Night Falls

"You just said... you bought that broken lamp, right?" Oyana's anger subsided somewhat. "Fine... how much are you planning to pay..."

The magic circle behind the witch began to fade. Her crimson lips lightly drew on the hookah in her hand. "Let me warn you first: I want cash, silver coins that clink. Don't waste my time like that old witch!"

"I... I have one Kralimaya Gold Coin and two Kralimaya Silver Coins on me..." Denolan's heart pounded wildly. This was his first time lying to abnormal humans like witches. "For the sake of our future business, I plan to pay two Kralimaya Silver Coins for this Twin Lantern as a gesture of goodwill."

"Mm..." Oyana said as she smoked her hookah. "Looks like you made quite a bit of money selling holy water on the black market..."

"Not... bad..." Denolan feigned calm. "I made around a dozen Kralimaya Gold Coins..."

"Oh... and then?" Oyana asked.

"I plan to expand the scope of my business."

"Keep reselling holy water?" Oyana sneered. "Let me tell you first, the Church's cake isn't so easy to take a bite out of—"

"No... I won't be reselling holy water..."

"Then what do you want to do?"

"Dragons—" Denolan declared loudly. "I have a formula for refined Dragonblood Gems! We can work together to sell high-purity Dragonblood Gems... You should know that a single high-purity Dragonblood Gem can sell for thousands of Kralimaya Gold Coins!"

The moment Denolan finished speaking, Oyana burst out laughing.

"You naïve little child, did you come to the wrong place? This is neither the Sacred Sea nor the Chilabudan Archipelago. Canfor produces monsters, not dragons. Besides, just transporting dragon blood to Canfor would cost more than a dozen silver coins, not to mention the cost of the dragon blood itself. I'm afraid your business can't possibly work..."

"Still..." Oyana said after exhaling a puff of smoke, "I'll sell you that broken lamp at a loss. Give me two silver coins and take that crazy woman away..."

"Then... fine. Guess I wasn't lucky enough..." Denolan secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Good thing Oyana didn't agree to it... But... the original plan can't be used anymore...

"Were you just talking about dragons?" Rosa Kevin said, flipping open the little notebook of revenge she kept in her mind. "There are dragons living on the mountain peaks north of Elrina Forest..."

The instant Rosa Kevin finished speaking, Oyana and Pervi rushed over. Their attitudes, however, were far from friendly.

"Witch, is that true?" Out of professional habit, Pervi held a dagger to Rosa Kevin's neck. "Does a giant dragon really live there?"

"Not one dragon, but five~" Rosa revealed a sinister smile. "They're a family..."

"Five giant dragons... How many Kralimaya Gold Coins would that be worth..." Yalila casually said.

"Dragons are ranked by grade. If it's a Lulolinge Divine Dragon with the purest bloodline, one alone would be worth at least ten thousand Kralimaya Gold Coins. And if you include the treasures they've accumulated over the years... those five dragons would be worth at least a hundred thousand Kralimaya Gold Coins," Lanta answered.

"As expected of the Dragon Tooth Clan, who make their living hunting dragons... You did the math fast..." Rosa chuckled. "Too bad those dragons are only ordinary Common Dragons. They couldn't possibly sell for that much."

"Even if they're only Common Dragons... one should still be worth one or two thousand Kralimaya Gold Coins, right... And they should have treasures left behind too... All together, they'd still be worth quite a lot..." Oyana continued along Lanta's line of thought.

"Tre... treasure..." Rosa Kevin realized something was wrong. "Wait—the dragons' treasure is mine!"

"You're so annoying—crazy woman!" Yalila kicked Rosa Kevin out of Oyana's magic shop. Half an hour later, Denolan also came out of the shop holding the battered Twin Lantern.

"Why were you kicked out too?" Rosa Kevin asked.

"I wasn't kicked out. I came out on my own. They said they'd come to the inn to notify me after they killed the dragons..." Denolan's blank expression looked rather adorable.

"Kid, those bastards probably tricked you out here..." Rosa Kevin spoke with the air of an experienced elder.

"Does that count as being tricked?"

"Did you tell them the formula for refining dragon blood?"

"Uh... because Oyana said she wanted to see whether it could really be used to make Dragonblood Gems... so I told her..."

"Then you were tricked..." Rosa Kevin stomped her feet in anger. "That damned witch actually looks down on me like this! I'm the strongest monster! An ancient evil god! Coming to your shabby magic shop was the greatest honor of your life! I XXXXXXXXXXX, do you believe that I'll flatten this damned city right now! Immediately! This instant! I XXXXXXX."

"Um, Grandma... please don't be too angry..." Denolan took two cookies from his clothes and offered them to Rosa Kevin. "Grandma, have something to eat first... It seems like you must be hungry too..."

"Hmph... I'm an evil god! The strongest monster, and you... you only gave me cookies!"

"Then... you don't want to eat them?"

"Of course—no..." Rosa snatched the cookies from Denolan's hands. "Since you gave me cookies, I won't destroy this city."

"Uh... as long as you're happy, Grandma..."

"Call me Demon King—"

"Uh... Demon King, where do you live now? Your family must be worried about you. Do you want me to take you home?"

"My family?" Rosa scratched her head. "They're all asleep. Right now, I live in the distant Labi Village. I'll go back once I get the investment."

"Labi Village..." Denolan's eyes flickered unconsciously. All his past memories had turned to ashes, and now he was alone. "Wasn't Labi Village already burned down..."

"Exactly—so I have to rebuild Labi Village! I'll let this world know that the strongest Demon King, Rosa Kevin, has returned—wahahaha—"

"Ah... then I wish you success..." The smile on Denolan's face gave no indication whether it was joy or sorrow. When he came back to his senses, he was the only one left on the entire street. The snake head on the dust-covered Twin Lantern flickered with light. That grayish-green glow pointed out the road ahead for him. Though the road was not bright, it was one he had to walk.

"Where did... that grandma go...? Forget it... I should take care of my own affairs first."

Denolan carried the lamp toward the inn where he was staying.

At that moment, the bell hanging atop Canfoer City's walls suddenly rang. Soon afterward, warning bells echoed from every church.

"Monsters! Monsters! Undead monsters are coming from the slums!" the night watchman shouted loudly.