"Hahaha! It has been a long time since I have had such a satisfying bargain! Excellent, excellent! I like you!"
"Your Majesty the Dragon King, you flatter me. I have enjoyed our cooperation. In that case... in another month, I will receive two hundred million gold coins. I will pay you then."
"Two... two hundred million!?"
The massive dragon's eyes erupted with golden light, and its mouth hung open as if saliva were about to drip out.
"How about... you buy a few more?"
"This... I have other uses for that money."
I made a difficult expression, lowering my head and knitting my brows.
"Wait, wait, let's not make this a one-time deal. If you buy more, I'll give you a discount. How about one hundred and twenty thousand gold coins each? As for the skysoar silver dragons, I have plenty of them here! If you need them, I can even sell you some true dragon species."
Looking at the greedy expression on the Dragon King's face, I suddenly felt a wave of pity for the skysoar silver dragons being sold.
"Then... how about a thousand?"
"No, no, let's make it ten thousand. Ten thousand is a deal!"
"I can't. I don't need that many. How about... one thousand one hundred?"
"Argh! Fine, fine, let's meet in the middle. I'll give you the cost price of one hundred thousand each for two thousand dragons! I am telling you, you cannot go any lower. This is my absolute limit! Any lower and I'll be losing money!"
Finally, I had reached the number I wanted at a price I could afford.
With two hundred million gold coins, once that money arrived, there would basically be no problem.
However, I still had to keep up the act.
"Sigh... what a pity. Your Majesty the Dragon King, I am about to set out on an expedition. If I do not return from this trip, I am afraid you will never receive this money."
"What!? Who is it? Who would require a Saintess capable of contracting the document tablet to lead an expedition personally?"
With a look of grievance and a pitiful expression, I raised my hand to wipe away a nonexistent tear from the corner of my eye with my index finger.
"It is the demons."
"The de..."
The Dragon King suddenly seemed to calm down, his golden pupils narrowing slightly.
"It seems... Princess Luo Li did not come here purely to buy dragons, did she?"
Done pretending?
Fine, then I won't pretend either.
"Correct."
Beside me, Ligeia watched her Highness's rapid change of face, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
She listened to the subsequent conversation from beginning to end, and by the finish, she couldn't help but give herself a thumbs-up in her heart.
This time... she really had found herself a legendary boss.
To actually dare to make such an outrageous request to the Dragon King.
What Ligeia found most unbelievable was that the deal actually went through!
And at such a low price?
"Your Highness, I am starting to find you more and more interesting."
The moment they stepped out of the communication room, Ligeia could hardly hide the excitement in her eyes.
The Highness before her was truly the boldest person she had ever met.
Even the Queen of the Elves would not dare to speak to the Dragon King like that.
Hm!?
Alarm bells suddenly rang in my head!
Elves didn't care about gender or race; she couldn't possibly...
I turned back warily to watch Ligeia, taking a step back.
"...Ligeia, let's get this straight first. I don't have those kinds of interests!"
Ligeia was stunned for a moment before she seemed to understand something. An amused smile curved her lips as she pressed her body directly against mine.
"What kind of interests does Your Highness mean? Is it..."
As she spoke, her hand actually brushed across my shoulder, sending a tingle through me!
"Like this?"
"Ah—!"
"Pfft~ Your Highness's reaction is so amusing, just like an inexperienced boy!"
"Li! Gei! Ia!!"
"Alright, alright, I'll stop teasing you. But Your Highness, are you certain the Dragon King will truly fulfill his promise?"
"Of course!"
I pulled my hand back huffily. A woman's intuition was terrifying; I had almost been found out.
"The Dragon King is, after all, the lord of a race. As they say, a sovereign's word is final. As the Dragon King, he will not lie, nor will he give promises lightly."
Hm... did I just miss some important piece of information?
'Just like an inexperienced boy?'
Wait, if Ligeia said that, does that mean she really... well, a sister-brother dynamic was also a very exciting trope.
But that wasn't where my interest lay right now!
"As of now, I am fifty percent confident. The rest depends on whether the demons act according to my expectations."
Ligeia smiled thinly.
"I believe everything Your Highness has done is fine, but... it seems even I am to be driven by you this time?"
"Of course. Ligeia, I know you do not like war, but I cannot do without your help this time. I'm counting on you."
Playfulness was one thing, but one had to be serious when it mattered.
Forcing someone who didn't want to participate in a war to join was not something I wanted to do, but at a time like this, I had to play all my cards. Otherwise, a single mistake would lead to total ruin.
"Of course, no problem. Please rest assured, Your Highness. You can leave the matter regarding the dragons to me."
"Good, then I'll leave it to you."
Every card that could be played had been mobilized.
The rest... depended on whether the demons would cooperate!
Meanwhile, on Lola's side.
In the Moonlight Bar, Lola handed the letter in her hand to Baker.
"Her Highness told me to give this to you."
"Oh?"
Baker paused for a moment, as if he had realized something. He looked playfully at the unopened envelope in his hand.
"I suspect... our Highness is about to do something crazy, isn't she?"
"How do you know?"
Lola's brow furrowed. Although she could guess some things, she wasn't a god; she couldn't have everything under her control.
Just like today, this letter from her Highness had come out of nowhere, and the fact that her Highness didn't want to tell her the contents gave her a sudden urge to feel aggrieved.
She wanted to cry.
Despite how hard she worked to help the Highness, she still had things to hide from her.
"Heh~ how do I know? I knew the moment I received this letter. This is a contingency plan..."
Baker shook his head as he looked at Lola beside him. Even though Lola was shrewd in most matters, she was remarkably dense when it came to herself.
"You are still a bit young. Our Saintess really has calculated everything."
"Baker, what do you mean? What exactly is written in this letter?"
Baker smiled, turning to sit on the sofa and tossing the envelope onto the table.
"Read it if you want, but after you finish, you can't go back and make a scene with your Highness."
"What do you mean?"
Lola's brow tightened. She reached out to take it but was interrupted by his words.
"What do I mean? Lola, when will you start thinking for yourself?"
"Thinking for myself? Baker, you should know that the risk I am taking now is no small matter. You should remember what happened last night."
"Of course I remember. The Garnet family has clearly grown desperate, even attempting to assassinate you."
Baker smiled, appearing unhurried. He clearly had a full grasp of the situation.
"But they haven't considered that if the assassination succeeded, it would inevitably invite a furious strike from the Saintess. At that time, forget about preserving their foundation; the entire Garnet family might be uprooted."
Just last night, as she was preparing to discuss the details of the border with Baker, she had been ambushed on the way. If Baker hadn't noticed something was wrong early on and sent people to protect her in secret, Lola's corpse might have been lying in front of the Temple gates this morning.
Lola looked at Baker with a solemn expression.
"Baker, from the moment I started helping Her Highness, I never expected to get out unscathed. To go against the entire nobility of the Kingdom of the Moon is a near-death experience. If I were thinking for myself, the safest thing would be to flee this place of trouble right now."
"True, your thinking is good, but still a bit naive. Someone like the Saintess is much smarter than you; at least she understands to leave you a way out."
Baker smiled slightly, pointing at the letter on the table.
"Going to read it? Don't cry after you do."
Lola's brows locked tight as she gave a soft huff.
"Hmph! I haven't cried since my grandfather and grandmother died before my eyes!"
With that, she reached out and picked up the envelope from the table.
"I'll read it! Who's afraid!"
Lola was already feeling aggrieved by Luo Li's actions, and with her curiosity piqued by Baker's words, her rare emotions were stirred. After picking up the envelope, she tore it open without another word and pulled out the letter.
The handwriting on the letter was very familiar to her; it was her Highness's script.
And the words written there were very concise.
【Mr. Baker, I know your relationship with Lola is extraordinary.】
【Please forgive my reckless advance; at this moment, I have reached a point where there is no turning back.】
【This time, I will lead the Imperial Expedition to face the demons personally, and I may very well die on the battlefield.】
【If I die, the Garnet family, whom I punished in the name of Lola's grandparents, will certainly retaliate against her.】
【Please, you must protect Lola. Take her away from the Kingdom of the Moon and find a place where no one knows her to start a new life.】
【She is my most loyal subordinate and also my friend. I hope you will not refuse.】
【Later, I will have nine hundred gold coins delivered, which should be enough to ensure she lives comfortably for the rest of her life. If I do not return, I leave Lola in your hands.】
【Luo Li Saint Sariel.】
Lola stood frozen in place, staring blankly at the letter in her hand. Every word on that paper... revealed the Saintess's concern for her future.
In an instant, the grievance from before vanished mysteriously, replaced by a warm current wrapping around her heart.
"Your Highness..."
Her Highness's face flashed through her mind. Every frown and every smile made her heart ache with emotion.
Tears overflowed from her eyes uncontrollably.
Afraid that she would cry out loud, Lola raised her hand to cover her mouth, suppressing her sobbing voice.
"Do you see? This is your Highness. Though she may not be as shrewd and capable as you, her thoughts reach so far. I must say, this Saintess... is indeed unlike any ordinary noble."
Watching Lola cover her mouth as tears slid down her cheeks and dripped through the gaps of her fingers, Baker shook his head.
He looked at the girl who was like a younger sister to him and stepped forward to pull her into a hug.
"Go ahead and cry."
Those words were like the fuse that ignited everything.
The sound of muffled crying drifted from the room, continuing for a long time...
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