Chapter 108 Dragon Fang
—
No, it’s a long-tailed tit.
And a white long-tailed tit at that.
Is that round, white bird really Argentavis’s daughter?
I would’ve accepted it if it were a white-headed eagle.
But this is just wrong.
How could such a massive bird of prey and a cute little tit be father and daughter?
How was I supposed to know that?
Both the tit and Shikshik slipped out of my mouth.
I curled my tail and tried to hide behind the Snake Queen.
Of course, given my current size was bigger than the Snake Queen, I didn’t manage to hide at all.
“Snake Queen, what is the meaning of this?”
Argentavis’s face turned red with anger.
He seemed furious that his precious daughter had been gulped down by some strange lizard.
But I was innocent.
She entered my mouth on her own, knocking on my teeth.
And I let her out just fine.
But I couldn’t voice my complaints.
The alliance between the Snake Queen and Argentavis had just been formed.
If I spoke up, it might all fall apart.
So, I lowered my eyes in a gesture of repentance.
“Ge-eek….”
As I was about to bow my head in apology, the Snake Queen grabbed my head firmly.
“What do you mean, what’s going on?”
She said this while looking at me.
I didn’t fully understand the meaning behind her gaze.
But one thing was clear.
She didn’t want me to bow.
It made sense, after all.
This alliance was between equals.
No, the Snake Queen had the upper hand.
As her mate, if I bowed, it would be the same as the Snake Queen bowing.
She seemed to have another solution in mind, so I decided to hold off on the apology.
Argentavis’s eyebrows shot up at the Snake Queen’s words.
“Do I have to say it myself? Your mate messed with my one and only precious daughter.”
His voice was filled with anger.
It might have been justifiable anger.
From his perspective, during a discussion about an alliance, his daughter had been swallowed by my mate and was caught in the act.
Even though the reality was different.
“Hah.”
The Snake Queen laughed as if she found it absurd, then glared at Argentavis with her usual emotionless eyes.
“You should speak correctly.”
“What?”
The Snake Queen pulled me closer from behind.
I was caught off guard by the sudden hug and didn’t know how to respond.
But right now, staying still was probably the best course of action.
“My one and only mate was the one who got messed with by your daughter.”
Something welled up inside me.
This warmth wasn’t just from the Snake Queen’s inner power surrounding my head.
Even in this situation, she was standing up for me.
I was moved.
…But is this really okay?
It’s true there’s some injustice here, but coming out like this seems like we’re declaring war.
“What?”
Argentavis asked again.
The Snake Queen continued without changing her expression.
“Are your ears blocked? It seems the wounds you suffered from Gaechar-goa-dal haven’t healed yet.”
I was grateful she was defending me.
But is this really the right thing to do?
I mean, we came here to form an alliance!
We went through so much trouble to get the Unicorn’s horn.
“Are you sure you won’t regret those words?”
“Regret? I regret trying to form an alliance with someone whose daughter has no sense.”
Zzzzaaaaang!
The inner power of the Snake Queen and Argentavis clashed.
Even I could feel the intensity in my body.
Argentavis’s strength was bound to be weaker than the Snake Queen’s.
But this place didn’t seem to be an ordinary space.
It was a space that favored Argentavis.
That’s why they were evenly matched.
Were they really about to fight?
I couldn’t let that happen.
“Gekek!”
I spotted Shikshik and the little tit, who were now snuggled up together as if they hadn’t just been fighting.
These two could probably stop the fight.
“Gekek!”
“Hiek!”
Shikshik seemed to understand my words and immediately leaped towards the Snake Queen.
The little tit, also sensing the tension, quickly flew to Argentavis.
“Tweet!”
“Saaak!”
The little tit pecked at Argentavis’s cheek, and Shikshik bit the Snake Queen’s hand.
Neither of them could unleash their full power in front of their children.
But they couldn’t back down either.
This was a matter of pride.
“Tweet!”
“Hiek!”
But surely, there were more important things than pride.
It seemed like the tit and Shikshik were explaining what had happened earlier.
Shikshik was probably speaking in my favor, with some personal bias.
The key was how the white bird would explain things.
To be honest, I didn’t know why the bird had entered my mouth either.
It wasn’t like I had hidden anything in there, so why had it come in?
The problem was that this bird happened to be Argentavis’s daughter, and we got caught in the act.
If the bird explained things well, we might be able to smooth this over.
“Gek….”
I watched the situation with bated breath.
Zzzzzng!
Both the Snake Queen and Argentavis retracted their power almost simultaneously.
To be precise, Argentavis withdrew his power first, and the Snake Queen followed suit.
“What did your precious daughter say?”
“…She said the black dragon did nothing wrong. She just went in out of curiosity.”
The misunderstanding was cleared!
…Wait a minute, black dragon?
I’m a black lizard.
“Didn’t I tell you? My mate would never do such a thing.”
“…I apologize for that.”
Argentavis, realizing the misunderstanding, bowed his head in apology.
He apologized so quickly that I didn’t even have time to voice my frustration.
He must have temporarily lost his cool, thinking his daughter had been attacked.
While Argentavis was apologizing to me, the Snake Queen asked the little tit.
“So, why did you go into my mate’s mouth?”
The long-tailed tit averted its gaze.
Argentavis answered in her stead.
“My daughter has a special ability.”
“A special ability?”
“Yes. The ability to find traces of dragons.”
Traces of dragons?
That’s a pretty cool ability.
Shikshik, though she didn’t use it often, had a healing saliva.
No wonder they were chosen as heirs.
Maybe they’ll give me something similar.
“Gaechar-goa-dal must be after her with everything he’s got.”
“Yes. In fact, I confronted him to protect her.”
“If you’re revealing that ability now, there must be a reason.”
“Yes. It’s a situation that can’t be hidden.”
It looked like they were about to start discussing something difficult that I didn’t understand.
Whatever it was, it probably didn’t concern me.
“My daughter found traces of a dragon in that lizard.”
Huh?
Me?
I didn’t think, “I’m actually a descendant of dragons, even though I reincarnated as a lizard.”
That’s because my skill window clearly listed Dragon Scale and Dragon Blood.
In a way, those could be considered traces of a dragon.
I also used Dragon Claws and Ancient Dragon Horn.
But just having those didn’t mean a lizard could become a dragon.
Argentavis narrowed his eyes.
His sharp gaze became even more intense.
It was the look of a bird of prey locking onto its target.
And that gaze was focused on me.
“Dragon Scales… and Dragon Blood….”
Discovering the Dragon Scales could be something any passerby could do.
But Dragon Blood was different.
It was inside my body.
Unless I activated it with inner power, it was just like ordinary blood.
“Snake Queen, may I approach your mate a little closer?”
The Snake Queen looked displeased but reluctantly nodded.
She was probably curious too.
The concept of a dragon seemed to hold a special meaning for the divine beasts of this jungle.
But there was nothing to be gained from looking closer.
I did have Dragon Scales.
I did have Dragon Blood.
But that was it.
“Snake Queen’s mate, would you mind opening your mouth?”
It seems they really are father and daughter.
Why do they want to see inside my mouth?
“Ge-eek.”
But I couldn’t refuse.
The Snake Queen had given permission, so it seemed okay to show him the inside of my mouth.
Why were there so many beings curious about my mouth?
Baek Yeonyeong would peek inside whenever she had the chance, and even Tang So-yeong would occasionally stick her head in.
Zzzeok.
I opened my mouth.
“…This can’t be.”
Argentavis’s voice trembled.
Why? What’s wrong?
“Dragon Scales, Dragon Blood, and now Dragon Fang?”
Dragon Fang refers to the teeth of a dragon.
“Gek?”
…But I don’t have a skill like that?
Could there have been a hidden skill I didn’t know about?
Come to think of it, I hadn’t really used my teeth as my main weapon before.
It made sense since I had learned martial arts.
But all the martial arts I had learned were for humans.
Even though I had adapted them somewhat, they didn’t fully utilize my lizard traits.
Despite having incredibly sharp teeth, I only used them for finishing or eating prey.
As a result, I didn’t fully understand the power of my teeth.
Dragon Fang, huh.
“Dragon Fang? What do you mean? I understand Dragon Blood and Dragon Scales, but I don’t get the Dragon Fang part.”
“Well, I suppose that makes sense. Even as a mate, it’s difficult to know everything.”
Crack.
The
Snake Queen’s eyebrow twitched.
The situation had taken a complete turn.
No, don’t provoke him.
You just took a deep breath, didn’t you?
You’ll shoot a beam from your mouth.
“Look closely at those teeth. Unlike other creatures’ teeth, the surface is jagged. It’s similar in structure to a saw that humans use.”
“I know that much. Do you think I haven’t been bitten by those teeth before?”
You’ve been bitten by me?
I don’t recall that.
…What did you do to me after making me drink alcohol?
“Those teeth carry the essence of steel. If this isn’t Dragon Fang, then what could possibly be called a dragon’s teeth?”
Apparently, my teeth have a jagged saw-like structure.
And they’re imbued with the essence of steel or something.
Argentavis was adamant that they had to be Dragon Fangs.
…Well, originally Komodos were like that.
They have saw-like teeth.
And believe it or not, their surfaces are even coated with iron.
Since I’m a higher species of Komodo, these traits would be more pronounced.
So, my teeth aren’t Dragon Fangs.
They’re just regular old Gomodo-Lania teeth.
“It’s certain. These are Dragon Fangs.”
No, they’re not Dragon Fangs.
“Dragon Scales, Dragon Blood, and even Dragon Fangs. …If this isn’t a dragon, then what should we call a dragon?”
Real dragons don’t make gekek sounds, you know?
Snake Queen.
Say something.
I think there’s a misunderstanding.
“…You found that out well. Yes, my mate is indeed worthy of being called a dragon.”
The Snake Queen avoided my gaze.
Even after saying that, it seemed she had her doubts.
It was clear she just didn’t want to lose to Argentavis and said whatever came to mind.
“Gegegegek!”
I’m not a dragon.
I’m a lizard!