I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 11

—–CROW—– 

This is a story of the distant future.

“Silphy? Are you done drawing?!”

-Of course. Here, take a look.

There was a young child. A child who had to stay home alone until late because both parents were busy with work. But the child wasn’t lonely. Because there was always a reliable friend by their side.

Whirr.

At the child’s words, an invisible wind delivered a piece of paper to them.  On it were drawings of a white cat with blue eyes and a black snake with red eyes.  The contrasting colors and the two animals glaring at each other, as if about to fight, made the child giggle and shake the paper.

“Silphy, why do you always draw cats and snakes? Last time you drew a cat and a snake eating an apple!”

-Hee hee.  Were you curious, my contractor?

“Of course! I want to see other drawings now! Draw a whale, a puppy, or a bird!”

At the child’s pleading, the wind chuckled and gently stroked the child’s hair.

-My young contractor, didn’t you leave the subject of the drawings entirely up to me?

This was all at the child’s request. Still too young to go outside alone, the child wanted to see the exciting adventures of the wind, Silphy, who could freely roam the world.  But all of Silphy’s drawings were of cats and snakes.  The colors never changed, and it was starting to get boring.

“Why are cats and snakes exciting?  I don’t know about cats, but snakes are creepy!”

-Oh dear. That one would be very sad to hear that.

At Silphy’s words, the child’s eyes widened. The thought of someone being sad because of their words was a shock to the young, kind-hearted child.

“Oh?  S-Sad? No! Then I take it back!  Forget what I said, Silphy!”

-I’ll try.

Their playtime was coming to an end.

Click. Clack.

“Arin! Daddy’s home~.”

“Shh! What if she’s asleep?!”

The child’s parents returned home. Of course, the child wasn’t asleep.  They had been too busy playing with Silphy to feel sleepy.

“Look! It’s Mommy and Daddy!”

-You should go now.

“Okay! Let’s play again tomorrow, Silphy!”

As the child ran to their parents, Silphy began tidying up the room. Toys back in their place, scattered papers neatly stacked, and everything put back in order.  The room gradually returned to its pre-playtime state, as if time was rewinding.  Silphy looked at the drawings and thought,

-Why do I always draw the same thing…?

The reason was simple.  They were the ones who had brought the greatest joy to Silphy’s life, enough to be drawn over and over again.

-Hee hee. I wonder what they’re doing now.

***

“Ugh, I can’t do this.”

I lay sprawled on the cave floor, listlessly tilting my head.

Thump. Thump.

“Meow?  Meow.”

“Sss.”

“Don’t bother me.”

I wasn’t in the mood to play.  30 minutes had passed since I swallowed my pride and asked the cat for lessons.  I had realized that I couldn’t learn Lion’s Roar.  The reason?  Well, it was an unexpected problem.  I thought I lacked the talent or the necessary conditions to learn it, but that wasn’t the case.

“Meow! Meow meow! Meow!”

“Ss-Sss.”

“Wait. Is that right?”

What the hell was “[Inhale. Flick. Bang!]”?

…Yes, the biggest obstacle to learning Lion’s Roar was that I couldn’t understand the cat’s instructions. I could barely understand its intentions, let alone complex instructions for a skill. The only thing I managed to understand was “Inhale. Flick. Bang!” Even if I was overflowing with talent, those three words weren’t enough to learn Lion’s Roar.

“I’ll ask again after I become a mythical creature.”

Both the cat and I were practically guaranteed to become mythical creatures just by staying here. So, I’d learn Lion’s Roar then.  I consoled myself, postponing my learning for the future.

Whirr.

“Sss.”

“It feels unusually windy lately.”

And the wind was coming from the depths of the cave.  Outside, the sun was warm, and a gentle breeze rustled the nearby flowers.  But the wind blowing from inside the cave carried a chill, like air conditioning.

“Brrr, it’s cold.”

I moved away from the cave entrance and settled in a sunny spot.

“Meow.”

“Sss.”

“Hey, move.  I’m trying to warm up.”

I grumbled at the cat, which had come over and cast a shadow over me.

-It seems that child wants to play with you?

“Hiss!”

Whack.

“Sss?!”

“Why did you hit me?!”

Was it because I wasn’t playing with it properly?  But looking at its reaction, that didn’t seem to be the case.  Rather…

Tremble. Tremble.

“Is it trembling?”

Why was it so scared? I didn’t know how to react to this unfamiliar behavior.  It was trembling while looking towards the depths of the cave, yet puffing itself up as if preparing to fight. It just looked pathetic.

Ssssss.

“What’s in there that’s making it act like this?”

-Did it hear my voice?  No, looking at this snake, that’s impossible. Is this cute little tiger special? Or…

Whoosh.

-Is this snake pretending not to know, even though it does?

“Sss.”

“Brrr, I’m cold.”

The sudden cold wind made me shiver.  Being a snake, I loved cool breezes, but I hated cold winds.

-Hmm. I guess not. As expected, it’s the little tiger lady who’s special.

“Hiss! Grrr!”

-Ah ah. Don’t be so scared, okay? I’m not going to hurt your friend. So…

Whoosh.

-Don’t glare at me like that. I might get nervous and attack you.

“Meow, meow.”

-Mmm!  Smart girl. I like you.

The unusual cold continued to envelop me, and I realized that this wasn’t a natural phenomenon but something artificially created.  And judging by the cat’s reaction, it was probably…

“Sss!”

“There’s something in there.”

-Oh? Why did it suddenly stop pretending? Is it just mimicking its friend? But its eyes are filled with conviction.

As I joined the cat in its wary stance, I felt a different, unnatural shift in the wind.

‘A being that can manipulate the wind so freely…’

Honestly, I had a guess.  The embodiment of nature, said to be at its peak in these ancient times.

‘A spirit.’

There was a wind spirit here.  I didn’t know how long it had been here. There was no way to know if it was here before I arrived or if it had come recently.

‘They say spirits of this era are incredibly powerful.’

HistoryRestorationAddict had said that spirits in ancient times could wield their powers freely, without any limitations.  Therefore, even a lower-ranked spirit possessed power comparable to a higher-ranked spirit in modern times.

‘A wind spirit. What rank is it? Lower?  Mid? Higher?’

I didn’t even consider the highest rank, Spirit King, or the rank below it, Peak.  There was no reason for a Spirit King to be here, and a Peak spirit would be guarding the Spirit King, so there was no reason for it to be here either.

‘Should I leave?’

It was said that even a lower-ranked spirit could wield power comparable to a higher-ranked spirit in this era.  Even if the cat and I were strong and talented, we weren’t ready to fight a higher-ranked spirit.

-Hmm? The fighting spirit in its eyes suddenly disappeared. Is it thinking of leaving? Such wisdom is unbelievable for a mere beast!

‘Yes. It’s a shame, but I should leave…’

-But thanks to that, my curiosity has grown even stronger. I’m almost as interested in it as I am in that little tiger lady. So… I can’t let it go just like this.

Ssssss.

I made my decision and acted quickly. I turned around to call the cat. Despite everything, we had spent some time together, so I wanted to ask if it wanted to leave with me.

“Ssssaaa. Sss.”

“Hey. Do you want to leave this place with me…?”

-Oh ho! No way! Forced invitation!!

Whoosh!

“Ss-Sss?!”

“Wh-What is this?!”

“Meowww!”

A sudden gust of wind lifted the cat and me into the air.  Not towards the exit, but deeper into the cave.

“Ssssaaa!”

“This feels incredibly dangerous!  Is this really okay?!”

Neither the cat nor I could withstand the mana deeper inside the cave. If we were suddenly taken there…!

“Ssssaaaaa!”

“Hey, cat! Stay alert!  We’ll die if we’re not careful!”

“Meow!”

Did it understand my warning? The cat, which had been struggling against the wind, stopped and curled up at my words. It was an instinctive reaction to brace for the imminent surge of mana.

“What is going on?!”

I did the same.  I curled up and bit my own body, using the pain to prepare for the mana’s impact.  At that moment,

Boom.

An overwhelming wave of mana washed over me, and I lost consciousness without even lasting a second.

—–CROW—–