Chapter 22. Hansel and Dragon..

The town was eerily quiet. A full hour of pin-drop silence, except for the occasional distant cry of a worried townsfolk or the sound of a broom falling. I'd never experienced such calm, and frankly, I didn't like it. People should be yelling my name, talking about how glorious the castle construction was, or at least arguing over how much mana crystal to use on a single road tile.

But no, everyone was too busy staring at the horizon like their lives depended on it. Which, I suppose, they might.

I leaned on my balcony, admiring my under-construction castle. Sure, it looked more like a giant glowing skeleton than a fortress right now, but once completed, it would scream "opulent overlord." Behind it, the half-finished coliseum glimmered faintly under the morning sun, and the partially paved mana-crystal roads sparkled so brightly it was practically blinding.

"Absolutely worth it," I muttered, thinking of my untouched reserve of 169,705,000 gold coins. Some rulers hoarded wealth for centuries, but not me. Oh no, I'd chosen the righteous path of excessive, borderline irresponsible, spending.

"Money is meant to flow," I told myself, hands on my hips like a wise sage. "You hoard it, and it hoards you. It's practically charity to spend it."

Then, like a sudden thunderclap, the silence was shattered. People cheered. A few screamed. Some fainted dramatically. I squinted at the horizon and saw Hansel swaggering back into town. The townsfolk erupted into applause, praising their savior. Even Lucia, finally out of her confinement in the money-counting room, looked positively radiant with relief.

"Good old Hansel," I mumbled with a grin. "The man of the hour."

But then I spotted her. Walking beside Hansel, like a goddess descending from the heavens, was a stunning woman. Elegant, with a presence so overwhelming it practically screamed power. Her golden eyes scanned the crowd with mild disdain, as though she wasn't impressed by the adoration.

My grin froze. I could feel my wallet getting lighter just looking at her. "Wait," I whispered to myself, "did Hansel just bring back a beauty from his errand?"

This couldn't stand. The man already made 600k mana crystals on this job, and now he was flexing a date on top of it? Oh, I was definitely docking his pay.

The beauty noticed me staring and turned her piercing gaze my way. For a moment, I thought she might smile, but no—she frowned, then quickly looked away, a flicker of disgust crossing her face.

"Well, there goes my self-esteem," I muttered. "It's fine. I can cry on my gold later. Meanwhile, Hansel can cry on his gun barrel."

---

In the meeting room, the atmosphere was suffocating. Hansel stood by his chair, looking smug as ever, while the beauty—who, I now realized, was the dragon he fought—sat across from him. She occupied my throne-like chair, and no one, not even Lucia, dared to complain. I slumped into a lesser seat, radiating defeat.

Hansel started talking, but honestly, I only caught bits of it. Something about peace, tributes, and a deal to prevent the dragon from roasting us all. The important part was the cost: 150k mana crystals for her heart.

For. One. Day.

I felt my soul leave my body. I stared at Hansel, my voice a whisper. "Hey, Hansel. I paid you 600k mana crystals for this errand. I was expecting a dragon corpse too, you know."

He ignored me, the traitor. Meanwhile, the dragon-woman looked entirely too pleased with herself. Oh, she wasn't just a dragon. She was Miss Extortion herself, and I'd fallen into her trap.

Lucia, bless her, broke the silence. "Wait, Master… did you agree to pay her 10,000 mana crystals annually on top of the 150,000 mana crystals?"

"Yes," I said with a sigh. "The yearly tribute is practically pocket change."

"POCKET CHANGE?!" she screeched, her face red with indignation. "We're practically bankrupt already! And you're calling this pocket change?"

"I don't see the problem," Hansel added with a smirk. "The roads are paved with mana crystals, after all."

Lucia whirled on him. "Don't encourage him!"

The dragon—Miss Extortion—smirked. "You humans bicker so amusingly. For what it's worth, I find his spending habits… refreshing."

Lucia groaned, rubbing her temples. "This is a disaster. We've just promised a dragon 150,000 mana crystals in total and a yearly tribute of 10,000 mana crystals!"

"Correction," I said, raising a finger. "It's an investment in peace."

Lucia buried her face in her hands while Hansel laughed. Miss Extortion looked at me with something resembling approval—or maybe she was just entertained by my madness. Either way, I had no choice now but to live with the consequences of my generosity.

Later, in the quiet of my money-counting room, I stared at the glowing mana crystal walls and sighed. "At least the roads sparkle."

---

Three days had passed, and my reserves now stood proudly at 0.5 million mana (after taking out all the payments i need to pay) crystals and 16 mana cores. Honestly, not bad for someone who just hemorrhaged 1 million mana crystals in a single week.

Kirin's reaction upon seeing Hansel return early with 600k mana crystals, let's just say, priceless. Her mouth hung open like she had caught a glimpse of a ghost—or worse, my financial ledger. I didn't blame her. This week's spending spree would make even the most extravagant rulers weep.

If I'd just paid tribute to the kingdom like a sane person, this whole fiasco would've cost me maybe 1,000 mana crystals max. Shina said they barely collected 800 a year from the kingdom. But no, my gamble for "freedom of speech" had set me back over a million. Freedom, it turns out, was expensive.

---

Today was a big day. The dragon heart was finally delivered. 160,000 mana crystals were handed over, including the yearly tribute. As we concluded the transaction, Yin Xie—Miss Extortion herself—smirked at me.

"I'll personally protect your place if you pay me 10,000 mana crystals a day," she said with a mocking tone.

Oh, she was joking, but little did she know I wasn't.

"DEAL!" I shouted at the top of my lungs, my voice echoing through the meeting room like thunder.

The room fell deathly silent. Lucia, standing beside me, froze. Her eyes widened as if I'd just declared bankruptcy, and she teetered dangerously on the edge of fainting again. Good thing Benny was on standby this time. Without missing a beat, he caught her and calmly escorted her out, muttering something about needing to start charging for this service.

Even Yin Xie, the unshakable Grade 5 dragon, looked stunned. Her golden eyes studied me like she was trying to figure out if I was crazy—or just dumb.

"Are you serious?" she asked, her voice skeptical, her gaze piercing.

"Dead serious," I replied, crossing my arms confidently.

Do you know what 250,000 mana crystals a day feels like? It feels like power. Only a fraction of that goes into construction each day, and throwing 10k at a lifetime bodyguard of her caliber? A steal. I was practically scamming her.

"How long do you want me to do it?" she asked, her tone cautious now.

Feigning modesty, I smiled. "Not too long, maybe… fifty years?"

Her jaw dropped. For the first time, Miss Extortion herself looked like she might faint. It was a good look on her, I won't lie.

She smirked, recovering quickly, and leaned in slightly. "Name's Yin Xie. But remember, if you can't pay, I'll kill you."

"Fair," I replied, because what else was I supposed to say?

"Definitely no delay in payment." she added.

With a flick of her hair and a smirk that could melt mana crystals, she turned and left.

---

As I stood there watching her walk away, I felt a strange mix of triumph and admiration. That threatening smile was the most beautiful smile I'd ever seen.