"Y-Your Majesty, are you sure about this?" Cethus asked in disbelief after hearing the Dragon King's reply.
He had traveled as fast as he could to return to the Capital City of Rex Lapis in order to inform him about what was happening on the Third Island of the Outer Reaches, but the answer that the Dragon King gave him wasn't the answer he was hoping to hear.
"Let him do as he wishes."
That was what the Dragon King told the black-scaled Dragon Born, which shocked not only him, but the Dragon Borns that were serving as his Ministers in the throne room.
Just as Lux expected, the Dragon King didn't really care if he brought some Kobolds inside his Domain. For Dragons, Kobolds were similar to cute pets that followed their every order. As long as the Kobolds belonging to Lux's faction wouldn't do anything to cause harm to his Kingdom, he was willing to give them permission to stay in the Outer Reaches.
"W-Won't you reconsider, Your Majesty?" One of the Ministers asked. "If the Kobolds are here, there will be unrest within the Kingdom."
The Dragon King shifted his attention to the minister he spoke up, making the latter flinch.
"Are you defying my order?" the Dragon King asked in an icy tone.
"N-No! Of course not, Your Majesty!"
"Then shut your trap."
The Dragon King's words resounded inside the throneroom making all the Dragon Borns, as well as Dragons inside it, bow their heads in submission. Due to their innate hate for the Kobolds, they had forgotten that the person who was sitting on the golden throne was the King of all Dragons.
His words were law, and no one in Arshvar Draconis had the right to question his orders.
"This is why Kobolds are better than you lot," the Dragon King snorted. "At least they know their place. It seems that all of you have gotten too comfortable in the positions you hold at the moment. Should I weed out those who are not willing to carry out my orders?"
"Please forgive us, Your Majesty!"
"W-We have erred. Please, have mercy on us."
""Have mercy on us!""
The Dragon King smirked before giving his orders. "Return to your duties, and don't question my orders a second time!"
"""Yes! Your Majesty!"""
All the ministers left the throne room as if they had been given the Royal Pardon. Even Cethus hurriedly left because he was afraid that if he stayed for a second longer, the Dragon King would ask him to remain in the throne room and punish him for reporting something so petty.
When the Dragon King was left all alone in the throne room, a door appeared behind the throne, revealing a secret passage that was only known to the Royal Family.
The Dragon King smiled because he already knew the identity of the person that came to see him.
"Father, did I pick the wrong time to visit you?"
A young lady, whose skin was as white as cream, and eyes as red as rubies asked.
Her long purple hair that rested behind her back swayed faintly as she sat on her father's lap and looked up at him with an apologetic look on her face.
"You can visit me anytime, love." The Dragon King looked fondly at his daughter as he playfully poked the two small, golden dragon horns that were only an inch tall on her head. "What brings you here?"
She was his pride and treasure, and very few individuals had managed to gaze upon her beauty because the Dragon King was overprotective of her.
"Mother asked me to tell you to visit her soon," the young lady said with a smile. "My little brother is about to be born, and she wants you to be there when he hatches from his egg."
The Dragon King's eyes widened because he thought that it would still take a week before his latest child would hatch from his egg. Even so, his surprise didn't last long before a chuckle escaped his lips.
"Looks like our family has grown a little bigger," the Dragon King said softly. "Valerie, make sure to take good care off your little brother, okay?"
"Un! I'm so excited to play with him!" Valerie nodded her head.
"Alright. Since I finished my work early, let's go see your mother, okay?"
"Yes!"
The purple-haired beauty happily grabbed hold of her father's right hand and dragged him towards the secret passage. Now that her little brother was about to hatch, their family of six, would soon become a family of seven.
—---------
Third Island of the Outer Reaches…
"Hmm… I think it will be best that we build our Guild Headquarters on that mountain over there," Kellan commented. "The height is just right and it overlooks the crater."
"That's a good idea." Randolph rubbed his beard in agreement. "The crater can be used as the training ground, or we can also build a town there in the future. Since we can also construct our own Teleportation Gate, we don't need to go to the City of Pygmalion for transportation."
Keelan nodded. "If the town grows big enough, we can even start trading with the other cities of Karshvar Draconis. I think we'll need to revise our marketing strategy in the future."
Lux crossed his arms over his chest as he looked at the mountain that was ideal to build his Guild Headquarters on.
Suddenly, an image appeared inside his head of a white marble castle, overlooking a prosperous city that even surpassed the City of Pygmalion.
'I'm just building a Guild, and not a Kingdom,' The Half-Elf mused as he set aside the image that appeared inside his head. 'One step at a time, Lux. There's no need to bite off more than you can chew.'
Grabbing the waists of the two dwarves, the Half-Elf carried them towards the mountain where they would be building their Guild Headquarters.
A few minutes later, they safely landed on the ground and gazed down at the crater, taking in the view in front of them.
"Not bad." Keelan nodded. "This place is perfect."
"By the way, how are we going to build our Guild Headquarters?" Randolph asked. "Don't tell me that we will be the ones to do it? That's impossible!"
Lux blinked once then twice before Randolph's words sank into him.
He had never built a Guild Headquarters before and had no idea how to build one from scratch.
"In the case of other Guilds, they've usually hired one of those Merchant Guilds to build their Guild Headquarters for them," Keelan said as he shared his knowledge. "Have you already asked the Mayor of Pygmalion to recommend some Merchant Guilds to you?"
Lux shook his head before opening his Soul Book. According to the new information that was added to his Elysium Compendium, the Guildmaster of a Mythical Guild can simply choose a location, and pay the necessary gold for the Guild Headquarters to be built.
"Let me try something first," Lux said as he clicked the Build Guild Headquarters option in his Soul Book.
A moment later, several rows of text appeared in front of him, which Keelan and Randolph also saw, making them come closer to take a better look.
—-----------
< You are now one step away from building your Guild Headquarters! >
< Please, select one of the Merchant Guilds listed here to commission the construction of your Guild Headquarters. Take note that they don't accept credits. All transactions must be paid in full before the constructions starts! >
(Leading Merchant Guilds of Elysium)
– Do It Yourself Merchant Guild
– Ama-Soon Merchant Guild
– E-Bae Merchant Guild
– Zawarudo Merchant Guild
– ZAPOS Merchant Guild
– One Peace Merchant Guild
– My Hero Merchant Guild
– Full Metal Merchant Guild
– Faith Stay Merchant Guild
– Gunslinger Merchant Guild
– League of Ley-gends Merchant Guild
– Kanpai Collection Merchant Guild
– Game-shin Impact Merchant Guild
– XXXXXX
– XXXXXX
– XXXXXX
– XXXXXX
– XXXXXX
—----------
Nearly fifty Merchant Guilds appeared on the list, making Lux, Randolph, and Keelan ponder which Merchant Guild to pick from the choices listed in front of them.
Regardless of which one they chose, they would need to pay ten million gold coins for the building of their Guild Headquarters. However, since they haven't heard any of the names listed on the list, they were not sure which ones were the best in the industry.
"It's all up to you, Lux," Keelan said. "I haven't heard of these names before. Perhaps they are Merchant Guilds outside of the Kingdom of Gweliven."
Randolph also nodded his head. Someone like him, who hadn't even seen the entirety of the Dwarven Kingdom, couldn't compare to Keelan, whose connections far surpassed him.
After several minutes of pondering, Lux chose one of the Merchant Guilds that was on the list.
—---------
< You have chosen Game-shin Impact Merchant Guild >
< Are you sure about your choice? >
< Yes / No >
—---------
Lux chose yes, and the name of the Merchant Guild he chose glowed faintly before disappearing in front of him.
A moment later, a loud roar reverberated in the sky.
The wind picked up, and black clouds appeared in the skies above the Outer Reaches.
Suddenly, a giant blue dragon with four wings protruding from its back appeared in the distance, flying towards the mountain where Lux, Randolph, and Keelan were currently standing.
The Giant Blue Dragon circled the mountain twice before landing several meters away from the Half-Elf and the two Dwarves.
The sound of a lyre playing spread in the surroundings as a young man wearing a green robe, and green feathered cap stood on the head of the Dragon, and gazed down on Lux with a smile.
"Give me a moment to compose myself," the young man said with a smile as the green cape on his back fluttered in the breeze. "My name is Bentley. Are all of you ready to hear my performance?"
Lux, Randolph, and Keelan glanced at each other in dismay.
They were looking for someone to build their Guild Headquarters, and not a performer who would play an instrument for them.
However, Bentley, who was still standing on top of the Giant Blue Dragon merely chuckled, and happily strummed the strings of his lyre, creating a beautiful melody that chased away the dark clouds in the sky.
