Hungry and Impatient

Rustle~

Agatha, who had been lying on the ground all this time, pushed herself up and walked toward the riverbank.

Seeing even Agatha head to the riverbank, An glanced at Big Jerk, then rose and followed without a word.

After washing their claws, the two hatchlings walked back upright and sat down.

The hot pot meal officially began.

Chaos scooped out a small piece of meat for each of the two little fairies and put it in their stone bowls, then started eating himself.

One heart clearly wasn't enough to feed three hatchlings.

He fished around in the broth with his claw but found nothing else, so Chaos turned his gaze toward Black Coal Ball.

As though noticing his gaze, Black Coal Ball suddenly looked over.

Their eyes met, and Chaos spread his dragon jaws in a grin.

"Black Coal Ball, go get some more meat. Let's keep cooking."

An glanced at Chaos without a word, then stood and headed toward the pile of meat on the riverbank.

Chaos watched Black Coal Ball walk on her hind claws, her little tail swaying from side to side. Honestly, she looked pretty cute.

And she was the quiet little girl type, too.

Looking away from Black Coal Ball, Chaos glanced at the bigger little girl sitting on the ground.

Forget it. I can't boss this one around.

He stood upright and walked toward the cluster of seasoning trees on his two sturdy hind claws.

Not only the meat, but all the other ingredients in the Stone Pot had been eaten, too.

They needed fresh ingredients.

He deftly picked a bunch of seasonings and walked back, looking toward the river.

Forget it. I can chew rocks now. Why the hell should I wash these? I'm not bothering.

Besides, Vinnie had grown all these plants directly with her power. They weren't contaminated anyway.

Wash them, my ass. He loosened his claw and dropped the whole bunch straight into the Stone Pot.

He looked toward the stone seats on the pebbles.

Both little fairies had eaten their fill and were lounging in their chairs with bulging bellies.

"Feeny, add some water to the Stone Pot."

"Okay~"

Her voice was languid. After answering Chaos, she raised her little hand and beckoned.

A stream of clear water rose directly from the Underground River and poured into the Stone Pot.

Chaos watched the water level in the Stone Pot steadily rise.

When it was nearly full, he spoke.

"That's enough, Feeny."

[Splash~]

The stream extending from the Underground River instantly stopped and fell back into the water.

With the water added, he looked toward the bigger little girl.

Before Chaos could speak, she opened her dragon jaws and sent crimson dragon breath pouring beneath the Stone Pot.

Just then, Black Coal Ball returned with the meat.

She held a slab of meat twice Agatha's size in her claws, her little wings beating furiously.

[Splash~!]

The meat landed in the water beside the riverbank, throwing up a shower of spray.

After setting down the meat, Black Coal Ball stood on top of it and looked at Chaos.

This Black Coal Ball is quite the glutton.

Chaos glanced at Black Coal Ball without saying anything, then reached out to grab the meat and began preparing it.

The water reached halfway up his claws where he sat, making it convenient to work.

Seeing that Big Jerk said nothing, An spread her wings and flew down from the meat. Halfway down, however, she seemed to remember something. She circled around, landed in the shallows, and carefully washed her claws.

And so their second round of hot pot began.

[Rustle~]

The second pot had just come to a boil. Chaos was about to reach in when he noticed a figure sneaking closer.

When Chaos raised his head, the Green Hatchling approaching along the riverbank immediately lay obediently on the ground, but her eyes kept drifting toward the bubbling hot pot.

Her gleaming emerald eyes brimmed with longing. Within moments, clear drool dripped from her green dragon jaws in a silvery strand.

Loya: (¯﹃¯)..

This food smells so good. I want some (｡•﹃•｡).

A faint floral fragrance reached his nose.

That familiar scent immediately reminded Chaos who this greedy Green Hatchling was. Unless he was mistaken, she was Loya.

Seeing how badly she wanted to eat, Chaos raised a claw and beckoned.

"Come over and eat with us."

They had plenty of food anyway. One more Green Dazed wouldn't make a difference.

Her round emerald head lifted.

Was he... calling me?

"Yes, you. Stop looking around." Seeing the Green Dazed still hesitate, Chaos called again.

He really was calling me.

Once she was certain, Loya rose and stepped forward without hesitation.

He's the one who invited me.

She rushed up to the Stone Pot and reached straight into it.

Before her chubby green claw could touch the broth, however, another green claw slapped it aside.

Loya grew angry when her claw was knocked away. He was the one who had invited her over!

"Go wash your claws before you scoop out any food."

Chaos met the Green Dazed's gaze without yielding. These little hatchlings were all the same.

They had no sense of hygiene whatsoever.

Watching Loya go through what she had just experienced, An calmly reached into the Stone Pot, scooped out a slice of meat, and stuffed it into her dragon jaws.

The fragrant, steaming meat filled her Dragon Jaws with flavor.

Delicious! Her black slit pupils widened slightly.

Seeing that An's claw hadn't been slapped away, a flicker of hesitation appeared in Loya's emerald slit pupils. Then she obediently rose and walked toward the riverbank.

[Splash, splash~]

The sound of washing.

After washing her claws, Loya walked ashore.

"You've stepped in the dirt. Wash them again."

Before she could approach the Stone Pot, she heard Chaos speak again.

Lowering her head, Loya looked at her front claws planted on the ground. They did seem dirty again.

He did that on purpose. He definitely did. He wouldn't even warn me sooner.

She glared at his back, then turned and entered the water again.

She had only just started washing when she heard someone enter the water beside her.

Loya turned her head and saw An, her ally.

An felt a headache coming on as Loya stared at her pleadingly. She had chosen Loya as an ally because she hadn't looked particularly bright, and in truth, Loya really wasn't.

This fool had actually been about to bare her teeth at Chaos.

At their current stage, Chaos and Agatha were undoubtedly the strongest among the hatchlings. Both already had the strength to take on all the others single-handedly.

One could skip straight to the juvenile stage, while the other controlled the power of time.

Under these circumstances, that idiot Loya still wanted to provoke Chaos. Wasn't that just asking for a beating?

There was something else, too: Chaos and Agatha were both unusual.

They had the power to dominate the other hatchlings, yet had no intention of doing so. They hadn't even hoarded the food they hunted, instead sharing it with every hatchling.

If Chaos and Agatha kept this up, following them until she grew stronger would be a decent choice.

"An~"

Loya looked pleadingly at An before her. A clear strand of drool stretched from her emerald dragon jaws, instantly adding a faint floral scent to the air.

Whenever she did this in the past, An always came up with a good idea for her.

Looking at this hungry, impatient fool, An felt her head begin to ache.

"Wash your claws, then stand upright and walk up there. Sit down like they do, and you can eat. He won't stop you."