Inspection

After listening to the series of reports, Irene raised her head.

She now had a decent grasp of their current situation.

Overall, everything was thriving.

After a single sleep, she had transformed into a wealthy dragoness with riches rivaling entire nations.

The forces under her command were no longer weak either.

At least, as far as Irene knew, an average small duchy could muster at most twenty to thirty thousand troops at a time.

And at least a third of those would be logistics personnel who couldn't actually fight.

Yet she now had over ten thousand dragonborn, specifically of the Black Knights variety, alone.

In other words, she now had the confidence to take on an entire nation by herself.

As for the dwarves digging the tunnel, she wasn't particularly worried.

Not only was this not a bad thing, but it was actually a massive benefit.

Those short fellows were only interested in drinking, mining, and forging—a textbook lawful neutral faction.

As long as she didn't initiate hostilities against them, they wouldn't do anything to her.

And with this tunnel, traveling merchants wanting to go to and from the God-Forsaken Land would no longer need to use precious levitation scrolls to cross the Ersencielo River.

Costs would be drastically reduced, which meant profits would soar.

This would inevitably attract more travelers, creating even greater value.

Thus, while Irene remained perfectly calm on the surface, she was secretly giving herself a big thumbs-up in her heart.

‘My achievements today are entirely due to my seven years of unremitting effort and wise guidance.’

‘Tsk, I'm seriously amazing!’

‘No, once there's no one around, I have to stand with my hands on my hips for a bit. I'm just too good.’

Yet this calm display appeared entirely different to Fido, who had worked diligently for seven years, terrified of failing the trust of Her Grace.

He felt that Her Grace was truly remarkable, accepting these earth-shattering changes over the past seven years so effortlessly.

To be able to follow such a great master, their Iron Tooth Tribe had truly brought immense honor to their ancestors!

Heaven knows, Irene was currently blooming with joy on the inside.

Mmh... if she were in her dragon form, her tail would probably be wagging high in the air.

“Grumble...”

Her dragon stomach, which had only quieted down for a moment, rumbled once more.

The sound wasn't very loud, but Fido heard it clear as day.

“Your Grace, please wait a moment. I will arrange some food for you immediately.”

Fido stood up on the spot.

Over the years, they had occupied quite a few oases, including some tribes skilled in animal husbandry.

After these tribes joined, livestock breeding methods became widespread, coupled with a large amount of grain traded from the outside world.

Though they couldn't say they ate meat with every meal now, it was still a massive improvement compared to before.

They rarely had to risk being swallowed by the shifting sands to go out hunting anymore.

Now that Her Grace had awakened, a grand feast had to be prepared.

“No need.”

Irene yawned and took a step forward.

“Let's eat out. It's the perfect opportunity to see for myself how much things have changed.”

“Yes!”

Fido quickly stood still and stepped aside to clear the way, while the Imperial Guard also rose to open a wide path.

Only after Irene passed did they orderly form into neat ranks, following closely behind.

Over the years, for safety reasons, the exit of the lakeside dragon's lair had been altered beyond recognition.

The group wound their way through several twists and turns, passing through multiple layers of guards before finally exiting the castle's main gates.

Taking a deep breath of fresh air, Irene felt as if she were in another world.

However, upon seeing the statue erected in her honor, Irene's expression became incredibly colorful.

Going from initial bewilderment to shock, then to slight confusion.

And finally, to a deadpan, stoic acceptance after seeing through it all.

This was because Irene saw that in front of the towering statue, there were quite a few fresh flowers, as well as several large wreaths.

Mmh... white ones.

“Your Grace, these were placed here by the beastkin and half-beastkin from all over the God-Forsaken Land.”

“To express their gratitude for your help in lifting them out of poverty, every year, these beastkin and half-beastkin scattered across the various oases of the God-Forsaken Land travel thousands of miles just to present a flower native to their respective oasis.”

“To express their gratitude to you.”

Fido explained at the perfect moment.

After a moment of silence, Irene murmured:

“Very nice. Now, set up a sign next to the statue for me. Write that anyone who wants to offer flowers must pay a fee—one silver coin per time.”

“Also, there's an extra charge for white flowers and wreaths.”

“Yes!” Fido did not hesitate in the slightest.

Although he was a bit puzzled, since Her Grace had put it that way, there must be a profound meaning behind it.

After watching Fido set up the sign with her own eyes and dispatching two Imperial Guards to monitor the statue, Irene stepped out of the inner city under the protection of hundreds of Imperial Guards.

They walked along the streets.

The Imperial Guards were all clad in full-coverage black armor and had also used Polymorph, so there was no need to worry about exposing their identities as dragonborn in front of outsiders.

Even so, the massive procession quickly attracted the attention of others.

When those beastkin and half-beastkin saw the little dragon girl leisurely strolling along, the first thing they thought of was the statue in the inner city.

Although Irene's current appearance was a bit more mature, she was still quickly recognized.

Consequently, the pedestrians on the street stopped whatever they were doing, either prostrating themselves on the ground or bowing deeply.

This was to express their gratitude for the prosperous life she had bestowed upon them.

The most prominent among them were the kobolds.

Seeing the Black Dragon Her Grace, who hadn't shown her face in years, they stuck out their tongues one by one.

Their tails wagged faster than helicopter blades.

As the very first vassals to submit to Irene, these guys had been living incredibly prosperous lives over the years.

In the past, as one of the lowest branches among the half-beastkin, they were looked down upon by other, more powerful half-beastkin.

But now, no one dared to look down on kobolds anymore.

Especially those who had once been tribal chiefs; they understood this only too well.

Back then, a group of dragonborn kobolds had forcefully broken into their tribes, grabbing them by the neck with one hand and lifting them off the ground.

While holding a sharp stone spear in the other hand, demanding to know if they would submit voluntarily or be beaten into submission.

As for these enthusiastic vassals, Irene merely nodded slightly to acknowledge them.

For these little cuties who could bring her wealth, she was more than happy to show her benevolent side.

On the other hand, the human merchants, upon seeing this mixologist who had previously only existed in rumors, all wore stunned expressions.

Their reactions were much like walking down the street and suddenly bumping into a major celebrity they had only seen on television.

Then, because they were blocking the way, they were forcefully ushered to the side of the road by the Imperial Guard.

The group strolled along, stopping occasionally as they took a simple tour around this modest-sized town.

Eventually, they arrived at a modest tavern.

The tavern owner was a human.

According to Fido, this owner had originally been a wandering bard.

After tasting red wine by chance, he had been utterly captivated by its unique flavor.

Thus, he had searched all the way here, purchased a plot of land at a high price, and settled down permanently.

He opened this tavern, naming it Fantasyland.

Since it was currently peak dining hours, the tavern was quite crowded.

But upon Irene's arrival, the place was promptly cleared.

Leaving about a dozen Imperial Guards inside the tavern, the remaining hundreds of guards surrounded the entire establishment.

Not even a mosquito could fly in.

The poor tavern owner was scared out of his wits by this display.

However, upon learning that the very mixologist who had invented red wine had arrived, his face instantly lit up with joy.

Pushing his chef out of the kitchen to serve as a waiter, the owner personally headed into the kitchen.

He then began to cook a dire quillboar that the Imperial Guard had just brought over from the breeding farm.

While waiting for the food to be prepared, Irene narrowed her eyes, watching the hurried pedestrians outside the tavern's glass windows, and said:

“You have done very well over the years—constantly acquiring resources, establishing trade, expanding our territory, and strengthening yourselves.”

“However...”

Irene turned her head to look at the kobold in front of her.

“It is still not perfect.”