The red dragon had a tense expression, and Luya was bewildered. What kind of nonsense was this demon spewing?
Playing with peopleâs hearts was a classic trait of a devil. It was a nasty but old trick in the book, and often the goal was to provoke relationships.
Did he think she was a pure and innocent girl who loved the red dragon a lot? Or did he want to make the red dragon distrust her?
Of course she wouldnât fall for that trap!
Luya wasnât fooled at all, like heck? It was already difficult for her to relax in front the dragon, how could she dare ask the dragon for his blood?
She pretended to be very frightened, and shook her head repeatedly. âI⌠Iâm not worthy! The red dragon saved my life, so how can I ask for more? I just donât want to miss anything the red dragon says⌠so a translator is enough!â
Gudius snorted with a smile1, and looked at Luya with a profound expression on his face.
âSo turns out Farus was indeed interested in adopting a human. I had thought only beastkin were interested in undomesticated humans. That said, you surprised me a little, young lady. Youâre the first human so eager to approach a dragon⌠is this why Farus decided to keep you?â
âI donât know. All I know is that I like this red dragon.â Luya responded charmingly, and she looked up at the red dragon affectionately, her eyes full of sincerity and longing.
She was pretty good at acting. After all, Luya was an expert ass-kisser2, capable of smiling and humbly self-deprecating herself even when her boss insulted her. Enduring the demon archdukeâs humiliation was a piece of cake at this level.
But what did this mean? Was his relationship with the red dragon good or bad? She always felt like his words were laced with sarcasm and ridicule, but he also seemed to respect3Â the red dragonâs request. He was such a paradoxical demon.
In either case, one thing was very clear. No matter what this demon said, Luya just needed to keep hugging the dragonâs thighs if she wanted to live.
By the time they left Gudiusâ castle, Luyaâs back was drenched with cold sweat.
Fortunately, the red dragon had quite a reputation3. Luya became the first living human to gain permission to enter DĂźnbruck. Gudius gave her a city pass which contained the aura of a high-level demon. This would prevent skeleton soldiers and other low-level monsters from attacking her as an intruder. This time, when Luya returned to the streets, she discovered that the eyes stalking her from the dark had basically disappeared. The patrolling skeleton soldiers just glanced at her on the streets, as if she was an ordinary citizen of this dark city. Their bones rattled and clanked as they walked away.
For the time being, she could move around freely, although she had to be careful of other high-level monsters⌠But since she was Gudiusâs guest, they probably wouldnât attack her?
The red dragon was also here.
Luya looked up at the dragon beside her. Compared to the way he4Â looked before, he looked a little tired, but he stayed quietly next to Luya like an old-fashioned man5Â shopping with his girlfriend.
This was a little heartwarming, and Luya couldnât help but rub the red dragonâs neck, sighing in a low voice, âYouâre so wonderful.â
The red dragon lifted its neck, and said something in the dragon language that Luya couldnât understand.
It seemed they really needed a dragon language translator soon. She couldnât wait to go to the dark cityâs marketplace to see if there was any good stuff on sale!
The city of DĂźnbruck was so expansive, it was nearly as large as the Empireâs capital.
Luya rode the red dragon in the skies of the dark city for more than ten minutes, and then they landed in a bustling boulevard. This was the market district6Â for the monsters.
The market district was extremely prosperous, despite the fact that it was shrouded in purple fog. If it werenât for all the strange monsters on the street, Luya would have thought she had entered a cyberpunk movie scene.
Although it was a market district, there were all kinds of business on the streets. There was a female giant wearing a sexy red animal skin, brushing her hair seductively on the street. A little imp with horns wandered around looking for customers, pedaling psychedelic mushroom powder. Blood was the most popular beverage in the automatic vending machines. There was also a giant bird-headed spider, who sold her own eggs directly on the streets: you could get a taste of bird-headed spider eggs for just one magic stone shard.
Of course, those were just the street peddlers. The real good stuff was in the shops. However, just by scanning around, Luya saw something that made her feel extremely disturbed. In DĂźnbruck, the sale of live humans was prohibited. Here, human meat was processed directly in the slaughterhouses, packaged, and shipped frozen. There were specialty department stores that sold human meat. In comparison, the human meat stalls in the monsterâs market were just childâs play.
Luya felt a little dizzy, but she persisted onwards.
Since there were shapeshifting monsters, Luya was not too eye-catching now that she had the demon archdukeâs city pass. The red dragon followed behind her, which made her seem like a fearsome individual, and the passing demons on the street all avoided her with a wide berth.
This was exactly what Luya wanted. Taking the bag of magic stones that the red dragon had given her, she entered a shop that looked like it was selling high-end goods, planning to buy some stuff. With this much money, there was no way that the dragonâs lair couldnât be transformed into a cozy living environment.
When Luya walked in, she saw that there were no customers in this store.
The shopkeeper was an old demon who looked fairly human. His skin was blue, and eyes were entirely black without any whites. There was also a tree spirit with a human face inside the store, and it swept the dark purple floor like a robot.
The old demon was wearing an expensive tuxedo and a monocle. If you didnât look at his face, he looked exactly like a polite old gentleman. Luya secretly sized up the shopkeeper, and felt the irony7. When these monsters established their own society, it still ultimately evolved into the human system. Even the aesthetics were the same.
However, she had no idea about the merchandise in the store.
This place was like an assorted-goods boutique. Aside from some ordinary home decor that she had seen in human cities, there were also many weird items soaked in jars.
There was one that clearly looked like the roots of a plant, but it kept wiggling around like an octopus. Dried mummified hands hung from the shelves. There were some suspicious seeds of unknown origin, some water droplets bouncing around a bottle, meat being grown in a jar, and strangely colored clumps of dirtâŚ
She had no idea what these things were for, and it made her feel like she had accidentally walked into a black magic shop.
Before she had the time to examine the merchandise further, a strange voice came from behind.
âHow may I help you?â
Luya jumped in surprise, and she immediately turned around. It was the old demon shopkeeper, although she had not noticed him appearing behind her.
She immediately backed off two steps, and had difficulty formulating words for a bit. However, the demon did not give her any trouble, and he only grinned with a rather hideous smile.
âOh donât be nervous, dear. Even though you are human, I am a businessman. I like the magic stones you brought more than I care about your identity.â
He glanced at the red dragon who was staring into the store from the outside. As if to put Luya to ease, he added, âI also donât want to be burned to death by a dragon⌠Oh, anyhow, youâve come to the right place. Old Bergâs shop is fairly priced and trustworthy. I can find anything that you desire, and there is nothing that Old Berg doesnât sell.â
âIs⌠is that so?â
Luya swallowed her saliva. Although she felt like the demon had zero credibility and didnât believe anything he said, she thought he was unlikely to try anything weird with the red dragon standing outside.
So she thought for a while, and then asked the demon who called himself Old Berg, âUm⌠I want to improve my current living environment. Thereâs no clean drinking water, and no soil thatâs suitable for growing crops. I can only eat things by barbecuing food like a caveman. Thereâs also no furniture or other daily necessities. Finally, I have a pet that is infested with fleas. Can you recommend anything that might be able to help?â
âYou live with the Farus the Red Dragon? Thatâs certainly not surprising.â
Old Berg squinted. He was an excellent salesman, and he immediately smelled the business opportunity. He enthusiastically started to assist Luya with her shopping.
âThen you really are in the right place, sweetheart. These problems of yours are nothing in the eyes of Old Berg, and weâll take care of all of them. Water is not a problem at all, and I have just the right thing here.â
Smiling sinisterly, Old Berg motioned at Luya to wait a moment, and he disappeared into the storage room at the back of the store. A few minutes later, he came out pushing an enormous cage. There was a monster that looked like it had come straight from a Tokusatsu film8, and it kept hitting the bars of the cage, screeching with ear-piercing squeaks, as if it was about to burst out of the cage at any moment.
Before Luya could ask what it was, Old Berg introduced it.
âThis is a little monster that can control the weather. As long as you inflict a certain amount of pain, it will attract thunder and heavy rain. Of course, I can test it right here to show you. Master Gudius will be angry, but I assure you that it will not fall short of your expectations.â
âNo thanks! I donât want this!â
Luyaâs face was ashen, and she waved her hands repeatedly in refusal. If she brought this thing back, she might as well keep collecting dew every day!
âWhy not? Itâs very popular among beastmen and murlocs. Every tribe relies on one to control the weather. Due to the fact that these little things donât reproduce easily, as well as over-hunting, there are very few wild ones these days. Itâs very difficult to get one, and you need to place an order in advance. Youâre extremely lucky that we have one in stock.â Old Berg seemed puzzled.
This was way beyond overkill! She just wanted to have a little water, so why the heck would she want something that big?!
âIs there anything less exciting? I just want to have enough water to drink and improve the soil, so itâll be enough if I can irrigate the ground to grow some vegetables.â
âAlright, I understand your request.â
Old Berg thought for a while, and then pushed the cage back into the storeroom. Then he brought a pot that was filled with water, and placed it in front of Luya.
âThis is the Goblet of Aqua Pura9. It is necessary for alchemists, and as long as you place it on the ground, it will produce clean water endlessly.â
Authorâs Notes :
Why do the comments keep telling me to think harder? Am I really as airheaded as Cuicui? Iâve learned from her prior mistakes and improved the system a bit. If we go by a word count, itâs really easy to write more for every fertilizer that I get! I think I can actually write the bonus chapter easily⌠Iâm that confident!10
Currently, I owe you guys 2800 words. Itâs a good amount, and thereâs no reason to panic.
Translatorâs Notes :
Smile (äźźçŹéçŹ) : A smile that wasnât quite a smile. Ass-kisser (礞ç) : See the TL notes from last chapter. Literally, âsocial animalâ, but refers to someone who is willing to take a lot of abuse. Respect (é˘ĺ) : This phrase appears multiple times in this chapter, and is a common idiom in Chinese. Literally, this sentence says, âgave the red dragon some faceâ. In Chinese, having âfaceâ or losing âfaceâ refers to a personâs reputation. He : The original raw uses âitâ here. Luya is still frequently referring to Farus as an âitâ, although eventually she will switch over to using âhe/himâ. Old-fashioned man (ç´çˇ) : Literally, a âstraight manâ. This refers to a heterosexual man with traditional and conservative values. Market district (ĺä¸čĄ) : Literally, âmarket streetâ. Irony (ĺ槽) : Literally, to âretortâ. In Japanese, this would be called âtsukkomiâ. Tokusatsu film (çšćç) : A style of Japanese live action film which makes heavy use of special effects. Goblet of Aqua Pura (ć¸ ĺäšĺŁś) : I took some liberties translating this. Literally, this is âPot of Clean Waterâ, but it sounds terrible ^^;;;; âŚthis âpotâ is supposed to have a cool and impressive sounding name (it is a special item, after all), so I latin-ized âclean waterâ into âaqua puraâ.In the last chapter, Sayuko promised that for every fertilizer she got, she would write additional words for the VIP bonus chapter.