Friends in Scaly Places
“My personal take…?” Joan blushed lightly and averted her gaze. “Well, un, it is quite new to me. I’ve known you for all these years, Ryan, as I have served as your maid but I am seeing a different side of you today. I do not dislike it. In fact…”
“In fact..?” Ryan curiously tilted his head.
“W-well, I do not like the idea of crushing grapes with my feet. I can only imagine how sticky it might get. But if you are into it…” Joan paused as her entire face became red. Her feet shuffled a little as she stood by the wall. “Perhaps I can…”
“I’m back!” Chrysus entered the drawing room again with a basket behind his back. It was filled with an assortment of ruby red apples and a few golden ones. “You didn’t just make Tom turn red and pass out, he ran away! What’d you say?”
Joan immediately straightened and cleared her throat. Her cheeks were still a faint tinge of pink, but she did not finish her statement in front of the child.
Ryan, on the other hand, looked at the adorable golden dragon. He couldn’t even find it in him to get mad at being interrupted.
‘I can tease Joan all about it tonight.’ Ryan thought before he grinned at Chrysus and plucked an apple from the basket.
“Oh. Tom ran away because I gave him blueprints to make a wine press. I’m not sure about dragons and alcohol, with you being young and all, but it’s a way for my kingdom to grow bigger and wealthier.” Ryan explained before he bit down on the golden apple.
It was mildly sweet and delicious, just as the Grimoire assessed it.
‘The tree is currently in a dwarf state, and I hope that it grows. But even as a dwarf apple tree, its fruit is already good enough for eating. It could also be made into a light fruity wine.’
“You want an apple?” Chrysus approached Joan and offered the basket of fruits. He had an innocent smile on his face.
“M-me?” Joan pointed at herself in surprise.
“Yeah. If you’re always at his side, brother seems to care for you a lot. Also, you were ready to protect him back at the cave as well. I think you’re great,” Chrysus grinned toothily.
Once Joan took a ruby red apple, Chrysus turned back thoughtfully to Ryan and offered his input.
“From what I know, we also like alcohol. The adults can drink multiple barrels of wine if you let them… so I can probably drink as well!” Chrysus announced.
“Alright, I’ll let you have a little sip when we get our first batch of wine then.” Ryan nodded.
‘With the physiology of a dragon, I think it’s safe to say that Chrysus won’t get drunk easily. But ah… dragons who like alcohol. Maybe once I’ve established myself a bit more with Stonefall Village, I can consider selling wine to dragons too.’
“You’re always so lost in your thoughts, brother,” Chrysus said as he sat on a couch opposite Ryan. “Is that really what you do all day?”
“Well, what about you, Chrysus? What did you do in the cave when all the Kobolds were working?” Ryan returned the question back at him first with a smile.
Chrysus pouted. “I… I gave them orders, and I… ate and drank. Sometimes, I'd explore the caves, but they keep following me around. I want to do my own thing, but there are always Kobolds hovering over me. Like that one.”
Ryan blinked and then glanced in the direction that Chrysus pointed. Joan also swerved quickly to follow Ryan’s line of sight and saw a Kobold outside the window.
The said Kobold was among the ones who received the upgrade and grew in size. However, the Kobold stood out more so than the others because of its pure black scales.
When it met the gaze of Ryan and Joan, it quickly darted away.
‘I… I didn’t even notice that one. Even Joan didn’t.’ Ryan’s eyes widened slightly as he glanced at Joan who looked disturbed. ‘I mean, it makes sense that even among the Kobolds that there’d be ones more special and unique, but that one was right under my nose the entire time. Builder, what was that? Actually, Chrysus can answer the question himself.’
“Who was that? I've never met them before.” Ryan said.
“Oh, if we were to put it in our tongue, his name is Kur,” Chrysus said. “When I first ran away from home and made my way to Ironcross Mountain, I got really injured, and he was the one who first found me and nursed me back to health. He’s cool.”
“I see. It’s my first time seeing someone like him.” Ryan became a little thoughtful.
“…Mmm, I guess he’s a little special?” Chrysus shrugged carefreely. “What were you going to say though, Brother?”
Ryan smiled.
“A kingdom naturally has a ruler, right? But sometimes, a ruler can be replaced or removed from his position. It’s easy to think that such a position is decided by birth, rights of succession, and all other inborn privileges, but the first King probably didn’t start out as an heir, right? The reason why he became a King in the first place is that people listened to him and thought he was a great guy. Or maybe he was the strongest. But really, being the strongest person doesn’t always mean that one could become the king. I stand by my thoughts that the best ruler is someone whom the people genuinely want to listen to.”
“Really?” Chrysus blinked. “Not the strongest one? That’s how my people choose leaders. Whoever is the strongest becomes the leader, and everyone must follow him or else.”
“Well, it can work that way too. But there are other ways to become a King, and I like the idea of being a King with progressive ideas. It’s far better to have people follow you because you inspire them and they believe in you, rather than them following you because they fear you,” Ryan said. “At least, that’s what I think of it. Some might disagree, but that’s how I see things. If you think about it, once they stop fearing you, people will try to take power for themselves, you know?”