The celebration that had been interrupted by the sudden arrival of two dragons quickly returned to normal.
If anything, it became even livelier than before.
Unlike most races, kobolds were strange enough that they didn’t think of themselves as having been enslaved.
They considered it an honor.
As a result, Evelyn and Darrien were invited to occupy the most prominent place beside the bonfire.
Trees were among the most precious resources in the Forsaken Lands, so no one here was wealthy enough to waste wood on tables and chairs.
The crude houses built from stacked stones made that obvious enough.
The two young black dragons had no choice but to sit directly on the ground.
Then again, even if there had been furniture, their bodies were far too large to use it.
The old kobold Evelyn had renamed Buck was the chief of the tribe.
At the moment, he was directing the other kobolds as they carried over pile after pile of fresh fruit and roasted meat sliced with stone knives.
They even thoughtfully spread broad leaves beneath the food to keep it off the ground.
Evelyn didn’t start eating right away.
Compared with food, she was more interested in learning about the tribe.
After all, she and Darrien would probably be living here for quite some time.
The bonfire in the center of the square caught her attention first.
Its roaring flames drove away the night chill.
But the fuel burning inside wasn’t wood.
It looked like dung.
No.
It was dung.
Just dried first.
“Using dried dung for heat. Not a bad idea.”
Evelyn looked elsewhere.
Several roasting racks stood around the fire, each holding bloody cuts of meat.
As the meat cooked, a faint savory aroma drifted through the air.
Beside the racks were bloodstained stone spears and other stone weapons, their polished edges reflecting the firelight.
The kobolds probably hunted with those.
Around the central fire sat a wide circle of tribespeople.
They wore simple animal-hide clothing and tore into chunks of raw meat.
Every so often, one or two kobold children would glance enviously toward the roasted meat piled in front of Evelyn and Darrien.
The two dragons had clearly monopolized all of it.
Whenever the children noticed Evelyn looking back, they immediately lowered their eyes and began trembling in fear.
This is practically the Stone Age.
Evelyn sighed inwardly.
Then she remembered that this was the wild and desolate Forsaken Lands.
For creatures living here, simply surviving was probably enough to count as a good life.
“Evelyn, aren’t you eating? This stuff is really good!”
Darrien’s cheeks were stuffed full.
He immediately shoved another piece of roasted meat into his mouth.
Evelyn glanced at the food in front of her.
Most of it consisted of fruit.
There wasn’t nearly as much meat.
She picked up a piece still sizzling with fat and placed it in her mouth.
Evelyn had no concern whatsoever about poison.
Black dragons were naturally immune to most toxins.
If ordinary poison could kill a black dragon, she would have died long ago from the gases rising out of the swamps where her species lived.
And that was before considering that black dragon acid itself carried strong corrosive and toxic properties.
The piece of meat wasn’t large.
A few bites were enough to swallow it.
Instead of immediately reaching for another, Evelyn narrowed her eyes and carefully considered the flavor.
Crisp on the outside.
Tender inside.
Savory, with just the right amount of salt.
There was definitely salt on it.
Evelyn opened her eyes and held another piece between two claws.
Fresh from the fire, its surface had turned golden beneath the orange glow.
Steam curled from it.
A few clear crystals of salt clung to the meat.
Not much.
Just enough to bring out the flavor.
Ever since hatching, Evelyn had mostly lived on raw flesh.
This was the first cooked meal she had eaten since becoming a dragon.
She tossed the meat into her mouth and closed her eyes in happiness.
“A taste I haven’t had in far too long...”
“Awooo!”
A sudden howl drew Evelyn’s attention.
It had come from Buck.
The sound seemed to act as a signal.
Kobolds began standing up one after another and forming a circle around the bonfire.
Then they started dancing.
Males.
Females.
Old.
Young.
Every one of them moved with such chaotic enthusiasm that Evelyn had no idea whether there was supposed to be a pattern.
A few kobolds became so excited that they leaped straight across the fire, earning loud cheers and frightened yelps from the crowd.
The less talented ones occasionally set their tails on fire.
They would immediately sprint around screaming with black smoke trailing behind them.
Then several other kobolds would tackle the unfortunate dancer and stamp on the burning tail until the flames went out.
Evelyn rather liked the atmosphere.
It gave her the strange feeling of being some ancient monarch watching a grand court performance.
At least...
As long as she ignored all the doglike heads with tongues hanging out and the tails wagging behind them.
She picked up a bunch of grapes and tossed them into her mouth.
The moment her teeth crushed them, Evelyn’s eyes widened.
They looked almost identical to ordinary grapes described in the Draconic Inheritance.
Their flavor was anything but ordinary.
Sweet.
Very sweet.
Extremely sweet.
And yet, despite the intense sweetness, they weren’t cloying at all.
They tasted fresh and clean.
Is it because of the huge temperature difference between day and night? Does that help the fruit retain more sugar?
A strange fragment of knowledge suddenly surfaced from deep within the Draconic Inheritance, and Evelyn instinctively tried to use it to explain the grapes.
Then she gave a helpless little smile.
She had no idea where these scattered scraps of knowledge actually came from.
They were extremely incomplete.
Most gave her only a conclusion with none of the reasoning behind it.
One of the few technological principles she still remembered was that a steam engine worked by boiling water.
Unfortunately, according to the Draconic Inheritance, steam engines had existed in this world for a long time.
Steam-powered creations derived from them were already widespread across the continent.
The dwarves even had steam locomotives in common use.
So the random technological fragments floating around in Evelyn’s mind probably wouldn’t be much help.
Fortunately, she was already a dragon standing near the top of the food chain.
She didn’t need to work herself to death chasing power.
As long as she ate well and slept enough, time itself would make her stronger.
...
After everyone had eaten their fill, the bonfire gradually died down.
The kobolds didn’t leave.
Instead, they obediently gathered in the center of the square and waited for the two black dragons to choose a house for their lair.
Evelyn looked at the rows of stone huts and immediately ran into a problem.
Most were barely larger than her own body.
Forget fitting two dragons inside.
Even one would be a tight squeeze.
The building would probably collapse the moment she tried to crawl through the entrance.
Buck seemed to notice Evelyn’s dissatisfaction.
He hurried over and lowered himself submissively.
“Great Evelyn, please forgive our incompetence. Tomorrow, I will lead the tribe in constructing a magnificent palace worthy of you...”
Evelyn turned her head and looked at the old kobold.
Buck immediately panicked.
He dropped to his knees.
“Great One, tonight! We’ll start tonight!”
The other kobolds in the square instantly knelt as well.
They knew all too well what chromatic dragons were said to be like.
If they angered an evil dragon, their entire village could disappear beneath flame and death.
“No need.”
Evelyn sounded more helpless than angry.
“Leave everything as it is. We’ll handle our own lair.”
The kobolds somehow looked even more awed by that answer.
Evelyn ignored them.
She grabbed Darrien by the tail and dragged away the young black dragon, who was still stuffing food into his mouth.
A fairly large lake occupied part of the oasis.
As a black dragon who naturally preferred damp environments, Evelyn liked it immediately.
She dragged Darrien into the water.
At the bottom of the lake, they dug out a cave.
Then Evelyn used Barrier Magic to force all the water out of the chamber.
Just like that, they had a simple dragon lair.
There was one more problem.
Black dragons naturally carried a passive Corrosive Aura.
If left active for too long, it would gradually transform the surrounding environment into the poisonous swamps their species preferred.
Evelyn immediately suppressed the ability.
Then she made Darrien do the same.
The kobolds were her vassals now.
If Evelyn turned their oasis into a toxic swamp, most of them would probably die from poisonous marsh gases within a few days.
That would be far too wasteful.
They were free labor, after all.
Once inside the damp cave beneath the lake, Darrien found a comfortable corner.
He lay down and immediately fell asleep.
Evelyn opened her mouth and spat out the Spatial Gems she had been keeping beneath her tongue.
Then she retrieved Beginner’s Guide to Magic, From Basics to Mastery.
She settled onto the ground.
Carefully, using the tip of one dragon claw, she began turning the pages.
Rustle.
Rustle.
The soft sound of paper echoed through the sealed cave.
In his sleep, Darrien frowned.
Whatever dream he was having...
It apparently wasn’t a pleasant one.