?
Young dragons have the strangest dreams, even stranger than those of this mature Black Dragon.
At least in his youth, he had never thought of ruling as an emperor in the Human World.
Not to mention his youth, even after maturing he'd never entertained the idea.
The young dragon he found was different; from a tender age, it dreamt of becoming the emperor in the Human World. He wondered if it was truly inspired by him.
"Theoretically, becoming an emperor does mean you can do whatever you want, even rule lawlessly, but only if you're an ineffective ruler, the kind who doesn't care about governance and just indulges in pleasures. That's the most comfortable type of emperor to be.
The only downside is... the end probably won't be pleasant. You might end up beheaded by a rebel army or hung, for there's no second path for an ineffective ruler besides death."
"........"
If she became an emperor, she certainly wouldn't turn into the lazy figure depicted by the Evil Dragon. Under her rule, the Phalan Empire would grow stronger than ever.
People in remote villages of the empire wouldn't go hungry anymore because she would grow food.
If she were smart enough, perhaps she could even learn how to grow apples bigger than watermelons and corn as large as the original maize.
She was serious about wanting to be an emperor.
Wouldn't an emperor who could farm be better than a princess who cherished playing devious schemes all day?
"I won't be an ineffective ruler; I want to be a good emperor."
"Stop dreaming of being a good emperor. Become an Evil Dragon instead. If you find that boring, then when I die of old age, you can take over my 'Grim Reaper in training' position."
"....."
The young dragon discreetly rolled its eyes at the Evil Dragon. Waiting for the Evil Dragon to die of old age...
By the time the Evil Dragon died of old age... she didn't know how many times she would have already reincarnated...
And, what's more... what is a 'Grim Reaper in training'?
Aren't Grim Reapers all in hell?
She didn't want to serve hell. She'd rather become a trainee angel than a trainee Grim Reaper...
"After the Evil Dragon dies and goes to hell... he can become a Grim Reaper? I've heard... after we dragons die... on Dragon Island, the Giant Dragons guard the island in the form of Dragon Souls, and their bodies decompose into primal energy to nurture Dragon Island...
Giant Dragons outside of Dragon Island... they turn into undead Skeletal Dragons, serving as the mounts for some powerful necromancers or Dark Wizards...
I've never heard of an Evil Dragon becoming a Grim Reaper..."
Lucia suspected the Evil Dragon was just stringing her along with tales of becoming a trainee Grim Reaper... Seemed just as difficult as becoming a trainee angel.
"You're a young dragon with limited experience. When you reach my age, you'll realize... there are plenty of odd jobs in this world."
"I still think becoming an emperor is more interesting. If I become the first Evil Dragon in history to have ruled as an emperor in the Human World! That would surely make me famous much faster."
"......"
"Playing emperor in the Human World isn't out of the question, but only if you have substantial strength. Without it, should you lose control... you're bound to be hunted by the temples and the strong beings of the Human World.
With sufficient strength... then it doesn't matter. You can give up and lay back anytime or escape whenever you want."
"I will work hard for my dreams!"
"Then you do your best."
"Yeah." Lucia's gaze fell upon a portrait on the wall, "Lance, can you tell me which of these human or non-human portraits are your formidable opponents?"
"That one in the corner... um... I have something I need to handle first..."
The Grim Reaper responsible for contacting him from hell had noticed and initiated contact...
Could it be that they were going to pay him his wages?
If he could get paid for slacking off, then he could work for hell until he died of old age...
And even after death, he'd be willing to continue working for hell.
Lucia saw the Evil Dragon's body had shrunk, down to about three meters or so, the size from last night...
Would the Evil Dragon beat her up if she took the chance while it was small and stroked its head...?
Should she give it a try?
The Young Dragon raised her Dragon Claw towards the Evil Dragon's head...
Just as the Young Dragon's Dragon Claw was about to touch the Evil Dragon's head, a pitch-black scythe spinning from the horns of the Evil Dragon flew out... skimming past her Dragon Claw and hovered above the desk.
It scared the Young Dragon to death.
That was close... the scythe had nearly sheared off her Dragon Claw...
Too scary; she just wanted to simply touch the Evil Dragon's head, but she almost lost her Dragon Claw...
Whimper...
"When you touched my head, I, this Princess, didn't bite you."
"I was just about to try when the Evil Dragon almost chopped off her Dragon Claw with the scythe..."
The scythe shrouded in black mist spun above the desk for a moment, then stopped.
The Young Dragon, curling up with her Dragon Claw in the corner of the study, saw a blaze of light suddenly illuminate the scythe, and then she saw a mysterious figure in a black robe and mask, standing on the scythe, appear on the light screen.
Projection?
Was the scythe a Magic Artifact with projection capabilities?
Such Artifacts were expensive, priced according to the distance they could project.
Magic Artifacts for short-range projection were cheap.
Magic Artifacts for long-range projection were expensive.
Magic Artifacts that allowed for ultra-long-range projection... were in the hands of wealthy and powerful individuals.
Who was this mysterious figure in the projection?
"Why aren't you dead yet?"
"....."
Envy shone in the Young Dragon's vertical pupils.
Powerful!
Definitely a powerful being; only a powerful one would have the audacity to ask why the "Evil Dragon" wasn't dead yet.
"I've never seen a boss so keen on having their employee die quickly. It's been hundreds of years since we last made contact, so why suddenly think of me?"
"Felt your undead aura in Hell, thought you had died, went to Hell to report, excitedly went to welcome you... didn't expect that you weren't dead, still alive... Such a survivor... having been an 'Apprentice Grim Reaper' for so many years, don't you want a promotion and a raise? If so, could you hurry up and die, you bastard! All the 'Grim Reapers' who started with me have been promoted and raised, they went on vacation to Heaven, and only I am still stuck in Hell. I'm waiting, waiting for you to die, but you're still alive; how much longer do you plan to live?
Buddy, you've lived nearly eighteen hundred years; with such vitality, why didn't you go become some Divine Position back then? Why did you choose to become an 'Apprentice Grim Reaper'? Tell me, how many more years can you live? So I can have something to look forward to. Also, you look really ugly right now, could you change back into a human to communicate with me?"
The Grim Reaper standing on the scythe went off on a rant, filled with madness. Lance, this jerk, had made him very happy when he first became his underling because Lance, this jerk, had strong business abilities and could easily complete some of the bounty tasks issued by Hell.
In the first hundred years that Lance became his underling as an 'Apprentice Grim Reaper,' his performance was the most ferocious in Hell.
In the third hundred years that Lance became his underling as an 'Apprentice Grim Reaper,' he paid the highest wages.
In the sixth hundred years that Lance became his underling as an 'Apprentice Grim Reaper,' Lance became the longest-surviving 'Apprentice Grim Reaper' on the continent.
In the seventh hundred year that Lance became his underling as an 'Apprentice Grim Reaper,' he, the Grim Reaper, hoped that Lance, this excellent 'Apprentice Grim Reaper,' would die.
He wanted to promote this excellent 'Apprentice Grim Reaper,' to let him take over his position.
And this wait... went on directly for more than a thousand years... and still, there's no end in sight...
Grim Reaper cries (╥╯^╰╥).