Chapter 177: Sending a Unicorn to Marry
"You're planning to bring them here?"
Communicating with those croaking sounds is the best option, but now it seems they clearly understand me.
That's the power of faith.
It has this hidden function that allows communication through croaking sounds.
Sometimes, it even conveys the thoughts of those who can't speak.
I was nestled in the arms of the curled-up Red Dragon.
And in my embrace, White Wolf was curled up.
My stomach felt cool while my back was warm.
It was like having the air conditioner on while lying on an electric blanket.
Strangely addictive.
Part of me wanted to recommend walking around in human form, but that might undermine my dignity.
I could easily picture myself lying there, miniaturized, between a warm bun and a cool rice cake.
...I wondered if I couldn't handle even that much, but one can never be too sure.
I tended to lose focus whenever I saw something oddly large.
I wasn't like this before.
...It must be a side effect of having a lizard's body.
Besides, the Red Dragon and White Wolf likely found their natural forms more comfortable than human ones.
"Gek gek gek."
"...So, you're saying you want to make this place your nest?"
A nest.
That term was quite fitting.
Since I declared this volcano as my domain, I planned to gather my followers here.
"I don't think it would be bad for their education..."
Most of the volcanic fire had vanished.
In its place, flowers (花) bloomed instead of fire (火).
That was because I defeated the guardian and absorbed the power of the Dragon Gate.
Perhaps I used slightly unconventional methods to claim the Dragon Gate as my own.
My abilities weren't just about growing plants.
After purifying the barren land scorched by fire, I made it fertile again.
The ecosystem, which couldn't thrive due to the fire, would now reestablish itself.
The wolves would likely prefer staying in my domain, where the weather was warm and food abundant, rather than hunting below.
...Though there wasn't much food right now, time would solve that problem.
If worse came to worst, I could even help them hunt myself.
"...It does seem like owning the Dragon Gate would bring your siblings closer to becoming spiritual creatures."
This was new information to me.
After all, every beast drawn to the Dragon Gate's power had their abilities enhanced.
Though there was the minor side effect of losing their intelligence.
But now that this was my domain, I could eliminate that side effect and only keep the good parts.
That meant I had even more reason to relocate my followers here.
Although I was fine, the spiders wanted to transform into human forms.
...Not that I cared!
"I'm in favor too. A Divine Beast who collared me should at least own a Dragon Gate. Don't you think?"
The Red Dragon let out a low growl, releasing a small flame.
...If my fur weren't made of the Fire-Water Beast's hair, I would’ve gone bald by now.
"You need to grow your following and gradually expand your influence. Otherwise, what was the point of me serving under our Little One?"
"Ke-eek..."
The Red Dragon's scales lightly brushed against my back.
"Rrr. ...Yeah, I suppose if I'm under you now, my siblings should join too."
White Wolf's fur gently tickled my belly.
...Are you two even aware that you're under me?
"Ge-eeng..."
I am the Divine Beast, and you are my followers.
Just regular followers!
...
I needed to give White Wolf and the Red Dragon proper titles.
Calling the strongest forces of my faith regular followers felt wrong.
But I couldn’t assign them grand titles due to a lack of divine power.
...Something simple like Snowy and Draky shouldn’t consume too much divine power, right?
Whoosh.
Crackle.
"Gek!"
I was joking, just joking!
"Heh heh heh."
Chillang wagged her tail furiously to greet me.
Although she was a sizable wolf, my own size made her feel like a medium-sized dog.
In other words, she was ridiculously cute.
"Kiing... Kki!"
The secret technique of Komodo-Paryong Style: Intense Petting.
"Heh heh heh heh..."
Chillang stuck out her tongue and went wild.
Unlike White Wolf, her fur was more of a grayish tone, making her feel uniquely different.
I grabbed Chillang by her armpits and lifted her up, ready to smother her with kisses.
Clap.
"Don’t overdo it."
White Wolf’s white hand blocked my mouth.
"Gek."
I was curious about what would happen if I put her in my mouth, but I refrained.
As the Divine Beast of the Gecko Faith, I needed to maintain my dignity.
"Heh heh!"
"Woof woof!"
The wolves began running around.
Some dashed in packs, while others leapt like Arctic foxes.
They seemed to like this new place they’d use as their nest.
But I hadn't just recruited wolves.
In the distance, the Igaksu hesitantly watched, eventually joining the Gecko Faith.
I had been planning to recruit them, but I never expected them to come willingly.
They crouched low, as if begging to be included in the faith, so I gladly welcomed them.
With this, my forces were suddenly reinforced significantly.
Seven Dire Wolves and ten Igaksu joined my ranks.
Moreover, their loyalty was exceptionally high.
The wolves were a given since we had lived closely together.
But even more surprising was the devotion of the Igaksu.
"Polygamy!"
They seemed to be gazing at me with reverence, likely tied to my title as the Black Sun.
I didn’t know why, but it was a good thing.
The Igaksu were not only powerful but also had exceptional abilities as spiritual creatures.
Though I wasn’t entirely sure what they were, everyone has their secrets.
With the broad heart of a lizard, I let it slide.
Even with these reinforcements, there was a problem.
While the entire volcano was Gecko Faith’s domain, there was no proper nest.
There was one cave, but it was too small to fit everyone, and the spot I had stayed with the Red Dragon had too many holes from our battle.
So, I needed to build a new nest.
"Little One. What’s troubling you?"
"Gek!"
Yes, Red Dragon!
Considering her hoarding tendencies, she probably had a knack for art.
...Not that I needed art, but a nest that elevated the Gecko Faith's stature would be ideal.
"You just recruited those spiritual creatures, right?"
"Gek?"
"They’re pretty handy with crafts."
...Handy with crafts?
Even though I kept looking, these creatures clearly had no hands.
"Polygamy!"
The Igaksu wiggled their forelimbs.
Suddenly, they started digging into the ground and crafted statues of a reasonable size.
"Black Suuuun!"
They had large, majestic tails.
Those guys were really skilled, weren’t they?
Though the shapes were a bit questionable, for something made out of dirt, they did a fantastic job.
Not just one, but they created two thick tails.
...Those are tails, right?
"If you leave it to them, they’ll create something pretty decent.
After all, building a nest is something anyone can do."
"Gek gek."
Alright.
It seemed I could entrust this task to the Igaksu.
"Hehehe..."
"Polygamy... hehe... Multiple wives... hehe..."
Look at those confident eyes.
How trustworthy they seemed.
"Union... hehe..."
"One hundred wives... one thousand wives..."
...Can I really trust you guys?
Still, I thought they would do a good job.
With White Wolf and Red Dragon around, if anything went awry, they’d suppress it with cold or fire.
I initially planned to handle it myself, but this allowed me to save time.
If I left now, I could probably bring the followers back by the time the nest was complete.
While I was at it, I might as well visit Shikshik and the Snake Queen.
Since they needed to govern the jungle, I couldn’t ask them to move, but it would be good to let them know that I had established a territory at the volcano.
They might even send some promising beasts my way.
I made up my mind.
I’d leave the task to the followers for a while and depart from the volcano.
"Geggek, gekgek. Gegegek!"
I relayed those plans to White Wolf and Red Dragon.
"Do you want me to take you there?"
Red Dragon flapped her enormous wings.
Her sudden offer made my heart race.
Not in a romantic way—just the thrill of riding a dragon.
Those red scales.
Scales that gleamed like rubies, paired with massive wings...
It felt as thrilling as an older woman pulling up in a bright red sports car, lowering her sunglasses slightly, and offering me a ride.
Smack!
"...Get ahold of yourself."
The white fur that entered my mouth brought me back to reality.
"Gek..."
As tempting as it was, I didn’t think I could ride on Red Dragon’s back.
Flying to the Heavenly Demon Divine Cult could lead to unexpected trouble.
To humans, she would appear no different than a flying calamity.
Adding a lizard with similar strength to her back would only make matters worse.
"Hmm. I thought I’d ride you as payment for giving you a lift."
Ride me?
She must mean riding on my back.
That, I could offer her anytime.
"Rrr..."
White Wolf glared at Red Dragon with sharp eyes.
"Hmm... I should probably fetch some Purple Bamboo Elixir to give you when you return."
With a small chuckle, she walked toward the crater.
White Wolf wore an expression of discontent.
"...Do you like He Shou Wu by any chance?"
Why was there competition over this?
"Gek gek."
Of course, I didn’t mind, but please don’t go overboard.
"...Anyway, you’re leaving now, right?
To visit the ones who left their mark on your necklace?"
"Gekgek."
"Alright.
I also wanted to check in on those spiders anyway."
I wondered if Nephila’s body had recovered.
I should probably go and assess the situation.
She seemed mostly healed, so bringing Tang So-yeong along wouldn’t be a bad idea.
...But should I send her back to the Tang Clan?
Eh, whatever.
I’ll figure it out later.
Maybe a few scales as compensation would suffice.
"...Are all the followers you’re bringing this time female?"
This guy.
He’s sharp as always.
How did he figure that out?
Of course, it’s you.
It felt like that phrase was written all over his face.
"Of course, it’s you."
So it wasn’t just my imagination.
"Gek..."
It wasn’t on purpose, I swear.
It was purely coincidence that all the entities I met happened to be female.
...Well, aside from the two male humans I encountered when hunting Gogaduris.
"But what can I say when you realized it before me?"
I felt an urge to bury my face in White Wolf’s broad chest.
"...Just don’t bring back even more. Got it?"
"Gek gek."
That wouldn’t be difficult.
"The ones you’re bringing this time are female, your pack is female, the red lizard is female."
White Wolf’s golden eyes looked at me intently.
...Was this really that hard?
It was suspicious how I kept crossing paths with so many females.
But there were also the Igaksu.
"Even the Igaksu are all female.
...Though their species itself is like that."
"Geggek?"
What did she mean?
All the Igaksu were female?
"Why are you looking at me like that?"
"Geeng."
"It’s common knowledge that Igaksu are female.
That’s why they’re rare spiritual creatures.
To reproduce, they need to meet a unicorn, but the two species are polar opposites."
I learned a secret I hadn’t wanted to know.
The Igaksu, who kept making those suspicious statues, were all female.
Come to think of it, they were counterparts to unicorns, so it made sense.
The unicorn I knew was male, after all.
...Wait.
Could I recruit the unicorn?
Unicorn, buddy.
Let me find you a bride.