Chapter 63: Your Daughter, and Her Mother... To Me...
Translator: RaidenTL
Chapter 63: Your Daughter, and Her Mother... To Me...
"Faint though it may be, I can sense the aura of a spirit beast from you. It will be easier to communicate in the human tongue."
I briefly covered my eyes at the shocking sight of the Snake Queen.
She had the appearance of a Lamia from mythology.
Her lower half was the body of a snake, but her upper half was that of a beautiful woman, and she could speak the human tongue.
Putting everything else aside, the sight of her upper body was making me dizzy.
I didn't dare to look, unsure of where to even rest my eyes.
It made sense that a snake wouldn't wear clothes.
Aside from scales covering the barest minimum, the Basilisk was wearing nothing at all.
An overwhelming pair of internal energy pouches.
Honestly, it was a magnificent sight, one worthy of gaping at with drool dripping from my mouth.
But one thing bothered me.
The Basilisk's face resembled Baek Yeon-yeong's.
They weren't identical, but there was a similar feel to them.
It was no wonder my mind was in turmoil, seeing someone with a face so much like my master's dressed like that.
"Hieeeek!"
The Python, noticing me staring blankly at the Basilisk, bit down on me with a snap.
It didn't hurt that much...
Wait, maybe it did hurt a little?
"Gekgegek!"
I let out a startled "gekgek."
Why did Swish-Swish's fangs hurt?
Was this how Tang Soyeong felt when she whined about Tus and Pus's body slam hurting?
[[Ball Python LV14] tells you to get a grip.]
Right.
Thanks, Lucky Charm.
Seeing how I'd been spacing out, that Basilisk must have been up to something.
She probably tried to bewitch me with those internal energy pouches, but she'd have to try harder than that.
"She is not the child of my womb, but I've raised her as my own daughter. She keeps showing you a side of herself she has never shown even to me. How should I put it... Yes. 'Troubled' would be the right word."
The Snake Queen gazed intently at me and the Python.
So she wasn't her biological daughter?
Then again, a cute little Ball Python couldn't possibly have come from a Basilisk.
"O, snake with legs."
The Snake Queen posed a question to me.
"Do you consider a dragon to be a snake, or a bird?"
It was the same question the King of Birds had asked.
The answer was incredibly simple.
"Gekgegek!"
Dinosaurs are reptiles, obviously.
But the Snake Queen wouldn't understand my words.
I wriggled my body earnestly, mimicking the movements of a snake.
"...You don't have to go to such lengths."
I guess she understood my meaning.
I stopped my wriggling.
"Hmm. I see. That faint avian aura... You must have met him and then fled."
"Gekgek!"
I nodded eagerly.
I'm an ardent supporter of the 'dinosaur as reptile' theory, after all.
"It has been a long time since I've met one with such a firm conviction."
The conversation was flowing smoothly.
At this rate, I might be able to get out of here without any trouble.
"However, I cannot let you go based on that alone."
The Snake Queen's words were like a splash of cold water.
"Anyone who enters the Temple of the Snake Queen without permission is to be killed, regardless of their reason."
I hugged the Python tightly.
Swish-Swish.
Fire that Destruction Ray just one more time.
"However, my daughter has taken quite a liking to you, so killing you is not an option."
Right.
If you kill me, the Python will resent you.
"I can overlook your trespassing. However, your sin is greater than that."
My sin?
If seducing the Python is a sin, I'll gladly accept my punishment.
But that's not a crime punishable by death, is it?
"But eating the Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Spirit Fruit... that, I cannot forgive."
Right.
The elixir I'd snatched from this place.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Spirit Fruit.
Considering how well the Python knew about it, the elixir's owner must have been the Snake Queen.
And I had gobbled it all up.
Having stolen an elixir on par with Gongcheongseokyu, my crime was by no means small.
...But I'd already eaten it.
It was a shameless thought, but for a spirit beast of her level, one or two elixirs would be nothing. She'd hardly feel any effects from it.
In comparison, wouldn't it be a greater benefit for everyone if this lizard with a bright future ahead of him ate it instead?
"If that elixir had been for me, I would have let you go, albeit with some regret. But it was not mine. I was saving it for my daughter, for when she came of age."
Wait a minute.
The Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Spirit Fruit was meant for Swish-Swish?
"Piyak!"
Swish-Swish rubbed her head all over me.
Did this little snake bring me her own food for my sake?
"To become the next queen, it is essential to draw out her potential with elixirs."
That made sense.
The Ball Python was a snake princess.
I couldn't imagine the Swish-Swish of today becoming a queen.
She would have to build up far more power to even have a chance at the throne.
"Originally, there was only one solution: eliminate the thief who ate the fruit, then extract their inner core and feed it to the princess."
"Saaaaak!"
The Python glared fiercely at the queen.
The queen flinched for a moment at her glare but quickly continued.
"But... I have seen another way."
Another way?
"The princess's power has suddenly grown stronger, despite not having eaten the fruit."
That was true.
The beam fired from the Python's mouth was much more powerful than before.
And for some reason, even her little bites had started to hurt.
She hadn't eaten an elixir, so why in the world...
Wait.
This Python had eaten something else.
My tail.
"I can feel your energy strongly from the princess. I thought it a paltry faith, but it is undeniable that it has helped my daughter grow."
I didn't know why, but it seemed my tail had acted like an elixir.
Was it because I'd grown up eating so many precious things?
No, if that was the case, wasn't that too overpowered?
My tail constantly regenerates.
"You were unharmed even after being hit by the petrification ray, and the princess follows you. You stole the Ten-Thousand-Year Golden Spirit Fruit, but fortunately, the princess is still growing. This means I can grant you a stay of execution."
I was about to let out a celebratory "gekgek" but stopped myself.
A stay of execution?
"But you must still pay for your crime. If you grant me one request, I will turn a blind eye to your transgression."
A request?
What could someone like the Snake Queen possibly ask of an ordinary lizard?
"Before I tell you... I would like you to return my daughter."
"Gekgek!"
No way.
This Python is my only means of protection.
"I am not claiming ownership of the princess. I simply wish to accurately identify the unknown energy within her. ...Fine. I swear on my name as the Snake Queen. I will not harm you, at least not within this temple."
Then what about outside?
It was a suspiciously suspicious oath, but there was nothing I could do.
"Pyaaaak!"
But the Python refused to leave my side.
That's my Swish-Swish.
"...Princess. Come to your mother."
No matter what the Snake Queen said, the Python showed no sign of leaving.
She likes me more than the Snake Queen.
That had to be it.
It couldn't be helped.
The Python didn't want to go, and I couldn't exactly force her.
"Then you come closer."
Me?
No, that's not happening.
Who knew what she'd do to me if I went over there.
I was fully on our princess's side.
"Come here, quickly."
Honestly.
Did she really think I'd fall for a trick like that?
"There now. Such an obedient child."
Huh?
Before I knew it, the internal energy pouches were right in front of my eyes.
...What just happened?
Right. This was bewitchment.
Just as she had the power of petrification, she clearly possessed the power of fascination or bewitchment.
A terrifying ability.
For even I to fall for it...
"Pyaaaak!"
The Python bit me repeatedly, as if telling me to snap out of it.
...It's a misunderstanding.
I was just making a noble sacrifice for a mother-daughter reunion.
Antagonizing the Snake Queen wouldn't do me any good, anyway.
I had to find a compromise.
Please understand, Swish-Swish.
It's good to get along with your mother.
"Hoh. So this is what was inside her body..."
The Snake Queen peered at the Python in front of me for a long while.
I, too, had no choice but to stare at the Snake Queen.
...I mean, I had to be prepared in case she tried any funny business.
It definitely wasn't for any personal reasons.
"You... you fed my daughter a part of your body, didn't you."
"Gekgek."
I nodded in affirmation.
"To think an infinitely regenerating tail could contain such sacred power. I thought your faith was a paltry thing, but it is of a higher caliber than I expected. There must be limitations, of course, but still... this is acceptable."
Right.
Now you see my value, don't you?
There's no reason for us to fight.
"You look quite tasty."
Her distinctly reptilian vertical pupils gleamed.
Human arms wrapped around my back in an embrace as a serpentine body coiled around my torso.
Creeeeak.
The movement was slow, but I was powerless to resist.
"Pyaaaak!"
The startled Python bit furiously at the Snake Queen's body, but to no effect.
"If the tail is this good... I wonder about the rest of you."
The Snake Queen flicked her long tongue.
Her expression was incredibly strange.
It was a look that was somehow sensual, yet also seemed to anticipate the sating of a great hunger.
"Hieeeek!"
The internal energy pouches drew near, right in front of my face.
Srrr...
Strength gradually drained from my body.
The Snake Queen's touch and the coiling of her tail were truly serpentine, making me feel as if I were floating.
A languid feeling washed over me, as if my eyes could close at any moment.
As expected of a Basilisk.
To think she could bypass my All-Poison Immunity with just a few touches.
I couldn't let it end like this.
Think.
The sensation of slapping Pus's butt.
The sensation of Tus biting my tail.
The sensation of Nephila hugging me.
The sensation of Tang Soyeong drawing out my poison.
The sensation of Baek Yeon-yeong plucking my scales.
And the Heart Demon I witnessed.
I forced my half-closed eyes wide open.
My gaze met the Snake Queen's.
"Grrrrr..."
The Snake Queen looked surprised for a moment, then released her hold on me.
"Heehee. A jest. Just a jest."
The Snake Queen returned to her original posture as if nothing had happened.
"How could I possibly touch something my daughter has already claimed?"
The Python began licking me all over.
Thanks, Swish-Swish.
If it weren't for you, I would've been eaten for sure.
...But could she even eat me with a human torso?
How would that even work?
The Snake Queen rested her chin on her hand and smiled faintly, amused by my reaction.
"It seems your curiosity is piqued. If you wish to satisfy it, feel free to visit me sometime without the princess. I won't stop you."
"Pyaaaaaaaak!"
A Hissing Death Beam fired at point-blank range.
But it failed to pierce the Snake Queen's skin.
The Snake Queen laughed for a long while, thoroughly amused by her daughter's reaction.
"How long has it been since I've laughed like this? Yes, this is good. It's so amusing I could forget my appetite."
I wasn't sure what was so funny, but if it was enough to make her forget her appetite, it had to be a good thing, right?
"Princess, rest assured. It was a jest, only a jest."
"Pyaaaak!"
"Of course, if his growth proves unsatisfactory, this mother might just have to gobble him up."
"Hieeeeeek!"
[[Ball Python LV14] is burning with motivation.]
As expected of the Snake Queen.
So this was all to motivate the princess.
...It was just for motivation, right?
"That is enough amusement for now. O, snake with legs. Let us speak of business."