The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

"Thank you, Attilicia. Hearing such comforting words from you truly lifts my spirits. I have an appointment with Elf King Ailiando this afternoon, so I won't keep you from the children any longer. By the way, I don't have much cash on me. Consider this payment for the diagnosis and treatment, as well as a welcoming gift."

After David had spent nearly an hour eavesdropping in the yard with his sister, his ears pricked, that fierce silver dragon girl, Shalaina, finally decided to leave. But no sooner had she stepped out than Attilicia chased after her, attempting to return a necklace set with five assorted gemstones.

"Wait, wait! How could I possibly accept such a valuable piece of jewelry from you?"

David, with his sharp eyes, immediately recognized it. Wasn't this the magical item she had been wearing that morning to withstand his Dragon Breath? It combined five effects: Swiftness, Acceleration, and Elemental Protective Shields against fire, acid, and lightning. Although they were all low-tier spells below the third circle, their combination was surprisingly effective in battle.

The old man is wasting a perfectly good treasure!

He's already plundered her entire place, and now he's being polite? What is this, some New Year's courtesy call?!

Luckily, this silver dragon was reasonably sensible. "But I can't let you cast the Regeneration Spell for nothing, can I? I know the material components alone cost over a thousand Dewensen Gold Coins. Attilicia, what's gotten into you today? You're being so generous; it's not like you at all. If this were the usual you, you'd probably be eager to strip me clean of anything valuable by now."

After uttering these words, which made Attilicia's face flush an even deeper red with guilt and embarrassment, Shalaina waved to Tania, who had long been eyeing the necklace with unconcealed desire. Tania, who initially harbored intense hostility towards this 'stepmother competitor,' instantly dashed over to 'Auntie Silver Dragon' at David's encouraging glance.

Then, not surprisingly, a BLING-BLING magic necklace appeared around her neck. She turned back and gave her brother a goofy grin.

"It's so pretty," Shalaina said. "The chain is a bit too big, but have your dad adjust it later. He's the best at that."

"Oh, I really shouldn't accept this," Attilicia said, wringing his hands, his face a mask of distress.

"It's just an accessory; I have plenty more. Later, I'll get something for David Uthos as a meeting gift too. So, it's settled. I know where you live now, and I'll be coming over for meals often. Consider it an advance payment for Dragon Food."

Having received 'dual healing' for both body and spirit from Attilicia, Shalaina felt completely revitalized. She left David's silver dragon family with a dashing view of her departing back, waved dismissively without a backward glance, and was gone. She cut a figure strikingly similar to those 'noble losers' from Blue Star—those who love in vain but still carry themselves with a proud, unrequited air.

So it's true, sycophants get nothing in the end, David mumbled, smacking his lips.

Just as he was musing, Attilicia sidled up to him, suggesting, "Perhaps… we should return those things…?"

"What's wrong? Going soft?" David shot a disdainful look at his suddenly conscientious father.

Attilicia nodded earnestly. "Yes… I just suddenly felt that… it's been over ten years. I wonder if she's matured a bit, if she's not as detestable as she was when she was young."

More importantly, his initial intention had merely been to vent his anger over his son being beaten up for no reason, and incidentally, to 'borrow' some money from an old friend.

Looking back now, it seems I might have gone a bit too far.

He had once experienced the taste of utter ruin in the Gloomy Region; it was truly... a heart-wrenching, indescribable pain.

Has his core really become as feminized as his body? David couldn't help but silently speculate. David, already aware of the mutual influence between body and soul, silently reminded himself not to recklessly change forms like his old man. It was prone to problems, as evidenced right now.

But his next words threw Attilicia into even greater turmoil. "Anyway, it all adds up to just over three thousand pounds. I don't have an issue with that. But the problem now is, you've already crashed the Mage Tower's Tower Spirit. Do you have the ability to repair it without her noticing any trace?"

This was the truth.

For David, before his camp had received any substantial investment to truly get it up and running, money was more than mere purchasing power; its primary significance was in satisfying and acquiring "Greed."

Secondly, it was to prepare for the potential future use of the "Protection of Tiamat." Although David still didn't know what this thing was actually for, or if its mechanics had changed, he didn't dare to test it as rashly as he had before. If it tore his home apart again, like when he experimented with the "Wrath of Tiamat," he figured it wouldn't just be him going crazy. The entire family of three would go mad simultaneously.

Repaying the Dragon Mother's debt was the very last priority, only after all that.

The still young David was confident. He believed that when the time came to hand over the money, it would make the Dragon Mother beam with joy without causing him too much inner turmoil—unlike his penny-pinching father. From this perspective, he needed the process of obtaining money by leveraging a dragon's inherent greed for treasure more than he needed the money itself.

Now, having already gained two infusions of "Greed" from plundering Shalaina the Silver Dragon's Mage Tower, he naturally didn't care much about this particular sum, even though it amounted to more than half his current fortune.

When this line of thinking first occurred to him, David had also considered returning 'acquired' treasure only to 'reacquire' it, aiming to exploit a repeatable bug. But having already delved deep into the Authority of the Seven Sins, he quickly dismissed the idea. As time passed and he used his Authority more, he found its mechanisms somewhat akin to the 'Mind Doctrine' of Blue Star Buddhism: namely, uncreated and indestructible, not defiled nor immaculate, neither increasing nor diminishing, yet its essence indeed undergoes creation and annihilation, defilement and cleansing, increase and decrease.

In short, unless he could reach a level where he could manipulate his own memories, or even his true mind, it seemed impossible to deceive his true mind and exploit this bug. But if he ever truly reached such an ineffable realm, would he even need to resort to tricking himself like that?

In summary, this Authority business was a damned tricky thing.

While David's mind was racing, Attilicia, who had been agonizing for a long time, finally made up his mind after hearing his son's words. "Alright then. I'll go to the basement and build another Teleportation Gate now. We'll return the items, and while we're at it, we can move the equipment from her underground Alchemy Room here. You heard her—she's meeting the Elf King this afternoon and will probably rush back to her Mage Tower tonight. We only have half a day."

"You're actually going to return it? Seriously? The Tower Spirit was fried, and yet nothing's missing? Isn't that a dead giveaway?!" David stared incredulously at his old man, who was seriously preparing to go through with it. After a moment, he took a deep breath and offered a suggestion: "In that case, we need to leave something behind to divert suspicion elsewhere. We'll return the rest to her."

"What should we leave?" Attilicia asked.

"Of course, those giant stone golems she had by her entrance," David said with a smile.