He Couldn't Do This Job. Not a Chance...

It seemed to have gone quiet.

Hugging the cavern wall, he slowly poked his head out again.

The instant he did, a round, crimson dragon head appeared right in front of him. Their eyes met.

It was close-so close he could clearly feel the scorching breath from its nostrils.

When did she get here? Did her footsteps not make any sound?!

Agatha said nothing, silently studying the green hatchling before her.

If her instincts were right, this crafty fellow was the one who had played that dirty trick on the other green hatchling.

Chaos: (｀・ω・´)

"Hi~"

Chaos slowly raised a claw.

Now that I've said hello...

Time to scram!

He turned without a moment's hesitation, his claws scrabbling furiously.

But as he ran, something started to feel wrong.

He had been running all this time, so why did it feel like he hadn't moved a single step? He seemed to be in the same spot. The cavern walls around him hadn't changed.

His four little claws gradually slowed their frantic scrabbling.

He looked back, and his heart instantly sank.

I'm screwed~

His tail was stretched taut in a straight line, its tip pinned firmly beneath a large crimson claw.

Seeing that the green hatchling had finally settled down, Agatha extended her right claw.

Watching the large claw reach toward him, Chaos gave up resisting.

He was a spellcasting dragon, and a red hatchling of Agatha's size had gotten within melee range. What the hell was he supposed to do?

His claws relaxed, and he flopped straight onto the ground.

Ah, screw it.

A moment later, a warm, large claw seized him by the scruff, and his body left the ground.

Agatha tossed him straight into the air.

As he flew through the air and watched the ground draw closer ahead, he instinctively spread the pair of dragon wings on his back.

His airborne body immediately steadied.

It was an instinct in his blood.

He glided all the way back down.

Only when all four claws landed firmly did Chaos look around and realize he had been thrown into the center of a circle of hatchlings.

Agatha clearly hadn't meant to hurt him. She had only wanted to toss him here.

Otherwise, she would have slammed him into the ground instead of throwing him through the air.

"It's you!"

A soft, babyish voice came from beside him, with a distinctly teeth-grinding edge.

There was no need to guess. It had to be Loya, the dragon whose eggshell he had stolen.

"You're the one who stole my eggshell! You're the one I want to challenge!"

Loya lowered her body, locking her gaze on the green hatchling before her.

She had found him. This was the fellow she wanted to challenge!

Seeing the fierce urge to attack in Loya's eyes, Chaos had no intention of backing down.

Agatha was one thing, given the obvious difference in size. But why was this Green Dazed so bold? She wasn't even as big as him.

He lowered his body, parted his jaws slightly, and gathered strength in his hind legs.

Driven by instinct, he, too, assumed an attacking stance.

Likewise, Loya's slit pupils narrowed in an instant as she adopted the same stance, ready to attack.

The two green hatchlings were about to fight.

The hatchlings surrounding them grew interested, ready to enjoy the scuffle.

A tall crimson figure strode straight between the two hatchlings, blocking their angry stares.

Agatha glanced at the green hatchlings on either side of her.

"Now isn't the time for you two to fight. Save that for later."

You're bigger. You call the shots.

Chaos silently dropped his attacking stance and sat up on his haunches.

Loya, on the other hand, seemed unwilling to give up. Still holding her attacking stance, she growled.

"He's the one who stole my eggshell! I want to challenge him right now!"

Agatha turned her head without a word, simply fixing her crimson slit pupils on Loya.

Under that stare, the ferocity in the green hatchling's eyes slowly faded, leaving them clear again.

Her lowered body gradually rose as well, and she stopped holding her attacking stance.

Yet just then, an elongated, tapered emerald Green Dragon head poked out from behind Agatha.

His jaws parted, and he stuck a pink tongue out at her.

He's taunting me. He actually dares to taunt me!

"Grr~!"

Her newly raised body instinctively dropped low again.

The instant she lowered herself, a large crimson claw landed directly on her scruff.

An irresistible force surged through the back of her neck.

Under that tremendous force, her body was instantly pinned flat against the ground.

Seeing Loya get smacked down, Chaos happily spread his jaws in a grin.

All hail the little dragon girl~!

Agatha glanced at the troublesome green hatchling beside her but ignored him. She raised her head, surveyed the surrounding hatchlings, and only then slowly spoke.

"As you've all seen, we don't have a dragon mother."

"Without a dragon mother to care for us, cooperation is our only option."

Sitting on the ground, Chaos gave the little dragon girl a surprised glance. She had a pretty good grasp of the bigger picture.

"If we're going to cooperate, we'll need some rules."

Agatha understood the nature of chromatic dragons. That nature alone made it impossible for them to band together and elect a leader like those other intelligent races.

"One, we cooperate and hunt together."

"Two, we warn one another whenever we discover danger."

"Three, we share any herds of prey we find."

"Four, fighting is forbidden when food is scarce."

"Those are the four rules for now. If anyone doesn't want to follow them, I understand that we chromatic dragons have always settled things through strength."

"Defeat me, and you won't have to follow these rules."

Agatha released Luoya and stepped forward with a crimson claw.

Faced with Agatha's imposing presence, the hatchlings exchanged glances and silently gauged the difference in strength. Soon, they settled down again.

Not a single hatchling chose to speak.

Chaos lay silently on the ground, obedient and well-behaved~!

None of them were stupid. Right now, the little dragon girl was clearly the strongest among them. Anyone who challenged her would only get beaten up for nothing. Naturally, no dragon wanted that.

Besides, the little dragon girl's terms were quite democratic. All she wanted was some basic cooperation.

He supported that with all four claws raised.

The little dragon girl was staring down the other dragons.

Bored, Chaos began looking over the hatchlings as well.

As he looked, he noticed something wrong.

Wait... why do all these fellows have round heads?

A hatchling's sex was easy to distinguish: all you had to do was look at the head. A round head meant a female dragon, while an elongated, tapered one meant a male.

His gaze swept rapidly over them.

Round, round, round...

They're all round!

There were fourteen dragons in total, every one with a round dragon head.

Why are they all female?

Something's wrong. Something's very wrong.

A whole cavern full of dragon eggs, plus me, the one male.

Have I really been designated the breeding dragon?

No way...

He admitted that these plump little hatchlings looked adorable, but that was all they were: adorable.

Asking him to view these hatchlings as potential romantic partners?

Sorry, he couldn't do it.

Dragons were free to have their own tastes, and his leaned more toward his standards for choosing a partner in his previous life.

He still liked fair skin, beautiful faces, and long legs.

These round little hatchlings were, at most, fellow members of his species to him.

He couldn't do this job. Not a chance...

After looking around and confirming that no dragon had spoken up, Agatha continued.

"It seems none of you have any objections."

"In that case, I hope you'll all follow these four rules from now on."

Agatha withdrew her gaze and turned to the male hatchling sitting obediently beside her-the only male hatchling in their clutch of eggs.

"Now, it's time for us to leave this cavern."