The boat halted at Pallport. That's when Lily remembered something. “Barbecue!” she cried out. “How could we forget it?!”

Smokewell scratched at her own ears and let out a hiss, baring her teeth at the girl.

Asmod leaned towards Lilian. “Keep it down, Lily–”

The girl grabbed ahold of my sleeve and tugged like an enthusiastic child. “Remember what we'd decided?” she said. “We'll celebrate at Volcano Lane once we make enough money.”

I gave a little hum and then a nod. “Yeah, we did decide to do that,” I said. I turned to Asmod and Smokewell. “How about we board off for now?”

Smokewell hopped onto Asmod's shoulder. “Do you know of this place that they are referring to?”

The man nodded. “I've heard of it.”

“Alright, it's time to celebrate!” Lily hopped out of her seat and made her way towards the exit of the steamboat.

We got on the boarding dock and entered the city street. Then we hailed for a carriage.

****

Volcano Lane stood out like a sore thumb in an industrial hub like Pallport. It was a long stretch of a broad alley flanked with nothing but restaurants of all kinds for half a mile on either sides. The rest of the lane was nothing but apartments and a few row houses where entry was forbidden to non-drakes. The buildings were unlike anything that humans built. Most of them were monolithic rocks carved like caves for rooms to operate businesses in. Their surfaces were jagged and the windows didn't have any panes or glass. They were just holes in the stone-walls.

The street was paved with thousands of white pebbles that looked like something I would've seen inside a fish bowl in my world. But these stones weren't ordinary, I could tell. They radiated a weird warmth and despite their texture they weren't slippery to walk on.

And yes, all of these things were interesting to look at. But my attention was still drawn towards something else. The restaurant names. They were…

“Ooh, ooh, I want to try out The Charred Princess!” Lily said, pointing excitedly at a certain two story joint on the right.

“I think I find The Blasted Wedding more intriguing,” Smokewell said, hopping onto Asmod's bald head.

“What about the Skewered Knight?” Asmod said.

“Those are some interesting names.” I nodded.

After walking around and asking around for a bit, the names made a bit more sense. The Blasted Wedding was a family restaurant with a wider range of dishes. The Skewered Knight specialized in spit roasted options of various animals. And The Charred Princess was the one where they didn't allow teenagers for some reason.

We decided to go for the Blasted Wedding because it offered a lot to choose from. We were greeted with a storm of fire blowing in our faces the moment we entered.

Smokewell shrieked and jumped onto my shoulder, her back arched and her tail went rigid. Asmod hid behind me and Lily charged at the drake that had spat the inferno at us.

She soon halted in her step when another drake appeared between her and the attacker. “It's okay, there's no need to panic, the situation is under control,” the drake said. “Grandpa is just having a digestion problem. Mom, get him back upstairs! He almost obliterated another customer.”

Once the initial panic of the situation wore off, I got to take in the view of the drake girl. She was covered in emerald green scales and two horns were sprouting out of her forehead. She didn’t have any hair or eyebrows or lashes. And even though her face remotely resembled a velociraptor, there was something very friendly about the way she talked and carried herself around. She wore a blouse, a skirt, an apron but no human shoes. Her hands and feet had three solid silver talons and it made me wonder how the drakes managed to cook without thumbs.

What surprised me more was that she was just a few feet taller than humans and there were no wings coming out of her back. Maybe they were retractable and she could hide it?

Her name was Alsyrra and she led us to a table for four. Like the rest of the establishment, the furniture was also made of stone but the chairs were upholstered. And the walls were etched with drawings of creatures that resembled dragons.

Alsyrra took our orders and then poured us all some ale. I told her that we hadn't asked for it.

She gave a nervous chuckle and shook her head. “It's on the house…for that inconvenience we caused earlier. Your meal will arrive in a bit.” She left in a hurry.

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Smokewell scoffed and pulled out her opium pipe. “She is a little darling. For a drake,” she said as she used the candle on the table to light the tobacco. “I mean, she'll have to be or else they'll kick her entire family out and close this joint.”

“What are you talking about?” I said, taking a sip of my ale.

“All these drakes have signed the Regulated Practices Agreement,” the cat said. “Or else no one would've let them run their business here. And because they are all on a leash, they have to bend over backwards to not offend the humans.”

“That's rather a harsh judgement, Smokewell,” Asmod said. “Drakes aren't monsters. At least not these ones who are living alongside us.”

Smokwell rolled her eyes as she blew a cloud of smoke. “If they weren't monsters, they wouldn't have needed to sign the agreement. Them signing that agreement means that they accept they are monsters. That little fire puking geezer by the door didn't have any digestive problem. He probably hates humans and hates the fact his kids have to cook and serve for them.”

“That's just rude, Miss Smokewell,” Lily said. “They want to live a peaceful life so they came here. There's nothing wrong with not wanting to be dangerous all the time. And come to think of it, we are no different.”

“Speak for yourself,” Smokewell said. “I decided to–”

“Change your human form because you wanted to get the Inquisition off your back, we know.” I rolled my eyes as I interrupted her. “But either way, the drakes are doing it right. Regardless of what they were like before they came here, it seems like they have a decent business running.” I scanned the other tables with my eyes and they all were taken by diners that seemed to be enjoying their meals. “I would even say we should learn a thing or two from them.”

Smokewell scoffed. “Like what?”

“Other than the occasional fire hazard, their overall service might be good.” I gestured at the other tables. “Most of these diners are humans and what's the one thing we all know about humans?”

“They are idiots?” Smokewell said.

“They die easily?” Lily said.

“They are scared easily,” Asmod said. “Isn't that what you are implying?”

I nodded. “Yes, humanity's fears have shaped cultures and civilizations and helped them form the laws that human society functions upon,” I said. “If the drakes have managed to convince these same humans to come to their restaurants with their families and enjoy their meals, doesn't that mean the drakes are doing something right?”

“That just means humans trust their own dumb law system,” Smokewell said. “They think it's enough to pacify drakes. They come here because they feel powerful about getting served by the distant cousins of dragons.”

I smirked at the cat and said, “Or maybe, the drakes just know how to run their business?”

That's when Alsyrra arrived with a large tray of food. Lily had excitedly ordered a leviathan fillet and Asmod was having basilisk stew. Smokewell was given a bowl of raw fish called Grokish. I had been more uncertain about my choice since everything on the menu were just creatures from the fairy tales from my world. In the end I'd settled for the one that had the most pedestrian name. Magma Steak.

Alysrra said that the meat came from a creature called a pyro boar. “Its body is forever inflamed and forever healing. So the meat has a natural smoky texture and we douse it in our special sauce,” she had said. “It's a recommended beginner dish around here.”

And when she served it to me, it didn't look bad. The meat was actually smoking hot and had a bright flaming red color to it. A slightly lighter red color of sauce had been drizzled over it and garnished with a small blue flower that had an almost ethereal scent.

I took a bite. And all I could say after swallowing was, “Wow.”

I ended up having seconds. And then thirds. I would've had fourths if my stomach wasn't the size of a normal human's. I leaned back in my seat and let out a breath with some labor.

Asmod ordered a round of ale after everyone was done eating. I took a sip and looked at everyone at my table. “God, I lost my train of thought for a second there.” I rubbed my temples and looked away. I saw other people at the table, smiling, laughing and having the kind of time with their families that I didn't remember having in my previous life. Then I saw Alsyrra, going from table to table, asking if anyone needed anything, fetching orders and delivering meals. She was nimble on her feet and good at her job. People kept coming in and Alsyrra was swift to attend to them. I turned back to my party. “We need to start a business,” I said.

“Business?” Lily said.

“You inspired by the drakes to open a restaurant?” Smokewell said.

I rolled my eyes. “I don't know, are you gonna be a super waitress like Alsyrra?”

The cat threw a silent glare which I ignored. I leaned forward. “The payment from Hammer might last us a several weeks even after we find a place to live for ourselves,” I said. “But we'll need a steady source of income. A business that won't bite us in the back like…” I lowered my voice several notches and said, “like commissioned witchcraft. So no divinations and fortune telling in my case.”

“What about selling potions?” Lily asked.

“How the potions are crafted can be determined by a detection ritual,” Smokewell said. “But that's only if the potion you make gets scrutinized by the government. So as long as you aren't selling lock burning acids to thugs and thieves, you should be fine, I believe.”

“Don't forget the Ministry of Arcane Regulations,” Asmod said, “They have a Health and Safety Division that conducts inspections on the products that the potion crafters and such sell.”

“What about the underground market?” Lily said quietly. “I've heard that it's a thing.”

“It is,” Asmod said. “But after all that you've been through just to get your names cleared, I don't think it'll be good for you to get involved with that.”

“There are also the bones,” Smokewell said. “We still haven't taken care of those.”

“So the business needs to be something safe, steady and doesn't make the government suspicious of us,” I said. “We'll put a pin on that. There's still time to come up with an idea like that. Let's talk about a more urgent need now.”

All three pairs of eyes turned to me. “We have to find a place to live.” As soon as I said that, the ground began to shake.