Chapter 172: Cheerful Dragon?
Hilda stood tall, and beside her, the young man carried himself with the same upright elegance—an elegance that didn’t match his simple clothes.
They hadn’t exchanged many words after Hilda explained the agreement with her master.
She was naturally quiet, and the man at her side—despite looking far younger—had once held a position far above hers. She had no right to act overly familiar.
Not that the young-looking man spoke either. His head was already filled with guesses about this mysterious ’Master Gara.’
Hilda hadn’t told him much. Only that Gara was a human commoner, the owner of the thriving Alrova Merchant House, and the owner of a dimensional space where his child lived. Ares was to help there, not to care for the child, but to handle simpler chores.
To Ares, that raised red flags. A commoner who built such a successful business? Either he was an old fox who thrived on schemes, or a young man born with a golden spoon in his mouth, propped up by powerful parents working behind the scenes.
Whatever the case, in Ares’s eyes, Gara was no decent man. What kind of father hides his own child inside a dimensional space?
He’d already decided: he would add a clause to the soul oath—that the contract would break the moment the current Dragon Lord died.
If Gara refused, Ares wouldn’t obey. He’d rather spend his life drifting, dodging the Dragon Lord’s supporters, than serve a cunning man like that forever.
Just then, three young men approached them.
Ares bit back his irritation at his supposed new master.
He and Hilda had been waiting for so long that other people approached them, likely suspicious because the two of them had been waiting at the front door for too long.
But then Ares’s golden eyes widened.
"Master, you’ve arrived. This is Ares," Hilda said, her tone respectful as she looked at the man in the middle.
Ares froze. His gaze locked onto the glowing-skinned beauty standing before him. ...That’s him? This radiant, almost ethereal man was Master Gara?
"I assume Hilda’s already explained the terms of our soul oath," Gara said, ignoring Ares’s stunned expression. "In short—anything that happens inside my dimensional space, and any information you learn from us, cannot be leaked outside."
"Yes, I’ve explained it all in detail, Master," Hilda nodded quickly.
"Good. Then let’s go in."
Gara entered first, followed by Fian and Madha, then Hilda and Ares.
Ares still hadn’t fully gathered his wits. From the way Gara spoke to Hilda, it was clear—this beautiful man was the master himself. But how? He was nothing like Ares had imagined.
The soul oath ceremony didn’t take long. Before Ares realized it, it was already complete.
Distracted as he was, he had forgotten to add his own condition—the clause that would nullify the oath when the Dragon Lord died.
And now it was too late. The oath was sealed. Forever.
"You can pack first before entering my dimensional space. Just come to the inn," Gara said as they prepared to leave.
"His things are already packed, Master," Hilda replied. She then glanced at Ares, whose mind still seemed lost in the clouds. "Young Master, when would you like to go in?"
Ares didn’t answer right away. After a short silence, he finally spoke.
"I’ll grab my things and enter tonight."
Gara nodded, then left with Fian and Madha, while Ares and Hilda walked off in the opposite direction.
"Can he really be relied on?" Madha asked, his tone unusually petty—very unlike his usual kind and rational self. "He doesn’t look like he’s ever done hard labor."
"It’s fine," Gara replied with a grin. "The work inside the dimensional house isn’t heavy. His main job will be providing fire for the lightbulbs and keeping the house warm."
Ares had already thrown him a surprise. At first, the young man’s disdain was clear—his affinity sat at –10%.
But the moment he laid eyes on Gara, it shot up to 1%.
And then there was his Talent. Circle of Fire.
It was perfect timing. They needed a fire-based Liner anyway, though Ares seemed far too high-profile for the simple task of lighting lamps and warming rooms.
Before Ares arrived, Gara gave his mother and Della a heads-up about their new member.
Since Ares had taken a soul oath, Wina wasn’t worried in the slightest. She welcomed the news happily.
This way, Gara could focus on his work outside without having to constantly worry about them inside the dimensional space.
...
In the inn’s dining hall, four young men and an adult woman sat around a round table.
One by one, the men vanished—more accurately, they were pulled into the satchel hanging from the shoulder of the black-haired man.
Once only one young man and the woman remained, he looked at her and said, "I’ll go in now. Watch over the satchel, but don’t move it."
"Yes, Master," she replied.
With that, Gara too was pulled into the satchel.
This time, he had changed clothes, wearing a jacket—not thick enough for harsh cold, but enough to keep the chill wind off his body.
Ahead of him, the three others who had gone in first stood waiting at the front door of the white house.
Fian and Madha both wore jackets. Ares, however, did not.
And the reason made Gara genuinely pleased. Ares didn’t need one. He was warm enough on his own—he was a Fire Dragon, after all.
But Gara’s attention shifted to the glowing number above Ares’s head. 2%.
Somehow, the dragon’s opinion of him had improved—just a little.
He stared at that number so long that Ares’s full status panel opened before him.
* * *
[ARES – PROFILE STATUS]
Bloodline: Fire Dragon
Talent: Circle of Fire
Age: 49
Affinity: 2%
Trait: Cheerful
[SYSTEM EVALUATION]
Bloodline: Excellent
Talent: High
Affinity: Low
Trait: High
[FREYA’S EVALUATION]
Only need to work with the trait and everything is fine. A cheerful father makes a good environment for children.
Strong Bloodline and Talent mean strong children.
Highly recommended as the children’s father.
* * *
It was his second time looking at Ares’s status but he was still shocked.
The age and trait alone stunned him. Even though Hilda had explained that forty-nine years was barely young adult for a dragon, it was still surprising.
And cheerful? A cheerful dragon? Gara couldn’t even picture such a thing.
...