapes grown in the tribe is limited. Even if we planted them across the entire oasis, the yield would still be capped.”

“Your Grace, what do you mean?”

Fido's eyes locked onto the little dragon girl, a faint golden flame already beginning to kindle within them.

“Hold out your hands.”

Irene commanded softly. Fido quickly held out his hands.

Next, he felt a sudden weight in his palms.

Looking down, he saw the very storage rings he had just handed over.

“Take these gold coins to arm my military, expand my influence, and go to war and plunder in my name to generate even more wealth for me!”

With that, she lightly snapped her fingers.

A half-man-tall glass jar flew out of thin air, landing steadily right in front of Fido.

The glass jar shimmered with magical radiance, enchanted with an anti-corrosion spell.

The dark red liquid contained within was constantly emitting powerful fluctuations of magical energy.

“Use this jar of dragon blood. In the process of your conquests, seek out more warriors and forge more dragonborn.”

“Guard this wealth for me!”

Fido clenched his fist and struck his chest hard, shouting in a near-roar,

“As you command, Your Grace!”

As he solemnly picked up the glass jar and turned to leave, a voice called out from behind him once more.

“Remember, during your conquests, try your best to avoid detection by humans.”

“Any creature that has laid eyes on the Black Knights must either submit, or... die.”