Saliva dripped from my mouth.
How rude.
But how could I help salivating?
Like a gentleman, I wiped the drool from my mouth with my tail.
Among the web novels I read, there were many martial arts stories.
The protagonists who consumed Inner Dan would usually undergo a metamorphosis based on its effects.
If I ate that, could I become stronger too?
Even if I couldn’t become human, perhaps I might evolve into a Great White Super Snake.
As I salivated, the centipede groom warily twitched his antennae.
Could he be thinking I might try to steal the Inner Dan?
That’s a hurtful misunderstanding.
There’s no way I would rob a good neighbor.
I proposed a fair trade.
While nudging the delicious-looking Galloper Hawk, I pointed to the Inner Dan with my tail.
A one-for-one exchange.
I’ll give you chicken, so won’t you give me that Inner Dan?
I had originally intended it as a gift, but since the situation changed, I tried to improvise.
Tap tap tap!
But the centipede couple clashed their teeth.
It seemed like they were angry, saying it was nonsense.
Well, even I think the value doesn’t quite match.
I backed away, leaving the Galloper Hawk carcass.
Just eat it.
I was joking.
Then, the centipede bride carefully picked up the Galloper Hawk carcass.
That’s when it happened.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
The sound of a rooster crowing was heard again.
Are the chickens here ill-mannered?
They crow at dawn, at night, without a care.
It doesn’t seem too far away, I should visit sometime and taste real chicken.
I greeted the centipede couple.
Have a good night~
And please refrain from public displays of affection.
The centipede couple slightly bowed their heads, following my lead.
It really seemed like they understood my greeting.
I entered the knothole.
I had definitely widened the entrance this morning, but in just half a day, it had become a bit difficult to enter.
It would be nice if I could find a larger home…
Despite such regrets, I was exhausted and quickly fell asleep.
==
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…
Among the five great demonic regions of the continent, the Great Forest has its unique characteristics.
It’s the abundance of its vegetation.
Setting aside the barren ‘desert’, the lushness of the Great Forest overwhelms the ‘mountain range’ and ‘grasslands’.
The area of the Great Forest is third after the desert and the ‘frozen land’. In other words, it’s the third largest among the five great demonic regions.
However, if we calculate the number of magical beasts living there, it’s a reasonable estimate that it would exceed ten times the combined number of magical beasts in the desert and frozen land.
This is possible due to the warm and humid climate that creates dense foliage, but it’s noteworthy that the latitude of the Great Forest isn’t that low.
In fact, the Greyrim territory at the easternmost part of the kingdom bordering the Great Forest has a cool climate even in midsummer.
However, as you go east through the Sija Forest adjacent to the territory and towards the Great Forest, the temperature rises rapidly.
Various scholars have devoted themselves to research to uncover the cause, but a clear reason hasn’t been found yet.
The most plausible hypothesis is that it’s due to the ancient magic of fairies.
The fairy race, now heading towards extinction, is said to have settled in the far east since ancient times.
The ruins occasionally found in the Great Forest contain traces of antiquity, and this hypothesis suggests that large-scale magical measures were taken to create a favorable climate for fairies to live in at that time.
But even the fairies remaining now don’t possess ancient records, so the inside story is unknown.
In the Great Forest section of this book, we aim to explain various magical beasts of the Great Forest, those already discovered, and those yet to be discovered.
…
「From the preface of “The Wise Parvian’s Mysterious and Fascinating Magical Beast Encyclopedia: Great Forest Edition”」
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==
Zain, the squire of the hero Gunter, wore a perplexed expression.
It was because of the girl standing in front of him.
She was Rania Greyrim, the only daughter of the local lord.
Gunter had left for the capital again right after defeating the Medusa Serpent.
Instead, he left Zain and a few of his attendants here in the Greyrim territory.
It had been leisurely days, but Zain often found himself in awkward situations.
It was because of that mischievous boy-like young lady.
They said she had been sickly as a child and had overcome several life-threatening situations. Perhaps that was why.
Instead of things that young ladies her age would typically like, Rania had a great interest in heroes and magical beasts.
“What brings you here, my lady?”
Of course, a lady is still a lady.
As a knight, Zain had no choice but to be courteous.
Rania gave a quick curtsy and said,
“I have something to ask you, Sir Zain.”
Yes, I thought you might.
Zain ended up letting out a sigh.
“Is it about that book again? The Wise One’s Magical Beast Encyclopedia.”
“Yes! I have more questions about the Medusa Serpent. And about the Horn Jaguar.”
“A fine lady shouldn’t be interested in such monstrosities as magical beasts.”
“But I want to become a hero later!”
Rania said boldly.
Then, looking at the man sitting next to Zain, she added,
“Or maybe a hunter.”
“Hahaha!”
The man puffing on a pipe burst into hearty laughter.
He was a hunter residing here in Greyrim.
While most magical beast hunters are practically ronin, some are the real deal.
This man was the real deal, so even Zain respected him.
“Why would the young lady become a hunter? Miss Rania should become a hero.”
“Really? You think so?”
“Leave such dirty work to rascals like Oliver here.”
Saying so, Oliver puffed out tobacco smoke.
“So, what did you want to ask?”
Zain wanted to send this immature young lady away quickly.
“You said you lost some of the Medusa Serpent’s offspring. What if they grow up to be Medusa Serpents and come back?”
“… Haha, there’s no need to worry too much about that. Medusa Serpents give birth to thousands of offspring at once. If even half of those babies grew up to be Medusa Serpents, the kingdom would have been destroyed by now.”
“Then…”
“Among magical beasts, there are some species with particularly long evolution processes. Unlike dragons that are strong from birth, snakes are hardly different from insects when they’re born. The Medusa Serpent is not only a mutant among them but also a higher species.”
Zain had accompanied Gunter.
His knowledge of magical beasts was not inferior to that of magical beast hunters.
“Out of a thousand babies, maybe one or two might evolve to the level of a serpent.”
“Ah.”
At this point, Oliver interjected.
“Sir Knight, that’s the standard for the mountain range. The Great Forest is different.”
“… Is that so?”
Despite being corrected, Zain didn’t seem particularly displeased.
“The magical beasts in the Great Forest evolve in their own ways. You know that even the offspring of a Medusa Serpent don’t all evolve into Medusa Serpents, right young lady?”
Rania nodded.
So did Zain.
“The Great Forest has the greatest biodiversity of magical beasts, as rich as its vegetation. Also, because there’s plenty of prey, many strong ones are born. Out of a thousand, more than five might evolve into serpents.”
“That’s really terrifying.”
“Some might even evolve in extraordinary directions. Beyond the serpent level.”
“Like a Leviathan?”
Rania’s eyes sparkled.
Leviathan was a legendary magical beast mentioned in the book she was holding.
A magical beast so huge and powerful that if it raised its body submerged in the sea, the sea level of the entire world would drastically lower.
Oliver chuckled.
“Yes, perhaps like a Leviathan. But the snake of the apocalypse probably doesn’t exist.”
“But… it’s written in the book.”
“Not everything written in books is true. Ah, right. Come to think of it, the captain of the guard said that. There was a lone white individual among the baby snakes.”
“Really?”
The captain of the guard had let a few baby snakes escape and received disciplinary action.
But the lord knows well that he is capable. The lord will probably lift the punishment soon.
And according to the captain’s statement, there was a lone white one among the baby snakes.
“He said it looked small and weak, but such ones are actually dangerous.”
“Why?”
“It’s likely to be a mutant. And mutants always produce unexpected results.”
“If it’s small and weak, wouldn’t it have died there?”
“If it survived. And if it evolves, it will be different again. The problem with magical beasts is that they can become stronger. The weaker they start, the more they can evolve, and that means they can become more dangerous.”
The hunter, who had been grinning until now, became quite serious.
He took a drag on his cigarette and asked,
“By the way, young lady, you seem to have a great interest in the Medusa Serpent.”
“Snake-type is my favorite magical beast.”
“Wow, you have excellent taste.”
Zain, who was listening, inwardly felt dizzy.
Is this really a conversation to have with a noble young lady?
“Ah, right, I have a question. Is this also a snake-type magical beast?”
Rania opened the book and showed a specific page.
There was a description and illustration of a magical beast.
“It’s a Cockatrice.”
“Yes, I was confused about whether this is also a snake type.”
“It can’t be called a snake type. If we have to categorize it, it’s more of a chimera type. It’s very rare. They say if you encounter this one, it’s one of two outcomes.”
“What are they?”
“Either you get killed and eaten, or you become filthy rich overnight.”
“Filthy rich…”
Just as Oliver was about to explain, a maid came running breathlessly towards Rania.
“Young lady!”
“Your tea ceremony lesson is today, how could you run away?”
“I, I forgot about it.”
“Then you should hurry and go.”
“If you could give me just a little more time…”
“No way!”
Rania left with a sulky face.
Watching her go, Oliver burst into hearty laughter.
With Rania gone, the place became quiet again.
And in that silence, Zain thought.
‘So what about becoming filthy rich!’
The interesting story was cut off in the middle.
But the young knight’s pride wouldn’t allow him to ask again.
Zain could only suffer alone inwardly.
==
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
I hid my head between my coils.
A snake’s ears, unlike other animals, are located in the skull.
Maybe that’s why.
The sound of that crazy rooster crowing was too loud.
Why does it keep crowing?
It’s not even crowing from far away.
It’s as if it’s crowing from nearby.
Cock-a-doodle-doo!
It really got closer.
Suddenly, sleep fled and all my scales trembled.
I jerked my head up.
Survival instinct was warning me.
There’s something out there. Something dangerous, so bury your head and play dead.
Or run away!
Survival instinct warns of danger in such an unkind way.
I could go out and assess the threat, or I could hide here in the knothole pretending to know nothing.
It’s impossible to know which is truly the way to survive.
Bang!
The sound of something striking a tree was heard.
It wasn’t the dead tree I was in, but it sounded like a tree had been broken and fallen.
I chose not to hide.
Carefully, I slipped out of the knothole.
It’s dawn, not even light yet.
It was dark, but thanks to night vision, I could see well ahead.
And right nearby was the centipede bride.
Hello, do you know what’s happening?
I wanted to ask cheerfully like that, but I hesitated.
The bride was solidly stiff.
Not in a figurative sense, but literally, she had been petrified into stone.
An ominous feeling welled up.
I only knew of one monster that could turn an entire magical beast into stone like this.
Mom?
No, could it be Dad?
Has Dad, whose face I’ve never seen, come back to meet his child?
“Squeak!”
A roar.
The centipede groom was fighting with a magical beast.
The appearance of that magical beast was truly terrifying.
A chicken’s head, a reptilian body, and a snake’s tail.
A form like a terrible hybrid.
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[Cockatrice lv12]
──────────────
The night’s assailant had such a name.
