Chapter 24
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Translator: 8uhl
Chapter: 24
Chapter Title: A Silhouette Like a Person
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“Guu. You take care of this little one for a bit.”
Cheon Doun handed the snake to Guu. He figured Guu, being from a volcanic region like the snake, would handle it better than Nam Giseok.
Guu looked at the snake, then gently stepped on it with his hoof.
-Peep, peep!
The snake let out a dying cry and collapsed. Guu mercilessly settled his body on top of it.
*Ah, is this how I die, crushed to a pulp?* The yellow snake trembled under the massive shadow looming over its head.
*Poof.* Soft, silver-gray fur pressed down on the snake.
The snake's eyes widened at the plush sensation. For a creature from a volcanic region that loved heat, Guu's warm body was a cozy nest.
-Peep... peep...
Its eyes slowly closed. The snake, which had been nodding off, rested its chin on the dirt floor and began to doze.
Day two of its life. It was still a young monster that slept a lot.
-Hoooong!
The Mandragoras who witnessed the scene roared.
To their poor eyesight, it looked as though Guu had stomped on the snake and defeated it. The adult Mandragora's subordinate had vanquished the snake.
-Hoong, hoong!
-Hooooong!
Three small roots circled around Cheon Doun. They bobbed their leaves up and down, praising him, before returning to the garden patch.
Feeling like a hero of some primitive tribe, Cheon Doun let out a small laugh.
*'Come to think of it, the Mandragoras are quite clear in expressing themselves.'*
Perhaps Mandragoras raised without stress were on the more intelligent side.
With that thought, he looked at the names written on the ground. It was time to decide on a name for the youngest snake.
“Let's see. The name candidates are...”
【Peepie】
【Yellowy】
【Yellow】
【Snakechick】
Cheon Doun fell silent for a moment. He quietly looked around at his companions.
“Who came up with Snakechick?”
“That was me!”
Nam Giseok shot his hand up.
"Yellow was you too, right?"
"Yes! How did you know?"
Nam Giseok said with a nod.
“You usually name things based on their appearance or characteristics. Its color is yellow, so Yellow. It looks like a mix of a snake and a chick, so I combined the words into Snakechick. I came up with these two. You asked for three each... but I guess this is my limit. I couldn't think of any more."
Cheon Doun remained silent as Nam Giseok scratched his head.
*This guy's hopeless. His naming sense must have fallen out along with his hair.* He swallowed those words and looked at the names again.
“Then Peepie... Kim Nari?”
“That's right. How'd you know?”
“Yellowy must be you too.”
“Right again! You really are amazing, Mister.”
Kim Nari said with an impressed look. It was impossible not to know, since she had a face that practically screamed 'Peepie/Yellowy'.
“Sorry, Mister, and sorry to the snake. I could only think of two names, too.”
"It's fine. I just thought it'd be nice to have a lot of options, you don't have to come up with three. I couldn't think of three either."
All that was left were the names suggested by Guu and himself.
Turning his gaze to the ground, the names Guu had written immediately stood out.
【The Majestic Footprint in the Drawer】
【Roar of the Hard Egg】
【Bird-Legged Yellow Snake】
Names with a sensibility completely different from a human's. Anyone could tell they were Guu's suggestions.
*Did he call it 'The Majestic Footprint in the Drawer' because it was born in a drawer?* Cheon Doun wondered as he looked at the names on the ground, then asked.
“Speaking of which, Guu, I think you mentioned you had a real name. Didn't you say that when we first met?”
-When we first met...? Ah, you mean that time.
He recalled the day he'd gotten worked up because they were trying to name him without his consent. He'd been about to say his name but stopped, thinking they wouldn't understand it anyway.
-My real name is long. Just call me Guu. I've grown fond of this name now, so it's not bad.
“That's good to hear. But what's your original name?”
-It's Rocky Mountain Hoof. It's the name I gave myself the day I became fully aware of my own existence.
Cheon Doun closed his mouth. His gaze drifted to "The Majestic Footprint in the Drawer" written on the ground.
*So Guu was born on a rocky mountain in a volcanic region.* The name made that conclusion obvious.
“Mister, what's Guu's real name?”
“Rocky Mountain Hoof.”
“Ooh...! That's cool. It sounds like the name of a warrior from a great tribe.”
-Exactly. You've got good taste.
Some things can be understood just by looking at each other's eyes, even without words.
Guu and Kim Nari looked at each other and nodded. Seeing this, Cheon Doun quietly averted his gaze.
*'I was wrong. None of these guys have any decent naming sense.'*
That included himself. Cheon Doun looked at the name he had written.
He had thought that, as a monster, it should have a weighty name. He figured a Hanja name would be good. The result of that conclusion was a single Hanja character.
The character for snake, Sa (蛇).
“Sa... Sa...”
He was muttering, wondering what Hanja character to add after it, when Kim Nari's face lit up with admiration.
“You're the best at naming things, Mister. Sasa is perfect for this snake.”
"Sasa?"
“It definitely fits its image.”
“This does?”
-Seems fine.
“Really?”
Sasa. Which in Korean meant Snake-snake. *Is this really a good name?* The doubt crossed his mind, but Cheon Doun nodded.
It was just like with Guu. No matter how much he thought about it, he wouldn't come up with a better name.
Sasa was better than Snakechick, Peepie, or The Majestic Footprint in the Drawer.
“Alright. From today on, the little one's name is Sasa.”
Sasa (蛇蛇). A name born from the combined wisdom of three people. The name of the youngest, the snake-chick, was decided.
* * *
To prevent a bloody battle between Sasa the snake and the Mandragoras, they needed to be separated.
“Sir. How about we put a fence around the garden patch?”
“It's a snake. It'll just slither over it.”
“Then what if we tie a rope to Sasa's leg?”
“That's mean, Uncle. Poor Sasa.”
"Is it?"
Various opinions were suggested, but no clear solution emerged.
-Why don't we just leave them be for a while? It's not like either of them has the ability to seriously hurt the other. They might become friends if they keep playing like this.
On Guu's suggestion, they decided to maintain the status quo for the time being.
The awakened Sasa loitered around the garden patch, but each time, the Mandragoras' leaves moved as if taking aim at it.
One small root rose from the ground and tapped the floor. It was a declaration of its intent not to let it get any closer.
“You're right. We can probably leave them like this for now.”
Cheon Doun nodded and looked around the house.
“The dressing room is finished. I was thinking of putting a fence around the house.”
-Do you have a design in mind?
“My top priority is a good atmosphere. Something like a campground or an outdoor café would be nice.”
Cheon Doun said, picturing his ideal home. Having never been to such places, he wanted to decorate it that way even more.
“The fence should be about as thick as a person's forearm. And only knee-high. If it's too high, it'll lose that open feel and seem stuffy. Do you know of any wood that would suit that?”
-A fence, huh. Didn't you say before that you wanted to put luminous stones on top of the posts?
"That's right."
-Wood that would suit that...
Lost in thought, Guu spoke up as an idea crossed his mind.
-Instead of wood, how about making it out of stone?
“Stone?”
-Yes. If you go north, you'll reach the sea. It's a bit far from here, but for you, it would be instantaneous. There's a yellow ore in the sea that seems to fit your description.
Guu looked around the house and continued.
-And this is just my opinion, but what if you put the luminous stones at the bottom instead of the top? That ore is very clear and transparent. If you put luminous stones at the base, the light will reflect inside the ore and make the entire fence glow.
Cheon Doun's expression turned intrigued at Guu's explanation.
A fence that glowed yellow at night. The corners of his mouth lifted as he imagined such a scene.
When he relayed Guu's words, Kim Nari also let out a small gasp of admiration. Only one person, Nam Giseok, turned pale.
*'Underwater ore...? Are these people saying they're going to the sea?'*
In the Demon World, entering the water was an act that put one's life on the line.
Your body becomes sluggish in water. You can't breathe. And wasn't the sea of the Demon World a place teeming with unidentified monsters?
Practically no Hunter who entered the sea had ever come out alive. That's why Nam Giseok shot his arm up.
“I object!”
“To what?”
“Isn't the sea a place even Named Hunters avoid? It's too dangerous.”
“It's not dangerous.”
“Have you been there before?”
“Nope. So this is a good chance to go.”
Cheon Doun had never been to the sea either.
Back when he lived as a Chimera Hunter, some researchers had suggested sending him to search the sea, but it was always blocked by opposing opinions.
[Let's send No. 17 to the sea. He has a lot of aquatic monster cells mixed in, doesn't he? His gills will activate in the water, so he can breathe.]
[That's right. He might be able to bring back unknown minerals or resources. If so, we could supplement our lacking research funds.]
The proactive faction that wanted to send him on a sea search.
[Are you insane? Even if his body is ruined from the side effects, we'll never have another test subject like him. If we send him to the sea and can't even recover his body, who will take responsibility!]
The moderate faction that insisted he must not be sent. The institute had sided with the moderates.
As a result, despite entering and exiting the Demon World countless times, Cheon Doun never had the chance to visit the sea.
“You've never been either, sir. If you go to the sea, you'll die!”
The top three most avoided places in the Demon World: high mountains, volcanic regions, and cave regions.
There was only one reason the sea wasn't on that list. The sea wasn't just an avoided place; it was perceived as a completely forbidden zone.
“That's all the more reason to go. If not now, when would we ever get to see it? We can do some sightseeing while we're at it.”
At the word "sightseeing," Nam Giseok's vision went white.
*It's hopeless. There's no way to stop him. That man's way of thinking is just... different.*
He could see a future where he'd be dragged to the sea against his better judgment.
*Is there any way I can stay here?* Just as Nam Giseok was fidgeting anxiously, Kim Nari pointed at him.
“Uncle. You have a nosebleed!”
“Huh?”
Dark blood trickled from his nose. A sign that the demonic energy accumulated in his body had reached a level difficult to purify.
After confirming the nosebleed, Nam Giseok's expression brightened.
*'Valhalla! Good timing...!'*
He had never been so happy to see a sign that his body was being corroded by demonic energy.
Nam Giseok pinched his nose and shot to his feet.
“Sir, I think I need to go to the human world and get rid of some of this demonic energy.”
“Oh? That's a shame. A chance to see the sea doesn't come often.”
“A shame? Not at all. Please enjoy it enough for the both of us. That's more than enough for me.”
Nam Giseok quickly packed his things.
“Ah, I didn't get a chance to make it for you this time. Next time I come, I'll be sure to make you that refreshing green onion and egg soup. I've put all the ingredients in a preservation box, so don't worry about freshness. Feel free to use them first if you need to.”
Nam Giseok said as he crushed a return stone. As the Gate opened, he was about to flee but then paused.
“Ah... right. You said you were going to the northern sea, right? Then be careful of this. The Hunter Association issued a warning; a disaster-class monster is apparently spotted there from time to time.”
“A disaster-class monster?”
“Yes. What was it called...”
Nam Giseok said, trying to recall something he had heard once.
“They say two of them always travel together. They're so fast that no one has gotten a proper look at them.”
“No one's gotten a proper look, but it's designated as disaster-class? That sounds a bit strange.”
“I don't know the details either. I had no intention of ever going to the sea, so it went in one ear and out the other...”
Nam Giseok said with an awkward expression. He wracked his brain, wanting to give as much information as he could before he left.
“From what I heard, an A-rank subjugation team fled without even being able to fight back. As for its characteristics, it's extremely vicious and also...”
He took out his phone. After checking a notification message he'd received from the Hunter Association sometime ago, he continued.
“Ah, here it is. Sighting area: northern sea. Estimated rank: disaster-class. Assumed to be an avian-type monster since it flies. The strange thing is...”
Nam Giseok put his phone away and continued.
“The silhouette that was briefly seen is said to resemble a person.”