The Dragon Lord's Aide Wants to Quit [BL]-Chapter 330: Heirlooms in the Making

"Oh wow! You made a lot of money! You really deserve it for working so hard!"

Liam’s eyes sparkled as he leaned closer, genuinely thrilled for his partner in crime.

Orien, however, was still staring at the pouch in disbelief.

"And here’s yours for the lessons you’ve given them in return."

Riley, much to the children’s surprise, extended another pouch toward Liam.

The little sprite blinked. "Mine?"

He clearly hadn’t expected payment. In his mind, he had simply done what he thought was right. But Riley had heard about the bead incident. He knew why Orien had tried to offer compensation before, and it was obvious that both of them had exerted extra effort in teaching each other. One was teaching about handling mana while the other was teaching his own form of social studies.

So it was only fair.

Orien, meanwhile, carefully opened his pouch. It actually took a good moment before he recovered enough to be able to move but he finally peeked inside.

Only to once again freeze.

There were more gold coins.

Actual gold coins.

His fingers trembled slightly as he tipped the pouch just enough to confirm that his eyes weren’t deceiving him.

They gleamed.

He swallowed.

Riley spoke gently. "Specialized services that require expertise tend to get paid more. Chores don’t really pay because, as adults, chores are things that are required as part of life. But going out of your way to perform beyond those would usually count as work, especially when they take so much effort and resources."

It was likely one of the most unexpected lectures Riley had ever given out of the blue.

But to Orien, who had just been told that he had received his first earnings, it felt like the world had brightened.

He earned this gold.

With his own hands.

"So when you spend," Riley continued, "you may want to think like this. For what you had to do to earn the money, is the item you’re buying worth it?"

"!!!"

Of course, all the basic and even extra needs would be taken care of by the adults. That was never a question. But it was a completely different feeling to hold the money you earned with your own two hands and decide where it would go.

Orien stood there, dazed, staring at the pouch as if it contained the secrets of the universe.

And then, to everyone’s surprise, he took out a whole gold coin and handed it to Liam.

Only when the golden dragonling looked over did he see that the little sprite was similarly holding a gold coin in front of his face.

The children stared at each other, blinking at the coins held out before them.

But more than the children, Riley and the rest of the adults blinked in collective surprise.

Orien looked taken aback at first, as if he hadn’t expected retaliation.

Then he recovered and cleared his throat.

"As my charge, it’s only natural for me to give you a spending allowance," he declared with utmost seriousness. "It would be impolite not to do so."

He pushed the gold coin forward again.

"Oh, then please take this too!" Liam replied brightly.

"What? Why would I take money from you?!" Orien protested.

"It’s not taking money! I did promise to take care of you, so it’s only right to give a part of the income! My big brother receives a bag like this from his husband, but since I still don’t earn much, it’s only like this for now! But I’m sure that if I study and work harder, then in time it would also be possible to hand over more."

Liam said it proudly, chin lifted, completely unaware of the stunned silence around him.

Riley nearly sputtered on his drink.

Slowly, very slowly, he turned his head toward his very own golden Dragon Lord, who always insisted on handing out sacks of gold coins without fail.

The guilty party avoided eye contact.

He looked to the right while ever so slowly chewing on the dessert Riley had earlier stuffed into his mouth.

He clearly had plans to chew until tomorrow with the rate he was going.

The children continued arguing, each insisting that the other take the coin. Voices rose. Hands pushed coins back and forth. By the time they reached a so-called agreement, they were practically panting.

One coin each.

Final.

Riley shook his head and chose to remain quiet.

He was fairly certain he had just witnessed both children slip the exchanged coins into entirely different pockets for safekeeping.

What a way to encourage forced savings.

If only the ex-mortal knew that dragons were different with prized possessions. Such were things that would be preserved long after they were skin and bones.

And what else could be expected for the newly acquired heirlooms?

Those exchanged coins had already been tucked away with such reverence that one would think they were ancient relics rather than freshly earned allowances.

But those were concerns for another generation.

For now, the priority was far more urgent.

They needed to leave.

Quietly.

How they were supposed to accomplish that after attracting so much attention was beyond Riley, but it had to be done before people recovered from their shock and started taking photos.

Because that would absolutely happen.

He could already see it.

The barely concealed glances. The subtle nudges. The whispered commentary. The way people tried to look casual while very clearly not being casual at all.

Moreover, Riley wasn’t entirely sure why, but for some reason he could feel a particularly determined stare pointed at his baby brother.

It wasn’t hostile.

Not exactly.

From what he could tell, there was no killing intent.

But it was definitely noticeable.

That kind of curiosity that lingered a fraction too long.

The kind that stood out even in a crowd of spectators.

Riley frowned slightly.

As a half-baked dragon, was he just being overly sensitive?

Yet if he could feel all those eyes on them as a budding immortal, then a critical question needed to be addressed.

Just how many times had Kael actually caught him staring?

The thought hit him with embarrassing clarity.

Kael rarely commented on it. Barely ever called him out.

But Riley was absolutely certain that the Dragon Lord knew just how many times he had checked him out recently.

Dead sure.

Thankfully, he was married to the man who seemed more than happy to indulge him.

Still.

Just this morning, he had looked at that ass at least eleven times.

Dammit.