Bery woke up to the beautiful face of her dragon as usual. She'd gotten so used to it that she couldn't imagine waking up any other way. Her legs still felt sore from the night before, but she stretched them and stood up. The kitten stretched her arms and slipped into some comfortable clothes, and the dragoness joined her.

"You want to check up on your friend, kitten?"

"Of course. I wonder if she settled into that room well. We should go before those other two start arguing."

Valerie chuckled and grabbed onto Bery's hand. The two left into the hallway and made for the dragoness's hoard right away. The climbed down the spiral staircase and reached Yuri who was already waiting in the dirt hallway.

"Good morning, Yuri," Bery said.

The golem bobbed her stone head. "Good morning, Administrator and Lady Valerie. I had a question to ask you in particular, Lady Valerie."

Valerie grinned and nodded. "Ask away."

"Is it possible for me to rearrange your hoard?"

The dragoness frowned and crossed her arms. "You want to rearrange my hoard? Why would you want to do that?"

"Yes, Lady Valerie. Your hoard is fantastical in size. I acknowledge that, but if I was allowed to order it properly, there would be no chance of losing anything."

Bery's eyes widened. "Your speech has changed a little."

"Yes, Administrator. I went over voice recordings in the night, and I decided to try and make my speech patterns more amicable. I realized during our travels that words impact humanoids more profoundly than I could have calculated."

Bery shook her head. "These aren't things to be calculated. You just have to experience them."

The golem nodded before looking back towards Valerie. "Of course, if you do not wish for me to touch the pile of coins or jewelry, I will not go near them. Otherwise, I would organize them into their own coffers and sort them."

Valerie raised an eyebrow. "There are more gold pieces here than there are in several kingdoms. It will take you a while to do something like that even if I let you."

"I've calculated that that this would be the best for my development. It would make my usage of this body many times more efficient if you would allow me."

The dragoness sighed and thought about it, her tail waving around her uncomfortably.

Bery knew that she took pride in her hoard, and she knew that Valerie would not freely let anyone touch it. Yuri could consider it a miracle that the dragon even though about it. Bery remembered the sly words of the golem, saying that she would make it so it's harder to lose any of the hoard. The kitten grinned and gave the stone golem a thumbs up. Good luck, Yuri!

Finally, Valerie stopped thinking and placed a hand against her head in exasperation. "Alright, alright, you can organize it. But if I am missing even a single gold piece, then…"

Yuri nodded. "Acknowledged. This humble robot will not lose a single gold piece, or else I will be forced into dismantlement."

Valerie crossed her arms and grinned. "As long as you understand."

"May I be allowed to start this task right away?"

Bery tilted her head. "Don't you want to see fresh air? What about eating?"

"I do not need to eat as an automation, Administrator Bery. There is no need to save any food for me. Also, I already got to see the outside world yesterday. If I am allowed to do my duties today, that would be for the best."

Bery frowned. "I just don't want you to become a recluse. Don't you feel happier when you are talking to people?"

Yuri blinked several times and peeped. The golem walked forwards and wrapped her arms around the kitten in a hug. "Happiness. Yes, Administrator. I feel happiest knowing that I will be useful to you and Lady Valerie. Please allow me to take care of this duty for the sake of both of your futures."

"For our futures?"

"It will not make much sense yet, Administrator. But this is the best outcome according to my calculations. When your kingdom is thriving, you will need a vault for all of the riches."

Bery could only hug the golem and sigh. "Yet again, I have no idea what you are talking about. We are not even a kingdom, silly."

Valerie grinned and grabbed onto her kitten. "Alright, let's leave her to her duties. We have to check on the other two, and I think today is going to be an interesting day."

"It is?"

"Yep, I suspect we are receiving some questionable visitors."

Bery followed the dragoness up the spiral staircase, leaving their golem friend behind. It didn't take long for them to spot the vampire and elf.

Elanore rushed over to the two in a hurry. "Where were you two? Did you notice that there are a whole bunch of people coming up the mountain?"

Emary nodded. "She speaks the truth. I suspect that they are from the human kingdom, but I have no idea why they are coming here now...especially after what they did."

Valerie shrugged. "Let's go find out. Kitten, you should hold onto my arm. After all, the safest place is right next to me. Now that it's only a bunch of humans, they could not hope to lay a single finger on your head."

Bery obeyed and wrapped her hands around Valerie's arm. Though, if she told the truth, she found it enjoyable to do so anyways. She felt the dragon's muscles beneath her skin, and it gave Bery a sense of comfort. The kitten understood that no matter what, her dragoness would protect her. I wonder why she is bringing me this time?

Whatever the answer was, Valerie did not give it. The group left from the other side of the castle. It was the side that Bery had never exited from. She didn't even know that the mountain could be exited from this side, and she soon understood why.

Valerie had to blow the massive door open. The rock of the mountain behind it crumbled and fell down.

The entrance was covered by the mountain itself? Bery giggled, thinking how her dragon must have locked herself up inside of the mountain so that no one could get to her hoard. It would have been much harder to enter from the mountain side. Even if one could access the valley, there were tons of strong monsters there. It served as a natural defense from intruders.

There was no mountain path on the other side of this door either. Even if one suspected there was a gate here, they would not be able to find it easily. It seemed that even if Valerie had all the power in the world, she preferred not using it. Bery could only imagine how annoying it would be if people constantly came to knock on her castle door. She wondered if other previous foolish kings attempted the same endeavor.

Valerie picked up Bery on her back. "Even though you look so cute while thinking, I have to interrupt this."

Bery's face reddened, but she put her arms around the dragoness obediently. They leapt down the mountain, and the entourage of people finally became visible.

A man sat on top of his horse with a crown on his head, and his eyes widened when he saw Valerie carrying Bery.

"Are...Are you the dragon of this mountain?"

Valerie nodded. "So what if I am? Do you have plans to kill me with five people and those other people hiding in the trees behind you? Should I remind you of what happened only a month ago?"

The king hurried to dismount his horse, while his soldiers tensed for a battle. This new king did not try and win a hopeless fight. The moment his feet touched the ground, he knelt before Valerie and placed a hand on his chest.

"Please, me and my soldiers wish you no more ill will. Our kingdom has already done enough of that. I am Brachius Vernan, and I am the new king of the land. I had no intentions to start a conflict with your great self. In fact, I have come here to apologize for the actions of my predecessor. Driven mad with greed, he tried to anger a great dragon. We who are only humans have no right to do such a thing."

Valerie blew a puff of smoke from her mouth as the dragoness and the elf finally arrived behind them.

The elf took several deep breaths and placed her hands on her knees. "You are way too fast, Valerie!"

Valerie ignored Emary and nodded towards the man. "Your apology is accepted, so you can take you and your men and go back to your kingdom. Never come back here."

"Wait, miss dragon! No," the human king looked towards the elf who'd spoken the dragoness's name. "Miss Valerie, please I would like if you could accept our meager offering."

Valerie's eyes narrowed at the mention of an offering. "Fine, I'll hear you out."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.