Chapter 35 : IF-108 ‘Nessho’ Part 1

“Speak.”

“Hmm… it’s just…”

I’m so happy in this moment that I called out once.

I never imagined such leisure not too long ago.

To be able to lie down and rest with my knees as a pillow at the bottom of a lake…

Around this time, I would have been running around in the fields with an empty stomach.

“Since the great ancient being says they are happy, I am also extremely happy.”

Humans are strange.

When they see me, they all either run away or try to attack, but you’re the only ones who stay calm in front of me.

Even ordinary beasts, those with free and wild features, Tyrannosaurus, mammoths—none of them appealed to me, but you humans were different.

And I liked that.

“Is that so?”

Yeah.

“I like that you humans take care of me.”

“Take care…?”

“You should express it as ‘serve.’” 

“It is only natural, for we are strangers who appeared in your lake.”

“Hehe… I see.”

“If Mna says so, then it must be true.”

“Yeah.”

“Humans, thank you for serving me.”

“The grace is immeasurable.”

Mna’s heartbeat. 

I like the sound.

I hope this moment never ends.

I never want to be hungry again.

I never want to be tired again. 

I never want to go back to those days.

I hope you humans continue to serve me forever.

So I can live in comfort like this forever.

But…

That would probably be hard.

Like the Tyrannosaurus did, like the mammoths did.

Even now, countless followers will eventually disappear one day.

Still, I hope they stay with me for as long as possible.

“…Did they serve you from the beginning?”

“Huh?”

“What?”

“Mna, why are you laughing?”

“I’m being serious here.”

“Great ancient being.

“Who was it that first established the city where your followers gather?”

“A city?”

“Well, of course, it was our great high priest Mna who founded it.”

“Then, who is the great being that Mna serves?”

“Who Mna serves…”

“Well, of course, it’s me.”

“The one who can grasp even the stars in the sky, and yet speaks of the things that trouble you… how can I not laugh? Please forgive me.”

“What?”

“You were laughing because of that?”

“But, Mna…”

“Contrary to what you say, from my experience, it wasn’t that simple.”

“Sometimes, I think you overestimate me.”

“If it weren’t for you, Mna, I wouldn’t even be able to play the role of a god.”

“Great ancient being. 

“Please, let me ask just one thing.”

“Hmm?”

“What is it?”

“Why do you think you must wait to be served?”

“So…?”

“It is not so.”

“If the world does not serve you, make it serve you. You could break the world, so changing it would be easy, wouldn’t it?”

“Hmm… Maybe.”

“If Mna says so, then it must be true.”

“Don’t hesitate. Do it. That is what being a god is.”

“Yeah.”

“But, I hope the day to confirm that never comes.”

“Right now, I’m happily resting, talking casually with Mna and Dorandoran.”

Because this very moment is the happiest I’ve ever been.

“Gyao..?”

Huh.

“Something feels off.”

For some reason, Mna seems to be fading.

“Gyao…”

“Hmm, Mna, that’s…”

“Eek.”

“Your touch is unusually bold.”

“Mna?”

“Mna…?”

“Why aren’t you answering?”

***

Chomp.

A sudden and unfamiliar sensation snaps me awake.

I open my eyes in shock.

“G-Gyao?!”

Kang Hana had placed my horn in her mouth and was sucking on it.

Ugh, that startled me.

‘When my horn was bitten in the past, it didn’t hurt, but why does this one feel like it has sensation?’

Mna, who was in front of me, had long since disappeared.

‘Oh no…’

I thought it was real, but it was all just an old memory.

‘If I had ever fallen asleep while resting, I might have thought it was a dream, it felt so vivid.’

‘How long had I been resting?’

Looking around, it didn’t seem like I had been resting for that long, but for such a short time, my condition was surprisingly good.

The irritation in my chest had cleared up, fatigue had somewhat lifted, and hunger… well, unfortunately, that wasn’t gone.

Since waking up here, this moment was the most comfortable I’ve felt.

Considering I wasn’t even in my pajamas, it felt impressive.

The way the irritation in my chest disappeared was quite surprising.

It had been there for almost thousands of years.

Kang Hana’s abilities are pretty impressive.

‘Hm?’

‘Wait a second…’

‘Didn’t Kang Hana hold more than half of the breath count that had accumulated since I woke up here?’

‘So in the end, isn’t it just a plus-minus zero situation…?’

‘Ugh, no.’

My memories from my human days are trying to drive a wedge between me and Kang Hana.

‘If I accepted that logic, I’d probably get unfairly angry and end up hating Kang Hana a lot.’

I tried to ignore it, closing my eyes.

For some reason, Hana, who had just seemed so admirable a moment ago, suddenly felt annoying, but anyway, it was probably a wrong logic.

Hmm.

Instead of dwelling on this, I looked around.

‘The janitors … no, wait.’

Looking at what they were doing, they didn’t seem like janitors.

I had only seen them clean once, and that was it.

Anyway, the men in black vests were guarding me and Kang Hana, who was sleeping while hugging me.

Yeah, they weren’t bothering me and behaved fine.

But… unlike the men in black vests, not a single one of those in white robes could be seen.

The image of those irritating ones, who had just left right after I saved them, came to mind.

They were also in white robes.

There was no hint of respect in their gazes when they looked at me.

‘I genuinely wondered, what’s the point of those white robes?’

When I saw them being eaten by the free-spirited dog with distinctive features, they didn’t seem to have any strength.

And judging by how they looked at Kang Hana, they didn’t seem to have intelligence either.

Those irritating ones had personalities that didn’t even meet a minimum standard.

I thought they were priests, but no matter how I thought about it, they had problems being assigned as priests.

Considering the current situation, even if I sensed the whole building, the only one who showed any priestly abilities was Kang Hana.

But those in white robes seemed to be of high rank.

It was one of two things.

Either the current followers were unrealistically weak and incapable, which is why they thought they were doing well with me, or…

None of the people here, not even my followers, were truly my followers.

I wondered if there was anyone who could explain this to me.

The little snake was… probably more familiar with this place than I was, but its vocabulary was only a little better than that of beasts, so I wasn’t sure I’d get much help from it.

‘Well…’

‘It didn’t matter.’

‘Either way, the followers weren’t fulfilling their duties as followers.’

‘A follower who can’t even pray isn’t really a follower.’

‘Why am I playing the role of a god?’

I spread my thoughts everywhere.

It would have been a difficult task to focus on just a few moments ago, but now, with just a slight extension of my horn. 

I was in a state beyond god mode, so I was able to easily send my thoughts throughout the entire area.

***

[Content: I’m giving you a day.

Within 24 hours, gather here in front of me.

Those who don’t show up will be considered non-followers and will be excommunicated.

End.]

“Gyao.”

I buried my head back in Kang Hana’s arms.

With a pop sound, my horn was pulled out of her mouth.

Then, Kang Hana’s mouth opened and closed as if it was empty.

Somehow, I felt annoyed and covered my face with my wings.

She expresses her emotions a lot, even while sleeping…

But wait, something feels forgotten.

Hmm.

‘What was it that I forgot?’

It seems so trivial I can’t even remember.

‘Probably nothing important, right?’

The little snake was trembling.

‘How long had it been since my ancestors told me to hide and wait?’

I heard the thought of my ancestor calling out, so the little snake, with a happy peep! 

Ran out excitedly.

However, there was a big problem.

“Deadline.” 

“A day.”

“Inaccessible”. 

“Big trouble…”

Dozens, maybe hundreds, of two-legged beasts surrounded my ancestor, with a boundary so tight not even an ant could pass.

Thanks to the orb given by my ancestor, the little snake wasn’t too scared of these two-legged creatures, but they were all armed with massive, fire-breathing weapons.

The little snake couldn’t muster the courage to break through that group of two-legged beasts.

All it could do was hope a gap would appear within the day.

Just as the little snake was about to hide and wait, it heard a thought from somewhere.

The little snake was startled.

This wasn’t the thought of its ancestor.

“Waaah…!”

“No, Ancestor!”

“I’m listening, but I can’t make a passage here…!”

The thought was unlike anything the little snake had ever heard except from its mother and siblings.

The thought was coming from quite close, and even with its limited skill, the little snake was able to respond without meeting the speaker.

“Thought?”

“Thought?”

“Where?”

“Nooooo… eh? “

‘What?”

“Who’s there?”

The speaker, too, seemed to be unfamiliar with the concept of thought.

The little snake felt a sudden bond with this stranger.

“Me.” 

“Sending.”

“Thought.”

“I don’t know who you are, but can you help me? If you come and pull a lever, I’ll do anything for you…!”

“Anything”.

At first, it seemed like an extremely attractive word, but the little snake, who had been tricked by its ancestor several times before, suspected this might be some wordplay.

“Anything.” 

“What exactly?”

“If you mean exactly, I can go anywhere! Even if the walls are made of solid stone, it doesn’t matter!  Anywhere in this world, if I know the location… even to Nessho! How does that sound?”

The little snake looked at the group of two-legged beasts surrounding my ancestor.

It didn’t know how the stranger could go through that wall of two-legged beasts, but if it appeared on the other side, the little snake was sure it would be praised.

“Positive.”

“Waaah! So you’ll help me? It’s a promise?”

“Promise.”

And so, the little snake’s adventure began.