Then tell me, aren't I good to you?

"Hmm-hmm-hmm~"

The green hatchling skipped every few steps, humming an unfamiliar tune as he passed the dragon eggs standing on the ground.

Humming all the way back to the red dragon egg, he lay down in front of it.

He lifted his head. The red dragon egg before him still looked unchanged, without the slightest sign of hatching.

There were plenty of dragon eggs around, but only one Red Dragon egg, and it was the only one he had his eye on.

Compared with the other eggs, the taste of red dragon eggshell was what he looked forward to most.

"Come on, little bro. Make an effort."

After giving the red dragon egg some encouragement, Chaos was almost starting to feel disappointed in its lack of ambition.

Couldn't this egg hatch a little faster? It was a red one, after all.

Even a green one had already hatched before it.

Expecting a red dragon egg to answer was clearly impossible.

After his muttering, he lay down again with his chin against the ground.

The dirt floor in the cave was dry. Rather than warm, it was slightly cool.

For a green dragon like him, the temperature was just right: comfortable and suitable for living in.

His heavy eyelids slowly closed. He needed to conserve his energy while waiting for the next lucky winner.

"An Bilatus Baroyalix."

A young female hatchling's clear, childish voice echoed through the spacious cave once again.

At the sound, Chaos instantly opened his eyes.

His round dragon head rose.

Business was here~!

He pushed himself up on his claws, casting a disdainful glance at the red dragon egg before him.

"Little bro, you really aren't up to it."

Having voiced his disdain, he propped his body up on his four little claws and dashed toward the voice.

Judging by the sound, this one was very close too.

After running past several dragon eggs, Chaos finally spotted his target.

Right ahead of him, the top of an egg had already broken open, and a round little black coal ball clung to the broken shell, gnawing away.

He called her a little coal ball mainly because she looked pitch-black at first glance, with a perfectly round dragon body to match.

She looked exactly like a Black Coal Ball. This black hatchling was even smaller than him, and compared with an ordinary hatchling, she could certainly be considered dainty and petite.

Watching the little coal ball lying on her shell and already eating it, Chaos silently picked up speed. The instant he reached the egg, he thrust out a claw and grabbed the black hatchling by the all-important scruff of her neck.

Crunch, crunch~

An gnawed furiously at her eggshell. From the moment she broke out, a single look around had told her something was wrong.

What decent mother dragon had more than a dozen eggs in her nest, with all five colors represented?

This wasn't normal. This definitely wasn't normal.

She could forget about a dragon mother. What mattered was eating quickly and completing her first slumber to grow stronger.

"Huh?"

The eggshell grew farther and farther away in her vision.

Why was the eggshell moving away?

She stretched her neck to bite it.

She couldn't reach. It was always just a little too far away.

Her open Dragon Jaws kept snapping at empty air.

Her four little black claws scrabbled twice in the air.

Wait, why was her body floating?

Realizing something was wrong, An turned her dragon head to look behind her.

Seeing that this adorably clueless little thing had finally noticed something was wrong and looked over, Chaos spread his Dragon Jaws in a friendly smile at his newly hatched little dragon sister.

An: ...

Oh no...

What she had feared had happened after all.

After hatching and checking her surroundings, she had suspected that another dragon might already have hatched. Now that fear had come true.

Looking at the little coal ball meeting his gaze yet behaving remarkably well, Chaos felt he might not need to use force this time. He brought his head closer to the little coal ball dangling from his claw.

"Let's make a deal. Let me eat some of your shell, and if you cooperate, I won't beat you up. How's that? Aren't I nice?"

"Why aren't you saying anything?"

Chaos shook his claw.

The little coal ball dangling from it swayed along with it.

Her pitch-black slit pupils shifted, and the next moment, An looked at the green hatchling before her with an expression of "fear."

"Okay, as long as you don't hit me."

Good. This little coal ball understood that the wise knew when to give in.

He looked at the round, pitch-black eyes of the little thing in his claw.

Hmm, she was kind of cute.

Suddenly feeling playful, Chaos brought his head closer again and gave the little coal ball dangling from his claw a "friendly" smile.

"Then tell me, aren't I good to you?"

An: ...

Looking at the shameless creature before her, An nodded her dragon head timidly.

"Thank you."

Having received a satisfactory answer, Chaos drew his head back.

Although he still wanted to play with the little coal ball a little longer, eating came first.

He swung the claw holding the little coal ball upward.

Toss~!

The round black hatchling was thrown high into the air, but she nimbly flipped once in midair, managed to right herself, and landed steadily.

As he smelled the dragon-tempting aroma drifting from the eggshell before him,

Chaos could clearly feel his mouth producing saliva faster again.

Unable to hold back any longer, he stepped forward, climbed straight onto the eggshell, and stretched his neck through the broken opening at the top to look down.

Some clear liquid had pooled at the bottom of the shell.

It was egg fluid.

Nice. He could have another drink in a bit.

He was delighted.

Chomp~!

He opened his Dragon Jaws and bit off a piece of eggshell.

The texture was still much like crispy potato chips, only this time the shell had gone from plain to cumin-flavored.

[Crunch, crunch~]

He ate his way down until he reached the egg fluid.

Just the right amount. His belly had reached perfect fullness.

He contentedly rubbed his slightly bulging, round little belly with his right claw.

He was already full, so stealing more food wouldn't do him any good.

But...

His gaze fell on the clear egg fluid before him.

What did a black dragon's egg fluid taste like? He couldn't help growing curious.

He stretched his head forward.

He wouldn't drink much. Just one taste. One sip!

Having convinced himself, he stuck his head straight into the eggshell.

[Sniff, sniff~]

His head stopped in front of the egg fluid, and his two large nostrils sniffed hard.

It had no scent. Colorless and odorless, just like Loya's egg fluid earlier.

It seemed he really would have to taste it to find out.

He parted his Dragon Jaws slightly, extended a little length of pink tongue, and gently licked the transparent liquid.

His emerald slit pupils instantly contracted.

Sour and astringent.

He pulled his head back and stuck out his tongue.

"Ptooey, ptooey, ptooey~"

Both claws scraped at his protruding tongue, trying to remove the egg fluid he had licked.

That taste was really enough to make a dragon's head spin.

Only when the sourness on his tongue faded a little did Chaos feel somewhat better.

Out of the corner of his eye, he glanced at the little black coal ball, who had been lying obediently to one side all along.

Why did her egg fluid taste so awful?

What a waste of that soft, sweet, bite-sized appearance.

But...

His emerald slit pupils narrowed.

He spread his Dragon Jaws at the little coal ball lying there.

"Remember my name: Agatha Tiamat Thor."

"If you aren't happy about this, you can challenge me directly after your first slumber."

Meeting the green hatchling's gaze, An gave her head a gentle shake.

"I-I won't challenge you."

Her childish little voice sounded soft and easy to bully.

What a meek little girl.

Still, that personality... Chaos gave the little black coal ball on the ground another curious look.

Could this black coal ball be a metallic dragon with the wrong color? Why didn't she have any temper at all?

No, that wasn't right either. With that pure black color, she had to be a one-hundred-percent pureblood chromatic dragon.

"Oh? Why?"

"I... I can't beat you."

The little black dragon lying on the ground tucked her neck in, looking as cowardly as could be.

Chaos instantly felt a little bored.

This black coal ball was far too soft and easy to bully. Bullying her wasn't much fun either.

Now that he was full, it was time to find somewhere to complete his first slumber.

Ignoring the little coal ball, he turned and walked straight away.

She watched the green hatchling's retreating back grow distant.

Her round, pitch-black slit pupils rapidly contracted until they became thin lines. All the meekness within them vanished, leaving only a deep, unfathomable darkness.

Once she was certain the green hatchling had really gone far away,

An pushed herself up from the ground, brought her head to the eggshell, opened her Dragon Jaws, and began eating.

She ate very quickly.

With every bite, she tore off as much eggshell as her Dragon Jaws could hold, chewed twice, and immediately swallowed.

Resisting earlier would only have stirred the green hatchling's interest. Without resistance, he would get bored.

And that was exactly what had happened.

As for revenge...

Judging by the green hatchling's arrogance, which had seemed like a deliberate performance,

That name most likely wasn't his own.

But none of that mattered. Through the traces he had left on the eggshell while eating, she had already memorized that green hatchling's scent.