Chapter 97 – The Horned Horse
Roughly, the picture is coming together.
The King of Birds.
The Fiery Phoenix, the Imoogi Bird, the Beihj Bird.
And the forces on the side of the Snake Queen that will face them.
The Snake Queen.
The former King of Birds and his subordinate pterosaurs.
Perhaps even Old Man Kompi might join us.
If that old man comes, he could definitely take down a spirit beast, or he might even threaten the King of Birds.
But that’s not all.
After all, Komodo-Lania is still around.
“Geck-geck.”
Just listen to this brave cry.
Even the Snake Queen was gently stroking my head with her tail.
…So right now, I was in a position where I was being held captive by the Snake Queen.
The Snake Queen had coiled around my body, and Shikshik had wrapped around my arm, flicking her tongue with a satisfied expression.
Though the weather was hot, it felt like I was hugging a cool bamboo pillow.
Honestly, I wasn’t that interested in the hegemony of this jungle.
The real reason I came here was to obtain the opportunity that Baek Yeonyeong had hinted at.
Then, the King of Birds attacked me, and somehow I survived, met Shikshik.
After guiding Shikshik on the path of the Gecko, I met the Snake Queen.
I had already achieved my initial goal when I ate the Myriad-Year Golden Spirit Fruit.
If I had escaped immediately after that, I would have considered it a success.
But look at my current situation.
Though not by my own will, I had remained here, and the benefits kept rolling in.
The Thousand-Year Snow Ginseng, the Myriad-Year Fire Carp. I had even fought against rare spirit beasts, and I was able to practice various techniques, including Miniaturization.
I developed new techniques and even learned to use the formidable technique called the Gecko Death Beam.
This jungle could be seen as a land of opportunities for me.
And I’ve received a lot from this Snake Queen and her daughter.
Of course, I sometimes think that I might be devoured by them in more ways than one later, but that time hasn’t come yet.
At the very least, I should work as much as I’ve eaten.
If I diligently assist the Snake Queen, more benefits might come my way.
Even if not, I couldn’t just watch the Snake Queen’s side lose.
…Of course, I didn’t have enough influence to control the entire situation.
Besides, I didn’t like the King of Birds.
I didn’t like how he insisted on calling a dinosaur a bird, or how he recklessly fired destructive rays.
I didn’t like how he sneaked around with the Cockatrice’s head either.
And now, after he attacked with the Megatherium, there was no way I could let this slide.
“I’m relieved that the Princess brought such a reliable companion.”
The Snake Queen tickled my scales.
“Hieeek!”
As if not to be outdone, Shikshik bit into my scales.
…No, I don’t have that kind of preference.
The Snake Queen, fiddling with my scales along with Shikshik, continued speaking.
“As I was saying, it’s most important to form an alliance with the former King of Birds.”
The Snake Queen was right.
They say the enemy of my enemy is my friend, but nothing was certain yet.
“If we speak with him, I think he would gladly accept, but we should still bring a gift.”
A gift, huh.
I looked at the Snake Queen with the Gecko’s eyes.
“…What is it? What’s with that look?”
If you have more elixirs, give them to me instead of as a gift.
It was a shameless look.
“Unfortunately, it’s not an elixir. Actually, it’s something I don’t even have in my hands yet.”
Really?
You should’ve said that earlier.
But now I’m curious.
…You’re not planning to give them my tail as a gift, are you? That would be lizard-phobic.
“A unicorn.”
The Snake Queen’s words made me doubt my ears for a moment.
“A horned horse would make a great gift.”
*
The buildings of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult weren’t particularly tall.
It wasn’t because of their beliefs or values, but due to geographical constraints.
Since they were located at a high altitude, sometimes referred to as Heavenly Mountain, it was impossible to build tall structures even if they wanted to.
A tall building might attract the attention of other spirit beasts, leading to unnecessary attacks.
For these reasons, the buildings of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult weren’t tall.
The tallest building was a modest two-story structure.
It was called the Black Lotus Hall, named after the current Cult Leader’s epithet.
A clear voice echoed through the Black Lotus Hall.
“Cult Leader. May this humble one make a small request?”
The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Baek Yeonyeong, looked at the speaker with indifferent eyes.
“Is this a request from the Shrine Maiden, or from Seolhwa?”
The speaker was Baek Seolhwa, the Shrine Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
“It’s both a request from the Shrine Maiden and from Seolhwa.”
Baek Yeonyeong nodded slightly.
It was a sign to continue speaking.
“I need some materials. Could you procure them for me?”
Although she still used honorifics, her tone had become less respectful than before.
It was because the person making the request was her sister, the Shrine Maiden, Baek Seolhwa.
“What materials?”
Baek Yeonyeong responded in a monotonous tone.
“What materials, you ask? The materials for the ritual, of course. Since I can’t even get a glimpse of the Celestial Dragon Tree, I’ll have to settle for a unicorn horn.”
Seolhwa emphasized the word “Celestial Dragon Tree” as she spoke.
The Celestial Dragon Tree was one of the essential items for the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
It was a material needed for the Shrine Maiden’s prophecies.
However, these days, they couldn’t even find ordinary lizards, let alone the Celestial Dragon Tree.
And that was because of Yeonyeong.
Ever since she returned from the Silver Dragon Cave, she had begun what could be called a lizard conservation movement. Even when assigning tasks within the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, she personally instructed not to harm any lizards.
Especially those with handsome scales, green mixed with black. She even ordered that if they encountered such lizards, they were not to attack them under any circumstances. If confrontation was unavoidable, she recommended fleeing rather than fighting.
Seolhwa didn’t quite understand what she meant by a “handsome lizard,” but it wasn’t the first time the Cult Leader had done something eccentric.
So she just let it be.
The problem was that they couldn’t secure any lizards.
As a result, they couldn’t make the Celestial Dragon Tree.
“You’re asking me to bring you a unicorn horn.”
A unicorn horn could produce effects similar to the Celestial Dragon Tree.
In fact, it might even be better.
Since capturing a unicorn is much harder than catching a lizard, it was perhaps expected.
Seolhwa’s opinion was reasonable.
She had come up with a solution while respecting Baek Yeonyeong’s views.
“You’re asking the Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult to do that.”
Of course, Seolhwa could say such things because she was speaking to the Cult Leader.
“Isn’t it about time you started wandering around again? You’ll soon start whining that you miss that handsome lizard.”
“His name is Hee.”
“Pardon?”
“Not ‘handsome lizard,’ Hee.”
Good heavens.
So she had even given it a name now.
Seolhwa was astonished.
Soon she might even claim to have taught it martial arts.
She thought about it, but then shook her head, thinking that was too far-fetched.
“Well, in any case, you’ll be going into the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains to meet Hee, right?”
“I have no plans to do so for the time being.”
“Really? Is that true?”
Was she finally coming to her senses and fulfilling her role as Cult Leader properly?
They both knew each other too well for that to be the case.
“…Is there something you’re hiding?”
“Nothing at all.”
Suspicious.
Come to think of it, she had been frequently visiting the annex recently.
And she had set up the Repelling Barrier.
As if she was hiding someone.
It didn’t make sense for the mighty Baek Yeonyeong to just stay here obediently.
“Besides, why are you asking me to do this? Can’t someone else handle it?”
It was unusual for her to try and change the subject.
It was very suspicious, but Seolhwa decided to focus on the present.
“No matter what, how can I just order the loyal followers of the Cult around as I please?”
So the Cult Leader isn’t important?
Baek Yeonyeong swallowed the words she was about to say.
“Actually, that’s part of it, but who else could find a unicorn besides you?”
Seolhwa was right.
Unicorns are classified as a type of spirit beast.
Unless someone like Baek Yeonyeong, who had explored the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains and familiarized herself with the terrain, or someone with a particularly developed sense, finding even a trace of a unicorn would be impossible.
“Isn’t there someone?”
Baek Yeonyeong stared intently at Baek Seolhwa.
“…Cult Leader. You don’t mean to suggest that this humble one should go, do you?”
Someone with a particularly developed sense.
As the Shrine Maiden of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult, Baek Seolhwa would have no trouble finding a unicorn.
“Is there any reason why you couldn’t?”
“This humble one is the Shrine Maiden of our Cult
. How could I possibly enter the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains, teeming with all sorts of spirit beasts?”
Sending the Shrine Maiden to such a place.
Are you out of your mind?
That’s what she was implying.
“Hmph…. Even if they are spirit beasts, they would flee in terror at the sight of the Shrine Maiden’s face. What’s the problem?”
She was essentially insulting herself.
After all, Yeonyeong and Seolhwa looked very much alike.
“This humble one is afraid. How could I, with this frail body, traverse the Hundred Thousand Great Mountains…?”
Baek Yeonyeong looked at her with a mixture of disbelief and amusement.
The current Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult was Baek Yeonyeong.
Baek Seolhwa was her younger sister.
Though she wasn’t as strong as Baek Yeonyeong, Baek Seolhwa’s abilities were nothing to scoff at.
Most spirit beasts couldn’t even meet her gaze.
Yet here she was, putting on such an exaggerated display of fear.
As Baek Yeonyeong stared at her, Seolhwa’s pale face began to redden slightly.
She was embarrassed by her own behavior.
“No, but really. How could the Shrine Maiden leave her post?”
The Shrine Maiden opted for shamelessness.
“And it’s okay for the Cult Leader to leave?”
“Well, that’s…”
Baek Seolhwa had never expected Baek Yeonyeong to say such a thing.
“What if someone looks for me while I’m gone?”
It was a hastily thought-up excuse, but it didn’t work.
“Who has the authority to summon the Shrine Maiden?”
“The Cult Leader of the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult…?”
“And who else?”
“Umm…. No one?”
“Right. Now you understand.”
What more was there to say when dealing with the Cult Leader?
Baek Yeonyeong’s word was law in the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult.
At this point, there was no reason for the Shrine Maiden not to go.
But there was a reason why she was so resistant.
To be precise, why she hoped Baek Yeonyeong would go instead.
It was extremely bothersome.
“…If you set your mind to it, it wouldn’t even take a day. Just go for a nice hike and be back.”
If Baek Yeonyeong went, she could probably retrieve the unicorn horn in less than two hours.
But she decided it was time to break her younger sister’s habit.
They had the same face, but different physiques.
Look at that large chest.
It’s a symbol of laziness.
She knew that while Seolhwa did work, she disliked physical activity. That’s why she believed her chest had grown so large.
“I’ll assign Left Guardian Woo Jinwoon as your escort. You pinpoint the unicorn’s location, and he’ll handle the hunt. Doesn’t that solve the problem?”
Now stop making excuses and go climb a mountain for the first time in a while.
That was the underlying message.