I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 392
Chapter 392: The Lizard Girl Full of Dreams
Nida, the lizard girl, gave me the impression of being a bit like a naive college student.
Just like my past self.
How should I put it… she’s the type who speaks very directly, without much cunning, very frank, talkative, saying whatever comes to mind. If I were to compare her to someone I know, she’d be similar to a girl like Zhou Xiaofei.
She was brought up to be kind from a young age and hasn’t seen much of the dark side of society. Because her family is relatively poor and her parents have had a tough life, she has always had dreams of wanting to change things, tinged with a bit of insecurity.
At least, based on my intuition, she’s not a bad person, not very calculating.
“You’re just… not afraid that I might be a bad person?” I asked, curious, after she casually mentioned taking me back to the village.
“You’re not a bad person.”
What surprised me was how confident the little lizard girl looked. “Nida can tell. Nida has been to the city several times already, seen good people and bad people. Bad people don’t have eyes like Diwu’s. Diwu’s eyes are very beautiful, clean, clear, bright. You’re a good person.”
“Oh, really?”
I felt a bit embarrassed by her words. “But what if you’re mistaken?”
“I won’t be wrong. Diwu is like a little rabbit, or a grassland cat, or a fluffy hamster! That kind of… cute and silly appearance.”
The lizard girl was full of confidence. “I’ve been hunting for over a hundred years. I can tell the appearance of forest wolves, black panthers, and cotton-tail rabbits on the grassland. Which little animals are cute, which ones are dangerous, aggressive rabbits from non-aggressive ones—Nida can tell at a glance!”
A cute and silly appearance…
Alright, let’s not talk about it anymore.
Even though I usually look at myself in the mirror and see that sleepy-looking girl who seems completely harmless, like a little rabbit with no fighting capability at all, maybe it was a bit too much for you to directly call me “silly and cute.”
In Elvish, there isn’t a direct word like “silly and cute.” The lizard girl used a term with a fond, indulgent tone—something akin to “little fool.” It carries a context close to “adorable but silly and fluffy little fuzzball.”
“I have another question.”
After a brief silence, I pointed to where the lizard girl had appeared earlier.
“Were you here all along? Why didn’t I notice you?”
“I sensed the magic aura and came over early. I saw a magic circle appear in the area where you were, and then you appeared.”
The lizard girl said seriously, “Tam probably sensed this magical aura and flew out of the dragon’s lair. I had to change the color of my body… just like this!”
With that, the lizard girl’s originally bright red hair and tail instantly turned into a verdant green that blended almost perfectly with the surroundings.
She walked a few steps toward the bushes, crouched down, and used some leaves to cover herself. Soon, she melded into the background like part of the trees behind her.
“This is our tribe’s unique camouflage method.”
Afterward, the lizard girl returned to her pink hair and tail.
“So, you were standing there cluelessly when the dragon came, and everyone else was hiding. You were like a rabbit frozen by a big brown bear.”
I wasn’t frozen with fear, okay? I was… waiting for Xiao Mo.
“I have no idea what’s going on here.”
Quietly squatting down, I picked up a twig and playfully wrote the word “lizard” in Earth’s language on the ground. I said to the lizard girl in front of me, “So, actually… I was quite panicked after being transported here, unsure what to do.”
Actually, whether I write it or not doesn’t matter. If this is Xiao Mo’s test, she’ll definitely know where I’ve gone. With her “soul contract” magic, she could instantly teleport to me. I’m just leaving a straightforward mark for myself.
“Then come back to the village with me first! People there are experienced and surely will have a solution!”
The lizard girl pointed at the gloomy sky.
“Plus, look at that sky, it’s definitely going to rain. You must be a warm-blooded animal, right? It wouldn’t be good if you catch a cold.”
Wow, she even knows about warm-blooded animals…
I discreetly sized up this little one who was just a tad taller than me.
So, are you a cold-blooded animal then?
“Hmm…”
Seeing that she had already brought it up, I could only nod. “Well then… I appreciate your help.”
If what this lizard girl said is true, from the information she hinted at earlier, she doesn’t know magic or her magic skills aren’t high. It seems her village doesn’t support her learning magic either.
So, the overall magic level in her village must be quite low. The clothes I’m wearing theoretically can withstand attacks from low-level magic. If things go wrong, I can also use “Mobius Circle” to escape.
The saying goes, “Plans cannot keep up with changes,” which applies universally whether on Earth or in another world. The clothes I’m wearing protect against magic but not against rain.
Though theoretically, it would be better to stay near the teleportation point or by the stream and wait for rescue, if all this is indeed a result of Xiao Mo’s forbidden magic gone wrong, and I’ve been transported to a place Xiao Mo can’t find or sense, then it’s necessary for me to try to save myself as much as possible.
If Xiao Mo can’t find this place, either it’s too far for her to sense or there’s some sort of barrier-like thing here, then what I need to do is try my best to get out of here and find a human city.
The lizard girl said this place is an isolated island, with the nearest human city over 7,000 kilometers away. I might actually have to rely on their village then, using her father’s “channels” to get to a human city and inquire about Xiao Mo.
“No trouble at all, no trouble at all. I’ve lived here for so long and it’s my first time meeting a human girl!”
Seeing me say this, the lizard girl got excited again, her light pink hair blushing a bit more. She pointed towards the forest ahead, “My dad should be in the village by now. Let me take you back, come on!”
With that, the little lizard bravely took out what seemed like a hunting spear from the nearby bushes and marched towards the direction she mentioned.
“Uh…”
Seeing this, I quickly adjusted my clothes and followed along.
“By the way, little girl, you’re really cute. From the perspective of us lizard folk, you’re a great beauty.”
As we walked, the lizard girl curiously asked, “Back in the human world, you must have had many suitors, right?”
“Ah… Thank you, but I already have a partner.”
“Really? Who’s the lucky young master?”
“A young princess.”
“Huh?”
“I mean… my partner is also a girl.”
“Wow! That’s possible too?”
“As long as there’s love, there’s no problem.”
“……”
Along the way, the lizard girl and I chatted intermittently. The lizard girl told me that this isolated island, “Maha,” earned its name as the “Land of Exile” because thousands of years ago, their ancestors committed a great crime during the battle with the Demon King.
Those who survived the war and admitted their guilt were exiled to this place, guarded by several nearby dragons, strictly limiting contact with human cities.
Although the island is very remote, it is extremely large in size, equivalent to about two of Earth’s Japan. The climate and environment are favorable, aside from being far from the secular world, there are no other downsides.
Additionally, lizard people themselves prefer wilderness environments to some extent. Therefore, at that time, most people felt that exiling them here was already quite “tolerant.”
“My grandfather said that at that time, several of our people were enchanted by the Demon King, betrayed the Allied forces, and caused heavy losses. In the end, if it weren’t for Lady Momo, that war wouldn’t have been won. Lady Momo only killed those involved with the rebellion and did not exterminate our ancestors… Normally, in those days, such crimes would have meant the annihilation of the entire clan.”
The small lizard girl, carrying long fur, seemed reflective under the sunlight.
“Now everyone here lives quite well. We lizard people were never suited to learning magic or adapting to human cities. The environment in Maha suits us better.”
Compared to Earth, the forests here in the other world are more “magical.” Along the way, I’ve seen no fewer than ten types of colorful plants and mushrooms taller than humans. These mushrooms look like jelly, in shades of light blue, white, and golden yellow, translucent and sparkling. They seem like they would bounce up with a “boing” if stepped on.
“We call those mushrooms ‘Fruitclinger’ here. They’re not poisonous but sticky, just like our tongues. Step on them and you’ll get stuck!”
“That vine, despite its bright red color and lack of poison, belongs to a type of mimicry plant. The real dangerous one is the ‘Venomous Creeper’ that looks similar in color. If you touch it bare-handed, it feels like being burned by fire.”
Perhaps sensing that this was my first time here, the little lizard girl, Nida, took on the role of a tour guide voluntarily.
“We only have three seasons here: cold, hot, and comfortable. Right now, we’re in the hot season, and the most abundant thing is a tree called ‘Crystal Fruit.’ I really love Crystal Fruits, but they aren’t cultivated in the human cities my dad visited. I wonder if Diwu’s place has them.”
“Besides the dragon Tam, the scariest animals here are the forest wolves. They usually appear at night, and the alpha wolf can grow to over three meters long. Even the strongest warriors in our village may not be able to fight an alpha wolf one-on-one, especially since they often travel in packs.”
The sky here isn’t like Earth’s clear blue or pale white, it leans towards purple, which feels somewhat oppressive whenever I look up. I wonder if this is a unique phenomenon of “Maha.”
“Dad, Dad!”
Just as Nida, the lizard girl, mentioned, her village isn’t far from where I was transported. But the scale of it… it’s so small. Passing through one bush after another, crossing several mushroom clusters, about twenty minutes later, what appeared before my eyes was something akin to those “primitive tribes” often seen on television on Earth.
The tribe was enclosed by a relatively crude wooden fence, with two tall structures resembling watchtowers at the entrance. Two adult lizard people armed with spears stood on top.
After Nida gave me a look that seemed to say “wait here for a moment,” she jogged towards a lizard person underneath the watchtower. I couldn’t hear what they said, but I could see the adult lizard person looking somewhat unhappy. He glanced at me, then at his daughter in front of him, furrowed his brow, and spoke louder.
“Nida Lucas, Nada!”
Soon after, Nida stood with her hands on her hips, clearly displeased, and said something to the large lizard person, pointing in my direction. They argued intensely.
In front of me, the lizard village’s male inhabitants, like Nida, had long lizard tails and vertical pupils reminiscent of dragonkind.
However, the males’ hands seemed more “beast-like,” with very sharp claws and numerous scales. In contrast, Nida’s hands were similar to those of a regular human, and her feet lacked distinct lizard characteristics.
“Alright, fine, if you won’t care, my friend will stay with me!”
Finally saying this in Elvish, Nida walked over to me, grabbed my wrist, and said, “Diwu sister, don’t mind him. My dad is just stubborn, especially since the elder from the neighboring village has been causing trouble lately. He’s in a bad mood, but he’s actually all bark and no bite.”
Leading me to the entrance of the village, Nida shot a fierce glare at the nearly six-foot-tall lizard and made a face, then pulled me into the village.
Meanwhile, I gave an apologetic look to the big lizard that was said to be Nida’s father.
“You see, right? He didn’t stop you, my dad’s really a soft-hearted.”
Walking into the village along the central muddy path for a while, Nida turned to a small hut made of wood and withered grass that resembled a yurt. From inside, she retrieved a fruit similar to a coconut from a large box, pierced it with the tip of her spear with a “pop,” and handed it to me.
“Here, it’s sweet. I really like it.”
“Thank you.”
Feeling that fruit-like things shouldn’t be poisoned in advance, I took the “big coconut” and took a sip.
Hmm… it tasted somewhat like diluted honeydew juice?
“Right?”
Perhaps seeing the happy expression on my face, Nida smiled too.
“It’s my first time treating a guest with a catch I found myself.”
“What did your dad say just now?”
With Nida’s permission, I sat down on a small tree stump nearby, still holding the coconut.
“The usual stuff—he’s pressuring me to get married, urging me to marry that big lizard from the neighboring village, forge an alliance between the two villages, and have lots and lots of offspring. He says we need to multiply quickly to increase the village’s labor force.”
Nida sighed. “My dad is such a traditionalist. What’s the use of having children? Every time he goes to the human city, it’s all about food. If I try to read a book, he scolds me. No matter how many children we have, no matter how strong we make their muscles, it doesn’t improve our lives at all. I want to study magic, learn different languages, so I can understand more books and communicate with more scholars. My dad used to scold me for learning Elvish, saying it was useless. Look, now it’s useful.”
“My dad said just now that he knows I’m curious about magic and the outside world. So when he saw us, he knew I wouldn’t miss the chance to make friends with you. He told me not to delay tomorrow’s blind date because of you.”
Nida’s words puzzled me.
“Do people like me come here often?”
“No, not really. But in human cities, my dad has seen many girls like sister Diwu. Most of them know some magic. He probably guessed that you used some magic to come here. And since Dad knows I’m deeply into magic-related things, he said not to get too absorbed in it. Hmph, I’m different from them!”
I also took out a “coconut” from the large box, pierced it open, and Nida walked to the door of this simple hut, looking at the sun outside.
“Someday, I’ll leave here, find my idol, Lady Momo, and have her teach me the most powerful lightning magic!”
“……”
……