Chapter 91 Heroic Passion
Hunhwi, feeling a bit exhausted, returned to his domain.
Since the king of the birds had decided to retreat, there was no way he could pursue him.
Moreover, killing him wasn’t Hunhwi’s objective.
Judging by the obvious distress of the Imoogi Bird when it coughed up blood midway, it was certain that the small creature had indeed defeated the Imoogi Bird’s subordinate as Hunhwi had suspected.
The small creatures within his territory would now be safe.
Nevertheless, verification was necessary.
Although his purpose had been to bring back the herbs capable of reversing the miniaturization, the fact that the subordinate had been defeated meant the miniaturization had been reversed as well.
No matter how well it imitated a few of his martial arts techniques by sight, it could never overcome the difference in size.
It was more reasonable to assume that it had reversed the miniaturization on its own and then defeated its opponent with its original strength.
As he headed back to his domain in his smaller form, Hunhwi recalled the Snake Queen.
The Snake Queen he remembered was a troublemaker.
He had been worried about whether she would ever get married properly, but it seemed she had brought back a decent son-in-law.
…If only he weren’t so young.
Considering his age, the lizard was more suited to be the husband of the Snake Queen’s adopted daughter rather than the Snake Queen herself.
In fact, even the Snake Princess was older than that lizard.
That lizard was that young.
Still, the Snake Queen would know her duty.
At least until that lizard grew up, she surely wouldn’t touch him.
Hunhwi had such thoughts but also felt uneasy.
What if at some point, that lizard brought along little snakelets, wheezing and panting?
Hunhwi shook his head vigorously and braced himself.
Although his body was tired, his steps were strangely light.
Putting aside the issue of age, the cold-hearted Snake Queen had found a good companion.
It was something to celebrate.
He would return quickly, commend the accomplishment, and pass on his techniques to his son-in-law.
The bird’s actions were suspicious.
Given that the bird had prioritized the Snake Queen’s mate over killing him, it wouldn’t give up just because it had failed once.
He had to pass on his techniques and make him stronger.
He was thinking this as he arrived at his domain.
“Gegek.”
“Gegegek.”
“Kieeeng.”
All the small lizards were unharmed.
Not a single one was injured.
The territory was not significantly damaged.
At most, a few trees around the area had fallen.
All in all, it was a very pleasant sight.
They had held out better than he had expected.
But that was that, and in another area, a shocking scene unfolded.
“Keeeeng.”
“Gegegek!”
The lizards were dancing.
That much was understandable.
They had repelled an attacker, so it was only natural to be in a festive mood.
The problem was that pitch-black creature lying in the center of the lizards, reveling in the merriment.
Sparks flew from Hunhwi’s eyes.
“Keeeeeek!”
Look at those lizards.
They were clinging to the Snake Queen’s mate, tails stiffly raised.
The large lizard, instead of intervening, just cackled at the sight.
Though its face was somewhat handsome, this was not right.
Of course, there is the saying that heroes are passionate.
But even that has its limits.
The necklace around his neck clearly indicated that he was the Snake Queen’s mate.
Yet here he was, playing with other lizards in such a manner.
To abandon the pure and devoted Snake Queen for such behavior!
And to think that this lizard was less than three months old.
“Keeeeeeeeng!”
Before teaching him any techniques, it was essential to instill in him a sense of morality.
Hunhwi picked up a stick that had fallen on the ground.
To be involved in such a shameless act already.
Had he also seduced the Snake Princess, been allowed into her sister’s bed before the Snake Queen, and had a childhood friend with whom he shared his life from a young age?
Hunhwi hesitated for a moment.
Why were these examples so vivid in his mind?
He glared at the black-blue lizard scratching its belly.
…No way?
He shook his head again.
No, it couldn’t be.
Surely, he wouldn’t have committed such acts under the guise of a lizard.
It was just his nerves being overly sensitive after the battle.
Surely, a lizard less than three months old couldn’t be that much of a playboy.
It was more plausible to think that the lizard had seduced a human instead.
Even as he thought this, Hunhwi couldn’t help but feel uneasy.
His intuition, as an old and wise Soaring Dragon, was often frighteningly accurate.
Desperately hoping it was just a baseless worry, he swung the stick to instill the notion of chastity into the lizard.
*
Why was this old man doing this?
“Keek!”
Out of nowhere, he picked up a long stick and began beating me mercilessly.
I thought it wouldn’t hurt much, given his small frame.
He wasn’t using my own strength against me, just wildly swinging the stick.
I’m a lizard with a supposed dragon scale, so there was no way a mere stick could hurt me.
But it did hurt.
What was this?
I’m a lizard with dragon scales.
It felt as painful as when Shikshik bit me.
“Keek!”
“Gegegek!”
Wait.
That hit my bones.
“Keeeek!”
After angrily beating me for quite a while, the Compsognathus old man scolded the lizards around me as well.
“Keeeeek!”
Why was he so mad?
Let me think with my smart lizard brain.
The Soaring Dragon’s words as conveyed by the status window.
I cannot give you my daughter.
Did I touch his daughter without even realizing it?
This was unfair.
The only crime I committed was watching the lizards dance.
Sure, I felt the coolness of the lizards slowly attaching themselves to my body, but I had no such intentions.
If I had to explain, it was similar to the huddling of penguins.
It was hot, so I was just cooling down with their cold bodies.
I had just fought a battle, so my body temperature had risen.
Shwaaa.
…That excuse wouldn’t work.
Especially not when it was raining like this.
Could one of those lizards really be the old man’s daughter?
No matter how much I thought about it, that didn’t seem to be the case.
I checked the status windows of the lizards present.
But none of them seemed to be the daughter of the Compsognathus old man.
They were just a group of slightly higher-level lizards.
So why did he mention a daughter?
There was only one possibility.
The Snake Queen was the old man’s daughter.
When I considered it that way, everything made sense.
Trying to drown me in a puddle when we first met.
Going mad with rage and beating me for playing with the lizards.
If he saw me as his son-in-law, these reactions were understandable.
…Though I was technically just a spouse on paper, there was no way the old man knew that.
Damn, but for him to have fathered a basilisk of that size?
Who was his wife?
No, if he reversed the miniaturization, his size would be pretty considerable too, so maybe size wasn’t an issue.
But she probably wasn’t his biological daughter.
Obviously, a dinosaur couldn’t give birth to a snake.
Of course, it could be different if they were mystical creatures.
Since I didn’t fully understand the nature of such beings, it wouldn’t be strange if they birthed something unusual.
But this old man wasn’t a mystical creature.
Although he had faith and divine power, he was definitely a Compsognathus.
A very strong Compsognathus, but not a mystical creature.
In other words, the Snake Queen must be his adopted daughter.
…Come to think of it, why hadn’t the Snake Queen told me this information?
If she had, I would have acted differently.
Instead, I ended up being the crazy lizard that tried to drown his father-in-law in a water puddle.
The Soaring Dragon’s relentless stick attack finally came to an end.
“Keek….”
The old man’s face was still pointy, which meant he hadn’t yet calmed down.
When Shikshik was angry, her face also became pointy, so she must have learned it from her grandfather.
Thud.
The Compsognathus old man tapped my body.
He seemed to be trying to communicate through gestures.
The Compsognathus pointed alternately at me and himself, performing a strange dance.
That gesture meant he wanted me to shrink again.
Shrink?
Why should I!
Who knows what might happen?
After shrinking, he’d beat me and throw me into a lake, just like in a noir comic!
…I was about to refuse, but then I reconsidered.
For some reason, I had a feeling that if I didn’t shrink, the old man might grow larger.
I could picture him grabbing me with one hand and throwing me far away.
Yeah, let’s just do what he says.
No way he wanted me to shrink so he could beat me more easily, right?
What kind of father-in-law would do that to his son-in-law?
…Well, if his granddaughter were in love with that son-in-law, maybe he’d bring a shotgun, but that hadn’t been revealed yet, so there shouldn’t be a problem.
If I stubbornly refused, things could get even worse.
If Shikshik
found me and hugged me, I’d end up as a grilled lizard skewer.
Let’s get this over with quickly.
I steeled myself and mimicked the old man’s strange dance.
It was best to follow his request for now.
[You use 「Dragon’s Reverse Scale lv1」.]
[You temporarily acquire 「Miniaturization lv1」.]
It wouldn’t be bad to increase my proficiency in miniaturization.
My body gradually shrank.
I became a bit larger than a Green Gecko, more like the size of a Green Basilisk.
“Gegegek!”
“Keek….”
The Compsognathus old man still looked at me with disapproval.
No, show me that dull look you had when we first met.
I’m scared.
Carrying the stick, the Compsognathus headed towards the cave where we first met.
I guess he wanted me to follow.
Was he going to beat me senseless in that cave?
No, that couldn’t be.
Even if he didn’t like me, I was still the Snake Queen’s legitimate mate.
I had also saved the Soaring Dragon’s followers from the attack.
The Compsognathus old man would surely distinguish between public and private matters.
Given that he had faith, he wouldn’t let personal feelings interfere.
Besides, I was a pretty useful lizard.
I followed the Compsognathus old man into the cave.
It was indeed a small cave.
The smallest cave I’d seen so far.
No, it was almost more of a crevice than a cave.
“Keek.”
The Compsognathus pointed at the cave wall.
To be precise, at a large rectangular stone.
And at the drawings and scratches engraved on it.
The shapes were all too familiar.
I immediately knew what they were.
The passages recorded on the wall.