I Opened an Inn Next to a Dragon’s Lair - Chapter 170



Only Noblemtl

Episode 170

“Damn. It’s so hot I can’t even work.”

Edwin kept fanning himself. The heat was no joke. This was a heat that could eat people up. He left the zoo and lay down on a bench in the shade.

Wouldn’t it be okay if I went to the shade? It’s still shaded, after all. I’ll cool down a bit here and then work…

It didn’t even cool down. It was still hot.

Edwin opened his eyes, lying on the bench. A ray of sunlight briefly shone through the shadows of the fallen leaves. It was a really peaceful and nice day. If only it weren’t so hot.

“It’s hot even in the shade. It’s perfect for people to die. Is this a sign that the world is going to end? Sigh.”

Why is it hot even in the shade? It was because of the humidity. The Delphi Forest was especially hot and humid in the summer because it rained a lot.

But Edwin didn’t know that. That’s understandable, because the area he lived in wasn’t hot and humid.

The area he lived in was dry. In a dry area, even if the sun was hot, it was cool in the shade. So there was no particular concept of the summer heat.

Mmmmmmmmm~

As if things weren’t bad enough, bugs started chirping. Recently, strange bugs started to suddenly start chirping loudly, and the noise they made was so loud it was driving me crazy.

“Here we go again, you damn bug.”

“That’s right… … .”

One of the vampire staff members on the zoo team came over and plopped down next to him, wiping the sweat from his forehead.

“What kind of bugs are there in the world?”

“Would I know that?”

“Look at that. It looks disgusting. And it’s so big. Ugh.”

Edwin and the staff below him were equally exhausted. It was truly the hottest summer ever.

They sat and lay like that, blankly staring at the trees in front of them. There was a bug stuck to the large tree right in front of them. A large bug that made a loud noise.

Mmmmmmmmm~

The guy cried out loud. Edwin couldn’t stand it anymore and jumped up.

And then he walked over to me with brisk strides and raised his hand.

“That damn bug bird… … .”

“Hey, just leave them alone. They’re not going to live long anyway.”

“huh?”

Edwin stopped what he was doing and turned his head at the sudden voice. Eugene was approaching.

“What are you talking about, brother? These guys won’t live long and will die?”

“They’re cicadas. If you just wait about two weeks, they’ll all be dead. What’s the big deal?”

“Huh? Cicada? That’s the name of that bug?”

“huh.”

Edwin nodded and repeated the name Cicada over and over again.

“Cicada, cicada, that was the name. It’s a nasty bug that I’ll never forget in my entire life.”

“Cicadas are a bit of an annoying insect.”

Eugene imagined the past. On Earth, cicadas always used to sing around this time.

How much noise pollution was caused by those wicked guys who clung to the street trees and cried out all the time.

In particular, in August, when tropical nights occur, some children start crying until dawn. At that time, I become extremely irritated.

“But it’s not a cicada. That’s pretty good.”

“Cicada?”

“Yeah. It’s a type of cicada.”

This cicada is particularly noisy among cicadas, and it almost swallowed up the entire city. At the time, Eugene had not been able to sleep much, so he had a hard time.

But that cicada is not that kind of cicada. It doesn’t sing consistently, but rather rhythmically, so it’s closer to a true cicada. Of course, that’s not really a true cicada.

I didn’t think the world would be the same since it was different. I thought it would just be similar.

“That’s cute, isn’t it? It’s also affectionate.”

“Ugh. Why, why don’t you try saying that even monsters are kind?”

But Edwin was disgusted. He really seemed to hate cicadas.

“That’s courtship. They cry like that to woo their mates, reproduce, and then die. Do you know how long they have to stay underground to cry like that?”

“well……?”

“It’s been seven years. It has to be buried in the ground as a larva for seven years. That’s what the larva hatched into.”

“Hmm.”

Edwin nodded, crossing his arms. He seemed a little surprised.

“So, you’re saying that after living as a larva for seven years, you come out and cry for only two weeks before dying?”

“That’s what it is.”

“What a pitiful fate.”

Edwin turned away. He had given up on killing. He returned to the bench and sat down again, as if his interest had waned.

Mmmmmmmmmmm~

The cicadas continued to cry.

I cried so hard, seriously.

As he looked at that guy, an idea suddenly occurred to Edwin.

‘That bastard really cries hard. He only has two weeks to live.’

What can I say? That cicada looked just like a firework.

A hot flame that burns brightly without regret even though you know it will die down.

* * *

All living things eat, and Eugene’s two pets are no exception.

No, one of them is a spirit, so shouldn’t it be said that it’s not an animal?

The spirit was now destroying the meal.

Eugene and his staff sat down on the floor and stared blankly at the baby panda diligently eating bamboo.

“I’m amazed every time I see it. How can you eat so well?”

“Yeah. Me too.”

“Hey… … .”

I always feel this way, but Panda’s bamboo eating show has a mysterious magic that catches people’s attention. Maybe that’s why, whenever Kkuungi eats bamboo, there are always crowds of onlookers. It’s so famous that he’s even become quite famous among the guests at the inn.

Even though they had seen the meal scene more than ten times, the staff still seemed fascinated. They couldn’t take their eyes off the panda munching on bamboo.

He must have been so focused that he even swallowed his saliva. As if he wanted to eat it.

“That bamboo, do you think it might be tasty?”

“Why? Because I wanted to try it?”

“No, that’s not it, but… … .”

“If you’re curious, try it. But can you chew that? Your teeth will probably break.”

“Ugh, I don’t like that.”

Eugene chuckled. Regardless, Kkuung was absorbed in his meal.

It takes him a long time to eat. It was natural, since he eats without even trying. It’s been 30 minutes already.

“But isn’t this one a little big? I think it was originally smaller than this one?”

“It was big.”

It was certainly big. Not huge, but still about half a span tall. And because it was that big, it ate more.

It’s no joke to get that bamboo. How on earth did the zoo afford that ridiculous amount of food?

“Khuuuung?”

The guy suddenly turned around. Then he sniffed, did he smell something?

“Kung!”

The guy who had suddenly started clapping his hands and shouting came crawling over. Then he reached out to Eugene.

“Eugene! I guess you’re not going to hug me!”

Eugene held the boy. Kkuungi, who was being held by Eugene, started to wiggle wildly. The female employees squealed wildly as they watched the baby panda wriggle wildly.

‘This guy, he’s gotten a little heavier?’

It’s definitely gotten heavier. Did it grow this much in such a short period of time?

While Eugene was wondering like that.

“uh?”

The guy suddenly put his hand into Eugene’s shirt pocket and picked something up. It was a dark gray bottle. Eugene’s face turned pale. The guy was about to put it in his mouth.

“Kkuung!”

“Hey. No. You can’t eat that. Put it down… … !”

Agh!

He chewed. The glass bottle shattered into pieces. It was clearly glass, but when he ate it, it was like eating a tang-hulu. A dark gray tang-hulu.

Oh no! If that thing comes off, they’ll run away. The dark gray aura is spreading in all directions…

“… … ?”

Eugene blinked his eyes. And then he rubbed them. What did he just see?

“Hey, did you eat?”

Kkuungi ate up that dark gray aura. He even licked his lips as if it was really delicious. Eugene immediately shook Kkuungi.

“What? What did you do?”

“Khuuung?”

But the guy just tilted his head with an innocent expression as if he didn’t know anything.

Eugene scratched his head. He was embarrassed.

‘What a shame. I need that to be able to trace the trail… … .’

It’s not necessary, but it’s a huge waste of time because you have to repeat the same process again.

How can you know where the monsters will appear and prepare for them? Even Eugene can’t do that. But it’s easy if you have a trace tracker. It means you can prevent the monsters from running wild in advance.

But now it’s gone… … .

‘Ugh.’

Eugene sighed. What can he do? He can’t blame Kkuungi.

“But, are you okay?”

“Khuuuung?”

“You chewed on glass. Are you hurt?”

Kkuung opened his mouth. Sharp panda teeth were visible, and inside was a throat.

There were no wounds anywhere. It was completely clean. There wasn’t even a single shard of glass. Eugene sighed in relief and squinted his eyes.

“Didn’t I tell you not to pick up and eat anything like that?”

“Kuuung… … .”

The guy was a panda, but he wasn’t a foolish bear. He had some sense. He knew that Eugene was scolding him.

The boy waved his hands and muttered something. To others, it sounded like crying, but Eugene could understand the spirit’s words. And the boy’s essence was a spirit.

“Kuung kuung!”

“What? You did that for me?”

“Kkuung! Kkuung Kkuung!”

“So, you can feel the location of this power?”

“Kkuung!”

Eugene was shocked. What he meant was that by drinking this dark gray energy, he could feel where the original owner of the energy was.

‘Does that make sense?’

It was absurd, but he wasn’t the kind of guy who would lie.

“Okay. So do you know where it is?”

“Kkuung!”

Kkuung nodded vigorously and pointed in a direction with his finger.

“Okay. Let’s give it a try. I’ll trust you.”

“Kkuung!”

Eugene carried the boy on his back and wrapped him in a blanket.

“I’ll be out for a bit. Everyone, please take good care of the store.”

So, Eugene unexpectedly set out to track down a monster.

* * *

Eugene was constantly moving. This was because Kkuungi kept pointing in one direction. The fact that he kept pointing in one direction meant that he had not yet reached his destination.

As we continued on like that, we ended up leaving the forest.

It was a long distance that would have taken several days at a normal pace, but it was fast because he teleported every now and then.

But, Kuung still reached out his hand in that direction without hesitation, leaving Eugene dumbfounded.

“You can feel it even though it’s this far away?”

“Kkuung!”

There was not an inch of hesitation on the baby panda’s face as he nodded.

The place we arrived at was a city surrounded by castle walls.

A small town, not that big in scale. A slum in the corner and a sewer running through the center.

“Hmm.”

Eugene squinted his eyes as he looked at the dirty sewer.

I could sense an ominous aura inside me.

‘Was it true?’

Eugene scratched his head.

That guy, Kkuungi, was a gluttonous panda who only ate food, but now he has turned into a living monster location tracker.

Should I like this or not?