Jona Velli tasted a piece of roast meat, her eyes widening as she took another bite as if to make sure.
That's right, it was this taste—the taste of salt!
She looked at Fanny in surprise.
"What's with this flavor? Did you discover a salt vein?"
Fanny held out both hands, her index fingers crossed in front of her.
"Jona Velli guessed wrong. This is something we traded for with the caravans."
Jona Velli looked puzzled, but she was too hungry now. Plus, the salted roast meat further stimulated her taste buds, forcing her to suppress her doubts and focus on eating.
Seeing Jona Velli eating with such relish, Fanny smiled slightly and did not disturb her.
After eating for a while and feeling her hunger fade slightly, Jona Velli began to ask about the developments of the past few years.
Little Fanny sat on her shoulder and patiently answered her questions.
"Fanny, tell me how you developed this to such a scale step by step over these years."
Fanny swung her little feet, her face brimming with a smile.
"Of course. After all, we're friends, hee-hee~"
"At the very beginning, I just led these Kobolds and Goblins to slowly build the tribe. Once it was ready, I led them to explore the Slumbering Forest."
"As you can see, we have subjugated a few races."
As Fanny spoke, she pointed to the monsters following behind, including Forest Trolls, Snake-people, and Minotaurs.
Jona Velli glanced at them and nodded, signaling her to continue.
"After subjugating these races, I found that they grew some fruits and raised livestock."
"Furthermore, while we were exploring the Slumbering Forest, we met a companion of mine, another fairy named Anna."
As she spoke, Fanny waved to the monsters following behind. Soon, a Nature Elemental Spirit wearing leaves as clothes flew out, looking very nervous.
Jona Velli glanced at her, and Anna greeted her awkwardly.
"Anna... greets the White Dragon Lord."
Fanny patted her shoulder.
"Why are you so nervous? Lord Jona Velli won't eat you."
Anna stole a glance at Jona Velli. Although this human loli looked quite cute, a terrifying dragon was hidden beneath that adorable exterior.
The battle from just now was still fresh in her mind, and fairies were also on the dragon's menu. Thinking of this, she became even more afraid and hurriedly lowered her head.
Jona Velli saw her nervousness but said nothing, signaling Fanny to continue.
Seeing how cowardly her friend was, Fanny also shrugged.
"Well, I gave you a chance, but you're just useless."
Hearing Fanny's words, Jona Velli wanted to laugh. Should she call her a newborn calf that isn't afraid of tigers, or just plain stupid?
Fanny continued speaking.
"It's thanks to Anna's help in accelerating the growth of the fruit that we were able to cultivate it so quickly."
"But that's not the most important part. The most important thing is that a caravan from the Eastern Human Kingdoms came to our City-state and traded with us."
"We provide them with meat and fruit in exchange for crops like wheat and seasonings like salt."
Hearing this, Jona Velli was very satisfied.
Look at that, just look at that. This is simply a genius; she's so talented in management.
"And then?"
"Then? Then those human caravans felt that while the fruit was fresh, it wouldn't last long before rotting and they would lose money, so they lowered the original price. I thought what they said made sense, so I agreed."
"But those humans also said they could exchange supplies for the scales of these Frost Kobolds and White-Scaled Goblin. I didn't see a problem with that, so I agreed as well."
Hearing this, Jona Velli's movements paused, and the surrounding temperature suddenly dropped several degrees.
"What's wrong? Why did it suddenly get so cold?"
Fanny rubbed her shoulders and shivered.
Jona Velli turned her head. Her pupils had shifted from ice-blue to crystal-blue vertical slits, her tone carrying a hint of suppressed anger.
"What did you say?"
Fanny hadn't realized anything was wrong yet and repeated herself.
"The humans exchanged supplies with us for the scales of these Frost Kobolds and White-Scaled Goblin."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surrounding temperature dropped even further.
Jona Velli's eyelid twitched. White dragon horns grew from her head, a dragon tail emerged behind her, and white dragon wings sprouted from her back.
Fanny also sensed that something was wrong.
"Is there... something wrong?"
Jona Velli looked at her, her gaze cold.
"Do you have any idea how greedy humans are by nature? Have you figured out the real purpose of those so-called human caravans coming to the Yesupu Continent?"
Fanny was completely lost.
"Isn't it just to do business?"
Jona Velli stared at her fixedly, thinking how this fairy could be so stupid.
Given the typical nature of humans, they had definitely already targeted these special monsters.
Rustle—
An abrupt sound came, breaking the stiff atmosphere.
Jona Velli and the other monsters looked over and found a black-haired young boy who was only about 1.4 meters tall.
At this moment, the little thing was standing on the long table, picking up roast meat and stuffing it into his mouth, wearing a very satisfied expression.
"Amazing! I've never eaten such delicious food!"
Facing the collective gaze of the monsters, Gris paused. After swallowing the roast meat in his mouth, he spoke innocently.
"What's up? Why is everyone looking at me? I thought you weren't eating. If you're not eating, you're not going to let me eat? I have to say, this meat is really fragrant."
Seeing the monsters staring at him without speaking, he scratched his head with his greasy little hand, then picked up a large roasted leg and said with a grin.
"How about you eat first, Older Sister?"
Looking at this fool, Jona Velli sometimes really wondered if he was a white dragon in a black skin. How could a Black Dragon, known for being treacherous and cunning, be this stupid?
But fortunately, the heavy atmosphere was broken by Gris. Jona Velli sighed deeply, having lost most of her appetite.
"Sigh~ The Yesupu Continent is a place where Beastmen, Half-Orcs, Demi-humans, and monsters live. Generally speaking, humans rarely come here for trade since conventional currency doesn't circulate much here. Most of them come under the guise of trading to capture slaves."
"The scales of Little Shunzi, Blockhead, and the others are excellent materials for making armor. Setting aside whether you were cheated on the price, given the nature of humans, they must have targeted you long ago."
"Plus, your status as a Little Fairy will only deepen their greed. I believe it won't be long before those so-called caravans hire Adventurers and Mercenaries to capture you."
Hearing Jona Velli's words, Fanny finally realized how big of a mistake she had made.
"I'm sorry... then what should we do now? Should we run?"
Although Fanny was usually carefree, hearing Jona Velli describe it so seriously, the thought of fleeing also arose.
"How long ago did those human caravans come? On average, when do they arrive?"
Facing Jona Velli's sudden question, Fanny thought for a moment.
"Two years ago. That group of caravans came for the first time two years ago. Then more caravans came last year. They usually arrive at our City-state around August every year."
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