[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-saya-and-the-dragon":3,"chapter-saya-and-the-dragon-saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-74":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"english","Saya and the Dragon",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1705061,2177,"Chapter 71: Aftermath & Ale","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-74",74,"\u003Cp>I slammed the mug down so hard the ale tried to flee. Splash. Foam. Full tavern judgment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He had the audacity,” I said, stabbing a finger into the bar, “to tellmeI was being dramatic.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The barkeep wisely stepped away. The dwarf next to me didn’t flinch—just grunted and reached for his own drink like this was background noise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Dramatic!” I barked. “Afterheincinerated a hundred men and vaporized a temple wall because the vault ‘smelled promising.’”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf cleared his throat. “Did it?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Oh, it smelled, alright. Like bat guano and shattered dreams. There were thirty coins, one dented goblet, and a priest who thought divine bathing was an investment strategy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf raised an eyebrow. “And you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was ready to salvagesomething. I was mid-robbery. Had the priest down to his gilded socks. And then Sir Scales-for-Brains hauls me off like I’m his naughty niece caught mugging the altar boy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Youweremugging the altar boy.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He had ivory jewelry! That’s high-end heresy!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He sipped, unimpressed. “So what was the fight about?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I glared into my cup. “He said I was embarrassing. That it ‘wasn’t a good look.’Me!I’m the one who kept us from walking out empty-handed! I got the cup!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Tin-plated.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It’s called resale value!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf scratched his beard. “Let me guess. He said something smug. You screamed. He sighed. You bit his tail.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ialmostbit his tail. But then he called mesmall-time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf’s mug stopped mid-air. “Oof.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Right?” I hissed. “Said I should have more ‘vision.’ That ‘true thieves don't grovel for sandals.’ As if he didn’t just barbecue half a city for a pile of lint and a fiscal ghost story!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I was still seething.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“He’s the one on a twelve-month deadline and somehowI’mthe embarrassment?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf muttered, “Didn’t he also moan in his sleep about sniffing gold?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Thank you!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Another splash of ale hit the bar as I slammed the mug again. “I told him, if he ever wants to fund his damn gout remedies, maybe don’t torch the only bathhouse in town.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf coughed beer.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And then—then—he has the nerve to suggest I open a bank account.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A what.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“A bank account. For my ‘hoard.’ Says if I had long-term financial planning I wouldn’t be trying to hock priest underpants in the black market.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf choked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared into space. “I’m not over it. I’m sonotover it.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you talking to him?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I told him to sleep on the other side of the camp. With the fleas.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He took a slow sip. “Are you letting him bonk you?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I stared. “What.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He gestured lazily. “The dragon. You two. You know. Doing the… beast with many backs.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I gasped theatrically. “He’s adragon.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf raised an eyebrow. “You’ve bonked worse.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I opened my mouth. Closed it. “That’s—objectively—not the same.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He started counting on his fingers. “Let’s see. That ogre in Targel Pass. The fishman from Deepmarsh. That masked thing in the steam house—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ithoughtit was decorative!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He kept counting.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Also,” I snapped, “anatomical differences. He’s got wings. And scales. And a snout. And gout.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Nothing says romance like arthritis and keratin plates.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And he’sgay!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The dwarf snorted. “Since when has that stopped you from trying?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I kicked him under the bar. “Just saying.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Even if he weren’t gay. Even if he weren’t ancient. And cranky. And scaly.Stilla no.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at me. “You sure?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I hesitated for a fraction of a second too long.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I squinted at him. “Hey. How doyouknow about the masked thing?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He smirked.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And Targel Pass? You weren’t there.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He leaned back slightly, smug as a fart in a pew. “Word gets around the taverns.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I groaned. “Of course it does.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You leave a trail of confused men and traumatized livestock behind you, girl. It’s a wonder half the continent doesn’t carry a cautionary sketch.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Blame the girl for trying to make a living.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I’m not blaming. I’m impressed. Takes dedication to turn that much chaos into income.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“You’re just mad I overchargedyou.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He coughed. “Fair.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Then, with infuriating calm: “Weren’t you one of the sluts at Madam Zoobya’s? The one at Mildew Ford?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I winced like someone had flicked my soul. “I wasindentured!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He blinked. “You mean identured?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s what I said.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He chuckled. “Sure you did.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She gave me a room with curtains!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Ropes count as curtains now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I threw a peanut at his forehead. He didn’t dodge. He just grinned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“It wasn’t that bad,” I muttered. “Zoobya ran a clean house. Sort of.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She also branded her girls.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“She said it was traditional.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He looked at me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“I was young. And broke. And high on tulip wine half the time.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“And now?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Older. Broker. Slightly more sober.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He raised his mug. “Progress.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>I clinked his again. “And still prettier than you.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“That’s not hard.”\u003C\u002Fp>",796,"2026-06-06T14:39:25.620Z",1,"novelbin.me","01cc9e1e5a289e46a64c171cf645647d17aa8c9bd9974d186fc334f03035f39c","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-75","saya-and-the-dragon-chapter-73",228,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fsaya-and-the-dragon-cover.jpg"]