Chapter 192: Love Palace
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 192: Love Palace
Swish-Swish.
Stop pulling.
“Pyaak…”
Tus. Pus.
Stop biting my tail.
“Keeeeng…”
“Kiooong…”
They were pulling at me from both sides as I lay collapsed, groaning.
“Gek gek.”
Did I drink too much?
I feel like I fall for the same trick every time.
“Geeeeh…”
I staggered to my feet.
It might have been a little careless of me, but I trust my followers.
Surely they wouldn't do anything wicked to their divine beast while he was drunk.
I just had a few drinks and slept comfortably.
Nothing more, nothing less.
…My body does feel a little stiff, but that’s within the expected range.
It was always like this whenever I slept at the Snake Queen’s temple.
Just as I was patting Pus’s rump, a voice spoke.
“Are you awake?”
The Snake Queen, wearing a strangely satisfied expression, lifted her head.
I’d been feeling the slick touch of scales on my body; I guess the Snake Queen’s tail had been holding me.
And on top of that, Nephila was lying prone.
We were all tangled up together, like a coil of snakes.
“Gek gek.”
“Hee hee.”
Nephila smiled brightly and massaged my shoulders.
My upper body is so thick that I barely felt it, but I guess I could think of it as a massage.
“I-It was amazing.”
Tang Soyeong wasn’t mixed into our coil.
Her clothes were a little disheveled, but that was probably just because she’s so clumsy.
“Gek.”
“That huge thing, in one bite…”
“Shh. Be quiet.”
The Snake Queen playfully brought a finger to her lips.
Soyeong.
You saw what they did, didn’t you?
Just tell me.
“Ah, this is our little secret. Hehehe… I think we can look forward to the emergence of a new species. A descendant of Hero Go could probably have twenty children at once…”
“Gek?”
What in the world did you all do?
Having heard that, I couldn't just let this slide.
I looked at each of the faces around me.
Swish-Swish’s and the Snake Queen’s scales seemed to have gotten glossier.
Nephila’s skin had become firmer.
And Tus and Pus’s bodies had gotten plumper.
“Rest assured. We didn’t cross the line.”
Really?
Then I’m relieved.
…
I’m not a lizard who’d fall for that so easily.
You guys went all out, didn’t you?
“Ge-ge-gek!”
Getting a youngster like me drunk!
“Oh, we really didn’t do much. We just checked to see if we could swallow Hero Go in one bite.”
Is that so?
For a second there, I almost misunderstood.
“Ge-ge-gek!”
That’s not ‘not much’!
You tried to swallow me in one bite?
Even the Snake Queen in her true form would have trouble with that.
What exactly were you trying to swallow?
“Are you that curious?”
The Snake Queen smiled mischievously.
“Hee-heung.”
Nephila wrapped her arms tightly around my neck.
“…Gek gek.”
My crisis detection was going haywire.
It was telling me that if I made the wrong choice, I’d end up as dried lizard jerky.
I dragged my weary body back onto the road.
I had a gut feeling that if I stayed any longer, I’d be nothing but bones.
Of course, before I left, the Snake Queen kissed my cheek as if it were a daily routine. Seeing this, Nephila flew into a rage and tried to start a life-and-death battle, but I managed to stop her without much trouble.
My right cheek for the Snake Queen.
My left cheek for Nephila.
By sacrificing my body like that, both of them seemed satisfied enough.
Swish-Swish, realizing that I’d be visiting frequently now, barely bothered to say goodbye anymore.
When I left, she’d just give a slight wag of her tail as if to say, ‘off you go,’ and when I returned, she’d just chirp happily to welcome me back.
Of course, because she’d wagged her tail so vigorously before I left, it ended up looking like she was showing off the ring on it.
I solved the problem by giving each of the four Tang sisters a ring.
For Tus and Pus, bracelets on their torsos.
“Kiooong!”
For Nephila, a ring on her left ring finger.
“Hee-heung.”
For Tang Soyeong, I attached the ring to a spider thread so she could wear it as a necklace.
“Oh my gosh, I can’t believe I received a ring. And from Hero Go, no less!”
Unlike the others, Tang Soyeong seemed to be taking the ring I gave her in a slightly different sense.
While Tus, Pus, and Nephila were happy just to have received a ring, Soyeong seemed to be focusing on the fact that she’d received a piece of jewelry that looked expensive and easy to sell.
“A ring from a spirit beast… the market price would be…”
…Is she that short on money?
I don’t know the full story of the Tang Clan, but from what I’ve seen of her, she seems to be quite poor.
She coveted my scales and was always trying to collect my poison.
Human currency is useless to me anyway, so I should probably toss Soyeong some treasure as a sort of salary.
She won’t have any use for it out here, but she’ll likely accept it happily for now.
Thud, thud.
Everyone was on my back as I ran on all fours, practically flying through the air.
For some reason, my body felt a bit weak, but I still had enough strength to carry them.
Fwoosh!
If I went too fast, these light little things might fly right off, so this speed seemed just right.
“By the way, Hero Go, don’t you think it’s gotten colder?”
Tang Soyeong said she was cold, even though I had slowed down.
She has so little body fat, of course she’s cold.
I was about to say that but stopped myself.
For the first time in a while, the spiders made a sound as if agreeing with her.
It seemed it really had gotten colder.
Tang Soyeong pressed herself tightly against my fur.
Even so, I couldn’t feel a thing, which only reminded me of just how frail she was.
“It feels like autumn should be here, but it was skipped, and winter came right away. Of course, I know the climate here isn’t normal… but still, it’s a bit strange.”
It certainly felt like the temperature was dropping as we got closer to our destination.
Just like when I first climbed the volcano and was hit by a wave of heat, this didn’t seem like normal weather either.
Though it wasn’t life-threatening like back then, I could definitely feel a cold chill blowing from far away.
I’d guess it’s because of the guardian of the snow mountain.
Is it planning to make a move already?
I’m not quite ready, but if it moves first, I’d be grateful.
The ‘hug me’ attack from ten Bicorns.
Baek Rang’s cold energy and the Red Dragon’s fire.
The situation would be over before I even had to step in.
“Hmm, anyway, I’m really looking forward to this. A newcomer joining the Gaegaek Cult.”
A newcomer, huh.
I guess from the followers’ perspective, that’s how they’d see it.
In her own way, Tang Soyeong was also in the position of a founding contributor.
Even if she was demoted from divine physician to a regular one.
“Ahem, as a senior, I’ll have to teach them a thing or two.”
I just hope she doesn’t cling to me while sobbing.
The wolves might let it slide, but the Red Dragon would show no mercy.
“But it’s probably an animal, right? Or maybe a spirit beast? It’s fine if it’s an animal, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a spirit beast, but…”
Well, spirit beasts are pretty rare, so it’s not strange for her to think that.
Tus and Pus aren’t spirit beasts; you’d have to be at least on Nephila’s level to be called one.
But the Gaegaek Cult has plenty of spirit beasts and animals, my dear.
“Gek gek.”
And with that, we arrived at the volcano.
“Kiooong!”
“This place is nicer than I thought! It’s incomparable to that swamp we were in before!”
It’s an insult to compare it to that place.
Wait, should I stop by the swamp later when I have time?
If I remember correctly, I left quite a few things behind there.
The piranhas that create waterspouts, the golden toad, and the golden turtle.
Come to think of it, aren’t those Hwari, the Golden Frog, and the Golden Turtle?
They aren’t particularly necessary for me, but my followers would be thrilled to have them.
Alright.
I’ll have to pay a visit later.
As I was walking slowly, a sound came.
“One husbaaaand?”
In the distance, a Bicorn spotted me and cried out.
“Gek gek.”
Yes. Have you been guarding the house well?
“Many wiveeees!”
You guys haven’t changed a bit.
“Hiek! Th-th-those are Bicorns, aren’t they?”
The spirit beast fanatic, Tang Soyeong, couldn’t contain her excitement.
“A spirit beast I’ve only seen in books…! Don’t tell me you tamed them, Hero Go?”
Well, you could put it that way.
The distant Bicorn saw Tang Soyeong and made a lecherous expression.
“One husband… many wiveeeees!”
As if in response, the other Bicorns began to cry out as well.
“Many wiveeeees!”
“Ma-ma-ma-many wives!”
“One husband, a hundred wives! One husband, a thousand wives! One husband, ten thousand wives!”
“Hehehe! Hehehe!”
The Bicorns cheered.
“And there’s more than one? I mean, I’ve heard that Bicorns live in herds, but this is the first time I’ve seen it myself!”
Being from the Tang Clan, she seemed to have extensive knowledge of spirit beasts, yet she’d apparently never seen a Bicorn.
Her reaction was similar to when she first mistook me for a Gomodo.
It seemed Bicorns were even rarer spirit beasts than I thought.
Well, knowing how Bicorns are born, I won’t question their rarity.
They deserve to be precious.
“Kiooong!”
“Hiooong!”
Tus and Pus climbed onto my horns and waved their short arms.
“One husband, many wiveeees!”
“Heh… hehehe!”
The more I look at these Bicorns, the more I like them.
I could see they were treating Tus and Pus with respect, not questioning their positions as Left and Right Guardians, even though they were weaker.
“Kiooong!”
“One husband, many wiveeeees!”
Their cries grew louder with every wave of their arms.
Good.
I won’t have to worry about the hierarchy.
“Th-there. Hero Go.”
“Gek?”
Tang Soyeong stuttered, having spotted something else strange.
“Wh-wh-what is that?”
Did she spot the Red Dragon?
I looked where she was pointing.
“Ge-ge-gek?”
I couldn’t help but stutter just like Tang Soyeong.
“Th-there’s a palace?”
“Ge-geeeehk?”
No, what is that?
I definitely told them to build a nest.
“One husband… many wiveeeees!”
Don’t tell me you guys built this?
“Consummation! Consummation!”
The Bicorns snorted and nodded their heads.
An unbelievable structure stood before me.
To be precise, the word ‘palace’ didn’t quite fit.
It was a magnificent, enormous nest.
But it was divided into sections, the floor was covered with material, and some areas even had ceilings.
There was space for large spirit beasts like the Red Dragon to rest without any issue, and also areas for smaller beings like Tus, Pus, and Tang Soyeong to rest comfortably.
“Furu-ruk!”
And that wasn’t all.
In the center was a very large room.
It was made of a thick material that looked soundproof, and the floor was made of something very plush. It was hard to believe, but it even looked like there was a mirror on the ceiling.
…No, how on earth did you do this?
“Hehe… conjugal union… hehe…”
The Bicorns laughed lecherously as if it were nothing.
“Ge-ge-gek.”
Did you really do this?
“Furu-ruk!”
Thanks, but… didn’t you overdo it?
“One husband, ten thousand wiveeees!”
They cried out as if to tell me not to worry.
No.
This isn’t what I wanted.
Hmph…
How should I express my gratitude?
Right.
Unicorn, I’m sorry, but it looks like I’ll have to catch you next time I see you.
I’ll catch it and then toss it over here.
They’ll know how to enjoy themselves before it gets corrupted into a Bicorn.
“Black Suuuun!”
As if they had read my mind, the Bicorns knelt on one knee.
Was it just my imagination, or did it look like they were pledging their eternal loyalty?
“Hehehe… milking…”
…I’m sorry, Unicorn.
A guy’s gotta live, you know.