Chapter 93: Snakes Are Surprisingly Cute (1)
"Please, co inside."
Following the white Lamia, I entered the interior of the house. Unlike the other huts, which were constructed by layering branches and weaving vines together, this house had walls coated with mud, creating a fully enclosed structure.
It was clear this was the finest house in the village.
"Wow..."
What surprised even more was the warmth inside. It was almost uncomfortably warm for , though it seed to have the opposite effect on the Lamias. Kamang, the black Lamia, moved with more energy, her tail swaying happily as if she were in high spirits.
"Kamang, behave yourself in front of our guest."
At the white Lamia’s gentle reprimand, Kamang coiled up neatly in a warm corner and sat still. The white Lamia followed suit, coiling her tail to increase her contact with the warm floor.
"I heard humans live with raised furniture, like chairs, but we don’t have anything like that here."
It made sense. With snake-like lower bodies, sitting on chairs would likely be uncomfortable for them. Still...
'If the floor were just solid, I wouldn’t mind sitting on it, but it’s swampy here...'
Scraping the ground with my shoe, I noticed that beneath the layer of mud was a stone floor. It seed the Lamias had laid the stones to avoid scraping their bodies, though their movents still brought in a thin layer of mud.
"If you can’t find a place to sit..."
Ssss—
The white Lamia uncoiled her tail and extended it toward .
"You’re welco to sit here."
"Won’t that be heavy? And isn’t it improper to sit on your body?"
"It’s fine. The weight of a single human isn’t much for a Lamia."
Reluctantly, I accepted her offer and carefully perched myself on her tail.
'It’s warm... Is it because she was near the hearth? Surprisingly comfortable.'
If a chair could replicate this sensation, it could probably be sold to nobles at exorbitant prices. The softness, the way it adjusted to the shape of my body—this was far more comfortable than any wooden chair.
'A fascinating sensation.'
The aura emanating from the white Lamia added to her mystique. It wasn’t as striking as the radiant halo seen on saintesses who served deities of love and marriage, but the faint light surrounding her body was enough to show her connection to so divine power.
"This must be your first ti seeing a white-scaled Lamia. It’s alright if you think I look grotesque. I’m well aware that my appearance is unusual."
"Not at all. In fact..."
"And I’m sure humans find the Lamia’s appearance monstrous."
It seed Lamias lacked confidence in their looks.
"The n who visited us often beca angry once they realized their prospective partners were Lamias and left imdiately."
So it was indeed a matchmaking effort. But it was understandable. Even among elves, who resemble humans closely, interspecies marriages were rare. Most living beings are naturally drawn to their own kind.
Even I didn’t fully understand it, but most people instinctively felt aversion or discomfort toward other species. So humans even rejected homunculi, beings biologically indistinguishable from humans, as unnatural.
Although such barriers had started to break down over ti, leading to the rise of half-elves, half-orcs, and half-ogres, the overall number of such unions remained low.
'It’s increased compared to the past, but in terms of percentages, it’s still a small minority.'
Even after years of peace, and even in villages where different races lived and worked side by side, interspecies marriages remained rare.
"So, why did you summon here?"
"Initially, we invited single n through rchants to arrange interspecies marriages between them and the Lamias in our village."
So far, that made sense. Most responses to such invitations likely hadn’t been favorable.
"However, an elder who advised us on the matter suggested inviting a knight to ensure safety, just in case sothing went wrong."
"You needed a knight for security during the event?"
If they were simply inviting local n to arrange marriages, it made sense to have one knight present as a precaution.
"But I doubt that’s the whole story."
If it were just that, they wouldn’t have offered this amulet, which essentially promised their full cooperation.
It beca clear that this situation wasn’t sothing a single knight could handle, which is why they had provided with additional support asures and sent here.
"While nothing is confird yet, there’s a possibility of an ard conflict between reptilian species in this area. The elder decided it would be best to send you as a precaution."
'So even here, there’s so kind of tension brewing?'
In the beastman village, things had been peaceful enough that people walked around naked without issue. But this was a primitive swamp. Here, the food chain operated relentlessly—Lamias hunted other creatures, were hunted themselves, and competed with other species for resources.
"So, I’m here to help with an inter-tribal war?"
"Yes. Ideally, we’d like to resolve this without violence, but it seems unlikely things will go that smoothly."
My orders from the senior knight were clear: assist this group of Lamias during the conflict and ensure their safety. This included maintaining order while welcoming n invited for matchmaking and defending against potential attacks from rival reptilian tribes.
"Understood. I’ll stay here and provide protection. When are the other n expected to arrive?"
"The n traveling from the neighboring village should arrive in about three days. I don’t foresee any major issues, but we’d appreciate your help."
"Very well. I’ll look for a place to stay nearby for the ti being."
As much as I appreciated the hospitality, continuing to sit on her body felt improper. I began to rise, but the white Lamia’s expression imdiately turned forlorn, and she lowered her head.
"So, you do find our appearance repulsive after all."
"What? No, that’s not—"
"We’ve gone to great lengths to make this space warm and inviting, but you’re leaving because you can’t stand to be around , aren’t you?"
That thought hadn’t even crossed my mind.
This was her and Kamang’s ho, and I couldn’t impose on them indefinitely. That was all there was to it.
"It’s not that. I just don’t want to inconvenience you in your own ho."
"..."
Her averted gaze suggested she thought I was just making excuses. Seeing her reaction, I could only imagine how much rejection these Lamias had faced from humans.
Even in the capital, where different species lived together, prejudice and hate cris were still common. In rural areas like this, where mories of bloody wars with other races lingered, it was no wonder the animosity ran deep.
"No, really... I don’t find you repulsive. Quite the opposite—I think you’re beautiful."
"Even if it’s just empty words, thank you..."
Her voice was tinged with resignation. Clearly, her past wounds ran deep. I knelt on the muddy floor to et her eyes at a closer level.
With my knees bent, the height difference between us shrank, and I gently cupped her chin, turning her face toward mine.
"Do these look like lying eyes to you?"
Her golden irises, faintly glowing against the pale silver of her pupils, held a mixture of uncertainty and fear. She must have endured countless insults from the n who had co here before .
Lick.
To reassure her, I licked her cheek gently, then brushed her nose with my lips. She flinched, startled, her tail instinctively coiling around to push away.
But her attempt to fend off with her tail was easy to counter—I simply shifted her balance with my hand. Keeping hold of her chin, I leaned in and kissed her.
'Oh… her tongue really is different.'
A Lamia’s tongue was much longer than a human’s and forked at the tip. As my shorter, thicker tongue entered her mouth, her longer tongue hesitated, unsure what to do. It ended up wrapping around mine clumsily.
"Mmph...!"
Her lack of control gave the advantage. I explored her mouth with my tongue, noting the sharp fangs tucked safely away in her gums. As long as she didn’t bare her teeth, there was no risk of getting hurt.
Smack.
As I pressed my lips firmly against hers, the corners of her mouth, designed to expand for swallowing large prey, stretched slightly. Thankfully, the delicate mbranes inside kept her face from splitting grotesquely. Instead, her mouth simply widened gracefully.
"P-Please… release my tongue..."
Her muffled voice sounded panicked, her tongue still entwined with mine. Stroking her back to calm her, I slowly pulled away, letting our tongues untangle.
'It really is much longer than a human’s.'
Even after retracting it, her tongue had briefly stretched down to her chest before disappearing into her mouth.
"Do you believe now?"
She wiped her lips with her sleeve, still sticky from our mingled saliva. I did the sa, watching as she tried to collect herself.
"If you truly don’t find us repulsive, Sir Knight..."
Rustle...
The white Lamia bit the edge of her sleeve, pulling her garnt aside and beginning to undress herself.
"Could I ask for your help... here?"
"What exactly do you need help with?"
Lowering her head, she lifted her lower body slightly, covering her private area, still hidden beneath her protective shell, with her hands.
At this point, I had to ask.
"Why go through so much effort to bring human n here for this?"
"Because… only females are born in our tribe now. To continue our lineage, we have no choice but to bring in males from other species."
That settled it. If this was what they needed, then I would do my part.
Reviews
All reviews (0)