I was almost overwhelmed by the shocking sight before me, but then I felt a sense of self-loathing for thinking that the scene was somehow okay.

“Shirrik….”

No, when I thought about it, it wasn’t exactly a shameful feeling, was it?

Our Shikshik was too cute to be outdone by any snake.

After all, snakes are inherently cute creatures.

With their round mouths and sparkling eyes.

Shikshik was particularly adorable among those snakes.

Dressing it up was also quite fun.

I often put clothes on other animals too.

So, there was no reason not to dress a snake.

Of course, it might seem a bit excessive.

But looking at Shikshik’s long body made me feel like I was entering an abyss.

I quickly shifted my gaze toward the Serpent Queen.

“Uhuhuh. You certainly seem to like this outfit.”

“Geck….”

“It’s difficult to adapt to the texture, but this outfit, mixed in black and white, is truly lovely.”

The Serpent Queen seemed pleased with the maid outfit, brushing her hand over the fabric.

The outfit was quite revealing at the chest, exposing her magnificent energy.

It felt dangerous to stare at it for too long.

I turned my gaze away.

“Shirrik….”

This won’t do!

“Uhuh, where are your eyes wandering?”

“Geck….”

How could this be?

What have I unleashed into this world?

“Let’s go inside the temple for now.”

“Piyak!”

“Honestly, I’m not someone who enjoys wearing clothes, so I feel a bit embarrassed.”

If she was embarrassed, she could take it off.

No, isn’t it more embarrassing to walk around in her original outfit?

…Though I’m not sure if we can really call it an outfit.

A snake must have its own values.

“Geck geck.”

I was led inside the temple by her hand and Shikshik’s tail.

“Uhuhuh….”

“Shikshik….”

The sounds of the two snake women laughing were somewhat intimidating, but I figured it was nothing to worry about.

*

The Serpent Queen and Shikshik prepared a delicious feast.

The food I had eaten within the Celestial Demon Cult was certainly tasty, but the portions were too small.

In contrast, the food prepared by the Serpent Queen and Shikshik was on a different scale, featuring not just a large native chicken but a whole giant horror bird roasted whole.

“Geck geck geck!”

Of course, the seasoning might have been a bit lacking, but who cared about that?

What mattered was that I could eat a lot.

“The Dragon’s Gate refers to a place where one undergoes trials to become a dragon.”

As the Serpent Queen stuffed meat into my mouth, she shared information about the Dragon’s Gate.

“Even non-spirits, beasts have a desire to become dragons. As a result, beasts that are unaware of the Dragon’s Gate are often drawn to its power.”

It seemed that the spirits and beasts of this Ten Thousand Great Mountains viewed the dragon as a sort of goal.

If the martial artist’s goal is the transformation into the Huajing or Xiangjing, then the corresponding entity would be the dragon.

“To gain that power, monsters have been born that lose their reason and slay other beasts.”

“Geck….”

It wasn’t that big of a deal for a beast to kill another beast.

After all, I hunted the beasts I encountered for food.

But spirits or beasts of a certain level contained inner energy within them.

In other words, the monsters that linger near the Dragon’s Gate had been continually absorbing that inner energy.

“Because of those monsters, the trials have become nearly meaningless.”

To ascend the Dragon’s Gate and become a dragon.

But those monsters, blinded by that power, blocked the Dragon’s Gate, preventing anyone from reaching it.

“It’s strange that even those powerful monsters have not undergone trials.”

That was indeed peculiar.

Surely they were drawn to the power granted by the Dragon’s Gate, so why hadn’t they challenged the trials?

“As time went on, those monsters came to be known as guardians.”

Guardians.

I was beginning to grasp what I needed to do.

“They dwell on the slopes of each peak, stopping anyone who wishes to undertake the trials of the Dragon’s Gate. To put it accurately, the trials have been replaced by those monsters.”

“Geck.”

“Right. If you defeat a guardian, it means you can walk the path of a dragon. In fact, there’s an entity that has defeated a guardian and evolved into a red dragon.”

A red dragon!

My heart raced at the mere thought.

“Well, judging by the fact that it transformed into a dragon with wings, it’s not a true dragon in the truest sense. But it is true that defeating the guardians allows you to enter the next stage.”

It seemed that the evolution was not into an Eastern dragon but rather into a Western dragon, a dragon of sorts.

And here, dragons seemed to be of a different caliber than dragons.

“Of course, if it had undergone the trials as a dragon, it could have become a true dragon. But that creature did not.”

It seemed the trials of a dragon were incredibly difficult.

Considering it had become a dragon yet hadn’t challenged the trials.

“I don’t know the reason for that. For now, you must defeat the guardian to access those trials. And by defeating the guardian, you may become the form you desire.”

The Serpent Queen was right.

As long as I could defeat that guardian, I would be able to aim for the next evolution.

“With your current abilities… you may become a being greater than me.”

The Serpent Queen said as she stroked my tail.

A being greater than the Serpent Queen.

I was already looking forward to it.

“The shattering of the mirror of possibilities makes sense now.”

Speaking of which, I had indeed shattered a mirror before.

“Geck geck….”

I subtly glanced around.

“Uhuhuh…. To be captured down there…”

The Serpent Queen muttered something incomprehensible.

She continued to feed me.

“Anyway, you should spend the night here and prepare to head to the Dragon’s Gate tomorrow.”

“Geck.”

Since time was ambiguous, spending the night in the temple didn’t seem like a bad idea.

I also needed to spend time with the Serpent Queen and Shikshik, whom I hadn’t seen in a while.

“Though I cannot accompany you to the Dragon’s Gate, there should be someone at the entrance who knows my token. Go and hear the rest of the explanation from them, then decide which peak you will ascend.”

I glanced at the Serpent Queen’s token.

It had changed quite a bit from its initial form; I wondered if I would recognize it.

“Piyak!”

Shikshik seemed determined not to lose and continued to feed me.

“He may be an unfortunate one, but since he lives close to the Dragon’s Gate, he knows a lot.”

But who could this unfortunate one be that the Serpent Queen mentioned?

It sounded like a spirit, but…

Considering he hadn’t participated in the last war, maybe he wasn’t so friendly after all.

“It’s getting late. Let’s eat quickly before the food gets cold.”

“Geck!”

For now, I focused on the food in front of me.

After stuffing myself with meat for a while.

“I’ve filled you up sufficiently. I’ve prepared something you might enjoy.”

“Geck?”

The Serpent Queen seemed to disappear for a moment, only to return with another spread.

It didn’t have large chunks of meat.

Instead, several fish were laid out.

“Uhuhuh. Though they aren’t very large, they should be quite beneficial.”

Could it be fish like Hwari?

Unfortunately, it didn’t seem like that.

It looked like an ordinary fish…

Wait, isn’t this an eel?

“Piyak!”

After Shikshik diligently applied some seasoning, she placed the eel in my mouth.

“Good, eat plenty.”

Where did she get the eel from?

“By the way, do you happen to be a vegetarian?”

Vegetarian?

I do like meat, but a little bit of vegetables would be welcome too.

I nodded slightly.

“That’s good!”

The Serpent Queen clapped her hands.

“Now, here are some vegetables and fruits that go well with meat.”

She offered me some vegetables and fruits.

They looked somewhat familiar.

“Try it.”

Waan.

Thud.

“How does it taste? Is it good?”

This is chive, isn’t it?

It definitely pairs well with meat.

“Now, eat this too.”

“Shikshik!”

Then Shikshik and the Serpent Queen took turns feeding me the fruit next to the vegetables.

It seemed to be some sweet and sour berries.

“You’re eating well. Here, have a drink of this liquor.”

Liquor!

I couldn’t resist that.

As I felt a nice buzz and the fruit’s freshness, it seemed to contain the berries I had eaten earlier.

I continued to eat the food that Shikshik and the Serpent Queen handed me.

“Geck…”

My head was starting to spin.

Even with my resistance to poison, I was getting drunk.

Thud.

I collapsed in a corner of the temple.

Sleep was overwhelming me.

It felt as if my body was turning to stone, but it must be due to the alcohol.

“Uhuh…. I won’t wake up for a while now.”

Huh?

Something was approaching me.

Smooth.

Soft.

Smooth.

Plushy.

What on earth is this sensation?

It felt like I was cradled in the Serpent Queen’s embrace.

…But why do I feel it twice?

It felt

 as if there were two Serpent Queens.

“I don’t have time, so I’ll be quick….”

“…I-I’ll go first…!”

I heard an unfamiliar voice.

It was similar to the Serpent Queen’s but slightly higher in pitch.

If Shikshik could talk, she might make such a sound.

…Though I figured it was still far from being human.

“That’s true. It’s unlikely you can maintain that form for long…”

At that moment, as I slightly opened my eyes in confusion, I was greeted with a startling sight.

Kwadduk!

Two snakes wrapped around my body.

“Geck… Geck!”

Let go of me!

Let go of me, you snakes!

*

Hah!

I think I just had a dream after a long time.

It felt like I was dreaming of being devoured by two snakes.

I must be losing it, falling asleep like that.

Maybe I’m still lacking in training.

Just as I was about to stretch.

“Hmm… you’re awake already.”

“Piyak…”

The Serpent Queen rubbed her eyes.

“Shiririk….”

Shikshik wrapped around my body with her tail.

“…Geck?”

Today, the scales of the mother and daughter snakes were especially shiny.

The Serpent Queen was coiling her tail around my torso, and Shikshik had coiled her tail around my foreleg.

What on earth did you two do?

I touched my cheek with my hand.

Strangely, even though I hadn’t shrunk, my cheeks felt slim.

“Gegegeck?”

“Uhuhuh. Why are you so worried?”

I immediately understood.

Just like last time, it seemed they had put some inner energy into my mouth while I was asleep.

…If that’s the case, shouldn’t my body feel a bit better?

My body felt strangely stiff.

Meanwhile, they seemed to be glowing.

“Gegegeck!”

In the end, they went ahead and did it.

They really did it!

Taking advantage of my ignorance as a pure little lizard…!

“Ge-e-eck….”

No, I still don’t know.

Their gazes seemed a bit suspicious, but they weren’t the kind of beings who would take advantage of me after getting me drunk.

I made a sound demanding an explanation.

“Uhuhuh. Don’t worry. No matter what, would I take advantage of someone sleeping?”

“Geck!”

Right?

I was mistaken, right?

They just wrapped their tails around me and slept together, right?

Phew, I almost lost my title as a pure little lizard.

“Don’t worry too much; we only wrapped our tails around each other.”

Does that sound like they only held hands while sleeping?

Is it just my imagination?

There really could be people who only sleep holding hands, so I shouldn’t doubt it further.

“One princess, one for me. Even so, one remains.”

Huh?

I glanced at my tail.

No matter how I looked at it, my tail was just one.

“Uhuhuh.”

“Piyap piyap.”

…What on earth did you two sleep with?