Westminster Bank

He then apologized to the two Silver Masters. "We’ve only been able to get this far thanks to your help, Masters. Tune is just hot-tempered, so please don’t hold it against him."

The two Silver Masters understood the brothers were putting on an act and exchanged a glance.

Perhaps it was out of careful consideration, perhaps it was the competitive spirit stirred by the mention of Master Jack, or perhaps it was simply their confidence in their own skills.

This time, they didn’t hesitate, nodding. "Fine."

And so, at the call of Jose, Dewey, Tune, and the others, and by a vote from the Trial Takers, a rather unorthodox Trial for the Dragon Guides was convened.

The Dragon Guides were given only two choices: either forfeit, issue a refund, and pay compensation.

Or, they could demonstrate their years of dragon-guiding expertise by luring away at least one Comet Dragon for the Trial Takers. Succeed or fail, their employer would grant them a reward ranging from one thousand to ten thousand pounds.

The reason most Dragon Guides had joined this Dragon Hunting Ceremony in the first place was due to the economic downturn and industry-wide slump following the enactment of the Red Dragon Ordinance—in a word, they were broke. Thus, the second choice was their only real option.

The first to go up was a Bronze Dragon Guide who volunteered. His Trial Taker was Gold Walter, the second son of the Walter Family—one of the Four Great Demon-Hunting Clans—and a Bronze Beast Demon Hunter.

(PS: He’s the one who had a dance-off with Baron at the engagement banquet.)

Gold Walter’s Dragon Guide set a mixed precedent for the others.

Using a bone-related technique inherited from the Celtic People, he successfully lured away a Fifth Generation Species Comet Dragon, but the price was his right arm.

He returned covered in blood, the pouring rain washing away the bloody trail he left behind.

Gold Walter took a check for ten thousand pounds from his coat, calling it a reward for the brave.

It is worth mentioning that the Walter Family is the wealthiest of the Four Great Demon-Hunting Clans. Rumor has it that the family has a strategic partnership with the Westminster People’s Bank—a name that causes faces to pale on the Inner Side.

Following Gold Walter’s Dragon Guide was Adam Van Helsing, a Bronze Demon Hunter. He was the taciturn second young master of the Van Helsing Family, another of the Four Great Demon-Hunting Clans.

Adam’s approach was decisive. He tied up his Bronze Dragon Guide with a very durable rope and smeared him with the blood of some unknown creature from a vial.

Then, he threw the blood-soaked Dragon Guide in front of a lone Comet Dragon Snake. As the Comet Dragon Snake caught the scent of blood and gave chase, the Bronze Dragon Guide lost his composure and began silently reciting the Bible.

At that moment, Adam started pulling in the rope, luring the Comet Dragon Snake to him. He then leaped onto the beast, fought it, killed it, and stripped its scales.

Although Jose was displeased, he calmly asked, "Why not just have the Bronze Dragon Guide lure the dragon snake? That would have been safer. Using blood as bait like that could have easily sent the creature into a frenzy and triggered a Dragon Tide."

Adam picked at his ear, then casually tossed a few red, ten-shilling banknotes—the ones with Queen Elizabeth II’s portrait—onto the Dragon Guide. The man was still covered in blood, trembling, and had a rope tied around him.

With extreme nonchalance, he held up two fingers, a Scale-Stripping Saber pinched between them:

"First, I need the Dragon Scales."

"Second, I’m broke."

With that, he flicked his wrist. The Scale-Stripping Saber grazed the Dragon Guide’s side and stabbed into the ground at an angle. The rope around the man loosened and fell away. The Bronze Dragon Guide picked up the ten-shilling banknotes. "Young Master Adam... these bills were taken out of circulation twenty years ago."

(Author’s note: The red 10-shilling note featuring Elizabeth II was issued on October 12, 1961, and withdrawn from circulation on October 13, 1969.)

"What did you think I gave them to you for?" Adam Van Helsing said. "They’re for wiping your face."