The copper-scaled Dragonias led Rei and his party through the Underground Space without once attacking.
At first, Rei had been slightly—no, considerably—suspicious of its behavior. But after walking for a significant length of time with nothing happening, he concluded that it probably wasn't trying to lure them into a trap.
He figured that even if some kind of trap had been laid, they could handle it... but still, the fact that the creature wasn't actively leading them into one was undeniably a relief.
"Not having any sense of time is a problem, though."
"You're right. If we were on the surface, we could look at the sky and roughly tell the time, but... in a place like this, well."
If there were a hole nearby that opened to the surface, they could check the time. But this Underground Space had no holes or windows of any kind. They couldn't look up at the sky to get their bearings.
If the glowing ground, walls, or ceiling dimmed as time passed, they might have been able to gauge it that way. Unfortunately, there was no sign of that happening—the light remained exactly as it had been when they first entered.
...Of course, in Rei's case, he had a Magic Item pocket watch inside his Misty Ring, so checking the time wasn't an issue for him.
When he pulled it out, he found that roughly two hours had passed since the copper-scaled Dragonias had begun guiding them.
After that much time, hunger was only natural. And once he became conscious of it, the feeling only intensified.
"I'm hungry. Want to eat something while we walk?"
Ideally, he would have liked to sit down and have a proper meal. But the copper-scaled Dragonias guiding them didn't seem at all likely to listen to anything he said. So if they were going to eat, walking and eating was the only option.
...Though if they'd been willing to risk losing sight of the copper-scaled Dragonias, they could have sat down right there.
"Good idea. We don't know when we'll next get the chance, so we should eat while we can. The downside is that eating on the move means nothing elaborate—soup and things like that are out."
Anything spill-prone was naturally off the table while walking. Dishes that required portioning onto plates were equally impractical. What they needed was the kind of food you could eat while walking around town—simple and handheld.
With that in mind, Rei pulled sandwiches for himself, Vihera, and Set from his Misty Ring.
Since the copper-scaled Dragonias was nearby, he stowed the Twilight Spear in the Misty Ring but kept Death Scythe in his right hand, ready for use.
They walked and ate. Then, without warning, the copper-scaled Dragonias stopped in its tracks.
It turned and stared fixedly at Rei.
What it wanted was immediately obvious. Dragonias were creatures ruled by hunger. Even an intelligent copper-scaled one would never see Rei and his party eating sandwiches without its appetite being stirred.
"Hey, it's staring right at us," Vihera said, pausing mid-bite.
While its expression remained blank, drool was dripping from between its fangs onto the ground.
(What do I do?)
Rei considered for a moment. But if the copper-scaled Dragonias stopped moving, they'd have no way of knowing where to go—they could probably head toward whatever that massive shape was in the distance, but that was far from reliable. So he took another sandwich from his Misty Ring and approached the creature.
A moment of tension crackled between Rei and the copper-scaled Dragonias.
If it lunged at him, he'd swing Death Scythe in his left hand immediately. Bracing for that possibility, he closed the distance and held out the sandwich.
It was a grilled Orc meat and fresh vegetable sandwich. He'd bought them fresh and stored them in the Misty Ring, so the aroma wafting from it was the appetite-stimulating scent of just-roasted Orc meat paired with a sweet sauce. Even an ordinary human, let alone a hunger-driven Dragonias, would feel their stomach growl at that smell.
(How will it react?)
Rei waited. There was no doubt the creature before him had been sent by the Queen to guide them. Given that, attacking to snatch the sandwich would be unthinkable under normal logic. After all, he was offering it—the premise was that the sandwich was for the Dragonias.
But Dragonias were precisely the kind of beings that defied such common sense. That was why he'd braced himself for anything...
"Jahataachana."
The copper-scaled Dragonias spoke in words Rei couldn't understand and accepted the offered sandwich. Not violently snatching it, nor biting down on Rei's hand along with it—it received the sandwich properly with its own hand. What's more, it was visibly careful not to let its sharp claws, characteristic of Dragonias, injure Rei.
(That's... unexpected. Even assuming it took the sandwich without attacking, I figured it'd be far rougher about it. Is this because copper-scaled Dragonias possess high intelligence? Or is this particular individual—chosen to guide us—especially sharp?)
Surprised as he was, Rei kept his eyes fixed on the Dragonias holding the sandwich. He didn't think it would attack him now, but that assumption was based purely on his own logic. Dragonias operated on entirely different reasoning, and there was no telling what one might do even in this situation. He wouldn't have been fully surprised if it suddenly attacked him right here—that was how little he trusted them.
But as if to declare that Rei's concerns were completely pointless, the copper-scaled Dragonias brought the sandwich to its mouth with an almost careless motion. It chewed with its sharp fangs...
"Hanja!?"
The taste must have been utterly unexpected. A sound of pure surprise escaped the Dragonias. Not disgust—delight. One look at its face made that abundantly clear. The expression itself was extremely difficult to read, but the satisfaction radiating from its demeanor was unmistakable.
(Well, it normally tears raw flesh from living creatures—Centaurs included. The very concept of cooking probably doesn't exist for Dragonias. In that light, this reaction makes perfect sense.)
Until now, it had eaten everything raw—no seasoning, no roasting, boiling, or steaming. For such a creature, a sandwich must have been an astonishing revelation.
The sandwich wasn't particularly small, but the Dragonias was large even compared to Rei. As a copper-scaled specimen, it was smaller than other Dragonias—but that was only relative to its own kind. The sandwich Rei handed over could have been swallowed in a single bite.
Once it finished, apparently unsatisfied, the copper-scaled Dragonias turned its gaze back to Rei. The meaning behind those eyes was easy enough to read, so Rei took out another sandwich and offered it.
"Hatanja."
The copper-scaled Dragonias accepted the new sandwich with those words. Rei couldn't understand the language, but it was likely expressing gratitude. Then it promptly brought the sandwich to its mouth—but this time, instead of wolfing it down, it ate slowly, savoring each bite with its sharp fangs.
(Looking at it now, copper-scaled Dragonias can communicate to some extent. ...But after everything that's happened, there's no way Dragonias and Centaurs will reach a peaceful resolution.)
If this had been before the Centaurs suffered significant casualties, perhaps both sides might have been fortunate enough to reach a peaceful settlement. But countless Centaurs had been devoured, and multiple settlements wiped out. Among the Centaurs in the Reconnaissance Unit, many were survivors of just such carnage. And like those gathered at Zai's settlement, there were also survivors whose homes had been literally consumed—eaten away by Dragonias.
Telling such people to now coexist peacefully with Dragonias was, quite simply, impossible. Depending on the circumstances, the Centaurs might well attack Rei himself if he suggested such a thing.
It was too late. As things stood, only one side—the Centaurs or the Dragonias—could survive. The other would have to be annihilated.
"If only you'd approached the Centaurs a bit more peacefully from the start... Well, intelligence is limited to Commander-ranked Dragonias and above, so once ordinary ones started showing up, it was probably hopeless anyway."
Hearing Rei's words, the copper-scaled Dragonias glanced at him while still nibbling its sandwich. Perhaps hoping for another.
But when Rei showed no sign of producing one, it returned its attention to the sandwich.
"That's all in the past now," Vihera said, having finished her own sandwich. She studied the copper-scaled Dragonias, which was behaving noticeably differently from before.
To Vihera, the copper-scaled Dragonias simply didn't seem that strong. Under normal circumstances, she might have recognized even a copper-scaled specimen as a worthy opponent, but right now her attention was fixed on foes she had yet to fight—the golden-scaled Dragonias, the mottled Dragonias—that surely awaited them deeper in this Underground Space. That was where her interest lay.
"A quick bite and we're done. Let's keep moving. Just thinking about what's waiting for us up ahead... it's thrilling."
"With you, Vihera, it's a different kind of needing to keep an eye on you compared to Anastasia."
"Oh? Then by all means, don't take your eyes off me. I'd welcome that completely."
The smile she flashed carried a devastating charm, enough to captivate anyone who saw it. Though here in this Underground Space, its full effect was somewhat diminished.
"Right. I'll do my best."
It was the kind of smile that would have made any ordinary man nod along instantly, but Rei merely replied half-heartedly. He'd clearly built up a resistance to Vihera's beauty.
"Anyway, we can't stand here forever. Let's move. Hey—we're heading on."
Rei called out to the copper-scaled Dragonias, which had finished its sandwich and seemed lost in the memory of the first delicious thing it had ever tasted. But even if it heard his words, it couldn't understand them.
Which meant the only way to get it moving was to start walking himself. Taking Vihera and Set with him, Rei set off.