The young dragon's dreams were strange and bizarre, even more unreliable than those of this adult black dragon.
At the very least, when he was young, he had never thought of running off to the human world to become an emperor.
Not to mention when he was young—even after reaching adulthood, he had never entertained that thought.
The young dragon he had picked up was different. At such a young age, she already wanted to run to the human world and become an emperor. He had no idea whether she had really been inspired by him.
"In theory, becoming an emperor does let you do whatever you want and act without restraint. The prerequisite is that you become a foolish ruler—the kind of emperor who ignores everything except indulging in pleasure. Being that kind of emperor is the most comfortable.
"The only downside is that the ending might not be very good. You'll either be sent to the executioner's block by rebels or hanged from the gallows. Aside from death, there's no second possible ending for a foolish ruler."
"."
If she became an emperor, she definitely wouldn't become the foolish ruler the evil dragon spoke of. Under her rule, the Farolyn Empire would become stronger than ever before.
The people in the villages and towns of the empire's remote regions would never go hungry again, because by then she would know how to farm.
If she were smart enough, perhaps she could even learn how to cultivate apples bigger than watermelons, or giant corn as large as the ancestor of corn.
When she said she wanted to become an emperor, she was serious.
Wouldn't an emperor who knew how to farm be better than that stinking Imperial Sister who loved scheming all day?
"I won't be a foolish ruler. I'll be a good emperor."
"Don't be a good emperor. Become an evil dragon instead. If you think being an evil dragon is boring, then when I die of old age, I'll let you inherit my position as a Trainee Death God."
"."
The young dragon secretly rolled her eyes at the evil dragon. By the time the evil dragon died of old age—when he died of old age—she didn't know how many times she would have been reincarnated. Also... what was a Trainee Death God?
Weren't Death Gods all in hell?
She didn't want to work for hell. Compared to becoming a Trainee Death God, she would much rather become a trainee angel. "After the evil dragon dies of old age and goes to hell, can he become a Death God? I heard that after our dragon kind dies, the dragons on Dragon Island will protect Dragon Island in the form of dragon souls, while their dragon bodies will decompose into primal source energy and nourish Dragon Island. Dragons outside Dragon Island become Undead Bone Dragons after death, becoming mounts for powerful necromancers or Dark Wizards. I've never heard of an evil dragon becoming a Death God."
Lucia suspected that the evil dragon was making her an empty promise. Becoming a Trainee Death God seemed just as difficult as becoming a trainee angel.
"You're a young dragon and haven't experienced much. Once you reach my age, you'll discover that this world has no shortage of strange and bizarre professions."
"I still think being an emperor sounds more interesting. If I become the first evil dragon in history to have been an emperor of the human world, I'll become famous in history even faster."
"."
"Running to the human world to play at being an emperor isn't impossible. The prerequisite is that you must have powerful strength. Without powerful strength to protect you, if you go too far, you'll definitely be hunted down by the temples and the experts of the human world.
"With powerful strength protecting you, it won't matter. You can slack off and lie flat whenever you want, or run away whenever you want."
"I'll work hard for my dream!"
"Then good luck."
"Mm." Lucia's gaze fell on the portraits hanging on the wall. "Lance, can you tell me which of the humans or nonhumans in these portraits are your powerful enemies?"
"The one hanging in the corner... Mm. I have something to deal with first."
The Death God responsible for contacting him on the hell side had indeed noticed it, and had even contacted him first. Could it be to send him his salary? If he could get paid for slacking off, then he could work for hell until he died of old age—and even continue working for hell after death.
Lucia saw the evil dragon's body shrink, becoming about three meters in size, the same size as last night. If she took advantage of the evil dragon shrinking and touched his head, would he beat her up? Should she give it a try?
The young dragon watched the evil dragon's head and raised her dragon claw. Just as the young dragon's claw was about to touch the evil dragon's head, a pitch-black scythe spun out from the evil dragon's horn, skimmed past her claw, and flew above the desk.
It scared the young dragon senseless.
That was close. That scythe had nearly sliced off her dragon claw. How terrifying. She had only wanted to touch the evil dragon's head, and her claw had almost been lost. Boo-hoo. When I touched this Imperial Daughter's head, I didn't bite you.
I had only just wanted to try it, and the evil dragon nearly chopped off my claw with a scythe.
The scythe, shrouded in black mist, spun above the desk for a moment before stopping.
The young dragon, hugging her claw as she curled up in the corner of the study, saw a screen of light suddenly flare up on the scythe. Then she saw a mysterious figure appear on the screen, dressed in a black robe, wearing a mask, and standing on the scythe.
A projection?
The scythe was actually a magical artifact with projection capabilities?
Artifacts like this were extremely expensive, and their prices were determined by distance.
Artifacts for short-distance projections were cheap.
Artifacts for long-distance projections were expensive.
Artifacts capable of ultra-long-distance projections were all in the hands of wealthy experts.
Who was the mysterious figure in the projection? "How are you still not dead?"
"."
A look of envy appeared in the young dragon's vertical pupils.
A powerhouse! He was definitely a powerhouse. If he wasn't a powerhouse, who would dare open his mouth and ask the evil dragon why he was still alive?
"I've never seen a superior who hoped his own employee would hurry up and die. We haven't contacted each other for hundreds of years. Why did you suddenly think of me?"
"I sensed your necromantic aura in hell and thought you had died and come to hell to report in. I excitedly went over to welcome you. I never expected you not to be dead—you're still alive. You're far too good at living. You've been a Trainee Death God for so many years. Don't you want a Promotion and Salary Increase? If you do, could you hurry up and die, you bastard!
"All the Death Gods who started at the same time as me have gotten promotions and salary increases and gone on trips to heaven. I'm the only one still stuck in hell. I've been waiting—waiting for you to die. But you're still alive. How long are you going to live, exactly?
"Buddy, you've lived for nearly one thousand eight hundred years. Since you're so good at living, wouldn't it have been better to become a member of the clergy back then? Why did you run off to become a Trainee Death God? Tell me, how many more years can you live? At least give me something to look forward to. Also, you're really ugly in your current form. Can you turn back into a human and talk to me?"
The Death God standing on the scythe launched into a furious tirade. When that bastard Lance had first become his subordinate, he had been delighted, because Lance's work ability was extremely strong. He could easily complete some of the bounty missions issued by hell.
In the hundredth year after Lance became his subordinate Trainee Death God, his performance had been the fiercest in all of hell.
In the three-hundredth year after Lance became his subordinate Trainee Death God, the salary he had offered Lance was the highest.
In the six-hundredth year after Lance became his subordinate Trainee Death God, Lance had become the longest-lived Trainee Death God on the continent.
In the seven-hundredth year after Lance became his subordinate Trainee Death God, this Death God had begun hoping that the outstanding Trainee Death God Lance would die.
He wanted to give this outstanding Trainee Death God a promotion and salary increase, and have him take over his position.
This hope had lasted for more than a thousand years. Even now, there was still nothing to look forward to. The Death God wept (╥╯^╰╥).
Before you continue