The small opening had been carefully turned into a large hole, leading down into a much larger tunnel.
Jumping through the hole, Ciel looked around. Surprisingly, this looked like a mining site, with mana stone torches embedded in the walls every one or two intervals away from each other.
It was just bright enough to have people see colors, and Ciel could finally see that the doll was beige colored, and its eyes matched his sister's dark amber ones.
Hmm, would Theresa's human form look like her past life or change, like his and Erin's?
The location they had fallen from was in the heart of the cave system the eves were living in.
"Did the reptilian clan mine under the mountain?"
This tunnel was so wide, weren't they afraid this would make their homes collapse?
Theresa noticed both her idiot brothers staring at her doll and quickly shifted the fire to Ciel.
\Don't look at me. I only know some things about you two. Aren't you the one who read the novel?\
Ciel yawned, "That novel is faulty, and aren't you the one with updates from Delmira?"
"You two, don't argue." Erin was helpless. These two had returned to their past life's status too quickly, it would be nicer if they could peacefully coexist for a few more days. He didn't want headaches right after he regained his memories.
Out of the corner of his eyes, Ciel saw movement behind him. This time, the dragons had really woken up. Evidently, Erin had noticed that as well, as he lifted Ciel back up into the dark cave before climbing in himself.
Ciel was very disgruntled about this, but who made Erin so much taller than him?
Deciding to vent on the two dragons that had just woken up, Ciel marched to the two eves.
"Yo, finally woke up?"
"Where did you two take this young lord?"
The turquoise one's tone was grumpy.
Ciel raised his eyebrows, before raising his hand and smacking it down right on top of the dragon's head.
Unfortunately, his hand was caught before it landed.
Letting go of his hand, Erin immediately explained himself.
"Your current body is too fragile. Let me do it."
Saying this, he quickly smacked both dragons harshly.
*Smack! Smack!*
The sound was both neat and crisp.
Floating around her doll, Theresa tsked.
\You're still the same. So unnecessarily overprotective.\
Both boys ignored her comment as Ciel laughed.
"This young master, weren't you the one who broke the floor? I even gave you some precious potions to save your lives."
Letting innocence and unhappiness flow into his face, he sighed.
"Us brothers were just admiring your clan's architecture when you suddenly barged in and started picking a fight. Then we ended up here, we might not even find our way back. How are you going to compensate us?"
\As if you're not happy with this situation.\
Theresa immediately called him out.
Ciel ignored her.
The two dragons were young and ignorant. Seeing the remaining potion traces on top of their scales, they really believed that they had been injured then healed. Thinking this, they shuffled around awkwardly before morphing back to their human form because they were afraid the floor would collapse again.
But after everything, the turquoise haired one was still trying to act mighty as he puffed up his chest.
"I am Quetzal, the heir of the dragon clan, whatever compensation you need will be given to you."
Besides him, the mint colored girl also introduced herself.
"I am Aspen, the young lord's attendant. For saving us today, we both owe you our lives."
After announcing their names, both looked exceedingly proud, as if Ciel and Erin were expected to prostrate at their feet.
…That was until Ciel looked at them the same way as he would look at idiots, instantly deflating their puffed up egos. Even so, He had a smile on his face as he added their names to his little book of debts in his heart.
Looking at his bright smile, the two eves suddenly felt a chill run down their spines.
Erin stepped in between them, pressing down on Ciel's head and broke the weird atmosphere.
"Then it's settled, both of you owe each of us a favor. Don't break your words in the future."
*
A few minutes later, standing in front of the large mining tunnel, the two dragons felt their hearts sinking.
"Do you think the whole clan are idiots? Who would dig such a big tunnel underneath their own homes?"
Quetzal was furious.
"Who dares plot against my clan!?"
Eves had always been isolated, rarely interacting with anyone outside their little civilization. The few out in the wild were either outcasts, oddballs, and orphans. Although their tribe had fought a few wars with other tribes a few thousand years ago, everyone had agreed that the past would be kept in the past. Besides, no one would dare do such a thing that could possibly lead the whole tribe into migrating.
On one hand, it was because it would incur the wrath of the entire tribe to destroy their ancestral homes. On the other hand, the tribe migrating would lead to territorial wars with other tribes. No one would want that.
Even as a child, Quetzal understood that clearly, which was the reason why he was so angry.
"When I catch them, I swear I'll make them suffer!"
Walking alongside Quetzal and listening to him rage to the side with Aspen uselessly trying to placate him, Ciel finally remembered where he had heard Quetzal's name before.
'Wasn't he one of the harem members?'
The future patriarch of the dragon clan, the leading clan in the reptilian tribe, and the one labeled as the muscle headed battle junky by the protagonist.
Ciel took a second glance at Quetzal.
Soft, feathery turquoise hair and lime green eyes that had a ring of gold around his thin pupils. Plus his recklessness and arrogance…
Yep, this was the sixth harem member alright.
But in the novel, the reptilian tribe had lived in the Medusa forest, not in an underground system of caves, and Quetzal had told the protagonist his father had perished in a volcanic eruption, while according to Verdalite, the patriarch was ill in bed.
If the patriarch was so ill, how could he have the strength to wander off and die in a volcanic eruption?
As they followed the mining cart tracks forward, Ciel quietly shared his information with his siblings.
Hearing this, Theresa floated around the mining area and gave a quick scan of everything.
\These guys are mining obsidian.\
'..Tsk, this mystery was resolved too quickly.'
Ciel quickened his steps, dragging Erin and Theresa along. The three siblings heartlessly left the two dragons behind.
*
Not long after Ciel and Erin disappeared from their sights, both Quetzal and Aspen felt suffocated.
Coughing uncomfortably, Quetzal looked at the tendrils of murky, polluted mana curling around the entire tunnel.
"This is…miasma?"
Why was the mana inside of their sacred mountain polluted like this?
Aspen pulled his sleeves.
"Young lord, with this much miasma, our benefactors ahead will be in trouble!"
Quetzal was grumpy. Even though Ciel had done nothing to irk him—even 'saving' his life once, for some inexplicable reason, he just found him annoying.
If Ciel was here, he would have felt that the sixth fish's feelings were somewhat similar to the third fish's dislike for him.
However, he wasn't here, so only Aspen noticed Quetzal's feelings. However, if it was known that their saviors died right before their eyes, it would bring their clan's reputation down. Even if they were children, they were still proud eves of the dragon clan. Out of all tribes, it was them who had the strongest defense, not counting the shelled creatures.
If they let the ones who 'saved' their lives die near them, how would others view them as trustworthy later on in the future?
Sighing, Aspen coaxed Quetzal along.
"Young lord, let's catch up to them."
Mini Theater:
Aspen: Let's go save them!
Quetzal: …
Aspen: Young lord, they saved our lives.
Quetzal: …hm.
Aspen: Young lord, I don't want to catch up to them too, but what about our clan's reputation? Our pride as dragon eves won't take it if we let our benefactors die right before us.
Quetzal: Mhm.
Aspen: What would the matriarch think of this?
Quetzal: Let's go!
Aspen: …