Chapter 512: Toothless, Is That You?

Leech’s body lay peacefully in the village within the Rift Cave, but his consciousness was controlling the Corpse Ghosts as they stitched the black dragon’s head back on. The process was actually quite simple: cover the break between the dragon’s head and neck with gold, and then… begin the refinement!

Considering the black dragon was a “legendary creature,” Leech thought it over carefully and decided not to add any Extraordinary materials.

This was also because he didn’t have a single Extraordinary material left. What kind of black dragon he could create would be entirely up to luck. As long as its Dragon Race’s magical memories could be preserved, that was all that mattered.

「A night passed.」

In the early morning, Leech got up and headed to the Minotaur Tavern, where quite a few people were eating breakfast.

The weather in Giant’s Foot was still scorching hot in November, and many people chose to drink a mug of cellar beer first thing in the morning.

‘Beer is called liquid bread, after all. Eating bread while drinking bread in the morning… that’s all carbs. A surefire way to get fat.’

Leech’s appetite had recovered a bit. He ate a pan-fried steak and drank his beer, casually watching the swaying, plump buttocks.

‘He never denied being a perv. Watching a curvy tavern maid while he ate was certainly more interesting than staring at a two-headed ogre. Besides, his Soldiers were terrible cooks. If he didn’t come here, he’d have nowhere else to eat.’

After the tavern maid “reluctantly” swayed her hips a few more times… alright, she was actually quite willing. First, Leech was the only patron who tipped without getting handsy. Second, being handsome really did get you better service. No matter how prim and proper someone acted, deep down, they still preferred good-looking people.

The tavern maid chatted enthusiastically with Leech, making the other adventurers watch with envy.

‘The only thing Leech found regrettable was that no idiot had shown up yet to act tough, giving him a chance to put them in their place. No one was harassing the tavern maid, and no one was coming to pick a fight with him.’

As soon as they saw Leech’s noble status, they all buried their heads in the sand like ostriches and kept quiet. Even the tavern owner didn’t dare interrupt the maid for openly slacking off on the job.

‘Is being a noble really that useful?’

‘Turns out, it really is.’

Leech spent nearly two hours on his breakfast, from the moment the sun rose until it was hanging askew over the eastern treetops.

At the same time, he gathered a lot of useful information, mostly local gossip about Giant’s Foot.

For instance, Prince Hoffman ruled Giant’s Foot by popular demand, and everyone adored her.

Also, they hated eating dried, stinky fish, but it had indeed saved lives during the famine… At this, Baron Leech rubbed his nose, indicating his contribution wasn’t that significant.

He also learned that Betty’s family, the now-vanished Borne Clan, was connected to Naturalism, one of the many faiths in Giant’s Foot.

Apparently, besides the fallen Borne Clan, other followers of this faith included the Donaxu Clan, the Pin Kus Clan, and the Hoffman Hogg family.

The Hoffman Hogg family was likely the Hoffman-Hog family. They were originally a minor noble family named Hog, but after one of them married a woman from the Hoffman family, they shamelessly changed their surname, and all their descendants thereafter were known as Hoffman-Hog.

Just like in the tavern now, many people had mixed beliefs. A considerable number of them followed Naturalism, including the maid in front of him. As a casual Believer, she was already trying to sell Leech on the benefits of Naturalism.

It wasn’t just because of its core doctrine: “All is void, nature permits all.”

It was also because, among the many faiths, Naturalism was the one that performed the most miracles.

Prophecies, answered prayers, divine signs, and so on.

She recounted one case after another: a mute child who was instantly cured by a mouthful of Natural Divine Water; a poor woman cursed by a demon, who was saved when a Divine Spirit destroyed the demon and cleansed her soul; a man paralyzed for thirty years who was made to jump around lively again with a single Divine Magic.

Naturalism always played the role of the savior, appearing at critical moments to spread light and love.

But Leech was focused on something else.

‘Naturalism… are you sure it’s not the Otherworld Brotherhood? Do they use hidden blades? The motto is the same.’

‘Training my own group of assassins seems like a good idea. Not for any particular reason, just because the hooded white robes are stylish as hell.’

As a lord, he didn’t even have his own organization of assassins. Leech felt he really needed to reflect on this.

‘As for joining Naturalism?’

‘Do you hand out free eggs? Even if you do, I’m not interested.’

‘He, Leech Clarence, was the Baron of both Porcupine Territory and Iron Valley in the Lu Leiyi Kingdom, the son-in-law of Linta Bay, and his son was the Baron of Waterfall Land. He was a bona fide, pure-blooded believer of the Four Gods.’

‘He’d fight anyone who dared to question his loyalty!’

“Doesn’t anyone believe in giants?” Leech asked, puzzled. The spies he had sent to gather gossip truly couldn’t dig up this kind of “local custom.”

However, since Prince Hoffman was so beloved and even had giant kinship, most people should believe in Giantism.

Of course, on the surface, the proper faith for the entire Lu Leiyi Continent was still the Four Gods… the Four Gods who never performed any miracles.

It might seem absurd, but that was the reality. The Four Gods, who never showed any divine signs, had the faith of over 95% of the Lu Leiyi Continent, while the sects that performed miracles every day were all just barely hanging on.

“There are. The Pin Kus Clan, for one.”

She had just said the Pin Kus Clan believed in Naturalism, and now she was saying they believed in giants. This actually gave Leech a sliver of kinship with them.

‘So you guys also just believe in whichever god is most useful, huh.’

“I’ll tell you, but don’t you tell anyone else,” the maid said, lowering her voice. However, her voice didn’t get quieter at all; in fact, it got a fair bit louder, as if to say, ‘I’m about to tell a secret that everyone can hear.’ “The sect that worships giants was declared a heretical cult! They were declared wanted by the Prince last year. Ed Pinco has been missing for almost a year now!”

Leech was suddenly very interested in Giantism—no, he was more interested in Prince Hoffman. She would forcefully suppress Giantism?

But on second thought, it made sense. If Leech himself had Prince Hoffman’s power, and the Four Gods Sect was looming over his head declaring that his right to rule was granted by the gods, he certainly wouldn’t be able to stand it either.

If not for this reason, he wouldn’t have delayed building a church for so long.

Compared to earning the loyalty of his subjects with full bellies and various high-quality material rewards, a religious sect could solidify his rule in countless ways. The loyalty it fostered could even be stronger than what Leech’s methods could achieve.

But Leech instinctively resisted this method. He was afraid of his home base being stolen from under him.

After chatting a while longer, Leech paid his bill. This time, to reward the maid for her information, Leech gave her one Silver Moon. He then pushed the door open and left amidst the beaming maid’s cheerful farewell, “My lord, please come again~!”

As for the message she was practically screaming—’I don’t need money, you can have my body’—Leech pointedly ignored it.

‘Plenty of women want to ride me. If peerless, nation-toppling beauties can’t get me worked up, you can just get in line.’

While he was waiting, the cave finally sent back a message: the black dragon was out of its coffin.

A slender figure, about the size of a black hound, climbed unsteadily out of the coffin.

It was covered in black scales, with only a ring of gold around its neck, like it was wearing a gold necklace. Its neck was somewhat long, making up about a third of its total length. Its tail took up another third, leaving its torso to make up only the final third. When it moved, it was incredibly fluid and smooth.

Its wings were folded close to its sides, making it look like it was wearing a black cloak.

Sensing Leech’s Spiritual Power wash over it, the fledgling dragon spread its wings.

Leech: “Toothless, is that you? You’ve gotten so skinny you’re unrecognizable!”