Ybur managed to pass the last checkpoint of the mechanical city fairly smoothly, and had just stepped onto the award podium when he suddenly felt dizzy and realized, when he recovered, that he had been expelled from the Half-Plane and returned to the Awake World.
The Dragon was looking down, somewhat hesitantly.
"…Does this count as passing?"
"Hey, Zhuolas, you can't go back on your word," Yodun said, standing by with a slightly amused expression, "It doesn't matter how he did it, whether or not he met your requirements."
"This… But…" Zhuolas seemed very troubled, scratching his head with his claws and even scraping off two Dragon Scales, "Well, fine! You've passed, but you still owe me a quarter of the toll!"
Yodun laughed, "Zhuolas, there are children on the train, they really admire dragons. It wouldn't look good if you went back on your word in front of them."
Zhuolas muttered, "I didn't say I'd collect it now! I'll just note it down, and collect it next time…"