*Hisss*

Ddraig’s hissing snapped the naga girl back to reality. Her head jolted towards the source of the sound and, after seeing Ddraig towering over her, she immediately went to a defensive position.

“You can’t defend yourselves against the basilisk attacks?”

Reinhard asked after hearing her story to break the tense atmosphere in the air.

“N-no…”

She replied, still being cautious of Ddraig.

“I-if it’s just one to two basilisks we can, but they’ve been going to our nests with more than ten basilisks at once!”

Reinhard lowered his weapons but still kept them ready.

“How many nagas are there in your nest?”

“There used to be more than fifty of us, but now, only about twenty of us are left, most are women and children…”

She replied while a slight tremble on her body could visibly be seen.

“If… if this keeps us… We would all be killed…”

“Why not just move your nest? Surely the forest is big enough to find another home?”

“This part of the forest has the least amount of competition, which is why we were barely able to survive here. If we move somewhere else, I don’t even know if we can keep up with the other creatures…”

“Are they that weak? Or are the creatures on other parts of the forest just that dangerous? I guess it’s the latter as even other nations would not dare expand here. I really haven’t seen anything yet, have I?”

“Please… I’m begging you! You’re a friend of the dryads right? The former custodians? Maybe they can help us? W-we’re not asking for the total eradication of the basilisks…” She took a glance towards Ddraig. “…we just want to leave peacefully amongst these parts…”

Reinhard went into deep thought, weighing his options. On the outside, he may seem like he’s looking directly towards the naga girl, but in actuality, he’s just lost in his thoughts, staring at nothing that just so happens to be the direction of the naga girl.

“Hmm. I’m not really in a hurry to get to the kingdom… Am I?”

“…”

“No, I’m not. Should I go back and inform them about this problem? Ah, but even if I did, Garden is busy as it is with its own things…”

He snapped out of his daydreaming and asked the naga girl standing not too far in front of him.

“You say you just want to live peacefully, right? What do you nagas eat?”

“Eh? Ah, it depends. If we had a successful hunt, we eat meat. If not, we eat the fruits and berries we foraged while on the hunt.”

“Foraged? Do you not farm?”

The naga grew embarrassed.

“N-no… None of us know how to farm…”

She replied while looking down on the ground.

“Hmm.”

“I could teach you if you want? I mean… As much as I know, anyway, which is just the very basics.”

The naga girl flinched back.

“I-I’m sorry… I lied. It’s not that we don’t know how to farm. It’s just that… we can’t do it. Some of us say it’s a curse from nature, some say this is the way nature intended us to live. Either way, it would be like trying to teach a bird how to wield a spear. We just can’t… I’m sorry.”

“…”

At this point, Reinhard hadn’t noticed it yet, but his cautiousness has already dropped.

“Would you mind if I go and see this nest of yours?”

He asked the naga. The naga, in response, immediately looked up to him in shock.

“W-what? No! You’d be killed by my brothers! They… they hate humans, because they believe the humans are the root cause of this by invading the basilisk nest… They might even think you’re one of those humans.”

She looked at Ddraig once again.

“Then I just have to convince them otherwise, right?”

“No! You’d be killed even before you utter a single word!”

“Hmm, not if I ride atop Ddraig. He can spit fire, you know?”

Reinhard retorted, somewhat proud of what his follower can do. Ddraig, in response, let out a triumphant hiss.

The naga girl appeared to be thinking for a while. Her eyes furrowed just like that of a normal human. Silence followed for about a minute and a half before she spoke again.

“Don’t blame me if something happens to you…”

She said, finally giving in to Reinhard’s request.

[SYSTEM]

[Charismatic 4] leveled up to [Charismatic 5]

Unbeknownst to her, Reinhard actually had ulterior motives on why he’d want to go to their nest.

“If things start turning south, I’d just run away.”

“...Fine. Follow me.”

The naga girl sighed. Ddraig went closer to Reinhard and lowered his head so he can hop on top of him, then they began following the naga girl westward, opposite of where they had intended to go to avoid the basilisk nest.

“By the way, do you have a name?”

Reinhard asked to her while riding on Ddraig.

“Ah, yes. I’m called Hebi.”

She shortly replied.

Reinhard looked at her movements. It did seem very snake-like the way her lower body traverses across obstacles and terrain, but the difference is that she does not slither like Ddraig does. Instead, she moves straight forward, dragging her lower body along. At least, it would seem that way. It almost looks like she have unseen wheels beneath her due to the lack of visible motion in her movements.

“I wonder how she manages to move… It also appears that she doesn’t hiss like a snake would. Hmm, I should stop bringing the logic of my previous world in here…”

“…”

“This is a different world with a different set of rules, after all. Wait, does that mean some universal laws are different? I mean… It’s obvious enough that magic exists, but aside from that, I wonder if there are other changes… And what causes this?”

He then brought up the gray interface. He made some basic tests regarding it before, and it turns out that only he can see it.

All of a sudden, Hebi stopped in her tracks and looked back at Ddraig and Reinhard. It didn't felt like they've travelled far, but that's only because of the speed of both Ddraig and Hebi.

“We’re here. Beyond this wall of bushes is our nest. Are you sure you want to do this?”

In response, Reinhard talked to Ddraig.

“Are you ready to look as intimidating as you can, Ddraig?”

*Hissss*

“Yep! We’re ready.”

Reinhard said. Hebi on the otherhand, looks unconvinced.

Then, they went through the shrubs. Reinhard prepared himself for the worst reception he would receive, so he readied the earth staff to cast a shield the moment someone shows hostility to him.

“A BASILISK!”

Someone shouted just mere moments after they emerged.

“PROTECT THE CHILDREN, THEY’RE ATTACKING AGAIN!”

Another one says. The entire nest immediately fell into chaos.

“No! Wait! Calm down!”

Hebi desperately says as she puts herself in between the assembling naga guards wielding spears and Ddraig.

“Is that… a human!?”

“There’s a human here? What is the meaning of this, Hebi!?”

“CALM DOWN! This human is a friend of the dryads!!”

She shouted on top of her lungs to catch everyone’s attention.

The four assembling guards paused and looked up to Reinhard in disbelief.

They all look somewhat the same to Reinhard, except for their faces and the overall size of their bodies.

He scanned the entire area. It’s a circular space barricaded by various sticks and logs. Inside, one can see the multiple thatches littered in the area seemingly without organization. Some thatches have giant eggs on them while some are empty. The nagas inside are all huddled in one area, protecting their young behind their backs.

“Wait, there are only four guards?”

“How do you know that!?”

One guard shouts at Hebi.

“H-he told me.”

“And you believed him!?”

Hebi was speechless. She didn’t know how to respond.

“Leave now, human, unless you want to die right here and now…”

Despite the obvious threat to his life, Reinhard remained unfazed. He tapped Ddraig’s head twice.

*Hisss*

Then, in a spectacular and at the same time frightening display of power, Ddraig let out a breath of flames above the guards. It was high enough not to harm anyone or anything, but they could certainly feel the heat of it.

“Craaaap, it’s so hot being this near from it!”

Reinhard thought as he struggles to maintain his composure against the incredible heat. He’s certainly had it worse than the guards, but they were affected by it more than him. The guard on the far left dropped his spear in fear and just froze there, staring at the flames while the rest of the guards couldn’t help but retreat a little bit.

The plume of flames subsided, and all the nagas could see was Reinhard sitting on top of a red basilisk, emotionless.

“I am the current chief of Garden.”

Reinhard says as confident as he can while getting off of Ddraig’s head.

"Eh?"

Hebi couldn't belive what she just heared.

“Hebi here has told me everything. The basilisks, the humans, all of it. I’m not going to help you, because frankly, I don’t know how. Have you tried asking the sylphs about this?”

“T-there are no Sylpheim Trees in these parts.”

Hebi replied to him from his right side, still shocked at the revelation.

“I see.”

“…”

“I’m trying to expand Garden, you see. I came here not to offer a solution to your problem, but a way for you to avoid it. Come to Garden. Live with us and you will be offered protection. In exchange, you are expected to work for the benefit of Garden. How’s that sound?”

“SAVE US YOUR LIES, HUMAN!”

One guard shouts after regaining his senses.

“Chief of Garden? Hah! You? A human? The Smoke would consume all of Drasil first before the dryads trust a mortal!”

Reinhard sighed.

“Should I do it? Show them I possess the branch?”

Reinhard thought for a while and, once again, weighed his options. In the end though, he went against it and decided to convince them himself.

“It’s true. I don’t need you to believe me. All you had to do is see for yourself.”

He replied.

“And how would we do that? Garden has been hidden from the outside world for thousands of years! You think we could just walk in there?”

“Ah, that’s right.”

“Well. Tylla is… dead.”

He replied with a gloomy tone.

“Those same humans that attacked the basilisk nest came to Garden looking for the holder of the branch and they thought the dryads were hiding him. It just turns out that I was there and saw that… injustice happening, so I decided to fight for the dryads. One thing led to another and now I’m the chief. Tylla was killed while the barrier was open, so it cannot be closed as of yet. If you go to the hut you would see it.”

“Lies! You think we’ll believe any—“

“Enough.”

Before the guard could even finish speaking, he was interrupted by an older looking naga from inside the nest.

“I apologize for the attitude of these young ones. Over the years, we’ve just learned not to be trusting of humans. Now, I have to ask you… Is what you said really true? That you’re the chief of Garden?”

The older naga looked at him straight in the eyes. This feeling reminded him of the elder from Garden, as if years of accumulated experience and wisdom were bearing down on him.

“Yes, it is.”

He replied with a straight face full of confidence.

“I see. Let him in.”

“Wha—? But he’s—“

“Let him in!”

“Y-yes…”

He and Ddraig were let in after the intense piercing gazes of the guards that seem to protest the idea. While inside the barely secure fence of wood and sticks, two of the guards tailed behind him while the other two remained at the entrance. The nagas huddling on one side have now began to disperse, but still distancing themselves from him and Ddraig.

They stopped at one of the elevated thatches where the older naga rested himself on.

“Now… I’d like to hear more.”

He said as he coil his snake body on itself.