Chapter 269: 269: Shiranui

I stared at the Nymph in disbelief. What kinda game was she playing now?

She was sitting on me with her body tilted sideways to hide her face. But even with this, she couldn't hide her elven ears that were bright red like the flowers on her dress.

And as the silence stretched, she seemed to tremble slightly as she stole tiny glances at me.

What sort of trick was this?

First she wrestled me, then threatened me, and now she had the guts to ask this.

Wasn't this Nymph too bold?

|[You want me to give you a name?]| I asked.

The Nymph glanced at me for a moment, and I was able to see her flustered face before she quickly turned away. But this only made me twitch in annoyance.

If she wanted to hide her face, she should at least have the decency to get off me first, instead of perching on me like I was some cushion!

But then, the Nymph fully turned to look at me, her blushing face strangely luminous and extremely lovely in the darkness. As she drew nearer, her ruby eyes seemed to glow behind her fluttering lashes, her voice was no different to music.

[Yes. Will you name me?] The Nymph asked.

Afterwards, she looked away like a blushing bride, her appearance leaving me quite stunned.

And after pondering over it for a while, I had my answer.

|[No.]|

The Nymph gasped, her ruby eyes flaring in surprise as if she never expected me to refuse, but then she looked down in defeat, her lashes moistening with tears.

When she raised her head, her eyes were full of hurt.

[You said we were part of your Pit. Yet you refuse to give us names like you did with them. You are treating us differently, even though  you said we were family.]

This…The Nymph looked so sad, I almost felt bad.

But when I thought about it, something didn't feel right.

|[How do you know they have names?]| I questioned her.

The Nymph crossed her arms, clearly annoyed with me. [My children told me.]

It made sense that the Veladrys would notice after staying with my nestlings for a while. But it made no sense why the Nymph would even want one.

Hadn't she already lived so long without a name?

As attractive as it would be to have the Nymph's kiss removed, I had to make sure there wasn't some other angle to her request.

|[What are you truly after?]| I glanced at her in suspicion.

But the Nymph's tearful eyes widened in surprise, before staring at me in disbelief. [You really have no idea how uncommon you are.]

|[What do you mean?]| I was confused.

[I heard a lot of things from my children.] The Nymph replied. [Your Pit is quite special from what I've been told, your serpents are all unique and rather intelligent while being so young.]

What was she getting at?

[My children also noticed it wasn't all of them that shared this trait.] The Nymph said thoughtfully.

[This was mostly common with the ones who referred to themselves by name, and I was told, it was you who gave them these names. I believe their gifts are linked to you  and I want to be a part of that as your Pit member.] 

Having pieced it all together the Nymph smiled at me, but my thoughts were full of irritation at how crafty the Nymph was.

Just how long had her Veladrys been spying on us?

As for my nestlings who told them so much, I really wanted to scold them.

But, if not for them, I wouldn't have this victory – It was too bad the Nymph got it wrong.

I agreed with her to some extent, my nestlings were developing quite quickly, but it had nothing to do with the names I gave them.

They were already like that before I returned to the cave, and even before then, Typhon and Ophelia were somewhat aware of their surroundings.

I really only named them to help me identify my captains better.

However, since the Nymph already misunderstood, I wouldn't let go of such an opportunity.

|[I will name you as you wish.]| I said to her. |[But only if you remove the kiss first.]|

The Nymph's face brightened, and she nodded, immediately reaching for my horn.

There was a slight tug as something unravelled and when she retracted her hand there was a leafy tendril wrapped around her elbow.

I couldn't believe how quickly she did it.

Without the kiss, she couldn't make me do anything anymore, I didn't even have to reach out to her estranged child if I didn't want to – wasn't she afraid I would run away afterwards?

Or was this why she insisted on connecting our lairs.

However, the Nymph remained calm at my perplexed look.

[I understand what you are like from how your children act when under pressure. They could have chosen the easy way out by leaving your lair to come to mine, but they stayed to defend it even when they could have died, all because they wanted you to find them when you returned.]

The Nymph laughed at the irony.

[They are quite dependable for serpents, which is why I know you will keep your word.]

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I was surprised by her honesty. |[That's an awful lot of trust.]|

The Nymph scoffed as she looked away. [You're not what I expected. I made a mistake by trying to force you to do my bidding. I'm just simply making it right now.]

Hah.

I wanted to believe her, but how could I be sure it wasn't because she had access to my cave now?

The Nymph closed her eyes without any care. She was already close enough to feel my breath on her skin, yet she didn't seem worried at all that I might eat her, she only waited patiently. It seemed she really did trust me and I was surprised.

Above her head, the option <Issue Name of『Pit Member』> came up.

As for what to name her.

I had several in mind, but somehow I felt nervous.

I wondered if I was making the right decision in labelling such a powerful creature, and the longer I waited, the more the Nymph shifted uncomfortably.

«How about Shiranui?» Sensei suggested. «It suits her nature.»

Hearing his voice appear out of nowhere made me hiss in annoyance.

"Where did you disappear to?!"

«Doesn't matter.» Sensei replied. «You've wasted too much time, so I'm here to help. Sylrin will be here soon.»

Ah...I'd completely forgotten about my failsafe.

I quickly settled on her name and the system dinged.

〚Confirmed. 『Pit Member 32』has become 『Shiranui』〛

It was quite a pretty name for Sensei to suggest, and I wondered if she would like it.

Eventually, the Nymph opened her eyes, but instead of saying anything, she simply wrapped her arms around me and refused to move.

|[Shouldn't we return to the others now.]| I asked her.

Somehow it felt like I'd just defused a bomb and I was quite relieved to see my nestlings again. However, the Nymph only shrugged her shoulders, refusing to let go.

"I think she likes it a lot." I said in astonishment.

But Sensei only scoffed. «You realise that by naming her, you'll never be able to get rid of her now.»

"What do you mean?" I asked him.

«Don't you plan on letting her go as soon as your nestlings are safe?» Sensei frowned. «With a name, she'll always be connected to you.»

He had a point, but with the Nymph still hugging me, she didn't feel that much like a threat anymore.

"Maybe I don't want to let her go." I confessed to Sensei, and I heard him scoff in disbelief, right before his voice faded away.

It seemed I was muted again.

What did he have against the Nymph? She seemed quite lovely.

The Nymph released me as she sat up, looking rather reluctant – It seemed she didn't want to return, but eventually the shroud of leaves around us retreated and we were able to see everyone else in the banquet once more.

Once there, I was glad to see all my nestlings were still present, it seemed they hadn't done much besides eating, so I calmed down enough to thank the Nymph for her help. 

Shiranui nodded. [I was happy to help. Like you, I will do anything for my children.] 

As she said this, each one of her 'children' smiled rather sinisterly at me, their glares piercing right through me, and I was reminded once more of their hatred.

|[Why do they dislike me?]| I asked the Nymph. |[I haven't done anything to them.]|

[They don't dislike you.] The Nymph laughed. [They only hate me joining up with you. I told you about my daughter who left us. She only did so because she swore an allegiance to someone, and he pressured her to leave us. They are just afraid you will make me turn them away.]

I scoffed in disbelief. 

They were really overestimating me if they thought I could make the Nymph do anything so simply. 

Still, she'd never mentioned this about her daughter before, and I was curious.

|[Who did she swear her loyalty to?]|

[Would you believe me if I said it was to another serpent like you?] The Nymph laughed. [We argued because I didn't want her to do it, and she left my side because of it. Yet here I am doing the same thing. She would laugh at me if she knew.]

Ah…

I perked up immediately at her words. |[What serpent? Where did she meet them?]|

The Nymph stared at me in surprise. [Have you never met one of your kind before?]

I shook my head, glancing over at my nestlings at the banquet. |[It's always been me and them.]|

It felt quite nice to see them enjoying themselves.

Somehow this made the Nymph even more impressed. [You have no relation to them. Keep it that way. You're better off staying here. Don't ever go below ground.]

Below ground? 

It suddenly occurred to me why I never encountered other serpents besides my nestlings.

It seemed they were all on the Middle Stratum.

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