The Kanima's smile wasn't natural.
It was too wide. Too patient.
Its purple teeth gleamed faintly like crystals.
And then Soren felt the hunger again.
It was obscene. Despite having gone through scarcity many times before, he had never felt hunger like this.
Soren and the Kanima turned at the same time toward the Hot Potato Nest singularity. For a brief moment, the chubby reptile and the young man looked like two sides of the same coin.
Audrey watched them with interest.
"This is definitely a Level 3 singularity," Audrey said seriously. "Only from Level 3 onward can companion-type singularities communicate like that."
The Kanima didn't take its eyes off the singularity.
Its purple tongue slowly slipped out between its teeth.
Soren felt his stomach twist again.
The Kanima took a step forward.
Soren did too.
Both stopped.
For a strange, almost ridiculous instant, the young man and the monster glanced at each other… like two animals facing the same piece of meat.
Audrey raised an eyebrow.
"This… is new."
The Kanima tilted its head.
Then it did something unexpected.
It stepped back half a step.
And with one claw… gently pushed the singularity toward Soren.
As if offering it.
Silence lingered for a second.
Then Audrey let out a short laugh.
"Interesting."
Her eyes gleamed.
"Very interesting."
Soren received the food like a dog.
The chubby reptile handed it to him like he was its master.
"You really have no shame," Audrey said.
Soren kept eating. He could barely hear her.
The chubby lizard slowly swayed its tail.
Its eyes never left Soren's face.
Then it lightly brushed Soren's cheek with its tail.
And spoke.
Its voice sounded almost… gentle.
"I'm grateful… Now I don't have to deal with the hunger alone."
It smiled again with innocence. Its translucent purple teeth no longer looked quite as frightening.
"That's why I will be your most loyal ally."
At that moment, Soren snapped back to himself. He recognized the words—and at the same time, the Kanima's gaze cooled as it turned toward the rest of the potatoes in the nest.
Soren looked at Audrey, confused.
"That… I didn't expect," she said, a mix of caution and fascination in her voice.
But there was no fear in her tone. It was almost as if the strangeness of this world was simply part of a Seeker's daily life.
The feeling of having lost control over himself unsettled him.
"Do you know what's happening?"
Audrey brought a hand to her chin and looked upward, as if thinking.
"It's probably the singularity's curse. It's like you're sharing the hunger… or something deeper. But that curse can be countered with edible-type singularities," she said, glancing at the Kanima, who was happily eating potatoes from the nest.
Soren nodded, listening carefully. His expression visibly relaxed.
"But if I lose control like that again… in the middle of a fight…"
"It might be temporary. You just assimilated it—and because of the bond, so did it. Sometimes singularities need a few days to stabilize."
"I see," Soren said.
"Just remember that you're human. Hold on to that, and it'll be difficult for something like this to happen again."
Audrey's words struck him deeply. Without realizing it, she had helped him a lot.
"Thanks… I'll remember that."
Audrey suddenly looked away, almost nervously.
Soren glanced at the Kanima, which continued chewing potatoes peacefully. A faint smile formed on his lips. He was no longer hungry, and with the Kanima's abilities, he knew he now had real chances of surviving.
Without looking at them, Audrey mentioned that the city was very close.
"We'll use that pond to clean up. Then we'll walk a couple more hours. We'll set up camp once we can see the city clearly, and tomorrow morning we'll reach our destination."
Soren nodded.
"That's a good plan."
Since arriving in this world, he hadn't been able to wash himself—remove the blood from his clothes, clean his wounded hands, or get rid of the mud and filth.
The chubby lizard entered the pond with them.
Soren began removing his clothes. He approached the edge and, before stepping into the clear, calm water, looked at his reflection.
He froze for a few seconds.
In his previous life, he had already been older. Now he was young—almost a teenager: somewhat thin, but not entirely unpleasant.
Dark hair.
Dark eyes like a bottomless well.
Pale, slightly white skin.
He didn't stand out much—but he didn't look bad either.
The water was cold, but clean.
Soren leaned down and began washing his arms. The dried blood peeled away from his skin, and the accumulated mud slowly dissolved into the water.
For the first time since arriving in this world, he felt something close to peace.
He splashed water onto his face.
When he lifted his head again… he froze.
A few meters away, Audrey was also washing.
She had tied her hair up so it wouldn't touch the water. Drops slid down her shoulders as she cleaned her clothes with calm movements.
Soren blinked.
Then he turned his gaze away almost violently.
Focus.
He rubbed his face again—harder than necessary this time.
In his previous life, he was no longer exactly a teenager… but his new body clearly had other priorities.
The Kanima splashed nearby.
Soren looked at the small reptile.
The Kanima was staring at him.
Fixedly.
With that overly wide smile.
"…Don't say anything," Soren muttered quietly.
The Kanima tilted its head.
Then it let out something like a soft snort.
Soren narrowed his eyes.
For some reason, he had the strange feeling the lizard was mocking him.
A few meters away, Audrey spoke without turning.
"If you're done washing your face for the fifth time, maybe you should start washing your clothes."
Soren froze.
"…Right," he replied, gathering all the dignity he could.
After a few minutes of careless washing, the Kanima entered the pond and began swimming, splashing around like a duck as it drifted through the water.
After all, it did look like a small crocodile.
That made Soren remember the singularity's description.
It said the Kanima was a humanoid creature. But what he had in front of him—splashing playfully—was a short-legged, chubby crocodile.
The text also stated that, being humanoid, it could assimilate singularities. And not only that—its main ability was storing treasures, as long as they weren't living beings.
Soren glanced sideways at the creature.
At that moment, it had a fish in its mouth. He had no idea when or how it had caught it—but there it was.
So it can feed on living creatures… he thought. But it can't store them inside. Only treasures.
That's excellent.
Now he had a way to hide his loot safely. And with the creature's stability, he could attempt many different things.
I need to use my cards carefully.
The Kanima looked at him for a moment…
As if it had heard his thoughts.