A Dragon's Curiosity

“In his position as a court magician, Lord Eldrin had to assume certain duties. These included service to the court itself and researching new magic to further increase the kingdom’s power.

Unfortunately, he also faced a lot of rejection from the human members of the court magicians and had lots of free time as he was isolated from most tasks.

I can only guess if my education was meant to fill a void or if the late lord had other considerations, but we often worked as adventurers and dived into the Dungeon.

It served as training for my humble past self and gave Lord Eldrin the chance to collect materials to use for practice.

There is more water-related monster material in the Dungeon belonging to Leandar, at least compared to the statistics released by the other nations.

Thankfully, it still counted as land based. So, in the end, with enough time spent down there we carried back plenty of rare woods  harvested from the land based monsters.

With the position the late master had at court, he had some disposable income and saved up enough to get a small shop in the commoner district through a friend he made there.”

Galan picked up the empty plates and set them aside before arranging another set of cutlery and porcelain for the other family members that presently hugged their pillows and dreamt.

Nisha used to offer her help in the first moon after she arrived at the mansion. However, the personnel soon pleaded with her to stop, the wrathful gazes they felt from dark corners made them fear for their personal safety.

Of course the old butler would never admit to stooping to such low acts, but he had certain concepts in his mind when it came to proper decorum.

Only after the elf stopped her attempts did he also stop lingering around to warn the employees.

When they finished their respective chores, the old butler gave her a supercilious glance because she did not act like a mistress, but did not comment on her behaviour.

“With a place to work and ample materials, Lord Eldrin began to craft staffs, shields, and trinkets enchanted with elven magic out of rare components while I was put in charge of receiving the customers and dealing with the front end of the store.

There are many episodes and details I could get into, however what really stood out to me happened after we had already been operating the business for one full moon.

Lord Eldrin and I went to work like any other day and I was tending to the display room when the late master called me into his workshop.

Usually this meant we had to make another trip to the Dungeon to restock on some goods.

Much to my surprise the lord instead asked me a series of questions related to the store.

And when I answered them to his satisfaction, he told me  not to worry about the menial tasks anymore and put me in charge of everything, including the funds and the stock, as well as the pricing.

He allowed me to manage the entire store in his stead.

Imagine how moved I was by this display of trust, young mistress.”

Galan peacefully bowed to Nisha one time.

He had no grievances or complaints at this time and fondly recalled the simple relationship he shared with his old friend. Although Eldrin could never come back to reunite with the butler, it did not cause him any more sadness as the old man had already lived through several matters regarding life and death.

At least Galan could meet the elf again when it was his time to pass in the future.

“That is indeed a heavy responsibility. Did you and grandfather successfully make a profit from the store?”

Nisha enjoyed the anecdotes, it shed another light on the memories she had of her deceased grandfather. In front of her, he was always an amicable old man, always a smile on his face and indulging her in his own way.

Nonetheless, it was another matter altogether in the capital.

The name Eldrin Dharnas equalled a legendary magician and a heroic defender of the kingdom.

History books already lauded his past deeds alongside the deceased king and students of the various academies, including the most prestigious [Royal Academy], were taught about him in their magician classes.

Furthermore, the infamous [Water Snake] Eldrin frightened many of the surrounding kingdoms’ generals and leaders with a mere mention of his title.

Despite the current peaceful atmosphere in Leandar, it had not always been that calm. On the battlefield, the iconic blue surge of water mana devastated many regiments without giving their commanders a chance to retaliate or work through their plans.

A magician generally had a limited impact on the battlefield with normal spells. Only when someone reached the strategic class did the prowess of a single individual really matter on the scale of a conflict between kingdoms.

“Oh, not at all. Within two months or so I had lost all the money and all of the finished stock and had sold several treasures for not even a fraction of their price.

The other merchants carved up our assets. We owed a lot of gold to a few shady characters and even the tax collection officials looked into our books due to some interference.

That last one may sound unimportant compared to the others, but the only crime you never want to commit is tax evasion. Gold matters more than you think and heads will roll if the numbers don’t add up.”

Due to her shock from his nonchalant admission and deadpan delivery, Nisha failed to react in any way while Galan had a bemused twinkle in his eyes.

He had already guessed that the little elf had never experienced any serious setbacks in her life. In fact, he guessed that right.

Unless things were way out of her control, the dragon always worked hard to achieve her goals and often had enough luck to accomplish them as well.

Seeing someone admit to his faults and calmly recount them in detail humbled Nisha in a way she had never thought of before.

The lesson within had yet to be clear for her, so the dragon eagerly awaited the rest of the anecdote.

“It sounds quite bad in that way, doesn’t it? At that time, I  felt really bad as well and did not have the heart to tell the late master either. With all my might, I tried to find a way out and staked even more valuables in order to make a turnaround.

There was no miracle though and I only made it worse.

When I faced Lord Eldrin in his workshop and was forced to admit everything, the ground should have opened up and swallowed me alive. You cannot imagine the shame and guilt.”

Galan had his way with telling a story. The rueful undertone, his light gestures,and the sudden twist all made Nisha forget that it was an episode from a long time ago. She wanted to hear more.

“At long last, Lord Eldrin surprised me very much with his response, and maybe that was the moment in time when I decided to follow him with undying loyalty.

Instead of getting angry or even showing a tiny bit of disappointment, he calmly accepted the news, took a look through the accounts and patted my back before announcing we would have to hunt a lot more in order to make up the difference.

It increased the training I had to go through by a substantial amount, but the late master also joined in with full effort. He personally led me into battle to teach me various strategies and accumulate wealth at the same time.

It took half a turn, then all the debts were paid off and we returned to a clean slate within the same building, running the same store again.”

The butler and young mistress moved out of the dining room and arrived shortly afterwards at the carefully maintained lawn in front of the mansion.

Nisha had seen servants with only the single task of maintaining and growing the lawn as well as the gardens behind the house.

Compared to the aggressive and chaotic beauty of the Wilderness, the artificial greenery lacked a certain charm, yet it also appealed to a sense of order and organization that was new to her.

“Then the message you wanted to convey to me is that failure is not a shame or that there is nothing you cannot recover from?

Maybe that is only me thinking too much, however there should be something similar to such an intention in your words, right?

You worked together with grandfather and managed to establish yourself in the capital through the store. You laid the groundwork for the Dharnas house after learning from previous mistakes.”

While the dragon had learned from the wiles and schemes at the royal court, she never felt the need to practice such dishonest methods with close friends and her family.

If there was something that could not be said between them, then the elf did not really count them as her close friend or family member.

“The young mistress is quick-witted and saw through my intentions. Nonetheless, this is not the outcome as you predicted.

Instead of learning the right approach right away, the late master and I went through the whole ordeal four times before the store stopped bleeding money like a broken water pouch.

It took five turns and I finished my training by then, to the point where Lord Eldrin felt comfortable enough to send me alone into the Dungeon when he neededcertain materials for his crafting process.

If I had to compress the message of my story into a straightforward meaning, then I guess you can count this as the concern of an old man that went through something similar in his foolish younger years.

When Master Eldrin had yet to earn his rank as a duke of the kingdom, we lacked the connections among the merchants, the knowledge around the market, the means to craft goods, and the million other things that a shop needs to stay afloat.

Only through blood and sweat and after a long time did we manage to carve out a spot for ourselves back then.

Now, you should not hesitate to make use of the resources that the house Dharnas can offer you to avoid suffering the same setbacks.”

Towards the latter parts of his speech, Galan no longer had the same professional look that he always carried. The concern in his eyes was clear enough for Nisha to realize that there was no schemes or other motives at work here.

Due to his relationship with her grandfather and his own experience when he was a young man, the old man offered his advice and directed her in his own way as a subordinate.

A servant that offended his master by daring to point out their mistakes or correct them in a public setting had to expect a severe beating at least and might even die as a result of the thrashing.

Galan had enough status as a family-elder-like figure to directly advise the young elf without fearing repercussions. Yet he still chose to mix his directions and concern with an anecdote about her deceased grandfather, lest the young girl reject his notions out of pride or because they lacked familiarity with each other.

To a young master that grew up in the capital, the warmth and concern might dismay them or even annoy them to the point where they chose to ignore it.

For the dragon, on the other hand, it meant very much to receive a gesture of kindness without giving anything in return as she had to fight for every step she took in the Wilderness before they took over the [Dragon’s Den]. Even then the four young dragon siblings had to face countless challengers and powerful competitors that lived nearby.

Nisha’s experience with a more human form did not improve that situation either after they left the hunting grounds. She could no longer take what she desired and beat up whoever objected, all services or goods had to be paid for with hard currency.

If someone had no means to obtain money or goods, all they had left was to beg on the streets and slowly die there if they were not hit by a stroke of fortune.

Very few people offered her genuine care and closeness without expecting profit in return.

Furthermore, Galan did not mind humbling and degrading himself by revealing a past where he failed over and over again. He had no face left to stand before a man he had set his heart on following and feared to disappoint. He brought up all these old feelings again, lived through them in a story, in order to spare her the same pain.

Nisha did not reveal a happy or elated expression, yet she noted the goodwill she had experienced from the butler in her heart and swore to repay him if she had the chance.

With the rising sun, the mansion behind them slowly came to life and servants rushed to their workplaces while two figures sat in silence on a bench next to the path.

Only when one of the retainers sought out the butler to consult him did the two break up their discussion.