Ruins and Dragons

[Lost Era Year 1000, June 8th, Star Plum Town, after the rain, the sky cleared.

The second day after being kicked out of the tavern, I met a kobold...]

As the sky darkened, Tang Qi lit a lamp and wrote furiously.

In less than a day, he had experienced a series of events, including stopping a trial, investigating star plums, braving caves, assassinating a Jackal, and more.

It seemed the journal's effect was spurring Tang Qi's desire to express himself.

Despite being physically and mentally exhausted, the moment he picked up his pen, he became as energetic as if he had drunk from a clear spring.

"When a slave possesses inexhaustible labor, they become the greatest slave in history."

Damn it, so "Slaver Pen" was referring to himself!

Since these were events that happened that very day, there was no need to fabricate anything.

This meant he rarely got writer's block, his pen only pausing when certain details weren't clear enough:

[This kobold that spoke human language planned everything.

But considering it had only recently gained sentience, it sometimes couldn't express itself clearly. Please allow me to piece together the story--]

Tang Qi suddenly turned his head and looked at Kuru, the "wise one," who was huddled in the corner, hugging his staff and studying a spellbook by the dim candlelight. Tang Qi asked:

"Your tribute, is it offered to your master, or to the Deity you worship?"

Due to their weakness, kobolds often chose powerful creatures in the underground as their masters, such as giant earthworms, spiders...

But in the brutal natural world, powerful "masters" might not live long, leading to frequent changes in their masters.

But Kuru blinked its eyes:

"Egg!"

Tang Qi asked as a matter of course:

"An egg of your offspring? Offering to your own eggs, is that a ritual within your tribe?"

Kuru quickly shook its head. Seeing that Tang Qi didn't understand, it began to gesture.

"Kuru, underground, escape!" It mimed running.

"Found, nest, started, digging!" It pretended to hold a pickaxe and dig.

"Empty space, has egg, majesty, worship!" It drew a circle, looking about the size of an ostrich egg.

Tang Qi raised an eyebrow, realizing the situation was more complicated than he had imagined:

"You mean--

You and your kin fled and migrated from deeper underground.

You accidentally discovered that empty space, which you could use as your own nest, so you took it over?"

"Rua!"

"And then, while digging an escape tunnel, you accidentally found an egg, and at that moment, you decided to worship it? Why?"

It continued to gesture at the egg, even mimicking kneeling:

"Ancestor, respect, fear!"

"You felt a majesty originating from your bloodline, which filled you with awe and made you submit?"

Fearing Kuru wouldn't understand his words, Tang Qi also mimicked its gestures wildly.

"Rua!"

Kuru thought this human was so smart, easily filling in the blanks for words it couldn't express.

It quickly jotted down Tang Qi's pronunciation and word choices using symbols only it could understand, to practice Common Tongue later.

Tang Qi, however, fell into silence.

He could feel his fingertips, gripping the pen, trembling slightly.

And all of this came from a sliver of--

Excitement.

As time passed, perhaps most people would forget the kobolds' bloodline.

But he had a rudimentary understanding of it.

As inheritors of a meager dragon bloodline, kobolds habitually worshipped their "ancestors," even considering guarding their ancestors' offspring a form of honor.

Honor would grant them courage, allowing them to stand out from the individual.

The "egg" Kuru spoke of, sleeping within, was highly likely a...

Dragon?

[No poet could refuse the chance to become a Dragon Knight, you know what I mean.]

Just as Tang Qi was attempting to connect the cave's nest, which resembled an "ancient ruin," with the "Dragon Egg."

The door was knocked upon at the most inopportune moment--

"Mr. Bard, dinner is ready. Or would you prefer I bring it to your room?"

"I'll be right there."

The pang of hunger arrived right on time, jolting Tang Qi out of his self-absorbed "slave" state.

He opened the door, and the first thing he saw was Catherine's magnificent face.

"I'm so sorry to disturb you, but it's a town tradition to 'prepare a lavish banquet at home the night before the Harvest Festival.' I wasn't sure if you'd want to experience this atmosphere, so I took the liberty of intruding."

"There's no need to be so formal, ma'am. Your respect is appreciated, but I don't want you to be too respectful. It makes me uncomfortable."

Tang Qi shrugged awkwardly.

"Didn't we get along well last night? Please, just be natural."

Hearing him say that, Catherine couldn't maintain her polite smile any longer. She secretly let out a sigh of relief, and her expression became more lively.

"Honestly, I regret how I treated you last night. I don't even want to think about what misfortune Anbi would have faced today if I had driven you away."

"That's a hypothetical question, because I definitely would have stubbornly stayed here. Even if only to see you every day."

Tang Qi tried to take her hand to kiss her fingertips. He was imitating some courtly etiquette to appear more refined.

But the innkeeper, who came from a farming family, couldn't handle that. She quickly pulled her hand away, her brow furrowed slightly, showing discomfort.

"Please don't say such ambiguous things. It makes me uncomfortable too."

"Ahem, sorry. I just wanted to take the opportunity to introduce myself—Tang Qi Weinberg. Just call me Tang Qi. I'm currently trying to be a bard who writes travelogues. The book title is tentatively set as A Logbook Without a Name Yet."

"Catherine Nova, an innkeeper who hopes to one day read A Logbook Without a Name Yet."

"Then I suppose both our wishes will come true?"

Their conversation made the atmosphere, which had been filled with politeness and courtesy, become more casual.

Catherine noticed Kuru in the corner, engrossed in reading. It was so well hidden by its robe and rags that it hadn't been recognized yet.

"Does that gentleman want to come downstairs for dinner?"

Tang Qi hesitated before explaining, "If it won't scare you, because it's actually a... kobold."

Caught completely off guard, Catherine flinched backward. But she quickly regained her composure and, with great tact, chose not to pry.

"The [Golden Oak] doesn't refuse any guests, especially since it's your friend. Actually, I also wanted to remind you that there are two mercenaries downstairs."

"Isn't it a family reunion dinner? What are they doing at the inn?"

"Perhaps the manor is empty, and they have nowhere else to go. However, I haven't seen Mr. Jackal today."

You probably never will again, Tang Qi thought to himself. The mention of the Black Snake inevitably reminded him of business.

"By the way, if I wanted to buy some star plums, who in town would be the best person to ask?"

"Star plums have a very short shelf life, so they probably can't be kept as local products..."

Tang Qi hesitated for a long time before vaguely explaining his plan to "pass off inferior goods as superior" to Catherine.

"So I need to prepare at least 300 kilograms of star plums, and try to muddle through this whole affair after the caravan arrives tomorrow."

"300 kilograms... That's not a small amount, but thankfully, the star plums in town are cheaper than wheat."

Catherine pondered for a moment, then suddenly clapped her hands.

"I understand. Leave this matter to me."

Tang Qi blinked. He hadn't expected Catherine, who was known for being [stingy], to volunteer.

"Won't this be troublesome for you?"

"Don't say that. You're Anbi's benefactor. How can these small favors be considered 'trouble'?"

Catherine shook her index finger back and forth in front of Tang Qi.

"Besides, as an outsider, no matter who you suddenly buy such a large quantity of star plums from, it would be very conspicuous. Tomorrow is the Harvest Festival, and there will be many people around. If someone with ulterior motives were to discover that the star plums you purchased appeared among the 'Shining Star' that the Black Snake submitted, they might report you out of self-interest, jealousy, or various other reasons."

"That's true..."

"But it's different for me. As the innkeeper, I can completely use the inn's name to purchase an additional batch of star plums. This way, outsiders won't pay attention to you, and I can also save you some money at the local wholesale price."

In this world, no one would go against saving money, wouldn't you agree?"

As soon as the topic of "finances" was brought up, Catherine's eyes seemed to light up.

And the pain point she mentioned was indeed something Tang Qi found difficult.

Does "[stingy]" perhaps represent shrewdness more?

Following that, Catherine mused again:

"But even so, you still need to be careful."

"Why?"