"Whew, Kalon, can you two walk faster? We're about to reach the territory of my bee colony," Little pixie Raven announced happily from the front, her tone somewhat boastful.
"This is a technique I learned from a Giant Tree Druid who passed through the forest. My bee colony gathers the sweetest flower nectar in the forest every day, and the honey they produce is praised by merchants who travel all the way from the Human Empire as the best dessert in the world."
Kalon, with the White Dragon, listened to the Little pixie 's boasting while trudging along behind, huffing and puffing. Although the two Dragon were not yet so large as to have difficulty moving in the forest filled with giant trees, Raven's flight path was not a straight line.
She liked to fly up and down, turning left and right, making Kalon a bit confused.
But he still keenly grasped the key point in the Little pixie's words: merchants who had traveled all the way from the Human Empire.
In a place without the internet or newspapers, interacting with merchants was arguably the best way for him to understand this new world. Every merchant was like a walking encyclopedia of miscellaneous knowledge.
Moreover, merchants meant trade. Merchants didn't care if you were a Dragon or a demon.they would trade with anyone if it suited their wants
As long as there was profit, they could trade with you. Theoretically, merchants were the ones who treated all creatures as equals. except for goblins or any truly deplorable creatures like a mind flayer
So Kalon asked curiously, "How do merchants get here? The path to this place isn't easy."
His previous bloodline had not lived in this area, so the inherited knowledge in his mind did not include understanding of this place.
When he chatted with Akzi, he learned that this area was far from many civilized lands, considered a desert of civilization.
To the south was a vast, boundless forest wilderness, and to the north was an endless grassland and Gobi Desert.
These places, without exception, were home to many monsters, with ferocious beasts everywhere, and many magical creatures. These were all great dangers for humans.
Akzi and Carlit were both outsiders, having not nested in this mountain range for long.
The surrounding areas they explored probably didn't cover as much as the native Pixie, which was one of the reasons Kalon planned to befriend Pixie Raven.
"Those merchants come by boat, you know! Not only humans, but also some short, non-stinky Goblin merchants."
Raven, seeing Kalon's interest, flew back and landed on the Red Dragon's outstretched claw, explaining to Kalon while pointing the way.
"From here, if you go far to the east, about two days' flight for me, there's a bay. Merchants come there by boat, and then many brave humans accompany them into the forest to trade with the Pixie!
"But the merchants only come every so often, maybe because it's too far!"
Hmm, Kalon nodded thoughtfully. That was indeed the style of those merchants; as long as there was profit, a little danger was nothing.
He even saw in his inherited memories that many merchant caravans, forming alliances, specifically crossed worlds to enter the abyss and trade with demons. That was truly more money-hungry than even Dragon.
"Oh no!" The Pixie, seeing the Red Dragon's interested expression, immediately became anxious. Her plump little hands waved vigorously in front of Kalon's large eyes, reminding him,
"Kalon, you absolutely cannot sneak over there. That bay belongs to a very terrifying Ogre Tribe. That powerful Ogre Tribe not only has a terrifying Ogre King who can easily kill young Dragons, but also a powerful Ogre Warlock and mysterious giant Ogre Monster. They love to enslave other creatures, and I don't want to lose my new friend."
"Alright, a friend's advice is worth considering." Kalon nodded, solemnly agreeing to the little creature in front of him.
He had initially been tempted when he heard about a bay where trade was possible; such a place was a treasure trove for making money. But he was still too young, and the Dragon's will did not revolve around him. This could be planned for later.
"But is this your bee colony? It looks a bit lively." Kalon stopped, tilting his head to look opposite.
Under a palm tree several people wide, a dense swarm of bees flew about.
Each of these bees, similar in appearance to honeybees, was as thick as a thumb, and when they scattered, they resembled a dark cloud, filling the entire forest with a loud buzzing sound.
A three-meter-tall black bear was standing on its hind legs, trying to reach a tree hollow in the tree.
Its entire massive head was inside the tree hollow, one paw vigorously digging out honey and stuffing it into its mouth, while the other paw occasionally swatted away bees stinging it.
Occasionally, when stung badly, it would howl loudly, but it refused to pull its head back, and it would constantly grunt and smack its lips, clearly intending to eat its fill, relying on its thick hide to withstand the bee colony's attacks.
Although this black bear didn't seem to have entered the ranks of ferocious beasts, when it stood on its hind legs, it resembled a one-story building.
Its size was similar to Kalon when he stood upright, and it was not synonymous with weakness in the eyes of the two young Dragon at this time.
Seeing this situation, Raven had already flown over, shouting furiously, her trailing fairy dust creating illusions. "This wretched big black bear! It's stealing my honey again, how hateful!"
The Pixie's tiny body suddenly stopped above the black bear. She shrieked a spell, and stardust-like fairy dust sprinkled behind her.
Magical power enveloped the black bear. With a pop, the black bear turned into a small sheep and fell to the ground, its two confused horizontal pupils staring at the sky as if it hadn't yet realized what had happened.
"Quick, help me hold down this big bear!" Raven the Little pixie called out to the two Dragon, busy soothing the agitated bee colony and leading them into the tree hollow to check for damage.
She was still young, and her magical power couldn't last long. It wouldn't be long before this bewildered sheep would change back.
Kalon and the White Dragon stepped forward, each holding down half of its body. Sure enough, after a few breaths, the magical power wore off, and the sheep transformed back into a black bear, its face bruised and swollen from bee stings.
Although this black bear was similar in size to Kalon, it dared not move under the restraint of the two young Dragon. It trembled under the suppression of the Dragon's might, its small eyes filled with terror.
"It's a good thing this big bear didn't scare my little darlings," Raven emerged from the tree hollow after a while, the anger on her small face vanished without a trace. She was painstakingly carrying a large flower basket.
This flower basket was clearly woven with magical power; the flower vines used for weaving were still fresh, and the tender green branches and leaves carried a magical aura.
The bottom of the tightly woven flower basket was padded with some kind of large, broad leaves, and it was filled to the brim with honey.
Raven hung the flower basket on the Red Dragon's claw, then looked up with a shy expression and said, "Kalon, I need to go check on the other beehives. I'll come find you to play when I have time later."
After getting Kalon's permission, the Pixie hurriedly left, not bothering with the captured big bear. Kalon and Camid exchanged a look and decisively bit the black bear to death.
But Kalon didn't plan to eat in the forest. He and the White Dragon intended to take their unexpected prey back.
This was a small idea he wanted to teach the young Dragon: that some things could be shared, such as delicious food roasted after being coated in honey.
"Hey, Camid, do you know the way back?"
"Kalon, I think you're much smarter than me."
Alright, Kalon had no choice but to hang the small flower basket on his tail and lower his head to sniff. Fortunately, a Dragon's sense of smell was sensitive enough, comparable to a dog's.
The two Dragon, like mountain patrol dogs, sniffed around the forest for a long time before dragging their relatively large prey back along the original path to the valley.
Kalon ignored the White Dragon Gemot who approached him, and Camid also strutted proudly, ignoring his own brother.
Kalon skillfully gutted the black bear, then instructed Camid to skin the prey. After that, he rolled the hollowed-out black bear in the pond a couple of times to clean it.
Finally, he dragged a few dead branches from the mountaintop, skewered the prey, and propped it over a bonfire, beginning his first small barbecue since coming to this world.
Although he was a Dragon and could adapt to the taste of any food, eating raw food was only due to a Dragon's strong adaptability and laziness, not because Dragon particularly liked it.
Dragon were not unintelligent beasts; enjoying delicious food was also one of a Dragon's hallmarks.
So when the food on the campfire began to emit the unique charred aroma of barbecue, a circle of young Dragon had already gathered around the fire, every single Dragon pup staring eagerly at the food, which constantly dripped fat as it roasted.
Watching Camid, who was diligently turning the wooden spit with a strangely proud expression, the White Dragon Gemot felt a hint of regret in his heart. "Maybe I should have gone out with Kalon just now. Then I would have gotten such a big piece of food."
This thought became even stronger when Kalon drizzled a layer of honey over the roasted food, especially when he saw the young Blue Dragon Akzi, who usually disdained sitting with the young Dragon, had quietly blended into the waiting Dragons at some point, his lips glistening.
Kalon did not cede his dominant position because of Akzi's arrival; he still distributed the food. This time, he reserved the delicious ribs for himself, then cut the food into portions one by one.
Akzi received the tasty and chewy chest and belly, and the Blue Dragon was very satisfied. Camid, who had gone out with him, received the previously removed entrails and the fatty abdomen, which was well-deserved for Camid's hard work.
There was no need to fuss over the remaining baby Dragons. Kalon simply divided the roasted food into several roughly equal portions and began to enjoy the simple delicacy before him.
"It seems I need to pay attention to those merchants the Pixie mentioned. I can buy many useful things from them. Hmm, spices as a condiment are essential."
Kalon smacked his lips. He felt it tasted even better this way, though it was somewhat against his previous habits—after all, smacking one's lips while eating was unsightly. However, now he was just a Dragon, and he didn't need to care what others thought.