Chapter 502: You Obtained a Black Dragon Fragment

“Teresa is from a village at Giant’s Foot. Recently, she has only been in contact with a young man named Henry.”

“Cinderella” Lily hung her head. She didn’t want the Lord to see the unsightly side of her face, so she let her long hair cover most of it.

Leech didn’t stare, though he personally didn’t think the scar on her face was an issue. “Henry?”

“Yes,” Lily replied. “He’s a blacksmith’s apprentice who forges hoes and shovels. He started coming to the castle frequently a few days ago.”

Iron Wall Castle wasn’t completely sealed off to outsiders. Leech hadn’t established a town hall, so most administrative work had to be done within the castle. Especially after his return, the frequency of meetings increased, and the castle gates were kept open during the day.

Only the inner keep, the Lord’s private residence, was strictly off-limits to everyone.

“The blacksmith’s forge is a fair distance from the castle. Ah, the things we do for love,” Leech mused. Love, and the weaknesses that came with it, was a constant challenge for him. He was prone to remembering when his pants were off and forgetting once they were back on.

That’s why he was trying to be a faithful man, doing his best to control himself and not let that weakness be tested.

Lily gazed at the Lord, her expression unreadable.

He said, “Go and ask Mr. Henry to come here.”

“Yes!”

Watching Lily turn to carry out his order, Leech rubbed his chin. ‘Maybe I should produce some Magic Potions for scars and acne.’

Lily worked diligently for him and deserved a reward. He wasn’t some PUA master; there was no need to plant the idea in her head that ‘if it weren’t for me, no one would want you with a face like that.’ Besides, such Magic Potions would surely have a strong market among the middle and upper classes.

Soon, Henry was brought in. A Knight had been sent on horseback specifically to fetch him.

Upon entering the castle, Henry saw a handsome, dark-haired young man seated on an ornate chair in the vast, empty hall. He suddenly found it hard to control his legs; they felt like they were cramping, making each step a struggle. “M-my… Lord. Good day.”

Thankfully, he still remembered how to show respect to a nobleman.

“Good day, Mr. Henry?”

“Yes, I’m Henry,” Henry nodded quickly. On the way over, he had been wracking his brain, wondering why the Lord would summon him.

Suddenly, a brass-colored figure flew past Henry’s eyes and landed on his forehead.

Henry couldn’t help but look up, his eyes going crossed.

It looked something like a lizard, with four legs and wings. The creature was so bizarre that Henry, frightened, raised his hand to slap it off his head.

Just as he lifted his hand, he heard it speak. “Foolish human, dost thou know what thou art doing?”

“I-it-it can talk?”

Henry froze, his hand in mid-air.

He glanced tentatively at the Lord on the throne, who was resting his cheek on his right hand, watching him with a smile.

“Don’t be alarmed, Mr. Henry,” Leech said. “It doesn’t bite—unless you push it too far.”

Henry nodded repeatedly, yet he was afraid of shaking the creature off his face, so he dared not move. “Yes, of course, I won’t move.”

Since it was an order from the Lord, Henry figured it was best to stand perfectly still.

After lingering on Henry for a moment, the Brass Dragon departed, satisfied, and returned to Leech’s shoulder. “It’s him. He’s definitely been in direct contact with a dragon!”

“Are you sure?”

“I hail from the Land of the Dragon! I am—”

Leech immediately reached out and pinched the Brass Dragon’s snout shut with his thumb and forefinger, stopping its long-winded speech before it could begin.

“Now then, Mr. Henry.”

“Yes!” Henry waited nervously for Leech’s instructions.

“Have you seen any strange people, or anything unusual, recently?”

“I don’t think so.”

Henry looked puzzled and tried his best to remember. “I’ve just been working at the forge. Sometimes I’ll go for a walk after I’m done. If you’re talking about strange people… I did run into some odd fellows at the tavern while I was having a drink. They were bragging about getting their hands on some incredible treasure.”

‘The Lord must be asking about a treasure,’ he thought. ‘Maybe those men stole the Lord’s treasure! That’s why he summoned me… He suspects I’m involved!’ A cold sweat broke out on Henry’s back.

“M-My Lord!” Henry dropped to his knees with a THUD. “I have nothing to do with those men, I—”

“Don’t be so nervous,” Leech said. “Perhaps you can tell me how many there were, and what they looked like.”

“Yes, of course! There were two of them. One was a short fellow with his red beard tied in small braids. The other was a tall, silent man, about as tall as that Knight standing behind you. He was carrying something on his back. In fact, the thing he was carrying bumped into me. After I got home, my arm became sore and itchy, and I broke out in a rash.”

“Thank you for this very useful information,” Leech said, nodding at Henry with a smile.

As Teresa escorted him out, Henry was still in a daze. He had met the Lord, seen a strange Brass Dragon, and even received a reward of 10 Silver Moon—all for a piece of information he barely understood himself.

And the Lord had even praised him!

“You received a reward from the Lord!” Teresa looked at Henry, her eyes shining. “You might be given an important position, just like Nikus’s cousin!”

‘Everyone used to look down on Nikus’s scoundrel of a cousin,’ Henry thought. ‘But now Teresa can’t stop talking about him, just because that thieving bastard is now a minor steward. Ha!’

“I’ll definitely be given an important post!” Henry nodded firmly. “Nikus’s cousin was never personally summoned by the Lord and rewarded with 10 Silver Moon!”

“That’s right,” Teresa nodded in agreement. “You’re much better than him, my hero~”

Henry’s eyes sparkled. ‘I’ll work hard, marry Teresa, and buy our own house in Iron Valley.’ There were many new houses being built in Iron Valley, and he could use the money he had to make a down payment.

…

It wasn’t difficult to find a group of people with such distinct features within his own domain.

Leech quickly found the two men Henry had described. Discovering they were looking for a buyer, Leech decided to become that buyer himself.

「Inside the castle.」

‘Henry wasn’t wrong at all,’ Leech thought, looking at the two men standing before him, a perfect mismatch of adjectives like tall, short, fat, and thin.

When they learned that their buyer was the Lord of Iron Valley, the pair didn’t shrink back. On the contrary, they were thrilled.

“My Lord, surely you wouldn’t refuse the chance to hang a dragon’s head on your castle wall! For only 500 Jinri, it can be yours!”

That’s right.

A dragon’s… head!

The true dragon aura the Brass Dragon had sensed, the bundle that had brushed against Henry—it contained the head of a black dragon, no bigger than a puppy’s.

“That was a hatchling,” the Brass Dragon said. As a dragon itself, it didn’t want Leech to hang the black dragon’s head on his wall as a trophy. “If you do that, you’ll invite the wrath of the Dragon Race!”

Leech ignored the Brass Dragon’s threat. “If dragons were still around in numbers, they’d already be flying all over the skies.”

Perhaps dragons still existed in the world, but Leech didn’t think they would show themselves. The world’s Magic Power had not yet surged to a level that would allow dragons to move about freely.

The hatchling must have been recently born. It had ugly black scales, a skull-like face, and its horns hadn’t even begun to grow, but it was undeniably a dragon.

‘At least it’s not a dead Dragon Egg. If you open one of those, it’s just yolk and white… No, wait, an old Dragon Egg would have its yolk and white all dried up and stinking, just like a rotten egg.’

“500 Jinri?” Leech glanced at the pair. Neither was a Transcendent; they weren’t even in good shape.

‘With their skills, they could never have dealt with even a hatchling. Even if it was young and couldn’t use Magic, it would struggle and bite harder than a large hound. Its fangs and scales were no fake.’

‘They must have acquired it from somewhere else.’

Leech said, “For trying to swindle a nobleman, you’ll lose your heads without getting a single copper star!”

The talkative short man gave an awkward laugh. “Then how much are you willing to pay?”

“For this useless head, which constantly gives off a corrosive aura that makes people sick and break out in rashes, I am willing to pay 1 copper star!”

The color drained from their faces.

They knew, of course, that the black dragon’s head was useless. In fact, they weren’t even sure it was a real dragon, given how small it was. But to get a good price, spinning a good story was essential.

“However, I am interested in the story of how you acquired it. For that, I’m willing to pay 3 Jinri.”

‘People always like a compromise.’ When Leech offered 3 Jinri, they were reluctant. But when he mentioned chopping off their heads, they suddenly felt that 3 Jinri was a profitable deal.

They happily accepted the price Leech had quoted, selling the puppy-sized black dragon head for 3 Jinri and one copper star.

Wearing gauntlets to protect against corrosion, Leech picked up the black dragon’s head with its eyes shut tight. ‘This thing is about the size of a large dog at most… but… if I can piece together a complete set, I might be able to learn the Magic of the Dragon Race!’

‘It’s just like in the games from my past life,’ he thought. ‘I’ve obtained a Black Dragon Fragment. Now I just need to collect the rest to synthesize a whole Black Dragon.’