Here’s a comedic translation of the anime novel segment you provided:
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Comment and Coupons – Thanks to Everyone! Episode 221
69. Magical Beasts and Quests
“Fuhut! The Lion of Nemea isn’t really a lion; it’s a subspecies of Gryphon,” said Azidahaka, raising the corner of her mouth flirtatiously from underneath her tiara. “You could say it’s a symbol of the Gryphons’ hideous desires.”
— A subspecies of Gryphon? A symbol of hideous desires?
Subspecies. It’s basically a fancy way of saying it’s a variant that mutated away from the original type.
‘What other subspecies of Gryphons could there be…?’
The beasts in this world resemble animals I once heard about when I was human, or are straight out of my imagination. I wondered if this so-called Gryphon subspecies was one I’d encountered before.
Back in my youth, I had encountered creatures related to Gryphons in various media, the most memorable being the Hippogryph—a creature born from the mating of a horse and a Gryphon.
Just as I was pondering this, Azidahaka offered an explanation as if tidying up my confused thoughts.
“You’ll find out when you get there. We’ll reach Nemea in no time. It’s faster to see and experience it yourself than to have it explained. Real experiences put book knowledge to shame.”
— Ugh… Don’t act all superior just because you’re a dragon!
With a loud huff from Leaf, Azidahaka chuckled devilishly, seemingly enjoying the situation.
“Fufu, I merely expressed what I know. I guess it appeared as boasting? By the way, I told you my name isn’t ‘Dragon’!”
— Then call it a Fat Tail!
“How dare you…!”
Another round of bickering was about to start between the women. I knew it would drag on for half the day or more, so I decided to stomp it out before the flames of conflict flared up.
— I’ll put a stop to this!
—!
My tremendous breath echoed loudly through the sandy desert.
“……?”
—……
With my unexpected loud comment, Leaf and Azidahaka stopped their spat and stared at me wide-eyed.
“I feel like I just heard something incredibly, extremely embarrassing…”
— You nearly made my ears bleed!
Having their tempers cooled down by the suddenness of my shout, Leaf and Azidahaka ceased their argument, just as I had planned.
‘Right on schedule.’
— Gyu-ing.
— No, I totally aimed for that. I’m not embarrassed at all. It was all part of the plan!
As I feigned nonchalance while feeling slightly awkward, suddenly, strange letters floated in front of my eyes.
【Achievement ‘Aha, I trusted you.’ unlocked.】
【Reward: ‘Lion’s Roar’ skill obtained.】
『Name: White One
Species: Magical Beast lv.21
Strength: 83
Agility: 95
Stamina: 75
Skills: 《Omnivorous》 《Strong Claws》 《Subsonic》 《Stealth Movement》 《Invisibility》 《Mating Dance》 《Crossbreeding》 《Speech》 《Riding》 《Destruction Technique》 《Flame Heart》 《Roll》 《Bounce Back》 《Vitality Boost》 《Sword Release》 《Lion’s Roar》』
Staring at the newly added skill ‘Lion’s Roar’ at the end left me a bit dumbfounded. After having gained so many bizarre skills in such a strange manner, I could hardly keep track anymore.
‘I should convert some unused skills into stat points—it’d be good to pump up my stamina past 80 if I can. There’ll be plenty of battles ahead, and endurance will become crucial.’
Since becoming an adult, I had acquired new skills.
While skills like 《Destruction Technique》 and 《Flame Heart》 are powerful individually, spamming them brings immense fatigue. It’s like trying to sprint 200 meters full throttle back when I was human—it drains a ton of energy.
Of course, recovery is quick—thank goodness for that!
“Look over there! That sand dune is Nemea!”
Azidahaka’s explanation yanked me back to reality. Glancing away from the blurry letters, I focused on the site in question: a sandy hill called Nemea.
— More like a sand mountain!
If that sand were piled up hundreds of meters high, it might look like that. I had been imagining a small hill, so the impressive sight made my tail tremble a bit.
— Gyu-ing.
“Can you believe this heat? I’m so thirsty!” whined Yingyi, who was getting moody from the desert’s scorching temperature as Leaf moved to offer her water from the leather flask.
— It turns out this sand has a unique property that makes it stick together and harden. That’s why it can build up so high. And surprisingly, you can even…
“And you can eat the sand itself!”
— I was gonna say that first!
“Really? I didn’t know that.”
— Can you guys hush for a second? You can eat sand?
As I approached the sandy mound, I gently scratched at the hard, unyielding sand with my front claws.
Swoosh.
After picking up a loose clump of sand the size of my paw and feeling a bit hesitant, I popped it into my mouth.
— Mmm, it’s warm. The aftertaste is salty though.
Tasting it was like a surprising blend of brown sugar and salt.
“This Nemea sand is the main source of salt intake and seasoning in this desert. That’s not the case anymore, though.”
Ever since the Lion of Nemea set up camp here, the bustling trade from this place has drastically declined, delivering a hefty economic blow to Cairo, the desert’s capital.
While I’m not well-versed in economics or politics, one thing’s clear: that abominable beast that’s taken up residence here isn’t just brutal; it’s downright nasty!
— So where’s that infamous creature anyhow?
I started looking around for the beast that would annoy Azidahaka, Jupiter, and the others. The so-called subspecies of Gryphon, it could be lurking about anywhere.
Sniff, sniff.
Even with my enhanced sense of smell, all I detected was the strong, sweet-salty scent of the sand, which made it hard to track any other beasts.
— Isn’t it known to attack passing pedestrians?
Azidahaka stroked her chin and thoughtfully replied, “Perhaps it knows we’re not pushovers and has decided to hide.”
Beasts of ill-repute are difficult to deal with not only because of their strength but also their cunning and tricky nature.
— Great. So now what? We need to capture it and bring back proof for our quest.
“We could either wait until it shows up…”
Tsk, tsk.
Leaf clicked her tongue at Azidahaka’s suggestion. Then, pulling Yingyi closer, she said, “Waiting sounds like something a long-lived beast would do. We need to lure it out!”
— Lure it out? Do you have any bright ideas, or are you just being rude?
Azidahaka questioned Leaf suspiciously, but Leaf just shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly.
— You see, the ‘caged dragon’ here might only be familiar with the old tales and doesn’t know about all the latest tricks.
— What do you mean by that? Spill it!
— Well, the way to do it is…
As I pressed for clarity, Leaf eagerly laid out her plan like a kid about to reveal a hidden treasure.
— … so that’s how! What do you think? Easy peasy, right?
At her question, I frowned, thinking, “Uh… I only grasped ‘that’s how’ and ‘right!’ Can we get to the point?”
While I struggled to decipher that, Azidahaka decided to jump in again.
“So, what you’re saying is that to draw out the lion, we need ‘bait’? A specific type of bait?”
— Exactly! The meat of a small, cute critter would do wonders! The Gold Grade Hunters used to use this method to catch beasts in these deserts!
“Right, bait. Small, cute critters’ meat…”
— Hmm.
The red glow of Azidahaka’s tiara sparkled as her gaze shifted between me and Leaf.
— What? Why are you looking at me? White One, you too…!
— Looks like it’s your turn to lend a hand. I’ll make you as appealing as possible.
— Eek!
*
Our party climbed up the sandy hill, puffing and panting.
— So? Do you see anything yet?
I dragged up a raccoon, which had been tied to my staff. Its brown fur shone in the blazing sun like a religious idol.
— I can’t see anything! Put me down! It’s too hot!
— Just a little longer! Show them how tasty you are!
— That chili raccoon doesn’t taste great!
— Whether it’s great or not doesn’t matter! Just pretend it does! You’re good at lying!
While I might be a master at deceit, Leaf also had some skills when it came to trickery.
Our first encounter was quite the show—it involved me braining that racoon for attempting to pull a fast one on me!
— I, uh… am delicious! A little, tasty raccoon!
Channeling all the charm I taught her, Leaf tried to emphasize her tastiness. Though could this poorly executed seduction really lure out the Lion of Nemea?
‘If it’s suspicious, it probably won’t come out.’
I recalled the time I had to pretend to be prey to lure Gryphon Chino out, the first time I had met the Gryphon. I coated myself in sweet pea flower oil—maybe I should do that for Leaf too?
— I am tasty! Plump tail, soft belly. Definitely tender. Ah, yes…
As I contemplated abandoning this plan, thinking it was doomed, that’s when we heard it.
— Sniff sniff… I smell something I like! A young beast’s scent that I adore! Hehehe, here come the ones who’ll fall for it!
A long shadow loomed over us.
The sound of flapping wings pierced the air.
I caught sight of fierce, piercing eyes and menacing fangs, and then four muscular legs followed.
— A lion…?
This creature looked like a lion, alright.
With a thick sandy mane and impressive horns, it could look majestic at a glance.
However, the beast’s body harbored both scales and feathers—its back adorned with a pair of impressive wings.
— Is that the…
“Indeed, it is the Lion of Nemea! A mutant of Gryphon and dragon! The symbol of wretchedness, unblessed!”
— Put me down! Put me down! I’m scared! Let me down!
Leaf, tied to my stick, began to squirm like she was about to wet herself, so I quickly lowered her to the ground and cut the ropes binding her.
Flap, flap.
The hybrid of dragon and Gryphon—no blessed union, just bad news wrapped in a fur coat! The Lion of Nemea gracefully landed on the sand dune in front of us, towering over us like a small bus.
Its feathers were as hard and sharp as scales. We could even dub it a scale-feathered creature!
Underneath its skin was a mass of rippling muscles visible to even the untrained eye.
With the kind of power that could probably pull a tank, I felt our chances of capturing it dwindling rapidly.
— Ugh…
Seeing this horrific beast, Leaf tucked her tail between her legs and hid behind me.
— You cannot pass here; this is my domain.
Fidgeting in place, it emitted a voice that sounded like a mix of a hawk and a lion’s roar. But, after having battled so many strong creatures, I held my ground confidently and met it head-on.
— This is your domain?
— Yes, this is my land. And this is my sand. Everything from this land is mine, including you measly travelers! Not a single grain of sand will leave here without my permission!
Boom!
The beast’s roar rumbled like thunder through the hardened sand hills.
‘What a straightforward beast; these kinds are easier to deal with!’
— White furred one. You didn’t wet yourself upon hearing my roar—impressive! No one likes to eat a creature that’s soiled its pants, so good for you!
Flap, flap.
The Lion of Nemea set itself up in an offensive stance, claws bared and ready to pounce at any moment.
— Oh, a roar! My hearing isn’t so great lately, so I couldn’t hear such little sounds.
In a party hunt, it’s crucial to divert enemies’ attention to the tank—adjusting aggro or hostility points is key.
I bared my own teeth and mockingly grinned, aiming to provoke its fury.
— Make sure you keep your pants dry!
— What?
— That’s the kind of roar I’m talking about!
Huff.
I inhaled deeply, filling my lungs with air until I felt my chest puff up. Azidahaka, who had been watching from the sidelines, suddenly looked alarmed and covered her face with her palms.
“Quick, cover your ears!”
— Air fist pow!
[Author’s Note] If you enjoyed this, please hit the thumbs up at the top of the mobile screen! A simple 2-second gesture can gift the writer a happy day!
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And that’s the translation! It captures the essence of humor while translating the story.
