I Raised A Black Dragon

Noah had brought not only the magical items of Eleonora but also the handcuffs from Kyle's office at the annex of the Bureau of Investigation and Security. She managed to tie Donalian tightly and shove him into a closet without much trouble.

"Uh, bub…”

"Be quiet. If you get caught making a noise, I'll give 4.5 million pounds for your neck." Her threats quickly silenced Donalian. After she had secured him, Noah picked up the signed contract.

The purchase contract, which said it would hand over ownership and operation rights of the Maobiana mine for 4.5 million pounds, contained a name that was pleasing to the eye: Eleonora Asil.

You've made a career, Park Noah. I can't believe I'm really rich. It poked her conscience to splurge Eleonora's money like a gushing stream, but wasn't it because of her brilliant record that Noah was going through all this trouble right now?

"I take the money, buy the land, hire the butler…”

Noah left Culton's office, humming. The office workers who had changed their employers were given a full-day vacation after they were dismissed.

Once a mine of astronomical value was acquired at a low price, it was necessary to eliminate the unpleasant weeds before making use of it. Donalian’s story would have been frightening if other people heard it, but Noah paid no care. If it was the cradle of the dragon, then it was like Muell’s futon. Whether she had become braver, Noah wasn’t terrified by the dreary mine; instead, she found it familiar.

The sun was setting, its hues of deep orange and blood red. Its tangerine glow painted along the streets of a small town bordering Maobiana. A cool, tranquil breeze comforted lonely souls. It was dinnertime; a crowd of people swarmed both grocery stores and bars.

"Noah!" Just in time, a black curly-haired kid popped out of a train that stopped at the convenience store across the office.

"How was it, Mu? Did you find him?”

"I didn't find the old man, Noah. This is a very interesting place. It's full of spirits!" The little boy grabbed her arm and began to gush about the things he had seen. As Muell babbled, a word caught Noah’s attention.

"Spirit?"

"Yes! I haven't seen the face yet because it’s too low. But there are voices that say hello. Noah could hear it if she listened, too!

You said it was a dragon's cradle, but living under the lake is not a monster, but a dragon's spirit? Noah followed Muell as he led, trying to hear the voices, but they didn’t reach her. Perhaps it was because of the chains that blocked resonance between her and the young dragon.

"Did you find the way down?” she asked.

"There's a lot of human pathways. Every few hours, a group of humans go down and come up and down."

The area wherein the Maobiana mine resided stretched from Gate 1 to Gate 10, and the location where Noah and Muell was now was Gate 3. The workers of the mine seemed to group themselves before descending.

As they walked under the orange lamps along the streets lined with bars and inns, Noah organized her thoughts. "Well, we'll sleep at the inn tonight. Fnd Kyle at Noviscosha substation, and then go down the mine-”

“A whopping five pounds per day! There is a premium for night work, so it's a plus! 10 pounds!”

Noah’s plan was buried underneath a thundering voice that was about five times louder than a speaker.

"Lady there! Will you work a day and not take ten pounds?"

"What? No, I don't.”

Owing to the scarcity of the applicants for the mine, even if one was not a miner, they just push anyone into the mine, desperate for work to be done. Noah grabbed Muell and slithered into the crowd, avoiding the jabbering man. She tightened her robe lest her fancy dress would be revealed. Oh, come to think of it, I left my hat in the office. That feathery hat, I liked it so much…

"Okay, good! If you were born and raised in Noviscosha, you should know how to pickaxe by default, whether it's a man, a woman, a child, or an old man!" The miner fastened a loudspeaker cord around his neck. Then, he began to count the number of heads he had managed to catch. "…Twenty-eight, twenty-nine, thirty. Good. Let's go straight down!"