[June 8, 1000 of the Lost Era, Star Plum Town, clear skies after rain.
The day after I was kicked out of the tavern, I met a kobold...]
The sky gradually darkened. Tang Qi lit a lamp and wrote furiously.
In less than a day, he had gone through a whole series of events: preventing a trial, investigating the Star Plum, venturing into the cavern, assassinating Jackal...
Perhaps it was the effect of keeping a journal, but it had stirred Tang Qi's urge to express himself.
Though he should have been physically and mentally exhausted, the moment he picked up a pen, it was as if he'd drunk from a spring, filling him with boundless energy.
"When a slave has an inexhaustible supply of labor, he becomes the greatest slave in history."
Damn it, so "Slaver Pen" was referring to him!
Since he was writing about events from that very day, there was no need to make anything up.
As a result, he rarely got stuck. His pen only paused when he couldn't recall certain details clearly:
[This kobold, who could speak, had planned everything.
But considering it had only recently gained human intelligence, it sometimes struggled to explain itself. Allow me to piece together what happened—]
Tang Qi suddenly turned around and looked at Kuru, the "wise one," who was huddled in the corner, clutching his staff and diligently studying a spellbook by the dim candlelight. He asked, "Were your offerings meant for your master, or for a god you worship?"
Because they were weak, kobolds often pledged themselves to powerful creatures in the Underground Cavern, such as giant earthworms or spiders...
But in the natural world, where the strong preyed on the weak, even powerful "masters" did not always live long. Their masters often changed as a result.
Kuru blinked.
"Egg!"
Tang Qi asked, as if that were the obvious answer, "You mean the eggs of your descendants? Do you offer eggs to your own eggs as part of a ritual among your people?"
Kuru hurriedly shook his head. Seeing that Tang Qi still didn't understand, he could only resort to gestures.
"Kuru, underground, escape!" He mimed running.
"Found, nest, start, dig!" He pretended to dig with a pickaxe.
"Open space, egg, majesty, worship!" He drew a circle with his hands. It looked about the size of an ostrich egg.
Tang Qi raised an eyebrow, realizing things weren't as simple as he'd imagined.
"You mean—
You and your people fled from deeper underground and migrated up here.
You happened to find that open space, which you could use as a nest, so you moved in and took over?"
"Rua!"
"Then, while digging a safe passage, you accidentally found an egg and decided to worship it? Why?"
Kuru continued gesturing at the egg, even mimicking bowing down before it.
"Ancestor, respect, fear!"
"You felt the majesty of its bloodline, and it filled you with reverence and made you submit?"
Afraid Kuru wouldn't understand the words, Tang Qi started waving his arms wildly, too.
"Rua!"
Kuru thought this human was incredibly clever. He had easily filled in the words Kuru couldn't express at all.
Kuru quickly jotted down Tang Qi's pronunciation and vocabulary in his notebook, using symbols only he could understand, so he could practice the Common Tongue later.
Tang Qi, however, fell silent.
He could feel the fingertips holding his pen trembling slightly.
And all of it came from a little—
excitement.
As time passed, most people would probably forget the kobolds' bloodline.
But he had a rudimentary understanding of it.
As creatures who had inherited a trace of dragon blood, kobolds habitually worshipped their "ancestors." They even regarded guarding the ancestors' offspring as an honor.
That honor gave them courage, allowing them to distinguish themselves from the rest.
So the "egg" Kuru had mentioned might very well contain a...
Giant Dragon?
[There isn't a single Poet who could refuse the chance to become a Dragon Knight. You know what I mean.]
Just as Tang Qi tried to connect the nest in the cavern, which looked like a "ruin," with the "Dragon Egg"...
A knock came at the door at the worst possible moment—
"Mr. Poet, dinner is ready. Or would you like me to bring it to your room?"
"I'll be right there."
Hunger struck at just the right moment, finally pulling Tang Qi out of his all-consuming "slave" mode.
He opened the door, and Catherine's magnificent face came into view.
"I'm sorry to disturb you, but 'prepare a lavish dinner at home on the eve of the Harvest Festival' is a town tradition.
I wasn't sure if you wanted to experience the festivities, so I took the liberty of asking."
"There's no need to be so formal, ma'am. I'm glad you respect me, but I don't want you to be too deferential, either. It makes me uncomfortable."
Tang Qi shrugged awkwardly.
"We got along well enough last night, didn't we? Please, just be yourself."
Hearing him say that, Catherine could no longer keep her polite smile fixed in place. She quietly breathed a sigh of relief, and her expression grew more lively.
"Honestly, I already regret how I treated you last night.
I can't imagine what misfortune Anbi might have suffered today if I'd sent you away."
"That's a moot point. I'd have shamelessly stayed here no matter what. If only so I could see you every day."
Tang Qi tried to take her hand and kiss her fingertips.
He was imitating courtly manners, hoping to seem more refined.
But the tavernkeeper, who had grown up on a farm, couldn't stand that sort of thing.
She quickly pulled her hand back, furrowing her brow with discomfort.
"Please don't say things like that. They make me uncomfortable, too."
"Ahem, sorry. I was just trying to segue into introducing myself—Tang Qi Weinberg.
Just call me Tang Qi. I'm trying my hand at being a traveling Poet and writing travelogues. The working title is A Journal Whose Name I Haven't Figured Out Yet."
"Catherine Nova, tavernkeeper. I hope that one day I'll get to read A Journal Whose Name You Haven't Figured Out Yet."
"Then I suppose both our wishes will come true?"
Their conversation made the atmosphere, which had been stiff with courtesy and politeness, feel increasingly relaxed.
Catherine noticed Kuru in the corner, head bowed over his book. His robe and rags covered him completely, so no one had recognized him yet.
"Will that gentleman be joining us for dinner downstairs?"
Tang Qi hesitated, then explained, "If he won't scare you, sure. He's actually a... kobold."
With no warning at all, Catherine startled and took a step back.
But she quickly regained her composure and tactfully chose not to ask questions.
"Golden Oak never turns away a guest, especially one who's your friend. In fact, I should warn you that there are two mercenaries downstairs as well."
"Isn't this supposed to be a family dinner? What are they doing at the tavern?"
"Perhaps the Manor feels too empty, and they have nowhere else to go. Though I haven't seen Mr. Jackal today."
Then you probably never will.
Tang Qi grumbled to himself. Thinking of Black Snake, he remembered the matter at hand.
"By the way, if I want to buy some Star Plum, who would be the best person in town to ask?"
"Star Plum doesn't keep for very long. It might not be suitable as a local product to stock regularly..."
Tang Qi hesitated for a while, then briefly explained his plan to "pass off something inferior as the real thing" to Catherine.
"So I need to get at least 300 kilograms of Star Plum, and somehow cover the whole thing up once the caravan arrives tomorrow."
"Three hundred kilograms... That's no small amount. But fortunately, Star Plum is cheaper than wheat in town."
Catherine thought it over, then suddenly clapped her hands.
"I understand. Leave it to me."
Tang Qi blinked. He hadn't expected Catherine, who was reputed to be "tighter than a miser," to volunteer.
"Won't it be too much trouble for you?"
"Don't say that. You're Anbi's benefactor. How could a little favor like this be any trouble?"
Catherine wagged her index finger in front of Tang Qi.
"Besides, you're an outsider. No matter who you suddenly bought that much Star Plum from, it would draw attention.
Tomorrow is the Harvest Festival, and there'll be people everywhere.
If someone with an ulterior motive found out that the Star Plum you bought had ended up among the 'Shining Star' tribute Black Snake turned in, they might expose you out of greed, jealousy, or any number of other reasons."
"That's true..."
"But it's different for me—as the tavernkeeper, I can simply buy more Star Plum in the tavern's name.
That way, no one will pay you any attention, and I can save you some money by buying at the local wholesale price.
No one in this world would turn down a chance to save money, right?"
Whenever the conversation turned to finances, Catherine's eyes seemed to sparkle.
And the problem she'd pointed out was indeed what had been troubling Tang Qi.
Perhaps being "tight as a miser" really meant being shrewd?
Then Catherine let out a thoughtful hum.
"But even so, you'll still need to be careful."
"Why?"
Before you continue