Quietly Hiding that I am a Man chapter 41- Fake Death

* * *

I narrowed my eyes at the hesitant Ber.

He scratched his head awkwardly with his short foreleg, then let out an embarrassed chuckle.

“Well, I can feel something, but I’m not sure if it’s the trace of the hunting dog or the heretic. I think I’ll be able to find it if I kill the dog…”

He touched his lips with a troubled expression.

Summing up what Ber had said, the presence of Mephisto was so overwhelming that it was masking the heretic’s aura.

It was like how a strong perfume could erase other scents.

After organizing my thoughts, I asked in a curious tone.

“Is Mephisto’s influence that strong?”

“You may not notice, but it’s a miracle that guy is still alive. If he were an ordinary human, he would have lost his mind and died long ago.”

Ber trembled as if creeped out. It seemed that, as a divine beast, Ber could see something invisible to me.

I regretted not leaving Jerome’s side.

Just then, Ber, who had been rummaging through the picnic basket, suddenly handed me something.

“More importantly, Master, I made a sandwich! I’ve heard that filthy humans like to eat delicious things stacked together. So, I stacked my favorite ingredients. Please, try it.”

“…Why is something wriggling inside?”

“Oh, that’s a protein-rich sandworm larva. It’s a delicacy among dragons…”

I smacked the sandwich out of Ber’s hand.

From the split sandwich, several sandworm larvae wriggled out. Ber’s face crumpled in hurt, and he almost cried.

“You’re so mean. So mean. I worked hard on this because it’s our first picnic together…”

“Why are you trying to do human things? Don’t you hate humans?”

“I hate humans!”

I covered my ears as Ber screamed.

How could such a small body produce that kind of volume?

He was practically breathing fire as he grabbed another sandwich from the picnic basket.

I asked as Ber took a big bite.

“Why do you hate them so much? There must be a reason.”

“Do I need a reason to hate them? Master, you also rejected the sandworm sandwich I made without even trying it. Isn’t that a form of prejudice?”

I had a feeling that Ber’s intelligence increased by about 20% when he was cornered.

It was a skill as persistent as a cockroach.

I sat next to him while he grumbled and continued eating the sandwich. He mumbled with his cheek puffed out.

“Humans, once I start to get attached to them, they die. Every human I’ve contracted with has died that way.”

I froze as I observed the lake. Ber had put down his sandwich, having lost his appetite. He pursed his lips, clearly upset.

“I’ll keep living for eternity, but those guys die suddenly without any warning. Being left alone every time… You wouldn’t understand how horrible that feels, Master.”

Ber’s eyes darkened as if he was remembering his past masters. From his perspective, it made sense to feel bitter toward humans who live such fleeting lives. His feelings for humans were a mixture of love and hatred.

‘Is that why he wants to go to the Forest of the Underworld? Because he’s afraid of being left alone?’

I had formed my contract with Ber on the condition that I would take him to the Forest of the Underworld.

If Ber was eventually buried in the Underworld Tree, it wouldn’t be him left alone—it would be me. Ber, who had slowly crawled onto my lap, blinked his large eyes and asked,

“Master, aren’t you afraid? Of being left alone after sending me away?”

I couldn’t find the words to reply. I remembered the day I returned from my father’s funeral, when the house felt unusually large.

I stared at Ber absentmindedly before scratching his nose.

“Ber, you know…”

“Yes?”

“I don’t love you enough for that yet.”

Ber, who had been sulking, suddenly glared at me with a serious expression and bit my finger hard.

I shot up, feeling the sharp pain as if my finger was being torn off.

“Enough! I hate you, Master! You dislike my sandworm sandwich, wouldn’t be sad if I died, and keep defending that mutt…”

Eek.

Just then, a strange sound echoed from within the fog.

I quickly clamped a hand over Ber’s mouth and surveyed the area.

The fog had thickened around my ankles, making it impossible to see anything, and the stench of oil, like something you’d smell at a gas station, hit my nose.

Holding my breath, I hugged Ber tightly and slowly backed away.

Eek.

Something thick and long slithered out of the white fog like a snake. It was undoubtedly the heretic’s tongue.

The crimson-black tongue flicked at the fallen sandworm sandwich.

Even though most of its form was obscured by the fog, the sense of menace was unmistakable.

Hugging Ber tightly, I thought to myself,

‘So this heretic’s motif is a snake. Its body is greasy and massive, with keen ears compensating for its lack of sight. In the novel, Luke used that to lure the heretic into a fire and burned it alive.’

In the story, Luke had figured out that the heretic could regenerate, so he used fire to deal with it.

I swallowed hard and rummaged through the pouch at my waist.

‘I did bring matches, but if I don’t light the fire on the first try, it’s over. I have to make sure the flame catches immediately…’

Just as I was frantically devising a plan, a butterfly landed on Ber’s twitching nose.

Ber scrunched his nose and sneezed loudly.

At the sound, the heretic’s tongue retreated into the fog. I stared blankly at Ber, who was sniffling, and thought,

‘What the hell.’

A tense silence filled the air.

A drop of sweat rolled down my forehead and hit the ground.

That was the signal. The heretic, now visible through the fog, charged toward me at full speed.

“Ber, go get Jerome now!”

I threw Ber forward, yelling with all my might.

Given the situation, I needed a new plan.

But Ber, wide-eyed, shook his head and clung to my neck.

“No! You’re just trying to sacrifice yourself! I’d rather we both get eaten together!”

“What are you talking about? Just go get Jerome!”

The slimy tongue slithered up my leg, leaving an unsettling sensation.

Panicking, I grabbed the tongue with my hand and tried to pull it off, but it didn’t budge.

Staring at the unmoving tongue in disbelief, I realized the snake wasn’t trying to devour me right away.

Instead, its thick, massive tongue was coiling tightly around my leg.

“Why is this thing acting like this? Why is its tongue so sticky?”

“Master, look over there.”

Ber pointed to something.

Following his gaze, I turned and saw something peeking out from between the snake’s scales.

Drip, drip.

It was the snake’s genitals, leaking fluid.

‘Oh, hell no.’

Just like a predator sizing up its prey before a meal, the heretic’s tongue tightened its grip around my leg.

Even as it coiled tighter, its genitals kept twitching between the scales.

Considering the size of its body, the organ was as thick as an average adult male’s torso.

I could already guess what would happen next if my leg broke and I couldn’t escape.

“Well, why don’t you just submit and offer yourself? It’s better than dying, isn’t it?”

Ber’s indifferent comment snapped me back to reality. I twisted my body violently, kicking the snake’s nose.

“Are you insane? If that thing goes inside, I’ll die from internal damage.”

“Please, don’t provoke it! If we both get eaten, what then? For the greater good, you should make the noble sacrifice!”

“You just said you wanted to die with me, you idiot!”

No matter how hard I kicked, it didn’t work.

The serpent’s slimy body caused my foot to keep slipping.

Its tongue snaked further up, licking over my underwear. I bit back a curse.

‘It had to have been male, given it has genitals. But why is it doing this to Jeanne, a fellow man? Could it have mistaken me for a woman because of my appearance? Since it can’t see well…’

It seemed plausible.

In the original story, this snake had been too focused on killing Luke to pull off anything like this.

At least no other noblewoman had to go through this. I grimaced, then shouted loudly.

“Jerome, you’re probably watching this somewhere and enjoying the show, aren’t you?!”

The ground-shaking rumble must have reached Jerome’s ears by now, yet he still hadn’t appeared.

There was only one reason for that—he was likely getting a kick out of seeing me humiliated.

The serpent’s tongue slipped inside my underwear.

I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to stay calm.

“Let me make this clear—I absolutely hate this kind of humiliation play.”

I trembled as the serpent’s slick tongue grazed the inside of my thigh.

It was true that I didn’t want to lose the chastity I had barely managed to keep from Jerome to some giant snake.

“I don’t want anyone but you!”

Of course, it was a lie.

Whether it was Jerome or the giant snake, I didn’t want to spend the night with someone who had the same thing dangling between their legs.

But if I wanted to grab Jerome’s attention, I had to say something humiliating like this.

When I opened my eyes, which I had tightly shut, the snake was writhing in pain, its tongue cut off.

“Really?”

As soon as I heard the voice full of laughter, I squinted.

Jerome, who was supporting my back with his arm, abruptly shoved his hand into my pants.

Then, he removed the snake’s tongue still stuck to the inside of my thigh.

I panicked and pushed Jerome’s shoulder away as his hand casually slid over my thigh.

“Do you really only want me?”

“…..”

“Would you hate it if it wasn’t your husband’s dick?”

* * *