Chapter 101: Ehehe
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 101: Ehehe
“Gek-gek-gek.”
They say what goes around, comes around.
To think she dared to use Gomodo-Lania for a chastity mark.
I may not look like much, but I’m a Divine Beast.
There’s Tang Soyeong, who’s staying with her as a guest.
She’s from one of the Five Great Families, no less.
Even someone like her believes in Gaegaek.
The spiders believe in me.
The Snake Queen's daughter believes in me.
And she was going to grind up such a precious lizard!
This is a fitting punishment.
No, stealing dango made with Okbong honey is letting her off easy.
After all, I even gave her my incredibly precious tail.
A tail that made Swish-Swish marvel and Tus and Pus tremble.
Even Baek Yeon-yeong showed interest.
Of course, my tail grows back, so I can mass-produce them anytime, but I haven't used it much since I got bigger, so it's still rare.
Now, all my missions are complete.
Get the unicorn’s horn?
Complete.
Observe Baek Seol-hwa’s internal energy pouch?
Complete.
Steal the Okbong honey?
Complete.
All that’s left is to head back with a light heart.
Thud-thud-thud-thud-thud!
…What is that?
Scary.
Baek Seol-hwa was running around, kicking up a massive cloud of dust.
Her speed and power were reminiscent of a unicorn.
How does that come from such a small frame?
Could it be that Baek Yeon-yeong is a separate species?
Something like a T-Rex.
And Baek Seol-hwa is a subspecies of Baek Yeon-yeong.
Otherwise, that display makes no sense.
An angry rhino.
No, look at her charging like a unicorn.
My tail is trembling on its own.
I’ve learned something since coming here: never judge someone by their face alone.
Seeing her act like that over a single stolen dango, her personality can't be that great.
It might be expensive, but it can't be worth an entire house, can it?
She could just think of it as giving charity to a poor lizard.
If I get caught, I'm in big trouble.
Which means if I don't get caught, I'm innocent.
Who am I?
The creator of the Gaegaek Mental Cultivation Method.
A master of the Little Dragon Ascending Heaven Steps.
“Ge-ge-gek!”
I leaped off the dew-covered grass, accelerating rapidly.
*
I barely managed to shake off Baek Seol-hwa.
Using miniaturization was a stroke of genius.
When I used the Little Dragon Ascending Heaven Steps in this small body, she couldn't even track my location, let alone chase me properly.
It'll be a huge pain if I run into her later, but what are the odds I'll see that woman again?
I checked again and again to see if anyone was following me.
I'm safe now.
With a cheerful heart, I entered the temple.
“Princess. Why do you keep doing this to your mother?”
The Snake Queen and Swish-Swish were bickering.
Normally, they would have sensed my presence immediately, but today seemed a little different.
I was curious what they talked about when I wasn't around, so I decided to hide and listen in.
“Wh-what? A thief? How could you use such a terrible word?”
Swish-Swish was chirping, and the Snake Queen somehow understood every word.
I should learn Swish-Swish's language from the Snake Queen later.
I can communicate with her now, but not with perfect accuracy.
“Was that not what we already agreed upon? When the princess becomes queen, he will naturally become the princess's companion.”
“Hieeek!”
“Do you think I made such a decision lightly? Absolutely not. I, too, was forced to make this choice.”
Forced? Then please, cancel it.
I barely managed to hold back a resentful ‘gek’ and continued listening.
“Are there not traces of Jiju all over his body? That lizard has most likely played around wantonly with other species. Living up to his handsome face, I suppose.”
…I mean, I did hang out with the spiders, but I wouldn't call it ‘wanton’?
“That is why I made a preemptive move before another species could snatch him away.”
“Chirp!”
I stayed quiet, curious to see just how far this conversation would go.
The moment she was about to begin a lecture on the bedroom arts, the Snake Queen's gaze turned toward me.
“…How long have you been there?”
Since the beginning?
“Incredible. To think that I did not notice you. You have certainly grown a lot.”
It's true I've grown, but I think it was also because you two were having such an interesting conversation.
Or maybe I mastered the art of hiding my presence while running from Baek Seol-hwa?
Either way is fine.
“Gek-gek.”
“Pyaak!”
Swish-Swish slithered over to me.
She greeted me by rubbing her head all over me.
Seeing her tail wagging back and forth, she seemed incredibly happy to see me.
“…Peep?”
She tilted her head, then flicked her tongue out.
For a snake, flicking its tongue is the same as smelling.
Swish-Swish was smelling me.
Like a puppy sniffing its owner who just came home.
It was a heart-warming sight.
“Piiik…”
Swish-Swish kept tilting her head.
“Hiss!”
She suddenly let out an angry sound and started licking me all over.
“Gek-gek!”
Stop! It's wet!
“Piiik!”
Did she smell Baek Seol-hwa on me?
Swish-Swish flicked her tongue for a long time, as if trying to erase the scent.
My current size was that of a Green Basilisk, so I was soaked in an instant, like a doll thrown into a washing machine.
“Geeeek…”
Where has the dignity of a Divine Beast gone?
She finally stopped her tongue only after I was reduced to the state of a drenched lizard.
“Chirp!”
Swish-Swish's triangular face became round again.
It seemed she was going to let me off the hook for today.
Hey, what did I even do wrong?
I'm a victim too.
But there was no way my voice would reach Swish-Swish.
Seriously, this is unfair to me too.
“You have returned safely.”
The Snake Queen slithered over.
“Gek-gek.”
“Yes, how was the unicorn?”
“Gek-ge-ge-ge-ge-gek!”
I expressed myself with great enthusiasm.
I exaggeratedly explained that far from being gentle, I was nearly trampled to death.
“Hmm... How strange. It was not like that when the princess and I met it.”
This is so unfair. I'm plenty pure myself.
It must have acted that way because I'm male, right?
The legends vary, but some say unicorns simply dislike males.
Surely it wouldn't think a three-month-old lizard is impure.
“Still, you completed the task safely. Thanks to you, things have become much easier.”
“Gek-gek.”
The Snake Queen stroked my head with a satisfied expression.
But Gomodo-Lania is a spirit beast who always delivers results beyond expectations.
With a proud look, I handed her the container I'd taken from Seol-hwa's internal energy pouch.
“Hm? What is this?”
The Snake Queen, setting down the unicorn horn for a moment, took the container I offered.
“Gek-gek.”
Go on, open it.
“…This scent. Could it be Okbong honey?”
The Snake Queen wore a look of disbelief.
“Where on earth did you get this?”
“Gek.”
I let out a dignified cry.
It's nothing special. I just picked it up on the way.
“…Are you giving this to me?”
“Gek-gek.”
I brought it to share, of course.
The Snake Queen stroked me vigorously before opening the container's lid.
“Ohoho. Okbong honey. What an unexpected achievement.”
The Snake Queen took out three dango, handing one to me and one to Swish-Swish.
“Hieeek…”
Swish-Swish flicked her tongue, taking in the dango's aroma.
“Eating too much isn't good for the body, but consumed in moderation, it's as good as any elixir.”
Is it just me, or does that sound like ‘eating too many sweets will rot your teeth’?
“I have done nothing for you, yet I receive such a precious gift.”
Is it that big of a deal? Isn't she hyping it up too much just because I brought it?
“Hiek!”
Swish-Swish stared at the dango with eyes full of expectation.
The Snake Queen also looked at me silently.
They must mean they'll eat after I eat first.
But I already ate on my way here.
I just opened my mouth and pretended to swallow the dango.
“Chirp!”
Only then did Swish-Swish charge fiercely toward the dango.
She touched it once with her tongue, then made a face of utter disbelief.
“Hieeeek!”
Is it that good?
She was eating the dango piece by piece with a blissful expression.
Seeing her enjoy it so much makes me feel proud for some reason.
“Ehehe.”
She even let out a silly-sounding laugh.
…Ehehe?
Could Swish-Swish make a laugh like that?
I looked at Swish-Swish, and her eyes were wide with surprise too.
It wasn't her.
It wasn't me, either.
In that case, the only one who could have made that sound is…
I looked up and saw the Snake Queen with an expression I had never seen before.
An expression that truly matched the sound ‘ehehe’.
An expression that looked as if her face was melting from the sheer deliciousness of the Okbong honey.
Even though Swish-Swish and I were staring blankly, she remained like that for a long while before she seemed to realize someone was watching her and lowered her head.
Our eyes met, and she seemed to be trying to remember what kind of expression she had just been making.
No, ‘had been making’ isn't the right way to put it.
Because she still hadn't managed to erase that expression.
“…It's not.”
The Snake Queen wore a look that said she'd done something wrong, or made a mistake.
Her usual emotionless face was gone, replaced by what looked, at a glance, like the face of an ordinary girl.
She tried desperately to wipe the expression away, but it wouldn't fade easily.
Her sharp eyes had long since softened and rounded.
Who would look at that woman and think she was the Snake Queen?
“…It's not like that.”
The Snake Queen tried her best to make excuses.
Her face had gone beyond red and turned the color of a carrot, but the corners of her mouth refused to come down.
She tried to hide her face by coiling her snake-like body, but of course, that was impossible.
“It is not like that…”
The usual Snake Queen was like winter.
A face that resembled Baek Yeon-yeong. A cold face that seemed incapable of emotion.
Even when she smiled, it was always elegant and graceful, like a snowflake settling on a tree branch.
The Okbong honey melted her winter.
The Snake Queen right now could be described with the word ‘spring’.
Seeing the Snake Queen flustered was a refreshing shock.
She must have been surprised herself.
After all, she'd let out a laugh like ‘ehehe’ instead of her usual ‘ohoho’.
Swish-Swish and I met each other's gaze.
There was only one thing for us to do.
“Gehehehek.”
“Pihi-ek!”
Gaegaek Style, Second Form: Relentless Teasing.