Chapter 104
Chapter 104
What is this nonsense?
Taking a bath?
No, that’s not it.
It’s not even about bathing.
Washing up?
“Gek gek.”
This isn’t something you do with family.
“Shirik….”
Shikshik, who had joined in, flicked her tongue as she approached.
As if dealing with a raptor named Blue, I spread my arms wide, trying to calm down the Snake Queen and Shikshik.
“Come here.”
“Piiik.”
Calm down.
“Gegekek.”
We’re family.
At least on paper.
“You don’t really plan on meeting the former king of the birds with that filthy body, do you?”
Filthy?
That’s a bit harsh.
Of course, I hadn’t touched water since leaving the swamp, but still, filthy is too much.
Oh, and I also fell into the water when sparring with the old Kompi.
Wouldn’t that make me relatively clean?
I tried to communicate by making sounds, but the Snake Queen wasn’t having any of my excuses.
“The mate of the Snake Queen is going to make an impression. Shouldn’t you at least shine as much as possible?”
It made sense.
In a way, it was like a noble lady making her debut in high society.
And I was declared to be the mate of someone with the alias of the Snake Count.
Even with limited means, they would’ve dressed her in expensive clothes and sent her off as polished as possible.
But that was the talk of someone who didn’t understand.
Wild animals don’t usually bathe often.
They tend to keep their bodies clean to avoid infections and such. They may lick their bodies, but that’s about it.
Of course, that’s for mammals.
In the reptile world, that’s considered heresy.
More accurately, for large predator reptiles.
There are various theories and research results regarding the teeth of Komodos.
Some say their teeth are serrated, others say they are coated with steel.
Or they might have venom glands.
Or perhaps Komodos use the bacteria in their mouths as poison.
In a way, Gomodo could be considered a subspecies of Komodo.
Since I don’t have dragon scales, I must look like a very large Komodo dragon.
And you want to wash this body?
That’s unacceptable.
“Gek gek!”
I let out a brave cry to convey that meaning.
Of course, I maintained my posture with arms wide open, blocking Shikshik and the Snake Queen.
“Come here.”
No way I’m going.
Who knows what you’ll do!
“Hmmm….”
The Snake Queen crossed her arms and hummed.
And because of that, the Snake Queen’s internal energy pouch started to gather.
“Are you really not coming?”
Her already grand energy pouch became even grander.
“Gegegek.”
I leaped forward.
“Good girl.”
…Huh?
What just happened?
Before I knew it, I had fallen into the Snake Queen’s trap.
How could a lizard of my level make such a mistake?
I even resisted the brainwashing of the Imoogi Bird, but could the Snake Queen’s brainwashing power be even stronger?
“Piiik….”
Shikshik looked at me with eyes full of pity.
“Gek….”
Sorry, Shikshik.
I guess I’m just a helpless male lizard.
The Snake Queen lifted me, hanging from her chest.
“I’ll wash you thoroughly.”
Is that really necessary?
“Gekek.”
I wasn’t really planning to refuse, but.
“Kek kek.”
“What’s that? Mimicking the cry of that old man. Your expression is strange too.”
The Snake Queen herself washing me—it couldn’t be helped.
But is there even a place around here to wash up?
There doesn’t seem to be anything inside the temple.
It might look like a temple, but it was an extremely old place.
There wasn’t a single part inside that was intact.
The blades meant to fend off intruders were rusty, and the boiling oil had long since hardened.
There was no way there could be any facilities for washing up.
As I thought about that, I looked at the Snake Queen.
Could she be planning to take me outside?
That wouldn’t be so bad.
The Snake Queen brought one hand to her mouth.
Her slender fingers passed over her red lips and touched the inside of her cheek.
The Snake Queen, with her usual expressionless face, lightly tugged at her cheek.
“Be-e.”
The Snake Queen’s tongue naturally extended.
As expected of a snake, she had a rather long tongue hidden away.
…But why is she suddenly showing me her tongue?
No, it’s not about showing her tongue, it seems like she’s showing me the inside of her mouth.
“What are you doing? Hurry up and get in.”
…No way, she wants me to go inside her mouth?
No, as much as my size has shrunk, it’s still physically impossible, right?
And even if it were possible, why would I go inside?
I’m still a divine beast.
A divine beast has its dignity.
It seems like she’s trying to get back at me for teasing her earlier, but this isn’t right.
Sssss.
Suddenly, fog gathered around her body.
The temple’s interior filled with fog.
I knew what that meant.
The true form of the Snake Queen appeared.
“Sssaaaak!”
As soon as she transformed into her true form, the Basilisk let out a loud roar.
“Gekek!”
Why all of a sudden?
I’m scared.
“Hm, I just feel like roaring when I change into this form.”
Despite having a snake’s head, she could still speak the human language.
She must have kept only the vocal cords in a human form.
I’m not sure if that’s possible, but if a unicorn can talk, why couldn’t the Snake Queen?
But I was curious.
Why return to her true form all of a sudden?
The only other time I saw the Snake Queen in her true form was the first day we met.
This meant that the Snake Queen preferred her human form over her true form unless there was a specific reason.
“Didn’t I say I’d wash you thoroughly?”
The Basilisk opened her massive mouth wide.
If I exaggerated a little, her nose almost touched the ceiling, and her chin nearly touched the floor—it was an overwhelming size.
Earlier, it was more like a ‘be-e’ sound, but now it’s more like a ‘chuuur’ sound.
Wait.
Let’s think about the joke I made earlier.
I told her to open her mouth and let me in, right?
…Was that a joke?
She realized the size issue and immediately undid her transformation.
My smart lizard brain quickly processed the situation.
And it warned me.
Whiooong.
“What are you doing?”
The Basilisk’s eyes stared directly at me.
Snake eyes, vertically slit and elongated.
Even without the petrifying gaze, those eyes made my body freeze in place.
“Come in.”
Come in?
What are you saying?
Bubble bubble.
A tremendous amount of venom began to gather in the Basilisk’s mouth.
Let’s think this through.
The Snake Queen had declared that she’d wash me.
And I happened to be in a shrunken state.
I could easily fit inside that huge mouth.
And that mouth was filled with venom.
“Gegegegek!”
So, she’s saying she’ll wash me with the venom in her mouth?
“Didn’t I say I’d wash you thoroughly?”
What exactly does she plan to clean off?
The flesh clinging to my bones?
“Piyak!”
A savior appeared.
The only one who could defeat the Snake Queen, Shikshik.
Shikshik seemed to gather strength in her tail and then leaped forward.
It’s not easy for a snake to jump.
It meant that Shikshik wasn’t just any ordinary snake.
Plop.
No, Shikshik!
“Gegegegek!”
I thought you were helping, but how could you dive in like that?
Splash!
I immediately followed Shikshik into the Basilisk’s mouth.
“Shirik….”
I swam up to Shikshik, who was swimming around inside.
“Gek?”
Shikshik was swimming around without a care in the world.
As if she had played in the Snake Queen’s special pool many times before.
“…Come on, did you really think I’d submerge my mate in venom?”
“Gek.”
This looked like venom, but it didn’t seem to be.
…At the very least, it might be saliva.
Well, considering there are people obsessed with saliva, I guess this is fine.
Sizzle….
The impurities on Shikshik’s body rapidly disappeared.
It seemed to be a special liquid that wasn’t just venom or water.
It didn’t harm the body but effectively removed impurities.
“Gek.”
You could have told me earlier.
The appearance was a bit off-putting.
After all, I was entering the mouth of a giant snake and washing in the liquid gathered there.
But as long as it didn’t harm me, I figured it would be okay.
The Snake Queen wouldn’t close her mouth with me inside, would she?
“You teased me so much earlier.”
Even though she said that, I knew she wouldn’t seek revenge.
Shikshik was having fun, so there was no way anything bad would happen.
Squish.
Squish?
“Hold still. I’ll wash you thoroughly myself.”
“Geeeek!”
*
“Ge-eek….”
My current appearance must resemble that of a grilled lizard skewer from a Thai night market.
I felt like crying.
The Snake Queen’s massive tongue had thoroughly ravished me.
“Why are you so downcast?”
In contrast, the Snake Queen’s face seemed oddly shiny.
It must be because she
drank the precious Gomodo Scale Water.
“Gek….”
I stared blankly at the Snake Queen.
The terrifying image of the Basilisk was gone, and only the familiar Snake Queen I knew remained.
No matter how much I teased her, how could she come up with the idea of washing my body with her tongue?
Someday, when I grow bigger than the Snake Queen, I’ll pay back today’s humiliation.
“Hoo. I suppose this part didn’t get washed well.”
“Geeeek!”
Startled, I looked at the Snake Queen, who was smiling mischievously.
To be honest, even though she said all that, the Snake Queen’s bath was quite effective.
I didn’t think I had any dirt on me, but unknown substances that I didn’t notice had been broken down and washed away by her saliva-like venom.
My body felt a bit lighter too.
If I ever have the time, it might not be a bad idea to enter the Basilisk’s mouth again, but thinking about the sensation of that tongue makes me reconsider immediately.
That feeling.
I don’t even want to think about it.
I’d rather issue a free pass to the Gomodo for Tuss and Puss.
Like a tragic heroine being ravaged by tentacles, I was overwhelmed with helplessness and surrendered meekly….
“It’s done. Indeed, learning miniaturization is convenient. If you were your original size, it would have been impossible to fit you in my mouth.”
The Snake Queen licked her lips.
That tongue you see now isn’t the whole of it.
At this point, I could probably write several papers on the Snake Queen’s tongue.
“Come to me anytime you need. As a thank-you for the Honey of Okbong, I’ll wash you whenever you want.”
No thanks.
I’ll never ask to be washed again.
No, wait. I didn’t ask to be washed this time either.
“Well, it’s good. The princess is all dressed up, and her mate is somewhat ready.”
Shikshik was grooming her scales while looking into a broken piece of a mirror.
There didn’t seem to be much difference, but if I pointed that out, she’d probably get sulky.
“It looks like we’re ready to meet Arugantavis.”
Arugantavis.
I suspect its real name is Argentavis.
The most massive bird ever to exist on Earth.
It was also the former king of the birds.
We’re all set to meet it.
How powerful must it be to make me go through all this?
Getting manhandled by Baek Seolhwa, getting licked by the Snake Queen.
If the Snake Queen vouches for it, it must be a formidable creature.
After all, it was the former king of the birds.
And the Pteranodon that saved me when I first encountered the Imoogi Bird.
Of course, its goal wasn’t to save me but to attack the bird, but thanks to it, I survived.
If the former king of the birds is there, then its kin must be around too.
“Gekek!”
I let out a powerful cry.
For the sake of Gomodo-Lania’s debut into high society.
And to subtly spread the Gecko Faith among the pterosaurs.
… I wonder what kind of elixir the former king of the birds possesses.
