Ten.
Minutes.
That's how long the walk from the mine to the administration building was.
Ten minutes of ash, uneven terrain, and scattered construction workers waving at their demon lord with half-eaten sandwiches in their claws.
Lucien strode at the front of the group with his usual swagger, flanked by Serenith and Ignara. Behind him trailed X'zelle, Alexel, and the ever-loyal chaos twins. At the very back, lagging and muttering curses into the wind, was Valgereth, the great and terrifying dragon in his new humanoid form.
And he...
Was not doing well.
Smoke puffed from his nostrils with every step. His perfect suit, once crisp and regal, now looked crumpled. He stumbled every third step and muttered dramatic complaints between gasps.
"Is it just me," Veyra whispered as she matched pace with him, "or are you, like... dying?"
Val let out a long, wheezy groan. "I'm not a morning person."
"It's... past noon."
He hissed at her, horns twitching. "Days are meaningless when you've spent centuries sleeping on obsidian piles. The next decade is basically morning to me."
They finally reached the main admin building where few succubi workers greeted them with bows and shy smiles as Lucien pushed open the doors.
Everyone filed inside.
Valgereth dragged himself to the first available chair and collapsed onto it, flinging his legs over the armrest and slumping like a teenager at war with the world.
Lucien raised an eyebrow. "You alright there, Val?"
Val made a low rumbling sound, snapped his fingers, and summoned a thick shadow-stitched blanket that he promptly threw over his head. Only the tips of his horns poked through. "This is my cave now. Leave me."
Lucien snorted and turned back to the others. "We'll let the drama king take a nap. Council, updates?"
Ignara stepped forward, flipping open her enchanted ledger. "Finances first. Before Val's generous donation, we were about three days from a complete operational standstill. Wages, supply routes, and spell barriers were all bleeding us dry. That hoard dump bought us maybe two, three weeks… if we're stingy."
Lucien frowned. "Stingy is my middle name."
"Your middle name is Ego, actually," Ignara deadpanned.
"Harsh but fair. Continue."
X'zelle nodded grimly, her spider limbs clicking in agreement. "The taverns have been doing well, but we were at critical levels. We'll need to increase imports, but current channels are… bottlenecked by red tape."
"Yup," Lucien groaned. "Securing reliable trade routes has been a bitch. I'll look into it personally. Next!"
Alexel adjusted his glasses. "Construction is proceeding well. Two more towns are nearly at phase two completion. We've begun prep work on three additional sites. If recruitment stays steady and supply lines hold, we'll have thirty percent of the Ash Waste converted within the next 3-5 months."
"That's faster than expected." Lucien grinned. "Excellent work, buddy."
X'zelle grinned. "We found a squad of displaced orc masons and paid them in beer and lap dances. They've never been happier."
Lucien blinked. "...I'm so proud. Veyra?"
She straightened nervously. "I, uh, haven't had time to get updates from my subordinates... I've been... with you, my Lord."
Lucien gave her a soft smile. "Of course. Go freshen up, get your reports, and dinner's on me tonight. Full feast for everyone. Bring your appetites."
From beneath the blanket, Val's muffled voice echoed out. "Did someone say feast?"
The blanket peeled back, revealing a single glowing crimson eye.
Lucien turned. "Yes, in your honor."
Val sat upright, cracking his neck with a dramatic stretch. "I eat a lot. I expect at least three Ashland cows. And a few plump slaves for dessert."
Lucien winced. "We're, uh... a little low on slaves. But I'm sure we'll come up with something else."
Val crossed his arms. "You better. I didn't sign up for a kingdom of snacks and stale wine."
Lucien rolled his eyes. "Noted. Add 'dragon food budget' to the expenses."
Ignara muttered from behind her ledger. "He's going to eat through all our profits, isn't he?"
"Probably," added Vex, giggling.
Everyone laughed, including Valgereth.
Then Val's hand slammed on the table, cracking it.
"I'm not joking."
The laughter died instantly.
Val leaned forward, eyes glowing. "I've been eating rocks for centuries. If I'm going to help build this kingdom, I expect real food. Hot, juicy, well-spiced. With gravy. Lot's of gravy."
Lucien held up both hands. "Alright, alright. We'll put together a feast that'll make your old dragon heart flutter. Give me an hour."
Later that night, a long banquet table stood outside under the moonlight, surrounded by flickering lanterns enchanted with warm firelight. The smells of roasted meat, spiced bread, honeyed roots, and wine hung in the air like a spell.
Lucien sat at the head of the table, goblet in hand, grinning like a man who'd just pulled off a miracle.
Around him sat his high council. Ignara nursing a mug of molten ale, X'zelle daintily slicing glowing fruit, the chaos twins already tipsy and fighting over a leg of something unidentifiable and Alexel scrolling through a glowing parchment.
Veyra sat near the end, glowing with contentment, and Serenith hovered just above the table, occasionally flicking bits of ash off her robes in mild disgust.
Valgereth sat in the middle.
Eating like a monster.
He devoured everything.
Forks? Unnecessary.
Napkins? Beneath him.
Shadow tendrils extended from his back, grabbing entire platters from across the table. Plates vanished into his mouth at alarming speed.
Chicken bones crunched. Breads disappeared. A full roast ox vanished with a gulp. Someone passed him a bucket of buttered rolls, and he drank it like soup.
The others had barely touched their wine.
By the time Vex reached for her second slice of roasted lizard tail, the table was clean. Completely stripped of food.
Val slumped back in his chair, buttons popping from his stretched vest, a satisfied grin on his lips.
Lucien blinked. "That was... three hours of prep."
Val gave him a thumbs up. "It was... satisfactory. Needs more gravy next time."
Serenith hovered closer. "More? You consumed twelve entire dishes in under five minutes."
Ignara groaned. "He's going to bankrupt us before the next moon."
X'zelle stared at her empty plate and pouted. "I just sliced that… perfectly."
Val's shrugged, eyes half-lidded. "Call it a tax."
Everyone cackled.
Then Val slapped the table again. "But seriously. I've waited centuries for real food. You people better keep me fed. Well fed."
Lucien raised his goblet. "That's a promise."
Val's smirk returned. "Good. Because if I go hungry, I start hunting."
Veyra whimpered.
Vex, half-drunk, threw her arms around Lucien. "We're gonna need a dragon feeding fund."
"I'll start a Go-Fund-A-Beast," said Ignara, raising her mug.
"Or a feed-the-walking-furnace charity," mumbled Vile.
Lucien stood and raised his cup high. "To our glorious team! To rebuilding a kingdom! To feeding dragons! To..."
He paused, looking at Valgereth, who was gently patting his stretched belly.
"...actually keeping up with this bottomless pit of hellfire."
Val raised a single brow. "You forgot one thing."
Lucien sighed. "What's that?"
Val grinned, sharp and wide. "To profit."
Everyone shouted in agreement.
"TO PROFIT!"
The night air rang with laughter, firelight, and the occasional shadowy belch from a well fed dragon.