I Became the Only Reptile in the Community

Chapter 48

—–CROW—– 

“Hehe. *Krrr*.”

[What… what in the world happened?]

Silphy had become an intermediate spirit, and Cheong had taken on a human form… In other words, she had become a Divine Beast? What had happened while I was gone to cause such dramatic changes?

[Silphy. Explain, please.]

-Ah, well…

Leaving Cheong, who was clinging to me and rubbing her face against me, I first asked Silphy for an explanation. Silphy spoke with a strangely uneasy expression.

-Shortly after you left, a strange guy came here.

[A strange guy?]

-Yeah.  He was all gloomy and shrouded in darkness.

At her words, I instantly thought of someone. The strange guy whose mind seemed somewhat off, the one who had protected me during the fight with the Dragon King.

‘That guy came here?’

-And he suddenly overpowered us. Cheong and I lost consciousness there. When we opened our eyes again, we had grown like this.

[Do you feel any discomfort?]

-It’s more of a problem that I’m overflowing with power. I almost collapsed the cave before you arrived.  I wasn’t just sitting around doing nothing, you know?

Ah, so that’s why she had been so still while I was entering the cave.  It was natural for her to have difficulty controlling her power after suddenly becoming an intermediate spirit.  Still, seeing her trying to move the wind slowly, it seemed like she would adapt quickly.

[So Cheong is the same, then?]

-Right. I became an intermediate wind spirit, and Cheong, having become a Divine Beast, can now shapeshift into a human form, as you can see.

*Rustle.*

Well, she certainly looked the part.  Except for the twitching tiger ears and swaying tail, she could perfectly pass for a human.

‘But are those the only ears she has?’

The usual question that came to mind when someone had animal ears. Did she have human ears as well, or not? I gently moved her tail and brushed aside the hair covering her ears.

‘…She does.’

Seeing the human ears there, I nodded silently. I was curious whether those ears were just for show or if they actually functioned like ears, allowing her to hear, but there was something more pressing at hand.

*Squeeze.*

[Umm, Cheong, I’d appreciate it if you let go now.]

Cheong’s grip, which had been strangely tight since earlier, was getting stronger.  Was she having trouble controlling her strength, like Silphy?

-Yes, Cheong. Let go of El for now.

“*Tch*.”

Finally, I was freed from Cheong’s embrace.

-Ah, by the way, El. We felt Ceres’s power earlier. What happened?

“Yeah! It was creepy!”

[Hmm. Both Ceres and you have gone through similar, significant changes. I’ll explain slowly.]

So I shared everything with them.  What had happened with Ceres. The guys who attacked me. What they wanted.  And Ceres’s growth, along with her claiming this area as her territory.

-Uh oh. That’s a bit serious.

After hearing the whole explanation, Silphy broke out in a cold sweat, realizing the gravity of the situation.

-I’ll try contacting the Spirit King-nim. This is something that would warrant the involvement of the Spirit Kings of each attribute.  I’m sure I can get some information related to this.

[I’ll leave it to you.]

Something that would warrant the involvement of the Spirit Kings.  This was on a larger scale than I had thought.  I decided to raise the minimum standard of strength I needed to achieve and glanced at Cheong.

“Aaah.  Uuuh.  Eehh.”

Still unfamiliar with human speech, Cheong kept moving her mouth and making sounds.  It looked quite cute on the surface, but if one sensed the power emanating from her, they wouldn’t be able to laugh.

‘I wondered how she was able to shapeshift into a human faster than me.’

Now I understood.  Becoming a Divine Beast had multiplied her existing power several times over, leaving her with an excess of it.  And Cheong had possessed the talent to use a Lion’s Roar even before becoming a Divine Beast.  With that talent and the influx of immense power, she naturally succeeded in shapeshifting into a human, something I still couldn’t do properly.

‘Does that mean she’s better at controlling her power than me?’

Although she seemed to waste more power than me in combat, in reality, even those actions were performed with extreme efficiency.

-But is it okay to leave Ceres alone like this? Shouldn’t you be with her?

[Yes. I was just about to go back.]

“Right now?! No, no way!”

At first, I had been worried about something bad happening to them, but the outcome was positive, wasn’t it?  So it should be fine to return to Ceres right away.

*Grab.*

[Cheong. I’d like you to let go.]

“No. Just stay with us.”

The problem was that Cheong was stopping me from leaving by grabbing my tail.

*Squeeze. Squeeze.*

‘Becoming a Divine Beast has further strengthened her already ridiculously strong power.’

I couldn’t move at all. What should I do?  Cheong’s puffed-up cheeks, filled with air, indicated that appeasing her wouldn’t be easy.

‘I wish Silphy would be on my side in times like these.’

The problem was that Silphy was currently busy controlling her own power and couldn’t intervene.

[But Cheong, Ceres could be in danger if she’s alone.]

“We were in danger too. Because El wasn’t here, Silphy and I were attacked.”

-She’s not wrong. We were completely powerless back then.

No, Silphy, why are you taking Cheong’s side?  And that mysterious being they faced… To be honest, even if I had been there, the outcome wouldn’t have been different. Even if he seemed a bit crazy, he was the guy who forced the Dragon King to retreat in a direct confrontation.

[Cheong. Then why don’t you come along too?]

“…No.”

[Why not?]

“I don’t like her.”

Why didn’t she like her? Honestly, I had been curious for a while. Silphy just didn’t like going outside, but Cheong, for no apparent reason, just disliked Ceres.

[You don’t like Ceres?]

“Yeah. I don’t like her.”

[Can you… tell me why?]

Back then, I could only read her emotions towards Ceres, so I let it go, but now that we could communicate, I intended to find out exactly why.  At my words, Cheong closed her mouth silently.  Then, glancing at me, she seemed to be debating internally whether she should say it or not.

[I’m just purely curious. Don’t worry and speak freely.]

“You won’t be mad at me if I tell you?”

[Of course not.]

-Considering their current power levels, El might be the one in danger…

[Silphy, you be quiet.]

Don’t spoil the mood.

“Because that tree appeared and El left us.”

[Hmm…]

“Before, we used to spend all day together, eating, playing, and sleeping, but we can’t do that anymore.”

I had nothing to say to that.  It was true that I had been spending less time with them while taking care of Ceres.

-It’s a bit much. Even I feel a little resentful.

Even Silphy, who usually didn’t complain, was backing her up. Of course, the one she was supporting was Cheong, and the one being targeted was, naturally, me.

*Bang.*

Silphy’s words hit me deep, and Cheong, with a chilling gaze, gritted her teeth and said,

“I wanted to destroy her myself.”

[Cheong.]

“But El cares about her, and she helped me before, so I’ve been holding back.”

So she did remember that Ceres had helped her before.  However, her words, spoken while gritting her teeth, were so full of genuine feeling that even I felt a chill.  Could Cheong and Ceres truly never get along?

“El.”

[…Yes.]

“You said that tree can talk now, right?”

It was such a shame, considering that unlike Cheong, Ceres liked Cheong. If I hadn’t heard the reason from Cheong, I would have tried having them meet a few times, but seeing how much she disliked Ceres, I couldn’t bring myself to suggest it anymore.

*Thud.*

“Then this time… no, *this* time, we need to settle things.”

[Cheong?]

“Don’t stop me. It’s between me and that tree. We need to decide who’s in charge.”

-Wow. I want to go too.

Who was in charge, and what was there to decide?  Silphy, who hated going outside, now wanted to go herself, intrigued by Cheong’s ominous words. This must mean the current situation was serious.  But… could I stop Cheong, who was so resolute?

[At least, promise me you won’t harm Ceres.]

“…*Grit*. Fine.”

In the end, knowing I couldn’t stop Cheong, I asked her not to harm Ceres, and she readily agreed.

*Gulp.*

With a heavy heart, I followed Cheong as she strode forward.  With my worries weighing on me, we arrived in front of Ceres.

-Dad and Mom!

“Pass.”

…What?

—–CROW—–