Academic gathering with Lich colleagues

Lyle slept until sunset.

It was still daylight, but there was no need to go out tonight, so Lyle decided to head to Andrei ahead of time.

After putting on his uniform and making sure the doors and windows were closed, Lyle pressed the light blue badge.

A pulling force came from the ring on my index finger.

An invisible vortex was forming, and Lyle felt himself being stretched into a noodle and squeezed into it.

……

Lyle saw the familiar chandelier. He noticed that the light on the main chandelier was moving; it was a slightly larger light bat, a little bigger than an onion.

Lyle realized he had forgotten the promised carrot.

A colossal figure left the carrot behind; it was a three-meter-long dragon covered in scales and with wings on its back... a mascot costume.

As the dragon's head nodded slightly, a gentle, mature male voice came from inside the mascot costume, "It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Plague Doctor."

“Me too, Mr. Dragon.” If Lyle couldn’t recognize him, he should probably get a checkup at a neurologist.

Mr. Dragon, a character in the "Strange Costumes" category.

Mr. Dragon reached out and lifted Lyle up, his adorable-looking dragon claw displaying powerful muscle strength.

Mr. Dragon is a big guy, a real big guy.

"The gentlemen are busy with other clubs, and Ariana will be spending time on music. They told me about you, and you'll be in the audience for my first lesson. Luckily, I waited at the club beforehand, otherwise I might have missed this teleportation."

"Thank you for your help, sir."

"No trouble at all. It's a good thing to be enthusiastic about life, and I agree with your approach."

Mr. Dragon is an approachable elder, just like his mascot costume, both cute and dignified.

"Please wait a moment, Mr. Plague Doctor. There's still a little while before the course starts. Before that, I need to deal with my own mess."

Mr. Dragon bent down and began sweeping the gold mines behind the door.

"The gentleman complained to me once, which I didn't expect at the time. It seems to have caused great trouble to everyone in the club. It was really a dereliction of duty."

Someone who will become your teacher/boss/senior in the future will handle some things for you that you can help with, even though they haven't asked for help.

“Mr. Dragon, can I help?” Lyle walked up to Mr. Dragon. “If it’s just cleaning, I think I can do it.”

Mr. Dragon seemed to have just realized there was this option. "Oh, Mr. Plague Doctor, you are such a kind person," Mr. Dragon handed over a large leather bag. "If you could help me put these glittering items away, I would be very grateful."

The pocket material is rough, somewhat like snake slough, and it's extra large, but it's still not enough compared to several mountains of gold.

Lyle didn't voice his doubts, but simply continued cleaning silently, perhaps these were items from the storage space.

The two worked for about an hour, until Lyle's bones creaked from the frequent bending over, before all the treasures were finally cleaned.

Lyle's bag was only half full; this bag must have some storage function.

"Here you go, Mr. Dragon." Lyle handed over the leather bag.

"Thank you again, doctor. Without you, I would definitely be busy for a while longer."

Yes, it was probably only a minute or two more. Lyle was once again shocked by Mr. Dragon's body. It really was the power of a dragon. It was fast and agile. Mr. Dragon did most of the cleaning work. Lyle even wondered if he was slacking off.

"You helped me, thank you, Plague Doctor. How about this as your reward?"

Mr. Dragon took a golden crown studded with diamonds from his pocket. Lyle glanced at it a few times while cleaning it; it looked incredibly expensive.

Ok.

Lyle really wanted to say that.

“This is too expensive, sir. My light work is not worth such a high price.”

"Ah, it seems that the Plague Doctor's desire is for wealth. Perhaps our values ​​are different. Please believe me, your kindness to me is no less than this gift."

That's so touching, then I'll reluctantly accept it, Mr. Dragon.

Lyle couldn't do it.

"No, Mr. Dragon, I still can't accept it."

Mr. Dragon placed his claws on his reverse scales, which was his chin.

"Hmm~ Shall we find something of equal value? Mr. Plague Doctor, how about twenty gold coins as your reward, like this?"

Mr. Dragon picked up a gold coin.

That was an Oreu.

Gold coins were the currency of the ancient Roman Empire.

One Oreu could be exchanged for twenty-five silver dinars, and one dinar could be exchanged for four bronze sesterts.

The currency in Cassandale, where Lyle lived, was a bronze coin called a Jules. Not counting the collectible value of ancient coins, one Sestel was worth three Jules.

Twenty au ou, six thousand jules.

The sheriff's job pays two hundred jules a month.

After tidying up, I've finally received two and a half years' worth of salary?

Moreover, the Aurelius, representing the glory of the Roman Empire, commanded a much higher premium in the deal of the century.

Mr. Dragon is a philanthropist who regards money as dirt.

Chapter Twenty-One: Dragon Worship, Mr. Dragon

“I’m sorry, Mr. Dragon, it’s still too much. I can’t accept it.” Lyle was a little uneasy. Although he followed his reason, no one likes to be rejected repeatedly. Looking at the dragon’s claws clasped together in front of his chest, Lyle was not sure if he was angry.

Mr. Dragon stirred. “I’ve thought of a good way to resolve our differences,” he said, taking out another leather bag. Compared to the bag containing the treasure, this one was much more attractive and smaller, marked with the words “For Teaching Purposes” in writing that Lyle could read. Mr. Dragon took out an even more exquisite purple pouch from it and handed it to Lyle. “This is a storage bag, made of chimera leather. I give my students some essential items during the first lesson. This was originally intended as a reward for my outstanding students. Please accept it, Mr. Plague Doctor. This is just a little more refined than the free ones.”

Lyle didn't refuse again. The reward was barely within his acceptable range. Stroking the texture of the surface, he knew it was definitely worth much more than he had thought.

“Mr. Dragon, there are three more Orioles inside! Did you forget to take them out?”

“That’s a scholarship for outstanding students. I’m giving it to Mr. Plague Doctor in advance, hoping he will study my lessons diligently,” Mr. Dragon said.

“I will definitely try my best,” Lyle said happily.

Although low-paying, low-labor jobs are not fair, high returns are always a happy thing. Perhaps this is Mr. Dragon's attitude towards his students. He is kind and wise, and often uses encouraging words to treat those around him. He is a good teacher.

The two sat down on wooden chairs in the corner of the hall. Mr. Dragon brewed tea on the table, and judging from his skillful technique, it must taste much better than Ariana's.

Mr. Dragon was busy, so Lyle started to change the subject.

"Sir, I still don't understand what kind of courses you teach?"

Mr. Dragon, who was stirring the spoon, subconsciously tapped the wooden table. "That's a fairly basic subject for Andrei. It's closely related to our life journey. It's not difficult to learn, but it's a compulsory course for us."

"Hmm... is it life sciences?" The only subject that came to Lyle's mind was the one he had mentioned to Lightbat Onion before.

Mr. Dragon said with delight, “No, dear Plague Doctor, although I don’t teach life sciences, I am undoubtedly a lover of this subject. Do you also like life sciences?”

Mr. Dragon suddenly displayed tremendous passion, seemingly more enthusiastic about the course than the one he taught.

"Sir, you still haven't told me what your course is..."

"Haha, sorry, I got a little carried away. I'm in Andrei, in charge of the necromancy course."

Spiritualism.

It sounds like knowledge from esoteric divination, something closely related to life... Is it a discipline that studies the birth of the soul? I can only guess from the literal meaning; Lyle has no knowledge of this discipline.

But he wasn't in a hurry, since it was a course he was about to learn, and he was determined to learn it well.

In contrast, Lyle is more interested in Mr. Dragon. The members of the Cup of Extravagance are undoubtedly hedonists, so what are Mr. Dragon's desires? Are they related to the science of life?

Mr. Dragon's tea was ready, but in the last step, he added quite a few chunks of raw potato to it.

Ok?

"The tea is ready, potatoes."

"Thank you, sir." A voice came from the crystal, and the larger light bat landed on the wooden table, placing its body on the side of Mr. Dragon. While enjoying its potato tea, the potato also adjusted its light to a softer level, although the light flickered due to its inner joy.

So that tea was for the Light Bat?

Lyle was already puzzled when the giant dragon was making tea, because the dragon only used one cup. He thought the dragon was just a bit naive and forgot about him. It turned out that the dragon hadn't even remembered his own share; the tea was for the light bat.

While Potato was drinking tea, Mr. Dragon's large claws gently and slowly stroked Potato's back.

"Ah~ That feels so good~"

Lyle stared at the dragon making the strange noise with a dark expression.

The sound lasted for less than a minute.

Although Potato was used to it, when faced with Lyle's new face, he quickly enjoyed his meal and returned to the chandelier, driven by a sense of shame.

"Huh? Why so fast today? Potato, you need to rest for a while after the meal. Eating so fast isn't good for your health." Mr. Dragon made a regretful gesture towards the crystal chandelier.

"Cough cough." Lyle suddenly felt an itch in his throat.

Mr. Dragon then came to his senses and ended his complaining state.

"Ah, please forgive my rudeness, Doctor. I tend to lose my composure when I see animals." Mr. Dragon is quite uninhibited about himself.

That's not just being rude, that's pathological. He's like a pervert to the light bats, and if I'm not mistaken, the potato is male—who could stand that?

Lyle's opinion of Mr. Dragon changed drastically; indeed, no one in the world is perfect.

"That's right, that's my desire. I love these magical creatures very, very much."

"And the older I get, the more I love it. You can probably tell from my code name what my favorite magical creature is."

It is a dragon that Westerners consider a symbol of evil.

"I really want one, I really want a dragon companion, to be with him at birth, to watch him grow up, to eat meat with him, to soar in the sky together, to rest on the ground together, to be together forever..."

Mr. Dragon let out a hysterical wail.

"Then why doesn't Mr. Dragon keep one? Is it too dangerous? Or is it that Andrei forbids keeping dragons?"

"Ha, if I could find it, danger wouldn't matter, prohibitions wouldn't matter. But I just can't find it. Dragons were almost wiped out fifty years ago."

"Extinct fifty years ago? Wait, from what Mr. Dragon said, you mean it was man-made?" Lyle had a bold guess. He seemed to be looking up at the sky, where angels were winking at him playfully.