Chapter 123 Father-in-Law’s Acknowledgment
“Krraak!”
Kompi old man charged at me like a madman.
Why was he acting like this?
Did he eat something bad?
“Gegegek!”
“Kraaaaak!”
Even his cries were unusual.
He wasn’t exactly the friendliest, but I used to think of him as a somewhat cranky prankster.
Even when he smacked me on the head with a stick, I could have chalked it up to an affectionate gesture.
But now, things were different.
Keck-keck had transformed into Kroa.
It was just as the old Kompi made a leap, attempting to sink his sharp teeth into my snout.
“Sssaaaak!”
A face that looked as if it had embodied the very image of a demon.
Shikshik, who was always so gentle, glared at the old Kompi with a menacing expression.
Pababat.
The old Kompi hastily landed.
“Ke, Kekeck?”
The cry of the old man softened.
“Saaak!”
There is a saying that parents can’t win against their children.
And even less so can a grandfather win against his granddaughter.
Hey, old man, how do you feel after hitting me?
I put on a triumphant look.
“Gegegek!”
“Kroa…”
Upon hearing my cry, the old man’s face twisted into a scowl.
“Saaaak!”
But he was immediately subdued by Shikshik.
“Kek…”
The old Kompi looked at me with a face as if he had lost everything in the world.
“Gekgek.”
You should have behaved better from the start.
I gently scratched the crown of my adorable Shikshik’s head.
“Gororong…”
“Keeeek!”
The old Kompi let out a scream.
One glare from Shikshik, and he immediately shut his mouth.
…He did look a bit pitiful, though.
The standoff didn’t last long.
The old Kompi, having raised all four limbs in surrender, lowered his tail.
“Kekkeck.”
Please, just let me live.
No, just stop Shikshik.
That’s what he seemed to be saying.
“Gekgek.”
“Piyak!”
Shikshik returned to her usual round-faced self, as if she had never been angry.
The old man, watching the scene in a daze, hit the ground with his tail once.
“Kek.”
“Gek?”
“Kekkeck.”
The old man pointed at me and himself.
Then, he pointed at the lizards.
Being a quick-witted lizard, I knew what he meant.
Since I’m so big, he probably wanted me to shrink.
After all, I might accidentally step on the lizards.
The old Kompi then began performing the dance he had shown before, all by himself.
His face wasn’t blank, though.
But now, I knew that dance was a lie.
I had fallen for it countless times before.
“Gegegek!”
When I let out a cry, signaling I knew the truth, the old Kompi slumped.
Chwaaak.
He stopped dancing and activated his shrinking ability.
“Pii, Piik?”
My size continued to shrink until I became the same size as the old Kompi.
“Piiiik!”
Shikshik, who had suddenly found herself towering over me, looked thrilled.
Her eyes gleamed with interest in my now shrunken body.
Well, she had practically tried to swallow me whole the last time she saw me like this.
“Piyak!”
Shikshik wagged her tail excitedly.
She was adorable, but let’s not do this here.
“Keeeeeck!”
Look at that, the old Kompi is practically coughing up blood.
He’s trembling all over.
It seemed Shikshik noticed it too and gave a sly look.
Had they met before?
According to the Snake Queen, they hadn’t been strangers for a long time.
…Could Shikshik be older than I thought?
“Piyak?”
Hearing that chirping sound, it didn’t seem like it.
“Kekkeck!”
The old man turned his body around.
This was the boundary of the territory, so he must have meant for us to go further inside.
“Gek.”
I followed him alongside Shikshik.
To be precise, I climbed onto Shikshik’s back.
“Pi, Piik?”
Shikshik tilted her head curiously.
Riding a giant snake felt like a romantic notion to me.
But the only giant snake around me was the Snake Queen.
I couldn’t exactly ride her, so I took this chance to hop onto Shikshik while I had shrunk.
“Keeeeeck!”
Kisamaaaa!
I felt like I could hear such a scream in the distance.
“Gekgegek.”
But no matter what the old man said, right now I had Shikshik’s trust.
He had no choice but to grit his teeth and endure.
“Gekgeke!”
“Gegegek!”
Impressively, the Geckos were moving the stone tablets I had brought.
Those things were pretty heavy.
It was clear their levels were quite high.
“Gekgek!”
With that, we headed toward the heart of the territory.
*
A small welcoming ceremony was held.
The hero of Soaring Dragon Village, Komodo-Lania, had returned.
And with her, the Snake Princess.
It was a day that would leave the Geckos in shock and the Bluetongue lizards kneeling.
Shikshik and I enjoyed the welcoming ceremony.
Though Shikshik initially watched the Geckos’ dance with distaste, at some point, she seemed to become fascinated by it.
To be precise, she became interested in the part of the dance where they bit each other’s necks, wagging her tail and looking at me.
Whatever it was, I hoped she would get along well with the lizards.
Old Kompi would take good care of her, but Shikshik would be staying here for a while.
Although I said “a while,” it wouldn’t be more than a week.
I’d bring her back as soon as I took down the Bird King.
“Shikshik.”
“Kek…”
Old Kompi was still struggling.
Although Shikshik didn’t hiss at him, she didn’t show any affection either.
Still, as the ceremony drew to a close, the old man gathered enough courage to gently pat Shikshik on the head.
Of course, Shikshik immediately bit him on the head afterward.
“Keeek…”
Even drenched in saliva, he seemed pleased, as if he had gotten a little closer to his granddaughter.
The welcoming ceremony ended, and the gathered lizards began to disperse one by one.
“Gororong…”
After eating her fill of the meat provided here, Shikshik was now sound asleep.
Was it because she was still growing? She sure slept a lot.
Well, she had eaten a good core this time.
It seemed like she was about to grow significantly.
*Tadak, tadak.*
Next to the sleeping Shikshik, a small campfire suddenly sprang up.
…How did that happen?
Could it have come from old Kompi’s mouth?
If he could do that, he should’ve done it last time too.
Old Kompi looked at Shikshik with a contented expression.
Since we were all reptiles, we were sensitive to temperature.
The old man must have lit the fire, worried that his granddaughter might feel uncomfortable.
“Gororong…”
Shikshik snored softly in her sleep.
Even while sleeping, her tail stretched out, groping for my body.
“Keeek…”
Old Kompi sighed.
By this point, it seemed like he had somewhat given up.
As time passed, the other lizards went off to sleep.
A few nocturnal ones were rolling around nearby, but only the old man and I remained close to Shikshik.
In the quiet of the night, old Kompi came over with a bottle of liquor.
When a daughter gets married, they serve “sohongju,” so would this be “sososohongju”?
The Argentarvis and the Snake Queen, for instance.
All renowned beasts seemed to have their own special drinks.
Maybe I should tie up Tang So-yeong later and make her brew some for me.
…Though she might poison the drink.
Musing over such nonsense, I sat down.
Old Kompi brought out some nuts and dried fruits to chew on.
In my original size, I could have finished it all in one bite, but I was still shrunken down.
It was just enough for the two of us to share.
*Joreureuk.*
The old man poured me a drink.
*Jjoreuk.*
I poured him a drink in return.
“Kek.”
Drink.
That was probably what he meant.
I downed it.
“Geeeek!”
Bitter.
It was a pretty strong drink.
No sooner had my cup emptied than it was refilled.
“Kek.”
Drink.
“Gekgek.”
Ahhh.
It was bitter, but it went down surprisingly smoothly.
We continued exchanging drinks back and forth.
The old man, uncharacteristically, had a serious expression on his face.
Now it was time to get to the point.
The Snake Queen and the Bird King would clash.
It would be an event that would completely shift the balance of power in this jungle.
This affected everyone, but old Kompi’s mind must have been especially burdened.
Those two were beings he had raised like his own children.
If it had been a simple squabble between rebellious teens, he might have laughed it off, but now, they were out for each other’s throats.
Old Kompi stared at Shikshik for a long time.
Then he looked at me for a few seconds.
And once more, he took a drink.
“Kek.”
“Gek.”
Old Kompi’s face darkened.
I couldn’t read the letters written by the Snake Queen.
So, I didn’t know the exact contents.
But one thing was clear: the old man had been excluded from this battle.
If he could intervene and settle things, he wouldn’t have worn such an expression.
Uncertainty, worry, sadness, and sorrow.
Perhaps anger.
Or maybe it was regret.
All of these emotions flickered across the old man’s face.
Old Kompi, Hunhwi, and Soaring Dragon.
Soaring Dragon means “little dragon.”
But little doesn’t necessarily mean young.
Old Kompi wasn’t human, nor was he a mammal.
But it was clear that he was very old.
There were no wrinkles, nor was his hair turning white.
There were no missing teeth or broken claws.
Yet, I could tell he was exhausted.
The Gaetsalgoadal had slaughtered all of Soaring Dragon’s disciples.
Those disciples might have been considered his family.
And the one who killed those precious beings was none other than his son.
If I were in the old man’s shoes, I would be left with nothing but a blind hatred and desire for vengeance against Gaetsalgoadal.
But the old man didn’t feel that way.
Just as much as he worried about the Snake Queen, he also worried about the Bird King.
It was a deeply ironic situation.
He surely hadn’t forgiven that crime.
…As someone without children, it was hard to fathom the heart of a parent.
There was only one thing I could do.
*Joreureuk.*
I poured some more alcohol into his empty glass.
The old man looked at me for a long time.
He lifted the bottle and poured more into my cup.
“Kek.”
We clinked our cups.
A cheap, murky-colored liquor sloshed in the glass.
The cup was filled to the brim, causing the overflowing liquid to soak both my hand and the old man’s.
But neither of us cared and downed it in one gulp.
The taste was still bitter.
But it couldn’t have been as bitter as it was for the old man.
“Kekek.”
Please take care of my daughter.
Was it just my imagination that I heard those words?
“Gekgek.”
Don’t worry, old man.
Saying I would protect the Snake Queen, who was far stronger than me, would sound ridiculous.
But at the very least, I could stay by her side.
[Soaring Dragon trusts you.]
…How embarrassing.
Old Kompi poured the remaining liquor into his mouth.
Then, he handed me a small stone tablet.
What was it? It had faint sword marks and a drawing etched into it.
A figure pointing to the sky with one hand and to the ground with the other.
Even at a glance, I could tell this had something to do with martial arts.
Old man, if you had something like this, you should have shown it earlier.
“Kekekeck.”
Of course, just looking at this didn’t mean I could instantly master martial arts.
Without a teacher like Baek Yeonyeong, understanding the principles would be difficult.
In fact, I couldn’t even grasp the meaning behind the lines except for the drawing.
But that didn’t mean this tablet wasn’t helpful.
The countless sword marks I had seen before.
And now, this tablet, which was clearly extraordinary.
All of these things were gradually accumulating.
They were nourishment that would allow me to grow explosively.
[Soaring Dragon wishes for your victory.]
[「Status: Soaring Dragon’s Blessing」 acquired.]
The tablet the old man had given me was likely filled with the essence of his martial arts.
He may not have recorded it himself, but it was probably from studying this that he built up such formidable strength.
And now, he was passing it on to me.
As if asking me to finish the story between the Snake Queen and Gaetsalgoadal in his place.
“Gekek.”
But I’m not a kind-hearted lizard who listens to requests out of the goodness of my heart.
I’m a clever lizard who acts purely for my own benefit.
“Kekek.”
So, the reason I’ll fight Gaetsalgoadal isn’t because I was asked.
I was going to do it anyway, and now I’ll just take a little credit for it.
“Gekek.”
I met the old man’s gaze.
The once dull-faced Kompi was no more.
Now, he was the father of the Snake Queen, the grandfather of Shikshik.
And Soaring Dragon.
He extended his hand toward me.
I respectfully accepted it.
The fire crackled beside us.
The cheap, hastily brewed liquor with its bitter taste.
And two lizards shaking hands in the flickering firelight.
It was quite an amusing sight.
But it wasn’t laughable.
We finished the bottle and drank simultaneously.
I was starting to feel a bit tipsy.
I examined the tablet Soaring Dragon had handed me again.
…Wait.
The figure in the drawing.
Why is his head bald?
“Gekek?”
I mean, he’s bald.
“Kekek.”
Soaring Dragon glanced at my head and chuckled.
At the smooth, scaleless top of my head.
“Gegegek!”
“Kekekekek.”
Wait a minute. Did you bring this out just to tease me?
You weren’t giving me a secret martial arts technique as a sign of recognition?
“Gegegegek!”
Give me back my heartfelt emotions!