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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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Chapter 131 - A Slap for Every Penny Found (13)
The cave was incredibly deep, and its size was enormous.
Since dragons usually live in their massive true forms, the space needed to be this big to accommodate their bodies.
“Gah?!”
At the end of the twisting passageways, a huge open space suddenly appeared, and Scala gasped.
It was big enough to fit an entire soccer field inside.
“This is insane… how can it be so huge…?”
“It’s truly incredible….”
Scala and Orendi were in awe, staring up at the distant ceiling.
This was my first time inside a dragon’s lair as well, and honestly, I was a little shocked too.
I had heard they dig out a massive space deep inside so they can lie down comfortably, but I didn’t expect it to be this big.
“Hey, is your lair this big too?”
I asked Hindrasta.
“Yeah. All dragons have something like this.”
Unlike us humans, who were marveling at the sheer size of the cave, Hindrasta answered indifferently.
But the size of the cave was nothing compared to what came next.
“Wha… what the hell am I looking at?!”
Scala and Orendi’s eyes nearly popped out of their heads as they spotted the mountain of gold and treasure piled high.
Gold coins were stacked like hills, shimmering with hues of blue, gold, and silver, undulating like waves.
On top of the pile were enormous golden crowns, intricately crafted jewelry embedded with jewels, stacked in layers.
Emeralds, rubies, sapphires, and opals—all manner of rare gemstones—sparkled as they lay scattered about.
Among them were legendary weapons from history—a sword with a golden hilt, a silver shield, and battle helms adorned with jewels.
Giant golden urns were placed around the room, each one filled to the brim with even more jewels and ornaments.
Some of the gems were so large and brilliant that they looked like small stars, twinkling within the lair.
Amidst the gold and gems, ancient books and scrolls engraved with magical scripts were strewn about haphazardly.
Luxurious silk cloths and tapestries covered parts of the treasure, adding a mystical glow to the cavern as the golden light and jewels illuminated the darkness.
“Do you have this much treasure too?”
“Do you think I’d have anything left after scraping by as a human for ten years, collecting scraps? And all my stuff got confiscated by the Elders, and I won’t get it back for a thousand years.”
Hindrasta’s sarcastic tone suddenly fell silent.
Her expression crumbled, and she unexpectedly began to cry.
“I worked so hard for all of it… ugh….”
“For now… I should probably get dressed.”
Tarkanik, who had been naked the whole time, said.
He rummaged through the piles of gold and jewels, then pulled out a set of clothes.
It was a ceremonial armor, lavishly embroidered with gold and encrusted with jewels.
I had seen this type of armor before—back during the war, when noble soldiers or some deranged royal commanders wore such things into battle.
But the one Tarkanik was wearing now was on another level entirely.
Suddenly, a thought crossed my mind.
What would happen if someone looted an entire dragon’s lair?
The sudden influx of wealth into the market would cause massive inflation, for sure.
Maybe dragons are actually the ones controlling the economy, acting like the central bank of the continent, regulating prices and interest rates.
Who knows, maybe one of the smarter dragons is already secretly living in the human world, using their wealth to run a lending business and raking in even more money.
While I was lost in these thoughts, Tarkanik brought over a large sack and handed it to Scala.
“Fill this up. Enough to compensate your mercenary group for their losses.”
“Yay!!”
Scala’s eyes lit up as she grabbed the sack and dashed toward the treasure pile.
“Huff…”
Tarkanik’s face twisted with anguish as he watched Scala shovel treasure into the bag without hesitation.
“Uh, excuse me, Dragon… sir…”
Orendi stammered as he approached Tarkanik nervously.
“There seem to be some books over there… would it be alright if I took a look? Just to read, of course.”
He pointed to a stack of ancient manuscripts piled in one corner, clearly centuries old at a glance.
“Go ahead.”
“Ahh! Thank you!”
Orendi’s robe fluttered as he rushed over to the old scrolls, excitement in every step. He really is a mage, through and through.
“By the way, there’s something I’ve been curious about, sir.”
Tarkanik said, turning to me, carefully avoiding the sight of Scala swimming through the gold coins.
“I’ve heard of a man among humans named Linus. Among us dragons, he was once mistaken for a polymorphed dragon. I’ve also heard that he had a close companion… would you know anything about that?”
A close companion of Linus… That would be me, wouldn’t it?
“It’s this guy right here!”
Before I could answer, Hindrasta interrupted with a shudder.
“He’s the one who ran around with that blonde idiot!”
“As I thought! So that’s how it was!”
Tarkanik slapped his bald head with realization.
“I was devastated after losing to a human, but somehow, this brings me a little comfort. Wait a minute, so you were defeated by him too?”
“Of course! You’ve felt it yourself! If it were an ordinary human, fine, but against a crazy monster like this? There was nothing I could do! And there were two of them! Being exiled just because I lost to humans is too harsh a punishment!”
“You make a good point. It wasn’t a fight between humans and dragons; it was more like a battle between equals.”
“Right? So go tell the Elders! It wasn’t the disgrace of the clan, it was a fight that no dragon could have won! So please, tell them to cancel my punishment and give me back everything they confiscated!”
Hindrasta grabbed Tarkanik by the collar, pleading desperately.
“You think I’m crazy? If I say something like that, I’ll get punished too!”
Tarkanik shook her off with a scowl.
“Aaargh!”
With a loud wail, Hindrasta collapsed to the ground and began pounding the floor, sobbing. What a mess.
Meanwhile, Scala returned with the sack, dragging it along the ground since it was so heavy and overstuffed.
“Ugh…”
Seeing the long trail the sack left on the ground as she dragged it, Tarkanik sighed deeply.
“This should be enough to cover the damages.”
Scala said, grinning from ear to ear.
Tarkanik, rubbing his forehead, just turned away, unable to bear looking at the situation any longer.
“Alright, let’s head back. Hey! Orendi! What are you doing?!”
Orendi didn’t seem to hear me as he had his nose buried in a book.
“Orendi. Let’s go.”
“Huh? Oh, yes, yes….”
Still, Orendi seemed reluctant to part with the book, staring at it longingly as he put it down.
Curious, I glanced at the book to see what it was about—it was related to magic.
So are all these books about magic? But dragons don’t use magic, so that’s odd.
I sifted through some of the other books and saw they weren’t all about magic. There was a wide range of topics, mostly old, valuable collections that Tarkanik had hoarded.
Then, something unusual caught my eye.
Unlike the other books, one was incredibly clean, with no cover or markings of any kind.
What is this?
I opened to the first page, and in the corner, there was a small signature.
The handwriting looked strangely familiar. What does it say…?
Kaiden Blakyr…? Wait, this is Kaiden’s?!
I flipped through the rest of the pages but found nothing written inside—just blank sheets.
Why is Kaiden’s notebook here? And why is it empty?
I had no idea, but I figured I should return it to him.
“I’ll take this.”
“Oh, sure, go ahead.”
Tarkanik didn’t seem to mind at all, relieved that it wasn’t something valuable.
# # # # #
Tarkanik escorted us to the entrance of the lair.
The ogre guarding the entrance had fully sprawled out on the ground, snoring loudly in his sleep. I envy how carefree he is.
Tarkanik clicked his tongue when he saw the ogre.
“That lazy fool…”
“Hey, you’ve got it all wrong. That ogre isn’t stupid—he’s actually really smart.”
Hindrasta said with a snicker.
“No one around to boss him, no predators because it’s a dragon’s lair, and with food around, he doesn’t even have to hunt. Where else could he find a better deal?”
“Now that you mention it… that’s pretty clever. How annoying.”
Tarkanik stormed over to the ogre and kicked him in the butt.
“Get up, you idiot! Do your job properly!”
The ogre grumbled as it woke up, using its club as a walking stick to help it stand, then began lazily patrolling the area.
Tarkanik pounded his chest in frustration as he watched.
“Alright, we’re heading out now.”
Orendi opened the portal, and we said our farewells to Tarkanik.
“If you plan on staying active in the human world, I have one piece of advice for you.”
“What might that be?”
“Don’t stand out. The nail that sticks up gets hammered down. If you get on the radar of the Imperial Security Office like Linus and I did, you might not be able to move freely anymore.”
“I’ll remember that. I’ll keep it in mind.”
As Tarkanik bowed, his bald head shone brightly. I genuinely feel bad about that.
If I had known that losing the scales on his head was like losing hair, I would’ve avoided hitting him there.
Still, the scales will grow back, so the hair probably will too.
Though, if he continues working as a mercenary, it won’t be long before rumors spread about the bald mercenary with a shiny scalp.
“Goodbye, sir. I hope we never meet again.”
Tarkanik called out, waving as we stepped through the portal.
“So, let me ask you something.”
I said to Hindrasta as we returned to the Reblanc Mercenary Headquarters.
“What happens if we secretly go back and loot that guy’s lair?”
“What kind of nonsense is that? Do you think dragons are idiots who’d let someone raid their lair after its location is exposed? He’s probably already preparing to move.”
“Ah, so that’s how it works.”
A little disappointing.
“Ugh… I wonder if the treasure I saved up is still safe….”
Suddenly, and completely out of context, Hindrasta started crying again, tears streaming down her face.
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HELHEIM SCANS
[Translator - Peptobismol]
[Proofreader - Demon God]
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