The large cave gradually filled with the scent of flowers and fruits, followed by the aroma of rice.
The smell of Eric’s stew became increasingly intense, gradually overpowering all other scents in the space, drifting out along the cave entrance.
Eric was hungry and didn’t want to make anything too complicated. There was wheat flour here, but no homemade yeast, so it was better to knead the dough to make some thin unleavened flatbreads and place them directly over the thickening stew to steam them.
"Smells so good."
Arthur inched forward step by step, slowly approaching Eric.
Although in his inherited memories, the Dragon race always forcibly captured other races they liked, he had also followed the methods of his ancestors to snatch Eric back.
But in those memories, the "brides" of the Dragon race would either go on a hunger strike because they wanted to go home or would rather seek death. He was truly afraid Eric would be the same.
Arthur was five hundred years old this year, having just reached adulthood. He only half-understood these matters, simply vaguely feeling that his feelings for Eric were different from those of his ancestors.
If Eric did the same, Arthur wouldn’t know what to do, unlike other dragons who would just go find another pleasing race.
Now that Eric wasn’t behaving radically, Arthur breathed a sigh of relief, but he could still sense Eric’s unhappiness, so he could only find ways to please him.
Just as he was about to give a couple more compliments, out of the corner of his eye, he saw a dog head lunging forward a step faster than him.
Eric turned his head to look, a beautiful smile blooming on his face, then fished a hot piece of bone out of the pot for Kanude to eat.
Arthur felt as if his whole body was about to emit the scent of lemons; this treatment should clearly be his, so why did it go to this stupid dog?
The more he thought about it, the angrier he got. If not for seeing that Eric liked Kanude very much, he would have long since grabbed this stupid dog by the tail and thrown it out.
When he went out to find food and decorative flowers, the reason he left Kanude behind, apart from protecting Eric’s safety, was also to have this stupid dog please him.
Back at the Hadu tribe, he often saw Eric lovingly hugging Snow Wolf cubs that looked exactly like Kanude.
This time Kanude completed the mission perfectly, yet Arthur was dying of jealousy.
"I want to eat too."
Eric rolled his eyes; the kidnapper wanted to eat too? Eat my foot.
But now he was in someone else’s territory, using food provided by the other party, so he could only ignore it, find a bowl to scoop his portion, and go to the side to start eating.
Kanude wagged its tail and grinned as it approached, completely ignoring its owner’s face, which was as black as the bottom of a pot, lying on the ground waiting to be fed.
Following the owner wouldn’t get it such delicious food. It looked at Eric with passionate eyes, its tail wagging like a propeller.
One person and one dog ate happily. Arthur, depressed, found his own eating utensils to scoop a bowl. Not daring to sit next to Eric, he pitiably squatted by the stove, eating without tasting the flavor, his eyes glued to Eric.
Now that they had signed a soul pact, and he had given the other party his most important scale, why was Eric still not like his parents, loving each other? Arthur was full of question marks.
In his distress, Arthur, who always considered eating paramount, rarely felt that the food in his mouth was no longer delicious.
But other dragons didn’t think so.
A fragrant meat smell blended with the aroma of vegetables drifted out from the cave.
The Dragon race had lived on Dragon Island, isolated from the world for nearly ten thousand years. Aside from fighting each other daily, or fighting with the Elves who they found unsightly - but couldn’t fight too excessively - the rest of their time was spent either guarding treasures in slumber or thinking about what to eat.
Ten thousand years ago, if they wanted to eat well, they could go out and rob chefs from other countries, especially human chefs who cooked the best. The only drawback was that their lifespan was too short; even using precious medicines or spiritual plants to prolong it, they wouldn’t live more than a few hundred years.
A period of a hundred years, in the life of the Dragon race, was just a nap.
Later, the Dragon King gave an order, and everyone lost even this hobby. Those who were too gluttonous could only cook for themselves.
The Dragon race was arrogant, good at fighting and destroying, but very few were good at cooking. Over the years, they had also honed their skills.
Dragons living in their own territories knew the cooking levels of other dragons well; just smelling the food, they could guess who made it.
Today was different. A strange, rich aroma wafted over, and the dragons who smelled it couldn’t guess whose handiwork it was.
There were nearly a thousand dragons on Dragon Island, but not a single one made food with such an aroma.
Arthur’s territory wasn’t small, but the Dragon race’s sense of smell for food was sharper than anything. The nearby dragons smelled the scent drifting over and only then realized this was that little devil’s territory.
More than a dozen dragons hovered in the sky, just not daring to land and ask. The intention to beg for food was extinguished immediately.
One had to know that Arthur, having just reached adulthood, had defeated more than half of the dragons, and he had the Dragon King backing him. They didn’t dare to provoke him.
The Dragon race had difficulty reproducing. Don’t look at their unique way of raising children; their protectiveness was very real.
A loud dragon roar rang out, and the dozen or so dragons hovering in the air all stiffened in place.
"What is everyone gathering here for? Want to bully a child?"
A majestic and oppressive voice came from above.
The dragons looked up trembling, only to see a giant golden dragon, twice the size of a normal dragon, hovering in the air, his dark golden eyes staring at them with dissatisfaction.
"Dragon King, Your Majesty... we just smelled an unusual aroma, so we wanted to come and check."
One dragon summoned the courage to explain.
The other dragons also nodded frantically, proving they really had no bad intentions.
The Dragon King huffed coldly. These dragons felt as if they had been granted amnesty and quickly flew off in different directions.
Inside the cave, the group was eating. Arthur, who was squatting on the ground, suddenly straightened his back, looking up at the sky warily. A dragon had intruded into his territory.
Moreover, this pressure was very familiar...
Thinking of that person’s demeanor, Arthur’s expression changed drastically. He cursed under his breath, then spread his wings to shield Eric.
Seeing these wings, Eric recalled the scene at the tribe that day and started, almost dropping the bowl. Fortunately, Kanude used its head to help him catch it.
"Woof." Its eyes, full of intelligence, stared at Eric comfortingly. It slowly stood up, wrapping its body around him.
Was someone attacking? But wasn’t this Dragon Island? Did battles frequently occur among the Dragon race?
Eric couldn’t figure it out, his nerves tense, his eyes unblinking as he looked towards the cave entrance.
With a bang, a strong wind carrying debris rushed in, but before it reached Eric, it was completely blocked by Arthur.
"Stinky brat, who allowed you to leave the island without permission and even bring a Snow Wolf back!"
Along with a deep, warm voice, a middle-aged man wearing a golden robe, with long blonde hair tied high and adorned with top-quality gems and pearls on his hair and clothes, walked in.
Eric looked from the gap in Arthur’s wings. This man looked a bit older, his features very similar to Arthur’s, his whole body exuding an oppressive aura.
Hearing this tone, it must be an elder in Arthur’s family, Eric guessed secretly.
"Grandpa, I didn’t mean to leave the island for so long. It was because the fight with the Elves was too fierce, and I temporarily lost my memory."
Seeing the arrival stop attacking, Arthur spoke up to explain.
Grandpa!
Eric was surprised. He didn’t look like it at all. He had thought it was a father or uncle, but it was a grandfather.
Truly an ancient race with a long lifespan; age basically left few traces on them.