Nathaniel walked with a bounce to his step. The dungeon was erected on a dragon burial site, so, he knew for a fact that there was a dragon habitat close by. And the dragon cluster weed would surely be in there.
But first, he made a stop in Waldstadt. He made a stop at the adventurers' guild and quickly went to the dungeon registration section.
"Hello, Nathaniel. Did you destroy that core we told you about?" Asked Mei, the receptionist.
"About that. The core is peaceful as can be. And under my protection," Nathaniel took a form and a pen and went to a nearby table to fill it up.
Peaceful cores, like the Naga, were not hunted when they were under the protection of an S class and higher adventurer. And Nathaniel was the only SSS class adventurer in this century.
He quickly filled in the form. Listed the dungeon as an F ranked dungeon, as, to be honest, apart from that peaceful snake Nathaniel had caught glimpses of from time to time, it really didn't even have mobs.
With the form in hand, Nathaniel went back to Mei. He handed it over, and she began calculating the protection fee.
"That would be a hundred gold coins. Seriously, the Waldstadt forest dungeon is just a herbal greenhouse?" Mei sounded disappointed; Nathaniel shrugged.
"He is quite the nice guy. Gave me permission to help myself to all the herbs. He even had a memory mushroom in his collection. And those need special care to be grown," Mei's eyes widened. Remembrance mushrooms were worth a hundred times their weight in gold!
"Do you think that the dungeon core could enter a contract with the guild, so we can harvest his herbs and fungi?"
Adam frowned. First, they had wanted to kill the alluring Naga, now, they wanted to exploit him?
"He is under my protection. If I see anyone going there without my permission, I will rip them a new one," threatened Nathaniel, and Mei's face wilted.
"It was just a suggestion," she defended herself, and Nathaniel snorted.
"Keep it that way," Nathaniel said sternly, and he turned around and left the guild. Now that the Naga was safe, he could focus on getting the weed.
He took the beaten trail out of town and headed north. He must have walked for ten days, when he smelt smoke in the air. With a grin, he went in the direction of it.
Soon, he found a cave with loud snoring that could be heard from inside. Nathaniel peeked inside and found a dragon laying amid its horde.
The gold was blinding, and he could see gems of all kinds of cuts and sizes. He saw a pair of sapphires that were lying on the floor. Away from the dragon. They reminded him of the Naga's eyes, and he went on tip toes and picked them up.
The dragon shifted in its sleep, and Nathaniel looked around for the weed. There, just on the far wall, was something that resembled ivy that grew from the stone.
Carefully, Nathaniel went and got a cutting. He then looked at the dragon and considered if he shouldn't behead it. But then, he thought about what the Naga would say if Nathaniel told him that he had killed a sleeping dragon.
Silently, Nathaniel went out of the cave and rushed out of the reserve. The dragon wouldn't even notice the missing sapphires, if it had pushed them to the outside of his horde.
Ten days later, Nathaniel made it back to the Waldstadt. He made a beeline for the jewelry shop and gave the orders for the sapphires to be inlaid in a pair of earrings. Golden ones with a half-moon detail with a circle over it and two tear drops hanging on either side of the gems.
Nathaniel went to the inn and ordered a beer. He wondered if the dungeon core had ever had alcohol before. They could share a drink, then a laugh and then…
The axe warrior smiled wistfully, and the barmaid came to him.
"Do you have a sweetheart, Nathaniel?" Nathaniel smiled and nodded.
"A true jewel. He is a Naga," he whispered.
The barmaid's eyes twinkled.
"The ladies and gentlemen of Waldstadt would be disappointed. But bring him here to meet the regulars, one day, ok?"
Nathaniel nodded. The dragon cluster would spread to town, surely, and then Waldstadt would become a part of the Naga's dungeon grounds.
The barmaid left and Nathaniel enjoyed the rest of his beer in silence. Then, he checked the wall clock and got up. It was time for bed.
The next morning, Nathaniel went to the florist. He had seen a dragon digging in a pond when he had left the dungeon. Surely, the Naga would want some flowers for it?
The florist greeted him cheerfully and Nathaniel went to browse in the water plants section. There were paintings of the flowers in full bloom above the bags of seeds, and he stopped at the water hyacinth. It was just one gold coin per bag. He picked it up and went to the counter.
"I would like this," Nathaniel set the bag on the counter and the florist took it.
"Oh, good choice! Would you also like some mana water cleaning pods? One can last you for a month and will guarantee your pond's health," she offered.
Nathaniel nodded.
"Give me twelve," that way, he would have an excuse to go and visit the Naga for a year. He hoped things would look up by the end of the period.
"All that would be seven gold coins," the florist said, and Nathaniel handed him the money.
"Goodbye," Nathaniel said as he took his bagged purchases.
"Have a nice day, sir, and please recommend this shop to all your friends!" Nathaniel nodded, already imagining coming here on a date with the Naga when the dragon cluster spread to the town.
Satisfied, Nathaniel went to the jewelry shop and picked up the earrings. Now, the only thing he needed to do was pick up some pastries, and he was ready to learn the Naga's name!