Chapter 133: Daydream
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 133: Daydream
Tus and Pus were sitting in front of me.
The one with her butt pressed against me was Pus.
Which meant the one with the enormous poison pouch must be Tus.
Strange.
It wasn't just one or two things that were strange.
The most incomprehensible thing was that human words were coming out of my mouth.
The sensations in my body were strange, too. A feeling that was familiar, yet alien.
Moreover, the bed I was lying on wasn't very large. It was so small I worried if even half my body would fit. Yet, my entire body fit with room to spare.
My body had shrunk.
To about the size of an average human.
…Right.
I now had the body of a human, the face of a human, and the voice of a human.
“Hm? What’s wrong? Are you suddenly feeling shy?”
“Aww, as if.”
“That’s right. Who do you think I got this body for!”
Tus and Pus had human bodies, too.
And I, as well, had the body of a human, not a lizard….
…….
…What was it?
What was I just thinking?
“What is it? Is something really wrong?”
“…Did I bite too hard yesterday?”
Tus and Pus looked at me with worried faces.
There was only one thing I could say.
“I’m just… happy to see you.”
“Come on. We were stuck to you all day yesterday.”
Right. Tus and Pus were always by my side. There was no reason to feel a sense of unease now.
“Ehehe. Good, good. Quick, before Sister gets here, let’s…”
“Sister?”
Sister. Was there someone Pus would call ‘Sister’?
The answer to my question came immediately.
Creeak.
A wooden door slid open naturally.
“Have you awoken?”
A beautiful woman dressed like a lady from a noble house appeared.
Golden hair.
Red eyes.
And neat, tidy clothes.
It was an incredibly familiar face.
“…Nephila?”
It was Nephila Jurassica.
At her appearance, Tus and Pus, who had been clinging to me, began to glance around nervously.
It seemed Nephila was the one they called ‘Sister’.
Well, Tus and Pus had always followed Nephila to some extent.
“Last night was a sleepless one filled with longing, but now that I see you, Husband, I cannot contain my overwhelming joy.”
…Nephila spoke, mixing in words I didn't understand.
Judging by the nuance, she was just happy to see me.
“It’s been a while.”
“I have waited for you, each day an eternity, and to know you feel the same… I am overjoyed that our affections are shared. This maiden… can wait no longer…”
Despite her pretty face and neat attire, Nephila was drooling.
Was it just my imagination, or did the word ‘appetite’ come to mind?
“Uh, Sister. You can’t do that! Our share is… No, that’s not it. We have something else to do today.”
“That’s right. Everyone’s been waiting for today, day and night. It wouldn’t be right to jump the gun.”
Thankfully, Tus and Pus were protecting me.
But what did they mean by ‘waiting for today’?
“Patience is a virtue… Husband, I hope you understand that this maiden is enduring a great deal.”
Look at her drool dripping.
I could tell she was enduring a lot.
“…Right.”
It was strange.
The words didn't come out fluently. It was as if I were someone who hadn't spoken for a long time.
“Today… is… what…?”
Speaking in fragmented words was the best I could do.
Did I have a speech impediment?
No, I had no such memory.
Was my tongue twisted? It seemed like a more fundamental problem than that.
It was as if I had forgotten how to speak.
Fortunately, they seemed to understand me perfectly well.
“Husband, surely you have not forgotten?”
“Come on. No way. We’ve had this planned for ages.”
“That’s right. That’s why we only had a taste yesterday. …It was just a taste, right, sisters?”
I tried to read the situation. I put on an expression that said I knew what was going on.
But the three sisters knew me too well.
Of course. Tus and Pus had expressions that said as much.
Nephila placed one of her hands on mine and began to speak.
“Did you not promise to meet with those with whom you have forged a bond?”
I remembered.
Why had I forgotten?
Right, today was the day I was meeting them.
An outing.
The place we headed to was incredibly familiar.
A kind of lake, or perhaps a pond.
No. It would be more accurate to call it a swamp.
It was the place where I first met Tus and Pus.
A place to reminisce about old memories.
And there, I saw familiar, welcome faces.
“Ah, Hero Go!”
A brown-haired woman waved at me. It was Tang Soyeong.
But her expression was a little strange. It felt less like a happy greeting and more like she was waving out of relief, as if she'd finally been saved.
I understood why soon enough.
“Is it right to keep this lady waiting?”
Baek Yeon-yeong was waiting for me with a sullen face.
I had overslept and was late for our appointment, which meant Tang Soyeong had been alone with Baek Yeon-yeong.
Since Tang Soyeong found Baek Yeon-yeong difficult, she must have felt like she was sitting on pins and needles.
We spread out the mat we'd brought and chatted happily.
We even played around in the water, which was incomparably cleaner than before.
We ate the lunchbox Nephila had prepared herself.
Tang Soyeong grumbled that there was nothing but meat, only to be punished by Tus and Pus.
Baek Yeon-yeong took out some Okbong honey, saying she'd received it as a donation from someone anonymous.
We shared the food we'd each brought and blossomed with stories of past memories.
It was a happy moment.
I didn't even notice how quickly time passed.
“I remember that. You know, when we went fishing here.”
Pus brought it up, her face slightly flushed.
“…Actually, it’s ready.”
“Sisterrr!”
Pus and Tus bickered.
Fishing, right.
I remembered when I first met them.
I definitely used a spiderweb to catch piranhas….
A spiderweb? Piranhas?
What was that memory just now?
Forget it. It probably wasn't important.
I cast my fishing line into the lake. Uncomfortably, everyone's eyes were focused on me.
As I waited without a bite for a while, I naturally grew bored.
“Huiya. Being like this reminds me of the old days.”
As if she knew how I felt, Baek Yeon-yeong spoke to me.
“How difficult it was to teach you martial arts.”
I smiled faintly at her words.
I remembered the first time I learned martial arts from her.
Baek Yeon-yeong, who had tried to teach me by grabbing my arms and tail while muttering things I couldn't understand.
…Tail?
“Oh, right, Hero Go. If it's not too much trouble, could I get a few drops of poison before we leave?”
Poison?
Do normal humans produce poison?
Strange.
I felt an unexplainable sense of unease.
Splash! Th-th-thump!
Something huge was on the line.
Right, I should cast aside these distracting thoughts and focus on the present.
I tightened my grip on the fishing rod.
Creeaak.
But whatever was on the line was so heavy I couldn't lift it at all.
CRACK!
The fishing rod felt like it was about to break. No, if I wasn't careful, I might get dragged in by that fish.
“Is it very heavy?”
Right. Baek Yeon-yeong could probably handle this fish….
I shook my head. I didn't know why, but I felt like I shouldn't leave it to her.
I had to overcome this thing with my own strength.
CR-CR-CRACK! CRUNCH. SNAP!
In the end, the fishing rod broke.
“It must be a truly powerful creature.”
Thud!
With the rod broken, I couldn't help but fall back on my butt.
“Therefore, this lady will…”
Baek Yeon-yeong couldn't finish her sentence. It seemed she had seen my face.
“Huiya, are you crying right now?”
“What? Hero Go! What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
The Tang sisters ran over with worried expressions.
I wasn't sad because I'd lost the fish.
The mighty being in this vast lake. The being that had taken my bait.
The moment the rod snapped, I knew who it was.
A large crest.
Red skin.
Bizarre attire.
It was an all-too-familiar bastard.
And at the same time, I realized that all of this was an illusion.
I wasn't a human. I was a lizard.
The moment I realized that fact, the surrounding scenery changed.
The lake I had been looking at vanished without a trace.
A daydream. A futile dream created to make me submit.
It was a damn happy dream.
No, perhaps it was a future that might come to pass if I accepted that bastard's power.
It would have been impossible to realize this on my own.
Even if I felt a sense of unease, it would have naturally faded as I chased after a happier dream.
It was a truly vicious illusion.
But my Heart Demon was a far more venomous bastard than the illusion he had prepared.
Right.
This is all an illusion.
I have to get out of here.
…But.
It was too sweet.
If I accepted the Human-faced Bird's offer, I could survive and greet a future like this.
Let's put aside my personal desires and think objectively.
Even if I escape from here now, can I defeat the Human-faced Bird?
No.
It's impossible.
Should I live forever in this delusion?
Or should I accept the Human-faced Bird's offer and become its subordinate?
I'm going to die anyway.
I can't stand against it.
No matter how much power of faith I gathered, there was no way I could win.
Rather than die in vain, if I alone…
“This isn't like you.”
Baek Yeon-yeong said in a cold voice.
“Your body has grown larger, yet how are you more pathetic than a small lizard?”
I glared at her.
Baek Yeon-yeong wouldn't understand how I felt.
Because she was strong.
She couldn't understand the heart of the weak.
“That’s right. Hero Go wasn't like that.”
….
“Who was it that saved me again?”
“…My sister and I still talk about that day.”
….
I ignored Tang Soyeong, Tus, and Pus.
The situation then and now is different.
I can't win.
No matter how much I struggle, it's an existence I cannot defeat.
There isn't even a sliver of a possibility.
I cannot stand against Gaechalgoatal.
Even that Snake Queen could barely hold on, so what can I do?
Grip.
“Husband.”
Nephila Jurassica gripped my hand tightly.
“Do you know why this maiden came to adore you, Husband?”
My first meeting with Nephila wasn't a good one. To survive, I had to steal her food.
“Countless parasitic insects swarmed us. Even for this maiden, it was impossible to handle such a horde.”
Nephila was mistaken. The ants had swarmed her nest because I had led them there.
“Yes, I know. A small lizard that lurked about, aiming for this maiden's food. I know that it was the one who gathered the parasitic insects.”
Even knowing that, why?
“After setting such a trap, you could have just run away, but did you not return?”
Nephila smiled.
“When this maiden was in danger, you threw yourself in front of me to protect me. Even though you could have died. No, if this maiden had not possessed an inner core, that lizard would have surely perished.”
Nephila's small hand gripped mine tightly.
“This maiden... fell in love with that side of you, Husband.”
My life had been one of running away countless times.
“So, follow your heart, Husband.”
And I had sworn never to run away again.
What does it matter that I can't win? What's so important about me being weak?
“See your will through to the end.”
I gritted my teeth.
An illusion.
No, perhaps a future of a different possibility.
The precious beings waiting for the human me.
I took a step, leaving them behind.
Crrrack.
Nephila's hand naturally slipped from mine, and my body returned to its original form.
Black scales.
Sharp claws.
A long tail.
Right. A human form doesn't suit me.
As I kept walking, a black and red wall blocked my path.
If I cross that wall, I can get out of here.
…And at the same time, if I don't cross it and remain here…
I could make the future I just saw my own.
The future where I became human.
…….
It doesn't matter anymore.
‘Jareugi.’
SWIIIIISH!
The massive wall blocking my way split in two.
It's time to go outside.
I won't look back.
I grit my teeth.
Once more.
CR-CR-CR-CRACK!
I broke free from the illusion that had trapped me.
And then.
“I've been waiting.”
I met the red-eyed woman.
The being possessed by Tai Sui.
The master of the Snake Queen.