Chapter 91: Beware of Lamias in Spring (1)

Thud thud thud—

'So this is why everyone goes crazy about owning their own horse, huh?'

I hadn’t realized it while traveling by carriage, but riding a horse myself felt entirely different. There was no need to adjust to someone else's schedule, no reason to follow a fixed course. I could simply take the shortest route and dash wherever I wanted.

Moreover, while a carriage could only accommodate a single bag unless you paid a hefty fee to hire a personal one, my horse could carry all my equipment and even had a pouch attached to carry Mollang and Shuru comfortably, with plenty of room to spare.

At first, the well-paved road made it easy to ride to the northern beastman territories. However, heading northwest from there would lead to a swampy area, formed by the melting waters of the eternal snows on the Deep Glaciola mountain range.

The lizardmen who once inhabited the swamps near the Yuta Delta had migrated here. Their old habitat was devastated during the war with the kingdom, and the influx of human cities and towns polluted the swamps, making survival impossible. They now resided deep within this unpolluted, isolated region. They weren’t hostile toward the kingdom but remained neutral, with no active interaction.

"Lamia, huh…"

Now that I thought about it, in Professor Pandel’s Monster Ecology book, he described certain swamp-dwelling fish that could swim upstream against the current. These fish were said to use that ability to travel upstream and hunt prey. Apparently, this ability also allowed them to follow the flow of urine and burrow into a human’s urethra.

There was even an account of a man having to undergo surgery to remove one of these fish after it lodged itself deep in his urethra.

'That has to be a lie just to stop people from peeing in the swamp.'

It wasn’t like these were big, strong fish like salmon. A fish small enough to fit into a urethra surviving the force of a man’s urine stream and swimming upward? Impossible. Besides, the book didn’t mention any specific cases, times, or people. It was likely just a baseless rumor.

'The most dangerous creature in the swamp is the Lamia, right?'

There were many types of Lamias, but the ones infamous in the swamp didn’t have venomous fangs. Instead, they were said to have extremely long bodies, which they used to crush their prey’s waist and kill them before swallowing them whole.

Typically, Lamias didn’t target large humans as prey, but the swamp-dwelling Lamias were reportedly large enough to swallow an entire cow—or even a person—whole.

'As long as I’ve got armor, I shouldn’t be in danger, but the weight could be an issue.'

To move quickly through the swamp, I’d need to coat my body with mana and repel the water while running to maintain speed. Wearing armor would make that impossible.

This left me with a choice: either enter the swamp armored and prioritize defense, or leave the armor behind to move more nimbly.

'If my movements are slow, I’ll just be an easy target. I’ll go in unarmored.'

To prepare for unexpected situations, I planned to store my armor in a magic bag that could also float, using it as a lifeboat if necessary.

"Neighhh!"

"Stay here for now."

I couldn’t take my horse into the swamp, so I entered the nearest village to leave it there. Showing my Mage Knight insignia to the villagers, they welcomed me like a savior.

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Some of the younger men had gone missing, and it seemed they had disappeared into the swamp. Normally, Lamias would target livestock like chickens or pigs rather than humans, but something unusual might be happening.

"I understand. I’ll investigate the swamp."

"Please, we’re counting on you."

After entrusting my horse to them, I prepared my equipment.

Mollang, being a slime, could easily navigate the swamp. Shuru, with her light weight and ability to leap through trees, could move faster than me, so I had no worries about her. Her clothes would only get caked with mud and weigh her down, so I planned to let her roam naked.

Rip!

I tore my own clothes to make movement easier, discarding even my underwear as it seemed like a hindrance. I wrapped a single piece of cloth around my waist like a skirt to cover my lower half before heading into the swamp.

"Phew… It’s a bit chilly here."

The cold air made Shuru, clinging tightly to my body, shiver. I could even feel her hardened nipples pressing against me through her skin.

The swamp’s icy waters came directly from the melted snow of the Deep Glaciola mountain range. It was freezing cold but bearable, as the weather had warmed up somewhat, leaving only a slight chill.

'During winter, Lamias and Lizardmen typically hibernate… Then again, they aren’t ordinary reptiles, are they?'

According to Monster Ecology, Lamias and Lizardmen could slow their movements to a state similar to hibernation, but they weren’t capable of true hibernation like snakes or lizards.

During winter, Lamias and Lizardmen don’t fully hibernate. Instead, they wake up every few days to eat stored food and then go back to sleep. That means you can’t relax around them in winter like you might with regular snakes.

While they’re less active and more sluggish in cold conditions, their slowed brain activity often gives them a dazed appearance. But in spring, they become highly active, hunting energetically to replenish nutrients they lacked during the winter.

'At least beastfolk can talk to you. I don’t know about Lamias, though.'

Beastfolk, like Shuru who was clinging to me now, often had a friendlier attitude toward humans, so they weren’t usually an issue.

"Shuru, are you cold?"

"Meowww..."

Other cats have fur covering their bodies to keep warm, but aside from her fluffy hair and cat ears, Shuru’s body wasn’t much different from a human’s, so she couldn’t help feeling chilly.

Even so, being submerged in the swamp would sap body heat more if she were clothed, so putting clothes on her wasn’t practical. Instead, I cupped her small belly and gently blew warm breaths onto it to warm her up.

"Hoo... hoo..."

"Meowww!"

As I blew on her belly, Shuru squirmed, gripping my hair as if throwing a tantrum. The sensation seemed ticklish to her, but she soon quieted down, enjoying the warmth.

'Shuru’s starting to give off that distinct, arousing scent. I should take care of her soon...'

I decided to buy a shrinking potion to temporarily separate Mollang and then focus on Shuru for a while. Mollang received my essence regularly, but Shuru only did during her heat. It made sense to make it count when the time came.

Licking sounds followed as Shuru licked my hair affectionately. I hoisted her onto my head and readjusted Mollang, who was sticking to my shoulder for warmth, before stepping deeper into the swamp.

Splash.

The further north I traveled, the colder it became. But as I entered the swamp, the dense trees seemed to trap heat, making the temperature unexpectedly comfortable for my current attire.

'It gets chilly sometimes, but this isn’t too bad.'

As the temperature rose, I remained alert, scanning my surroundings for signs of Lamias, who could appear at any moment. It wasn’t long before I spotted something unmistakable.

"Eh?"

It looked like something had been dragged along the ground, leaving a long trail behind. The trail was bold and unhidden, leading me directly to a Lamia.

'Is it dead?'

At the end of the trail, a Lamia lay sprawled on the swamp floor. With long black hair and a large, curvy body visible between her torso and tail, it was clear she was female.

"Hmm..."

I carefully tucked Mollang and Shuru into my bag before approaching the Lamia. Even as my footsteps splashed through the swamp, the Lamia didn’t stir.

Half expecting her to suddenly spring to life and attack, I kept my hand on my mana saber as I approached. But the Lamia didn’t move, barely even breathing.

Hisss…

Her faint breaths came in intervals of about five minutes, suggesting she wasn’t in a state to do anything.

'Should I ignore her and move on, or wake her up and find out what’s going on?'

Since I needed to question her about the missing young men, I decided to wake her. Nudging her side with my foot, I tried to rouse her.

"..."

No response.

From her occasional shallow breaths, she was alive but barely conscious.

'Could she be frozen solid?'

For me, the swamp’s temperature was only mildly chilly, bearable even with minimal clothing. But apparently, it was harsher for her.

"Tsk."

Determined to wake her, I rolled her onto her back. Her soft, scaly belly was exposed, along with her large, hardened breasts. She was naked, her body entirely visible.

Surprisingly, her appearance wasn’t arousing. Her breasts and hips were shaped like a woman’s, but they lacked nipples or genitals, giving her an oddly neutral appearance.

'So, inverted nipples?'

I recalled that Lamias were said to be born with inverted nipples to prevent injury or wear while crawling. Indeed, unless I deliberately probed with my fingers, her nipples were so deeply retracted they were nearly impossible to spot.

Placing my hand on her cold, hardened chest, I used my body heat to gradually soften her tissue. As I massaged her chest and belly, warmth returned to her body, helping her recover.

"Shuru."

I placed Shuru on the Lamia’s head to transfer more heat to her upper body.

'Her face is... quite pretty.'

Her features resembled a human’s, though her mouth had slit-like extensions along her cheeks, probably to accommodate swallowing large prey. Her hair, while long, wasn’t soft like mammalian fur but felt more like fine scales, stiff and rough to the touch.

'So all Lamias have straight hair, huh.'

As I continued massaging her chest, I felt the hardened tissue begin to loosen. Gently pressing near where her nipples should be, I saw them start to emerge from hidden grooves.

'Her nipples are surprisingly human-like.'

Pulling on them caused the surrounding protective layer to slide away, revealing her nipples and areola. Once exposed, they looked natural, like a woman wearing enticing lingerie.

The sight was oddly captivating, and I couldn’t help but appreciate it.

'She still seems too cold.'

Despite her skin regaining some color, the Lamia remained unconscious. Clearly, hand contact alone wasn’t enough.

"If body heat isn’t enough, I’ll have to warm her up by sharing body warmth directly."

This decision wasn’t driven by perversion—it was purely practical. Warming her frozen body was necessary.

As for my arousal? That was just a natural reaction, not because of any improper thoughts.