Chapter 148: Dragon Revealed

Qiu Nuoya flinched at the sudden shout. A female guild employee came hurrying over from behind the reception desk with a bright smile.

She was the same woman who had visited Qiu Nuoya’s home before. While everyone else had been observing Long, she had been the only one who had spent her time happily poking and squishing Mochi. She looked quite young, probably in her late teens or early twenties.

"Welcome! What brings you here today?! I was told to call the branch manager immediately whenever you came in, so I’ll go get him!"

"Eh? Ah, no, there’s no need. We’re leaving right away!"

Qiu Nuoya had only come to get the documents required to register Long as a contracted monster, so he became flustered by the enthusiastic reception.

"You’re the Slime King I’ve heard about? But the demi-human behind you doesn’t look like a slime."

After the guild employee hurried away, another customer at the guild approached Qiu Nuoya and spoke to him.

She was a beautiful woman in her early thirties with an exceptionally attractive figure. Qiu Nuoya had never expected a woman this beautiful to approach him here, so he became a little nervous. After all, her appearance was definitely his type.

Wait, could it be that my nickname, "Slime King," is actually well known among Tamers?!

For some reason, that was a little embarrassing.

"Here is the famous slime, Mochi."

Qiu Nuoya took Mochi, who had been quietly resting in the inner pocket of his robe, and placed him on his palm for her to see. The woman poked Mochi’s squishy body with her finger.

Everyone who sees Mochi does this at least once, don’t they?

Qiu Nuoya could understand the urge, even if he wasn’t quite sure why everyone wanted to poke him.

"But that crown certainly is just like the rumors. Where did you find this slime?"

"Ah, in a grassland near Coalora City."

"Oh, that place." She nodded, then tilted her head in puzzlement. "But I’ve never heard of such a special individual living there."

"Then what about the one following behind you, Slime King? He’s quite a magnificent-looking demi-human. Is he a special individual too?"

"I’m not sure. I suppose you could call him special, but..."

"Qiu Nuoya, good to see you! I’ve been waiting for you! Oh, Kinana, you’re here too!" Goldmine who had hurried over, stepped right between Qiu Nuoya and the woman without the slightest hesitation.

Well, he’s probably been waiting for Long, not me.

The proof was in the way Goldmine’s eyes never left Long even while he was talking to Qiu Nuoya.

Leaving the visibly excited Goldmine aside, Qiu Nuoya quietly committed the woman’s name to his mental notes.

So her name is Kinana.

"Mr. Goldmine, hello. Today, I went to the Adventurer’s Guild to register Long as my contracted monster, but they sent me away because they said my paperwork was incomplete. So I came here to have the necessary documents prepared."

"Wait, your paperwork was incomplete?"

"Yes. The employee said I needed a certificate from the Tamer’s Guild to register a large monster, so she sent me away."

"Did you show them your Tamer’s Guild employee ID?"

"Eh? No, I didn’t..."

"Now that you mention it, I don’t think I ever told you. Sorry about that! You don’t actually need to submit those documents if you simply show them your employee ID. They can register him that way."

You’ve got to be kidding me! No one told me that! Again! This was a completely wasted trip!

But Goldmine apologized profusely, leaving Qiu Nuoya with nowhere to direct his frustration. All he could do was sigh.

"Since I’ve already come all the way to the Tamer’s Guild, could you at least tell me what documents are normally required? It would be useful for me to know in the future."

"Of course. Come this way. Oh, Kinana, would you like to come along?"

"Are you sure?" Kinana glanced briefly at Qiu Nuoya. He had no objection, so he nodded and gestured for her to come along. She followed them.

Goldmine led Qiu Nuoya to the building behind the guild, where numerous cages were still stacked as usual. The space was quite large, presumably to accommodate cages of all different sizes.

"Excuse me, then." Goldmine began measuring Long’s height.

[Ah, what is this? What are you doing?]

Long looked confused, but Goldmine worked with remarkable efficiency. After measuring his height, he took out a measuring tape and carefully measured various parts of Long’s body, including his arms and legs, recording each measurement in his notes.

Once Goldmine had finished measuring Long’s demi-human form from head to toe, he smiled and said, "Now, could you return to your original form?"

"Oh, so we’re finally getting to see the real thing." Kinana who had followed them and watched Long being measured, looked at him with great interest. She was probably a Tamer herself. When it came to monsters, it seemed she could not help being curious.

Exposed to such openly curious gazes while having various parts of his body measured without permission, Long looked somewhat displeased. Still, he reluctantly returned to his original form.

The moment Long transformed back into his dragon form, Goldmine’s eyes lit up with excitement.

Kinana, however, simply froze with her mouth hanging open.

"Hey, am I dreaming?"

"No, you’re not! Amazing, isn’t he? He’s Qiu Nuoya’s contracted monster. Ah, he’s wonderful no matter how many times I see him. Just look at the sheen and thickness of those claws! They’re magnificent, aren’t they? And those powerful arms, along with those gleaming black scales, are simply irresistible!"

Goldmine made no attempt whatsoever to hide his excitement.

Kinana, on the other hand, looked utterly bewildered. "I wasn’t told about this."

"Of course not. I kept quiet because I wanted to surprise you."

Goldmine showed not the slightest hint of remorse. Instead, he happily continued measuring Long in his dragon form.

"Where in the world did you find a dragon like this...?"