The Red Dragon Lord is OP, but Insists on a Pop Culture Invasion!

"Emperor’s Armor, combine! Hahaha!" Zog howled with laughter, slamming his hand on the ice bar. "How can you say that with such a straight face? Hahaha!"

Zor, who was busy mixing drinks, felt like he should probably find a place to hide.

It was hard to say when Lady Furin, who was sitting next to the boss and visibly ready to enter a combat stance at any moment, would suddenly snap.

A fight between the two of them probably wouldn’t cause any serious harm to either one, but if he got caught in the crossfire, he’d likely end up in pieces.

’How many Silver Coins do I even make a month? It’s not worth it.’

On the surface, the bartender Zor continued to provide service, but under the counter, he was already clutching a Teleportation Stone, ready to warp away the second things went south.

A Teleportation Stone was easy to trigger and activated quickly. The downsides were its short range and unpredictable destination—it just sent you to a random point within a certain area.

He’d heard a story about some unlucky sod who activated a Teleportation Stone and ended up stuck inside a wall, winning first prize for the Adventurer Guild’s "Most Tragic Death of the Year."

’Still, it’s worth a shot.’

The bartender didn’t dare take his eyes off the ticking time bomb in front of him.

"Let me tell you a little secret... I recorded your whole transformation sequence," Zog whispered mischievously in Furin’s ear.

Furin kept her head down, her body trembling slightly.

As Mr. Tree-man so aptly put it: if you don’t erupt in silence, you perish in silence.

Finally, Furin erupted.

"I can’t take it anymore, you red dummy!" She clamped Zog’s neck in a headlock and furiously tickled his chin.

As a Dragon, Zog, like most of his kind, had a very peculiar weakness—one that wasn’t quite a true weak point.

His chin.

Getting it tickled would produce an unbearably itchy, yet scalp-tingling sensation.

And weirdly, it wasn’t as intense if he did it to himself.

While he could endure the feeling if he really tried, Zog chose to surrender.

"Hahaha, I was wrong, hahaha..."

"Will you dare to do it again?"

"I’ll dare to do it again! Hahaha..."

"Ah! I, the Emperor Hero, will seal you today, you evil red Superpower Beast!" Furin increased the pressure.

For some reason, she had miraculously come to accept the persona of the Emperor Hero she had played.

Zor the bartender, who was washing glasses, stared in stunned silence. After a moment of confusion, he quietly stopped what he was doing and put away the Teleportation Stone from under the counter.

’So this is what a fight between Ancient Dragons looks like? It’s just so... so...’

He couldn’t think of a suitable adjective.

A few minutes later, the hearty battle came to an end, concluding with Zog unilaterally signing an "unequal treaty" promising not to prank Furin again.

"I’m sorry," Zog said with "great sincerity."

"Is ’sorry’ all I get?" Furin looked at his cheeky grin and couldn’t help but suspect Zog had been acting the whole time and had actually enjoyed it.

"Then how about a little flower as a gift?" Zog produced a knitted sunflower from somewhere. It was enchanted, causing it to sway back and forth.

Even though Furin was a thousand-year-old dragon, she had no resistance to cute and cuddly things. 𝘧𝓇𝑒𝑒𝑤ℯ𝑏𝓃𝘰𝑣ℯ𝘭.𝘤ℴ𝘮

Otherwise, she wouldn’t have gone so far as to steal Zog’s nest.

This was also why she was so fond of the game *Druid vs. Necromancer*, especially the sunflowers in it.

"Hmph," Furin said, feigning disdain. "Why is this sunflower so poorly knitted?"

That was actually true. The sunflower was indeed shoddily made, looking very much like a beginner’s work.

"Fine, if you don’t want it," Zog said, looking displeased.

"Who said I don’t want it!" Furin snatched the sunflower and carefully stored it in her Space Treasure Ring. She didn’t share the peculiar habit of using a Treasure Chest Monster as a storage box.

After stowing the sunflower, she teased, "This sunflower... wasn’t by any chance knitted by a certain dummy who just learned how, was it?"

"Of course not! I had it custom-made by the best tailor in my organization!" Zog said, feigning panic.

"Right, right, the best tailor made it. Let’s go, the concert is about to start."

As they were leaving, Zog turned back and nodded at Zor the bartender.

It was a sign of approval for his work in hiding the gift.

Zor bowed slightly. ’As long as the boss is satisfied.’ He hadn’t expected hiding a gift to be such a high-risk job.

Then, he received a silent message from Zog through their Master-Servant Contract. "Watch closely and learn. This is what you call emotional value."

Zor mentally agreed. ’Back when I used to go on raids with him,’ he thought, ’how did I never realize the boss was this kind of Dragon?’

Furin and Zog walked toward the concert venue.

Ice and Snow Paradise held musical events every day, playing upbeat, rhythmic songs to get everyone energized.

Today, however, was slightly different. Instead of playing recorded music, it was a live performance by the Zor Band, Underground Discard.

This news hadn’t been announced, as the musical events in the park were included with admission and didn’t cost extra.

Given Underground Discard’s current popularity, if word got out that people could see them perform for free, the entire park would be packed to the gills.

It was meant as a little surprise for today’s visitors, and to make future guests enter the park with the exciting expectation that something different might happen.

However, a small problem arose on their way there.

"It’s the Emperor Hero!" a small, squeaky voice called out from behind Furin.

She turned to see a little girl in a bunny costume running toward her as fast as she could.

"Emperor Hero! I love you so much!" the little girl said, her eyes sparkling.

"I’m not the Emperor Hero, you know," Furin replied to the little girl with a polite smile.

"I know. The Emperor Hero can’t reveal her identity, or the people around her will be in danger. Trust me, I’ll keep your secret," the little girl said with a solemn expression.

"Pfft—" Zog lost it.

"You laugh one more time! Oh, sweetie, your big sister isn’t scolding you, she’s scolding this guy next to us. You don’t have to be scared."

"How dare you call yourself ’big sister’?"

"None of your business! Hey, there, there. Let your big sister give you a hug."

After smiling and waving goodbye to the little girl, Furin shot another glare at Zog.

"Look what you’ve done."

This was already the eighth child on their walk to come up and exclaim, "Emperor Hero!"

"Doudou was practically hugging my legs and crying, begging me to give him the chance to press the button, but I didn’t even agree to that. My pure and sincere heart is all for you," Zog said.

"Well, I’m so very grateful to you."

Any creature that spent enough time with Zog would, sooner or later, pick up his sarcastic tone.

He was basically Patient Zero for Feilin’s sarcasm epidemic.

"Being recognized as the Emperor Hero all the way there isn’t going to work," Furin said, crossing her arms. "I’ve got it."

As soon as she finished speaking, a thick fog enveloped Furin. It was a small Illusion Technique she cast herself.

When the mist cleared, the tall woman was gone. In her place was a Dragon about the same size as Zog.

Its entire body was golden, with wings like long sails. The dark yellow, metallic-toned wings reflected a dazzling light in the sunset.

Zog stood to the side, staring blankly.

’Gold equals... well, gold! Money! A direct hit!’

"Hey, what’s wrong?" Furin waved a claw in front of the stunned Zog’s face.

"Has it been so long you don’t recognize me? Let’s go." With that, she began walking toward the concert with elegant strides.