Ignis pulled an equal amount of gold to Kinryu, but his smelled of sulfur and pumice. He laired on the peak of an active volcano, and those smells couldn't be separated from him or his hoard.
"It will take hours to count all of this," Arad sighed. He then looked at Kinryu and Ignis, "Can we agree that metallic and chromatic have gifted the same amount? To avoid further conflict."
"I can always give you more," Kinryu said with a smile.
"Hoi! Kinryu, he said enough, is enough. Don't try breaking the balance." Ignis growled. In reality, he didn't want to spend more money from his hoard, and having Kinryu raise the price would force him to pull more.
Dragons are stingy, and red are the most conservative about spending their money. But that didn't mean they don't understand the concept of investing. A neutral negotiation ground could give them a strategic advantage in the future, and he won't skimp to secure a win.
Ignis's mind started counting the events and strategies they could take, like asking for a peace treating while losing to buy time and using the negotiation time to learn of the metallic dragons' secret powers and weapons.
"So, shall we start the first meeting now?" Arad looked at the two dragons, and they nodded, "Let's head to the mountains. Mister Red here is too fat to fit in your house."
Ignis snorted at the bad joke by the gold dragon, "You gold is always hard-headed."
Arad extended his wings from his back and flew to the sky, "Aella, Mira, count the gold while we're out." The three flew away, and Claug stared down at Tina, her daughter, Aella, and Mira.
"He's always busy," Claug said with a grin.
Aella sighed and looked at Tina, "So, care to tell me what a slave and her baby are doing with you?" She could tell since she is technically a slave as well.
"She was gifted to Arad by a slaver after saving them. And I'm sure they wanted to have a connection to a dragon." Claug replied, and Tina approached Aella, "Sorry about that. I didn't have a say in the matter."
Mira walked toward them, "You don't have to worry. You were enslaved in Rita, right?"
Tina nodded, "Yes, albeit I was being transferred to the city when the Arad saved us,"
"I heard bad rumors about the place. Slaves aren't treated that well there." Mira approached Tina and looked at Serin. "What cute little baby, is she a girl?"
"Yes, her name is Serin," Tina replied with a smile.
"I don't think Arad will..." Aella was about to speak but then stopped. She was about to say that Arad could let her go but didn't want to give the woman false hope if Arad had something else in mind. "Where are you from?"
"I'm from Alseria's western coast. My husband died when the bandit attacked our carriage when we were moving," She looked at the sky, "My parents should still be living there, but I don't think I could return to them anytime soon."
"We were moving toward here since we heard the news of a potential war between the dwarves and humans. My parents didn't want to leave, but we had to move since we don't want her to grow up in a devastated land," She looked at Serin in her hands.
Aella smiled, "At least you can rest here for the time being. I don't have unless Arad is around, so can you help us with the cleaning first?" Aella pointed at the mountains of gold.
"Cleaning you say," Tina giggled, "That's counting money." She walked toward a nearby bench and put Serin on it. "Stay calm till Mama is back," She then went to help Aella and Mira.
Serin remained silent on the bench, staring at the blue sky until a small bug-like woman flew into her field of view. ~You're alone, aren't you~ Loci said with a smile.
Aella, Mira, and Tina heard Serin laughing and giggling on her own, waving her tiny hands across the air.
Claug looked at them, and smiled, "Arad has grown bigger than the last time I saw him."
"What do you mean? Yeah, he's a very young dragon now," Aella replied.
"I didn't mean that, I'm talking about his status as a dragon." She looked around, "Living like a human among humankind, and even so holding a great power between dragons. It's so amusing how he's living a life of dreams."
"I won't say he has any power over dragons," Aella giggled, scratching her cheek. "To me, it seemed they chose him instead."
"It's sad to say, but Alcott won't live as long as a dragon. To them, it's important to find a replacement." Claug looked at the sky and then at Mira, "Human life to us dragons is but a short thing, like a bird's life to yours."
Mira smiled, looking at the gold. Claug was right. Her life would only be a month in Arad's life. To him, she's like a month, passing in the blink of an eye to him.
Aella might last a bit longer, but even she would only live a fragment of Arad's life.
"The world of humans is beautiful, and forever changing and evolving." Claug looked at them, "Get stronger. That will prolong your time with Arad. And you won't be left behind when he flies to the sky."
Aella looked at Claug. She was right. Keeping up with a dragon is anything but easy, and Arad was a special case after that. He's a void dragon with immense power and growth rate.
Aella looked at her palm, sensing the magic flowing in her veins. She can call on her power but can't gather the courage to try something new.
As Mira was counting the money, she stopped, glaring at the sky with a strange face. "Wait, Arad said that he will build a castle in the mountains." She looked at Claug.
"Yes," Claug replied.
Mira sighed, "I better start working on the furniture now." She smiled, hitting her fists together, "I will put the royal palace to shame,"