The boy in front of me looks about the same age as that little girl named Rania.
As befits the son of a poor merchant, his clothes are shabby.
Still, his hair has a cream color with some curls, making him look quite pretty.
When he grows up, he’ll probably be quite popular.
The boy made a snake sound again.
“Saak, saak.”
His mind still doesn’t seem quite right.
Poor kid. He’s lost his chance to become popular.
“Sat, sat.”
“Saak!”
When I joined in with a similar sound, his face turned bright red and he started rustling about.
He’s snorting air through his nose, seeming very excited.
Maybe I should stop teasing him.
But what should I do now?
I’ve been discovered in my hiding place.
If the little one tells the merchants, I’ll surely be kicked out.
The carriage journey has been quite enjoyable and relaxing so far.
It seems like it will still take a few more days to reach Calea City, my destination.
“Hmm, are you planning to commit murder?” Pelerian said something terrifying.
‘That wouldn’t be right, would it? The merchants wouldn’t stand for it, right?’
“That’s correct.”
Even if I ate this human child, it would still end my carriage journey all the same.
You’re lucky, little one.
By the way, how did he know I was hiding?
Judging by his immediate hissing, it seems like he noticed me beforehand.
At times like these, I’m reminded of the Invisibility Cloak I never obtained.
If I had that item, it would have been so convenient.
It’s probably still in the hands of that Gnome in the Great Forest? What a waste.
“Wait.”
At that moment, Pelerian spoke seriously.
“That human child’s book. That, that one. Bring it here.”
Book?
The book the child was holding had this written on it:
「Introduction to the Mysterious Magic Studies of Sage Liberta」
It seems to be some kind of magic primer.
I wiggled my tail towards the child and the book.
Hey, bring that book over here.
“Shishisit!”
More snake sounds. Hurry up and bring it before you get scolded.
I feel like I’ve become a school bully extorting an elementary school student.
I used the Invisible Hand magic to quietly take the boy’s book.
“Wow, magic…!”
But instead of being surprised, the boy’s eyes sparkled with joy.
Ignoring his burdensome gaze, I opened the book.
There was a fairly fancy pen with ink inserted in it.
The open page read:
‘A simple guide to practical snake language conversation.
1)How to greet a snake you’re meeting for the first time.’
Oops.
This is an embarrassing situation.
I thought he was just a weird kid, but he was following instructions from the book.
‘Is there really a language that snakes use?’
It’s revolutionary that there’s a snake language I didn’t know about.
“How could there be? It’s all nonsense.”
Pelerian, who isn’t even a snake, asserted decisively.
“Liberta, Liberta, where have I heard that name before…”
Pelerian asked me to open the prologue section and started reading intently.
Meanwhile, I grabbed the pen with my Invisible Hand magic.
‘I suppose writing in the common language will do.’
Then I wrote in the corner of the book.
‘You, do you know who Liberta is?’
I inadvertently used the speech pattern I learned from Nanaluk.
“Ah! Ah… Sasak…”
The kid started hissing again.
However, it seems his conversation level isn’t very high.
It was a bit amusing to see him struggling to answer my question.
I was about to enjoy it more but decided against it.
‘Snake language is nonsense. There’s no way for humans to learn snake speech.’
“Is… is that so?”
‘Speak, do you know who Liberta is?’
“I heard he was… a great… archmage. Active about a hundred years ago.”
Pelerian mumbled, “Archmage? Hmm…” while pondering.
I waited for the boy to explain further.
“He was proficient in all elemental magic… and always wore a mask made of gold, so he was called the Sage of the Golden Mask.”
Quite a romantic magician, it seems.
That’s when it happened.
“Ah, that con artist!”
Pelerian finally seemed to remember and hit his large head.
‘Do you know him? A con artist?’
“Yes. He was a young brat who went around swindling humans while boasting that he was an archmage.”
‘Oh ho.’
“Golden mask, indeed. Now I know why he wore such a thing.”
It seems Pelerian had some connection with the author of this magic book.
Although I wasn’t particularly curious, I asked out of courtesy.
Pelerian answered excitedly.
“He tried to con me too. He was so arrogant that I flipped his high nose upside down and reattached it.”
‘….’
“After that, I heard he would cough terribly whenever it rained. Hahaha.”
Indeed, Pelerian was a wicked magician worthy of being considered a continental menace.
‘So this kid is learning magic from a book full of nonsense written by a con artist?’
“He might be able to write a magic primer, but… looking at the snake language conversation chapter, it seems he never fully corrected his bad habits.”
It was unfortunate for the human child.
But it’s better to know the truth now, isn’t it?
‘Young human, Liberta was a terrible half-wit magician. Not worth learning from.’
I was worried the little one might be shocked and start crying.
But that was my mistake.
“Gasp, did you perhaps meet Liberta?”
His eyes began to shine even more.
After pondering for a moment, I answered.
‘Indeed. He was a terrible fellow. He was so arrogant and haughty that I flipped his nose upside down, and it seems he went around wearing a golden mask after that.’
Hehe, this is fun.
The kid was incredibly impressed.
“Wow…”
‘The ugliness inside him couldn’t be hidden even with gold.’
“Then, how old are you exactly?”
I was about to answer that I was 4 months old, but quickly changed my mind.
‘About… four hundred years old, I think.’
“Huk!”
Pelerian chided me, saying, “Why not say four thousand years old? You think too small.”
Just as kids on Earth like scary dinosaurs, do the kids in this world like monsters?
“So you’re an incredibly old snake… Are you a Serpent then?”
‘…You could say something similar.’
“What should I call you?”
‘Call me Ouroboros. You can also call me Ouro.’
“Lord Ouro…”
I was pondering how to end this prank I had already started when the boy earnestly said,
“Can… can you teach me magic?”
Hmm.
Kids will be kids, I suppose.
Asking a snake you’ve just met to teach you magic, his courage is admirable.
“This Liberta fellow is consistently garbage. The magic book is terrible.”
It’s a pity to learn magic from something like that.
‘What should we do about this?’
“Huh?”
‘He’s asking to be taught magic.’
“Well, do as you please.”
‘Hmm… Ah!’
While I felt mischievous, an idea suddenly occurred to me.
‘Do you seek my teachings?’
“Yes…!”
‘If you offer appropriate tributes and maintain a proper attitude, I shall impart knowledge to you.’
“When you say tributes…”
Perhaps I could establish a mutually beneficial relationship with this child.
‘Bring writing tools, paper, and food.’
I might be able to live even more comfortably than now.
“For food… should I catch mice or frogs?”
‘You fool!’
“Then… what?”
‘Bring roasted potatoes and sausages.’
I’ve been really craving the food that humans eat.
I’m tired of just eating jerky.
“Understood!”
The boy nodded solemnly.
‘You haven’t introduced yourself yet.’
“Oh, I’m sorry. My name is Amain.”
‘Alright, Amain.’
I need to make a promise.
‘It would be best if no one found out that I am here.’
“Yes!”
I didn’t forget to properly intimidate him either.
‘If not, I’ll have no choice but to eat you, your father, and all these humans.’
“Ah…”
‘It’s been a while since I’ve filled my hungry stomach with human flesh…’
I stuck out my tongue with a hiss and retreated back into the darkness of the luggage compartment.
The kid’s face turned pale with fear.
Pelerian asked in a low voice.
“Are you having fun?”
‘Yes, hehe.’
It was really fun.