The Ways of The World

"What a mess!"

Ale sighed as he looked at the poor condition of his room. The baby dragon was trying to fly around and playing all over the room, breaking and destroying all of Ale's stuff in the process.

"You little devil.."

Ale picked up a broken vase that was rolling around and sighed again. It was a gift he received from one of the old people from town. Although it wasn't that expensive, it was irreplaceable to Ale.

"Light bad?"

The dragon flew in and sat on Ale's shoulder. It tilted it's head in confusion and asked, eyes shining like the brightest stars in a dark night.

"Not bad, but naughty."

'I need to make a room for him.'

With that, Ale turned around and started heading towards the Duke's office. The moment he stepped out of his room, the dragon changed it's shape and turned into a cat.

'He's smart.'

Ale felt satisfied, knowing his teachings hadn't completely gone to waste. And kids are supposed to make a mess, so he couldn't blame the little guy either.

"Father.. Can I come in?"

Ale knocked on the door and asked for permission to enter. Although the Duke had told him many times before that he didn't need to, there were some things that Ale just couldn't get used to no matter how hard he tried.

"Come in."

"Did your friends leave?"

The duke put down his glasses and looked at his son. It was rare for Ale to visit his office. But thanks to the new friends he made, the kid actually visited him quite a few times in the last week.

"Yes. They asked me to convey their gratitude to you, for letting them stay, and the gifts."

"They seemed like nice kids. I'm glad you managed to get acquainted with such great people."

"Yes. They're definitely great."

"So what brings you here, to my office?"

The Duke knew that Ale wouldn't visit him in his office just to convey some words of gratitude. There had to be more to it. And he wasn't wrong.

"This guy.."

Ale pointed towards the cat on his shoulder. Although it looked like a normal, regular cat, the Duke and a few people were already aware of it's true identity.

"Is something wrong?"

The Duke became serious as soon as the topic shifted towards the dragon. It was an existence that they couldn't mess with no matter what. Dragon's were a big deal afterall.

"I was wondering.. wouldn't it be great if we made him a home?"

"A home?"

"Yes. I was thinking about the forest in the back. Not many people visit that place."

"Hmm.. That doesn't sound bad."

"Yes. I was thinking about building a mansion the same size as ours."

Although it sounded ridiculous at first, but considering how a dragon was going to live there, the duke felt that it made sense.

"But won't that attract a lot of attention?"

"I was thinking about adding some illusion magic to the shield's property."

Ale had already thought it through before entering the room. He even had a construction plan in mind. That guy was a fast thinker.

"Since it looks like you already have a plan, I'll leave you in charge of the construction."

The Duke got the hang of the situation pretty quickly as well and handed over the work to Ale. His son was a genius, to say the least. And he was also responsible and thoughtful. The Duke couldn't hope for a more talented person for the job.

"So you're giving your permission?!"

Ale inquired, surprised and a little excited.

"Yes. I'll also post a notice of no entry to the forest in town."

The Duke signed a paper of approval and handed it over to Ale. After deciding on a few more things, Ale left the room with light and happy steps.

"Young master."

"Whoa-! You scared me!"

Kevin, who was waiting right outside the Duke's office, greeted Ale as soon as he came out. The moment Kevin received words of Ale going to the Duke's room, he knew Ale was up to one of his antics once again and hurried over here.

Ale, who had no idea where and how Kevin appeared out of thin air, jumped back in shock, almost dropping the dragon from his shoulder.

"What business did you have with the Duke?"

He got straight to the point as he noticed the sealed paper on Ale's hand. Ale also noticed the sharpness in his gaze and started laughing awkwardly.

"Haha.. Why don't we chat over a cup of tea?"

He felt bad knowing how Kevin would have to be the one doing most of the work in the end. That guy was his personal butler afterall. Ale felt bad making him do all these extra works, but seeing how efficient and talented Kevin is, he couldn't stop sharpening his edge either.

Ale took Kevin to the guest room since his own room was a complete mess and in the process of getting fixed at the moment. A maid brought them their tea while Ale handed over the paper to Kevin.

"This... Construction of a mansion inside the forest?"

"Yes. It's for the little guy."

The baby dragon that was in the form of a cat right now, rubbed it's head on Ale's arm as Ale pointed towards it. Although Ale knew it could understand everything they were saying, but seeing it act like a cat was still funny.

"This.. you're the one in charge?"

"Yeah. And I need your help."

Ale smiled helplessly as he spoke those last words. Kevin looked between Ale's helpless expression and the paper in his hand before finally sighing a big sigh.

"That's a given. But considering the amount of material you've mentioned here, it might take a while."

Kevin did a basic calculation and informed Ale. His positive attitude and the lack of nagging made Ale a little uncomfortable, but he decided to put those feelings away for a while.

"How long?"

"About three months?"

"That's too long."

"That's the bare minimum."

"Use mana stones."

"It'll cost a lot, young master."

"And magicians."

"For the construction?"

"For the construction."

"That's absurd!"

Using magicians for construction work, it'd be the first in the whole country, no, the whole continent. Magicians were rare and very expensive. Just hiring one of them for a day would cost as much as a regular persons whole years salary. And Ale was asking them to be brought there for construction purpose.

"It won't cost a dime."

"Sorry? How's that possible?"

Kevin wondered what Ale was thinking before something finally clicked on his mind.

"Did you forget who we're building the place for?"

A dragon. Magicians use magic. And dragons are known to be the source of all magic. They're the creator. The magicians, no matter their background or position, whether they're bad or good, all worshipped dragons. Dragons are their God.

"So you want to use their devotion to make them work."

Kevin liked the idea. It was a little evil but genius nonetheless.

"I'm not saying that I won't pay them. I'll just leave it up to them to decide."

"I think they'll end up paying you though, young master."

That's just how it was. Dragons were their God, and Ale was the one that tamed the dragon. His place would be even higher on the list then.

"Hehehe"

"Hahaha"

The two ended up chatting for over an hour, calculating all the possibilities and their benefits and losses. The dragon listened quietly by Ale's side, learning the ways of the world through their conversation.