Chapter 271: 271: Rules of Engagement

It was clear the Nymph and the Serpent clan had a complicated history – she had every right to be angry, and the grieving and helpless look on her tiny face made her all the more sympathetic to me.

But still, weren't her priorities a little backwards?

She should be trying to kill that serpent for taking one of her daughters away, not because of me.

And no, I wasn't planning on becoming anyone's lover – not even hers.

|[I think you're mistaken about us…]| I started to say, but the Nymph who was sitting on my curls, reached out to grab the sides of my head, staring intently into my eyes.

[Don't worry, I will protect you and your children from danger.] She confidently implored. [There's no need for you to seek them.]

Er…that was nice I guess, but why was she getting so intense all of a sudden.

Did she think I was going to get stolen away like her daughter was?

|[I'm not going to leave.]| I said, hoping to calm her down. |[I simply want to know how strong they are, so I won't be unprepared if they ever pose a threat.]|

However, this only made her worse and she held on even tighter, but she eventually calmed down, at least enough to release me.

[It will be fine as long as you don't stray too far from me.] She said enthusiastically, [But if you go beyond my forest, I can't help you, so you must remain here.]

So that was why she was worried.

Although her forest was spreading rapidly, her boundary restriction remained, which meant she couldn't step out of her forest.

I wanted to tell her it would be okay, however, the Nymph seemed thoughtful as her eyes scrutinized me.

[It's more than avoiding them.] She said, [Since you didn't kill any of them and went on to simply living together – you've already broken a major clan rule. They might not accept you as one of their own even if you tried to join them.]

Well, that made sense.

[Some wouldn't even consider you a true serpent because of it.] The Nymph continued. [They will try to kill you and all your children if they find out about it.]

That sounded pretty terrible.

But I wondered how they would know by simply looking at us.

My nestlings bore no distinctive markings, aside from being different colours.

From what I understood of her explanation, even if they were from different clans, they all had an equal chance of returning to the clan, if they won.

So, it made no sense that they would know they hadn't killed anyone, and I wondered if the Nymph was trying to scare me by exaggerating her claims.

However when I turned around, her ruby eyes were anxiously pleading for me to stay, and I sighed.

|[Good riddance then, it's not like I plan on joining them anyway.]|

The Nymph was incredibly delighted to hear this, smiling wildly as she clung to my body, which made me shake my head. Once again she'd completely forgotten her children were watching us, seemingly too happy to let go, and I sighed in exasperation.

But then I heard Sensei's disapproving voice.

«You indulge her too much.» He scoffed. «Don't tell me you plan on becoming her lover? You don't even trust her.»

Oh? So now he knew how to speak.

"I'm an adult snake now." I calmly replied. "It's normal to start thinking about…these things. Before I didn't know where the other snakes were, but Shiranui says there's one here now." I paused for effect. "I think…I think I should find that serpent…"

«What for?» Sensei said darkly.

"Don't you think it's worth finding a partner of my own kind. Don't get me wrong, the Nymph is great, but she can't give me egg –"

«What are you saying?» Sensei interrupted me, sounding quite aggravated. «You don't need one.»

"Well…I think I do, for the future at least." I hesitantly replied. "I'm a serpent now, I should be able to lay eggs."

«Have you gone insane?!» Sensei snapped at me. «Why the heck are you thinking about procreating all of a sudden?»

"So what?" I insisted. "My body is already an adult serpent. I have to get used to it for the future of my [Pit]. New serpents should be introduced to increase our power."

Sensei fell silent, seemingly too astonished to argue.

«You'd really marry a snake?» He asked in disbelief.

And I scoffed at him. "Who said anything about marrying them? I doubt that exists here. It's all about eggs and procreating! But If I like him enough, maybe I'll consider making marriage a rule!"

«You're not even an adult. What are you thinking?!» Sensei protested, his words full of regret.

Seeing Sensei so disturbed, I was very close to bursting into laughter.

Wasn't he reacting a bit too much?

At first, I was annoyed after being muted for so long, but this was so worth it!

It was like he couldn't tell I was joking.

"But I'm a monster now though…" I added, but Sensei interrupted me.

«Don't decide that until you've seen the world outside the Labyrinth.»

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Ah. Was he saying I'd find someone better there? 

Sensei's words made me feel slightly guilty.

It would seem I'd gotten much better at concealing my emotions from him, so good he couldn't even tell the difference if I decided not to feel any emotion.

And while I was thrilled, perhaps I'd taken the joke too far.

"It won't happen right away." I insisted. "Some pythons can reproduce asexually, maybe I'll figure out how."

But Sensei simply stopped me, refusing to speak on it anymore.

My joke might have traumatised him a bit too much, so I quickly changed the subject.

"Do you think she is telling the truth about this serpent?" I asked Sensei.

From the sounds of it, I should be on guard, knowing that a serpent was out there gathering allies.

«She seems quite determined to keep you here.» Sensei replied. «I wouldn't believe her without proof. You should find her daughter and question her for confirmation.»

Hmm.

The Nymph was wrapped around me once again, seemingly proving his point. Yet, it couldn't all be a coincidence. Aside from the Nymph, the scary wasp had also known of the serpent king, which made me wonder if he was also approached.

Aside from being absurdly strong, he was also in command of a large number of monsters, which made him a perfect candidate like the Nymph. Perhaps it was worth paying him a visit after all.

«I find it odd that this serpent didn't come to your nesting ground first.» Sensei said. «If he was truly looking for allies, it would be smarter to take the new serpents that would have returned to the clan to increase his numbers.»

Sensei was right to be suspicious and I had to agree this was also strange.

"Maybe he didn't because he knew they were all dead." I pondered.

But then, I recalled what Ophelia had said about the nestling corpses she found. Her report said they were all burnt to ash, which didn't seem like the outcome of combat between serpents, and my eyes widened as I realised something else.

I also fought a monster that used fire to attack.

Was it all a coincidence?

I had a sinking feeling as I recalled the feline beast that I found attacking my nestlings. Now that I knew a serpent was out there gathering allies, I couldn't help thinking the creature had been sent by this serpent to eradicate all the nestlings for some unknown reason. 

If I hadn't returned in time to kill it, perhaps my nestlings would also have died.

"I don't understand why this serpent would kill off so many potential recruits." I complained to Sensei.

«How can you be so sure the creature is connected to that serpent and that it is the culprit?» Sensei asked.

I wasn't. There was no way to know for sure if my assumption was right because there wasn't much proof at all. But the fact remained, that my nestlings had been attacked by a fiery monster in the past.

If this serpent thought all the nestlings were killed, it would explain why we were left undisturbed so far.

«Let's say you're right, and this serpent already has allies he can command.» Sensei began hypothesising. «A few weak nestlings won't make a difference in terms of power. Maybe killing them was his aim all along, especially if he wants to destroy the balance of power. There are many ways a massacre like that can be effective in a war.»

I was stunned. Was there really a war happening in the serpent clan?

It was already quite complicated without me even meeting them!

Maybe Sensei was right, and it was done to send a message to make the others fear him, or to cause turmoil among the serpents – the Nymph did say the serpent she met was quite cunning, and this made me hesitate.

If they were this vicious as a species, I was better off not getting involved with them.

However, without me visiting the place Ophelia found the charred corpses, there was no way to know for sure. Rather than speculating, I had to confirm that the massacre had occurred, and to do this I had to find more than one set of charred nestling corpses.

|[Where did your daughter go when she left?]| I asked the Nymph and she blinked as she looked up at me.

[Are you going to find her?] She sounded quite happy, and I nodded.

|[I will, I just need to take care of a few things first.]|

I planned to go over there as soon as I fixed the mess in my own Pit. There was no point in confronting a potential enemy when my cave was in disorder.

Even if Morgana was no longer an immediate threat, there was still Apollo and lastly, Typhon and Ophelia.

As much as I trusted them, it was difficult to ignore that nestling seemed to act more like rivals than peers, more similar to the warring clans they came from. 

Was it because they were always meant to kill each other?

I wondered if the remnants of their serpent instincts existed in some way, like an unconscious bias making them fight and oppress each other, rather than getting along.

If so, it simply would not do.

[Are you leaving soon?] The Nymph asked, and I nodded. [If you want to find that child, you will need the fae to guide you. I can't come with you.]

The Nymph sniffled, looking quite sad, and I nudged her cheek to make her calm down. |[Don't worry, I'll find her and be back soon.]|

But where exactly was the dark fae? I hadn't seen her since earlier.

My nestlings were staring at me, and I instructed them to get going, it was about time we returned to the cave.

Now…if only the Nymph would release me. Her body was still tangled together with mine, with seemingly no thoughts of letting go.

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