Chapter 78
That's right. I was wondering about that too. Why does it treat me like its owner?
"Was it because I was in front of it when it hatched?"
"Maybe. But it's been following you since before it hatched, right?"
At Kaiden's words, I nodded, walking after Eunji.
I thought I first found it near the cabin, but maybe it had been following me even before that. Maybe it was too small for me to notice before.
"Then, could it be because you killed the Anaconda?"
Kaiden scanned the surroundings with a tense face, worried about a Monster attack, and continued.
"Did it get imprinted on you then?"
Imprinted? Like some werewolf?
"I learned this when I was studying Monsterology. Sometimes, Monsters who have lost their mothers will imprint on a soul with strong Mana. In that case, they follow that being like an owner."
"That's really unusual."
"Yes, it's very rare."
I looked at the back of Eunji, who was deliberately wriggling along to match our pace.
As if sensing my gaze, it twitched and slyly glanced at me. It couldn't even look me straight in the eye.
'Seriously, aside from everything else, isn't that Anaconda way too timid?'
Fortunately, we didn't encounter any other Monsters on the way, and we were able to reach the top of the cliff before Noel set.
The place Eunji led us to was exactly the top of the cliff where Kaiden and I had fallen. The rotting corpse of a giant Tarantula was proof of that.
The pungent, sour stench was so strong that I held my breath for a moment.
Come to think of it, Eunji was definitely in this place back then, even though it hadn't hatched yet. Is that why it knew the location?
'Did it know we were looking for this cliff and helped us? How?'
Even if it can't speak, can it understand human words? If it's really a Monster and a higher life form, maybe it's possible.
Anyway, it's trying to help us and is actually quite useful.
"We came to the right place."
At my murmur, Kaiden looked down at Eunji with a surprised expression.
"Wow, this worm is smarter than I thought?"
At his words, Eunji jumped up and down as if protesting. It didn't seem to like being called a 'worm'.
Sorry, kid. I'm calling you Eunji, too.
I carefully examined the area around the cliff. I was hoping my bag might have fallen here, but it wasn't visible.
"Looking for something?"
"I was hoping my bag was here."
Kaiden then realized what I was looking for and scanned the area with me. It was then.
Hiss, hiss.
I heard an eerie sound and looked down to find Eunji spinning around at my feet.
The creature, which had been crawling on the ground, poked its head up and flicked its tongue at me.
Then it crawled forward a little, looked back at me, crawled forward a little more, and looked back at me again.
"Looks like it wants us to follow it?"
At Kaiden's question, I bit my lower lip for a moment and pondered.
Should I follow it...? It was the one who brought us to this cliff. Can I trust it?
After agonizing over it, I finally followed it, pushing through the bushes.
Further behind the corpse of the giant Tarantula, I saw the corpse of a medium-sized spider. And Eunji was wandering in front of it.
"Ugh... I hate spiders so much."
I shuddered and grabbed Kaiden's sleeve. There was something under the spider, which was lying upside down.
Kaiden didn't seem to be bothered by the bugs at all. He nonchalantly knelt down in front of the spider.
Then Eunji jumped up and down as if welcoming Kaiden. It was as if it was telling him to examine that place.
It was a bizarre sight to see a palm-sized, worm-like snake jumping up and down on the ground.
Kaiden tried to lift the spider's leg, but it was too heavy.
"Margaret, it looks like the Magical Artifact you used to use is under here."
At Kaiden's words, I had no choice but to go to his side and put my hand on the spider's leg, which was covered in fluffy hair.
Ugh. I hate the texture. Ugh...
I followed Kaiden and lifted the spider's leg, and as soon as the spider's leg left the ground, Eunji crawled underneath as if it had been waiting.
"Huh?"
I was surprised and looked down, and the creature was pushing out Flares with its head.
If it could talk, it would probably be saying 'Heave-ho, heave-ho'.
Kaiden was also amazed by the sight and watched Eunji's behavior with a dumbfounded look.
It completely pulled the Flares out and looked up at me with a proud face.
Well, actually, snakes don't have expressions, so I don't know if it had a proud face or not. But the way it flicked its tongue at me was like a dog wanting praise.
It doesn't make sense for this creature to just be a snake. If it's really a Monster that imprinted on me as its owner, as Kaiden said, it makes sense.
It seems like it's the baby of the Anaconda that was trying to hatch that egg back then.
"Good job, thank you."
As if happy with my praise, it spun around in place, rejoicing.
'It's even starting to look cute now.'
A grown Anaconda is terrifyingly scary, but this creature is a very small, worm-like baby snake.
Besides, I can't just hate a child who cutely trots after me and shines its eyes, begging for love.
I looked at Eunji, chuckled, and picked up the Flares.
The Flares were intact. The bullets were also inside. I didn't find my bag, but I'm really glad I salvaged the Flares.
"Margaret?"
Kaiden, who was about to turn back, called me. I had no choice but to put aside my thoughts and follow him back towards the cliff.
The sky was unusually clear today, and the sunlight was warm. Thanks to that, the visibility was good, and the beautiful island was captured in my eyes with a particularly brilliant color.
The emerald river flowing below the cliff sparkled brilliantly, and the lush greenery surrounding the river rippled peacefully.
"This island is pretty, though."
Kaiden said, seeing me staring silently beyond the cliff. I glanced at him and nodded.
"Yeah. It's pretty."
Who would have thought that such a beautiful island would be full of terrifying Monsters?
I stared blankly at the island for a while before turning away.
"Let's go back quickly. Everyone must be worried."
At my words, Kaiden nodded. At that moment, Eunji cautiously followed behind us as we headed towards the cabin.
When I turned around and looked at it, it was startled and stopped in its tracks. Then it slyly rolled its eyes and looked at me.
When we moved again, it quietly followed us, and when we stopped and looked back, it flinched, stopped, and looked at us.
I don't know why it's acting so pitiful. Is it a sympathy-inducing tactic?
Anyway, if that was the tactic, it seems to have been somewhat successful. I'm starting to feel sorry for it.
'It's so small that it wouldn't even make a mouthful...'
If it were alone, it probably wouldn't last a day before being caught and eaten by another Monster, right?
I finally had to make a decision. I looked at Eunji with a troubled face and asked it.
"Do you want to come with us?"
And at my question, it jumped up and down and came to my feet at a very fast speed, spinning around.
"Wow, that snake is really like a dog."
I looked at him with a disgusted look at Kaiden's muttering.
"It's not really a curse, but it sounds a lot like one."
He shrugged.
In the end, we decided to take Eunji back to the cabin with us.
Since we decided to take it with us, I wanted to get a little closer, so I carefully poked its silver scales, and Kaiden said to me.
"If you're going to take it with you, why don't you give it a name?"
Eunji, who had been lying still and accepting my playfulness, raised its head.
Its yellow eyes seemed to be sparkling.
"Eunji."
It jumped up.
"It's short for Eunji-worm."
It somehow turned into a Korean-style name, but I couldn't think of any other names.
What can I do if my naming sense is only this good?
