Reigniting the Dragon's Flame(Love)

And he even sighed sadly. He's having fun at my expense, right?

"Shouldn't you take revenge on her for your subordinates? Why is she sitting so calmly opposite you?" Greg asked suspiciously.

"Why? Because I love to watch my subordinates suffer, in particular. And other people, in general. Don't even think about touching the person who colors my gray, boring everyday life, so originally making others upset and frustrated. It's a pleasure to see such things."

Aldric stood up from his seat and smiled.

If you add that magic was vibrating around him, he looked very threatening. Aldric wouldn't fight here using magic, would he? Shane, if he's not a complete fool, would immediately recognize this power and come here to drive us out of his territory!

"Are you causing a mess in my tavern again?" a beautiful woman with luxurious blue-black wavy hair appeared next to our table.

The men who had previously tried to cause trouble immediately went quiet. Some even quietly moved away, while others simply became silent and began to chew their food enthusiastically.

And who is this gorgeous brunette? Her clothes are on the verge of decency: you can't mistake her for a girl of easy virtue, but you can't call her a lady either.

Considering her ability to move silently and suddenly appear where she was not expected—either a thief or a murderer. So it was because of her that Aldric unleashed his power?

Well, of course, it's not his style at all—to come to someone on foot, knock on the door, negotiate like a human being. However, Aldric is not a human being to impose any limits on his behavior.

"Be careful with your words, Veyra," Aldric noted.

"I have never tried to act like a lady so as to worry about my phrases."

"As you wish. Just make sure that you don't get a friendly blessing later. There he is."

Aldric nodded toward the unfortunate Greg, who was literally being hugged by his own mother, who from time to time lamented about how he had lost weight and how his cute cheeks could have disappeared. Poor woman, such problems with her eyesight!

Only a completely blind person could have failed to notice the supposedly missing cheeks, which were not much inferior to those of a Shar Pei—a breed of dog that our aristocrats loved very much.

Veyra immediately stared at me somehow too fanatically. She looked me over from head to toe, nodded to herself, looked at the woman hugging Greg, then back at me, and smiled:

"Is this her work?"

"Exactly."

"The deal is in force," the woman nodded immediately. "Thank you, great dragon, may your immortality be cloudless."

My eyebrows shot up involuntarily: what was going on here? Had I just been sold? Of course, anything could be expected from Aldric, but I thought I was valuable enough in his eyes!

"You know what I want as a thank you," Aldric said, sitting back down.

The woman immediately repeated his actions, snapped her fingers, and the waitress seemed to teleport to our table.

"All the best for our table. And don't bring the swill that you pour for everyone; take some from my reserves for special guests," Veyra said, after which she waited until the waitress left our table and turned to Aldric: "How much are you giving me?"

So, it means they are going to sell me after all. I sighed and figured out what my chances of escaping were. I realized that they were zero: I wouldn't be able to escape even from Veyra with her dexterity, visible to the naked eye, let alone Aldric?

"Not at all." Aldric shook his head. "She is my valuable assistant."

Oh, so they don't sell me after all. Veyra seemed to choke on air and stared at me again.

"She?"

"Exactly," said Aldric.

"But you hate the weak and useless…" Veyra muttered uncertainly.

"Who said she was weak?" Aldric grinned. "Besides, she's definitely useful. I saw it for myself a few years ago. Otherwise, believe me, I wouldn't have tolerated anyone from the Hall of Menders around me."

"You didn't think blessings were a useful skill before," Veyra muttered. "Impressed?.."

An amazing ability to discuss a person as if she were not there.

"Something like that," Aldric nodded.

Now my turn came to choke on air. Our first meeting with Aldric was not the most successful; I still wondered which miracle kept me from falling under his hot hand and dying, but he says that I impressed him.

Of course, by the end of the campaign, I got along with him better than anyone else in the entire Hall of Menders, but it was far from simple friendly communication! And now it turns out that I impressed him.

"Well then…"

Three waitresses (where did they come from?!) came up to our table with trays of food and began to quickly set them out.

"Then I suggest we eat. Starving to death is not one of my favorites," Aldric remarked, starting on the delicious-looking food and pushing several plates in my direction.

Well, I'll trust his taste. After the meal, Veyra rose from the table and said:

"Your rooms are on the top floor, three hundred two and three hundred three; make yourselves at home, and then we'll talk business."

As soon as Veyra walked away, Aldric immediately smiled at me and remarked:

"You have such a face as if you want to ask me a lot of questions."

And he spoke with the air of a fortune teller. Show me someone who wouldn't want to know what's going on here?

"Who is this woman? And what does this have to do with me?"

"Officially, the owner of this tavern, and unofficially…" Aldric fell silent; literally for a second his eyes flashed silver, and the magical flows stirred—an anti-eavesdropping barrier! "Deputy of the thieves' guild. Unlike their leader, who has his head in the air, she is quite useful. And strong to the extent that you don't have to cover her back."

"And what did she need from me?"

"Not quite the right question. Better to start with what I needed from her," Aldric grinned. "Do you want a riddle? You don't, I can see it on your face. You don't want it at all?"

"Not at all," I answered completely honestly.

"Then I simply have to make a wish for you!" Aldric smiled. "What does the thieves' guild have that I, an immortal dark dragon, do not have?"

"Feelings of compassion for others?" I blurted out the first thing that came to mind.

"Mmm, so true that you can't argue. But the answer is more material," Aldric noted.

"Careless subordinates?"

"A moot point. If I say that I will check the quality of their work, you will not find more diligent, zealous, and enthusiastic workers in all the worlds. Third attempt?"

Aldric smiled contentedly—he found arguing with me so amusing.

"A lot of money," I answered.

At this phrase, the smile instantly disappeared from his handsome, impudent face. I would even say that I managed to surprise him.

"Do you think thieves have more gold than me? Wait, do I look poor?"

I shrugged and looked away—I hadn't thought about it at all! But Aldric… was offended? I silently wished myself luck. The last thing I wanted was to offend the dragon, but since he hadn't killed me yet, he was unlikely to do so now. Especially when he needed me so much for something.