Ya~

Where was this inexplicable trust coming from?

"Your Majesty the Dragon King, surely... there must be another reason?"

A simple meeting gift could never be enough for the Dragon King to truly hand over one of his own kin to be raised by an outsider.

No matter how greedy he was, when he discussed the terms for the true dragon species earlier, he had even added a clause stating it was 'only a mercenary relationship'.

Of course, faced with the price of fifty million gold coins per dragon, I simply couldn't afford it, so I refused.

There was no helping it; this fellow refused to budge on the price.

If it were under thirty million gold coins, I really would have considered hiring one.

A pureblood dragon!

Even just having one standing there would be a massive deterrent!

"Heh, you are my friend, so I will not hide it from you. The reproduction of the holy white dragon race requires frequent bathing in holy aura."

"The holy power produced by the holy white dragon race daily is limited. Just nurturing their own offspring exhausts everything they have, which is why I brought it here."

"You are a human Saintess, blessed by God. You can naturally produce enough holy energy every day. You do not even need much; just sharing a little bit with it will be enough for it to grow."

I nodded. Regarding this point, it seemed the Dragon King was not lying.

According to records, the only ones on the entire continent capable of producing holy aura were the human Saintesses.

Even if the dragon race could produce holy aura, it was far too rare.

"So is this a trade? A hiring? Or... an entrustment?"

"Let us call it an entrustment. Otherwise, even if it stays on Dragon Island, it will not be able to grow normally. Once it passes its growth period, it will likely die young."

The Dragon King didn't intend to hide anything at all, frankly admitting the current situation of this little holy white dragon.

This honest side of him made me see him in a new light.

Perhaps it was out of pure pride that he disdained lying, or perhaps he truly viewed me as an equal and didn't want to lie.

Regardless, I appreciated this trait.

"Since Your Majesty the Dragon King has entrusted me, I will certainly not decline. I will raise it well."

"Really!?"

Hm? Why didn't that voice belong to the Dragon King?

I followed the sound and saw Ligeia looking excited, her eyes filled with a researcher's passion as she stared at the little white dragon.

I suddenly felt that... this task might be a bit heavy.

Glancing at the slightly displeased Dragon King, I quickly added another sentence.

"Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I will ensure that no idle people come into contact with it. Does it have a name?"

"Astrid. That is the name its father left behind before he died. I do not wish for it to be changed."

"Of course."

I turned to look at the little white dragon. It seemed very annoyed by the Dragon King's massive hand rummaging over its head, its large eyes filled with grievance.

"Astrid, come here~"

I tried calling it by its name, but it didn't react at all.

"Little white dragon?"

It still didn't react.

Hm... after a slight hesitation, I opened my mouth and let out a single sound.

"Ya~"

Instantly, the little white dragon's eyes lit up, and it snapped its head toward me.

It seemed to be sizing me up. Then, it escaped the Dragon King's hand and walked toward me with a thick sense of adorableness, swaying as it moved.

Its two short claws were tucked against its chest as it stretched its large head over, sniffing all over me.

I didn't move. Even such a small young dragon had attributes of at least level thirty. If it wanted to crush me, it would only take an instant.

However, I had my own ways of dealing with little guys like this.

Of course, the prerequisite was that it had to feel favorable toward me. Otherwise, no matter how many tricks I had, it would remain guarded.

In that case, raising it would not be easy.

Calling it over was just to see how it would react to me.

The Dragon King also watched me with some concern.

"Be careful. Do not let its size fool you; it already has the strength of someone over level thirty. Although it has not awakened any skills, it is still more than enough to handle you."

However, in the next second, a scene appeared that made his jaw drop!

As if it had found a companion, the little white dragon sniffed me and suddenly widened its eyes, letting out a happy sound.

"Ya~"

Then, it slammed into my chest.

Hm... it wasn't a pounce; it was a slam.

If not for the defensive mechanisms of my Saintess's robe, I would have suffered internal injuries even if it were being careful.

The others instinctively wanted to step forward to stop it, but I raised my hand to hold them back.

Stumbling back a step, I hugged the head that was larger than half my body, gently stroking its forehead.

"Good boy~"

"Ya~"

Perhaps it sensed the holy aura on me and felt like we were of the same kind, or perhaps it simply liked my scent.

Whatever the case, at this moment, it showed unparalleled joy, rubbing its massive head against my chest.

I patted its large head and looked up at the Dragon King with a smile.

"It seems I can indeed take on this heavy responsibility."

The Dragon King nodded with satisfaction.

"Very good. As expected of someone I hold in high regard. Hahahaha!"

His hearty laughter echoed across the open plains.

It drew the attention of many people.

However, unlike the harmonious atmosphere of our conversation, the battlefield on the other side had completely turned into a one-sided slaughter.

The demons were scrambling to flee, and countless demons were trampled underfoot by their own companions, their bones crushed and organs bursting.

Demons who had been trampled into meat paste were everywhere.

Looking across the field, screams rose and fell as the knights brandished their conical lances and broadswords, continuously reaping lives.

Black blood splattered across the earth. For a moment, even the green, grass-covered land was stained as black as ink.

The skysoar dragons in the sky continuously breathed flames, and countless pillars of thick smoke rose from the ground, carrying the smell of charred meat.

The brutality of the battlefield was easy to imagine.

Glancing at the state of the battlefield, the main demon army of nearly forty thousand had less than twenty thousand left, and the remainder were still being swept away.

Those skysoar dragons were highly intelligent and knew exactly how to coordinate with each other.

They breathed dragon breath, forcing the demon main force into an open area where the demons had nowhere to hide and could only be slaughtered.

"Your Majesty the Dragon King, why not rest at my humble abode? We can discuss the remaining matters in detail."

"There is no need..."

The Dragon King waved his hand.

"I simply came to see you, my friend. Additionally, I came to collect the money and the original contract document tablet you promised me."

"Your Majesty... the money might have to be delayed for a while. After all, I do not have that much on hand right now. However, I can give you the document tablet immediately."

The Dragon King himself didn't lack money, but he loved it very much. Hearing me say this, his brow furrowed slightly.

"How long will it take?"

"At least two months. I will notify you in two months, and you can send other dragons to collect it then."

"Fine. In that case, give me the document tablet."

I nodded and looked back at Hilda.

"Hilda, go to the Saint's Carriage and bring the box I left by the head of the bed."

"Yes!"

Soon, the box that had been prepared long ago was brought before the Dragon King.

In front of him, I opened the colored document tablet inside. When he saw the document tablet filled with the aura of God, a sharp light erupted in the Dragon King's eyes.

"Very good. Very good."

He simply murmured those two words. After repeating them, he reached out and grabbed the box.

"With this, our trade is considered preliminarily reached. This is the contract."

The Dragon King seemed to have the potential to be a businessman; he must have prepared the contract before coming.

To avoid being deceived, I read through it in detail. After confirming there were no problems, I signed my name.

We each kept a copy of the contract. The Dragon King suddenly raised his hand and tossed the box containing the document tablet into the air.

Immediately after, he leaped up. Accompanied by a golden flash of light, that magnificent five-hundred-meter-long golden dragon reappeared before me.

Wings that seemed to blot out the sun suddenly unfurled, and he caught the box in his mouth.

Boom!

His wings swept up a violent wind, and his massive body rose into the air in the blink of an eye.

Only the Dragon King's voice remained, echoing in my ears.

"I look forward to our next meeting, Princess Luo Li. Farewell for now."

Watching the golden dragon flap its wings and fly through the sky like a ball of gold under the sunlight, I let out a long sigh of relief.

My heart relaxed, my legs went soft, and I suddenly leaned against a hard object.

I looked back and saw that the little white dragon had stood behind me at some point. My stumble had landed me right against it.

"Ya?"

It seemed to sense that my state wasn't quite right, and its adorable large eyes looked at me with curiosity and worry.

"I am fine..."

I stroked its head to comfort it. Hilda and Ligeia also noticed that I was not in a good state.

"Your Highness, the Saint's Carriage has arrived. You should go rest."

Hilda was the first to advise me. Ligeia, for once, didn't care about studying the little white dragon and stepped forward to whisper in my ear.

"Your Highness, you have not rested well for several days. I hope you will cherish your body. If you collapse, who else can revitalize the Kingdom of the Moon?"

I nodded slightly in agreement. The Saint's Carriage, which had been abandoned once, appeared before my eyes again.

At this moment, I just wanted to lie down and sleep.

Although I had been eating and sleeping in the Saint's Carriage throughout the journey, I had been worrying about this war the entire time and hadn't had a single good night's sleep.

Even when I dreamed, I dreamed of the battlefield.

I would often wake up startled from nightmares.

Now, everything was settled.

The deal with the Dragon King was officially in effect.

Two thousand skysoar dragons were just in the distance, and a young holy white dragon was by my side.

At the same time, the elite demon force that had been lurking inside the Kingdom of the Moon had been dealt with.

We had even captured Zuka.

Everything was moving perfectly in the best possible direction. Naturally... my heart felt a wave of relief.

It would be no problem to leave the rest of the battlefield to Cain and Hilda.

As for those skysoar dragons, with Ligeia there, nothing would go wrong.

Finally... I could get a good night's sleep.