Chapter 122 – Nice to Meet You (5)

Harol could not understand Cale's calm demeanor.

'As long as you know?'

This was a chance for Cale to get a significant profit. He had two documents that could harm the Whipper Kingdom in his hands. But he was not going to be greedy?

Harol could not believe it. However, at the same time, he had no choice but to believe it. He had heard it with his own ears.

'This is the person who purchased the Magic Tower for ten billion and did not even investigate it.'

Cale had said that he wanted to own the twentieth floor of the Magic Tower when he made the purchase. He didn't send anybody to do any investigations afterwards. Harol had someone watching the tower at all times throughout this past year, just in case Cale found something.
However, Cale really did nothing with the Magic Tower since making the purchase.

"…Are you not greedy for money?"

Harol could not help but ask. He could see Cale shaking his head.

"Do you know how much money is in the Henituse territory? We have more money than you can ever imagine. I am the first son of the Henituse family."

'Right.'

Harol had forgotten about that.

Cale was someone who had no issue spending ten billion gallons like it was nothing.
Cale gave one more reason for the confused Harol to accept the situation.

"I know that the documents in my hands are files that any of the continent's powers would want to obtain. I do not wish to be in the middle of the storm caused by that."

However, Cale didn't really mean it. He knew that the center of the storm was the calmest spot.

Cale wanted peace, even while everyone else was at war. That was why he was selling it to both the Whipper Kingdom and the crown prince.

"Young master-nim, you are saying that you don't want to be in a dangerous situation, so you will sell it to us right now? Is that it?"
"Yes. That is correct. As you know, I am a peace lover."

This reason was acceptable for Harol, since Cale was the person who did not even want to reveal Harol's identity.

Harol turned away from Cale and looked around the tent. The other Chiefs looked like they still had some questions, but Toonka and the warriors' side seemed to be in awe of Cale.

'It is something I need anyway.'

The mana storage device was extremely tempting, since it was said to mimic ancient powers. Harol and the others in the Whipper Kingdom considered ancient powers to be the greatest of powers.

"That sounds good to me. Commander Toonka-nim, what do you think?"

Toonka did not respond to Harol's question and instead reached his large hand out toward Cale. Toonka's serious expression, which was extremely different than his usual idiotic expression, explained his sincere feelings to Cale.

"Thank you very much."

Cale stood up and shook Toonka's hand.

"If you're thankful, don't forget about this."
"Of course. I will not forget about your benevolence."

With Toonka as the representative, the Whipper Kingdom purchased the documents that were found in the secret lab of the Magic Tower from Cale Henituse for five billion gallons.

The contract was settled quickly because the Whipper Kingdom rushed it.

Cale returned to his tent after the contract was signed.

"Why are you following me here?"

Cale looked toward Choi Han, who was following him into his tent. Choi Han was holding the contract and a note for five billion gallons.

"Cale-nim."
"What?"

Cale undid the top button of his shirt that had been almost suffocating him all morning and did not pay much attention to Choi Han.

"You really are amazing, Cale-nim."
"Huh?"

That was why he was shocked.

"Cale-nim, your abilities are top notch. I don't think there is anybody else who is so talented in this kind of sca-, no, strategy. I am terrible in this aspect."

'Were you trying to say scam?'

Cale recalled how terrible Choi Han's acting had been.

"However, I think it would be best to be as careful as possible with the next individual we plan on meeting."

Cale finally realized why Choi Han had followed him back to his tent.

The individual they were planning to meet next was the Gold Dragon.

"Cale-nim, you may always be making a move looking two steps ahead, but that Dragon is strong. It is possible that both Raon and I may not be enough."
– He thinks I will not be enough?! I am much stronger than he thinks!

Raon's retort filled Cale's mind, but Cale agreed with Choi Han for once.
Choi Han quietly stood there observing Cale.

"Yes, Choi Han, you are right."

Choi Han's expression brightened a bit after seeing Cale agree with him.

Cale did not care about that though. He had already thought about this meeting with the Gold Dragon many times.

In terms of priorities for this meeting, it was safety first, safety second, and safety third. That was the only way to make sure that he didn't die.

"Choi Han, I will leave the front to you this time. What do you think?"

Choi Han vigorously nodded his head. That was what he had wanted. He was the best fit to protect Cale from the front.

"Yes, please leave it to me. I will protect Cale-nim and everybody else as well. I will use everything I have to make sure of it."

This type of response was what Cale wanted to hear. If Choi Han was going to be like this, it was worth trying to talk to this Gold Dragon.

Choi Han had never used his full strength to fight until now. That was the same for Raon as well.

– I am here, weak human. Another Dragon cannot even compare to me.

Cale naturally ignored Raon's bluff.

"Then I will prepare for us to leave tomorrow."
"Good. Make sure to get your rest once you're done."
"Yes, Cale-nim."

Cale felt at peace once Choi Han left the tent. However, he was not alone. Cale took a gold coin out of his pocket and threw it into the air.

"Here."
"Oohh!"

Raon appeared in the air and carefully caught the gold coin with his two front paws.

"This, this is a gold coin!"

This was the reward for Raon's part in destroying the Magic Tower. Although ten silver coins and one gold coin was worth the same, Raon seemed to be focused on this gold coin. Cale slowly petted Raon's round head.

"Isn't it great?"
"It is great, human! Wonderful! Thank you! I will work even harder!"
"Good."

He then cautiously started to whisper to Raon. He had promised to give Raon a gold coin, however.

"On and Hong-."

He wanted to say that On and Hong should not know about it. He wanted Raon to keep it a secret. However, he heard some odd cries at the entrance of the tent.

Meeeeeeow, hehe.
Meeeow!

There was laughter mixed in with the meows. Cale could see two kittens crawling into his tent without even knocking.

Of course, they were On and Hong.

'You sharp bastards.'

Cale continued to speak after seeing their sparkling eyes.

"Fine, here."

Two gold coins flew across the room and On and Hong caught them out of the air, showing more agility than ever before.

Cale observed On, Hong, and Raon all laughing while holding onto their gold coins before laying down on the bed.

'… I just hope it isn't a crazy dragon.'

Cale hoped that the Gold Dragon they were going to meet was normal. The three children averaging 8-years-old, stood guard while he slept. These children were much stronger than most average Knight Brigades.

***

The next morning.

Although it was early in the morning, Toonka and the other Chiefs came out to say goodbye to Cale. Cale had never seen such an expression on Toonka's face before.
Toonka looked embarrassed as he started to speak.

"You're going sightseeing for a bit?"

"Yes. I told Chief Harol my itinerary, so you don't need to worry about me stabbing you in the back."
"I won't worry. Cale, I trust you."

Cale felt disgusted, listening to Toonka calling his name gently like that. It became even worse as Toonka continued to speak.

"Ahem, you can relax as long as you are in the Whipper Kingdom. And feel free to let me know if you are ever in trouble."

Cale was fine with a crazy Toonka, but this extremely nice Toonka made Cale feel uncomfortable.

"Thanks. I'll keep that in mind. I wish for your victory against the Empire."
"Of course."

Cale started to think while observing Toonka nod his head, as if that was a foregone conclusion.

'The Whipper Kingdom has no chance of winning this war.'

However, contrary to Cale's opinion, the forces around the continent had differing opinions.

They saw this as a war between the Empire, which was in chaos after the destruction of the Church of the Sun, and the Whipper Kingdom, who were a tightly-knit group specializing in offense. Many were thinking that it was difficult to determine the results of the war.

That was because the Whipper Kingdom's goal did not seem to be taking over the Empire. They just seemed focused on taking control of a few of the Empire's castles.

Furthermore, it seemed logical that the Whipper Kingdom would go after the Empire. With the development of Alchemy, the Empire had a stronger connection to magic than most other kingdoms.

'But this is the Empire they are going up against.'

Cale determined that the Empire would win the war as he reached his hand out to shake Toonka's hand. Toonka thought it was a goodbye handshake, and so he immediately started to shake it. However, Cale took a step forward and whispered in Toonka's ear.

"Alchemy is sneakier than magic. Protect your warriors with magic resistance."

Toonka's shoulders flinched. Cale smiled at the people who were wondering what they were talking about and added something else.

"I'm certain that the Empire has a mole in your army. Although you have probably investigated already, look again if you didn't find them. Start with the people close to you. That is the Imperial Prince's usual method. Make sure that you find the mole."

Cale moved away from Toonka and looked into Toonka's eyes as he said the next part.

"Kill them."

Toonka's pupils started to shake. Cale let go of Toonka's hand and gently asked.

"Don't you trust me?"
"…I trust you."

Cale was satisfied with Toonka's response.

The Empire will win. However, Cale hoped that the Whipper Kingdom would last as long as possible and annoy the Empire. That would give the Roan Kingdom time to get stronger and develop their alliance with the Breck Kingdom.

'We have to prepare before the North comes down.'

The moment that the Northern Alliance started to make their move, Alberu would take control of the Roan Kingdom and fight against them.

"Then have a safe trip. See you next time."

Cale responded to Toonka with a smile.

'Next time? There's no reason for me to see you again.'

Cale walked to the carriage and told Pendrick, who was standing with his hood down, the order.

"Let's go."

It was time to head to the lair of the Gold Dragon, an ancient Dragon that has lived for a long time.

***

Cale clutched at his collar. It was chilly here, even though it was summer time. No, as the snow underneath his shoes demonstrated, this place was cold.
Cale asked Lock who was in front of him.

"Lock, haven't you been here before?"
"Yes sir. I did not expect it to be here."

Cough.

Cale coughed and sniffled. His nose was runny. Rosalyn chuckled and handed him a handkerchief and Cale covered his nose with it.

"Pendrick, is this the place?"
"Yes, this is it."

Cale did not expect it to be here.
Cale thought about the necklace that was under the layers of clothes he was wearing. It was the 'Absorbing Necklace,' the necklace that allowed you to store a power of any affinity inside.

He had sent Lock to Mount Yellia in order to find this necklace.

Cale recalled how Lock had brought back the necklace and how he had used the power to put out the fire in the Jungle.

Cale stood on the snowy peak and looked down.

Mount Yellia was known as one of the most dangerous mountains in the entire continent.

'Who knew that a Dragon's lair would be here?'

The Gold Dragon lived at the spot Lock had taken the necklace.

"Pendrick, what do we have to do now?"

They were at the peak, but did not see the lair. Pendrick spoke with a face that seemed like he was both extremely excited but also extremely weak and could fall over at any moment.

"We just need to wait."
"…How long?"
"Until Dragon-nim wants to see us."
"…What?"

'We're just going to wait in this freezing snow?'

Cale looked around to see everyone bundled up in fur. Beacrox was looking toward Pendrick with a vicious gaze. His gaze seemed to be asking how there could be such a bullshit answer. Beacrox did not seem to like the cold.

At that moment, Pendrick cautiously asked Cale.

"But young master-nim, when will I be able to meet Dragon-nim? Will he teleport over when you tell him the location?"

Cale started to smile.

"No."
"Then how will he get here?"

– Elf, I am right behind you. But why did this not-so-great Dragon not come to greet us?

Raon's vicious voice echoed in Cale's mind.
Cale wanted to repeat Raon's words to Pendrick, word by word.

"Pendrick."
"Yes?"
"Behind you- huh?!"

But at that moment, the mountain started to shake.

Ooooooong.

– Good, of course he should come to greet us. The great and mighty Raon Miru is here!

Cale could hear Raon's triumphant voice as he urgently reached out and grabbed onto Choi Han's shoulder.

Boooooooom-

The snow at the peak shot up into the air. No, to be accurate, the tip of the peak shot up.

"Huh?"
"Aah!"

Everybody barely managed to find their balance while looking at the center of the peak. Cale was doing the same thing.

"Oh! We can finally meet Dragon-nim!"

Pendrick clasped his hands together and went wild. He really seemed like one of those devoted believers. Cale quickly stood behind Choi Han and motioned for Rosalyn and the others to stand at his sides and behind him.

'It'll be bad if the Dragon releases a breath attack.'

The Gold Dragon could launch a breath attack because it was an adult Dragon.

Cale felt relieved after everybody else surrounded him.

Booooooooom!

The peak that shot up suddenly stopped in the air to reveal a large cave. Cale observed that every other direction other than where they were had avalanches going down the mountain.

It was at that moment.

"Huh?"

It had stopped snowing.

The snow that had covered the entire mountain peak suddenly stopped falling from the sky.

'Was it the Dragon that was making it snow?'

'How could there be such a munchkin? Could Raon do this too?'

Cale wondered whether he had underestimated Raon's usefulness until now.
But he could not think about it any longer, as he heard someone walking toward them.

Click. Click.

Cale's group was holding their breath as the footsteps got closer.

Click. Click.

The rhythmic footsteps were coming from the cave. Cale could see what looked like a doll walking out of the cave.
And finally, the individual walked out of the darkness and into the light.

It was an Elf with beautiful blonde hair. This Elf was so beautiful that even the Whales looked ugly in comparison.

Cale could see the Elf starting to smile.

"Ohhhhhhhh-."

Plop. Pendrick kneeled down.
That gave Cale the confirmation he needed.

This was the Gold Dragon.
This was a member of the crazy Dragon race.

It was at that moment.

– Me first!

As Cale flinched at Raon's sudden shout…

"Gasp!"

Pendrick gasped in surprise.

A small black blob rushed past him. Pendrick looked flabbergasted as he shouted toward the black blob.

"B, Black Dragon-nim!"

Of course, the black blob was Raon.

Cale sighed and watched Raon flying toward the blonde Elf without giving Cale any time to stop him. The small Black Dragon instantly arrived in front of the blonde Elf.

"Hoooo."

The blonde Elf let out a gasp of surprise and looked at Raon with an odd expression.

Raon opened his wings out wide in front of the Gold Dragon who looked like an Elf and confidently started to speak.

"Nice to meet you!"

Raon seemed to be excited.

The blonde Elf's expression became even stranger. However, Raon did not stop.

"I am the great and mighty Raon Miru! Who are you?"

Raon's round eyes seemed to be full of anticipation as he watched the blonde Elf. The blonde Elf finally started to speak after a moment of silence.

"What the hell. Are you really a Dragon? There's a Dragon that would say, 'nice to meet you,' to another Dragon?"

The Gold Dragon seemed to be asking how there could be such an odd existence.
Cale had expected this.

This was a real Dragon, the race that was said to be selfish and egotistical.

There was no way that such selfish beings would happily greet each other.
It was more likely that they would get into a fight with each other while saying that they were the best.

Cale poked Choi Han's back. Choi Han immediately put his hand on the handle of his sword.
He was preparing, just in case the Gold Dragon started to cause a ruckus.

***

If you find any errors or have suggestions, please feel free to provide feedback.

Thank you for reading!

[Author – Yu Ryeo Han]

[Translator – Anowa]

[Proofreader – Rai_Mayank]