The male supporting character was actually myself.

His fellow disciples, including Xiao Wuzi, had all entered the academy by the latest last year, leaving him all alone. As Lloyd bid farewell to his younger siblings and left Niujiao Village, he secretly resolved—he would live up to his master's expectations and study hard at the academy to become a warrior like him!

"The teacher is taking leave to go to the Warrior Academy?" Emily was stunned when she heard her words. She subconsciously glanced downstairs and lowered her voice, saying, "That's very dangerous! The intermediate warriors around Father couldn't notice anything unusual about the teacher, probably because they weren't capable enough."

But Warrior Academy is different!

I heard the old headmaster once personally slew a dragon; what if the teacher is discovered…?

The female version of Jiang Chen smiled confidently, "It's impossible for them to discover it. Unless I tell them, humans have no idea that dragons can transform into human form. I studied at the Warrior Academy for three years, and I never saw anyone discover my true form."

Don't worry about Emily, all your senior classmates have already entered the academy except for one.

I'm here to help the last person register; I can only feel at ease after seeing him enter the academy. That kid, Lloyd…”

She sighed, feigning concern, "He's a pitiful child with a tragic fate, but he's also the most loyal and responsible child I've ever met. I really want you to meet him if you have the chance; I have a feeling you'll really like him."

"I want to go to Warrior Academy too!" Emily exclaimed anxiously, jumping up and down. "I don't care! Teacher, I have to get into the academy! I want to pass the tests and become a warrior like my senior brothers and sisters!"

"His Majesty the King will not agree..."

Before he could finish speaking, Emily clenched her fist and declared confidently, "I will definitely go! Teacher, just you wait and see. When I'm sixteen, I will definitely become a freshman at Warrior Academy just like my senior brothers and sisters."

She watched as her teacher transformed into a colossal dragon and disappeared into the clouds, and secretly resolved to persuade her father!

To protect the protagonist, the fluffy little creature stayed by his side most of the time. It only breathed a sigh of relief when it secretly followed him to the entrance of Warrior Academy and saw its host. It then hopped over and affectionately hugged his neck, kissing and licking him.

"Meow~ Host, I've had a tough time this time! With this protagonist's halo going off, everyone around me is having a lot of bad luck, big or small. Luckily, I'm here to protect you!"

After boasting about its success, it then took out the script and launched into a tirade of complaints: "The script team has probably completely given up. They've updated it countless times, but it's still the same old version with no changes even to the punctuation. They've spent all that time updating it and it's all for nothing."

Host, will things calm down once we send the protagonist to the academy?

Could he be brainwashed by the academy and turn against you?

Jiang Chen rubbed the fluffy, round ball of fluff and whispered, "If he's really brainwashed and tries to kill me, I'll let his future wife kill him. Does the little brat I raised dare to rebel?"

"Hehehe..." The little white cat chuckled mischievously, "After experiencing cross-dressing for so many years, host, are you sure you don't want to be a dragon girl in this mission world? That would be such a pity!"

Having been slapped, it wrinkled its round face and jumped onto its host's head, lying down. "Alright, alright, if you don't want to, you don't want to. Hurry up and catch up with your long-lost apprentice, lest this guy really thinks of sacrificing his own family to slay the dragon..."

Chapter Twenty-Two: Mascot?

"Master!" Lloyd saw that familiar, tall figure from afar. He didn't care about the heavy bow and ran to his master's side, giving him a big hug. Then, he said excitedly, "Master, you haven't changed at all after all these years! I... I missed you so much!"

Jiang Chen was even more pleased to see the little boy from back then grow into a tall, strong, and handsome young man.

As expected of the protagonist in the mission world, such a handsome appearance is worthy of Princess Emily!

"Not bad, you've clearly been obedient and trained hard. Lloyd, you've grown into a fine young man." He patted the other's shoulder with a slight smile and asked, "Are you confident about the entrance exam?"

"Yes!" Lloyd replied, standing ramrod straight and with a strong voice.

In fact, he was very uneasy. Xiao Wuzi had successfully entered the school last year, and now he was the only one left. If he could not successfully enter the school, wouldn't he be letting down his master's high expectations?

He put in so much effort and money to send the children from the small mountain village to Warrior Academy and give them a bright future. He has received so much love and encouragement from him, how could I let him down?

Jiang Chen nodded in satisfaction, "Don't feel pressured, just perform at your normal level."

"Tsk tsk, the script has already arranged for the protagonist to definitely get into school." The fluffy dumpling licked its paws and teased, "Usually, stories like to make things complicated to highlight the protagonist's uniqueness, but with a halo around him, he can get in no matter what. This is just going through the motions."

Jiang Chen had brought other children here during the registration season in the previous two years, so this time she was even more familiar with the place.

"You're here again?" The female teacher who was in charge of admissions back then is now over thirty, and has gained a more mature air. When she saw him, her smile widened. "Still your student? What a handsome young man!"

I haven't seen you in years, what have you been up to?

Jiang Chen casually joked, "Isn't this all about bringing fresh blood into our academy?"

"Hmm, that's true. There probably isn't much of a challenge for you anymore..." The female teacher leaned closer and whispered, "I heard that the evil dragon in the Dragon Mountain of Baladu Kingdom sacrifices its dragon bride every year. Are you interested?"

"Slaying a dragon?" Jiang Chen twitched his lips and said helplessly, "I've been there but I didn't find any trace of the dragon. It probably doesn't live in the mountains."

"Huh? You couldn't find it either? Looks like they won't succeed either."

"Who?"

"You didn't know? A while ago, a few veteran intermediate-level warriors wanted to try their luck and get the Dragon Slayer Medal in their lifetime, so they gathered many like-minded people to prepare to go to Evil Dragon Mountain to slay the dragon!"

The fluffy ball immediately perked up, "Oh no, host, what should we do? Someone actually wants to use you to farm achievements!"

Are there really people who aren't afraid of death these days?

Jiang Chen inquired about some inside information and felt something was amiss.

Would someone risk their life to provoke a dragon just to get the "Dragon Slayer" achievement?

And they even go in a group to farm, aren't they worried about becoming cannon fodder to help others?

"Master!"

"Master!"

…………

As Jiang Chen was pondering whether there was any hidden story behind this matter, his other disciples who were already studying at the Warrior Academy rushed over and surrounded him. The three female students with impressive figures immediately attracted a lot of attention.

Warrior Academy has stringent admission requirements, and few are willing to specifically train girls to become warriors, resulting in a very small number of female students. However, in the past two years, all the female students in the academy have appeared simultaneously, and judging from their conversations, it seems they have all become disciples of the same person?

"I've heard of people opening training courses that supposedly increase enrollment rates, but I've rarely heard of any that are this effective. Are they all apprentices of one person?"

"Hey~ There's a beginner warrior in our city who makes a fortune running a training course! But I haven't heard of many people being able to pass the exam smoothly. Let's find out who he is. If we fail the exam this year, we can try to become his apprentices."

"Damn! You actually want to send your kid to Warrior Academy? Didn't you do any research at all? Do you even know who that person is? The Dragon Slayer! The only Dragon Slayer in nearly a hundred years, Jiang Chen!"

"That's Jiang Chen?! Wasn't Dragon Slayer released many years ago? How come he's so young?"

"I've never heard of any training courses for dragon slayers. We should find out and go, no matter the cost..."

…………

The crowd murmured amongst themselves, their eyes burning with fervor as they looked at the dozen or so people, especially after witnessing the boy named Lloyd successfully pass the test and become a freshman at the academy. The dignitaries couldn't wait to recruit the dragon-slaying hero into their own ranks.

However, he only made a brief appearance before disappearing again, much to the disappointment of many girls who had come to see him and secretly admired him.

Baladu Kingdom, Mixi City.

The recent appearance of many richly dressed servants has put the people in the small town on high alert.

News of eight intermediate-level warriors teaming up to slay the dragon spread like wildfire, but the men and women in town looked worried and were not very supportive.

In any case, sacrificing brides to dragons has become a custom over the years. Those sacrificed are mostly parents who prefer sons to daughters, selling their girls for a good price without spending much money. On the contrary, because there are real dragons roaming around Missy City, it has become a popular tourist destination, bringing in a lot of profits for everyone.

If the warriors are going to kill the dragon, what other gimmicks will they use to make money?

"We must not let them climb Dragon Mountain!" a local gentryman declared, slamming his cane into the ground. "We've lived in peace with dragons for so many years. These warriors come and slay dragons without warning? Do they have the strength? What if they provoke the dragon but can't kill it, and then the warriors just walk away? What will we do then?"

"That's right! Back then, when we asked the Warrior Academy for help, not a single warrior was willing to step forward! Now that we in Missy City are benefiting from the dragon's reputation, what are they trying to do now?"

"We absolutely cannot let those guys disrupt the balance between us and the dragons!"

"Yes, get rid of those nasty flies..."

…………

The mayor gestured for them to be quiet, then said with a worried expression, "I understand what you're saying! But those are mid-level warriors! They spoke so confidently about wanting to rid the people of evil and kill the dragon... I'm just a small town mayor, how could I possibly speak to such esteemed warriors?"

"What can we do then? We can't just sit here and wait for them to stir up a hornet's nest and make us take the blame!"

"If they succeed in slaying the dragon, they will gain fame and fortune, and our city of Missy will never have a dragon again; if they fail, they can escape, but we will have to bear the dragon's wrath. Either way, we will suffer a loss, and we must not let those warriors succeed!"

The town mayor nodded with a worried look on his face. "I know the pros and cons. I'll try to contact the warriors and see if they can give up this idea."

The little white cat, perched on the table listening for news, scratched its ear with its hind paw, feeling that its CPU was running out of power again.

So, all these years, their own host has become the mascot of Missy City?

Why are these people siding with the dragon?

Human thoughts are truly strange...

Chapter Twenty-Three is all about interests and scheming!

"Don't you even understand this simple principle?"

After listening to the report and the confusion in Rongtuanzi's eyes, Jiang Chen smiled coldly. "That puts my mind at ease. Those warriors never intended to fight to the death. I overestimated them."

"Why? Why? I just can't understand it at all!" The little white cat tilted its head, its mind full of question marks.

"Let me explain to you why the dragon that demands a bride has become the mascot of Missy City."

He leaned back lazily on the luxurious sofa, took a sip of wine from an exquisite crystal glass, and said softly, "Missis City has a serious problem with male chauvinism. For most townspeople, a girl's life, even their own daughter, is not as valuable as a few gold coins."

People initially hated the dragon because Romon used the dragon's name to make money; in other words, the townspeople were only upset about the one gold coin they had to pay every year.

Later, I dealt with Romon and changed the rules of the game.

Lisa and the others said that in Missy City, many poor families would simply drown a girl in a basin of water and throw her into the wilderness to be eaten by wild dogs, not even bothering to do the simplest thing like digging a hole for burial.

These days, humans don't have effective contraception, so countless babies are killed every year because they are girls.

Now the rules have changed—girls can become dragon brides in exchange for substantial benefits for their families.

Think about what we've seen and heard along the way, and what those girls have said. As long as a baby girl has food to eat and doesn't starve, that's enough. When she grows up to be a teenager, she can be exchanged for gold coins. It's a pretty good deal.

For the townspeople, the threat of the evil dragon could be dealt with by collecting a few copper coins every year, so the effort was negligible.

But—that was a real dragon!

It's not a legend, nor a fossil, model, or sculpture, but a colossal creature that roars, breathes fire, speaks human language, and can reason. Just think how many people are fascinated by dragon legends?

When the whole world is searching for dragons but can't find any, the prospect of seeing a real dragon up close simply by staying in Missy City is incredibly appealing to people who love the exotic!

In this way, Missy City can become a tourist attraction by relying on the gimmick of the dragon, and then sell dragon-related products and open taverns and inns to welcome visitors from all over the world. Wouldn't that make a lot of money?

The townspeople only need to pay a few copper coins to maintain a friendly cooperative relationship with the dragon;

The dragon's bride's family sold their daughter for a sum of money;

Everyone in Missy City can make a fortune by taking advantage of the huge number of tourists.

"Has the dragon, which brings so many benefits, become the mascot of Missy City?"

The little ball of fluff was dumbfounded. "You...you can do that?!"

"The benefits go far beyond that." Jiang Chen put down his wine glass, flicked the little white cat's forehead, and laughed: "Although Missi City has secretly gained a lot of benefits, the mayor can use this as a reason to apply to the king for various subsidies."