129
Chapter 129
A Half-human Half-snake monster.
Its race and name, Naga.
I exchanged greetings with the Imugi's Firstborn for the first time.
And after secretly checking its information, I couldn't help but be surprised.
Its race grade was Epic.
Its level was 71, and its power reached a staggering 1065.
It was a monster overwhelmingly stronger than the Master of the Lake, and its racial status was also higher.
Wait, at this point, shouldn't you be the Master of the Lake?
When Naga finished greeting our entire party.
The Little Yellow Dragon must have taken an interest in Naga, as it circled around it and asked various questions.
Among them, there was a question I was also curious about.
It was a question regarding its gender.
"Naga Dragon, Naga Dragon! What did you mean by being both a son and a daughter?"
"It means I can be a son, and I can also be a daughter."
"Yong! I get it! Does that mean you don't have a set gender like our Papa?"
"Incorrect. I distinctly possess a gender."
"Yong-yong? Then I don't understand."
"You can think of it as having two genders."
Aha, so it had two genders.
It seems it possesses both male and female reproductive organs.
The mystery was solved.
The Little Yellow Dragon also nodded its head up and down as if it understood.
And then it called out to Naga again.
"Yong-yong, that's right. I'm curious about your information, Naga Dragon. If it's not rude, can I ask Papa to check your information?"
"I apologize, but my information cannot be revealed. The only thing I can tell you is my name and race, and everything else is a secret."
"Yooong......."
Sulking.
The Little Yellow Dragon made a disappointed expression.
It seems this Naga guy was keeping its information a secret just like its mother.
But what should I do.
I had already checked its information, not to mention the Imugi's....
"However, you must have already finished checking."
Naga shifted its gaze to me and spoke in a low voice.
What the, so you knew.
It must have heard from the Frog.
The fact that I have two Appraisal abilities, and that I can check information just by looking without needing to bring up a window.
"Only you know my information, so could you please keep it a secret from the others?"
"Gom-gom."
Naga requested in an even quieter voice.
I nodded my head.
It wasn't a difficult request.
My lips are quite sealed, after all.
"Thank you. And since you must be curious about why I wish to keep my information a secret, I will secretly tell only you. As a reward for keeping my information a secret."
"Gom?"
I wasn't really that curious about it, though.
But if you're offering to tell me, I won't refuse to listen.
Naga leaned in close to me and spoke.
"Could you lend me your ear?"
"Gom."
Riiip-!
I pulled with all my might and ripped off one of my ears.
Then, I held the detached ear out to Naga.
"......."
"Gom."
What are you waiting for, take it.
Didn't you ask me to lend you an ear?
"I didn't mean for you to lend it to me like this...."
Naga looked visibly flustered.
It seemed startled by my very Tetogom-like action.
For the record, I obviously knew it meant to lean in so it could whisper.
This was just an act of consideration for Naga.
If we were seen openly whispering to each other, it would arouse the curiosity of the others.
Ripping off an ear wasn't an issue.
Because I also developed something similar to a regeneration skill.
It meant that Self-Healing was possible for me, just like Tosuni.
Naga blankly stared at the ear I handed over before asking.
"...Will you hear me if I speak into this?"
"Gom-gom."
I had tested it before.
I can hear through it for about three minutes.
Though after that, perhaps because it's no longer treated as a part of my body, I can't hear anything.
Whisper, whisper.
Naga brought my ear to its mouth and spoke.
"Ahem, first, I will tell you the reason why my mother does not reveal her information. Mother is simply ashamed of the fact that she is not a Dragon, so she hides her information. However, that is not the reason for me."
Naga cast a sidelong glance at me.
It seemed to be checking if I could hear well.
Nod, nod.
I bobbed my head up and down.
I can hear you fine, so keep talking.
"As you may already know, I am stronger than my mother. But if this fact were known to others, the prestige of my mother, the Master of the Lake, would fall. In other words, I am hiding my information to protect my mother's honor."
There were only three people who knew Naga's information.
Itself, the one who performed Appraisal, and its mother, the Imugi.
It hadn't leaked it to anyone else, Naga added.
It hadn't even told the Second Child or the Third Child.
So, most of the guys in the Lake didn't know that Naga was stronger than the Imugi.
Of course.
I heard that some seemed to have caught on.
Because even though Naga walked around suppressing its true power instead of revealing it, there were those who could instantly recognize its unapproachable racial status.
"Gom-gom."
So that was it.
What a filial son, a truly devoted one.
Wait, should I say filial daughter?
Hmm... let's just combine it and call them a filial child.
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom-gom, gom-gom-gom."
After hearing the story.
I asked Naga a question.
I asked if there were guys who looked down on them or attacked them without knowing their place since they, the Leaders, didn't reveal their information. Basically, I asked if rebellions ever happened.
After all, there are quite a few types who can't instinctively gauge the gap between themselves and their opponent.
"Since I was born, there has been no incident worthy of being called a rebellion."
Hmm. I guess I asked a pointless question.
Then again, seeing the fierce appearances of the Imugi and Naga, who would dare start a rebellion?
Especially the Imugi, who overwhelms opponents with its sheer size alone.
Anyway.
My secret conversation with Naga ended there.
I received the ear I had handed over back from it.
Since we live in a world where Doppelgangers exist, I can't just toss my body parts anywhere.
Tap.
I placed the ear against my head.
And I used a skill I had recently acquired.
To be exact, I activated a Module.
[Repair Module activated.]
Whir- bzzzt-!
Mechanical Tentacles burst out from all over my body.
Those tentacles cleanly reattached the torn ear to its original spot.
You could roughly think of it as a Repair Mode.
Oh, and.
Repairs were possible even if I lost the torn-off part.
Because this Module could specially modify the cotton inside my body to create a new one.
***
A festival was held at the Lake.
It was a festival to welcome us.
On one side, snakes were dancing,
On the other side, frogs were singing.
The Chef monsters belonging to the Lake continuously brought out countless dishes, and our party sat quietly, enjoying the food to our hearts' content.
After I ate a little bit of food.
I settled down in one spot and set up a Mobile Vaccine Inspection Center.
Today, I'm a mobile Curse Breaker!
Why a Vaccine Inspection Center out of the blue, you ask?
Just a moment ago, while talking with the Lake's Curse Breakers, I inspected them once with my Vaccine. When rumors quickly spread that my Vaccine detected and cured several small, trivial curses that the Lake's Curse Breakers hadn't noticed before, the other guys started shooting me glances as if they wanted to get inspected too.
So, since I was already at it, I decided to give everyone a Vaccine inspection.
For the record, I already inspected the Giant Centipede on the way here.
Just like the Little Yellow Dragon had said, there wasn't any curse blocking it from realizing the conditions to achieve the Ultimate Realm.
"Please inspect me."
"Gom-gom."
"Please inspect me too."
"Gom-gom."
"Please inspect me too!"
"Don't cut in line, wait your turn!"
As soon as I set up the Mobile Vaccine Inspection Center,
a long line formed in front of me in an instant.
They were surprisingly good at keeping Order.
As I continued the inspections, it was Naga's turn.
Even though she is the Little Master of the Lake, it seems she had been standing in line just like the others.
Naga stood in front of me and spoke in a serious tone.
"Sir Teddy Bear."
"Gom?"
"This might be out of nowhere, but I actually have a long-held dream."
"Gom-gom?"
What kind of nonsense is this all of a sudden?
Don't waste time and just come sit in front of me.
The line behind you is really long.
"Leaving the Lake, and leaving the Swamp Area to adventure around the world has been my long-held wish since I was young."
"Gom...."
"But there is a reason why I couldn't do so. For some unknown reason, I was born with a body that cannot leave this Lake and the nearby Swamp Area. I suspected that I might have been born with some sort of curse, but no matter how hard our Lake's Curse Breakers tried, they couldn't find any curse on me."
Thud.
Naga coiled her lower snake half and sat in front of me.
"They say Sir Teddy Bear's curse-breaking ability is superior to our Curse Breakers, so I couldn't help but harbor expectations that perhaps you might find some sort of curse on me this time. Haha."
"Gom-gom, gom-gom-gom."
The greater the expectations, the greater the disappointment.
So don't get your hopes up too high.
Because my Vaccine isn't omnipotent either.
After saying that, I first stabbed a Mechanical Tentacle into Naga's eye before doing a scan.
Because there's a long line, I need to shorten the inspection and treatment time.
It easily pierced the eye of an opponent with a power of 1065.
[Detecting Virus.......]
"Ah, and there is one thing I have resolved to do since long ago. If I was truly under a curse, and a Benefactor appeared to break that curse... If a God-like being appeared to grant me a new life and the grace to see a wider world... I have decided to serve that person as my Lord."
"Gom."
Stop talking.
I'm in the middle of an inspection, so stay still.
[Detecting Virus.......]
[Virus detected.]
[Virus - Guardian discovered.]
[Guardian is a Virus that bestows upon a lifeform the destiny of being unable to leave a specific region.]
[Adding description.]
[Guardian is presumed to be a destiny bestowed by the world.]
[It can be removed with [Magic Doll Engineering lv.9 - Vaccine].]
[Currently possessing [Magic Doll Engineering lv.8 - Vaccine].]
[The detected Virus cannot be removed.]