The moment our eyes met, Orange gave me an awkward look.

At first, I was briefly startled that I could hear his voice.

I hadn’t even registered him through the Beast Heart Art, °• N 𝑜 v 𝑒 l i g h t •° and yet his words were coming through loud and clear.

But thinking about it, it actually made sense.

When I opened the Gate of the Centipede, I’d begun to understand their speech to some extent—those centipedes whose expressions and communications were vague at best.

So if I had opened the Gate of the Snake, it stood to reason that I’d be able to understand a spirit snake’s speech even more clearly.

Snakes, being reptiles, were far more intelligent than insects. Their expressions would naturally be more precise, and Orange was a spirit snake on top of that.

‘Orange is a spirit creature. Smart, with full capacity for communication. If opening the Gate of the Snake just enhanced that, then sure... it makes sense.’

But then—I discovered something even more shocking.

‘Wait a second!? I can read his expression?’

That was the real surprise.

I could tell that Orange, still locking eyes with me, was giving me a sheepish look.

I’d raised a lot of venomous creatures even in my previous life.

When the little ones were sick or behaving strangely, I could tell right away.

Animals don’t speak, so it’s not easy to recognize when they’re ill.

Sure, if they have diarrhea or vomit, it’s obvious—but when there are no external symptoms, it takes real experience to know.

But with enough time and enough experience, you learn to notice subtle differences in behavior, posture, or energy that reveal when something’s wrong.

Even if a turtle is lying still on a rock, I can usually tell if it’s basking in the sun—or just lying there because it’s sick.

The same goes for snakes or insects.

But reading the facial expression of a healthy snake?

That should be impossible.

I mean, even if I can recognize illness from behavior, reading emotions is different. Facial expressions require control of facial muscles, and snakes just don’t have the same complex musculature in the face that humans do. They can’t make varied expressions based on emotion.

‘It makes no sense. Reading emotions from a snake’s face?’

That’s the same reason I always describe Cheongyu’s face as blank.

She used to be a massive black snake. Even if she has a human form now, as a snake she probably had very few facial muscles for expression.

So she isn’t used to emoting, and that explains her stiff face.

But Orange doesn’t even have a human face. There’s no way I should be able to read expressions from his snout.

‘And yet I can?’

It was clear as day—I could read his feelings on his face.

He looked at me, sheepish at first, then gave an awkward little grin.

As we kept staring, Orange squirmed under the tension and finally asked:

– Skah. 『Hehe... Bro, what is it? Did I do something wrong...?』

– Shaa. 『Orange Orabeoni, So-ryong can’t understand us, remember?』

– Skaaah. 『Ah... right, Bro can’t hear me. Damn, I forgot.』

Just as Orange scratched the back of his head with his tail, clearly having forgotten I wasn’t supposed to understand him—

I replied before I could stop myself.

“It’s nothing, Orange. Don’t worry about it.”

– Skaah? Skat. 『Wait... you heard that? I thought you didn’t... Hehe.』

“It’s nothing. Really.”

The conversation had flowed naturally—until both Orange and Yeondu froze with wide eyes.

They stared at me, stunned that I’d understood what they were saying.

– S-Skaaat? 『Huh!? Bro, you understood what I said!?』

– Shaa? 『So-ryong, can you hear us!?』

“Yeah... Somehow, I can now.”

– Ska. 『Whoa.』

– Shaa. 『Y-You’re serious!?』

Orange’s voice had a bit of a street thug vibe, while Yeondu spoke like an intelligent, well-educated secretary.

I hadn’t expected that—these two had some surprisingly distinct personalities.

Just as I was thinking how entertaining their character contrast was, my Sojeos reacted too.

Since I’d been chatting with Orange and Yeondu, it was obvious now which gate I’d opened.

“So-ryong... you opened the Gate of the Snake, didn’t you?”

“So-ryong, so it was the Snake’s gate?”

– Shiaa. 『You kept your promise, didn’t you?』

From Hwa-eun’s silence, I could tell she understood—but just in case, I watched her carefully and answered cautiously.

“Yes... I really wanted to pick Hwa-eun’s gate, but it might be dangerous, and I still need to train in martial arts. Plus, I made a promise.

Like I said earlier, once I understand Hwa-eun’s gate a bit better, I’ll try it then.”

“I understand, So-ryong.”

“Yeah. Even if Hwa-eun was carved on it, that’s not the right choice. You did good.”

– Shiiii. 『Thank you, Senior.』

Since I’d already explained the situation reasonably well, everything passed over smoothly.

As the three of them nodded at my reply, Orange approached with a bright expression and asked excitedly:

– Ska. 『Bro! Bro!』

“Yeah? What is it?”

He sounded thrilled.

When I turned to him, he brought his head close to my ear and whispered quietly.

– Skaaah. 『Now that we can talk... How about a man-to-man chat after dinner?』

“Huh? Uh, sure.”

A little private guy talk, huh?

I nodded, and Orange opened the door and started heading for the deck.

– Skaaah. 『I’ll be waiting out on deck. Come find me after dinner, Bro.』

Honestly, I’d always thought he was a bit of a smooth talker—but it turned out, Orange was way more sociable than I expected.

After dinner, I stepped out onto the deck as the sun had set. Near the boxes stacked at the ship's bow, I saw two glowing lights.

They were the lights from Orange’s eyes, fixed in my direction.

– Shaa. 『Bro, over here!』

As I approached, I heard Orange’s voice again—just as expected.

I walked over to the bow, and he greeted me with a cheerful expression.

– Shaai. 『Bro, I hope I’m not bothering you when you should be resting?』

“No, it’s fine. Really. So, what did you want to talk about?”

– Sha. 『Well, it’s just that...』

The moment I asked what he wanted to discuss man-to-man, his expression shifted from hesitation to desperation. He whipped his body around mine and shouted.

– Shaaaa! 『Bro! Please help me!』

I was suddenly wrapped in his thick body, struggling to breathe.

And with a man’s voice in my ears, it really felt like being embraced by another guy. Chills ran down my spine.

Especially since he had the muscle mass of a monstrous gym rat.

Snake muscles aren’t bulky like a bodybuilder’s, but the sheer force and pressure are incredible.

“Ghk... Help you? With what? No, I’ll help—just loosen up a little first, okay?”

I quickly tapped on his body as if knocking.

He unwrapped himself from around me and, with an apologetic look, mentioned a very familiar name.

– Shaa. 『S-sorry, Bro. It’s about Yeondu.』

“Yeondu? What about her?”

I’d known from the beginning—even back when we couldn’t understand each other—that Orange had fallen for Yeondu at first sight.

Plus, when we went to rescue Ranghyang, the two of them had seemed pretty paired up. There hadn’t been much need to bring her up since—they were almost always seen together.

They were practically in their honeymoon phase, so I figured it was only a matter of time before she laid eggs.

But I tilted my head and asked, and Orange replied a bit deflated.

– Ska. Skaa. 『I don’t know... it just doesn’t feel like our relationship is going anywhere. She still calls me “Orabeoni.” When I try to sleep next to her, she pulls away.

Bro, you’re a great man with three females at your side! Please, give me some guidance!』

‘Wait, what? Where’d he get three from? Does he think Hwa-eun and Cheongyu count? But who’s the third?’

Clearly, Orange was under a serious misunderstanding, so I tilted my head and asked,

“Three?”

He nodded enthusiastically.

– Shayah. 『Yes, Bro. Lady Hwa-eun, Elder Seol, and Lady Cheongyu.』

“That’s... extremely dangerous talk, you know.”

Panicking, I stuttered at the notion of lumping in people like Elder Seol as if I’d broken every moral and familial law known to man. Orange, meanwhile, gave my chest a playful tap with his tail.

– Shaa. 『Bro, no need to be so modest.』

This guy really thought Hwa-eun, Elder Seol, and Cheongyu were all my women. I tried to correct him, but he cut me off and shouted.

“No, it’s not modesty, I—”

– Shaaa! 『Bro! Even if you had ten women, it wouldn’t be surprising! It’s only natural that powerful males attract females! But that’s not the point right now!』

“Uh, okay, okay. Just calm down and explain what’s going on.”

His loud voice overwhelmed me, so I figured I’d just listen to the full story.

Orange looked up at the sky, then spoke with a melancholic gleam in his eyes.

– Shayiii. 『Yeondu used to call me Orabeoni... and she still does, even after we saved Ranghyang.

When I try to sleep near her, she pulls away seriously and avoids me.

It hurts, Bro. It really hurts.』

So it turned out that after their brief spark in the stream during the Ranghyang rescue, Orange had assumed their bond had deepened. But nothing had progressed—no change in titles, no intimacy.

I’d thought they were already mated, but it seems that moment was just the start of courtship.

So this was the source of his anxiety: time had passed, but their relationship was frozen.

‘Guess they weren’t actually a pair yet. Maybe it’s because they’re spirit beasts?’

Normally, once a pair forms, it sticks. I was about to ask more when he added bitterly:

– Shaa. 『Maybe... she just sees me as nothing more than her Orabeoni.』

The guy clearly looked crushed, so I decided to give him a little pep talk first.

“Orange, the sages of old once said...”

– Shai? 『What did they say?』

“A good older brother makes a good husband.”

– Shaaa? 『...What does that even mean?』

“If she calls you ‘Orabeoni,’ that means you’re already halfway there.”

He lit up and asked again with a hopeful look.

– Shaa. 『R-really?』

“Absolutely. The older brother becomes the dad.”

Orange’s eyes sparkled like he’d found the meaning of life.

– Shayii. 『Of course! The brother becomes the father! The sister becomes the mother! It all makes sense now!』

‘No, wait, that’s not...’

He kept trying to pair me with Elder Seol in his mind.

In any case, it looked like I’d need to talk to Yeondu directly to clear things up for him.

“Alright, I’ll ask her quietly how she feels. You just act like nothing’s going on.”

– Shaaa. 『Got it, Bro!』

I sent Orange back and took to the sky with Yeondu, under the pretense of checking the water currents.

Up in the air, I asked her gently why she was still hesitating to accept Orange.

Her reply surprised me.

– Shaa. 『Well... it’s because he hasn’t said we’re going to be a pair.』

“A pair?”

– Shaaa. Shaa. 『Yes. He has to say it. He keeps trying to sneak into my nest without saying anything...』

I’d thought snakes just needed mutual interest and that was it—but that must apply only to normal snakes.

These were spirit beasts. Closer to humans. They needed a promise.

‘So matchmaking spirit beasts isn’t that easy after all.’

***

A few days later, we neared the entrance of Lake Poyang.

On the right, a massive mountain loomed into view.

Its foliage was painted with autumn leaves—a stunning sight. But even so, there was no way to confirm Lady Eunbi Ruju’s claim from here.

She’d said the summit was frozen, but from here, we couldn’t see any sign of ice.

“That’s Mount Lu, right?”

“Yes, So-ryong. That’s Mount Lu. But even though they say it’s frozen up top, we can’t really see anything from here.”

“Then we’ll have to climb it. Let’s check it out tonight.”

Hwa-eun seemed to share my thoughts.

If we wanted to see if there really was ice up there, we’d have to climb it ourselves.

‘Whatever it is... just wait. I’m coming.’