The Youngest Daughter of the Snake Family - Chapter 39

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Episode 39
“You’re giving us these?”
“Mm.”
“Thank you kindly, miss.”
Messis accepted the snacks without hesitation.
Faiman, who had been agonizing over whether to take them, watched Messis and promptly reached out for the pastries himself.
As Messis popped a cracker into his mouth, piercings glimmered between the strands of his hair.
I decided to ask something I’d been curious about all this time.
“Messis.”
“Mm?”
“Why do you have so many of those?”
I pointed at his ears, and Messis spoke as though it were nothing much.
“Oh, these. They’re Pheromone Crystals.”
“Pheromone Crystals?”
So such a thing existed.
I’d never heard of them before.
Seeing the incomprehension on my face, Messis seemed to consider how to explain, then opened his mouth.
“They have various uses, but they’re mainly used as control devices.”
“Control devices?”
“Beastkin who have difficulty with Pheromone Control typically use them.”
So it was possible for someone to be unable to control their pheromones on their own. I found myself curious about this new information I was hearing for the first time.
“So you can’t control your pheromones?”
“That’s not quite it.”
“Then what?”
Messis fell quietly silent.
As I stared at him in bewilderment, his dark eyes slipped away from my gaze.
Wait? What? What are they for?
The most frustrating thing in the world was when someone started talking and then stopped.
I grabbed his arm and shook it, urging him to answer faster, and Messis flinched.
Faiman, watching from the side, chuckled and spoke up.
“Why are you digging up graves?”
“What? Faiman, do you know?”
“He uses them to maximize his pheromones.”
Maximize? But wouldn’t that mean he loses control?
With so many crystals hanging from him, it must be intense.
“See how most of them are purple-toned?”
I looked at the piercings dangling from Messis’s ears.
They were all a deep purple, like the color of his irises.
Faiman spoke in a bored tone.
“The closer a crystal is to purple, the higher its purity and power.”
“And?”
“Normally, if someone wears multiple crystals like that, people assume they’re for control. Nobody thinks they’re being worn by someone crazy enough to deliberately unleash their pheromones.”
In other words, it was reckless in the most straightforward sense.
Messis spoke in a voice tinged with grievance.
“I don’t use them all the time. It’s only when there are a lot of enemies, just a tactical method.”
“Exactly. And if things get dangerous, you can use them to rein your pheromones back in. So technically it’s not completely reckless—that’s what he claims, anyway.”
Faiman smiled broadly. His tone made it clear he wasn’t accepting this argument.
I found myself worried and looked at Messis.
“I think it’s dangerous for you.”
“Ah.”
“It’s dangerous.”
No matter how I thought about it, the method was reckless and risky.
I furrowed my brow as hard as I could and spoke firmly, and Messis, whose lips had been twitching, nodded.
“I won’t.”
“You’re promising?”
“Yes.”
“Then that settles it!”
Pleased by his ready agreement, I smiled. It seemed about time to head back, so I grabbed my bag, and just then I heard Rosaria’s voice calling out.
“Airin!”
“Rosaria?”
“It’s time for your lesson now. Please give me your bag.”
“Okay!”
I put everything I’d brought into the bag and slipped on the Sandals I’d taken off.
I couldn’t be late for class, so I’d better hurry!
I took Rosaria’s hand and paused before heading back to the room.
“Goodbye! Airin is going now.”
After waving to the two of them, I looked ahead again.
Rosaria, who had stopped to wait with me, smiled warmly and asked.
“Did you two have fun playing together?”
“Yes.”
Rosaria glanced sidelong at the sunken grass patch.
“I’m so glad Miss Airin enjoyed herself.”
The two escort knights, who had waved their hands as Airin’s figure receded into the distance, rose with reluctant faces.
“I wondered where Rosaria had gone, only to find you monopolizing the young lady here, huh?”
“Indeed.”
Messis nodded in agreement. He gazed at the spot where Airin had been sitting moments before.
Pheromone hung thick and fluffy in pockets throughout the Garden.
Faiman’s lips curled upward as he murmured.
“If I hadn’t come, I really would’ve regretted it.”
* * *
As Rosaria and I were heading back to the room, I encountered Kasana waiting outside the door.
“Kasana!”
When I greeted him warmly, Kasana averted his gaze and bowed slightly.
Why had he come so early today? There should still be time before class started.
I could tell because whenever I was in the Garden, Rosaria always came to pick me up with plenty of time to spare.
“Kasana, why did you come so early today?”
As I stepped inside and asked, Kasana gave a faint smile.
“I’ll explain that once the lesson is finished.”
“Okay. Then Airin will go wash her hands real quick!”
I hurried into the bathroom and climbed up onto the step stool in front of the washbasin.
After washing my hands with soap, Rosaria dried them with a towel.
“All done!”
“Well done. Shall we get ready for the lesson then?”
“Yes!”
I sat down across from Kasana.
Kasana was already checking my homework in an upright posture.
“You’ve done well again today, Miss Airin. I’ll give you a Sticker.”
“Yay!”
Kasana opened a transparent box.
Inside were square-cut Stickers.
I quickly took a caterpillar Sticker and pulled out the Grape Paper I’d carefully placed in my treasure box.
It was nearly half full now, so if I kept working hard just a little longer, I’d be able to get a reward.
“You’ve collected quite a lot. You’ll be able to receive a gift soon.”
“Yes. Airin likes gifts.”
I wasn’t sure what kind of gift it would be, but anything was fine with me.
I proudly checked the paper several times and put it back in the box.
“Do you remember all the words you’ve learned so far?”
“Of course. Airin studied really hard and knows them all.”
“Then this is a gift I’m giving you personally.”
“A gift?”
But I haven’t even collected all the praise Stickers yet?
My eyes sparkled. A wrapped present emerged from beneath the table—something he’d apparently been hiding all along.
“Can I open it now?”
“You may.”
I unwrapped the package with excited hands.
Inside was a Fairy Tale Book I’d never seen before.
“Baby…… Sprout?”
“That’s right.”
“This is what we learned this time!”
I turned the front pages. I could read smoothly from the first line without difficulty.
It seemed the words Kasana had been teaching me were drawn from this book.
I found myself thinking of Kasana, picturing him choosing the Fairy Tale Book with such care.
Warmth bloomed in my chest, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“Thank you, Kasana. I think Airin’s going to love this!”
“I’m glad to hear it. Shall we move on to the next set of words?”
Kasana withdrew a Notebook filled with a neat list of short words.
I leaned forward with genuine interest.
Which Fairy Tale Book had he selected to choose these particular words?
Eager to see better, I drew myself close to the table.
Learning that Kasana, who always seemed so impassive, had actually been thinking through each lesson carefully behind the scenes filled me with fresh motivation.
“Wait—I think I can read this one?”
“Can you?”
“Yes. Sand. Sandals.”
“Correct. Your rate of acquisition is quite remarkable.”
At Kasana’s praise, I broke into a grin.
In truth, once you mastered the mechanics of writing and reading, application became quite simple.
The Continent used the Common Language, designed so that all Beastkin could learn it with ease.
Kasana went through the meanings of each word listed in the Notebook one by one.
By the time I’d made it through the final word without stumbling, Kasana closed the Notebook.
“It seems my concerns were unfounded.”
“Concerns?”
“Yes. I had intended to assess today’s progress before deciding on our future schedule, but it appears that won’t be necessary.”
“Decide what?”
Kasana retrieved some papers that had been lying in front of him.
They resembled the lesson plan he’d shown me when we first met.
This time, it was far more elaborate, with various additions scattered throughout.
“New subjects will be added to the curriculum.”
“What else am I learning?”
Rosaria, who had been keeping her distance as we talked, approached us.
“It sounds like the lesson content is changing?”
“That’s correct.”
“Could it be that the addition is Pheromone Control?”
“It has been quite some time since Airin successfully achieved Humanization.”
“The timing does seem appropriate.”
Pheromone Control?
I blinked in surprise, eyes widening.
If I learned to control Pheromones, would I be able to shift forms freely on my own?
Rosaria, sitting beside me, scanned the schedule.
“You’ve reduced the in-room lessons to once every two days?”
“Indeed, Rosaria. The Pheromone Control lessons will be conducted in the forest.”
“I can enter the forest now?”

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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