The Red Dragon Just Wants To Do As It Pleases

"So, does that mean there's still money to be made?" David still found it somewhat hard to believe.

"From the current trend, that seems to be the case," Nifadora replied. "However, we're currently constrained by scale. Plus, Lady Attilicia insists on a procurement model to purchase our camp's raw material output, which eases our capital turnover pressure. So, for now, we've at least managed to break even."

"...Well, nothing more to say then. Continue the dragon-hunting plan. Keep looking for True Dragons, and I want those drakes too." Since his dear old dad could handle the sales end, what else could David say?

Reality is sometimes just that bizarre.

Take Blue Star, for example. Someone there had barely been making ends meet selling stir-fried noodles for most of his life. He only struck it rich when an internet user took a fancy to the iron pot he used, and he switched to selling pots.

Or consider someone who ran a restaurant. She then realized that more people were coming to buy her chili sauce than to eat, including other restaurant owners who came to stock up from her. She ended up switching to running a chili sauce factory and turned it into a globally renowned business worth billions.

In reality, there are countless examples of 'Where flowers bloom not to one's wish, willows grow to form shade unbidden.'

Now that he'd stumbled upon such an opportunity himself, there was no reason not to seize it.

As for whether he'd later be cursed for getting rich off dragon dung once alchemists reverse-engineered the formula and exposed its raw materials? He couldn't care less.

Never mind that the 'patent' for extracting magical substances from dragon dung originally came from those High Elves. The materials had already been processed and transformed. The real question was: would people drink it?

As long as it's effective—like the Rejuvenation Serum made entirely from cockroach extracts—it still sells like hotcakes, doesn't it?

As the saying goes, money is hard to earn and some tasks are disgusting. Now that there was such a lucrative business opportunity—letting others swallow dung while he made money—he believed no one in his position could resist such temptation.

Greed

But no sooner had David spoken than Nifadora looked troubled.

"However, ever since we started capturing dragons on a large scale, wild young dragons have become increasingly difficult to find. Even drakes are becoming harder to come by."

David, being a dragon himself, took one look at Nifadora's evasive eyes and understood the reason well enough.

Damn it, my reputation hasn't even begun to spread among the Metal Dragons, and I've already thoroughly ruined it in Chromatic Dragon circles.

The commotion from the dragon hunts back then was too great; it scared away all the dragons around his mother's territory...

It wasn't just the young dragons that were scared off; a bunch of egg-laying female dragons had also been frightened enough to relocate their nests.

To put it another way, every dragon in the vicinity now knew that he, David Uthos, was the child of Pafila, the Crimson Calamity—the biggest second-generation Evil Dragon on the entire Old Continent of Skanis.

Initially, David capturing ordinary wild young dragons wasn't a big deal. But everything changed after he, himself then just a young dragon, fought Nifadora—who was an uncommonly powerful young adult dragon. He not only managed to 'capture her alive' and bring her back to the camp but also plundered all the treasure from her Dragon Nest.

The subsequent conflict over this dragon hoard even led to the destruction of several Barbarian tribes involved, causing a massive uproar throughout Skanis.

Capturing dragons was one thing, but stealing their hoards? That was truly terrifying.

Although Nifadora now appeared to be a dutiful housekeeper, offering both dragons and treasure to him, other female dragons probably suspected David had either fed her some bizarre Alchemy Potion or forced her into a diabolical enslavement contract.

This wasn't a Red Dragon; he was a Devil from the material plane!

Moreover, three years ago, Nurnisha, an adult White Dragon, could no longer tolerate the relentless exploitation by that devilish Red Dragon and had moved her nest to escape. This event prompted many other adult female dragons to seriously consider relocating farther away from the territory of the Crimson Calamity and her son.

"HISS..." David mused. "Perhaps we should consider changing our methods."

"Huh?" Nifadora was still somewhat confused. David, who had regained much of his stature during the meal, then asked, "How much usable capital does our camp have?"

"22,327 Dewensen Gold Coins. If it's urgent, I also have about three hundred pounds of treasure..."

The poor young adult dragon's wealth, after she had been made to split it in half twice in a row, had dwindled to just that pitiful amount.

What shocked David even more was that all signs indicated this Green Dragon had worked in his camp for ten years yet hadn't embezzled a single Gold Coin.

This left him both bewildered and filled with an inexplicable pity.

"Keep your own treasure. Funds of around four hundred pounds should be enough. Do you know the locations of the female dragons' nests in the surrounding territory?"

He didn't realize, however, that this female Green Dragon, possessing foresight far beyond that of ordinary dragons, was actually reveling in the satisfaction derived from the camp's entire financial pool flowing and growing with overseas trade.

But in the eyes of other dragons, such selfless acts only served to confirm the rumors that Venomous Emerald, Nifadora, had indeed been completely enslaved by him, David Uthos.

"Of course..." Nifadora suddenly had a very bad feeling.

"Let's go. Bring the treasure, and we'll pay a visit to our neighbors."

"..." Nifadora seemed to finally be catching on to her Dragon Lord's train of thought.

But that didn't seem right either! If they were going to buy dragon hatchlings, based on the black market prices on the New Continent, the funds they had would barely be enough for two Dragon Eggs, and non-Red Dragon ones at that.