We found the dragonkin girl who had been escaping and tried to approach her quietly so as not to alert her to our presence.
Leaning against a giant tree, she was sitting on the ground, seemingly unaware of my presence.
Earlier, we had four people chasing after her, but this time, I decided to approach her alone, hoping to get closer and make contact with her.
Although there was still a possibility that she would run away from me… this was the best course of action I had at the moment.
Slowly slowly,
I crept closer, trying not to make any noise.
As I came closer, I could see her face more clearly.
She had neatly trimmed blue bangs that seemed to be cut by herself, and her long hair, which reached down to her waist, was tied up in a ponytail. It was a hairstyle that suited her extremely well and made her look frighteningly beautiful.
At that moment, as I was thinking about how beautiful she looked with that hairstyle—
Guruguru(stomach grumbling)
「!?」
I instinctively held my stomach, but it wasn’t my stomach that was making the noise. It was different from the sounds of the other three waiting for me either. The distance was too far for me to hear it clearly.
And then…
「Aaauuu～…..」
It was the dragonkin girl’s stomach growling.
「H-howdy!?」
I called out to her, noticing her sliding down the tree trunk due to her hunger.
She didn’t respond even when I shouted loudly and closed her eyes.
Could it be that she fainted from hunger?
As I approached her, I thought to myself how ridiculous that would be and…
「…She’s fainted.」
She really had fainted.
What a troublesome Dragon Tribe girl she was.
It’s hard to believe she was someone who attacked others. While it would make sense for her to be relatively large when in dragon mode, right now she was more on the small side for a girl.
「At a time like this, to faint from hunger… Is there anything to eat?」
I looked around, but I couldn’t find any fruit-bearing trees, nor any animals to hunt. As I was pondering what to do, I suddenly remembered a conversation between Martina and Kiara just before we entered this forest.
『Ugh… I suddenly feel nervous. 』
『K-Kiara-chan, are you okay? I brought pickled Flame Tomatoes and Thunder Paprika for our lunch. Would you like some? 』
『I’m not sure if I’m nervous or not but I would decline…..』
And then it hit me.
「That’s it! Pickles!」
The adventurer’s meal that Martina brought with her.
If the dragonkin girl ate the homemade pickles, she would regain her strength.
I quickly moved to where Martina and the others were hiding, grabbed the pickles, and returned to the girl’s side.
「Get yourself together! You’re going to be okay!」
I held out a small bottle of homemade Flame Tomatoes and Thunder Paprika pickles to her mouth.
「…!?」
Even though she was unconscious, she sensed the food instinctively and bit into the pickles. And then…
「Derishhhh!」
…..She probably means it was delicious.
The girl desperately moved her hands, searching for more pickles to satisfy her hunger while still unconscious. I gently placed the small bottle in her hand.
As soon as she had a hold of it, she practically devoured the pickles with fervor, making loud, crunching sounds as she ate.
「She must have been really hungry.」
「Yeah, and she’s eating so quickly… Can’t she at least share some with Bale who’s nearby?」
「Surely that wouldn’t happen, wouldn’t it?」
Somehow, the three of us had surrounded the girl.
We had formed a coordinated formation that made it impossible for her to slip away, but I was glad that we were all starting to get along.
「Wafuu～」
As I was admiring the situation, the girl finished eating all the pickles.
As expected of a dragon… Even though it was a small bottle, it seemed like it was a lot, but it disappeared in an instant.
「AAHHH!?」
Now that she was full and had caught her breath, the girl finally noticed our presence. But as soon as she realized that she had nowhere to run—she started trembling violently.
「C-Calm down. We’re not trying to harm you.」
「R-Really?」
「Of course! Oh, I forgot to introduce myself. I’m Bale. And you are?」
「…My name is Simone. Water dragon Simone.」
A Water Dragon… so that’s what her elemental affinity is.
But she’s so terribly frightened… what on earth could have happened to her?
I feel like I need to ask her more about her situation and try to understand.
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