You really do care about those hatchlings' safety

Following White Chubby's claw, Chaos saw a new opening in the rock wall above the riverbank.

The dust had settled, revealing a fairly wide opening about five meters high.

"Did you bring it out from inside?"

"Hum-da, hum-da." White Chubby nodded.

With that confirmed, Chaos was about to let go of White Chubby when he felt a cool trickle on his claw.

Looking down, he saw that White Chubby's drool had dripped onto his claw. It didn't stink; instead, it gave off a faint but rich fragrance, a little like osmanthus.

White Chubby had been staring at the Stone Pot all this time, and the words "want to eat" were practically written in those sparkling slit pupils.

Just like Green Dazed-another little foodie.

Chaos's jaws curved slightly as he released the claw holding White Chubby's head.

"Wash your claws, then you can eat."

"Hum-da~!"

Splash~!

White Chubby jumped into the shallows and began bouncing around happily.

Chaos rinsed the drool off his claw in the water, then reached for the meat on the Stone Pot's stand and began adding it to the pot.

After washing up, White Chubby came back, sat beside Chaos, and gently rubbed that round head against his neck.

"Hum-da~"

"Watch closely, White Chubby. This is how you eat hot pot."

Chaos reached into the Stone Pot and scooped around.

One clawful brought up a large pile of meat.

He opened his jaws.

But out of the corner of his eye, he caught White Chubby's fixed, yearning stare.

Chaos: ...

His open jaws closed again.

"Open your mouth."

"Hum-da~"

White Chubby obediently opened up.

Chaos put the clawful of meat into White Chubby's mouth.

Those sparkling white slit pupils visibly widened.

[Splash, splash~]

Hearing the sound, Chaos glanced back. White Chubby's fat, cone-shaped white tail was swishing through the shallows like a little motor. That was where the sound came from.

His jaws curved slightly. Apparently, there was no need to ask White Chubby whether it tasted good.

Agatha quietly watched Chaos interact with the white dragon.

As expected, Chaos cared a great deal about this white dragon. That was very unlike a green dragon, but it was a good thing.

Perhaps this white dragon would be the first to become his mate.

"All right, White Chubby. If you want more, add the meat to the Stone Pot yourself. Remember to keep things clean. It's best to rinse the meat in the water before putting it in."

"Hum-da, hum-da~"

Chaos patted White Chubby's head, lowered himself onto all fours, and looked toward the new opening above the riverbank.

He started walking.

[Shuffle, shuffle~]

He had barely taken two steps when footsteps sounded beside him. A glance from the corner of his eye caught a tall, striking crimson dragon.

It was Agatha.

The two hatchlings exchanged a glance without speaking.

Then, in unspoken agreement, they headed toward the opening together.

Entering the cave with the big little girl, Chaos noticed that the soil around the entrance looked fresh, but the excavation marks farther inside were old. It didn't look newly dug.

It seemed that Sali had been living here for quite some time.

Unfortunately, it had been unlucky enough to run into White Chubby.

Sympathy? No. In this world, the strong preyed on the weak.

The passage grew wider as they went, with no forks.

"There don't seem to be any other Sali inside," Agatha said.

"How do you know?"

Chaos gave Agatha a puzzled glance as she walked beside him.

"The smell."

"I haven't smelled any other Sali."

Chaos: ???

As expected of a stat monster, she effortlessly did something he couldn't.

So far, all he could smell was a faint earthy odor.

"Did you come in for those white grains? What can they do?"

Agatha voiced her confusion. She had examined the white grains stuck to the white dragon's head. They were ordinary, with no magic whatsoever-clearly just some common mineral.

Yet Chaos had looked very excited when he ate those white grains.

"They can make hot pot taste even better."

To avoid getting tangled up in explanations, Chaos didn't mention salt.

"Then how did you know that?"

Agatha looked at Chaos. There was nothing about this in their inherited knowledge.

His claw froze.

Oh no. I still let my guard down.

"Oh, that? Naturally, I saw it in time."

Agatha didn't know much about the power of time, so she chose to believe Chaos.

"I see. Then you should be able to get what you came for. There are some of those white grains not far ahead."

"How do you know?"

"The smell," Agatha replied.

The two large nostrils on Chaos's head contracted sharply as he sniffed hard.

An earthy stink flooded his nose. Awful!

Is this big little girl lying to me?

He kept his head down and continued forward for nearly ten minutes before a faint salty scent reached his nose.

By then, there was no need to smell it.

Chaos could already see it.

A small, open chamber lay ahead, with bones piled in a shallow hollow. Unless he was mistaken, this had been the Sali's lair.

The surrounding walls were neither rock nor soil, but layers of white, granular salt.

This looks like a salt vein!

Chaos grew excited.

He hurried over to the white wall, pried a chunk from the hard mineral layer with his claw, and popped it into his mouth.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey!"

Way too salty!

His jaws split into a broad grin. Now he could finally have a proper hot pot.

White Chubby really lived up to those white dragon scales, giving me such a huge surprise.

Agatha had been about to try some herself, but the sight of Chaos instantly made her abandon the idea.

It doesn't look tasty at all. Can this stuff really make that hot pot Chaos mentioned taste better?

She had her doubts.

Ignoring Agatha beside him, Chaos began digging at the salt layer with his claws.

Before long, he had dug out a neatly squared block of salt ore more than two meters long.

I've dug it out, but how do I move it? Summon vines, tie it up, and drag it outside?

Just then, a large crimson claw reached over and landed on the salt block. It picked the block up and tossed it straight onto her back.

[Whoosh~!]

Heavy wings covered in crimson scales spread out, bracing the salt block securely and settling it on her broad back.

He looked at the big little girl before him, whose body was already twice his size. (An ordinary hatchling was 2.5, Agatha five, Hera four, and An 2.0.)

Seriously, why am I overthinking this? The big little girl is right here.

"I'll carry it."

"Okay."

"Shall we head back now?" Agatha asked.

"Yeah."

"Then let's go."

Agatha took the lead, and Chaos followed right behind her.

"By the way, Agatha, why did you come in with me?"

"I came to see if there were any more Sali."

"And if there were?"

"Then I'd kill them all."

"You really do care about those hatchlings' safety."

Agatha didn't answer, seemingly accepting Chaos's interpretation.