Honhwi returned to his domain, dragging his somewhat tired body along.

Since the King of Birds had decided to retreat, there was no point in pursuing him.

Besides, Honhwi’s goal wasn’t to kill him.

Given that the Immyonjo (the Bird King) had suddenly been startled and vomited blood, it was clear that, just as Honhwi had thought, the small creature had defeated one of the Bird King’s underlings.

The small beings within his domain should now be safe.

Still, a confirmation was in order.

While Honhwi had originally planned to bring herbs to undo the Miniaturization, the fact that one of the Bird King’s underlings had been defeated indicated that the Miniaturization had already been undone.

Merely mimicking a few of Honhwi’s martial techniques wouldn’t be enough to overcome the difference in size.

It was more reasonable to assume that the small creature had undone the Miniaturization on its own and used its true power to win.

As he made his way back to his domain in his small form, Honhwi thought about the Queen of Serpents.

The Serpent Queen he remembered had always been troublesome.

He used to worry if she would ever marry properly, but now it seemed she had found herself quite a decent match.

…Except for the fact that the match was so young.

Considering his own age, the Serpent Queen’s companion seemed more suitable as a husband for her adoptive daughter than for the Queen herself.

In fact, even the Serpent Princess was older than that lizard.

That was how young that lizard was.

Still, the Serpent Queen understood duty.

She would surely not act until the lizard had fully grown.

Even as he considered this, Honhwi felt uneasy.

He couldn’t help but wonder if, one day, that lizard might show up with a bunch of baby snakes in tow.

Shaking his head, Honhwi pressed on.

Though his body was weary, his steps were oddly light.

Setting aside the age issue, the cold-hearted Serpent Queen had found herself a good match.

It was something to celebrate.

Once he returned, he would offer praise and perhaps teach his new son-in-law a few techniques.

The Bird King's actions were becoming suspicious.

It seemed the King prioritized eliminating the Serpent Queen’s companion over killing Honhwi himself. That indicated he wasn’t going to give up easily, despite one failure.

Honhwi thought it best to pass on his techniques, making the Serpent Queen’s companion even stronger.

That was his plan, at least, until he arrived at his domain.

“Gekek.”
“Gek-geck.”
“Kieeng.”

The small lizards were all unharmed.

Not a single one bore a scratch.

The territory wasn’t badly damaged either.

At worst, a few nearby trees had been knocked over.

From that perspective, things seemed to have gone quite well.

However, that was one thing—what greeted him elsewhere was something shocking.

“Keeeng.”
“Gek-geck!”

The lizards were dancing.

That was to be expected.

After all, they had fended off an invader, so a celebratory mood made sense.

The problem was the large, dark figure in the center of the lizards.

There he lay, casually reclining and playing with the other lizards.

Fire flashed in Honhwi’s eyes.

“KEEEEEK!”

Look at those lizards!

They were clinging to the Serpent Queen’s companion, raising their tails stiffly in admiration.

That large lizard wasn’t even trying to stop their antics, simply lying there and chirping contentedly.

Sure, he was handsome, but that wasn’t the point.

There’s a saying: even heroes are swayed by beauty.

But there are limits.

The necklace around his neck made it clear that he was the Serpent Queen’s companion.

And here he was, frolicking with other lizards.

How could he engage in such behavior, betraying the devoted Serpent Queen like that?

Especially when he wasn’t even three months old yet.

“KEEEEEK!”

Before passing on any techniques, he needed to teach that lizard a lesson in morals.

Honhwi grabbed a stick that had fallen to the ground.

To think he was already acting so shamelessly.

Was it that he had seduced the Serpent Princess? Perhaps even had a sister who gave herself to him before the Queen did? Or maybe a childhood friend who had entrusted him with her life?

Honhwi paused for a moment.

Why were these examples so vivid?

He glared at the black-blue lizard scratching its belly.

…Could it be?

He shook his head vigorously.

No, it couldn’t be.

There was no way a lizard, barely three months old, could have behaved like such a rake.

Perhaps he had simply seduced a human while in lizard form—that seemed like a more reasonable explanation.

Still, the thought made Honhwi uneasy.

His instincts, honed over the years, had rarely led him astray.

Hoping it was just a foolish delusion, Honhwi swung the stick to impart a lesson on virtue to the lizard.

Why was that old man acting like this?

“KEEEK!”

He had picked up a long stick from somewhere and began hitting me repeatedly.

Given his small size, I didn’t think it would hurt much.

He wasn’t using my own strength against me, just swinging the stick wildly.

I had dragon scales, after all. How could a mere stick cause me any pain?

But it did hurt.

What was going on?

I was a dragon-scaled lizard!

This felt like the same pain I experienced when Ssh-Ssh bit me.

“KEEK!”
“Geh-geck!”

Wait.

Did he just hit my bones?

“KEEEK!”

After beating me thoroughly, the old Compy scolded the lizards gathered around me.

“KEEEEEK!”

Why was he so angry?

Let’s use my lizard brain to figure this out.

The Small Dragon's words, as relayed by the status window: "I will never give my daughter to you."

Had I somehow messed with this old man’s daughter without realizing it?

I felt wronged.

All I had done was watch the lizards dance!

I did feel the cool touch of the lizards pressing against me, but I had no other intentions.

It was like the penguins’ huddling behavior.

I was just cooling down by being near them.

After all, I had been heated from the battle.

Swoosh.

…That excuse wasn’t going to work.

It was raining.

Was one of the lizards in this group really his daughter?

That didn’t seem likely.

I checked the status of each lizard around me.

None of them seemed to be related to the old man’s daughter.

Just a few higher-leveled lizards gathered around.

So why mention his daughter?

There was only one explanation left.

The Serpent Queen herself was his daughter.

That would make everything make sense.

That’s why he tried to push me into the pond the first time we met.

And that’s why he was now hitting me and glaring at me for playing with the other lizards.

If he thought of me as his son-in-law, this reaction was understandable.

…Though we were only bonded by the status window, the old man wouldn’t know that.

Wait, how did this old man father a basilisk?

Who was his wife?

No, no. If he undid the Miniaturization, he might be large enough for size not to be an issue.

But she couldn’t have been his biological daughter.

Of course, a dinosaur can’t give birth to a snake.

Though I suppose things could be different for divine creatures.

I don’t fully understand the mechanics, but it wouldn’t be surprising if she were.

But the old man wasn’t a divine creature.

He had faith and divine power, but his species was still clearly a Compy.

A very powerful Compy, sure, but not a divine being.

That meant the Serpent Queen must have been his adoptive daughter.

…Still, why didn’t the Serpent Queen mention any of this to me?

If she had, I would have behaved differently.

Now I looked like a crazy lizard who pushed his father-in-law into a pond.

The Small Dragon’s relentless beating finally ended.

“Keek…”

Judging by the sharpness in his face, he was still angry.

Ssh-Ssh had the same sharp face when she was mad—she must have learned it from her grandfather.

Thud.

The old Compy poked my body.

It seemed he wanted to communicate something.

He pointed to me and then to himself in a strange dance.

This dance probably meant he wanted me to shrink again.

Why would I shrink?

What was he planning?

After I shrank, would he throw me into a lake and beat me like in some noir movie?

…Just as I was about to refuse, I reconsidered.

Something told me that if I didn’t shrink, the old man would grow larger.

I could already imagine him grabbing me with one hand and tossing me far away.

Fine. I’ll do what he says.

There’s no way he’s asking me to shrink just to beat me more easily, right?

No father-in-law would do that to his son-in-law.

…Well, unless his granddaughter had fallen for the son-in-law, but that hadn’t been discovered yet, so it should be fine.

Better to comply now than make things worse.

If Ssh-Ssh came running over and hugged me, I’d end up skewered like a lizard kebab.

Let’s get this over with.

I gathered my thoughts and followed his odd dance.

For now, complying with the old man’s demands was the best option.

[Using Reverse Scale LV1.]

[Temporarily acquiring Miniaturization LV1.]

I suppose it wasn’t a bad idea to increase my proficiency with Miniaturization.

My body gradually shrank.

I ended up a bit bigger than a Green Gecko, around the size of a Green Basilisk.

“Geh-geck!”
“Keek…”

The old man still didn’t look pleased.

Why couldn’t he give me that dull look like when we first met?

I’m scared!

The old Compy shouldered his stick and walked toward the cave where we first met.

He wanted me to follow.

Was he going to beat me more inside the cave?

No, surely not.

Even if he didn’t like me, I was still the Serpent Queen’s rightful companion.

Plus, I had saved his followers from the invader.

The old man would know how to separate public duty from personal feelings.

I wasn’t a bad lizard, after all.

I followed him into the cave.

It was a small cave, by far the smallest I had ever seen.

Actually, it wasn’t even a cave—it was more like a crevice.

“Keek.”

The old Compy pointed at the cave’s wall.

Specifically, at a large rectangular stone.

Etched into the stone were familiar markings and scars.

I immediately recognized what they were.

The inscriptions on the wall.

They were the traces of the Heavenly Demon.

 

 

TL NOTE: Please don't skimp on the stars for the translation - it inspires me and gives me the strength to write more. Thank you~!

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