I Will Never Submit to Miss Grim Reaper - Chapter 397
Chapter 397: The Dragon King Can’t See
Just as Tam said, a few minutes after the giant dragon left, the sky above the lizardfolk village quickly darkened. Layers of dark clouds piled up, with blue and purple electric arcs frantically flickering among them.
Since the sky was already blue and purple, the darkening weather made it look even more oppressive, as if the world were about to end. If I didn’t know the reason behind it, I might have thought it was the apocalypse.
Such a sky is really fitting for an apocalyptic setting. Did Xiao Mo and the others always live in such a world?
“Tam said that the magic storm will reach our island soon.”
While I was still looking up at the sky, Nida’s father came over. This particularly strong lizardman, who would be immediately recognized as a villain in any movie, handed me a plate, seemingly with hot roast meat on it.
“Are you two going to be on the top or the bottom?”
“Of course, the top!”
Nida quickly answered, “I don’t want to stay bored in a basement all day with nothing to do! This is a great chance to observe the magic storm up close!”
“One day, your curiosity will be the death of you!”
Nida’s father frowned and said this, then turned to me. “And you? Our human friend from afar?”
Compared to the first time we met, the lizardman’s attitude towards me had slightly softened.
I didn’t use the wrong word—only “slightly” softened.
According to Nida, the thoughts of the entire lizardman village were very “primitive.” Although they had their own language and were intelligent beings capable of effective communication, most lizardmen were “very stubborn and conservative.”
They didn’t like human lifestyles, preferred to stay in nature and the forests, and wouldn’t actively learn the languages of other races, sticking to their old ways and hating change.
In Nida’s words, “They’re just like a group of animals that hunt when they’re hungry and reproduce when they’re bored.”
In other words, the lizardmen couldn’t understand my conversation with the red dragon Tam earlier. Only Nida’s father, the village representative, who had been to the human world and had a human wife, could understand.
Nida’s father surely understood about “Fei Luo and Momo”. Even if he didn’t, he should have grasped Tam’s attitude towards me as the manager of this island.
Based on the plot of the many web novels I’ve read, this father should now be “taking a deep breath,” “widening his eyes and exclaiming ‘This kid is terrifying’,” and thinking, “This person is someone our village needs to curry favor with.” However, his attitude towards me had only slightly improved.
“I want to be with her.”
Facing the old father’s question, I gestured towards Nida and tried to speak in the gentlest voice possible, “Where she is, I will be.”
“Okay.”
Nida’s father didn’t say much more and handed me the plate of still steaming roast meat.
“Eat up. I’m a vegetarian lizard, but my daughter isn’t. This is freshly hunted wild boar meat that I just roasted. You humans should be able to eat it too. Get some energy and don’t stay outside all night, you’ll freeze to death.”
“Dad, don’t worry about that. I will definitely take care of our honored guest better than myself!”
Nida quickly grabbed the wooden plate from her old father, pulled out a metal dagger from somewhere behind her small skirt, and easily sliced off a piece of the roast meat. She took a bite first, then turned to me.
“I only added salt. My dad is still the same, doesn’t know how to cook at all.”
Is she proving to me that they haven’t poisoned it?
These parents… should I call them simple and honest, or just too… straightforward?
“As long as you don’t freeze to death up there, eat if you want.”
The old father snorted, turned around, and started to leave.
I quickly took Nida’s dagger, sliced off a small piece of meat, and ate it. Then I said to his retreating back, “Thank you, uncle, I really like it!”
The texture of the meat was somewhat like domesticated pork, very soft but a bit gamey. The seasoning, as Nida said, was just salt. It wasn’t particularly tasty, but it wasn’t so bad that it was inedible either.
No matter what, this is a village mainly of vegetarian lizards. The fact that the village chief could find wild boar meat in such a short time and personally roast it for me is already the highest level of hospitality I could ask for.
They might be foolish, stubborn, and old-fashioned in their thinking, but their genuine, shared feelings are recognizable.
At least up until now, Xiao Mo has always said her favorite gift was the little villa I made for her with bamboo skewers for her birthday, because she knew it was the most beautiful gift I could make at the time.
This piece of roast pork should be the “tastiest meat” in the village, right?
“……”
After hearing my words, the old father in front paused his steps slightly, then continued walking into the group of lizardmen without looking back.
“Don’t force yourself. I know it’s not very good.”
Seeing that I actually ate what her father gave, Nida felt a bit embarrassed. “He roasted it half-raw and added so much salt. It’s not even as good as what I make…”
“No, it’s really quite good.”
I cut another piece of meat. “Some dishes don’t need very complicated procedures or a lot of seasonings. Just oil and salt can be delicious.”
I wasn’t lying.
At least compared to Xiao Mo, this piece of meat was cooked, seasoned, and was already top-notch.
For someone like Xiao Mo, who could turn water black and purple while boiling corn and taro, crack eggs while boiling them, and dye the egg whites black, this was really quite good.
Most meats are like this: when roasted, they release oil. With oil, they become fragrant. After they become fragrant, sprinkle some salt, and the flavor comes out—both fragrant and savory. What more could you ask for?
However, speaking of which, the old father shattered my mental image of a typical “protagonist triumph” plot.
Based on the popular web novel tropes in our world, the old father previously ignored me, and the authors would typically write something like, “Where did this poor boy come from? How dare he talk to my daughter?” followed by various forms of oppression towards the protagonist.
Then, when the red dragon arrived, it would kneel in front of “me,” exclaiming, “You actually know Dragon King Fei Luo?” The surrounding lizardmen would instantly kneel upon hearing this, and the old village chief who had oppressed “me” earlier would kneel at my feet, shouting, “I was blind and failed to recognize the Dragon King. Please forgive me, Dragon King!”
—However, none of this happened.
After Nida’s father learned of the red dragon Tam’s change in attitude towards me, he only spoke to me in a slightly better tone. Nida also didn’t treat me like a god just because I knew Fei Luo Momo, unlike most traditional novel characters.
Actually, reality seems to be like this, right?
I thought to myself quietly.
A world full of extravagance, with extravagant people.
Of course, if a novel wants clicks and subscriptions, it usually has to be written that way. Only when the readers feel satisfied will they pay, and the author can then create more, forming a positive cycle.
“Once the house is set up, I’ll show you my cooking skills. I’m really good at it!”
Seeing that I genuinely seemed to like the roast meat, Nida sighed in relief and pointed to the largest house in the center of the village.
“I designed that house. It’s very sturdy and even has some earth-element magical tools. We’ll reinforce it with wood later, and it will surely withstand the magic storm. Many things in the village are copied from human cities outside, like the carts for carrying goods and the village well. Even my old wooden dad sometimes has to praise me as a little inventor.”
“In exchange, you have to tell me all about your adventures with Lady Momo!”
Nida ran towards the big house with a sparkling smile on her face.
“Especially some inventions from the outside world. Besides magic, Lady Momo is also good at this. I’m not good at magic, but I have a talent for engineering and mechanics!”
“……”
……