The Dragon Lord's Horns

The mountain was riddled with holes, and hard clouds resembling hydra heads sprouted everywhere.

The Demon Lord's fortress had collapsed miserably.

White, foamy poison cream that looked like fresh beer foam clung to every surface, while the knights moved about, finishing off the last of the gargoyles and blue-flame demons.

The silence that follows war.

Amid the heavy scent of scorched earth,

“Ahjussi. Ahjussi.”

“Yeah?”

Poyu called out to him.

“Ahjussi. Earlier when that demon died, I could see the prophetic phrases!”

Poyu fluttered over and circled around Kim Hwang-je.

When Poyu waved its hands, beautiful silver powder danced in the air, forming several names.

Just looking at them, it was impossible to understand what they meant.

“What does this mean?”

“I don’t really know either~ Something powerful interfered with the fairy’s foresight. Still, I worked really hard to hide Ahjussi and brought back the enemy’s names. Hehe!”

Poyu declared proudly.

Kim Hwang-je stroked Poyu’s head.

“You worked so hard~ I was wondering why our Poyu was so quiet. So you were protecting me from where I couldn’t see?”

“Yup, that’s what I did! Hehe!”

“Your Majesty. Preparations for your return are complete.”

A knight approached and guided him.

Kim Hwang-je picked Poyu up again, cradling the little dragon in his arms as he walked down through the gap in the collapsed wall.

Deep within the shattered fortress lay the vault.

Kim Hwang-je’s subordinates smashed through the wall and finally opened the vault door.

“Uhuhuhu, uhuhuhuhuhu.”

The shameless laughter belonged to Kim Hwang-je.

There, piled high, were the mountains of jewels that the demon Zakturas had gathered on Izukaya’s orders.

The gems were so dazzling it was hard to look at them all.

“Ahjussi, stop laughing!”

Poyu patted Kim Hwang-je’s head with its paws.

The dragon’s paw, soft like a cat’s jelly bean pads, barely managed to snap him back to his senses.

“Look. That big sister is crying. My dad always said so. You shouldn’t laugh happily when someone else is crying~”

“Huh?”

Who was crying?

A quiet sob reached his ears.

When he turned around, the others stood there, unsure what to do.

Because that green dragon was shedding tears in streams.

The residents were too distant from her to offer comfort,

and even Dave, who had fought alongside her, had no words since he didn’t know why she was crying.

Kim Hwang-je was genuinely surprised.

“Wait, we won. Why are you crying?”

“What else would you ask, Prince…”

Kim Hwang-je tried to guess Nax’s feelings for a moment.

Did she think he wouldn’t give her any at all?

After already being robbed once, now getting robbed again.

Even Kim Hwang-je would have cried in that situation.

He couldn’t possibly be so stingy and petty after they had fought together.

“Hey, I’m not that bad of a guy.”

“Not a bad guy, but a prince, you mean. Weren’t you planning to monopolize all these jewels?”

Guilty.

He couldn’t exactly claim he hadn’t thought about it even a little.

“What am I, a dragon? Why would I eat jewels?”

At that moment, Kim Hwang-je felt Poyu sprawled lazily on top of his head, tail and short legs wiggling as it drooled while staring at the jewels.

In the end, he picked up one jewel for Poyu, polished it on his clothes like an apple, and offered it up.

Crunch. Crunch.

Poyu happily devoured it.

“Kyarrurru, it’s delicious!”

Observing Poyu’s reaction, Kim Hwang-je spoke to Nax.

“See? I’m also in the business of raising a dragon.”

“…….”

Nax looked at Kim Hwang-je with expectant eyes.

“Of course, nothing’s free. Will you form a [Vassal State] contract with me?”

After defeating Zakturas, his Majesty score had shot up by 300 in one go.

When he checked his status window, investing 100 in Nax and 100 in the Shirayen Elves would allow him to turn both into vassal states.

That would bring the total number of kingdoms under Kim Hwang-je to a whopping four.

“I have already been defeated and submitted. If you guarantee me future treasures and maintain your oath to protect the elves, I shall follow you.”

“An immediate answer. Private property rights are amazing.”

“I don’t know what that means. So, will you do it?”

Nax’s face flushed red, and even in her elf form she couldn’t hide her tail as it whipped back and forth.

A reptilian tail spun wildly behind the elf’s back.

Kim Hwang-je nodded readily.

“Let’s do it.”

“Good! Let us form the contract immediately! I shall swear it in dragon tongue. I am also grateful to that little fairy dragon. For one so young, she is quite capable.”

“I’m a good eater so I’m capable!”

Poyu stood up with its belly puffed out, a jewel clenched in its mouth like an apple.

Its pronunciation was completely muffled.

Apparently dragons could understand each other.

And so Kim Hwang-je accepted Nax as a vassal state.

The moment it happened, Nax’s body flashed, and the two fifteen-centimeter horns on her head suddenly shot up to over fifty centimeters.

“W-what is this? These are the horns of a Lord!”

Nax was flustered.

She reached up and touched the horns sprouting from her head.

But there was no doubt—they were unmistakably the horns of a Dragon Lord, the kind that only grew on the head of a dragon sovereign.

“Incredible, Prince. Just how far does your authority reach? To supply such enormous power and elevate even a mere forest dragon like me to the position of a Lord!”

“Uh…”

Kim Hwang-je had no idea.

It seemed becoming a [Vassal State] had turned the dragon into a Lord…

When he checked the status window, it was confirmed.

And Kim Hwang-je discovered that the number of skills he could use had increased dramatically.

Come to think of it, when you create a vassal state, you can buy their skills with money!

Whatever. He could just raise them and make them stronger.

Plus, Breath?

Kim Hwang-je opened his mouth experimentally.

Was he going to spit acid saliva from his own mouth?

Kim Hwang-je scratched his head after reading the chamberlain’s message, which was unusually full of warnings.

It sounded like something you’d say to someone who picked the wrong starter monster in Pocket Monsters.

Anyway, he was the one who chose this.

Adversity was meant to be conquered.

Thinking that way made even Kim Hwang-je feel a little embarrassed, so he hugged his own arms.

Even with a mountain of gold and jewels before him, his petty commoner emotions refused to disappear.

“Alright, alright. Start by taking what’s yours.”

“Thank you! Prince! I am grateful!”

Nax rushed over and dove into the mountain of jewels.

Then, with the unforgettable memory of a dragon, she began meticulously sorting out her own jewels one by one and stuffing them into her personal pouch.

“Ehehe! Me too! Me too!”

“Yeah, Poyu. You worked really hard too. I’ll give you one-tenth.”

“Waaaaah~”

Poyu flew around in circles.

Kim Hwang-je looked behind him.

“Artisan.”

“Yes, Your Majesty.”

“Can you divide the remaining treasure into exactly ten equal parts?”

“It shall be done.”

The artisan used magic to neatly categorize the jewels.

A short while later, after the sorting was finished, he gave one-tenth of the treasure to Poyu.

“Poyu, this is payment for the prophecy.”

“Woooooooooah!”

Leaving the bouncing Poyu behind, Kim Hwang-je gave another tenth to Dave.

“This is Adel Kingdom’s share.”

“I am deeply grateful.”

Dave bowed deeply.

Now he would distribute some to the knights and Gemini as well. They would also use it for Adel’s royal castle.

Sure enough, the moment he handed that mountain of jewels to Dave, alarms began exploding noisily.

By now he could tell what they were just from the titles.

He’d read the details later.

Kim Hwang-je pushed the alarms off to the right side and gave the remaining three-tenths of the jewels to the Hunter, the Artisan, and the Tin Golem.

“The three of you can split this. Good work.”

“Your Majesty, this reward is far too ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠generous!”

“Aigoo, Your Majesty, thank you so much!”

“This Golem! Has acquired four years’ worth of repair costs! Happiness!”

The artisan waved his hands in modest refusal like a proper noble before clearing his throat a few times and accepting the reward.

The golem immediately began crunching the jewels noisily.

Its self-repair was quite the spectacle.

The hunter suddenly dropped to the ground, shedding tears of gratitude…

Again? Why?

“Sob… I have served many emperors in my time, but this is the first time I have met one who bestows such great generosity…”

Was he not supposed to give this much?

Kim Hwang-je scratched his head.

He wouldn’t know—he’d never given anything before.

“Well then, three out of ten have been distributed. The rest is all mine.”

Clean and simple. No objections?

Everyone nodded in agreement.

“Um, Your Majesty. What shall we do with this facility?”

The artisan asked.

Hmm. Kim Hwang-je looked around.

What to do? Even if they built a fortress here, could they realistically govern this land?

Dave spoke up.

“Your Majesty. It would be too burdensome to defend, yet too valuable to abandon.”

“Right?”

Kim Hwang-je pulled out an A4-sized map of the island that he had printed earlier.

This was the western part of Adel. It was the Metape Mountain Range that appeared after passing through Shirayen Forest.

Sheer cliffs stretched out, with dense forests growing below.

It was a place that took quite a while even by plane.

It was simply too far for Adel to govern right now.

“Yeah. Let’s tear it all down and pull out.”

“Hehe, Your Majesty. I have something prepared.”

The hunter said.

“This right here.”

The hunter planted a large flag he had picked up somewhere in the middle of the fortress.

It was a bizarre-looking flag with a huge pentagram drawn on it.

“What’s that?”

“It’s the flag of the Demon Lord from the north.”

“Isn’t this too obvious a ploy?”

The hunter grinned.

“Your Majesty, isn’t a restaurant famous for tradition and history supposed to stick to the basics?”

“Uh… yeah, do whatever you want. Alright. Let’s smash everything here and return to the royal castle.”

If it worked, great. If not, oh well.

That day, Izukaya’s forward fortress was completely reduced to ruins.

That evening, at Kim Hwang-je’s Stronghold.

The artisan came to find Kim Hwang-je seated on the throne and prostrated himself.

Kim Hwang-je double-checked what he had just heard.

“So… everything is necessary?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. The current situation is a crisis that demands every second. It is essential that we invest every available resource to construct the magic tower.”

“Uh…”

Kim Hwang-je scratched his head.

And for good reason—the story the artisan had just told was by no means simple.

All the spoils.

And all the rewards he himself had received.

They wanted to combine everything to create a beautiful Ruby Salon for the magician.

“…….”

Kim Hwang-je fidgeted anxiously because it pained him to give it up, but he couldn’t exactly refuse.

When his subordinate wanted to invest all of his own share, it was hard to shamelessly reject it.

Thanks to the mana potion mass offensive thoroughly steeped in the taste of capitalism, they had managed to defeat Zakturas, but…

If this had been the enemy’s royal castle instead of a forward base, would they have been able to do the same?

If Dave or Nax could launch attacks of that scale, the enemy could probably pour similar firepower onto a royal castle.

Kim Hwang-je crossed his legs because his crotch felt sore.

“Please have mercy!”

At the sight of his emperor’s domineering posture, the artisan bowed even deeper in reverence.

“You’re not just trying to build yourself a nice lab, are you?”

“Your Majesty?! My body and heart belong entirely to Your Majesty. I harbor not the slightest personal desire!”

What are you talking about, mister? The word “greed” is written all over your face.

It was true that they had looted an entire dragon’s lair, and on top of that, this was a vault where jewels had been scraped together from all over.

Even an imperial noble would not easily possess this many jewels.

He probably wanted to seize this opportunity to build a magic tower that would go down in history.

Kim Hwang-je looked around.

Gold was still accumulating little by little from all directions even at this very moment.

That was because Cho Jong-hyun was in Adel Kingdom, and bandits and outlaws were raiding the Gaya Group dungeons.

Right. If there was gold, he could probably obtain jewels on Earth as well.

“Do you know that story?”

“What story do you speak of, Your Majesty?”

“If you tell two children to divide a cake, what is the best way?”

“In that case, it is only natural for a noble to have the wiser child divide it.”

I see.

Elitism to the bone.

“On Earth, there’s a saying. One person cuts, the other chooses. That way it becomes perfectly fair.”

“Yes, Your Majesty. That is truly valuable wisdom. However, what exactly do you mean by…”

Instead of answering, Kim Hwang-je pressed down firmly on Gemini through [World Observation].

“Your Majesty…?”

The artisan was shocked as he realized what was happening.

“It’s simple. You plan it, Gemini executes it. The two of you will build the magic tower together. Since this tower is for Adel’s defense, it would be problematic if you focused too much on your own artisan spirit.”

“Yes… Your Majesty…”

“Don’t worry. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠The ultimate person in charge will be Sir Benedict.”

“If it is him, then I can accept it.”

“Emperor?”

Benedict, who had suddenly been saddled with the responsibility, was startled.

But he had no choice but to nod.

“Mmm, very well. There are few left who remember that time, and I did not contribute much in this battle…”

Benedict had repeatedly built up power only to lose it again and again.

This time, he had been in charge of defending the royal castle.

“While helping build the magic tower, I shall replenish my strength.”

“Thank you.”

At that moment, Seo Jun-seo knocked on the door.

“Boss.”

“Yes?”

Seo Jun-seo’s face was deathly pale.

It was a sight he was now very familiar with.

He approached and held out a tablet.

Kim Hwang-je slapped his forehead.

It was definitely back then.

He remembered telling the Gujiga spirits to [Get lost anywhere].

But did “anywhere” mean Chairman Jo Chun-ki’s private residence?