Chapter 37 Lizards Need Warmth
So, this is how good warmth feels.
I quietly basked in the warmth I hadn’t felt in a long time.
“Hah… Huff…”
Dang Soyeong breathed heavily and moved her hands quickly.
The cold air.
The hot breath.
It was only natural that the air fogged up.
Dang Soyeong’s body was drenched in sweat.
The fact that she was like this for no one but me made it all the more special.
“Ha…”
It was almost over.
Having finished, Dang Soyeong wiped her face.
“Whew… My arms…”
She massaged her arms that had been in constant motion.
Of course, they’d be sore, considering how much she’d been moving them.
“Uh, this is the first time I’ve ever started a fire.”
The campfire crackled pleasantly.
The soot on Soyeong’s face showed how hard she’d worked to start the fire.
Using cobwebs and branches, she managed to get it going.
Having a human around sure was convenient.
I’d tried to start a fire myself a few times. Besides raising body temperature, fire had immense benefits in the wild. If one could handle fire, even larger enemies wouldn’t dare approach.
But it was something I could never do with a lizard’s hands.
A little too much force would break the branches, and the cobwebs would snap if my claws touched them.
Lying down and looking at the campfire made me feel good.
I felt relaxed, I suppose.
“Kii…”
Even the spiders climbed onto my back, assuming the same posture as me.
Grrr…
A small rumble sounded.
I jumped up in surprise.
Was it an enemy attack?
“Um, um…”
What was that? I definitely heard a huge sound.
Why was there nothing here?
Only Dang Soyeong’s face was turning red.
Grrr…
I finally understood.
That thunderous sound wasn’t an enemy attack but came from Dang Soyeong’s stomach.
Let’s ignore it since she’s at an age where she’s sensitive about it.
If I pointed it out, she might start crying again.
“That, that strange sound…”
Grrr!
Dang Soyeong looked like she was about to cry.
I covered the spiders’ eyes and closed my own.
We were showing consideration for her.
She should understand.
“Just cover your ears instead…”
Oh, would that be better?
Soyeong’s face turned as red as a carrot.
Well, it’s natural for a person to make such sounds.
“Gek gek.”
I didn’t mind.
“I-I haven’t eaten anything today…”
I understand.
It’s natural to make such sounds when you’re hungry.
“Gek gek!”
“A-Are you laughing at me? Ugh! I used a lot of energy starting the fire!”
Though I was trying to console her, it seemed she didn’t understand the lizard’s language.
“I-I’m sorry, but I’ll eat first. I brought some bihogdan… Oh?”
The ‘oh’ indicated she couldn’t find the bihogdan she thought she had brought, and now she was hungry and embarrassed, unsure what to do.
“My, my bihogdan! I definitely packed it!”
She should have taken better care of it.
If this keeps up, she won’t be able to sleep.
We’d have to listen to that thunderous noise continuously.
Since we have a fire, I might as well feed the kids and try something I’ve wanted to do.
I used my long tail to fetch the dried meat hanging on a branch.
It was turtle and toad meat.
Eating it raw wasn’t bad, but since we had a fire, there was no reason not to grill it.
Dang Soyeong would likely struggle with eating raw meat.
“Grrr…”
I’ll give you the meat, so try grilling it yourself.
Just skewer it on a branch and hold it over the fire.
Dang Soyeong stared blankly at the meat I handed her.
Her eyes widened, and her mouth dropped open.
“M-Master…?”
She called my name, or rather, a name that wasn’t mine, in disbelief several times.
“Th-that, that, that, gold, gold-frog? And gold-turtle?”
Huh?
Gold-frog and gold-turtle?
She seemed to be mistaken.
There’s no way such precious things would be here.
They must have looked peculiar enough to confuse her, but these weren’t mystical creatures.
They didn’t even produce a magic core.
If they were special, the status window would have informed me right away, like when I consumed Gongcheong Seokyu.
“N-no, they’re not glowing gold, so they’re not… But still, they look so… Eh!”
Dang Soyeong attempted the bizarre act of eating the meat raw.
Of course, she was stopped by Tooth Pus’ jet kick.
Thud!
“Ouch… I suspected those little spiders could use internal energy…”
Dang Soyeong still couldn’t let go of her doubts.
Although it wasn’t a mystical elixir, the meat was definitely good for the body.
After eating it, Tooth Pus had grown significantly.
It must be rich in nutrients.
But no matter how I looked at it, this wasn’t gold-frog or gold-turtle.
I wasn’t foolish enough not to recognize such precious things.
There was no way those rare creatures, said to appear once in ten thousand years, would be here.
“…Can I really eat this?”
She was about to eat it raw just moments ago.
“Gek gek.”
I lightly nodded.
It was a relief we could communicate this much.
“Truly, a great hero…”
I gave her dried persimmons before, so why not give her meat?
Those meats were easy to catch.
While it might be different for the leader of the group, the small ones were easy to catch.
…Wait, does that mean the bigger ones might be the mystical creatures?
Nah, surely not.
Still, I’ll have to check.
They were too quick to catch, but I’ll get them eventually.
Dang Soyeong carefully skewered the well-prepared meat on a branch and placed it over the campfire.
The sound of the meat sizzling was delightful.
Drip.
Oh, geez, I drooled again.
“I’ll grill it quickly!”
No one’s going to steal it.
Take your time.
Grilling it quickly doesn’t mean it cooks faster.
After much effort, Dang Soyeong had the meat nicely roasted.
Now, it was time to distribute it.
Tooth and Pus first.
Their sizes were still small, and eating too many snacks wouldn’t be good for them, so I gave them one piece each.
“Keng!”
Dang Soyeong seemed particularly interested in the toad meat, so I decided to give her the whole piece.
“I never thought the day would come when I’d eat Gumwa instead of researching it….”
It’s not Gumwa.
It’s Beelzebupoa.
An infernal toad.
I ate the rest.
The turtle roast was plump and juicy.
I took a whiff before popping it into my mouth.
Crunch.
Ah, this flavor.
Honestly, my palate had adapted to a lizard’s taste, so I couldn’t say it was exceptionally delicious compared to raw meat. However, the satisfaction of the warm temperature that grilled meat provided was extraordinary.
It felt like my insides were heating up.
The texture tore apart effortlessly after being cooked for a long time.
Although it was a pity that it wasn’t freshly hunted meat, it was still tasty enough to be considered gourmet.
Dang Soyeong also seemed to enjoy the toad roast.
She ate it after thoroughly grilling it to eliminate the toxins, biting into the crispy skin.
“Uhuhu… Gumwa… Gumwa…”
Her mumbling about not leaving a single bite was a bit creepy, but it was good that she didn’t waste any.
“I can’t leave behind such a rare opportunity…”
No, it’s not a rare opportunity.
Look, there it is, running around over there.
People believe what they want to believe.
Thus, our pleasant nighttime snack session ended.
Tooth and Pus lay down, patting their plump bellies.
Though lying down immediately after eating wasn’t ideal, I couldn’t hold spiders to the same standards.
“Gomodo Great Hero.”
Dang Soyeong cautiously approached me, glancing at Tooth and Pus.
“Thank you so much for allowing me to eat such a precious meal.”
Surprisingly, she wasn’t stuttering.
Now, she did seem a bit like a young lady from a well-off family.
“Actually, I am a caretaker of mystical creatures like Gomodo Great Hero. …Eek! N-not that I manage great heroes… I mean, creatures far inferior to you…”
I was a fool to expect anything different.
“Grrrk…”
So, what do you want to say?
“U-um, if it’s not too much to ask, may I touch your body…?”
“Gek?”
I tilted my head.
Why?
“It’s presumptuous, but the energy in your body feels so unfamiliar…. It’s like they’re conflicting with each other? One of my usual tasks is resolving such issues…”
I see.
So, you’re saying you’re an animal trainer.
“Grrrk.”
“Eek! I-I’m sorry! I’ll apologize if it made you feel bad…”
No, it’s not particularly unpleasant.
I was also curious about what was inside me.
Especially after what Baek Yeonryeong had said.
I also wondered if the energy cores I’d consumed had been digested properly.
I wrapped my tail around Dang Soyeong’s waist.
“Kyaa!”
As I pulled her closer, she came helplessly.
“Huff… Huff… Can I take this as permission?”
“Gek.”
I nodded.
“Then… please stay still…”
Dang Soyeong adjusted her posture and placed both hands on my back.
“Don’t move.”
Hummm.
A warm energy spread from her hands.
“…I see a lot. First, there are multiple mystical creature cores inside you, but none of them are ordinary. Especially the one with fierce energy. And this warm energy-filled one… Huh? This is a type I’ve never seen before.”
Are you doing this right?
The one with fierce energy was probably Kaiman’s, and the warm one… was that what Nephila fed me?
“Further inside… I thought so, there’s Gongcheongseokyu. …Wait. Cordyceps? Was Cordyceps always this big?”
So Cordyceps is also considered a mystical medicine.
I thought it was just a mushroom.
Eating that didn’t seem to improve anything.
“This is strange. There’s a lot of energy inside, but they’re not merging. They’re circulating on the surface rather than being absorbed into your dantian. At this rate, your body might explode… No, it should have exploded already.”
What?
Why are you only saying this now!
“When the amount of internal energy that can’t be absorbed exceeds a certain limit, the body rejects it… How did you manage to consume all these mystical medicines in this state… Ah!”
Dang Soyeong exclaimed as if she had discovered something.
“Honey of Okbong! Yes, that’s it. It’s no wonder you’re the Great Hero. You’ve suppressed the energies of the mystical medicines with the honey of Okbong. Ordinary people wouldn’t even dare to imagine such a thing.”
Dang Soyeong spoke in amazement.
What’s honey of Okbong?
I’ve never eaten anything like that.
Anyway, you’re saying I’m fine for now?
I don’t need to worry about my body exploding, right?
“There’s still more… I keep seeing something. It doesn’t seem related to your dantian, but since I can see it, I’ll take a closer look. It’s solid and firm. Should I call it the Great Hero’s mission? Or the reason for living in this world? I’m a bit curious.”
Isn’t that an invasion of privacy?
“Huff… What on earth!”
Dang Soyeong took a deep breath.
What did she see to react like that?
“A-a lizard with long claws is wearing a bizarre outfit and sitting by the water… A human? Why is there a human here… Kyaa! W-what is this grotesque…”
You shouldn’t have looked at that.
“A giant lizard with a crest on its back is holding a broom… dressed in a garb that harmonizes black and white perfectly. M-master…? It’s fawning over a human… Kyaaa!”
This is a misunderstanding.
This is all a misunderstanding.