Chapter 142: Love (4)
Translator: bjgoofy
When I finished wiping the newborn's body clean and gently set it down beside Snow, she began licking the little one's face despite her exhausted state.
I had already cleaned it, but licking the nose and face to remove the birth membrane and any remaining amniotic fluid was a mother's instinct, after all.
'Oh! She's actually caring for the baby herself!?'
And from that behavior, unlike most lizards whose hatchlings become independent the moment they're born, I could tell that Snow and Ice were the kind of lizards that raised their young, much like the Girdle Tailed Armadillo Lizard, which lives as a family unit in rocky crevices of barren wastelands, or the Solomon Islands Skink, whose parents care for their offspring for six months to a year.
It made sense, really, since the vast majority of lizards become independent from their mothers the instant they hatch.
The moment they're born, they already look identical to adults and can hunt for food on their own.
And yet here she was, removing the birth membrane and licking away the amniotic fluid?
That was a common maternal behavior, sure, but it was more characteristic of mammals that directly raised their young than of reptiles, which meant the chances of her raising the baby herself were high.
-Coo.
Just as I suspected, Snow was licking the baby's face and cooing as if to announce that she was its mother.
Well, it could also have been the process of imprinting her voice onto the newborn.
In response, the little one answered with a tiny, adorable cry of its own.
-Squeak,
The two of them exchanged calls as if carrying on a conversation.
I watched them with a warm expression, then turned my head, and that was when I noticed Ice standing right in front of me, staring at the scene with a dazed look on his face.
'Ah, come to think of it, I need to observe their parenting structure too.'
Ice's spaced-out appearance reminded me that I still had to confirm the parenting structure.
I now knew the mother participated in rearing, but the next crucial question was what form that rearing took.
In the natural world, a wide variety of parenting methods exist.
Mother-only, father-only, co-parenting, even brood parasitism... the range of approaches was remarkably diverse.
That was precisely why I couldn't leave this unexamined.
Judging by the licking, it was almost certain the mother would take part in rearing, but if she was the sole caretaker, the father might get driven away until the baby was grown.
In other words, Ice might be about to get kicked out by Snow.
'Sorry, Ice. It's all part of the process. If it's not co-parenting, you'll just get smacked around by Snow and chased off. This is instinct; there's nothing I can do about it.'
I gently nudged Ice's backside from where he sat frozen beside me, pushing him toward Snow and the baby.
I needed to confirm the parenting structure, and besides, wasn't there a saying about getting the worst over with first?
-Kku?
Ice looked back at me with a slightly startled expression.
I nudged his rear a little further toward the baby, bringing the two of them closer together, and thankfully, Ice caught on quick and began licking the opposite cheek of the baby, following Snow's lead.
This was the critical moment that would decide Ice's fate.
If it wasn't co-parenting, he'd get beaten senseless by Snow for laying a tongue on her baby.
'Oh! She's fine with it?'
I waited for a moment, but Snow showed no particular reaction.
Since she didn't stop or resist Ice's licking, this was co-parenting.
Now the two of them were licking the newborn from both sides.
A rearing species with co-parenting.
The best possible combination.
'Yes! Co-parenting!'
Snow and Ice appeared to have the most ideal parenting structure.
Relieved that there would be no problems raising the baby, I watched the three of them, and the trio of lizards had become the very picture of a happy little family.
After the two had licked the baby for quite a while and finally stopped, the little one opened its eyes for the very first time and looked around, Snow-Ice Jr.
Snow and Ice's baby had opened its eyes and gazed upon the world for the first time.
One by one, its sparkling black eyes reflected Snow, then Ice, then me, then Hwa-eun, and finally Seol noona.
At the sight, both women cried out with expressions of utter, helpless adoration.
Those eyes were devastatingly cute, after all.
"It's so cute! How can anything be this adorable? It looks like a miniature version of Snow and Ice!"
"So pretty! I think it's the cutest creature I've ever seen!"
It was truly adorable even to me, a man, so how much more overwhelming must it have been for Hwa-eun and Seol noona?
The two of them reached toward the baby as if drawn by a spell.
"Careful. Both of you."
But they needed to be careful.
Newborn lizards were extremely wild, after all.
Even in my previous life, domesticated leopard geckos and crested geckos were quite docile as adults, but from birth until they grew a bit, they were typically ferocious little things.
Probably because their wild instincts were still intact and they hadn't been acclimated to human hands.
-Kkyuu!
So I figured Snow and Ice's baby would be the same, and sure enough, the little thing chomped right down on Seol noona's outstretched finger.
Bitten by those absurdly tiny, adorable teeth, Seol noona opened her eyes wide and stared at me.
"Are you all right, Seol noona?"
Snow and Ice possessed some strange poison called Ice Poison.
It wasn't lethal to humans or anything like that, but I was still slightly worried whether the baby might carry the poison too. In response to my question, though, Seol noona answered with a dazed expression.
"It bit me, but... I'm, I'm happy."
At Seol noona's reaction, the baby that had bitten her flinched instead.
Its already large eyes grew even wider.
It had bitten her to scold her, but she was delighted instead; the newborn seemed utterly baffled.
Aside from me, this was the first time it had seen a person overjoyed at being bitten by a lizard.
In a hushed voice, I shared the greatest secret that people like us would appreciate most.
"Seol noona, you don't say 'it bit me' in a situation like this. People like us have a different way to put it."
"Th-then? What do you say? Is there a word that captures this feeling of happiness?"
The baby was still latched onto her finger. I pointed at it and answered softly.
"In our circle, we say you've been 'Chosen'."
"Ch-Chosen!?"
"Yes. It means the creature has shown special interest in you, something like that."
Normally, when pet owners go to pick out an animal and one runs up to them, or acts more affectionate, or bites them, they say they've been Chosen by that one. When I explained this, Seol noona's eyes went wide.
"Ch-Chosen.... Yes, it was a Choosing...."
I wasn't planning to give her the baby or anything, but the moment I told her the word "Chosen", Seol noona trembled with emotion.
As expected of someone who loved animals, her feelings ran deep.
And watching that, Hwa-eun thrust her own hand toward the baby and said,
"Q-quick, 'Choose' me too."
'No, you've already been Chosen by someone over here....'
The one person who shouldn't be seeking a Choosing was begging for one.
***
-Swoosh.
Through the window of my personal ship sailing down the Yangtze River, I could hear the sound of the current flowing by.
I checked outside the window. The sun had set, leaving everything dark, and only the moon hung in the sky, its reflection rippling across the water's surface.
We had been on the river for two days since the baby was born.
Once I confirmed the newborn was perfectly healthy, we had set out for Yueyang immediately.
Lizards are born in the same state as adults, after all.
A boat journey would be no problem whatsoever.
Besides, we'd been told to come as quickly as possible, and with the baby safely delivered, there was no reason to delay our departure any further.
"How much farther?"
"We're almost there, Master Soryong."
When I asked one of the crew members sent by the Zhuge Family, he said we'd arrive soon. It had only been about five days by river, and the fast vessel riding the Yangtze's current had made good time to Yueyang.
I decided it was about time to head up on deck.
"I'm going out. Anyone, er, any bugs want to come along?"
When I turned to look inside and asked, Hyang scrambled up onto my shoulder without hesitation.
-Tssrit!
Hyang pointed toward the deck with her antennae and let out a sound as if to say "lead the way", and behind her, Cho and Bin reluctantly followed along.
-Tsurur.
-Tsur.
Neither of them seemed to want to go out, but apparently they couldn't let Hyang go alone.
Yohwa seemed to have taken a liking to the hammock woven from spider silk, swaying gently atop it.
Hwa-eun and Noona were still locked in a heated debate over naming Snow and Ice's baby.
"Hwa-eun, no matter how you look at it, Naeng-i is the best name, I'm telling you. It's pretty. The character for cold, 冷."
"It sounds too much like a girl's name, so no. The name should obviously be Dong-i. Winter, 冬. Since it was born from Ice and Snow, 'Winter' is perfect. Besides, he's the firstborn son who'll carry on the line, so it should be a manly name."
The two of them were arguing over a name for Snow and Ice's newborn, even though the one who'd actually be naming it hadn't given it a moment's thought.
I watched the two of them for a while, then shifted my gaze to Cho and Bin. Both shook their heads.
As if to say there was no stopping those two.
"Let's go."
-Tssrit.
-Tsurur.
-Tss.
As the three of us stepped onto the deck for the first time in a while, a refreshing breeze swept in from the direction we were heading.
A thin fog had begun to settle, and just then, a commotion rose from the ship's railing.
"How is this possible? We should be seeing it by now."
"Could be the fog. All boatmen, keep your eyes peeled and search!"
"Aye!"
It sounded as though they couldn't find something they were looking for.
The fog had been rolling in just as I'd heard, but it hadn't thickened enough to obscure visibility entirely, so I went to find the Helmsman and asked.
"What seems to be the problem?"
"Ah, Master Soryong. We're getting close to Yueyang, so we should be seeing lights around here, but there aren't any. That's what has us concerned. Even in the dead of night, the city's lights should make Yueyang visible by now. It's pitch black out there."
-Screech!
That was when it happened.
A sharp, grating sound came from the side of the ship, as if something had scraped against the hull.
"Wh-what was that!?"
"The, the dock, sir! Helmsman, sir!"
"What!? The, the poles! Get the poles out!"
With all the lights extinguished, they had failed to spot the approaching dock, and the side of the ship had scraped right against it.
Startled by the noise, my father-in-law, who had come along since he needed to meet with the imperial household, rushed out of his cabin and shouted.
"What in blazes is going on?"
"Between the fog and the darkness, they didn't see the dock coming and the ship grazed it."
"Put your backs into it! Heave-ho!"
"Push off!"
The crew rushed in and used poles to shove the hull away, barely separating the ship from the dock, and then people scrambled down to inspect the ship's condition.
To check whether it was taking on water.
'Oh, come on. Getting into a fender bender the moment you drive off the lot wasn't supposed to follow me into this life, was it?'
I'd thought the jinx of getting a scratch on a brand-new car was limited to my previous life, but here I was, getting scraped on the very first voyage.
While I stood there with a look of disbelief, the Helmsman came and reported.
"It appears we barely grazed it. There's no leak, so you needn't worry."
"I, I see. That's a relief."
Normally, if the damage were bad enough to need a full repair, you'd just accept it, but a scratch was somehow more aggravating. The Helmsman had no way of knowing that, though.
It was at that moment.
A man came running from the dock and shouted toward us through the darkness.
"I don't know where you've come from, but put out your lights! Hurry!"
"The lights?"
At his words, it occurred to me: this place was supposedly overrun by those Black Insects or whatever they were called.
I had been wondering why every light was snuffed out and it was so dark, and it seemed everyone was living with their lights extinguished because of the insects.
Where there was fire, bugs would swarm, after all.
"Everyone, douse the lights!"
We quickly extinguished the lights and disembarked at the dock, where a government soldier was standing. He asked us where we had come from.
"Where have you come from?"
"Ah, we've come from Sichuan. We were referred here by the Murim Alliance."
"The Murim Alliance? Ah, you're the people the Princess has been waiting for?"
"That's right. That would be us."
"Wonderful! Welcome! We'll escort you to the Princess at once! We've been waiting for you, as a matter of fact!"
The soldier's face lit up the moment he heard we'd come on the Murim Alliance's referral.
He quickly took the lead and spoke.
It seemed they had been waiting for us quite desperately.
"Come, follow me."
But not everyone in our party had disembarked yet.
I asked him in a careful voice.
"There are more people, well, children to come ashore. Could you wait just a moment?"
"Oh, you have more in your party?"
"Yes. Please, try not to be alarmed."
"Alarmed?"
"Kids, it's safe to come down!"
When I called out toward the ship, Cho, Bin, and Yohwa descended through the thin veil of fog, bathed in moonlight.
At the sight, the soldier recoiled in shock and collapsed right where he stood with a thud, sputtering,
"F-first the Black Insects, and now, now monsters.... Is... is Yueyang... doomed...?"
This man had just seen my daughters and little sister for the first time and had no filter whatsoever.
'Should I just leave him here?'
***
We arrived at the government office where the Governor was said to be, but we couldn't even get past the entrance.
The people there had taken one look at Cho and Bin and refused to let us inside.
I had brought them along to project an air of professional expertise, but it seemed I may have looked a bit too expert for comfort.
After a short while, two figures, a man and a woman, emerged from the darkness through the ring of soldiers surrounding us.
"You're the ones referred by the Murim Alliance?"
"Your Imperial Highne..."
"No, no. We can skip the formalities."
At the woman's question, my father-in-law had been about to launch into a full "Long live Her Imperial Highness" salute, but she stopped him. I'd looked into the protocol, and apparently you were required to use formal speech with a princess at all times, and even her husband had to speak to her deferentially for life. So this had been his way of showing proper respect, but it seemed she wasn't particularly concerned with ceremony.
"Tang Cheol-san, Family Head of Sichuan's Tang Family, pays his respects to the Guandao Princess."
"Ah, so you're from Sichuan's Tang Family. I'm well acquainted with the Tang Family's great reputation. It's a pleasure to meet you. My name is Yu Ji-ryeon. And this is my Lord Husband, Governor Seo Bin-ak."
"A pleasure. Seo Bin-ak."
Once the introductions were concluded, the woman's voice came again.
She was looking in my direction, her expression one of astonishment as she took in Bin and Cho gleaming in the moonlight.
"Well, I asked them to send people knowledgeable about insects, and I must say, the sight before me certainly inspires confidence. And to think the esteemed Family Head of the Tang Family has come to help us personally...."
Bathed in the moonlight, her expression seemed to radiate considerable relief. My father-in-law smiled at her words and stepped aside.
"The one who will be helping you, Princess, is not me, but this young man here."
"Pardon? The Young Hero?"
When he indicated that I, a mere youth, would be the one helping her, the woman blinked in surprise.
I stepped forward and asked.
"May I see the insects?"
"Of course. Brace yourselves."
She seemed slightly taken aback but nodded at my request, the Guandao Princess.
At her nod, she had one of the soldiers prepare something, and the man moved a good distance away and began striking a flint.
-Tap tap.
When the torch caught flame, the man planted it in the ground and sprinted back toward us.
-Swoosh.
Then came a sound that made the skin crawl.
Something swarmed relentlessly toward the torch, and the sheer force of them snuffed it out.
I rushed over and plucked a live specimen from among the ones that had burned to death on the torch.
Holding it up to the moonlight, the creature's form became clear.
Jet-black wings. Jet-black legs. An orange back.
And two of them, stuck together.
"Uh...."
After confirming what they were, I slowly turned my head toward the Guandao Princess.
"What is it? An insect you don't recognize?"
"N-no, I do recognize it, but...."
"You recognize it!? What is it? Is there a way to save us from those wretched things!?"
The Princess was asking with a face brimming with expectation, but this was incredibly awkward to answer.
These things were called Love Bugs, one of the insect species known for massive outbreaks. If I were to translate the name precisely into the language of the Central Plains to convey its exact meaning, I would have to call them Copulating Insects.
They were always found in pairs because they were perpetually mating, which was how they had earned the colloquial name "Love Bug". So even if I softened it to something like "Amorous Insects", I would still have to explain what that "amorous" meant precisely, and if I was going to have to explain anyway, it was simpler to just call them Copulating Insects, since at least that term needed no further elaboration.
'If I tell the Princess they're called "Copulating Insects", will I lose my head?'
The name of the insect was causing me a truly serious dilemma.
Author's Note.
For Snow and Ice's baby's name, do you prefer Naeng-i or Dong-i?
*****
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