Chapter 169
Chapter 169
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 169
Chapter Title: Ep. 169
-----------------------------------------------------------------
The day they escaped from the T&C Special Trade Center.
After Aimorph entered the cocoon, No. 26 and Adhai were each spending their own time.
No. 26 was diligently practicing the communication method Aimorph had taught her. Conveying intent using finger-like appendages was a completely foreign form of conversation to her.
Her kind communicated using changes in their body colors. In the first place, she was the only one among her kind to possess tentacles that could even be called appendages.
Lately, she had been using these tentacles more and more, but she was still quite clumsy with them.
But No. 26 didn't give up. She was a far more complex and ambitious female than Aimorph imagined.
Her cognitive realm had expanded to a degree incomparable to when she had been trapped in that foul-smelling jar in the past. It was nice to receive more interest and affection from Aimorph, but she wanted something beyond that.
Having evolved further than before, she had begun to dream of the future. A future where she led her kind alongside the big baby, that is.
To achieve that goal, she absolutely had to be able to communicate with the big baby.
While No. 26 was working hard toward her dream, what was Adhai doing?
Adhai was lying at a slant with his wings as a pillow, grooming his scales. He had mastered the communication method Aimorph taught him in an instant.
Given that he was just as intelligent as No. 26 and had more advantageous physical traits, it was perhaps only natural.
However, having finished so quickly, he was now grooming his scales to alleviate the boredom of waiting.
｢Little Adult｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Curious｣
｢……｣
｢Little Adult｣ ｢Little Adult｣ ｢Little Adult｣ ｢Little Adult｣ ｢Little Adult｣ ｢Little Adult｣ ｢Little Adult｣ ｢Little Adult｣
Adhai kept sending thought waves.
A regular human would have been driven mad by Adhai's barrage of thought waves, but No. 26 was a C Demon, so she took no significant damage.
Of course, she couldn't help feeling irritated by the pest interrupting her studies.
｢What?｣
｢Adult｣ ｢Body｣ ｢Growth｣ ｢Fast｣ ｢Fast｣ ｢Fast｣
｢Yeah. The big baby grows that fast sometimes.｣
｢Amazing｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Adult｣ ｢Growth｣ ｢Envy｣
Saying that, Adhai looked down at his own torso.
Instead of the white scales he desired, beautiful green scales enveloped his body.
His green scales, smooth and glossy without a single blemish, resembled emerald gems. Any intelligent being who saw Adhai's scales would surely have gasped in admiration at their beauty.
However, to No. 26, body color was merely a means of communication and held no other meaning.
｢Me｣ ｢Want｣ ｢Scales｣ ｢White｣
｢Is white good?｣
｢Good!｣ ｢White｣ ｢Strong｣ ｢Cool｣ ｢Charm｣ ｢Overflow｣
Adhai stood up from his spot and spread his wings and waist wide. At the same time, he curled his tail upward into the shape of a snail shell.
This pose was a gesture among Gallerons to appeal their sexual attractiveness, but there was no one present who knew that fact.
｢White｣ ｢Growth｣ ｢Advantage｣ ｢One｣ ｢More｣ ｢Have｣
｢What?｣
｢Me｣ ｢Adult｣ ｢Egg｣ ｢Possible｣
｢……｣
Unlike the excited Adhai, No. 26 felt a strange mood upon hearing those words. She wondered if this little baby would give up even if told no.
｢Eggs should be laid after growing up.｣
｢Understand｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Growth｣ ｢Need｣ ｢White｣ ｢Cool｣ ｢Adult｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Attract｣
It didn't seem like he understood at all, despite saying he did.
As she watched Adhai pondering what the most alluring pose might be, a sudden question occurred to No. 26.
She wondered if Adhai even knew how babies were made.
｢Little baby.｣
｢?｣
｢If making a baby, how do you do it?｣
Hearing that, Adhai raised his head high. It was as if he was showing off that he knew but the little adult didn't.
Though that attitude grated on her, No. 26 held back.
The big baby was a being that looked very different from her kind, even to her eyes. If the big baby's "baby-making" method differed from what she imagined, it could cause issues later when leading her kind.
｢Me｣ ｢Species｣ ｢Talk｣ ｢Heard｣
｢Yeah.｣
｢Male｣ ｢On top｣ ｢Female｣ ｢Below｣ ｢Hug｣ ｢Egg｣ ｢Born｣
｢Huh?｣
｢Female｣ ｢Lay｣ ｢Egg｣
However, Adhai's explanation was far different from what No. 26 had imagined.
No, to be precise, it was utterly ridiculous.
｢Hug and a baby appears?｣
｢Correct｣
｢Then I should have a baby, so why don't I?｣
｢?｣
｢I kept sticking to the big baby while sleeping.｣
She didn't bother pointing out that Adhai had slept with them too.
In any case, No. 26's point was sharp enough that Adhai couldn't properly respond.
｢Species｣ ｢Talk｣ ｢Fact｣ ｢Species｣ ｢Lay｣ ｢Egg｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Confirm｣
｢Then maybe there's something else?｣
｢Little Adult｣ ｢Guess｣ ｢Me｣ ｢Agree｣ ｢No｣
｢You don't know either, little baby.｣
In the end, Adhai couldn't come up with an answer.
No. 26 vaguely knew that the big baby was no ordinary being. She had thought it wouldn't be easy to make babies with him, and it seemed her guess was correct.
But perhaps feeling like he'd lose if it ended like this, Adhai called out to No. 26 again.
｢Little Adult｣ ｢Baby｣ ｢Lay method｣ ｢Know?｣
｢Me? I don't know well.｣
｢Little Adult｣ ｢Don't know｣ ｢Don't know｣ ｢Don't know｣
Adhai flapped his wings lightly.
Though their species had completely different communication methods, having spent a long time together, they could roughly understand the meaning behind each other's gestures.
This was the gesture the little baby used when teasing someone. For a moment, No. 26 felt an urge to smack him, but she held back.
In situations like this, the female who strikes first loses.
Instead of violence, she decided to bluff.
｢Me actually know well.｣
｢Really?｣
｢Really. Know super well.｣
｢Explain｣ ｢Please｣
No. 26 wracked the brain hidden inside her body, recalling the baby-making she had seen among her kind in the past.
｢First, inflate your body to make it big.｣
｢Body｣ ｢Big?｣
In truth, No. 26 didn't know much about baby-making either. Though she was the leader of the group that guided her kind, she had never made a baby with anyone.
She had only seen them as beings to protect, never thinking she needed to engage in productive activities with them.
｢Yeah. Then hug tight and rub against each other.｣
｢Hug｣ ｢Rub?｣
Adhai eyed her suspiciously, as if wondering what difference there was from what he had said. His perceptiveness was sharper than No. 26's, so he saw through her spouting nonsense.
Thinking she needed to say something more, something came to No. 26's mind.
｢Touch your friend's tentacles with your slender tentacles.｣
｢Tentacles?｣
｢Yeah. Touching with tentacles feels good.｣
In fact, she had once calmed the rampaging big baby using her slender tentacles. At that time, she had a mystical experience of connecting with the big baby's mind.
A wondrous yet ticklish sensation in her core. It felt like playing a prank she shouldn't. No. 26 could never forget it.
Adhai, who had been listening with a bored expression, nodded as if it seemed plausible enough.
｢Species｣ ｢Tentacles｣ ｢Affection｣ ｢Display｣
｢Right?｣
｢Species｣ ｢Night｣ ｢Flight｣ ｢During｣ ｢Tentacles｣ ｢Hug｣
Adhai had once seen his kind secretly engaging in affectionate tentacle play. And that it looked very pleasurable.
However, that wasn't the answer Adhai wanted.
What Adhai sought was the result, not the process. No matter how pleasurable, it was useless without eggs.
｢Tentacles｣ ｢Hug｣ ｢Species｣ ｢Egg｣ ｢Fail｣
｢Really?｣
｢Tentacles｣ ｢Long｣ ｢Many｣ ｢Cool｣ ｢Admit｣ ｢Egg｣ ｢Unrelated｣
As Adhai said, long and numerous tentacles were certainly attractive, but that was separate from making babies.
In the end, the conversation circled back to the start.
No. 26 and Adhai racked their brains and continued their debate fervently, but no answer emerged.
｢We need a friend who knows how to make babies.｣
｢Agree｣
The profound discussion between the C Demon and the Galleron ended with a simple conclusion.
Acquire the necessary information from a third party.
It was the result of applying the hunting principles they had learned while traveling with Aimorph.
When facing an unknown enemy, gather information first.
Aimorph had unwittingly become an unknown entity regarding baby-making.
The big baby, who was also the big adult, slumbered inside the cocoon, completely unaware.