The Lich of Glory Knight Spirit: Moving towards Krimasha!

"I'm truly sorry, I will compensate for your losses. I apologize on his behalf."

"He burned my house. It'd take at least one gold coin to repair it."

"Alright, I understand." The young woman quietly took out a gold coin from her pouch and handed it to the speaker.

"My house was burned too. That'll cost two gold coins."

"Alright. I'm really sorry."

"The biggest issue is the castle. That'll require at least a thousand gold coins."

"Why would it cost a thousand gold coins? The damage doesn't look that bad to me."

"Fifty gold coins is for the repairs; the remaining nine hundred fifty gold coins are the fine. You should be thankful no one got hurt, otherwise, the amount wouldn't stop here."

"But I only have seven hundred gold coins left..."

The armored, bushy-bearded dwarf soldier snatched the entire pouch away: "You can owe the rest for now. Pay when you have the money."

"Alright, thank you."

"Keep him in check. If there's a next time, the fine will be ten times this amount. Dismissed, everyone, go home."

"Alright, I understand. Thank you all for your patience and trouble. I'm really sorry."

The crowd dispersed gradually, while the young woman kept bowing deeply to them, apologizing repeatedly. Only after everyone had left did she let out a slow breath, wiped the sweat off her forehead, and turned to look at Andrew.

Andrew stood there, stunned, blinking as he stared at her.

The young woman stepped forward to Andrew, looking at him helplessly. She twitched her ears and pouted, saying, "My name is Christina Green Miracle. 'Green Miracle' is my surname, and by the way, I'm a green dragon."

Andrew stared at Christina in terror.

"I won't harm you. The people here all know me; I've been living here for many years. So you don't need to fear me."

Andrew kept blinking as he continued staring at Christina.

Christina sighed helplessly before speaking again, "You must've heard just now that because of you, I've spent all my money to make amends. That was the money I earned after great effort. You have to understand, making money as a dragon isn't easy."

Andrew nodded, then shook his head.

Christina reached out, intending to remove the cloth gagging Andrew's mouth. But she hesitated, whispering softly, "I'll take out the cloth, but you must promise me not to cast any spells, okay? I really don't have any money left."

Andrew nodded vigorously.

Only then did Christina stretch out her hand and remove the cloth.

Andrew gasped heavily for a long moment before regaining his composure: "You… are a green dragon?"

"Yes." Christina nodded.

"And you live here among humans?"

"Not just humans—dwarves, one-eyed giants, goblins, beastmen..." Christina counted on her fingers one by one.

"That's not the point," Andrew interrupted. "The point is... they're not afraid of you?"

"Why should they be afraid of me?" Christina asked back.

Andrew was stumped by the question and couldn't think of an answer for a long while. Finally, he changed the subject, saying, "Alright, I apologize for my actions. Can you let me go now?"

Christina frowned, hesitating.

"Let me go. I'll take responsibility for my actions," Andrew quickly added. "I mean, I'll compensate for the damage I've caused, including paying you back for what you covered for me."

"You have money?" Christina asked, stunned.

"Not yet, but I'll have it soon. A thousand gold coins aren't much," Andrew said as he kept struggling. "Hurry, untie me. I'm about to choke here!"

"Alright, for a thousand gold coins, I'm willing to take the risk!" Christina quickly moved behind him to help untie the ropes.

Rubbing his sore wrists, Andrew shivered violently: "Can we go somewhere warmer first? It's freezing here. Also, where's my dinner?"

...

Night quietly descended.

After a bout of commotion, this border town in the Lunbak Empire returned to its usual tranquility. Of course, in such a cold winter, it's hard to imagine it being anything but peaceful.

Christina's house was actually quite large, at least by regular human standards. It had only four rooms, all of average size. But the living room was enormous—large enough to accommodate her in dragon form. Not just accommodate, but give her space to move around freely.

Strictly speaking, Christina's house was probably the second-largest structure in the town, right after the fortress.

Andrew's room had been blasted to ruins, along with one wall of the hall. As a result, the living room was freezing. The two of them could only huddle in one of the smaller rooms.

Andrew was wolfing down food from a large plate, while Christina sat across from him, resting her chin on her hands as she quietly watched him.

Finally, after eating his fill, Andrew let out a satisfied burp and looked at Christina: "Aren't you eating?"

Christina shook her head, looking dazed: "I don't feel like eating. My house is damaged, and I'm just not in the mood. I'll have to wait until winter is over to find someone to repair it. And I don't have money to pay for the labor. Maybe I should go to the adventurer guild tomorrow to see if there are new quests."

"Don't worry. It's just house repairs; I'll earn the money soon. I've never been stressed about such things. Honestly, I still find it hard to believe a dragon could feel sad over a thousand gold coins. Aren't dragons supposed to hide in caves, lying on mountains of gold?"

"Are you mocking me?" Christina glared.

"No! Not at all!" Andrew waved his hands frantically. "I'm just honestly curious."

"Good." Christina pouted, looking aggrieved. "I hate being mocked the most. It's precisely to avoid ridicule that I moved here. No one mocks me here."

"Who would mock a dragon?"

"Dragons."

"Oh, well, I see." Andrew wiped his brow before asking, "So, the 'mercenary group' that attacked me was just you?"

"I was saving you; I'm the one who rescued you!"

"I know, I know... I mean, the mercenary group—is it just you?" He lowered his voice and whispered, "To be precise, I'm asking... the mercenary group—is it made up of a bunch of dragons? After all, it's called a 'group.'"

Saying this, Andrew cautiously glanced at Christina.

Christina blinked and said, "There's also Little Andy, Little Lynn, Little Jeff, and Little Henry."

"Why do all your team members have 'Little' in their names?"

"Because they're really little."

"Alright, compared to dragons, all creatures are 'little.' But I wouldn't want anyone calling me Little Andrew."

Christina took a deep breath and pointed to the side: "Little Andy."

Andrew quickly turned his head and saw... a mouse. Yes, a mouse. An ordinary gray mouse. The gray mouse even stood on its hind legs and waved at him: "Squeak."

Christina pointed in another direction: "Little Lynn."

Another mouse.

"Squeak squeak."

"Little Jeff."

"Squeak squeak squeak."

"Little Henry."

"Squeak squeak squeak squeak."

Four mice... Andrew couldn't even tell them apart; they all looked identical.

"The room you destroyed today belonged to Little Henry. The one we're in now is Little Lynn's."

For a moment, Andrew didn't know what to say. He just stared blankly before turning back.

"Maybe I'm a bit behind the times. Forgive my ignorance, but... is it now common for dragons to form mercenary groups with mice?"

"The adventurer guild requires five members to establish a mercenary group. Independent adventurers rarely get good assignments, as most clients trust larger organizations," Christina explained expressionlessly. "I've tried joining other mercenary groups, but no one wanted me. So, I had to create my own team. We're called the Rat and Dragon Mercenary Group."

With that, Christina raised two fingers excitedly: "We're already a Rank Two mercenary group. Actually, just last month, we were Rank Three, but I accidentally burned down a client's house during a mission, so we got demoted."