Gris was quite interested in this white dragon who occasionally came up with novel things.
"Yes, Lord Gris."
A few kobolds led Gris to the temporary card room, where various surrendered monsters had gathered, their enthusiastic shouts echoing incessantly.
"Play the bomb! What are you waiting for?"
"No, do you even know how to play? That was terrible."
...
Seeing the lively scene inside, Gris walked toward the table with the largest crowd of monsters.
After pushing a minotaur aside, the creature let out a dissatisfied rebuke.
"Who is it! Who's shoving here, watch out or I'll..."
Before he could finish his curse, the minotaur quickly shut his mouth upon seeing who it was.
With a thud, the three-meter-tall minotaur knelt on the ground and said tremblingly.
"G-Greetings... Lord Gris."
The commotion caught the attention of the other monsters; once they saw who had arrived, they all knelt one after another.
"Greetings, Lord Gris!"
Gris walked past the group of monsters to the round table, where various wooden plaques lay scattered about, marked with different numbers.
With curiosity, he sat on a stool and questioned a white-scaled goblin nearby.
"What is this thing?"
"In response to Lord Gris, this is an entertainment project invented by the Master. The Master has named it Joyful Fight the Noble..."
Seeing that the white-scaled goblin seemed ready to introduce it from the very beginning, Gris raised his hand to stop him.
"Stop. Just tell me how to play."
"Yes, great Lord Gris."
The white-scaled goblin organized his thoughts and spoke again.
"Erm... the rules are actually quite simple. There are fifty-five cards in total, though usually there are only fifty-four; different game modes use different amounts. The most powerful card is the Big King, which represents our most powerful Master; the second most powerful is the Small King, symbolizing the mighty Lord Furiel; the third is the Flower Card, which is highly functional and can transform into any card below the Big and Small Kings..."
The white-scaled goblin explained the rules to Gris. Gris didn't understand at first, but after a few more explanations, he caught on.
"Sounds decent enough. Let's try a round."
...
Two months later.
Two large merchant sailing ships docked on the east coast of the Jesup Continent.
A middle-aged man with a large beard looked at the continent before him and couldn't help but take a deep breath of air.
The air by the sea was always mixed with humidity and a salty, fishy smell, but to this merchant who had traveled for many years, the air here felt incredibly refreshing.
"Oh... what a soul-refreshing scent. It's simply delightful."
Just after his exclamation, he couldn't help but sigh again, turning to look at the seasick adventurers and mercenaries. Yat felt his heart bleeding.
These were the helpers he had hired to capture that city-state, and they had cost him a significant amount of gold coins.
But what he found most unbearable was that the fee for a single Gold tier elite mage was as high as ten gold coins, and that didn't even include maintenance costs!
However, this also filled him with envy; if he had magical talent, he would also be a high-and-mighty mage lord, with a status far higher than his current one.
"Sigh, I hope I can make a huge profit this time, otherwise I'll truly lose everything."
That was the nature of a merchant; once they caught the scent of a business opportunity, they wouldn't give up easily.
Two years ago, when Yat first brought those special scales back to the Wolf Supercontinent, they were beloved by various adventurers and mages and sold out quickly.
By the God of Wealth, he, Yat, had never sold anything so popular; even the captured orcs and half-orc slaves weren't this well-received.
Last year, he returned to the Jesup Continent to observe and found that the strongest in that city-state was only at the Silver tier, so he finally began to show his fangs.
As the saying goes, the bigger the waves, the more expensive the fish. He had traded for many white scales, and after earning a fortune back home, he used eighty percent of his wealth to hire these mercenaries and adventurers, numbering over three thousand.
The one who pained him the most was the elite mage; hiring him was entirely for insurance, to prevent any accidents.
Furthermore, he didn't plan to leave immediately after this deal; he intended to go to the Kingdom of Whit to capture more demi-humans and beastmen.
After all, while the Kingdom of Whit was called a kingdom, it was actually composed of countless tribes, which gave him an opening to exploit.
But for now, Yat didn't plan to go directly to that city of gold; he intended to let the mercenaries and adventurers rest well first, as their current condition was truly terrible.
...
Three days later.
Medusa led Liya, Galina, and two other charming serpentfolk girls to the dragon nest where Jonavili and the others were sleeping.
They did not enter but knelt outside the cave.
"Great Master, the merchant group... has arrived."
As soon as she finished speaking, the surroundings fell into silence. A moment later, a pair of crystal-blue draconic eyes suddenly opened inside the cave, followed by fiery red vertical pupils.
A disdainful chuckle drifted out.
"Hehehe, they are quite punctual. Have the arrangements been made as I instructed?"
Medusa answered respectfully.
"In response to the Master, the entire White Crystal City has been arranged according to your orders."
"Very good, then let us wait and see. Remember, do not strike first until they show their fangs."
"Yes, great Master."
After reporting, Medusa and the others left. Before leaving, Liya couldn't help but peek into the cave once more.
Her gaze naturally caught Jonavili's attention. The crystal-blue draconic eyes met hers, and Liya was so frightened she turned and ran.
Furiel saw all of this, and her mood became inexplicably irritable. Her voice sounded somewhat cold.
"Why not just launch an attack?"
Faced with Furiel's inexplicably cold tone, Jonavili found it strange but still patiently explained.
"In the end, all of this is just my speculation about human nature; there is no actual evidence. In case they simply want to trade with us, killing them by mistake would cut off our only trade route. When that happens, White Crystal City's economy would stagnate, making it difficult to develop further."
The fiery red draconic eyes narrowed slightly, as if trying to see through Jonavili.
Jonavili felt her scalp tingle under the gaze; after all, as the eldest among the chromatic dragons, the red dragon's stare was far too oppressive.
Jonavili shrank her neck back.
"Why do you keep staring at me?"
After a moment, Furiel finally spoke slowly.
"You don't look like a chromatic dragon at all, especially not a white dragon."
Jonavili's heart tightened as Furiel continued.
"Talking to you, I find your strategies, foresight, and even your way of thinking very much like a human's."
"Heh, I am the white dragon Jonavili. How could I be compared to those inferior short-lived species?"
Rate on N.U.
