Comment and Coupon Givers, Thank You All! Chapter 220
69. Magical Beasts and Quest 219 – Magical Beasts and Quest #1
━ Hey bro, are you really okay with us not following?
I nodded at Jack’s question.
━ Yeah, it’s not like we need specialized knowledge for robbery or anything.
━ Right, meow. If we follow, we’d just be a bother, meow.
“I totally agree! Even though I didn’t get a sheep’s horn, I got a hefty reward. The party is disbanded!”
The group of treasure hunters chimed in with their own comments.
Though we had only spent a day or two together, we had rolled around in the dirt long enough to build some camaraderie.
━ Hey bro, we’ll be sticking around Cairo, so just call us if you need anything. I owe you a debt of life that I can never repay.
I waved my hand appropriately at Jack’s farewell.
━ Alright, we’ll catch up later.
Thus, I set off on my journey, leaving behind the crew with whom I had explored the Pyramid: two women and a peculiar, cloud-like creature.
━ Grrr…!
A cute little Cloudring.
━ Ying.
We trudged back into the sandy wilderness of the desert to punish the naughty lion troubling travelers and pilgrims at the Nemean sand hills.
━ Hehe, it’s sand. Sand.
Leaf, who had shed her white dress for comfortable leather pants and a jacket, stomped around, letting sand pour into her leather sandals.
Perhaps it was such a funny sensation that Leaf intentionally buried her feet deep in the sand.
━ The sand is super hot and soft. The particles are really tiny.
━ You know the word “particles?”
I raised an eyebrow at Leaf’s explanation of such a fancy word, and she nodded, continuing her rambling.
━ I know about atoms and elements too. The latest theory is that magical power is actually tiny little particles, like spores, scattered from the World Tree that are so small you can’t even see them, floating around in the air. The scholars from the Royal Palace submitted papers about it…
Leaf was spouting off a stream of words, but I was completely lost.
She had a good memory but was like that annoying girl in elementary school who always wanted to sound smart.
━ … so basically, it was difficult but well-organized, making it easy to read. If I get a chance later, you should read it too, White One…, oh wait, you can’t read.
━ Shut up. Don’t act so high and mighty. What are you, Hermione? A blabbering silly raccoon.
Smack.
I playfully whacked Leaf on the head with my front paw at her bragging.
━ Uhhh…
Caught off guard, Leaf pouted. I felt a twinge of guilt and shifted my gaze away.
━ But are you really okay? They must be in a frenzy looking for you.
Leaf had snuck away, leaving her escort knights behind.
By now, Cairo and the Royal Palace in Jerusalem were likely in chaos trying to find their missing princess.
━ They’ll manage somehow. Besides, I don’t think I’m needed there anymore…
Just then, Leaf started to say something, but I interrupted.
━ What do you mean by that?
━ Do you know that wolf? Kublai from the East. He had a son who was a “human.” Somehow, he made it to the palace alive.
━ Oh, are you talking about Tartar?
I recalled the last night in the Eastern Forest. That chaotic night when the wolf, fox, hunter, and the mythical creature, O Kong, were all going wild. Right there was Tartar, the little boy who had become Kublai’s son despite being human.
━ I can’t believe he’s my brother, or really, my twin brother. Only a handful of people know this, but now that I’m disappearing, he’s in for a rough time taking my place. Hehehe.
━ Oh, got it then.
I nodded appropriately. Not sure what it all meant, but it seemed Leaf could drop the heavy title of being the royal heir.
“…….”
While pondering this, I quietly shifted my gaze to Azidahaka, who had been silent for some time.
Dressed in a brown robe pulled down low, her face covered by a tiara-like eye mask, I couldn’t tell what kind of expression she was wearing, but having spent a couple of months sharing meals with her, I could tell she was deep in serious thought.
━ What’s up? Is something wrong?
Swish.
Azidahaka glared at me thoughtfully, tilting her head slightly.
“I feel like something’s missing. I can’t shake the feeling that I’ve forgotten something…”
━ Yeah, you left behind Satan locked up in the Gryphon’s prison.
Shake shake.
“I’m not talking about Satan. He’s a worthless creature without a soul; we can’t even call him a mythical being anymore. He’s got a strong sense of self, so it’s better to leave him in prison, wallowing in self-pity, than to k*ll him easily.”
━ So what’s the problem then?
“What I’m trying to say is about my nemesis, Jupiter. Things just don’t seem to connect. It feels like a ring missing its gemstone.”
━ Eww, that’s unsettling. A ring without a gemstone!
Upon hearing Azidahaka’s words, Leaf hugged her Yingyi tightly and scrunched her face up.
━ What doesn’t connect? I explained everything!
I panicked for a moment, wondering if she might have caught on to my political marriage arrangements with Chino, but thanks to my “Speech” skills, I managed to keep a straight face.
━ You’re just overthinking it.
“Why would the Council of Cairo trust you to hunt that monster, the first time they’ve met you? Also, offering their treasure, Ambrosia, as a reward doesn’t make sense either.”
━ Well, that’s because I’m a fierce and awesome beast. Rumor has it I defeated the Garm, so word has spread around Cairo.
I didn’t mention it was part of the Gryphon’s wedding tradition to prove bravery. Azidahaka continued to hum and haw, clearly unimpressed with my answer.
━ Yeah, I don’t get what you mean, but White One is right. You’re just worrying too much.
Leaf, who had been playing with the sand, sided with me.
“Y-you’re calling me a worrywart?!”
Azidahaka glared at Leaf, but she only narrowed her eyes, perplexed.
━ Of course, I was talking about you! Azidahaka is too long and stiff! You’re much better off as Little Dragon!
“Oh my, how could you tarnish my glorious name… wait, what? My magical power… what is this!”
Suddenly, Azidahaka started to shiver. Completely bewildered, she fumbled over her words as if a bee had flown into her clothing.
Finally, she screamed.
“My name has been sullied! Remember, I have two names!”
━ What do you mean by that?
Confused, I asked, and Azidahaka sighed looking at her palms.
“My magical powers are stirring. My name has really become Little Dragon Azidahaka…! Oh my, how did this happen?! Adam said only Eve could give a name!”
They said that naming in this world had a more mystical significance than you’d think. A name can serve as a binding force for that being and sometimes can intertwine their destiny like a curse.
Just like the name “Alpha” that had been assigned to me.
Moreover, assigning another name to a creature that already had one is likely only possible if the creature is incredibly strong, or if the namer is someone akin to the original human, Adam.
“I’m a Little Dragon?! No, it can’t be! What have you done!”
Azidahaka grabbed Leaf’s shoulders and shook her back and forth vigorously.
━ Come on, how can you get upset over just a name? G-give it a break…!
Leaf, feeling unable to withstand the power of Azidahaka, was tossed around like a dry leaf in the wind and cried out weirdly, “Eiiii!”
━ What’s wrong with being Little Dragon? I’m White One, and she’s Yingyi, and this raccoon is naming it like that anyway.
━ Grrr.
Even the little Yingyi nestled in Leaf’s embrace seemed to agree. This only made Azidahaka more furious, screaming louder.
“I cannot accept that my long-awaited second name is Little Dragon! That Jupiter has such an impressive name like Garuda, while I’m stuck as Little Dragon Azidahaka…! You need to cancel it! Cancel my name!”
As Azidahaka roared, it seemed Leaf was about to have her bones shaken out of her body. But Leaf stubbornly refused to back down.
━ N-no! You’re Little Dragon! Aaaaah, Aaaah, Little Dragon! Little Dragon!
“You insolent raccoon…!”
━ S-save me!
Puff.
A cloud, like smoke, erupted where Leaf had been grabbed by Azidahaka. When the mist cleared, only Leaf’s clothes were left on the ground.
━ Hehehe… Hey, White One, do something about her! She won’t leave me alone!
Leaf, transformed into a raccoon, clung to my back. Clearly furious, Azidahaka growled, “Uuuhhh…”
‘We’re going to have lots of time together from now on. The future looks grim. They say it’s easier to unite Europe than to reconcile two women…’
I looked away from the mounting fatigue and stared off into the far horizon, no, the far wilderness.
━ Alright, let’s hurry to where the lion of Nemea is! Yingyi!
━ Grrr.
In the end, I chose to avoid and flee.
Yingyi and I made a hasty dash into the untouched desert sands, leaving the squabbling women behind.
━ C-come with us!
Leaf hopped and bounced after me on her four legs.
“Over there!”
*
A lion that lives in the sand hills of Nemea.
It appeared suddenly about a hundred years ago, claiming a spot on the pilgrimage path, starting to eat and swallow the passing people and beasts at will.
━ The Nemean sand hills and the nearby oasis were important footholds connecting Cairo and the sandy wilderness, but since that human-faced lion took over, trade with nearby tribes and Cairo has practically ceased.
Raccoon Leaf seemed quite proud to showcase her knowledge.
It was indeed an interesting and helpful story, but hearing it from a little pumpkin-colored chili raccoon resembling a red panda only made it funnier.
“You seem to know a lot.”
Finally calming down, Azidahaka nodded along to Leaf’s explanations.
━ I read a lot. I think I’ve read over ten books a day, skimming through anything and everything.
‘Wow, that’s a lot.’
Leaf had always shown great interest in the human world.
She had shown considerable curiosity since she thought I was from the human realm, displaying a great fascination for the knowledge and tools of people. So, during her time at the palace, she might have devoured countless books filled with knowledge.
Looking back, I wondered if her interest in humans indicated that she was, in fact, a creature trapped somewhere between a human and a raccoon.
“Knowledge from books, especially the limited knowledge of humans whose lifespans don’t even hit a hundred years, has its limits. You didn’t know this? The Nemean lion is actually not a lion.”
━ Uh, what then!
The calmness I thought had returned to the argument between Leaf and Azidahaka shifted as they both eagerly flaunted what they knew.
Both were eager to explain, and given their personalities, this was probably a natural outcome.
“Hehe, the Nemean lion isn’t a lion at all; it’s actually a sub-type of Gryphon. It can also be seen as a symbol of the Gryphon’s disgusting desires.”
Azidahaka’s chilling explanation made me frown.
━ Sub-type of Gryphon? A symbol of disgusting desires?
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