342 Tim's Story

While Remian was preparing to take up a job that involved taking out garbage, Tim was in a palace, seated at a banquet, dressed in a white coat frilled with gold lace.

Seated across from him were the Dragon Empire's Chief of Police, the Minister of Finance, and the Empire's most prominent industrialist. Seated next to him was a gorgeous noble girl who also owned every hospital in the Empire privately. She kept blushing every time she sneaked a glance at him.

At the head of the table was seated a man with a dominating presence. While everyone else was dressed in high formal attire, mess dress uniform or equivalent, this man wore only a comfortable silk shirt and slacks.

But of course, he could wear whatever he wanted. This was a man in his own home, at his own dining table. It didn't matter what he wore, every servant treated him with absolute respect and very often, awe.

In short, Tim was having dinner with the Emperor and his children.

"Shouldn't I be thrown in a jail cell or something?" it was the first thing he asked.

"Come now, Underground King, that is no way to treat a fellow Head-of-State." The Emperor had sounded quite amused, like a cat toying with a mouse. "Permit me to introduce my family."

"Uh… okay…"

"This is my eldest son, Zar'khan-dras, who keeps the peace in our nation. This is my second son, Bol'khan-dras, who runs our banks and ministry of commerce. This is my third son, Sior'khan-dras. He builds our airships… and this is my lovely daughter, Rou'khan-dras. I understand you seem to be in a relationship with the Queen of Fal'Herim, but if you ever have a falling out with her, you should really consider little Rou. She's quite reached marriable age, for humans…"

That, of course, explained some of the blushing.

Their names took a while to register and memorize, but Tim was already half-pale and gulping as he realized the implications. Every Imperial Prince and Princess had the 'khan-dras' in their names. Could it be…

"I am Tim." Tim introduced himself politely, trying very hard not to stare or blush or fall over in shock.

To which, the Emperor finally replied, "I am Zor'khan-dras."

How did he get here? Well, he tunneled into the fortress, found out about the portal, was chased by guards, couldn't return to the tunnels, and just as he was running for the side gate, the Emperor himself dropped down on him out of the sky and seized him in one fell swoop. Literally.

He had no idea before that time that the Emperor could fly. His Imperial Majesty did so without any wings, spells, or devices that Tim could see. Plus, he did so effortlessly.

Upon hearing his Imperial name, however, Tim finally understood why.

"You're the Great Dragon of Lightning?!" Tim gaped. "Like… for real? Scales, tail and all?!"

"Why, yes. Haven't you heard the legends? I founded this Empire. Of course I would be the Emperor."

"But… but I thought they were just stories! The Dragon Empire being founded by a dragon…!"

"All true, actually. Why are you so surprised?"

"I… I just… wow! I mean, WOW!"

"Come now, don't look so stunned. I'm amazed you're amazed as a man who has ridden my brother, and might one day ride my daughter as well."

"DAD!" Rou spluttered in protest.

"What?" Zor'khan asked innocently. "Why, little Rou, why are you blushing like that? Whatever are you thinking?"

That, of course, explained half of the rest of the blushes. As for the remainder, well, Zor'khan seemed to draw a great deal of amusement in teasing his daughter with ambigious phrases like that over the next ten minutes. There was one time Rou'khan even choked and coughed out flames. She almost set the table on fire.

Still, for all the jokes and the seeming amusement on Zor'khan's part, Tim didn't quite feel comfortable sitting to dinner with the Imperial family. "If I may ask, Emperor, why am I here, really?"

"Come now, Tim, humor me and allow me to appreciate someone of your abilities."

"My abilities? You mean, getting caught?"

"I mean, taking over the Fal'Herim Underground in a matter of weeks and then raising it to become the most envied syndicate in the world." Zor'khan paused. "If I had ten generals with your leadership skills, the Dragon Empire could have conquered the world by now."

"That might already be the case if you only felt inclined, Emperor. But it seems to me that you never had any such inclinations."

"Oh, there are reasons for holding back. Their names are Nil'rak-dras, Ra'oul-dras, and Ti'ela-dras." Zor'khan explained conspirationally. "My elder brothers would kick me in the tailroots if I ever bothered them or their territories with something so mundane as territorial war. Also, I feel I've bullied poor Kor'ag enough, so I better stop before he runs crying to Mom. As for the rest, I already control them, they just don't know it."

"Bullied… Kor'ag…?"

"Oh, yes, his people used to swear on the trees and Kor'ag-dras. But then he had to challenge me and make that stupid bet, so now they only swear on the grass and Kor'ag-dras."

"I was wondering about that." Tim admitted. "Kor'ag-dras being affiliated with the wood element and all. Swearing on grass felt kind of odd for a time."

At the time, Bol'khan-dras couldn't take it any more. "Father! Why are we entertaining this peasant?!"

"Silence!" Zor'khan-dras snapped. "Do not speak ill of your betters until you yourself have run a country!""

"B-but…" Bol'khan protested weakly. "I'm never going to run the Empire. My brother is the Crown Prince, HE stands to inherit the throne, not me!"

"So? Tim was not born a Crown Prince. He wasn't born any sort of prince or noble at all! And yet here he is, ruler of the desert in all but name! You could learn a thing or two from him!"

That left Bol'khan silently glowering at Tim throughout the rest of dinner.

Wisening up from their brother's misery, the other princes spoke politely to Tim, on the surface at least, until dinner ended.

Afterward, Tim was called away to view the skies, as Zor'khan put it. Basically, they held a private conversation on the palace balcony.

"That… couldn't have been what this was all about, could it?" Tim asked, at last. "You want something from me."

"Indeed. How very astute." Zor'khan nodded. "Care to guess?"

"I'd hazard to guess that you're not really out to get a son-in-law."

"Oh? And why not, do you think?"

"Because in dragon terms, your daughter is nowhere near marriable age."

Zor'khan chuckled. "True. She's only six hundred or so."

"And I doubt you care a whit about my leadership skills. If you actually valued leadership in your subjects, your educational system would be very different."

"Also true. After all, most of your leadership is centered around bribing mice with cheese."

Tim choked. "You knew?!"

Zor'khan nodded. "So, why do you think you're here?"

"I can only conclude… that you want me to do something for you. Something your own sons cannot do." Tim finally said. "Either that, or that whole farce about red mana crystals was real and dragons actually love money a lot more than anyone ever guessed."

"Oh, that…" Zor'khan snorted. "That was just to get Remian's attention and to lure him over here. I definitely need to have a long conversation with him."

"The price of a red mana crystal might be too much for him to handle, though. Last I checked, among all my friends, I was the only one who had the money for something like that."

"He'll manage." Zor'khan waved it away dismissively. "But let us speak more about red mana crystals and prices."

Tim stared. "Are you kidding me?"

"What?"

"You want me to sell your mana?! In the Underground markets?!" Tim guessed out loud.

"Frankly, yes. I seem to be in dire need of money." Zor'khan admitted openly.

"Money? What need could you possibly have of money?!" Tim spluttered. "The ruler of the richest country in the world is in need of money?!"

Zor'khan sighed. "It's sad, but true. I could do it the violent way and conquer the world and make all humans my slaves to build my ships without cost, but slavery tends to result in shoddy craftsmanship, and I really need quality. Quality of a level that can only be bought at high cost."

Tim finally let out a long breath. "Exactly what kind of ships are we talking about that is going to cost so much?"

"The kind that only Remian could understand." Zor'khan said softly, and raised his gaze to the stars.

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