I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 15

—–CROW—– 

This is a story of the distant future. 

A tale of a brief moment in the past, after the fall of the ancient era, when humans vied for control of the world, and before the arrival of the destined hero.

Dada-dada-da.

“Sister!”

“Oh my?”

A young girl, running at a speed unbefitting a normal child, leaped into the arms of a woman. The force of the child’s sudden embrace would have knocked over a grown man, but the woman caught her effortlessly, as if it were nothing.

“Honestly, have you finished all your homework?”

“Of course! I finished it ages ago! I just came because I have a question.”

“What is it?”

“Why do we add that person’s name after our own?”

Why not just use their own names?  The child, recently bestowed with that person’s name as an addendum to her own, like a noble’s title, pouted slightly.  Now, whenever she introduced herself, she had to say the whole thing.  Frankly, it was inconvenient.  It was only natural for a child who just wanted to say her own name to be dissatisfied.

The woman smiled gently at the child’s disgruntled question.

“Because it’s a sign that that person protects us, and it lets everyone know we’re that person’s priestesses.”

“Is that so important?”

Did this little child understand the significance of this name? Like nobles with titles? Of course, it was important.  With that name attached, they held a position that even most nobles could only envy.

“Remember when the Emperor bowed his head to me the other day?”

“Ah! That uncle with the golden beard!”

“You shouldn’t talk like that.”

Referring to the Emperor so casually… If anyone heard, they could be charged with treason. But they remained unconcerned. Because they held a position that allowed them such liberties.

“But our little priestess is in a slightly ambiguous position.”

“Because my predecessor caused a huge incident, right?”

Could it even be called an incident?  It was a moment of extreme danger that could have led to the world’s destruction.

“Don’t worry! I’ll reclaim it!”

“Ho ho. I hope so.”

Of course, the probability of that was extremely low.  Ignoring the woman’s quiet mutter, the child looked around as if searching for something, then cautiously asked,

“Where’s God? They promised to play with me today.”

“I’m sorry, but not today. A very important guest has arrived.”

So give up for today.  The child frowned, immediately realizing who the guest was.

“It’s that tiger lady again! Why does she visit so often?!”

“Hey, you should call her Cheong-nim.”

This guest was incomparable to the Emperor. So, unlike before, the woman corrected the child with a serious expression.

“She’s a precious friend of that person.  Be careful what you say.”

“We’re precious too!”

“Well, our positions are a bit different. We serve that person, while Cheong-nim is an equal, so we’re lower in priority…”

Lower in priority.  The child frowned and exclaimed,

“But God said I was the most precious in the world!”

“I heard loud noises from afar and thought it must be you two.”

There was no warning. A mysterious woman appeared as if she had been there all along. Before they could notice her, she quickly moved behind the child and whispered in her ear,

“Roar.”

“Kyaah!”

“I-Irha El Grace. It is an honor to meet the ruler of the west…”

“Stop. I’ve heard enough pleasantries on my way here, so let’s skip it.”

She hadn’t come here to listen to flattery.  Her clear eyes, like jewels reflecting the sky, looked down at the small child.  Yes, she had come here because of what the child had just said.

“So, little priestess, repeat what you just said.”

Who did El say was the most precious?

***

The naming meeting.  Honestly, I hadn’t expected much.  One participant was a spirit who suggested Snakey and Tiger Lily, another was a snake (me) with equally questionable naming sense, and the last was a supposedly-tiger who couldn’t even talk properly.

-Hmm! How about Cosmo?

“Sss.”

“Whose name is that?”

-…Yours?

“Sss.”

“Hmm… I’ll consider it.”

But somehow, the meeting wasn’t as disastrous as I’d expected. Unlike my initial fear of chaotic suggestions and a derailed atmosphere, the meeting progressed rather smoothly.  There were some odd names, but as time went on, some decent ones popped up.

Whirr.

With a flick of Silphy’s wrist, clear, turquoise wind gathered in the air, forming letters. I was used to this by now, having seen her create these temporary wind-letters countless times, displaying the name candidates.

‘…This is quite amazing.’

I wasn’t surprised that writing existed in this era. Even in ancient times, there was civilization. What I found amazing was that I could read the letters Silphy created without any problem.

‘Did I receive this ability when I came here?’

It wasn’t that strange. Even in the game, the protagonist never had trouble reading or writing.  Perhaps everyone in the gallery, including myself, received this benefit.

-Hmm? Ah, do you perhaps not know how to read?

Silphy floated over and scratched her head, seeing me staring blankly at the growing list of names in the air. She probably assumed that, as beasts, we couldn’t read.  It was probably unimaginable for beasts, unlike mythical creatures, to understand civilization and language.

“Ssssaaa.”

“I know a little.”

I shook my head, correcting her assumption.  She probably already knew I wasn’t an ordinary snake.

-…Are you really a snake? Are you actually a mythical creature, or maybe a dragon transformed with Polymorph?

“Ssssaaa.”

“I wish.”

Becoming a mythical creature was my immediate goal, and becoming a dragon was, unfortunately, a completely different path.  A dragon could be achieved through the “Ascension” system, even by a mere beast like me, but becoming a dragon by birth was impossible.

‘And a dragon’s fate is heavily influenced by the element it’s born with.’

For example, a dragon’s breath and magic.  Red dragons wielded the common fire breath and excelled in fire magic. Blue dragons wielded ice breath and excelled in water and ice magic. Other dragons also had their predetermined paths.

But the dragon I aspired to become was a bit different.  A dragon that cultivated the five elements and possessed a Yeouiju couldn’t use magic like other dragons, but it could control the weather and perform miracles.  However, becoming such a dragon was extremely difficult.  Countless others aspired to become dragons.

-What are you thinking about so seriously?

‘Ah.’

I’d gotten lost in thought.  Right, we were in the middle of choosing names. I could think about dragons later.

-These names have a good ring to them and are easy to pronounce.

Silphy presented a few names to us.  Indeed, after a long discussion, the list had been narrowed down considerably, yet still contained quite a few options.

“Sss.”

“Are you sure I can choose?”

“Meow.”

-They actually want you to choose.

A name. I glanced at the cat.  It still looked more like a cat than a tiger. Despite rolling around on the ground, its pure white fur remained spotless, and its clear eyes sparkled like jewels reflecting the sky.

“Ssssaaa.”

“Cheong.”

-Cheong? That’s not even on the list.

Of course not. The names on the list were mostly three or four syllables long.  But that’s why I thought this single-syllable name was more meaningful.

“Sss.”

“Cheong-ah.”

“Meow?”

“Ssssaaa.”

“How about this for your name?”

Cheong. A single syllable, a name that might seem uninspired.  How would it react?  Would it try to hit me again?

“…”

Flick.

But it just stared at me, then silently turned away and started rolling on the ground again.

-What? You like it? You really like that name?

Silphy, interpreting the cat’s action as agreement, clutched her head and started muttering to herself.

-Cheong-ah. Cheong-ah-ya. Hmm… It’s not bad to say, but it feels unfamiliar. It doesn’t quite roll off the tongue.

Tap.

-Huh? Ah, now that Cheong’s name is decided, it’s time to choose yours.

When I nudged Silphy, she quickly understood and brought over the name candidates for me.

-Honestly, I wonder if we even need these candidates after what just happened.

Perhaps because I hadn’t chosen from the list, Silphy muttered in a small voice. I shook my head.  That was just a random name that popped into my head at the time. I intended to choose from the list unless I had a specific reason not to.

‘Hmm. There are some good names here.’

Honestly, all the final candidates Silphy had chosen seemed fine.  Perhaps that was the problem. They were all so good that I couldn’t decide.

“Meow.”

Tap.

Cheong, who had stopped rolling around, approached and nudged a specific name, as if saying she liked it.

-What? Cheong chose it for you?

“Meow.”

I had chosen Cheong’s name, so now Cheong was choosing mine.  A fair exchange. I looked at the name Cheong had chosen.  I liked all the candidates anyway, so it wasn’t bad to have someone else choose for me.

-What? You like it too? You’re going with this name?

Nod.

Good.  It felt like a name that truly belonged in this world.

-El Grace… I’ll call you El!

The name Cheong chose was El Grace.  Since the full name was a bit long, we agreed to shorten it to El.

—–CROW—–