Did you really think this dragon hadn't seen through you?

Chaos opened his eyes to find a round dragon head right in front of him.

It was White Chubby, who seemed to be sound asleep.

The dragon's head tilted to one side, its Dragon Jaws slightly parted, with a little tongue poking out.

It looked more or less like this.

(ૢ˃ꌂ˂ૢ)

Your sleeping posture is as awful as ever, White Chubby.

Chaos stared at the little tongue dangling outside, hesitated, then reached out a claw to grab it and tuck it in.

He stuffed White Chubby's exposed tongue back between the Dragon Jaws.

There, that looks much better.

He had barely begun to feel satisfied when the little pink tongue poked out again on the other side.

Chaos: ...

Forget it.

He pushed his draconic body upright.

At that moment, the little fairy Feeny, who had been lying on Chaos's head, rubbed her eyes and sat up.

"Why do you keep moving around... oh, Chaos, you're awake!"

Her little wings fluttered, and Feeny flew in front of Chaos's head.

Looking at Feeny's concerned expression, Chaos felt a little odd. Why did this little fairy care so much about him? Had she been lonely for so long that she treasured finally having someone to talk to?

This is awkward. How am I supposed to casually send her packing now?

As things stood, Bamokangla had already been dealt with, so this little fairy was no longer of much use to him.

Never mind. I'll keep stringing her along for now. Maybe she'll come in handy later.

A contract is out of the question.

She's a silly little thing anyway. Stringing her along will be easy.

He parted his Dragon Jaws in a friendly smile.

"Yeah. Thanks for caring so much about me, Feeny."

"Hehehe, we're friends, after all."

"Right, we're friends."

The instant Chaos finished saying that, he saw Feeny's eyes brighten noticeably, and her little body edged closer again.

"Then, Chaos, shouldn't we..."

Oh no. This little fairy is up to something again.

He straightened his body and moved a claw to his belly.

"Ah, I'm so hungry~!"

Casting interrupted.

"Oh, Chaos, are you hungry?"

"Yeah, I'm really hungry right now. Let's eat first, Feeny."

Chaos looked at Feeny with a "sincere" gaze. Actually, it wasn't entirely to interrupt her. He really was quite hungry, and his stomach was empty.

Fortunately, when he woke up, there was a mountain of meat on the riverbank in front of him, all from Bamokangla's dismembered body.

A thin layer of frost covered the pile. Clearly, one of the hatchlings had coated it with ice magic to keep the meat from spoiling too quickly.

All around

"Oh, Chaos is hungry? Then let's hurry and eat. You giant dragons need to eat to grow, after all."

The little fairy still wore a bright, energetic smile.

Hiss~

Chaos felt his long-dead conscience give another faint twitch.

But only a twitch.

Rustle, rustle~!

Turning around, Chaos saw a Red Hatchling walking toward him.

The hatchling was nearly four meters long, far larger than the other hatchlings lying on the riverbank. The Red Hatchling carried a bathtub-sized heart between her Dragon Jaws, with a thin layer of frost still coating it.

With that size, she clearly wasn't Agatha, so she had to be Hera.

But why was she looking for him? He had only just given her a beating not long ago.

Their relationship couldn't be called bad-it could only be called extremely bad.

Suppressing his confusion, Chaos quietly watched Hera walk up to him.

She really had come for him.

Stopping in front of Chaos, Hera released Bamokangla's heart from her mouth.

The heart fell to the ground.

Hera studied the green hatchling before her, finding him more pleasing to the eye the longer she looked. Setting everything else aside, apart from being a little small, Chaos was excellent in every respect. His draconic build was perfect, and his emerald scales gleamed all over.

That suited the aesthetic tastes of their giant dragon species perfectly, especially Chaos's left eye, which now resembled a golden pocket watch.

That was what she found most beautiful-the beauty of power!

Not bad. He'd make a fine mating partner.

Hera's Dragon Jaws parted in a friendly smile.

However, she hadn't considered just how terrifying it was when her blood-covered Dragon Jaws opened.

Watching Hera suddenly bare her bloody maw at him, Chaos thought he understood.

So she came to intimidate me? How childish.

"This heart is rich in magic. I saved it especially for you," Hera said, breaking the silence.

Especially? To intimidate me, more like.

Did you really think this dragon hadn't seen through you?

"Oh, thanks, then."

Chaos reached out a claw and nudged the heart lying on the ground before him. It gave off a strong smell of blood, but perhaps because his senses had changed...

Chaos didn't find the bloody smell unpleasant. Instead, it smelled wonderfully sweet.

Saliva began flowing faster in his mouth, and his appetite surged.

Hera quietly watched the green hatchling before her.

She considered herself one of the best-looking hatchlings in this group.

Since she had already shown him goodwill, shouldn't Chaos offer something in return, such as inviting her to eat with him?

Among the giant dragon species, only those close enough to each other would share a meal.

But she was disappointed.

Chaos flipped the heart over on the ground, then opened his Dragon Jaws and picked it up.

He won't even bite the part I bit!

With the heart in his mouth, he walked to the riverbank.

He put the heart straight into the shallow water by the bank.

It needs a good wash.

Hera just had this heart in her mouth. Who knows how much saliva she got on it?

How unhygienic.

He piled up pebbles from the shallows to make a little pool and left the heart soaking inside.

The heart tastes spicy, like chili peppers. Perfect for hot pot!

But before cooking, he needed to find the big little girl.

All this meat was only the minor prize.

The magic core-with Bamokangla's hill-sized body, its magic core certainly couldn't be small.

For him, devouring magic cores was currently the best way to increase his magic power.

Since he had killed Bamokangla, its magic core should belong to him.

He stepped back onto the riverbank.

"Huh? Chaos, aren't you going to eat?"

Feeny's surprised question came from above his head.

"No, I need to do something first."

"Oh, okay~~"

The big little girl's aura was easy to identify. She would be wherever the fire elements were most concentrated nearby.

Following the concentration of fire elements, Chaos soon found the big little girl.

At that moment, she lay on the shallows ahead and seemed to be asleep.

Lying on the ground, the big little girl had clearly grown again. She looked to have reached five meters in length.

He shifted his gaze from her to the pale blue sphere sitting beside her.

Yes, a sphere.

The sphere looked over a meter tall. It was round and filled with liquefied blue magic, making the entire thing glow blue.

A magic core. This is definitely Bamokangla's magic core.

It's so big. How much magic power would I gain from eating it?

(¯﹃¯)~

His Dragon Jaws parted.

Little darling, here I come~!

He padded softly up to the magic core.

Unable to contain his excitement any longer, he lunged forward and landed right on the magic core, wrapping all four claws tightly around it. It was even bigger than his entire body.