The Heir of Hakkarias

"Surprise. Surprise. Must report reason for damage..."

"Who are you going to report to?"

"Going to report to Lord Hakkarias. Going to report to Lord Hakkarias. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Ah. Lord Hakkarias."

"??!"

Tae-hyun flinched in confusion. Why Hakkarias? Did the dead guy come back to life? Or did he have a hidden child?

"Misidentification. Misidentification."

"...?"

The golem shook its head as it looked at Heuk-heuk.

"Too small. Too small."

"Hey! I can make myself bigger, but I shrank to make it easier to move!" Heuk-heuk snapped.

His shrunken size due to his level loss was Heuk-heuk's biggest insecurity. Since he was currently over level 300, he could grow to some extent, but he couldn't make himself massive enough to cover the sky like Hakkarias. And honestly, he had grown used to being small! It was surprisingly convenient and made it easier to dodge attacks.

Tae-hyun watched the exchange between the golem and Heuk-heuk, thought deeply, and then spoke.

"Uh... wait. Wait. Actually, he... is Hakkarias's son."

"?"

"??"

"???"

Everyone present was shocked! Even Heuk-heuk was stunned. Fortunately, the golem lacked any function to read Heuk-heuk's emotions.

"M-Master. What on earth..."

"Shh. Quiet."

There was nothing to lose! Right now, this lair had no master. Hakkarias was obsessive and meticulous. He had made various preparations to deal with intruders in his absence. But what if he died?

I doubt he prepared for that.

That proud, arrogant dragon would never have prepared for his own death! If so, this method might actually work.

Claiming Hakkarias was dead and impersonating his child to take over the lair!

Avoiding a fight is the best option. Looking at this lair, clearing it like a normal dungeon is impossible.

The difficulty was one thing, but Hakkarias's nasty personality was another. Tae-hyun was worried that if they kept pushing through, the dragon might have set up a mechanism to blow up the lair or bury the treasure deep underground. He was absolutely the type of guy to do that!

As Tae-hyun attempted to scam the golem, Cain spoke up anxiously.

"Hey. No matter how you look at it, trying to use a speech skill on a golem..."

"It's working?!"

Cain gasped in horror. How could you persuade an inanimate object?!

Fortunately, Cain's common sense was preserved. The golem shook its head.

"Too different. Too different."

Crunch!

Tae-hyun swung his hammer again and smashed the golem. The golem shattered into pieces.

"Huh? No. I'm just going to try again."

Cain flinched in fear. Ignoring him, Tae-hyun quickly pulled items from his bag. Seeing this, Heuk-heuk gasped in horror. Surely...

"M-Master... that's a bit..."

"Let's just try it once, Heuk-heuk."

What Tae-hyun pulled out were the various remains that had dropped after blowing up Hakkarias! Scales, leather, a piece of his tail, and so on...

"Hmm. If we tenderize the meat, flatten it thin, and paste it on..."

"Please, no!"

"Fine. I won't go that far. Anyway, let's hurry and prepare before another golem shows up. Guys, help me out."

"......"

"......"

The rest of the party moved with dazed expressions. What are we even doing right now? Yet, their hands were moving rapidly.

"Ah! Gently! Gently, please!"

Heuk-heuk screamed as they forcefully jammed the scales onto him.

"Bear with it! We have to do this quickly."

"Guest. Guest. What are you..."

Crunch!

Before the new golem could finish its sentence, Tae-hyun swung his hammer.

"Whew. Just made it in time."

"Something strange. Something strange. Why is there so much damage?"

"I wonder why?"

Tae-hyun's group feigned ignorance and avoided eye contact. Lee Da-bi even whistled.

"Anyway, look over here. Doesn't he look like someone?"

Heuk-heuk's appearance was now darker and much more intimidating than before! The golem tilted its head.

"Lord Hakkarias... no. A dragon that resembles Lord Hakkarias?"

"Yes! He is Hakkarias's son!"

"?"

The golem was confused.

"Never heard of such a thing. Never heard of such a thing."

"That is because there is a very sad, heartbreaking story behind it. In his youth, Hakkarias loved a certain dragon..."

The longer and more plausible the story, the higher the persuasion bonus. Tae-hyun recalled a drama his father used to watch and began spinning a tragic tale.

"Ugh, that's so sad."

Listening from the side, Cain unconsciously teared up. Then he suddenly snapped out of it.

Wait. That was a lie, right?

"...And that's how it happened. Besides, Hakkarias isn't the type of dragon to go around telling you guys about such things. Anyway, Heuk-heuk came here to inherit Hakkarias's Lair. Because Hakkarias is dead."

"Cannot accept. Cannot accept."

"Hakkarias hasn't returned for a while, has he?"

"Cannot verify with that alone."

"Didn't Hakkarias leave behind something to summon him in case of an emergency?"

Knowing Hakkarias's personality, he would have left some sort of backup. If intruders broke deep enough, there had to be a way to call him!

"There is. There is."

"Use ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠it to summon him. If Hakkarias is alive, he'll show up, right?"

"......"

The golem hesitated for a moment, then nodded.

Rumble—

"Huh?"

The golem left them and walked away. Tae-hyun's group was left bewildered.

"Looks like it has to go somewhere else to do it."

"I think we should wait."

"Hmm. Well then... while we wait, let's loot some other places."

Tae-hyun made highly efficient use of his time.

By the time they found Torture Room 2 and Torture Room 3, scraping up even a single chain, a message window popped up.

Jackpot! They took over the lair without a single fight. Even Tae-hyun hadn't expected it to be this easy!

"Master...! I have a lair now! A complete reversal of fortune!"

Heuk-heuk teared up. Now he could walk with his shoulders held high among other black dragons! (Though he could never tell them the details.)

"Let's go, Heuk-heuk."

"Where to?"

"Where else? To loot the treasure, of course."

"...Yes, sir!"

Heuk-heuk and Tae-hyun's group moved with excitement. How much treasure would be in Hakkarias's vault? It had to be piled up like a mountain, right?!

Clatter!

"Whoa! Whoa... wait?"

Guided by the golem, the group entered Hakkarias's treasure vault. They marveled at the piles of gold and silver, but then grew puzzled. It was an enormous hall, but there was only one single pile of treasure at the end.

"Huh? Isn't this too little compared to the size of the room?"

"Was Hakkarias a frugal dragon?"

"Or maybe he spent most of the treasure recently?"

Various theories were thrown around. Then, the guiding golem spoke as if they were stating the obvious.

"Lord Heuk-heuk. Lord Hakkarias usually carries most of his treasure with him. Did you not know?"

"......"

"......"

So this was... just the leftover portion? If the leftover portion was this much, how massive was the total?

"Ah, I'm getting dizzy...!"

Lee Da-bi staggered. Tae-hyun quickly rushed over to support her.

"T-Tae-hyun... my vision is going dark..."

"I know how you feel! But there was nothing we could do back then!"

Hearing the golem's words, Tae-hyun's heart also ached. He should have thought more carefully when killing Hakkarias! But it was unavoidable back then!

Wait. Nothing dropped even when I turned him into a rabbit? Where was he hiding it? Don't tell me he kept it in his stomach?

It was a surprisingly plausible theory! Tae-hyun's heart ached twice as much. If he had kept it in his stomach, maybe if they had searched a bit deeper inside...

"Ah. Hakkarias was highly skilled in magic, so he probably created a spatial pocket and carried it directly."

At Jeong Su-hyeok's words, Tae-hyun was slightly relieved. If so, nothing could be done!

"...Still, this is better than nothing. Let's pack it all."

Roughly estimating, it was easily several hundred thousand gold. If they had gotten the full treasure, they wouldn't have to worry about gold until Pan-On ended...

But this will all go toward the operating costs of the Capital and the Valley...

Thinking of this made him sad. Territories ate gold like a bottomless pit. Raising taxes or charging heavy fees for dungeons and facilities would bring in revenue, but Tae-hyun didn't do that. With so many enemies, losing public favor would be fatal. The reason he could rally so many people against the Guild Alliance without even having a guild of his own was because he ran his territory so well. People fight hardest when they have something to protect.

"If it's the Dwarf tribes..."

"They are probably the tribes Hakkarias used to torment."

Tormenting neighboring races was a Black Dragon tradition! Demanding small shiny things, forcing them to help with construction, ordering them to hunt monsters... doing nothing for them but demanding everything. But what could they do? If they didn't want to ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠die, the races near a dragon's lair had to endure.

"They won't attack you the moment they see you, right?"

"S-Surely not. I am still a Black Dragon, after all..."

Tae-hyun stared at Heuk-heuk. To be precise, an "easy-looking" Black Dragon.

"Master. By the way, can I pull these scales out? It's a bit uncomfortable wearing them for so long..."

"No, they look good on you. Keep them on a bit longer."

"Until when?"

"Until all the neighboring tribes get here?"

"......"

Tae-hyun's group thoroughly searched Hakkarias's vault, library, and bedroom to gather any remaining treasures. Even though it was leftover treasure, there was one advantage: because it was relatively lower-tier, it yielded equipment that Tae-hyun's group could actually wear.

"Whoa, look at this! It's even a set item!"

Cain lifted it up in excitement.