CHAPTER 437: CHAPTER 262: WINTER FEAST (PART 2)

Accompanied by an unpleasant, rather personal sound from behind her, Lizrite instantly lost all enthusiasm. She just wanted to kick David, the ’driver’ who was ’flooring the gas pedal without a care,’ right off her back. He’d ’sprung a leak,’ so to speak.

It wasn’t until the two Red Dragons flew near the Port of Wallens that they noticed a change. This harbor city-state, which should have been under curfew, was instead brightly lit and adorned with festive decorations. The streets teemed with people, all seemingly accustomed to being out at this hour.

Does this world also celebrate New Year’s?

Perhaps sensing the confusion in David’s eyes, Lizrite, now recovered from her... unusual state, flicked her tail and said, "We’re lucky. We made it back just before the Winter Festival."

"Winter Festival?" David vaguely felt he’d heard the name before but couldn’t recall any details.

"Yes. It’s said to be a festival brought over by the High Elves from the human civilizations of the Toriel world. I don’t know all the details, but I do know there will be lots of delicious food brought by merchants from all over the Granyel Continent. I remember when we dragons first moved here years ago, we devoured all the snacks on the entire commercial street! We even made some human children cry because they were so envious. I still remember that scene; it was hilarious!"

As Lizrite vividly recounted tales of Winter Festivals he had missed, David looked down at the bustling scene below. Humans, Dwarves, and Dragons lived together in harmony, and a wistful smile touched his lips.

He found it ironic. His own dragon flight was on the verge of conflict with the High Elves, yet here their city-state was, already celebrating a festival introduced by those same Elves. Despite this, David felt no resistance to the idea. After all, both humans and Dragons needed to relax. The origin of a festival mattered little as long as it was positive and allowed people to enjoy some happiness in the present. Even Evil Dragons wouldn’t reject the conveniences and benefits of civilization.

Humans, indeed, are a paradoxical yet surprisingly compatible race.

In the past, peaceful coexistence between Evil Dragons and humans was rare. Most Evil Dragons would simply loot, burn, and flee. Otherwise, they’d risk retaliation from a ’dragon-slaying team.’ If they were careless enough to lose such a fight, their heads would be severed and displayed on the city walls as a testament to military might. This remained true until the emergence of David, a Heteromorphic Dragon blending a human soul with draconic lineage.

The citizens of the Port of Wallens had accepted these Dragons so quickly largely because there had been no bloodshed when the Dragons first arrived. Otherwise, the resulting blood feud alone would have taken at least a decade, possibly several, to resolve. Conversely, David’s move to stabilize the situation by having the Drow Alianna purge the underground gangs beforehand had actually improved social stability in the Port of Wallens. Later, projects like the construction of the Dragon Nest and the Kutaro Tokamak Fortress breathed new life into the city-state, which had endured half a century of war, allowing it to recover rapidly.

Once well-fed, even Evil Dragons weren’t the child-eating monsters of bards’ tales. High-level policies ensured minimal conflict of interest between the species. In fact, a somewhat symbiotic and mutually beneficial relationship had developed, making their cohabitation naturally harmonious.

David even saw human children tossing frozen bones to passing dragon beasts, and these shameless creatures actually wagged their tails at the humans in response. This seemingly domesticated behavior genuinely made David feel a pang of indignation at their lack of fight, though he didn’t dwell on it.

However, his smile froze when he saw some people, upon noticing their approach, instinctively reach for dung forks.

How could he not realize then that his ’public latrine project’ had utterly failed?

So, on this particular political initiative, he was on par with Sage Modi! It seemed one could govern the heavens and the earth, but ultimately, one couldn’t control when Dragons needed to shit or fart.

Then again, David mused, implementing such a policy for Dragons was incredibly difficult. Their incredibly efficient digestive systems, combined with their cloacal anatomy, and exacerbated by their inherent draconic Pride and refusal to be inconvenienced, meant Dragons were destined to be creatures that... well, let’s just say they didn’t hold things in.

This train of thought led David down a rather crude mental path. He remembered Sebriz, that gay Silver Dragon he’d once met. When Sebriz was... *exchanging affections* with his male dragon friends, did things proceed directly to the stomach, so to speak?

Just as this rather worldview-shattering thought crossed his mind, he heard the screams of human children from below—a mixture of fright and delight. David looked towards the sound, his eyes immediately lighting up.

He saw Nifadora and her Green Dragon sisters parading down the street with her three daughters. Nifadora had naturally sensed David’s and Lizrite’s return from afar and was already sending him flirtatious glances.

The townsfolk were perhaps accustomed to the sight of colossal Dragons blotting out the sun as they flew high overhead. So, when these three ’little ones’ appeared—creatures who did little but eat and sleep and were only tiger-sized—any sense of awe vanished. Instead, human children waved fragrant food, trying to feed them. They clearly thought it wise to get on good terms with these three young dragon princesses from an early age. Successfully feeding them would be prime bragging material, giving them an edge in any future boastful encounters.

But the largest of the Hatchlings, Satilaesa, disdainfully snubbed the crowd’s offerings. Even with the tantalizing aroma of pepper-roasted horse leg meat wafting right under her nose, making her drool, she refused the ’handouts.’ Only when the craving became unbearable did she finally let out a roar like a big cat, sending the children scattering and screaming.