Although, as a knight, one should never pass up an opportunity to temper oneself.
But since this was his decision, there was nothing that could be done.
Argenti shifted his gaze away from that strange cosmic creature that looked both like a dragon and a goldfish and looked at Nero.
"Mr. Nero, that thing just now was...?"
"Hm? The one that swallowed all of us. I've requisitioned it now. Anyway, let's go see if there's anything useful on that giant bug."
Argenti nodded, and the two of them headed toward the Giant True Sting Bug.
Draco... honestly, that name really felt a bit out of place...
At the moment, he was swimming around the Giant True Sting Bug's corpse.
Because Nero had warned him beforehand, he didn't dare open his mouth and swallow the bug whole.
After all, his instincts as a living creature kept warning him of danger.
Cirrus floated lazily beside Nero, her big eyes moving between Argenti, Draco, and Nero.
She had watched the entire thing unfold, and because of that, she felt she absolutely had to complain about it, using strength to force others into submission was considered beauty too?
'It was one thing for this kid to have a body made entirely from fragments of Beauty, but you over there, Knight of Beauty, do you also think this is a beautiful thing to do?'
'Is a choice like "either die or follow me" really something Beauty should propose?'
That being said, Cirrus didn't dare say anything. She simply swallowed all those thoughts.
After all, she had been one of those suppressed by force.
She was just a tiny heliobus. It was better for her to stay here and tremble quietly.
Having already accepted reality, Cirrus was exceptionally clear-headed.
She was completely certain that even if Liaoyuan suddenly came back to life and appeared before her right now, she would still firmly stand on Nero's side.
After arriving beside the Giant True Sting Bug, Nero stopped.
Although he wanted to remove all the useful parts from the bug's body and use them as materials, he himself didn't know much about this kind of thing and lacked the professional judgment to identify them.
Even his most confident guess would only be based on gaming experience, cutting off the hard horns, since those were usually good weapon-making materials... well, the fangs counted too.
But Nero wasn't worried about this.
After all, he wasn't the type to pretend he understood things he didn't.
Just like when he built factories before, this kind of work should be left to people who knew what they were doing.
Wasn't Argenti right here?
As a Knight of Beauty, especially one who traveled the universe alone and wandered everywhere, knowing how to make and maintain weapons was essential knowledge.
And Black Cutter would help too.
After all, it had absorbed the wishes of countless craftsmen, and its abilities also affected weapons, so it should be quite capable when it came to identifying materials.
In short, all he had to do was wait quietly.
Working together, Black Cutter and Argenti removed the bug's horns, fangs, and the hardest sections of its shell.
After they finished, Draco finally stopped chasing Cirrus and turned toward Nero with an expectant look.
Even as a heliobus, Cirrus felt extremely tired at this point.
The moment she came over here, this unknown creature had started chasing her around trying to bite her.
She floated beside Nero, her voice no longer as lively as before.
"This dragon-goldfish thing is basically a dog!"
"Then let's call its species Dragonfish Dogs."
Nero replied to Cirrus while nodding.
After receiving Nero's approval, Draco let out a happy cheer and immediately flew to the Giant True Sting Bug's corpse and started feasting.
Looking at Draco's dog-like behavior, Cirrus wanted to complain that "Dragonfish Dog" was an incredibly lazy name.
But the words got stuck in her throat.
After Draco finished eating, Nero and Argenti chatted for a while.
Argenti regretfully explained that he still had things to do and could not remain by Nero's side for long.
Nero didn't have much of a reaction to that.
However, Argenti later said that he needed to borrow Draco because it would make something he wanted to do much more convenient.
Generous Nero naturally didn't refuse and repeatedly told Draco to behave himself.
When it was time to part, Draco expanded his body once again.
His magnificent fish tail carried dreamlike colors and drifted slowly through the depths of space like a flowing scarf, as if it had become a canvas painted with stars.
Including the tail, Draco was indeed a very beautiful species.
Even in the boundless universe filled with all kinds of strange creatures and planets, he stood out greatly.
Argenti piloted the ship and landed on Draco's body, easily finding a suitable docking spot.
Of course, he could also choose to park inside Draco's mouth or stomach.
After all, this magical creature could control its stomach acid. If he stayed in its stomach right now, he might even get to witness the magnificent sight of how the Giant True Sting Bug was digested.
Soon, the magnificent canvas covered in every color flashed before Nero's eyes and departed like a gust of wind.
Even after it had traveled far away, those brilliant colors remained eye-catching, like a shining treasure drifting through the universe.
If one followed the Dark Forest Theory, this behavior was practically announcing one's location to the entire universe.
Fortunately, Draco quickly realized this.
A special substance began secreting from his body, and before long, the giant colorful creature completely blended into the starry sky.
Nero didn't know what Argenti intended to do, but he felt that the knight had been holding back an expression that clearly said he wanted to surprise him.
But it didn't matter.
He didn't like guessing what other people were thinking, so he didn't think further about it.
After Argenti left, he rode Black Cutter and returned to the Astral Express with Cirrus.
Nero's safe return made everyone happy, while Argenti's disappearance left them confused.
Without waiting for anyone on the train to ask, Nero took the initiative to explain what had happened.
Most people were amazed that a creature like Draco existed.
Teacher Dan Heng even went straight to the Archives to update the records.
However, some people's attention was focused elsewhere.
For example, Velite...
The train had not yet reached its first stop, so he couldn't get off yet.
And for convenience, Pom-Pom had decided to go directly to Car Wash Planet before stopping. There would be people there to receive him, and Velite should be able to return home smoothly.
But none of those arrangements mattered to Velite.
The corporate wage slave was currently clutching his head with both hands, wearing a twisted expression like a ghost from a horror story as he let out a piercing wail.
It was probably something about how Argenti had suddenly left and how his get-rich plan had gone down the drain.
Although those complaints weren't very pleasant to hear, he was actually quite happy.
After all, Argenti hadn't died in a bug's stomach and was completely safe.
Because while Velite often found Argenti's actions ridiculous, he didn't actually dislike a person like him.
Oh, and one last thing.
Argenti took all the materials removed from the True Sting Bug.
Because Nero had suddenly come up with the idea of raising bugs and selling materials from them, he asked Argenti to take those items and see if there were any suitable buyers.
He wanted to get a sense of the market and see how profitable it might be.
Although the company could handle something like that, after playing through the Swarm Disaster, Nero felt that having the company do it would be a little strange.
So it was better to let Argenti handle it.
Anyway, the final steps could always be left to Sampo.
[🎉 Shoutout to Cesar and Kai for joining p@treon. Thank you very much 🤗]