Kerem is sobbing into his coins, enormous boiling hot tears steaming wherever they land. I'm awkwardly tapping his side with a single leg, ready to bolt if I have to, and Bubbles is unsuccessfully trying to eat him from the tail up.

  "I just-" The creature inhales a huge sniff before continuing. "A hoard is the only thing I've got, you know? And if no one is coming to see it, why bother having it?"

  [Because it's shiny?]

  "IT'S TASTELESS!" Kerem howls, slamming a claw into the pile of gold. "What's a dragon without his reputation? I used to be known far and wide as Kerem, the destroyer of towns! Kidnapper of princesses!"

  I tilt my head.

  [What's a dragon?]

  Kerem spins around, staring me in the face. Gold flies everywhere as his body disturbs the hoard. "I'M A DRAGON! Have the reputations of the rulers of Xanem truly deteriorated so much?"

  [...All right, Null. I did some research, and... and...]

  [Joule? It's about time you showed up! This thing - it calls itself a dragon, by the way - has been crying for ten minutes! It's talking about reputation and hoards, and I don't know how to make it stop!]

  [How in Noah's brown slippers did you get into this much trouble so fast?]

  If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

  [Noah has brown slippers?]

  [That's not the point!]

  The dragon looks over tearfully. "Who's that?"

  [He can hear me?]

  Kerem preens. "Of course I can hear you! My telepathy skill is level nine!"

  [...Wait, you have levels?]

  "Of course! Doesn't everything upgrade themselves through the System?"

  [Joule, what's he talking about?]

  [It must be the rules that applied to Bubbles before Noah changed him!]

  The dragon tilted its head, the gold on top of it showering off. "Who is this Noah you mention?"

  [Noah Cosmic. Why?]

  In a massive and incredibly rapid motion, Kerem shot backward, clinging to the back of his cave. Bubbles was thrown off by the force. "You are representatives of Noah Cosmic?!"

  [Uhhh... yes. Do you know him?]

  "KNOW HIM?!?" The dragon roared in shock at the thought. "There isn't a living being on Xanem who doesn't! That chaotic monster destroyed an entire continent a few thousand years ago! Nobody forgets that kind of power, no matter how long it's been!"

  [...I would say I don't believe you, but Noah has proven... unpredictable, to say the least. Was anyone killed?]

  "OF COURSE PEOPLE WERE KILLED! Millions of demons were obliterated by the force!"

  [Wait, they were demons? Isn't that a good thing, then?]

  "OF COURSE NOT! Because of that incident, his good reputation outshines that of every dragon on the planet! It's unforgivable!"

  [...So is he evil or not?]

  The dragon eyes me carefully, before cautiously responding. "Nobody truly knows. Some say he committed the genocide because he wanted to clean the world. Others say he did it because a demon crossed him, and he blamed the whole race for it. It could even be both, for all we know."

  I think about it for a long moment.

  [I may not understand Noah very well, if at all. He's chaotic, confusing, a little bit maniacal sometimes, and definitely dangerous. But I don't think he's heartless. If he obliterated an entire race like you say he did, then he probably had a good reason.]

  Kerem comes down from where he'd been standing and looks me in the eye. "For your safety and the world's, puny ant, I hope you are right."