"In that case, I'll give ten gold coins too."
The dragon egg rocked slightly, seemingly in protest, but neither Aljerta nor Laxia noticed-or rather, the two silver dragons simply chose to ignore it.
"Velin is here."
At his wife's words, Aljerta's eyes lit up. "His niece is about to hatch. As her uncle, giving eighty or a hundred thousand gold coins as a congratulatory gift wouldn't be unreasonable, would it?"
Laxia spread her claws and said with a perfectly straight face, "I want seventy percent."
Aljerta stared at her, dumbfounded. "Aren't you supposed to ask for half?"
"If I asked for half, you'd try to bargain me down to thirty percent, wouldn't you?" Laxia gave Aljerta a searching look and spoke unhurriedly.
"Uh-"
Laxia was right. That was exactly what he had been thinking.
"Fine. Half it is."
Once the two silver dragons reached an agreement, they immediately assumed human form and walked out of the great hall.
As for the dragon egg rocking desperately back and forth, it failed to attract its parents' attention. As far as Laxia and Aljerta were concerned, I've already given you ten gold coins, so those tens of thousands of coins have nothing to do with you.
Inside the egg, a hatchling was desperately battering the shell.
Inside the castle, Velin surveyed his surroundings with an unsurprised expression. Everything was bare, with not a single decoration in sight.
"Velin!"
Seeing Aljerta coming to greet him, Velin walked up and gave him a hug as naturally as ever.
They had not seen each other for decades, yet there was still no hint of distance between the man and the dragon.
"Aljerta, long time no see."
"It's been many years." Aljerta released Velin and said solemnly, "The last time we met, you were only at high-tier