The Fox Hole

Chapter 9: A New Hire and A Dragon

"This is shooo good!" Enri, the village girl, exclaimed between bites. She was much calmer now that she had some proper food in her. She looked like she needed it. I wouldn't say she was suffering from malnourishment, but I would say she was on the border. I had a feeling the rest of the villagers would probably be in a similar situation as well.

"Sorry for scaring you and the rest of your village, Miss Emmot," I apologized. "I can't control where my restaurant shows up. It just… does."

Still, it was strange that my restaurant appeared in the middle of a random medieval village. I asked her if there was anything special about the place.

Enri paused, her fork halfway to her face, then shook her head. "I don't think so? We're just a normal village. Simple farmers and foragers trying to live on the frontier. Technically, we're part of the Re-Estize Kingdom, but other than paying taxes, we don't deal with them much. Also, please just call me Enri," she added.

"Will do, Enri."

POP!

Enri yelped as a scroll appeared out of nowhere, floating above the bar counter.

"It's okay! This happens sometimes," I told her as I snatched the rolled up scroll out of the air.

"Another deed from your patron?" Aela asked knowingly. She wasn't too bothered by the idea of some higher power influencing my restaurant. Then again, she had sold her soul to a Daedric Prince to become a werewolf, so it didn't seem like a big deal to her.

At first, I thought Amy-chan was behind all this. But since she still hadn't shown up to mooch some free food off of me, I was starting to have doubts…

I unrolled the scroll and skimmed through it, my eyes widening as I realized how much land I'd just been "gifted" compared to the last time in Hogsmeade.

"Well, I guess your village doesn't have to worry about paying taxes anymore, Enri," I said casually.

Enri stared at me blankly from across the bar counter. "Huh? Why is that?"

I flipped the scroll around so she could see for herself. Thankfully, she wasn't illiterate. "Because I apparently own your entire village now. And, uh… all the surrounding lands too."

"My man is a Jarl now?!" Aela shouted, her voice a mix of pride and shock.

"EEEEeeeeehhhhhh!?" Enri squealed in disbelief. "Is this real!? You're the ruler of our lands now? Is that really the King's signature!?" She pointed to the name at the bottom of the scroll. A name was signed there–Ramposa III, who I figured was the king. According to the papers, he had sold this territory to me in return for 10 million gold coins to bail his country out of debt. 

I wasn't sure how these scrolls worked, or where my patron got 10 million gold coins, but considering the wizard police didn't come back after I showed them the last deed, I figured these scrolls were legit. 

I nodded at Enri. "Yeah, that's probably your former king's signature."

Enri's eyes rolled back and she fainted…

Thankfully, Aela rushed towards the girl and caught her before she could fall off the stool and hurt herself.

–Yasaka–

Yasaka rushed over to Haru's restaurant the moment she received his message, telling her something very important had popped up. When she arrived, he handed her a scroll, identical to the one he had shown her last time. 

As she unrolled it, her eyes widened in disbelief. "300,000 hectares…" she muttered under her breath, struggling to wrap her mind around the amount of land her son had just been "gifted." Of course, Haru probably had no idea what that actually meant, having grown up in modern times. He had no idea what a hectare even was…

"Is that a lot?" Haru asked while wiping down a glass with a rag. He had an industrial dishwasher, but he liked to keep his hands busy when things were slow.

"That's half the size of Whiterun, Haru," Aela chimed in as she tried to put things into perspective for him.

"I have no idea how big Whiterun's territory is," Haru said dryly.

"That's bigger than all of Kyoto," Yasaka added, watching as the realization finally hit him. 

His eyes widened, and he let out a low whistle of appreciation. "Wow, is my patron secretly in love with me or something?" Haru asked jokingly.

Yasaka found herself pausing at that question, genuinely considering that possibility…

Her son was incredibly handsome and he was also an amazing cook. Many Yokai girls considered him to be the perfect catch and Haru had no idea how many marriage requests for her son made it to her desk every single day. She wondered, could he have unintentionally charmed some kind of Eldritch Deity at some point? She wanted to dismiss the idea as absurd, but in a world as strange as theirs, she had heard far weirder stories…

"It's possible…" Yasaka trailed off. Yasaka found it ironic how Haru had willingly given up his status as the future ruler of Kyoto and then somehow ended up with an even larger territory…

Aela growled possessively, crossing her arms with a huff. "Hmph! Well, if that's the case, she'll have to get in line! I was with you first. And now that you're a Jarl, you're entitled to have mistresses—but they'll need my approval!" Aela declared to Haru.

"And mine as well!" Yasaka added, locking eyes with Aela. They both nodded in agreement. Yasaka wasn't going to let any random women get close to her son. She was already annoyed about having to accept the Gremory Clan's proposal, even if the benefits were clear.

Rias seemed nice enough, but Yasaka hadn't forgiven the Devils for what they did to the Nekoshou. At least if Haru ended up with Rias, she could keep an eye on Shirone, Rias's rook and one of the last surviving Nekoshou.

Yasaka's ears twitched as she heard a yawn from one of the booths, followed by an—

"Eeep!" A cute human girl, about her son's age, suddenly sat up. "What happened?" she asked, looking around in confusion until her eyes landed on Yasaka. The girl's mouth dropped open.

"Hello, dear. I'm Haru's mother, Yasaka," she said with a smile.

"H-Hello…" the girl stammered, her eyes darting between Yasaka's fox ears and nine fluffy tails. "You look a lot like him…"

"Are you okay, Enri? You fainted," Haru asked, walking over with a concerned look. He placed a steaming cup of tea in front of her. "Here's some green tea to help calm your nerves."

"T-Thank you… Lord Haru. You're so kind. I don't know how I could ever repay you," Enri said softly.

Haru smiled at her, and Yasaka had to stop herself from sighing. She noticed the obvious blush on the girl's face. How did her son keep attracting partners without even trying? 'He must've gotten that from me,' she thought with a quiet chuckle.

"You don't have to repay me," Haru said. "I'm still new to this whole Lord thing—"

"You are a Jarl," Aela corrected firmly.

Haru nodded. "Right… Jarl. I wasn't expecting any of this, but since it happened, I'll do my best. I don't know much about running a village, but making sure my people don't go hungry or thirsty is a good start," he said, once again telling Enri she didn't need to repay him.

That wouldn't do…

Yasaka wasn't about to let anyone take advantage of her son, no matter how harmless they seemed. "Ara, I think there's one way this girl can repay you," Yasaka teased, giving Enri a sly look.

Enri's face turned bright red. "I-I… If J–Jarl Haru wants me as his mistress, I wouldn't mind…" she stammered while covering her red face with her hands.

Haru nearly choked, turning to Yasaka in shock. "Mother! You can't force Enri to do that!"

Yasaka laughed mischievously and rolled her eyes. "I wasn't talking about that." well, she actually was, but they could table that topic for now. "I meant that Enri here could work in your restaurant. You've been needing extra help, haven't you?"

"Oh…" Haru mumbled, blushing a little. "That could work. If Enri doesn't already have a job, that is."

Enri quickly shook her head. "I mostly just do odd jobs around the village. Sometimes I gather mushrooms or plants, but I don't have a real job. I'd be happy to work for you, H-Haru," she said, her blush deepening again.

"Ok then. Welcome to the Fox Hole, Enri!"

–Haru–

Enri left the restaurant to update her village on everything that had happened. She'd been inside for over an hour, and her fellow villagers were probably starting to worry. I was going to have to meet them all myself within the next few days at the very least.

Once she was gone, Yasaka spoke up. "You're going to need help managing such a large territory, but I'm guessing you don't want people who aren't customers constantly walking through your front door."

I realized she was right. "I didn't even think about that part…"

"The benefits of all this new land will be huge for our people. We haven't fought with humans in over a hundred years, and our population has been growing. Kyoto isn't exactly crowded yet, but…" Yasaka trailed off.

I knew what she was getting at. We could only expand the Yokai dimension inside Kyoto so much, and we were already dedicating half of it to farmland. Compared to other supernatural factions, the yokai had the smallest territory, despite our growing population. 

Expanding any further meant risking exposure to humans, and no one wanted to deal with the fallout. They'd probably try to nuke us and end up destroying themselves in the process…

But all that could change if some of our people moved into a new dimension. A lot of yokai weren't suited for city life and would love to settle in the "frontiers," as Enri described. Especially since there was a huge, empty forest right next to my new territories.

"I get it, but yeah, I don't want people coming and going from my restaurant all the time, using the door for transport instead of as customers," I said. "That would essentially kill my restaurant." 

Yasaka tapped her chin trying to think of a solution. "...What if we renovate your restaurant? We could expand the back and add a larger storage area and a second pair of larger doors. Our people could use those new doors to pass between dimensions without entering the main dining area and interrupting your business here," she suggested.

"We could try that. If it doesn't work, we'll figure something else out," I agreed that we might as well try it. 

The timing actually worked out perfectly. Tomorrow, I was going to be out of the restaurant all day anyway, along with most of my regular customers. Or acquaintances. Or... friends? Honestly, I liked to think we were friends by now!

We were all going to the first event of the Triwizard Tournament to cheer on Harry. I'd bought tickets for everyone, using all the fake gold Harry had been paying me with. I should really talk to him about that at some point...

Anyway, Yasaka had arranged for some yokai contractors to remodel the back while we were gone. It shouldn't take more than a few hours. Magical construction was bullshit like that…

–Harry Potter–

Harry sat nervously on the edge of a cot inside the champion tent. Outside, the roar of the crowd echoed as Viktor Krum faced the third dragon. The loud cheers only made Harry's heart pound faster. Viktor must be putting on quite a show. Harry hoped he would be able to measure up.

In just a few moments, he would face one of the most dangerous creatures known to wizards: the Hungarian Horntail dragon.

"Harry."

He looked up to see Serana, his mentor, strolling into the tent like she owned the place.

"How did you get in here?" Harry asked. "Only champions and teachers are allowed in the tent." The Ministry had stationed actual Aurors outside to keep others away. Even Hermione hadn't been allowed to talk to him before the first task. Harry suspected that Dumbledore had pulled some strings to make this happen. Maybe the old man thought Harry would panic and fail if he felt completely alone on such an important day.

Serana scoffed. "As if those so-called Aurors could keep me out. They're barely novice-level mages. A single glance, and I had them hypnotized. But let's not waste time on them. I'm here for you. Why do you look so nervous?"

Harry gulped. "I drew the most dangerous dragon–the Hungarian Horntail. It's killed more wizards than any other dragon species in history."

Serana raised an eyebrow, her glowing eyes fixed on him. "And? What does that matter? You're no ordinary wizard anymore. You're MY apprentice, the first one I ever willingly accepted. I wouldn't have let you compete today if I thought some overgrown lizard would kill you." She said it with a hint of pride in her voice. "I would have forced you to stay in Skyrim for the year. I doubt even the Goblet of Fire could strip your magic across dimensions."

Harry couldn't deny that that made a lot of sense. Even with all the craziness and danger in Skyrim, he actually found that he liked it over there better than Hogwarts this past year, especially with the whole school turning against him despite the fact that he'd saved the whole school multiple times now...

Huh? Why was he even competing in this dumb tournament again…? 

Harry shook his head, he supposed his previous reasons didn't matter. He was here now, and he was going to prove what he could do! Harry smirked as he stood up. "I can do this!"

Serana slapped him on the back, almost knocking the wind out of him. It was easy to forget that, despite being a centuries-old vampire, she was still a Nord. "Of course you can! Now go out there and kill that bloody lizard! Everyone's in the stands cheering for you! Haru got us front-row tickets!"

"He did!?" Harry was surprised to hear that. "Everyone from The Fox Hole is going to be watching me?" 

They had all done so much for him. Harry was determined to go out there and put on the best damn show possible to repay them!

"Goooo!! Haaaarrrrryyy!!!" Harry saw Kunou, Haru's adorable little sister cheering excitedly as he entered the arena. Serana was correct, they had the best seats in the house, right in the front row. "Kill that stupid lizard!" She cheered louder. 

Harry waved at the exuberant little fox girl before his instincts kicked in and he dove behind a boulder.

The crowd gasped collectively as a stream of red-hot fire shot over the spot where Harry had just been standing. The Hungarian Horntail wasn't going to give him any time to prepare—not that he needed it.

As the dragon loomed closer, Harry realized it was even bigger than he had expected. Its body was covered in deadly sharp barbs, and its eyes glared at him with pure hatred.

The stone arena shook beneath him as the dragon lunged forward, aiming to take a bite out of him. Luckily, it was stuck on its side of the arena, its massive neck chained to the wall by a thick steel chain. For now, at least.

CREAK…CRASH!

With a furious roar, the Horntail yanked at the chain with all its might. To Harry's horror, the chains tore free from the wall!

*Weren't those supposed to be heavily enchanted?* Harry thought, panic rising in his chest.

The crowd erupted in cheers and gasps, excitement and shock mingling in the air. He could hear a few students yelling for someone to save him now that the dragon was free. At least not everyone at Hogwarts hated him.

For a brief moment, Harry's eyes darted over to the judges' booth. There sat Dumbledore in his high chair, a smirk playing on his lips.

Harry cursed under his breath. *That old fool is the reason the chains broke!* But he didn't have time to dwell on it. The dragon lunged at him again, and this time, there was nothing holding it back.

'Sparks!' Harry shouted in his mind, thrusting both of his hands toward the beast. He cast twin streams of electricity that arced into the dragon's open jaws.

The Horntail let out a shriek of pain and staggered back. Harry felt a surge of triumph—he had burned the inside of its mouth, which was ironic—but unfortunately, all it did was make the beast angrier.

With a furious spin, the dragon whipped its spiked tail at him, moving faster than any Bludger he'd ever had batted in his direction!

"Shit!" Harry dropped to the ground, hitting the ground hard and quickly laying prone. The dragon's tail barely missed him, the sharp barbs sliced through the air just inches above his body. He would have died for sure had he been a half second slower!

He immediately scrambled to his feet. It was time for a more powerful spell. 'Lightning Bolt!' Harry shouted, channeling Magicka into his right hand. 

A loud crack of thunder erupted in the arena as Harry's Lightning Bolt struck true, blasting away a patch of scales on the Horntail's chest. The dragon's roar of rage and pain reverberated through the entire arena, causing Harry's eardrums to ring painfully. He clenched his teeth as he felt them pop.

'I need to use even more power!' Harry thought frantically. The Lightning Bolt had hurt the beast more than Sparks, but it still wasn't enough! In a moment of desperation, he made the risky decision to tap into more of his Magicka. He began casting a spell above his current level. 'Lightning Cloak!' Half of his remaining Magicka vanished in an instant.

Electricity crackled around Harry as he rushed toward the beast. This spell would shock anything that got too close to him—if he could just get near the dragon, it would be devastating.

Ignoring the cheers of the crowd, Harry dove toward the Horntail. The dragon opened its scorched jaws, trying to bite him as he closed in. At the last second, he slid underneath it, positioning himself directly beneath the beast. Almost instantly, the spell began to work. Lightning arced off his body, dealing severe damage to the dragon's underbelly. But Harry wasn't satisfied with just that. "Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt! Lightning Bolt!" 

He poured every last ounce of energy into his attacks, rapidly firing spells right under the dragon. By the time it finally managed to recover from its failed attempt to eat him for the third time, its entire stomach and torso were covered in horrific burns and scorch marks.

Then came its death wail. Harry scrambled out of the way just in time as the Horntail slumped onto the rocky ground, its tongue lolling out of its mouth, its eyes wide open and lifeless. He did it… 

He killed a dragon!

His Lightning Cloak vanished off of him a second later. All of his Magicka was spent.

Exhausted but elated, Harry couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. He thrust one arm into the air triumphantly as the crowd erupted in cheers.

Once he lowered his arm, he took a few calming breaths before making his way over to his friends from the restaurant that had changed his life. Hermione was sitting next to them, looking like a nervous wreck—understandable—but she was still smiling at him in relief.

"That was amazing, Harry! You did it!" Hermione exclaimed, hopping down from the stands to give him a big hug. There were plenty of whoops and jeers from the crowd from her bold move!

"That was well fought, lad!" Agnar shouted from beside Serana, who nodded at him with pride.

"That was awesome, Harry!" Kunou cheered from the stands. "And you want to know what's going to be even better?"

"What's that?" Harry asked the little girl.

"Haru onii-chan is going to cook us dragon steaks tonight!"

XXX

I wonder what dragon tastes like? Maybe like alligator? That tastes like very chewy and slightly rubbery chicken for those who've never tried it.

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