Tale of the Red Dragon Without Dragon’s Might
Chapter 193 - 192: Planning and Arrangement

Chapter 193: Chapter 192: Planning and Arrangement

Bringing up the old topic again, Leon already mastered enough powerful spells; having one more or one less wouldn’t make a big difference. Although the occasions for their use might differ somewhat, the improvement is there. However, not having enough mana to cast so many spells remains a problem.

Leon’s top priority right now wasn’t to continue learning new spells—he hadn’t even been studying them to begin with, relying entirely on Golden Finger rewards. In fact, these rewards weren’t intentional either. What really mattered was increasing mana.

Since nothing pressing or urgent required immediate action, Leon decided to settle down peacefully for a few years, focusing on improving his mana before considering other matters.

He had no interest in attacking the Elf City in the wild forests around Watchtower Port—that was Green Dragon Cecilia’s ambition. Leon was even uninterested in amassing wealth; as long as he had enough to spend, it was fine. However, he did have a bit of interest in places like the Star Realm, Abyss, and Nine Prisons. Those places were incredibly dangerous and required substantial strength to explore.

Leon’s decision to live peacefully for a few years didn’t mean he would do absolutely nothing and simply lounge around on Volcanic Island every day. Although he could do so—his Breathing and Exhaling Skill could be practiced just the same whether in the forest, desert, or sea—it wouldn’t be until he matured into a young dragon, grew in physique, and amassed sufficient mana to command even Demon Lords to respect him.

"Feel free to chop down trees anywhere except the ones near my villa."

"That’s not how you build roads... make sure to compact them properly, preferably paving them with stones."

"Once the dock is finished, you can start constructing warehouses."

Leon personally oversaw Volcanic Island’s development, directly participating in inspections. He couldn’t entrust everything to the Efreeti; Leon didn’t really trust that slave master, who lacked moderation and frequently resorted to whipping and scolding. Yet when issues arose due to "good intentions from above, poorly executed below," it was difficult to handle him since there was no one else competent enough to replace him.

He had shapeshifters infiltrate Watchtower Port to silently spread influence, while simultaneously playing the role of the port’s protector. Hoping to gradually win the residents’ support, the coup he had spent so long orchestrating ultimately never even started—because Watchtower Port simply surrendered on its own, which was somewhat anticlimactic.

Reality wasn’t like a game. It wasn’t possible to painstakingly grind until max level, defeat the hidden boss, only for the storyline boss to adamantly oppose you, letting you breeze through to the end.

In any case, Leon now wielded de facto control over Watchtower Port... Many young dragons could become significant threats to cities or even kingdoms through overt violence, intimidation, subtle infiltration, or manipulation. But genuinely claiming ruling authority was no simple feat, which could be considered a minor achievement for Leon.

Regardless of whether this was active ambition or passive circumstance, since he had become the de facto ruler of Watchtower Port, Leon was determined to take some actions to reshape the city according to his vision.

Leon didn’t immediately replace all the existing officials in Watchtower Port—not that he could even if he wanted to, due to a lack of replacements. He only swapped out a handful, such as making the Security Captain the Evil Wolf he’d recruited from Crossroads City... who now had a new name: Ward.

To be honest, Ward’s abilities were rather mediocre, but ability wasn’t important—loyalty was the most crucial factor.

At long last, Leon finally found a use for Fiora, the Bronze Dragon.

"You might not know this, but Watchtower Port belongs to me now. The Gold Shore Chamber of Commerce handed it over to me—as long as I leave them alone, I’m free to do as I please. Even the Ocean Goddess supports me, provided I allow the temple to remain there." Leon nodded at the blonde-haired girl with a ponytail. "I’m appointing you as Inspector."

"Do you know what an Inspector does?" Leon didn’t place much faith in Fiora.

"No." Fiora didn’t disappoint Leon’s expectations.

"All you do is bury yourself in those bizarre books. Can you do anything else?" Leon said. "An Inspector’s job is to oversee the moral conduct and behavior of various members of society, ensuring no one is engaging in criminal activities... Additionally, public construction projects and the trading of public property need supervision to prevent profiteering, corruption, or negligence."

Leon wasn’t being lenient towards Fiora because she was somewhat adorably inept or because her noble Bronze Dragon lineage was untouchable. Even ancient Bronze Dragons posed no threat to him anymore. No, Leon kept her because she, as a good-aligned dragon, could serve certain useful purposes.

"Inspector?" Having known Leon for quite some time, Fiora was well aware this Red Dragon was extraordinarily peculiar. He wasn’t the typical chaotic evil Red Dragon; rather, he leaned towards chaotic neutral alignment—though she couldn’t rule out it being an act, wondering if he’d one day reveal his true nature. "I can’t handle something like that."

"I can patrol the seas, deal with pirates and sea monsters... I only know how to fight; I can’t be an Inspector." Fiora shook her head like a rattle drum.

To be fair, Bronze Dragons are enamored with combat, eager to join armies and fight for noble causes, using their physique and strength to test their valor. In fact, this was exactly why Fiora became an adventurer; lacking wars, she turned to a life of battle through adventuring.

"This isn’t a negotiation; it’s an announcement. You’ll do it whether you want to or not. You agreed to work for me as a condition for releasing those adventurers, as long as it’s not something unethical." Leon’s increasingly domineering tone was evident. "Or are you saying you find this unethical? Or perhaps you’re planning to go back on your word?"

"Fine, fine. Just don’t blame me if I mess it up." Fiora sighed in resignation, slumping her shoulders and lowering her head as she reluctantly agreed to Leon’s arrangements, mentally grumbling that Leon was indeed a Great Evil Dragon.

Leon didn’t care if a Bronze Dragon grumbled at him for being a Great Evil Dragon. He had never aspired to become a good dragon or a paragon of virtue. Being a good person was too hard—one wrong move invited criticism. By contrast, being "bad" meant performing a single good deed would earn widespread praise.

"I’ve already instructed the Mayor to organize people to manage Watchtower Port’s sanitation." Leon casually continued issuing commands. "Your first task after taking office will be monitoring whether the Mayor’s appointees are bothering the residents or slacking off."

"Also, I’ve had the Mayor designate an empty plot next to Watchtower Port to facilitate my comings and goings. You’ll need to oversee it and ensure no one takes advantage of this opportunity to oppress the people." Leon growled, "If anyone’s going to exploit them, it’ll be me. If they exploit the people and let me take the blame, I’ll deal with them personally."

"Alright." Fiora’s face was full of reluctance.

Seeing this made Leon quite satisfied. Assigning unsuitable tasks and bullying a Bronze Dragon was surprisingly entertaining.

"Oh, one more thing—your role as Inspector is limited to oversight. You can only make recommendations or report directly to me. You don’t have the authority to meddle in administrative management." Leon said this to prevent any interference from Fiora’s good-aligned nature. Sometimes progress required sacrifices, even at the expense of certain interests.

Hobgoblins belonged to an evil alignment, yet they conducted trade with the outside world, sometimes establishing trade posts along their territory’s borders. Considering this, Leon had set up a trade station within Watchtower Port itself, allowing the Green Dragon’s Hobgoblin followers to come and go freely.

It wasn’t restricted to Hobgoblins; Leon permitted any monster willing to follow the rules to do business in Watchtower Port, collecting transaction taxes in the process. In Leon’s envisioned version of Watchtower Port, it shouldn’t be limited to just humans, dwarves, and elves—there should also be room for monsters.

By allowing monsters into the city for trading while prohibiting slavery, Leon wasn’t concerned about dissent. In fact, he was just waiting for someone to step out of line so he could make an example of them. Additionally, with ample land around Watchtower Port, Leon distributed plots to everyone... Leon paid no attention to this world’s conventional rules, transforming Watchtower Port entirely according to his vision.

Surprisingly, Leon’s efforts brought unexpected prosperity to Watchtower Port, to the point where he wondered whether he might have a talent for governance. Reflecting on how many places in this world struggled even with feudal systems, Leon’s simplistic methods felt like a form of dimensionality reduction.

Leon didn’t care how others viewed him. He firmly followed his own path, whether the residents of Watchtower Port supported or opposed him. To him, developing the city was like playing a simulation game.

Usually he complained of boredom, but when presented with tasks—even trivial ones—he shirked them. Yet Leon suddenly realized he could once again tolerate days spent lazing around sunbathing or enjoying the breeze.

As soon as responsibilities awaited him, his boredom seemed to dissipate. It was like lying on the bed, whining about boredom, only to instantly feel less so when one’s mother called them to do chores.

A year passed in the blink of an eye. Leon planned to live like this for twenty more years until he became a young dragon. By then, his mana would support his activation of the Vajra Body while effortlessly wielding Downy Hairs, Samadhi True Fire, or casually using Hand Palm Bomb without hesitation—never mind the mana-consuming Sword Control Technique.

Leon had grown accustomed to solitude. Occasionally, he’d meet his minimal social needs by seeking out the Efreeti, Green Dragon, or Bronze Dragon; however, sometimes he would think of Blue Dragon Tassera—the first woman he encountered in this world, a charmingly alluring Dragon Lady.

Have I really not reached out to you all this time, or have you also not reached out to me? Leon thought, feeling somewhat hypocritical.

Leon considered the many current issues plaguing Watchtower Port—ready to erupt at any moment, yet suppressed under his authority. Provided he lived, an eruption was unlikely anytime soon. Thus, he decided to carve out time for a trip to the desert to visit Blue Dragon Tassera.

"It’s really quite far," he mused.

Leon took an entire day to travel from Watchtower Port to the desert. Along the way, he found himself fantasizing about earning a reward from Golden Finger that granted a teleportation-like spell—be it Golden Light of Land or Shrinking Land into Inches—so he could easily travel wherever he wished.

Humans are insatiable, and Leon realized his desires were growing by the day.

Leon initially believed Tassera would certainly be in her lair, studying magic. To his surprise, she wasn’t there. Instead, he eventually found her at the shop she ran in Oasis City, engrossed in researching a piece of magic equipment.