Chapter 12: The Dragon’s Delight and Amira’s Dread

“Guest, you’re making things very difficult for us.”

“Please, guest, come down quickly.”

“This isn’t a swimming pool, guest.”

Outside room 2567, Theodore and Amira, who had been engaged in a heated discussion the entire way, heard the commotion from within before they even stepped inside.

Pushing open the door that had just finished self-repairing, what met their eyes was a miniature Theresia, swimming freely in a pool made of countless valuable materials and artifacts.

She would either float on her back, belly exposed, or execute swift butterfly strokes, or even dart around the pool like a playful groundhog.

The only constant was Theresia’s utterly blissful smile.

Theresia was, indeed, in a state of extreme euphoria.

The flustered voices of the elf attendants rose and fell, their beautiful faces etched with helplessness and anxiety.

However, Theresia’s senses were completely overwhelmed by the immense, newfound happiness of recovering what she had lost.

She was utterly oblivious to anything beyond the pool.

To put it simply, she was beyond ecstatic.

To Amira, this scene was nothing short of a nightmare. The greater Theresia’s current joy, the more terrifying her despair would be later.

“Theodore, you…”

According to their previous arrangement, it was Theodore’s turn to intervene, yet his silence puzzled Amira. Turning her head, she discovered Theodore wearing the exact same expression as Theresia.

Theodore was supremely happy, his brain dedicating all its processing power to record this precious scene.

In her current dragon form, Theresia presented a striking contrast to her usual appearance.

Her cute yet sharp little horns, smooth yet dark scales, petite and adorable body, and those endearing gestures and blissful expressions surpassed any animal in cuteness.

Fierce and powerful when large, yet charmingly adorable when small.

He would bet anything that this was the dream dragon for every single dragon rider!

Wasn’t this far more appealing than a woman?

Regal, powerful, adorable, capable of flight, and even… laying eggs. Ah, no, the last one didn’t count.

“Hey, Theodore, wake up! You’re practically drooling.”

Amira’s eyes blazed with fury as she frantically shook Theodore. How could he still be so infatuated with dragons at a time like this? She understood his desire to be a dragon rider; after all, ninety-nine percent of humans dreamt of it!

She wanted to too!

But now was not the time! If they didn’t rectify this immediately, they wouldn’t even be fit to be dragon fodder, let alone dragon riders!

Theodore, with a foolish grin, declared to Amira, “Gentlemen, I absolutely adore dragons.”

“My Sanity-Restoring Fist, return!”

As the esteemed owner of the appraisal institute, Amira considered herself an exceptionally elegant elf, possessing breathtaking beauty and renowned for her rationality and wisdom.

Yet, today’s dragon-induced madness made her realize that sometimes, reason and calm couldn’t save their dragon-obsessed minds; only a fist could!

True to her conviction, the violent impact to his jaw instantly shattered all the fantastical bubbles in Theodore’s mind. However, the sensation of flipping three times in the air before landing was truly indescribable.

Regaining his senses amidst the pain, Theodore looked up at Amira, about to speak. “You—”

Amira, however, wore a practiced smile as she asked, “I will reimburse your medical expenses and compensation for emotional distress afterwards. If you wish, I can also find you a highly skilled elf physician specializing in mental health to check on your psychological state. We also have brain specialists available.”

“I can even arrange blind dates for you if needed. Now, can you please take care of your dragon?!”

“Actually, she’s not *my* dragon yet,” Theodore mumbled softly before walking towards the pool filled with materials and artifacts.

Could it be that she truly was a Black Dragon?

There wasn’t a single soft item in the treasure pool, yet she managed to swim so contentedly.

Theresia was clearly beyond hearing human speech at this point. Theodore seized the moment Theresia bounced out of the pool like a fish, instantly rushing forward and scooping her up.

Even in her miniature form, Theresia was still larger than Theodore, requiring both his arms to hold her.

It felt like embracing an oversized pillow, though this particular pillow was terrifyingly heavy.

Still, Theodore felt no dissatisfaction. A miniature Black Dragon was nestled in his arms—the only Black Dragon in the entire world!

A super invincible, limited-edition dragon!

****

Once removed from the intoxicating scent of treasures, Theresia finally ceased her adorably foolish behavior.

Wiping a bit of drool from the corner of her mouth, the dragon’s inherent greed for treasure was simply too difficult for a young dragon like her to overcome.

Theresia turned to Theodore, who was still holding her aloft, and said, “Um, you can put me down now.”

Fortunately, she couldn’t see Theodore’s expression behind her, or a Black Dragon version of the Sanity-Restoring Fist would have made its fresh debut.

“Oh, right.”

This time, Theodore maintained his regained composure, carefully placing the Black Dragon ‘in his arms’ onto the ground.

Amira watched Theodore’s actions with deadpan eyes. Anyone unaware would have thought he was setting down a fragile vase.

With a flash of light, Theresia transformed back into her human form.

Theodore was about to speak when Theresia spread her arms and strode towards Amira. “Amira, my friend, coming to your appraisal institute was truly the wisest choice I ever made!”

“I was terrified earlier! I thought that explosion had destroyed my wonderful future along with everything else. Hahaha, you wouldn’t believe it, but for a moment, I even felt the urge to send your appraisal institute directly into the sky. And then burn down the World Tree.”

Amira was embraced tightly by Theresia, who then patted her heavily on the back.

The stinging sensation on her skin wasn’t enough to pull Amira from her current state of dread. She was now in zero-distance contact with a Black Dragon; an elf’s magic and agility were utterly meaningless. If this Black Dragon exerted even a little force, her spine would snap like a puffed cracker.

Even worse, she had committed an act that might provoke the Black Dragon to do just that. More terrifying still, had the Black Dragon just said something truly alarming?

“Hahaha, really? How fortunate that was.”

Cold sweat poured down Amira’s forehead like rain. She looked at Theodore, signaling him to quickly pull the Black Dragon away, at least to a casting distance that would allow her to teleport away instantly.

“Theresia, let’s calm down for a moment. I know you’re excited, but let’s not get *too* excited just yet.”

Theodore gently pulled Theresia away and guided her to sit down in a chair.

Under Theresia’s innocent gaze, Theodore opened his mouth, but found himself unable to deliver the terrifying news.

Glancing back at Amira, he saw she had already retreated near the doorway, quietly enveloping herself in a magical protective barrier.

Clearly, this elf was entirely unreliable.

“The cause of the explosion has been identified,” Theodore began, narrating the incident at a deliberate pace. It was a disaster caused by the operational error of a junior elf intern.

Theresia listened, perplexed. She had no interest in the cause, time, or culprit of the explosion; she merely needed to ensure all her materials were intact.

Theodore knew Theresia didn’t care about these details, but he needed to buy time and use these ‘boring’ facts to calm her wildly fluctuating, excited heart slightly!

He also needed to give Amira time to evacuate the appraisal institute’s internal members.

Feeling that enough time had passed, Theodore judged it was time to get to the main point.

“Theresia, you’ve witnessed the appraisal institute’s protective measures. The 99% success rate is designed to prevent damage to clients’ materials.”

“Yes, yes, that’s certainly true. I saw it all.” As she spoke, Theresia tilted her head and gave Amira a big thumbs-up.

Amira sat upright, forcing a smile that was uglier than a cry. She calculated that all non-essential personnel in the appraisal institute should have evacuated by now. Perhaps she should slip away too.

But Theodore uttered the next sentence just as she was contemplating her escape: “However, there is always that one percent chance of damage.”

Theresia: “…”

Her smile gradually turned ‘benevolent’.

Though she had been a bit wild earlier, she was no fool.

She immediately locked her aura onto Amira, then crossed her arms, stating very amiably, “Is that so? Well, it’s nothing major. As long as what’s damaged isn’t something irreplaceable in a short time, the appraisal institute’s financial and material resources will certainly be able to compensate for the loss immediately.”

“Right, Amira?”

Theresia tilted her head, looking at Amira, and said softly, “What was damaged certainly isn’t something that can’t be replaced quickly, right? Also, this distance is still too close for a Black Dragon.”

No sooner had she finished speaking than Theresia, with astonishing speed, appeared beside Amira before anyone could react, smiling sweetly at her.

“This magical barrier is no different from paper.”