What do you mean, a bath?

Wait, not even that—getting bathed?

"Gek gek."

You don’t do that to family.

"Shriiik…."

Shikshik, who had somehow joined us, flicked her tongue as I opened my arms wide, as if trying to calm both her and the Serpent Queen down like someone handling a raptor named Blue.

"Come here."

"Piiik."

Calm down.

"Gegegek."

We’re family, right? Sort of, on paper.

“Surely, you’re not planning to meet the former King of Birds in that scruffy condition?”

Scruffy, really?

That’s a bit much.

Sure, I haven’t had a drop of water on me since leaving the swamp, but calling me scruffy? That’s a stretch.

Besides, I got dunked in the water a few times while sparring with old man Kompy.

So, relatively speaking, I’m clean enough, right?

I tried to communicate with a few geks, but the Serpent Queen ignored my attempts.

“You’re going to make an impression as the Serpent Queen’s consort. You need to be as polished as possible.”

Okay, that was reasonable enough.

It’s like a noble lady’s debut at a high society event, but this time with the title of “Consort of the Serpent Queen.”

Even if she had limited resources, she’d still dress up and send her consort as presentably as possible.

But that was a misunderstanding.

Wild animals typically don’t bathe often.

Although most try to keep themselves clean to avoid infection, which is why many lick themselves.

Of course, that applies more to mammals.

For reptiles, especially larger predator types, that’s almost unheard of.

There are various theories about Komodo’s teeth—whether they have serrated edges, a natural steel coating, venom glands, or bacterial-laden mouths they use as a form of poison.

Komodo-Rania could be considered a subspecies of Komodo, given that without my dragon scales, I look like a massive Komodo king lizard.

And they expect to bathe *me*?

I can’t allow that.

"Gek gek!"

I let out a brave cry to express my resistance, all while holding my arms wide to keep Shikshik and the Serpent Queen at bay.

"Come here."

No way. Who knows what you’ll do?

"Hmm…."

The Serpent Queen folded her arms, her internal energy pouch seeming to expand with power.

“Are you sure you won’t come over?”

The energy radiating from her pouch grew even stronger, reaching an intimidating size.

"Gegegek."

And with that, I hopped over.

“You’re such a good boy.”

…Huh?

What?

Without realizing it, I’d fallen right into her trap.

How could a lizard like me make such a mistake?

I even resisted the face-winged bird’s mental control, but the Serpent Queen’s persuasive ability must be on another level.

"Piiiek…."

Shikshik gave me a look as if to say, "Really?"

"Gekek…."

Sorry, Shikshik.

I guess I’m just a helpless male lizard.

The Serpent Queen lifted me up, holding me between her arms.

“I’ll wash you thoroughly.”

Is that really necessary?

"Gekek."

Not that I have any real objections.

“Kek kek.”

“What’s with that voice? You’re even imitating that old man’s expression.”

Well, there was no helping it if the Serpent Queen herself wanted to give me a bath.

But was there even a place nearby where we could do that?

I doubted there was anything inside the temple itself.

While it resembled a temple, this place was ancient.

There wasn’t a single well-maintained area left.

The traps to deter intruders had rusted, and the boiling oil had long since solidified.

There couldn’t be a place to wash up here.

As I pondered, I looked at the Serpent Queen.

Were we heading out?

Not a bad idea.

The Serpent Queen brought one of her hands to her lips.

Her thin fingers brushed her red lips, reaching inside her mouth.

With her usual impassive expression, she lightly pulled at her cheek.

“Beeh.”

The Serpent Queen’s tongue extended naturally.

Of course, her tongue was impressively long, as expected of a snake.

…But why was she showing me her tongue?

No, not showing it, more like revealing the inside of her mouth.

“What are you waiting for? Get inside.”

…Is she telling me to go in there?

I mean, I’ve shrunk quite a bit, but isn’t this physically impossible?

Even if I could, why would I?

For all appearances, I’m still a divine beast.

I have dignity as a divine beast.

It seems she’s trying to get revenge for the teasing earlier, but this is overboard.

Sssaaak.

Suddenly, a thick mist surrounded her.

Fog filled the entire temple.

I knew what this meant.

The Serpent Queen was revealing her true form.

"Saaaah!"

Upon transforming, the Basilisk let out a mighty roar.

"Gekek!"

What’s going on all of a sudden?

You’re scaring me!

“Hmm, whenever I take on this form, I feel the urge to roar.”

Despite having a snake’s head, she spoke human language as easily as ever.

Maybe only her vocal cords stayed human; I don’t know how, but if horned horses can talk, surely the Serpent Queen can too.

But that raised a question.

Why transform now?

I’d only seen her true form on the day we first met.

In other words, unless she had a good reason, she seemed to prefer her human form.

“I said I’d wash you thoroughly, didn’t I?”

The Basilisk opened her massive mouth wide.

To exaggerate a little, her nose nearly touched the ceiling, and her jaw the floor.

Earlier, it was more like a soft “beeh,” but now it was a resounding “chawww.”

Hold on.

Let’s revisit that joke from before.

She opened her mouth and told me to get inside.

…Could she have been serious?

Realizing the size wouldn’t work, she immediately shifted back to her true form.

My smart lizard brain kicked into high gear, warning me.

Weeoooong.

“What are you waiting for?”

The Basilisk’s eyes locked onto me.

Those vertically slit eyes of a serpent.

Even without a petrifying gaze, her stare alone was enough to make me freeze.

“Get inside.”

Inside…? You’re not serious, are you?

Gurgle, gurgle.

A large amount of venom began to pool in the Basilisk’s mouth.

Think this through.

The Serpent Queen declared she’d give me a thorough wash.

And I just so happened to be in miniaturized form.

Meaning, I could easily fit inside that enormous mouth.

And it was filling with venom.

"Gegegegek!"

So, she’s planning to wash me with the venom in her mouth?

“Didn’t I say I’d scrub you thoroughly?”

What exactly does she plan on scrubbing away?

Every bit of flesh clinging to my bones?

“Piiak!”

A savior appeared.

The only one who could stand against the Serpent Queen—Shikshik.

Gathering strength in her tail, Shikshik took a leap.

It’s not easy for a snake to jump.

Which only showed that Shikshik was no ordinary snake.

Plop.

Wait, Shikshik!

“Gegegegek!”

I thought she was helping, but she jumped right in!

Splash!

Without any hesitation, I dove in after her.

“Shriik….”

I swam over to retrieve Shikshik, who was calmly paddling around.

"Gek?"

Shikshik was completely at ease, swimming in the venom as if she’d done it countless times in the Serpent Queen’s special pool.

“…Honestly, did you think I’d throw my consort into real venom?”

Gek.

It looked like venom, but maybe it wasn’t.

…At the very least, it seemed like spit.

Well, there are people out there who go crazy for spit, so maybe this isn’t so bad.

Ssshhh…

Impurities on Shikshik’s scales quickly dissolved and vanished.

It wasn’t ordinary venom or water; it was a special liquid that didn’t harm our bodies but cleaned away any impurities.

"Gekek."

You could have mentioned that earlier.

It looked a bit disturbing, after all.

I mean, entering a giant snake’s mouth to wash in the liquid pooled inside isn’t exactly pleasant.

But if it didn’t cause harm, I supposed it was fine.

The Serpent Queen wouldn’t just snap her mouth shut, right?

“You teased me quite a bit earlier.”

Sure, she said that, but I knew she wasn’t the type to retaliate.

With Shikshik comfortably swimming, I doubted she’d do anything weird.

Squish.

Squish?

“Stay still. I’ll scrub you thoroughly myself.”

“Geeeeeek!”

---

“Geeek…”

Right now, I probably looked like one of those grilled lizards you’d find at a Thai night market.

I felt like crying.

The Serpent Queen’s massive tongue had wiped me down thoroughly.

“What’s with the long face?”

In contrast, the Serpent Queen’s expression was oddly shiny.

Must be from drinking the precious Komodo broth.

"Gek…"

I stared at the Serpent Queen.

Gone was the terrifying Basilisk, replaced by the familiar Serpent Queen I knew.

Look, even if I did tease you, was a tongue bath really necessary?

One day, when I grow larger than the Serpent Queen,

 I’ll pay her back for today.

“Oh? This spot seems a bit under-washed.”

“Geeeek!”

Startled, I saw the Serpent Queen smiling with her typical “ohoho.”

To be fair, the Serpent Queen’s bath method worked wonders.

I thought I was clean, but her special venom broke down and removed all sorts of impurities I hadn’t even noticed.

I felt a bit lighter.

Maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to take a dip in her mouth again when I had time, but the memory of her tongue’s touch…

That feeling.

I’d rather forget it.

I’d sooner give Tus and Pus free Komodo passes.

It was like the helplessness of a heroine ensnared by tentacles, surrendering in utter resignation…

“All done. Learning miniaturization is convenient, isn’t it? If you were your original size, fitting you in my mouth would have been impossible.”

The Serpent Queen licked her lips.

I could probably write a dissertation or two on her tongue by now.

“If you need it, come back anytime. In gratitude for the Okbong honey, I’ll gladly wash you again.”

No thanks.

I’ll never ask for a bath again.

Wait, I didn’t even ask this time.

“Well, good. The princess is ready, and you’re all cleaned up.”

Shikshik, admiring her scales in a broken mirror shard, was tidying up her appearance.

It didn’t look like much of a difference, but she’d sulk if I pointed that out.

“It seems we’re fully prepared to meet Arugantavis now.”

Arugantavis.

The name I guessed was meant to be Argentavis.

A giant bird and, as far as I knew, the largest bird on Earth.

The former King of Birds.

Now, we were ready to meet him.

How powerful must he be if I had to go through all this?

Handled by Baek Seol-Hwa, then licked clean by the Serpent Queen.

If the Serpent Queen vouched for him, he must be formidable.

And he was the former King of Birds.

Then there were the Pteranodons that saved me from the face-winged bird when we first met.

Of course, they weren’t rescuing me but attacking it, yet they’d indirectly saved me.

The King of Birds’ territory must be filled with allies of his kind.

“Gekek!”

I shouted triumphantly.

For Komodo-Rania’s grand debut in the social world.

And to stealthily spread the word of Kaek to the pterosaurs.

…I wonder what kind of elixirs the former King of Birds might have.