Chapter 13: America, Hello~

Seeing Lind remain silent, Victoria’s lips curved into a mischievous smile as she offered a seemingly considerate remark:
“Maybe the wind direction is the problem. Perhaps I blocked the breeze that just passed by.”

Lind wore a look of bitter indignation.
Not only did she jab at him, but she also kept pressing relentlessly.
That little mischievous dragon...

In the end, he sighed in resignation and confessed honestly,
“No need to find any more excuses for me. When it comes to fishing, I’m not as talented as you. My skills don’t match yours—I admit defeat.”

“Oh? Since when did we start competing...” Victoria covered her mouth with her purple paws in surprise. “I didn’t realize I’d already won! Hehe.”

“If you keep pretending to be clueless, I’ll have to give you a couple of bumps on the head.”

“Nyah-nyah, adding last night’s score, it’s two to zero now. I declare the little dragon far ahead!”

Just as Lind prepared to retort, his fishing rod trembled in his hand.
He had a bite!

Could it be that there really were fish eating dirt here?
Without wasting time bickering with Victoria, he decisively reeled in, praying the fish he caught wouldn’t be any smaller than the little dragon’s.

Victoria held her breath, her bright eyes fixed intently on the rod tip.

Perhaps due to pulling too hard, Lind’s entire body leaned backward; the fishing rod swung over his head, and by inertia, the hooked big fish was flung onto the grass behind him.

It surely wasn’t because the “big fish” was too light that he flipped backward, he thought.

The moment he glanced at the gem-like little dragon that resembled a “big fish,” Victoria immediately scooped Lind protectively in front of her.

What a strange fish—she had never seen anything like it.

After a careful examination, Victoria turned her head and couldn’t help but exclaim,
“What an adorable fish!”

“I find fish cooked in a stew the cutest,” Lind replied dryly.

Getting to his feet, Lind looked over his catch and fell into contemplation.

This creature had a pair of blank black eyes that didn’t seem very intelligent. Its lips formed a thin line, almost like a smile.

On each side of its head were three pairs of pink external gills resembling starfish tentacles. Four short legs scratched at the ground, and a fairly long tail stretched behind it.

Alright, it did look somewhat endearing, Lind had to admit.

Moreover, such a creature existed not only in his previous real life before crossing over but also in this world—it was a Mexican salamander.

Only the size differed somewhat, and its precise habits remained unknown.

While Lind and Victoria continued to scrutinize each other, the pink creature took small steps towards them, emitting a soft call:
“America, hello~”

“It—It can speak?!”

Victoria gasped in astonishment.

“Don’t be so startled. Maybe that’s just its normal sound, coincidentally matching a language we understand,” Lind said calmly.

“Hello~ Hello~”

Victoria cautiously stroked the little one’s head as it approached. The creature obediently stayed still, seemingly enjoying the attention.

“Lind, I think...”

“I get what you mean,” Lind cut in, giving a thumbs-up. “I’ll go chop some wood for a fire. We’ll roast it and eat it.”

“You! You!”

“Just kidding, don’t take it seriously, look at you.”

Seeing Victoria firmly protect the pink creature, Lind shook his head helplessly.

They still didn’t know what abilities this unknown being possessed.

Better to keep it for observation.

“Lind, I need to tell you something...”

Victoria hesitated.

“I agree to keep it, no need to say more. But I’m not good with pets; you’d better watch over it closely.”

“That’s not it. I sensed a treasure brimming with immense magic power, and it’s this little one.”

“Huh?”

Lind glanced suspiciously at the pink creature again.

“Hello~”

“Uh, you mean that despite its small size, it might be strong enough to easily toss both of us over its shoulder in a fight?”

“Not that exaggerated. It just has a lot of magic power, but that doesn’t mean it can use it. Besides, this little guy isn’t aggressive toward us at all.”

Victoria tentatively fed it some fish meat, and the creature waited patiently until she loosened her grip before eating.

It seemed quite obedient.

“Alright, it looks like I nearly made a huge mistake.”

Lind pressed his hands together in a repentant gesture.

“This should obviously be made into a nourishing soup. Roasting it would be such a waste.”

“If you joke again, I’ll bite you!”

Victoria bared her silver teeth, glaring fiercely.

“You little dragon sure is easy to tease... By the way, did you feel the ground shaking? It’s like an earthquake.”

“Do you really think I’m a fool? Enough is enough—I warn you!”

Victoria crossed her front limbs, clearly not believing Lind.

Meanwhile, during their conversation, the dragon Chirona, who had wolfed down a fish, also felt the trembling of the earth.

Thanks to her nimble figure, she decided to fly up and survey the situation from above.

That single glance nearly made her eyes pop out as she urgently shouted a warning to the two on the ground.

After understanding Chirona’s alert, Victoria’s expression turned serious as she tried to explain to Lind.

“Seems like—no need for your translation...”

Lind swallowed and stared at the distant sea of red creatures swallowing the green forest.

“I already see it.”

This was no earthquake but the tremors caused by countless red creatures marching together.

Each one was twice Victoria’s size, and the trees in their path were ruthlessly knocked down.

Their advance was heading straight toward Lind and Victoria’s location.

“Victoria, no time to explain. We must take off immediately!”

“Get on!”

“Chirp-chirp!”

Chirona took the lead to scout the terrain ahead, quickly guiding Victoria’s direction.

Lind, sitting atop Victoria, kept an eye on the red creatures behind them.

This makeshift group seemed to share a flicker of tacit understanding in the face of danger.

“Quick! Roll to the left!”

Amid the howling wind, Victoria barely caught Lind’s words.

Without hesitation, she took action.

The next moment, a blazing fireball brushed past her side.

She could even feel the scorching heat of the flames.

“Lind, thank you...”

“Emergency landing! Quick, emergency landing! And that silly bird, get into my arms!”

Lind ignored everything else, wrapping one arm around the dragon’s neck beneath him, leaning halfway out to grab Chirona, who had just finished scouting and was returning.

A fiery net of fireballs was hurled toward their position.

Flying upward wouldn’t avoid such dense projectiles; their only chance was to return to the ground and find another escape route.

“Chirona said she found a cave. We can head there.”

“Alright!”

The two humans and two dragons dashed toward the cave.

The pink little creature, clutching tightly to Victoria’s tail, joined their desperate flight.