episode_0035

As I continued walking, the feeling of putting anything in my mouth disappeared.

It was probably the same for Juul, so he naturally started skipping meals.

Jules relies on his sense of smell to pick and eat fruit or quench his thirst with water from a stream.

How far did you walk like that?

There were so many mosquitoes around that it became unbearable.

The ground became damp, the plants growing around it changed, and many tall trees shrank. Should we say that the overall height of the plants has decreased?

The weather is humid, but the sunlight makes me feel dizzy.

“Jul. What the hell is this place…”

“It’s a wetland.”

marsh?

“From now on, it is Naga and Lamia’s land.”

get out? Lamia?

People with snake lower bodies?

“Is Naga a man and Lamia a woman?”

Jules tilts his head.

“What are you talking about?”

“No?”

“Sometimes I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

As the viscosity of the floor becomes thicker, it starts to splatter and mud splatters.

When I was young, after being in the rice fields and experiencing the Boryeong Mud Festival alone, I came to hate places like this.

Is there anyone in this world who would like wetlands, even if it’s not me? Even worse, living in a place like this?

“What kind of demihuman is Naga?”

“Hmm… It resembles a snake, it likes to swim.”

Of course so.

“Could you tell us a little more about the characteristics?”

“A lizard that stands and walks── No. crocodile? Just think of a crocodile. Something like that.”

My eyes follow Jules’ fingertips.

There, a crocodile was staring at me with its head out of the swamp.

‘How on earth did you find that?’

“Ah, that’s right. Lamia was a hermaphrodite, right?”

I learned it during training but had forgotten it.

“That’s right.”

them? Should I say them?

Since Lamia is a hermaphrodite, all individuals are said to resemble women.

It is said that their population is quite small compared to other races, and they are said to be the most powerful among the southern subhumans.

Honestly, I’m curious.

Isn’t there nothing special about the lower body of a snake?

But you’re the strongest among the Southerners? By what means?

‘I think there are only weaknesses.’

“Be careful. If you take a wrong step, you could end up in a swamp and get your feet wet. Just follow behind me.”

“Yes.”

I walked carefully behind Jules.

My shoes sink in and mud splatters on my clothes.

Jules seemed to be concerned about that as well, so he walked in an area with as little mud as possible.

In a wetland with stagnant water, ugly-looking frogs were swimming, and small fish and aquatic insects were playing around.

By the way, there are so many mosquitoes.

It’s an environment where there’s bound to be a lot, but there’s still too much.

“Mosquitoes are driving me crazy.”

“You know that Lamia is good at alchemy, right?”

I learned that it was not alchemy but ‘poison art.’

“Yes. I heard that when it comes to poison, there is no one who can follow.”

“Lamia is sick of mosquitoes just like you. If you ask, I might be able to get you some mosquito-repelling poison.”

“······!”

Do you have mosquito repellent?

I thought the mosquitoes were crazy as soon as I came out of the village.

The southern mosquito’s obsession with blood is similar to that of a bee punishing intruders.

Life takes a backseat.

They look at you like you’ve met an enemy.

It was on a different level from the timid and petite city mosquitoes.

Thanks to the mosquitoes, my skin became bumpy as if I had a skin disease, and when I scratched it, it easily bled.

If you think about it, Lamia’s upper body is also human.

‘I can’t believe I met someone going through the same ordeal in a place like this.’

I was seriously thinking about applying mud to my skin.

“How long does it take to reach Lamia’s village?”

“About two hours?”

‘It takes a long time.’

My strength was gone, but the mud floor ended and the dirt floor came out.

That came as a little bit of comfort.

“How far do we have to get out of this wetland?”

“It will take about 3~4 days.”

“Does it take that long?”

“They say this is a shortcut. If you leave the wetland, you can reach Puri Village right away.”

I am worried about how and where to sleep in this place where the floor is all wet. As I continued to walk along Jule, I began to see a large river next to me.

I’m starting to feel thirsty, but I feel like I’ll be in trouble if I drink the opaque water.

On the other side of the clearly visible river, there was a simple hut made of bushes, and something was sleeping in the shade.

“Is that Naga?”

“That is a subspecies of Naga.”

A subspecies of Naga?

Are there subspecies of Ajin?

“···Is it different from Naga?”

“It has a small head and no webbed feet. The skin is weaker than that of the Naga, and the teeth are a bit smaller and smaller.”

Just listening to it, it seems like it has only deteriorated compared to the original.

The head seen from a distance resembles a snake rather than a crocodile.

“Isn’t it just another subhuman, not a subspecies?”

“That’s not it either. I personally saw the egg being born.”

You can’t even compare it to a crocodile.

Should I say that it looks as if it was an atavism?

“So, I guess this is all Naga territory?”

“No. The lower Lamia took in the subspecies that had nowhere to go after being driven out by the Naga. This is the land of Lamia.”

I haven’t been able to guess anything since a while ago. Do you want to look stupid?

According to the priest, Lamia hates humans as much as elves. If they accepted Ain who had nowhere to go, they might not be such bad people.

I thought maybe, unlike sirens or elves, they would look at me without stereotypes.

“Then should we call those people out?”

Jules shook his head.

“You can’t call me that. Because if you call me that, I might run to your death.”

“Then what should I say?”

“Lexia. They are demi-humans who look up to Lamia as their king.”

This is an interesting person.

The more I walked along with Jules, the more snakes I noticed around me.

Although the snakes did not travel along the sidewalk, hundreds of snakes were moving uniformly toward one place.

There were many different types of snakes.

Some were as big as snakes, and I thought they were earthworms, but when I looked closer, I saw some that looked like snakes.

‘Is this foreshadowing an earthquake?’

It might be something like that.

I have to explain this… but first, let’s try our luck.

“Do snakes usually move around in groups like this? They say things like this are usually a sign of a natural disaster.”

“Natural disaster? …Rather than that, it seems like it’s heading towards a smell.”

······smell?

Isn’t it an earthquake?

“Smell or snake?”

“Okay. Sweet… it smells like poison.”

What are you talking about? There’s no smell? It smells like sweet poison in the first place?

Jules glanced at the snakes and snatched up a large one.

And then he brings it to his face.

“Ugh?! Snakes are poisonous so don’t eat them──.”

Jules was sniffing and smelling the snake.

Ironically, the snake did not rebel against Jules.

As if the sense of crisis had been castrated.

Jules let out a nasal noise as if he understood.

“Ah, this is a farmed snake.”

“Form?”

It’s not that I don’t know about farmed snakes, but I’ve never heard of this method of farming snakes by releasing them and raising them.

‘I don’t think I’ve ever heard that snakes have good noses.’

Jules moved the snake away and shook his hands.

“Lamia mixes snake venom to do alchemy. They graze snakes and when the time comes, they call them with the smell of poison.”

“······Is that possible?”

“I do this because it works.”

This is my first time hearing and seeing the strange method of raising snakes by free-ranging them.

“···If you mix poison with poison in the first place, will it only be more poison?”

“Making medicine with that is Lamia’s job. They say it’s poison, but…”

‘With poison?’

The human body is so complex that it is like a microcosm.

It is correct to say that this applies not only to humans, but to all highly evolved creatures.

But is it possible to mix poison with poison to make medicine when we don’t even know the ingredients of the chemical?

‘Of course it should be possible.’

But it’s poison.

To do that, how many hundreds——how many thousands of failures would we have to repeat?

What happens to people who fail treatment like that?

I shuddered at the ominous thought.

“······Sometimes your insight is not childlike.”

“Yes?”

“Lamia does anything for alchemy, but before that, she is a person. Don’t cross the line.”

Before I knew it, Jules was looking at my face.

It seems like it was all on his face.

‘···okay. What are you worried about? If something happens, Jules will save you.’

I somehow calmed my mind.

“There is no need to be so scared. And there is also a dragonia in that village.”

Of course it is—── ‘What?!’

The corners of Juul’s eyes draw an arc.

“It’s been uncomfortable so far, right? You will be able to get advice on how to control the blessings bestowed upon you.”

─Fucked!

* * * * * *

‘What do we do?’

I’m sure the devil did something, but I can’t explain it and I don’t know how Jules will react when I bring it up! Maybe my lies were true and Dragonia used magic when I was young.

‘Can this be explained unless it’s magic in the first place?’

impossible.

Wouldn’t there be nothing we can do if we insist that it’s magic and insist that there’s an explanation other than that?

okay! There’s nothing I can do about it.

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‘···This is just a happy circuit.’

In any case, it is better not to meet.

If he hears that my power is not magic, the tip of Zul’s sword may turn towards me. then? I will definitely die.

‘The contract’s memories are not lost even if reincarnation is repeated to ensure the legitimacy of the contract.’

Suddenly, the devil’s words passed through my mind.

‘···Should I ask him to kill me in less pain considering the affection we have had so far?’

Then it might be okay.

“How far is it to reach Lamia’s village?”

“Right in front. Arrive in about five minutes.”

I have five minutes left to live!

As if the alert had been reached, there were quite a few Lexias around.

They say they will honor Lamia as their king, but there are no Lamia around Lamia’s village, only Lexia.

‘Should I take advantage of the opportunity and run away?’

If a slave walks alone, he is sure to be looked at as suspicious.

I do not know what should I do. Should I lie and say I want to find out about Lexia and then avoid meeting her as much as possible?

However, if Jules wants to force them to face each other, they will eventually meet somehow.

“Haa······.”

“What’s wrong?”

Jules’ gaze is heavy today.

“No. Perhaps because it is a wetland, it is a bit hot and humid.”

“Humans are so weak. Should I make you some medicine?”

Come to your senses.

I have to take my time somehow.

“When you passed through Siren’s territory, you asked for permission before crossing because of me, right? Can I not ask permission from Naga or Lamia?”

“Sirens are extreme, other demi-humans don’t go that far.”

‘driving me crazy!’

Why is there nothing to occupy my time?

Once I said it, I had to continue.

“Are sirens sensitive to territory?”

“They weren’t originally like that.”

Isn’t that the case?

“Why did it happen like that?”

“A few years ago, Ramrat and some elves specialized in kidnapping sirens. Even though I killed them all.”

You killed it! all!

“Why…?”

“Sold to humans. And it’s exchanged for items that are hard to find in the South. Iron ingots, horses, barley, luxury goods and jewelry, weapons… things like this.”

Sell it to humans! If there were humans, they would have killed them, right?!

…I understand it’s different, but there’s one thing I don’t understand in this situation.

“Why did you receive the barley?”

Jules shrugged and laughed.

“He said he did it because he wanted to try barley. It was really absurd at the time. When you work as an executioner, you meet all sorts of crazy people.”

···Human trafficking because you want to eat barley?

What on earth are they doing? How tasteless barley is.

“These guys are crazy.”

“That’s right. So I killed him myself. Since then, the sirens have closed off their territory to elves and ramrats. It’s natural that I’ve become sensitive to the comings and goings of other subhumans.”

The road gradually became smooth.

The fallen leaves have disappeared, giving the impression that India is a solidly compacted ground.

The village is getting closer.

In direct proportion, my lifeline began to get closer to the end.

“Jul, those lamias! He said he hates humans!”

“That’s right.”

It was great! Let’s move forward step by step!

“Then! Wouldn’t it be very rude for me to visit Lamia’s village?! I’ll be out of town!”

“It’s okay.”

‘I’m not okay! ‘I’m dying!’

“Also, you can fight with Juul like you did with Siren, right? That’s because I’m sorry.”

“That’s because Siren is weak. The anger felt as a prey, which is unique to herbivores. But Lamia is the clear loser of the South. The attitude towards other Ajin is different.”

I can’t think of what to excuse.

‘I have to make an excuse. right now! Somehow!’

I need time to think!

“Ah! Wait. My stomach hurts a bit…”

Jules stopped, turned around, and looked down at me.

There was doubt in his eyes.

“······Is it because you’re scared of Lamia?”

no! What I’m scared of is the ‘angel’ and the tip of your sword!

“Oh, no. It’s just because it’s a nuisance for me to visit the village.”

Jules eyes widened slightly, but soon became hollow.

What is he thinking?

What answer should I give to avoid that village?

“···I’m sorry. I never thought about it from your perspective. I was treated like that by elves, so of course I would be reluctant.”

‘···that’s right! That’s right!’

I am a person who has even had human flesh forced upon me due to racial discrimination!

It’s natural for children to be scared of racism! It’s persuasive!

“Yes. Well, I’m a little… scared. I’m sorry.”

When I made a scared expression, Jules turned back the way he had been going and started coming towards me.

okay! Feel guilty! Have compassion! And find another way! Jules held my hand.

And then────

“Eh?”

pull it out

“But it’s okay. Now that I can prove that you are my slave, I can use self-defense if you are in danger.”

The greatest danger began to stride toward Lamia’s village.