Chapter 80 Marriage Registration
“And in the world, it’s called Toosoolisu.”
Toosoolisu!
It felt like a city with water as its background would come to mind along with the music.
It also seemed like I might dance with a blank expression.
I stared at the Snake Queen.
“…Why are you looking at me like that?”
Actually, aren’t these divine beings staging a huge scam against me?
No, how come all their names are like this?
Dalopo, Angil, and so on.
Look at Gogadurisu.
They must have secretly planned these names without me knowing.
What even is Toosoolisu?
At this rate, there might even be someone named Lizard Master of the Volcano.
…That wouldn’t happen, would it?
“Gegeck.”
I stared at the Snake Queen with the fierce eyes of a lizard.
But after all, the Snake Queen was the Snake Queen.
She didn’t avoid my burdensome gaze.
Instead, she emphasized her internal energy pouch with that cunning trick.
…I’ll let it slide this time too.
“Hmm… I shouldn’t say this, but I don’t understand why you like this fat lump so much when you clearly don’t drink milk.”
“Gehk!”
That’s an instinct of a man, can’t help it.
Baek Yeonyeong was scary and Tang So-yeong was regrettable.
The Snake Queen was just right.
As I secretly admired the Snake Queen’s profound internal energy, pretending not to look.
“Peep!”
Shikshik coiled around my front leg.
She tried hard to bite my foot, which looked rather cute.
What was she trying to do with those dainty teeth? Even my dragon scales had become thicker, did she think those small teeth could penetrate?
If she lost a tooth, it would be a big deal.
I thought about it as I tried to gently detach Shikshik.
Crunch.
Crunch?
I raised my front paw at the sound.
Shikshik was dangling in surprise.
And one of my scales was on the ground.
My dragon scale broke?
“Gegeck?”
My dragon scale level was 10.
Even before evolution, it was tough enough to easily block Baekwoon’s sword.
Now it was even tougher than before.
But it broke with those tiny teeth?
“Heeeek…”
Shikshik seemed surprised at her achievement, curling her tail in shock.
If she had a status window, she would have earned an achievement.
A snake that broke a dragon’s scale, something like that.
Not all dragon scales have the same hardness; the scales protecting my neck were certainly tougher.
Even so, Shikshik shouldn’t have been able to break it.
Did she get stronger?
“Hoo… Is it because the number of devotees is small, the effect itself is better than my faith.”
The Snake Queen, who slid over to me, picked up the broken scale piece.
That was right.
My faith.
Further, it had now become the Gecko Religion.
One of its effects was amplifying the abilities of its members.
And that ability likely scaled with my strength.
So, as I evolved and grew stronger, Shikshik also became stronger.
“Gegeck!”
I should congratulate her to be a nice and generous lizard, but I somehow ended up with a fierce look.
I went through all this trouble to barely get stronger!
If I had known this, I wouldn’t have trained and just believed in the Gecko Religion.
“Heek…”
Shikshik looked up at me with sad eyes.
She slapped my leg with her tail.
And the destructive beam…
Wait, Shikshik.
That seems like it would really hurt.
“Heek!”
Fortunately, Shikshik didn’t shoot the destructive beam.
Let’s be grateful for Shikshik’s generosity.
“Heek…”
Her round face seemed to have turned slightly triangular.
…Was she upset?
Well, thanks to Shikshik, I did get to eat the Myriad-Year Golden Spirit Fruit, the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, and the Thousand-Year Fire Carp, and even the Core.
….
“Geck…”
Thinking about it, I evolved thanks to Shikshik.
As expected, she is third in the Gecko Religion hierarchy.
Although she’s technically the fourth devotee, I’ll call her third using divine power.
“Gegeck!”
As an apology, I gently petted Shikshik’s tail.
“Goorrong…”
She purred as if her mood improved.
Her face became round again.
While I was enthusiastically petting Shikshik.
Gulp.
The Snake Queen’s white hand grabbed my other arm.
“I am somewhat tempted.”
The Snake Queen seemed to realize my faith was special.
She must have understood to some extent the power her daughter possessed, so she figured out the extent of my faith’s effect.
“Shall we continue the conversation? What you need right now is miniaturization, right?”
“Geck!”
“And there’s a being called Honhui who can teach the technique of miniaturization.”
“Geck!”
“And I know where Honhui resides.”
“Geck!”
The Snake Queen communicated very well.
The first thing I needed to do now was to find Honhui.
Learning miniaturization could come in handy in various situations.
Later, if I met Baek Yeonyeong, I could fit in her hand and live a comfortable life.
I could spend happy times with the spiders.
…By that, I mean playing pranks on each other, not the weird thoughts the spiders had.
“But what to do. I don’t feel like telling you for free.”
“Geck?”
Why now?
“I originally intended to tell you. That being owes me a debt, so if I just tell you the location, things would be easy.”
That means she won’t tell me for free now.
The Snake Queen looked at me as if she wanted something.
I didn’t have much to give….
It seemed like a negotiation was needed.
Maybe I should go hunting?
I could probably get a mid-level core without much trouble now.
Slide.
The Snake Queen came closer to me.
“I’ve been holding back, holding back, but…”
Although I was bigger in this form, the pressure from her was stronger.
“I can’t hold back any longer.”
The Snake Queen said something chilling.
Although I had grown larger, the Snake Queen was still somewhat scary.
Was it a similar feeling to knowing Baek Yeonyeong was harmless to me but still being a little scared?
I trembled slightly, holding Shikshik’s tail.
Shikshik.
Do something.
“Hiyah…”
Shikshik still thought I was petting her tail and purred.
Get a grip!
“Gegeck!”
“The Myriad-Year Golden Spirit Fruit, the Thousand-Year Fire Carp, the Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng. Even for me, giving those was not an easy decision.”
That’s true.
The elixirs I consumed were almost too generous.
I was very grateful for them.
Evolving into Komodo-Lania was also thanks to those elixirs.
“I need to receive a proper reward for those.”
But I already did!
I caught the Cockatrice for you!
“Gegeck…”
I looked for a clue.
The Snake Queen must be joking.
She would probably make me do a few chores and then laugh it off.
Yes, that must be it.
Thinking that way made me feel better.
Don’t be fooled by her phrasing.
Even a dog learns to recite poems after three years; after seeing the Snake Queen for a long time, I could roughly guess her thoughts.
Don’t be fooled.
She must mean she has some work for me.
I thought that way.
Until the Snake Queen licked her lips with a long tongue.
Slurp.
A long tongue, which couldn’t be thought of as human, licked her lips slightly menacingly.
Then she stared at me.
“I must eat you.”
…Please eat me gently.
—
“Gegegegegeck!”
Tonight’s snack was Komodo-Lania tail stew.
Actually, it wasn’t even stew.
My precious tail, dripping with blood, lay quietly in front of the Snake Queen and the Snake Princess.
It felt indescribable, as if I were selling my body to the two.
I mean, I was selling my body, but…
This was in a different sense.
It felt strange that they were eating my tail, but what could I do?
Since it regenerates anyway, I had to make use of it.
My tail seemed to have turned into something close to an elixir.
After all, it grew up only eating elixirs.
Shikshik adorably bit into my tail with a ‘chomp.’
How cute.
Since it regenerates anyway, I had to make use of it.
“Indeed… it’s a peerless delicacy.”
The Snake Queen gave a generous compliment.
Should I feel happy about this?
Is it really a compliment to say the food is delicious to the ingredient?
I had a brief philosophical thought.
“Though there is much muscle, it is not excessively tough. Rather, the harmony of cold and heat creates a mystical taste not found in ordinary meat.”
…You don’t need to explain in such detail.
“Peep!”
Shikshik also seemed satisfied, patting her belly with her tail.
Yes.
As long as they enjoyed it, it was fine.
In retrospect, it wasn’t a bad deal.
Losing my tail hardly had any penalty.
In battle, losing a tail even briefly would be a huge burden.
But now, I wasn’t in a battle. Even if an attack occurred, I would run away immediately upon meeting the Snake Queen’s gaze.
I could just roll around and wait until my tail regenerated.
There was no loss for me, and there were benefits too.
First, Shikshik could become stronger by eating my tail.
And the Snake Queen eating my tail was also a benefit.
If the already strong Snake Queen became even stronger, I would have nothing to fear.
The Snake Queen and I had
a relationship somewhat like allies.
…Although, if you looked closely, I was probably in a subcontractor position.
“Gehk…”
I looked at the Snake Queen, who had finished eating my tail.
How is it?
Do you feel any different?
“Unfortunately, aside from the delicious taste, I don’t feel any different.”
Huh?
That can’t be true.
You saw Shikshik get stronger.
“Probably, only those who share your faith can gain strength by eating your tail.”
Is that it?
Well, just because I consumed elixirs doesn’t mean my tail becomes elixirs.
Only those who worship me might see it as a holy relic.
“…Honestly, I’d like to abandon everything and convert to your faith.”
The Snake Queen had her own faith.
Eating my tail wouldn’t make her stronger, that might be expected.
Then, did she eat my tail for no reason?
The Snake Queen wouldn’t have done that without knowing.
Look at that.
The corners of the Snake Queen’s mouth were slightly upturned.
“But since I can’t do that… well, this will have to do.”
[The Snake Queen’s Faith is influenced by the Gecko Faith.]
What?
[Komodo-Lania has become the consort of the Snake Queen’s Faith.]
No.
Can she do this at her own discretion?
Shouldn’t she need my consent?
…No.
The change happened to the Snake Queen’s Faith, not the Gecko Faith.
It’s like adding a line to the doctrine in related scriptures.
This lizard is the consort of the Snake Queen.
Of course, that doesn’t mean we’re actual consorts.
If anything, it’s like being a nominal husband.
But why do this?
Since the Gecko Faith isn’t affected, I couldn’t complain.
But lizards have feelings too.
It felt like selling my name.
I needed to protest this properly.
“Gegeck…”
[You share a portion of the experience points gained by the followers of the Snake Queen’s Faith.]
[You share a portion of the divinity sent by the followers of the Snake Queen’s Faith.]
Mother-in-law. No, I failed to see the grand intention of my wife.
“Peepyyyyyak!”