Did you hear that?
The young dragon I found said that after becoming the emperor, he would gift me a princess to raise.
Should I praise her for having a conscience?
This young dragon, Lucia, is truly brave when she's courageous and truly timid when she's scared.
This child's nature isn't bad as one can tell from her clear eyes that carry a hint of foolishness.
Lance has seen quite a few young dragons with impure bloodlines, but none of them had eyes as pure as Lucia's.
It's understandable. Young dragons wanting to survive in harsh environments must experience a lot of cruel and bloody battles. Over time, their eyes naturally become fierce and ruthless.
Upon meeting such young dragons, he would teach them some life skills and combat techniques.
He wouldn't pick them up to raise because back then, he wasn't in the right state of mind for that.
Lucia, the young dragon, was lucky. She encountered him while being attacked by human griffin knights and was even saved by him and brought back to Black Dragon Island.
That's probably fate.
Plus, he has a good feeling about this little one, so he doesn't mind raising the little one for a few hundred or a thousand years.
It proved he wasn't wrong. This little one knows how to be grateful, knowing to reward him with a "princess" after becoming the emperor.
Even though it's an impossible dream.
"Don't gift me a princess; gift me a pile of gold and jewels instead," he said.
The right to dream should still be given to Lucia, the child. Some words are good to say once; there's no need to emphasize them over and over.
"Sure, if I become the emperor, I will certainly find all of a certain princess' gold and jewels to give to you, Lance, so you can sleep on a pile of them," she said.
The stinking elder sister Asina's gold and jewels will all be given to the Evil Dragon Lance.
Gold and jewels?
Right, why doesn't the den of the Evil Dragon Lance have any gold and jewels?
Even a poor evil dragon can't possibly lack even a few hundred gold coins, right?
Lucia took another careful look around Evil Dragon Lance's den. There really wasn't a single gold coin, not even a silver coin on the ground.
Is Evil Dragon Lance that poor?
No, no, no, Evil Dragon Lance isn't poor at all. The weapons and scepters in his treasure room look very valuable.
Not to mention those ancient artifacts in the treasure room of Evil Dragon Lance which, to a historian who loves studying history, could be priceless treasures.
"Lance, do you... not like gold coins?" she asked.
"Is there an evil dragon in this world that doesn't like gold coins?" he replied.
"Then why isn't there a single gold coin in your den?" she queried.
"Wealth should be kept secret. Haven't you heard? Having money... one must surely hide it away," he said.
Lance lifted his dragon claw and took off a Vajra Ring from the tip of his horn.
"A spatial ring?"
As a princess, Lucia would naturally have seen spatial rings capable of storing items.
Spatial rings are expensive. In the imperial city, only some wealthy nobles or merchants can afford to buy them.
Often mercenaries, wizards, and witches who frequently go on adventures might have one as well.
"It's not a spatial ring. It's a Vajra Ring, a space artifact that I refined myself to store items," he said.
A faint glow passed, and a crystal jar appeared in Lance's dragon claw.
Inside the crystal jar were numerous gold coins.
Huh?
The gold coins in Evil Dragon Lance's crystal jar are of such an ancient design, seemingly currency from an ancient era.
Collectors and historians would love them and might even be willing to pay a lot for the ancient currency in Evil Dragon Lance's crystal jar.
There aren't that many gold coins, though.
Lucia estimated roughly that there were at most a few dozen gold coins in Evil Dragon Lance's crystal jar.
"So... so few... A respectable evil dragon should have its den filled with piles of gold and jewels, right? How come you... only have so few gold coins?" she asked.
"For me, having enough money to spend is sufficient," he replied.
"Is that amount of money enough for you to spend?" she questioned.
"It's enough for now, if it's not, I'll earn more," he responded.
"???"
Evil dragons need to earn money?
Don't they usually just steal directly?
Then she remembered, Evil Dragon Lance had said before that when he was out of money, he would transform into a human and go to the Human World to earn it.
Running out of money, and instead of stealing from the Human World, he went to work for it...
Are there really such kind Evil Dragons in the world?
"Here, this is for you, a Gold Coin."
Lance opened the crystal jar and handed a Lucky Coin to Lucia.
The front of the Lucky Coin featured the statue of the Goddess of Fortune, and the reverse side showed her temple.
In the Human World, a Lucky Coin could bring good fortune to people.
"Ah... oh... thank... thank you...."
Lucia clumsily accepted the Gold Coin handed to her by Lance, her impression of Evil Dragon Lance improving yet again.
An Evil Dragon who willingly gives away Gold Coins as gifts...
Legends might not even have such an Evil Dragon.
Since the Evil Dragon gave her a Gold Coin, she should give him a gift in return.
What should she give to the Evil Dragon?
With her current appearance... it seemed like she couldn't afford to give anything decent as a gift...
Cursed by Eva into becoming an Amethyst Young Dragon, she had lost everything except her shiny purple scales...
She'd remember this and think about what gift to give Evil Dragon Lance when she returned triumphantly to the imperial capital and became the Emperor herself.
"You're free to move around and familiarize yourself with the Dragon's Den, and while you're at it, find a spot that can be your bedroom."
"Ah? I... I'm going to sleep in the same Dragon's Den as you?"
Lucia's violet-gold pupils showed panic; she wasn't a real Young Dragon, she was the imperial Princess, afraid to sleep alongside a true Evil Dragon...
"Um... that... actually, I can just sleep outside, and if you're worried about me getting hit by wind or rain, I can find a cave to sleep in."
"No need to be shy, just sleep here. You can treat this place as your home until you come of age and leave."
Treat this as my home?!!!
Uh-oh!
Could it be that Evil Dragon Lance has mistaken her, a fake Young Dragon, for a wife to nurture?
Wuwuwu...
She doesn't want to be the wife of an Evil Dragon...
Who will come to save her...
"It's not suitable, what if your girlfriend misunderstands?"
"Girlfriend?" Lance laughed, this little one is already worried about whether my girlfriend would get angry; no wonder such a young age and already thinking about love.
But puppy love is not a good thing.
"I don't have a girlfriend; I haven't even been in love, so there's no girlfriend to speak of."
"Ah? You don't have a girlfriend? You've never been in love?!"
Lucia was shocked. Looking at Evil Dragon Lance's size, he must be an adult Giant Dragon.
An adult Giant Dragon of his size has never been in love?
Who would believe that?
Dragons are lustful.
No, all Giant Dragons are lustful.
How could one miss the chance of a sweet romance with a princess during the age of fierce brutality, while raising a princess?
As for her, an imperial Princess, she is not... um... she remains skeptical.
"You've... never been in love with a Princess?"
"Why should I be in love with a Princess?"
"Don't Evil Dragons like to be in love with human Princesses?"
"Other Evil Dragons may like to be in love with human Princesses. I don't care for it much; I'd prefer my future girlfriend to be a Giant Dragon."
"!!!"
He hopes his future girlfriend will be a Giant Dragon?
Then you, as an Evil Dragon, can't play the nurturing game!