Gathering the Island's Specialties
"Breeder, sir? Is that really true?!"
"Yes, Eros suddenly lunged at me, so I had no choice. I know it's a grave discourtesy to lay hands on a lady's body, but... there was no other way."
"Haaah, I knew something felt off..."
Deep within the densely forested island, Sonya let out a sigh of relief. She gazed at me with eyes full of worry.
"That aside... are you really all right, sir?"
Earlier, while I had been holding Eros down by her horns, Sonya had flown over after hearing that strangely suggestive scream. At first, she'd looked quite flustered seeing us tangled together like that. I'd worried she might misunderstand, but—
—Squeeze!
"Hngyahk...?! S-Sonya? Please let go of this...!"
Now it was Sonya gripping the horns tightly. She'd deliberately pulled Eros away from me. Eros was still struggling, begging to be released.
Despite the desperate pleas, Sonya maintained her stern expression, blocking Eros from approaching me again.
"Be quiet! Are you going to keep causing trouble like this?"
"Th-that's not it at all...! Breeder Teacher just fell head over heels for me, so he couldn't help himself...!"
Eros still hadn't grasped the situation. She remained stubbornly defiant, convinced I was under her charm. Otherwise, she wouldn't be spouting such nonsense so confidently.
"Haa? Eros, what nonsense have you been spouting since earlier?"
"That incompetent teacher is just too shy because he's still a virgin...! He's hiding his true feelings, that's all! A-and... I'm not Zeros-!"
"Honestly, what is she even saying..."
Even her closest friend Sonya shook her head at the consistent response. Then—
"I can prove it...?! So let go of my horns! I'll show you-!"
"Enough...! Shut it!"
—Thud!
Once again, Sonya subdued Eros with one hand and scolded her sharply.
"Do you even understand how serious it is to leave your post? If the senior had come with me, you would've been in real trouble, you know that?!"
Sonya continued reprimanding Eros, her voice cold and firm. She must have been genuinely worried—we'd disappeared so suddenly that she was probably quite startled.
"B-Breeder Teacher?! Are you just going to stand there while your beloved is treated like this? Say something—!"
"Haa, Eros, you really..."
—Crackle!
"Hiyaut-♡ Y-your horns are cold...?!"
At Eros's continued struggling, Sonya let a faint chill flow through her hand. Only then did Eros's thrashing calm down a little.
"Breeder, sir? I'll ask once more... Are you truly not under Eros's charm?"
Having quieted Eros, Sonya questioned me with a slightly suspicious tone. A cold glint had appeared in her eyes. It was understandable—her pink irises now held something akin to jealousy. Just meeting her gaze sent a chill down my spine.
"O-of course not! As you can see, I'm perfectly fine."
"Phew, if that's the case, then I'm relieved."
—Slide...
Reassured by my answer, Sonya finally released Eros's horns. Even if she didn't fully trust Eros, she couldn't keep holding them forever.
"Hauuk...! I almost had my polymorph undone..."
"Eros? If you try any more nonsense with the teacher, I'll freeze you along with your horns next time, got it?"
"Tch-! That's not it at all...?!"
"Haa, you really—"
"...B-Breeder Teacher!? Are you really unaffected? You should be charmed by my allure by now...!"
Perhaps because of Sonya's warning, Eros didn't charge forward. Instead, she stayed put and checked on me, her voice earnest. It was the first time I'd seen Eros look so serious.
"Yes, not at all."
"Hueeeh...? Th-that can't be—?!"
"That aside, I'm disappointed in you, miss."
"What...? D-disappointed?"
"I thought we'd grown a bit closer, but I never expected you to treat me so recklessly."
It pained me to say it, but I shattered her expectations completely. If I didn't shock her like this, she'd just repeat the same thing again.
"Th-th-th-that...! I-I didn't mean it that way at all..."
At my words of disappointment, Eros slumped as if she'd lost all will to fight. She couldn't even finish her sentence, her face filled with despair. It was more unexpected than I'd thought. I'd braced for another lunge, but instead she just crouched there, muttering things like "That can't be right...? Maybe it's because I haven't used it in so long...?" and chalking it up to her ability being rusty.
In truth, Eros's ability was working fine. It was simply being protected by the Dragon Heart of Dawn. If I'd gotten involved with Eros before meeting Sofia, I would've become her helpless slave.
—Shiver...
Just imagining that possibility made my hair stand on end. I'd have to bow deeply to Sofia when I saw her later.
"...Ahem, anyway, Sonya? Did you finish your report?"
"Ah, yes. We can rest here for a bit before moving to the next outpost."
"That's good to hear."
"Then shall we head back to the outpost? I-I'll guide you...!"
—Swish!
Sonya extended her hand, her words stumbling. She wanted me to hold it—partly to keep Eros in check, no doubt. After all, their favorability toward me had reached the blind trust stage. Dragons were fundamentally greedy creatures, and that greed wasn't limited to material things. If I took Sonya's hand now, Eros would surely grow jealous. It might even twist her already willful personality further.
'Even so, I can't drive a wedge between friends.'
I had to protect their bond as classmates. Fighting during duty was out of the question. Besides, I had other business here.
"I'm fine. More importantly, Eros mentioned that many specialties grow around here. Would it be all right if I looked around a bit?"
"Huh...? Are you thinking of gathering specialties?"
"Yes, I'm curious what else is here. It might be useful for new desserts later."
"Hut, you really are a peculiar person, Breeder, sir."
Sonya let out a small laugh at my answer. It was the first time I'd seen her smile like that. Her personality had brightened recently, but she'd never laughed out loud before. Usually she was expressionless or flustered—seeing the corners of her mouth curve up so brightly was new.
"Eh? Did you just laugh?"
"Wh-what are you saying?! I-I never..."
Once again, Sonya's speech grew shorter. Her shy reaction was always adorable. It made me want to tease her more.
"You definitely went 'hut' just now."
"Th-that was just pollen getting in my nose...!"
"There's nothing but trees around here. Not a single flower—"
"A-anyway, follow me! I'll guide you there...!"
"Oh, if Sonya is personally guiding me, I'm grateful."
"Hmph...! Don't misunderstand! I-it's not because of you or anything... It's just the most efficient choice for quick movement!"
Sonya's reaction remained dishonest as ever. But her tone and expression gave her away completely. Well, that was what made her so cute.
"Yes, then would you please guide me?"
I smiled at her adorable response and deliberately stepped right up beside her.
"Haat?! Y-you, could you not get so close...!"
The moment I approached, Sonya whipped her head away. So much for offering her hand earlier.
—Rustle...!
Startled, she quickly put distance between us. Then, forcing herself to ignore me, she walked ahead with awkward, fidgety steps, leaving Eros still crouched and muttering in dejection behind us.
*
—Rustle, rustle...!
"Oh, found another one."
"Eeh?! You found more already?!"
It had been about thirty minutes since we'd started gathering specialties near the outpost. In that short time, we'd collected quite a lot. After all, the spot Sonya had pointed out was rich with them. So far, we'd found four different kinds: the dango-like fruit Eros had dropped earlier, small mountain berries resembling cherries, citrus fruits from a small tree that looked like fist-sized Jeju tangerines... and finally, the one I'd just pulled from the ground.
"This is a Drago Apple, right?"
"Ah?! How did you know?"
Sonya asked with a surprised look. Of course I knew. It was the first specialty I'd ever encountered.
"Raylin gave me one as a gift a few days ago."
"What?! The senior gave Breeder Teacher a present...? There are more rivals than I thought..."
Ignoring Sonya's muttering, I examined the heavy fruit in my hand. It looked like a shrunken pineapple—an apple-shaped body with long blue leaves sprouting from the top and a sharp outer rind. It blatantly resembled a pineapple. Looking at it reminded me of Raylin. She must have found it by chance on her way down after training and decided to give it to me.
Anyway, I'd heard there were many specialties around here, but I hadn't expected this much variety.
"Eros? Did you find anything?"
"......"
"Hey, Eros~?"
Sonya belatedly checked on her friend, but Eros had been silent for a while. She'd been frozen with a dazed expression ever since earlier. The shock of her ability not working must have hit her hard.
"Sonya? I think this is enough. Too many and we won't be able to carry them all anyway."
"Is that so? Then let's move right away. It's about time we should be going anyway..."
At my words, Sonya stood up and prepared to leave.
—Thud, thud.
She walked toward a clearing in the foliage to take flight again, supporting the listless Eros as she went.
—Squeeze...!
Meanwhile, I wrapped all the gathered fruits in my vest. Since I hadn't brought a pouch or bag, I'd had no choice but to use my vest as a makeshift bundle. Just as I finished preparing to leave and reached for Sonya's hand—
"Haat?! S-sir...!"
The hand I'd tried to grab shot toward the sky, accompanied by a startled voice.
"Hm? What's wrong, Sonya?"
"Th-there...! Something's coming this way...!"
"Huh? What is that?"
Following Sonya's pointing finger, I looked up. A massive something had entered my field of vision—a huge, dark shadow hurtling straight toward us.
—Shwaaaaaaaaah...!!!
And at an incredibly fierce speed.