Chapter 138: A Sweet Reward
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 138: A Sweet Reward
Before the lizard regained consciousness.
“How strange. To think she resembles this lady so.”
Baek Yeon-yeong looked at the Snake Queen.
A face so similar to her own.
There would be no need to use Baek Seol-hwa as a stand-in; if she had this woman sit in her place, she could fool the cult members.
Of course, that would be difficult because of her lower half.
The Snake Queen looked back at Baek Yeon-yeong.
She resembles her.
She resembled not herself, but the woman she had longed to be like.
Aside from the color of her eyes and the variety of her expressions, there was little difference between them.
The Snake Queen had many questions for her.
But personal feelings had to be set aside for the moment.
The Snake Queen told her what had happened.
She spoke formally to Baek Yeon-yeong.
Baek Yeon-yeong told her there was no need, but the Snake Queen couldn't bring herself to do so.
It felt as if she were standing before her own master.
“Hmm… The power of Tai Sui. This complicates things.”
The Heavenly Demon Divine Cult does not interfere with the nature of the 100,000 Great Mountains.
It was a principle Baek Yeon-yeong herself had established.
There were exceptions, but directly killing an important spirit beast like this was a rare occurrence.
But she'd had no choice but to deal with it.
Because her disciple had been brutally attacked?
No. She had been a little angry, but that, too, was part of nature, part of the wild.
She would have saved him, but she wouldn't have killed his opponent.
She would have ended it by giving them a few knocks on the head and telling them to knock it off.
However, with Tai Sui's intervention, the story changed.
If left alone, the 100,000 Great Mountains would literally become a Demonic Realm.
She had dealt with Gaechalgoatal, but it was possible someone could inherit its fragments and appear.
She had attacked it in a way that would inflict maximum damage, but complete annihilation was impossible.
“Well, at least it won't be able to show its face for a while.”
The Snake Queen and Baek Yeon-yeong formed a pact.
An exchange. To be precise, it was to create a link so that if an incident like this were to happen again, they could suppress it in its early stages.
The Snake Queen would receive Baek Yeon-yeong's protection, and Baek Yeon-yeong could preemptively block any potential threats. It was a mutually beneficial arrangement.
While she couldn't compare to Baek Yeon-yeong, the Snake Queen's martial power was not to be ignored.
In an emergency, she would be a reliable asset.
Since the aura of Tai Sui had encroached upon the heavens, it was obvious that those who went by the name of the Murim Alliance would come snooping around.
And so, their discussion came to an end.
The story that had ended was that of a queen and a cult leader.
The story of the Basilisk and Baek Yeon-yeong was not yet over.
“What is it? Do you have more to say? You should be focusing on your recovery.”
“…May I ask for my benefactor's esteemed name?”
Benefactor.
She was a benefactor for defeating Gaechalgoatal and saving her and her companion's lives.
But there was another reason she called Baek Yeon-yeong her benefactor.
That face was clearly not an illusion. She was a real person.
His master, summoned by her companion.
No matter how she looked at her, she saw the spitting image of her own master.
That was why she asked for her name—to turn her suspicion into certainty.
“I'm not fond of formalities. You can just call me Baek Yeon-yeong.”
Yeon-yeong (蓮影).
Her white skin and fine features were truly befitting of the name Yeon, meaning lotus.
Her black hair, like a waterfall painted with ink, suited Yeong, meaning shadow.
A white lotus and its shadow.
Baek Yeon-yeong.
Drip.
Tears streamed from the Snake Queen's eyes.
She had been relieved to see her companion was safe.
Her heart had been moved when he rushed to save her.
Her heart had torn to pieces watching him be brutally beaten.
And she had thrilled when he finally landed a heavy blow on Gaechalgoatal.
And yet, through it all, she had held back her tears.
She couldn't show a weak side to her companion.
Her companion was sleeping, as if he had fainted.
Drip.
So, it would be all right to cry now.
Drip.
“Your mother… Do you remember your mother…?”
The white lotus. It was her master's favorite flower.
“I do not.”
But Baek Yeon-yeong did not know who she was.
“An orphan, no. I came into this world with only my younger brother, so I do not know of a being called a parent.”
The Snake Queen understood why her master had abandoned them.
No, 'abandoned' was not the right word.
To fight against Tai Sui and the other evil gods, she had only temporarily entrusted them to another.
But since she had been unable to return, it was only natural for Baek Yeon-yeong to think she had been abandoned.
“…Do you resent those parents?”
Her heart ached.
If she could, she wanted to clear up all the misunderstandings.
But she couldn't.
Because she was the one who had failed to stop her from leaving.
“Resentment.”
Baek Yeon-yeong closed her eyes.
She recalled her childhood.
She had learned nothing, had nothing.
A life of struggling just to survive.
“I buried those feelings long ago, so I don't think much of it.”
The Snake Queen felt a sense of relief at her answer.
At the same time, a wave of guilt washed over her.
Her own relieved self felt utterly vile.
She had to tell her the whole truth.
“The truth is…!”
“Gekgek.”
At that moment, a lizard popped in.
It glanced back and forth between the Snake Queen and Baek Yeon-yeong, then performed the trick of placing its head toward Baek Yeon-yeong and its tail toward the Snake Queen.
The Snake Queen calmed her agitated heart.
There was no reason to say it right now.
The information she had might not be true.
It would be a hundred times better to investigate a little more and tell her on a better day.
…Once again, that lizard had saved her.
The Snake Queen gently stroked the lizard's tail, which was resting against her chest.
“He wasn't always like this.”
Baek Yeon-yeong muttered, stroking the purring lizard's chin.
The Snake Queen averted her gaze.
She had a feeling her influence had something to do with that lizard's obsession with chests.
*
They say you can survive a T-Rex bite if you just keep your wits about you.
But if Baek Yeon-yeong gets her hands on you, you can't survive even if you keep your wits.
My master inflicted a punishment far too cruel upon this tiny lizard.
She fiddled with my little feet, flipped me over, and kneaded my belly fat.
And even… even…!
…I will not speak of it further.
It is a lizard's shame.
On par with having been inside the Snake Queen's mouth.
No, it might have been even worse.
As if molesting my body wasn't enough, Yeon-yeong-saurus threw me to that starving pack.
“Chirp-chirp!”
“Peep!”
Under the pretense that I had molested her first, a tremendous physical assault followed.
Chirpy pecked at me, happy to see me.
Swish-Swish whimpered and covered me in her saliva.
“Ge-ek…”
Since my body had gotten much smaller, I was soaked in no time.
It was only natural, as I was now small enough for Swish-Swish to secretly gulp me down.
Still, I didn't mind them doing this.
It was partly them playing around, and partly their own way of showing they were happy to see me.
But Old Man Compy was another story.
Look at that triangular face.
It's malice incarnate.
There's no way he's just playing.
I'm just glad he's not showing me the final secret technique of his Ascending Dragon Kick.
Hmm… But why is he so angry?
Is it because I hugged her a little?
That was unavoidable since I was half-asleep, and Old Man Compy wasn't so stuffy that he wouldn't understand.
…Could it be? Is it because of my philandering lizard ways?
…I can kind of understand, but I have an excuse for that, too.
It's a lizard's instinct to head for the safest place when barely conscious.
Yes, that's right.
“Gekgek.”
“Keeeeeeek!”
But Old Man Compy's face just grew longer, as if he couldn't care less about my excuses.
Ugh, so malicious.
But I have the reliable Swish-Swish on my side.
“Saaaaaaak!”
Her face stretching from an equilateral to an isosceles triangle, Swish-Swish bit Old Man Compy relentlessly.
“Keeeeng…”
There was no grandfather who could win against his granddaughter.
I continued to suffer such humiliating things, but I didn't feel bad.
Little Dragon being here must mean that his relationship with the Snake Queen has progressed.
A father and daughter who had lived without seeing each other had finally reunited.
On top of that, Argentavis was staring at me from a distance as if I were pathetic.
The former king of birds. No, I should call him the next king of birds now.
That must mean he won his battle against the Bifang.
“One huuusbaaand, one wiiiife!”
I could hear someone's wail in the distance, but I decided to ignore it for now.
There's something I can tell from all this information.
We won.
“Gegegek!”
“Why are you laughing?”
It's nothing, Master.
Please hit me more!
It was like saving the world and returning, only for no one to remember.
But I laughed with the feeling of a Japanese high school student who had learned the preciousness of daily life.
“Com… Companion. Did you perhaps hit your head…?”
The Snake Queen, worrying about me.
She was calling me 'you' instead of 'companion'.
Seeing her glance at Baek Yeon-yeong, it seemed she was a little hesitant to openly call me her companion.
The Snake Queen being wary of someone was a refreshing sight.
Then again, after seeing Baek Yeon-yeong's power, that reaction was inevitable.
It probably wasn't just because of her power.
There's a saying that a master is like a parent.
In other words, Baek Yeon-yeong could be seen as the Snake Queen's mother-in-law.
…Something about this family tree feels like it's getting more and more tangled.
“Gekgek.”
A reasonable amount of time passed like that, and the chaotic Gekgek commotion came to an end.
“Peeep!”
“Chirp-chirp!”
The Long-tailed Tit and Ball Python wrapped around my body still didn't look satisfied, but just wait a little, you two.
“Princess. Let him go now. That should be enough.”
Because there's something I have to do before that.
“I will tell you the results of this war.”
“Gekgek!”
The result of the war is victory.
There isn't a lizard alive who doesn't know that.
And yet, there's a reason this lizard's heart is pounding.
Because victory always brings rewards.
A sweet reward is waiting.
I was at least the second-greatest contributor to this war, so I can expect something pretty good.
“We dealt with Gaechalgoatal and the Rakshasa Bird. Unfortunately, we let the Bifang get away.”
They let the Bifang escape?
So that's why Argentavis was so far away.
Still, stopping it from joining the fight was a big deal.
That's good enough.
But since you lost the credit to this black lizard, don't expect a share of the rewards.
“Gekgek.”
“…What's with that greedy look on your face?”
Greedy? This is the face of someone anticipating their just deserts.
“An anonymous spirit beast left the Rakshasa Bird's inner core here.”
“Gek!”
The unicorn, of course.
To think it would donate such a precious inner core for me.
“…I wanted to give it to you, but it turns out I can't.”
“Gek?”
What's that supposed to mean?
I feel my snout starting to lengthen.
“What's with that look? If you don't believe me, try touching it.”
The Snake Queen held out the inner core.
A blue aura swirled around the black inner core.
[Rakshasa Bird's Inner Core]
An inner core of the highest quality, just like the Jian Bird's.
Gulp.
I swallowed once and brought my tiny hand to the core.
Zzt.
“Gegegegek!”
With a sharp sting, the inner core leaped up on its own.
The Snake Queen snatched the core before it could fall.
“Do you understand now? It's imbued with the unicorn's energy, making it incompatible with you.”
I couldn't understand.
Why would it be incompatible with me if it has the unicorn's energy?
“Gekgekgek!”
If anything, our compatibility should be even better.
This is so unfair.
“Still, don't be too disappointed. We obtained more than one inner core this time.”
“Gegek!”
The Snake Queen was right.
In truth, the Rakshasa Bird's inner core was just an appetizer.
The main course, the Human-faced Bird's inner core, was still left.
“Huiya. Come here.”
My master beckoned from over there.
I ran over immediately.
“Gekgek!”
The Human-faced Bird's inner core is way better than one covered in unicorn spit.
“Do you remember what I said in the Silver Dragon Cave?”
I remember.
It was what she said after we caught the Hydra.
“You've grown enough. I can give you the Odusa's inner core now.”
“Gek!”
It looked like she was going to give me a bonus I'd forgotten about.
“The Human-faced Bird's inner core is also yours.”
“Gegegegek!”
That's Baek Yeon-yeong for you.
So generous.
She's incomparable to that unicorn who just spits on inner cores.
“However, I cannot give them to you right away. Neither the Odusa's nor the Human-faced Bird's.”
“Gek?”
“Your body isn't in a normal state, is it?”
Right, that makes sense.
Even for me, consuming an inner core after nearly dying would be quite a dangerous act.
“First, return to your original size. I need to examine your body.”
“Gekgek.”
Leveling up would heal my body, but it wasn't easy to level up in my current situation.
It might be possible if my master caught a few beasts alive for me, but considering her personality, she probably wouldn't do that.
Therefore, what I needed now was primitive healing.
She seemed to know a thing or two about spirit beasts, so maybe Baek Yeon-yeong would heal me herself.
“Gegegek!”
I immediately deactivated Miniaturization.
…
“Gek?”
Why is my field of vision the same?
“What are you doing? I told you to increase your size so I can see your wounds.”
“Gekgek.”
Just a second.
…
This can't be happening.
“What's with that vacant look on your face?”
Miniaturization won't deactivate.
No, to be precise, the word 'deactivate' is wrong from the start.
My body hadn't shrunk because I used Miniaturization.
It was a side effect of using too much power.
“Ge-eeeeek!”