"Forehead..."
Even someone as quick-witted as Ed felt his brain go blank for a moment.
How should I put it?
Having learned from the example of the Tree Worship Church Cult members, Ed thought this Red Dragon would be a tyrant, but after hearing the village chief's account, he felt it would be a more aloof and superior dragon.
But the dragon in front of us doesn't seem to have much to do with either of those.
Of course, it could also be because he hadn't upset the other person, but fortunately, he didn't have that inclination, so he quickly organized his thoughts and said:
"I have indeed come to you seeking your help..."
The Red Dragon's enormous eyes stared at Ed's single eye, as if trying to discern something.
Just as Ed was about to state his request, a hint of joy appeared in the dragon's hoarse, deep voice:
"So it was you—the experimental subject on the Tree Worship Church Cult's wanted list, worth a thousand gold coins!"
Ed's heart sank, but then he felt a pang of resentment.
He's a world wonder personally certified by Little Green, yet he only has a bounty of 1,000 gold coins on him?
That's too low! Those fools in the Tree Worship Church are truly blind!
Even if the situation takes a sharp turn for the worse, Ed has a way to persuade the dragon before him—
Since the other party has this kind of personality, as long as I can bring it a profit of more than a thousand gold coins, I don't need to worry about its survival for the time being.
Just as Ed was about to speak, the dragon suddenly looked to the side.
Extremely nervous, Ed followed the gaze and saw a large, charred mass.
A dejected sigh followed from the dragon:
"Unfortunately, I burned him to death, so I can't claim the prize."
Thank you so much...
Ed thought to himself, but he was already uttering words of enticement:
"Your Excellency the Dragon King, I know your relationship with the Tree Worship Church has never been good, and neither have I. The enemy of my enemy is my friend..."
"Hey, there's no need to say that anymore."
The dragon suddenly interrupted Ed's speech, which made Ed realize what he had done to the Dragonborn Village a few hours earlier.
Isn't this also a case of "beating the young one only to have the old one suffer the consequences"?
"State your purpose for coming here, but... because the Demonic Tide has corrupted this world, alchemy has become completely ineffective."
The Red Dragon's claws twitched, directly erasing the line below the wooden board: [Fool's Gold Refining and Processing - 1 Gold Coin/Pound (Includes only labor cost; materials must be provided by the user or purchased separately)].
Ed thought to himself that this Red Dragon was indeed meticulous, but his expression remained unchanged as he looked directly into the dragon's eyes and said bluntly:
"I've come to borrow money from you."
"Roll!"
The dragon let out a merciless roar and began to slowly retreat into the mountain of gold coins.
Ed could sense that if he didn't leave the cave before the other party returned to the gold coin, the carbonized objects around him would quickly multiply.
But he had anticipated this. Although many of his previous assumptions had been wrong, at least two stereotypes about the dragon before him remained valid:
One is the dragon race's innate greed for precious metals;
Secondly, there is the stubbornness and arrogance of being the only one who matters.
An invisible countdown had begun; Ed could almost see his death approaching.
Even so, he still shouted that sentence without hesitation:
"Make a deal with me, give me time, and I can double your wealth!"
The dragon, which was slowly sinking into the gold coins, suddenly stopped, its enormous golden eyes once again fixed on Ed.
A sharp claw swept through the air, pressing down firmly on the stone door behind Ed and completely cutting off his escape route.
Ed endured the dull pain, akin to his fingers being pinched in the door, maintaining a calm expression. At the same time, a deep, hoarse voice entered Ed's ears:
"You have no choice, human. If you can't offer me a deal that satisfies me, you'll stay here forever."
Ed looked at the dragon without fear and said seriously:
"Okay, but this will take a long time."
"Foolish, dragons never lack time."
"Then please allow me to ask you a question first, because before I explain the plan, I need to make sure you have enough knowledge to understand what I'm about to say."
"Ask away, you arrogant fool. I wouldn't stoop to deceiving an ant like you."
As the dragon confidently answered, a claw was already positioned on Ed's neck.
My question is very simple: what is money?
"Um?"
The dragon was taken aback at first, then burst into laughter, a roar that nearly shook the hollow mountain to its core.
"You actually ask a dragon what money is? How foolish! Let me tell you, gold is money, silver is money, copper is money, and those rarer things, mithril and adamantite imbued with souls and Psionic Energy energy, are even more money! And I swear to become the richest of all dragons, to control all the money in this world!"
"And then what?"
Ed ignored the falling stone fragments and was neither intimidated nor influenced by the Red Dragon's words. He simply asked gently, his single eye filled with curiosity.
"And then? What then?"
Now it was the Red Dragon's turn to be confused.
Ed explained upon seeing this:
"After the outbreak of the Demonic Tide, the world's order collapsed, human settlements decreased drastically, and many places have regressed to a barter system due to insufficient population."
The dragon was confused:
"So what? Wouldn't it be better if they didn't use precious metals? That way I could get even more and get one step closer to my goal!"
Ed slowly shook his head:
"That's precisely the problem. Even without using gold, silver, or copper coins, humans can still trade with each other. So, for them, the items traded can be considered 'money,' and wouldn't that increase the amount of 'money' in the world?"
The dragon was clearly a bit confused by Ed, and it subconsciously retorted:
"Then I'll just steal all those things used for trading, and all the money will still be mine!"
Ed still shook his head:
"No, as long as 'trade' exists, 'money' will not disappear. It may be gold, silver, or bronze; it may be cloth, or even seashells, ironware, and fruit. But no matter how it changes, 'money' will always exist. And can you plunder everything in this world? Can you truly dominate this world? Can you control the minds of all intelligent beings and force them not to trade?"
"If not, then new 'money' will be created, and your dream will not be realized."
As soon as he finished speaking, Ed looked at the dragon.
At that moment, he saw an overwhelming sense of confusion in those enormous, golden eyes that were as tall as a person.
The air around them was gradually warming up; clearly, the dragon's brain seemed to be... Overload.
Ed was secretly pleased. He should have pressed his advantage, but after their conversation, he had a general idea of the dragon's personality.
So Ed gave up on pressing his advantage and simply sighed to himself, saying:
"Your knowledge is so poor that I'm disappointed. I no longer want to do business with you. Please kill me."
"If possible, simmer until medium-rare."