Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

At Hwa-eun’s words, I froze for a moment in a daze, then quickly asked in my mind.

Hoping desperately that it wasn’t what I was thinking.

『“Th-that’s not what I think it is, right? Right, Hwa-eun?”』

Then came Hwa-eun’s bright smile.

What I got from her was a feeling of, ‘Look at me coming up with such a brilliant idea.’

『“Why wouldn’t it be? So-ryong, think about it. According to what Sister Seol said, the Beast Heart Art is originally a martial art used to tame ferocious beasts and make them gentle. Once registered, they become companions, grow docile, and never betray their master.

So if we register Gun Hye-rin, she won’t even think of betraying you, So-ryong. That means I won’t have to worry about her anymore.

Also, if we’re to exchange messages like she wants, someone would have to carry them. And if those letters end up in someone else’s hands, wouldn’t that be a disaster?

But if we register her through the Beast Heart Art and use the group chatroom, there’d be no risk of that. It’s the perfect method.”』

Why are the sad deductions always the ones that turn out to be correct?

What Hwa-eun wanted was to register Gun Hye-rin into the Beast Heart Art as a way to eliminate her worries all at once.

Because once someone is registered through the Beast Heart Art, they become one of my pet spirit beasts—meaning betrayal is no longer a concern.

She must not have had a bad impression of Gun Hye-rin, who was a peer and a master of similar level, and calculated that it would be possible to maintain a continued connection with her.

‘Would she be considered a pet demon beast in this case?’

But I felt a strong sense of rejection.

First of all, Gun Hye-rin wasn’t a venomous creature or spirit beast, and one human registered was already more than enough.

And more than anything, the part that caused the biggest wave of rejection was the thought of registering another human woman into the Beast Heart Art.

They say the hardest moment in a man’s relationship is when his girlfriend comes over and doesn’t go home.

She visits your place, you eat together, watch a movie, do all the couple things—and then she doesn’t leave.

And the second hardest time is when she won’t hang up the phone.

You want to get off the call and jump on a game with your friends, but she keeps clinging to the end of the conversation and won’t let you go.

“Aww, baby~ You’re hanging up already? Hwa-eun is saaad~”

At times like that, no matter how much aegyo she does, it just gets irritating.

And now, in my head, I had an always-on connection with Hwa-eun.

An internal phone line where I had to respond any time, anywhere—and the thought of adding another woman to that line gave me a strong urge to resist.

Even if I wasn’t dating Gun Hye-rin or anything.

So a flat-out rejection burst from me.

『“Hwa-eun, how can the leader of the Demon Cult—no, how can a person be registered into the Beast Heart Art...”』

“But I’m already registered, aren’t I?”

I was trying to say, how could a person—especially the ❖ Nоvеl𝚒ght ❖ (Exclusive on Nоvеl𝚒ght) head of the Demon Cult—be registered, but I’d messed up.

Because Hwa-eun had already been registered.

It was a thoughtless mistake blurted out because I was flustered and repulsed.

‘Damn it, I should’ve chosen my words better! Why did I let my thoughts wander during that kiss with Hwa-eun!’

I was flooded with regret over why I’d been thinking such unnecessary things while kissing her.

If only Hwa-eun hadn’t been registered to begin with, this never would’ve happened.

We could’ve had a much happier relationship and future.

Since I didn’t answer right away, she must have sensed my hesitation, and began trying to persuade me again.

This time with a grand reason.

The peace of the Central Plains, apparently.

『“It’s all for the peace of the Central Plains.”』

“The peace of the Central Plains?”

“Exactly. Think about it. If you register Gun Hye-rin with the Beast Heart Art, she’ll never betray you, right?”

“Y-yeah, I suppose?”

“The Heavenly Demon Cult is a group that follows the principle of the strong ruling over all. And if the strongest figure in the cult—Gun Hye-rin—is registered by So-ryong, then even if she’s the leader, she wouldn’t dare do anything that might harm you.

In the end, that means they won’t target the Central Plains. And if they don’t, peace in the Central Plains will naturally follow.”

“Is that... is that really how it works?”

“Of course it is! You need to think more broadly!”

I had no idea why such an exaggerated reason was attached to this, but nothing she said was wrong.

As long as I had a tight grip on Gun Hye-rin, the Heavenly Demon Cult wasn’t likely to stir up any trouble.

Still, I couldn’t give in here. I had to try persuading her again.

So I decided to strike where Hwa-eun would be most sensitive.

『“Hwa-eun. But to register someone, I’d have to make contact...”』

Hearing this, Hwa-eun gave me a long stare, then shook her head.

『“So-ryong, all you need is a drop of saliva or blood. What are you talking about? And even in the mindscape, just a kiss on the forehead or the back of the hand is enough. Don’t tell me—you actually wanted to do a full contact registration with Gun Hye-rin?”』

“W-what!? No! That’s a huge misunderstanding!”

Damn it, I almost blew everything just by bringing it up.

As Hwa-eun said, there was nothing stopping the registration if all it took was a bit of saliva or blood, and even in the mental realm, a kiss on the forehead or hand would do.

I’d brought up contact just to stir up her jealousy and throw her off—but she knew the Beast Heart Art too well.

‘Ah, now what do I do?’

At this rate, it was becoming inevitable that I’d have to register Gun Hye-rin.

So I had no choice but to bring up a fundamental principle that every true fanatic must protect.

My pride.

My collector’s pride.

『“Hwa-eun, I get what you’re saying. But I, So-ryong, am someone who loves venomous creatures and spirit beasts. Insects, frogs, toads... that kind of thing. I want to fill the Beast Heart Art with those kinds of companions—not people.”』

But, as expected, Hwa-eun brought herself up again.

『“But So-ryong, I’m not a venomous or spirit beast either. So if there’s already one exception, can’t there be just one more...”』

But this time, I was prepared for that response.

With a smile, I delivered my pre-loaded line.

『“Oh come now. Why wouldn’t you be a venomous creature, Hwa-eun?”』

“Huh? You think I’m a venomous creature?”

“Of course. You’re a venomous creature trained in the Tang Clan’s poison arts. The most beautiful and lovely venomous creature of all—mine.”

“Ehh...”

That reply must’ve been too perfect—Hwa-eun was left speechless.

Her cheeks and ears slowly turned red.

‘That should be enough, right?’

I thought it was a brilliant answer, one that stirred her emotions while also countering her logic, rendering her too flustered to argue.

And sure enough, with her face red and her expression dazed, Hwa-eun spoke softly.

『“So-ryong really thinks of me that way, huh... I-I’m happy. Your own personal venomous creature...”』

‘Good. She’s happy and embarrassed now. She’ll probably let it go. Just keep pushing this logic!’

And just as I was preparing to keep going, Hwa-eun continued.

『“But So-ryong. By that logic, Gun Hye-rin is a venomous creature too.”』

“...What?”

At the sudden claim that Gun Hye-rin was also a venomous creature, I blinked instinctively.

Because the Heavenly Demon Cult’s successor hadn’t learned poison arts or anything like that.

But Hwa-eun looked at me with an expression that said “Listen carefully” and explained:

『“Think about it. Moji and Soji don’t use poison, but they emit tainted energy—magical energy, right?”』

“Right.”

“Gun Hye-rin can emit magical energy too, so she counts as a venomous creature. If you’re going to say she isn’t, then Moji and Soji aren’t either.”

‘Goddamn it. Why is her logic so airtight!?’

If that was the classification, then just as Hwa-eun said, Gun Hye-rin qualified as a venomous creature.

The tainted energy Moji and Soji release is basically their strongest “venom.”

Was it really true that once someone reached the Flower Realm, their brain improved? I kept getting cornered by Hwa-eun as she used my own logic to refute me.

Scrambling to find a rebuttal, I ran out of things to say and finally decided to resort to personal taste.

It was embarrassing, but one’s tastes aren’t something you can easily change.

『“Hair!”』

“...Huh?”

“H-hair! I really hate things with a lot of hair!”

“But So-ryong, the children have hair too, and I also...”

Hwa-eun trailed off as she shook her head and swayed her hair a little.

She probably didn’t understand what I was saying, since both she and the kids had hair.

“Insects’ hair is completely different from human hair. It only looks like hair—it’s actually connected to their sensory systems. And while human hair is more like meat, insect hair is more like shell. So it’s totally different.

It just looks similar.”

I’d even said in a past broadcast in my previous life that I hated hair.

Not that I hated all human hair or anything—it was more of a personal concept. But there were always viewers who asked, just like Hwa-eun just did.

‘But don’t bugs have hair too?’

In reality, many insect friends like Yo-hwa are covered in fine bristles.

But that question comes from not knowing the difference between insect hair and mammal hair.

Insects’ hair is made of structures called sensilla—essentially sensory organs.

They grow from the exoskeleton and are connected to nerve cells inside, used to detect various external stimuli.

And while human hair is made of keratin, insect “hair” is made of chitin, which is a hard, shell-like substance—closer to a fine outer casing than actual hair.

“And besides... Hwa-eun is the person I love, so whether you have a lot of hair or not doesn’t matter to me.”

I made sure to end the explanation with something I needed to say to Hwa-eun. But just then, I heard Gun Hye-rin’s voice.

“Um... are you two speaking telepathically? I don’t have to fight, you know.”

When Hwa-eun and I turned our heads, Gun Hye-rin still had a slightly upset expression.

I guess because we suddenly went quiet, she assumed we were discussing her proposal inside a mental conversation—and now that Hwa-eun’s face was red, she seemed to think we’d gotten into an argument.

To clear up the misunderstanding, Hwa-eun explained:

“No, no. We were just talking about how letter exchanges can be risky, and whether or not we should teach you how to speak in the mindscape instead.

This way, we could talk even from far away, and wouldn’t have to take the risk of sending letters.”

“O-oh! R-really? Aha... But it sounds like the conclusion wasn’t so good. It’s probably because I’m from the Demon Cult, right...”

Gun Hye-rin’s expression brightened at first, but quickly turned gloomy again.

Waving her hand firmly, Hwa-eun responded:

“No. It’s not because you’re from the Demon Cult. Our Tang Clan also uses poison, so we often get called unorthodox too. I don’t intend to reject friendship just because you’re from the Heavenly Demon Cult.

And from your Willforce, I can tell you’re not the kind of person drowning in blood like the rumors say. Well... maybe a little dangerous, but still.”

“T-then? Judging by your expression, it still doesn’t look like a good outcome. Is there... another reason?”

As Gun Hye-rin looked at Hwa-eun with hopeful eyes, Hwa-eun turned to me and said one word:

“Hair.”

“...Hair?”

Hearing that word, Gun Hye-rin looked just as confused as Hwa-eun had earlier.

『“Hwa-eun! You can’t just say that!”』

“If you want someone to give up, you need to give a reason they can accept.”

“Well, I mean... yeah, but...”

I was startled at the fact that she actually said it out loud and tried to stop her, but then Gun Hye-rin’s voice continued:

“Wait... You mean, to learn that technique, I can’t have hair?”

She must’ve misunderstood something, but honestly, if that’s how she took it and it worked, then that was fine by me.

But then she said something that made my mind go blank.

“But there’s no need to worry. Hehe... Hwa-eun, you must have the same type of body as me.”

“Huh...? I do? What kind?”

“You mentioned hair, so I assume you must’ve already learned the technique—meaning your head hair and eyebrows must be fine, right? I also have no hair on my body except for my head and eyebrows, so I think I’ll be just fine learning it too.”

At Gun Hye-rin’s reply, Hwa-eun and I both completely froze.