Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

When I opened my eyes, I was in a forest.

Trees so tall their tops couldn’t even be seen stood thick all around.

It looked like a primeval forest untouched by human hands, its rocks and roots wrapped in old moss and lichen, like the kind of ancient woodland where elves in fantasy worlds might live.

“This is a bit unexpected for your mental world, Sister.”

Since she was a butterfly, I had imagined her mental world would look more like a flower field out on the plains.

After all, what insect suits a field of blooming flowers better than a butterfly?

Of course, swallowtails and tiger swallowtails live in the mountains, so a mountain might suit them better—but when you picture butterflies, the usual image is of a vast meadow, covered with flowers, with butterflies fluttering about like petals.

But her inner world was different: an old forest.

Was it because she told me she had lived in a forest before we met?

Or was it because she had the feeling of a swallowtail or a mountain tiger butterfly?

Either way, I decided to climb a tree to get a look at the terrain.

—Tap.

Stepping on branch after branch, I leapt upward.

After a while, reaching near the top, I looked around and noticed an empty space in the middle of the dense woods.

A clearing in the center of the ancient forest.

Normally in a mental world, the master of the world appears in just such a place.

I immediately darted off with light footwork.

After running for about half a da-gyeong, my vision suddenly opened up.

I had arrived at my destination—and the instant I did, I understood her personality.

Because there, in the middle of that towering forest, spread across a circular clearing about a hundred meters wide, was a modest flower garden.

‘Sister is simpler than I thought.’

It struck me that she must have quite a plain «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» and humble nature.

A quiet flower garden hidden away in the middle of a vast forest—that seemed to be her taste.

A place just for herself, quiet and comfortable.

If that was her preference, then she truly was someone modest at heart.

Because a mental world reflects the owner’s mind.

But the moment I turned my gaze to the center of the flower field, I saw her—wearing gorgeous robes the same crimson as the blood-red flowers blooming all around, standing in their midst.

She blended with the blossoms so completely that you couldn’t tell which was flower and which was woman.

“Sister! Sister Jeokwol!”

It was our first time meeting inside the mental world, and though it felt a bit awkward, since it was her and me I grinned broadly and ran toward her. She smiled too and came running toward me.

—Chi-i. 『So-ryong!』

She was wearing a flowing, gauzy dress like a courtesan’s—bright, sheer, fluttering. Even here inside her mental world, I could hear her voice.

Probably a result of her cultivation being so high.

Though it was a little awkward for me, she must have seen me the same inside or outside this world.

She showed no sense of strangeness, just a delighted expression as she rushed to embrace me.

But then—

Though I hadn’t heard a sound, something like a dull thung rang inside me, and I felt a heavy impact shoving me back.

Before I knew it, I was flying backward, slammed into the flowerbed.

She had bounced me away and I was buried in the flowers.

“Ke-heuk.”

‘Not modest—monstrous!’

I couldn’t believe it.

I’d just decided she was a modest person.

But her human form was anything but modest.

Since butterflies in insect form are a bit fuzzy-bodied, I had pictured her as slender even here. And in every other way she was slender—except for one place, where she was decidedly not.

Well... in a human body, I suppose you’d call it fat instead of fuzzy.

At first I hadn’t noticed, because the airy courtesan’s gown hid it. But she had been concealing something violent.

Compared to this, the chest of Hwa-eun—whom I had raised with painstaking care—was like a candle before the sun.

‘So the chest-manias were right after all, saying D-cups aren’t even big!’

As I lay half-buried among flowers, I heard her startled voice.

—Chi-i. 『So-ryong! Are you all right? You’re not hurt, are you?』

“I’m fine, Sister. Ahahaha.”

She spoke in a refined, archaic tone befitting her elegant appearance.

I laughed awkwardly as I lifted my torso.

But as soon as I poked my head out from the red blossoms, that overwhelming thing pressed my head down again.

“Guhek.”

—Chiii! 『Why does my appearance in the mental world have to be so uncomfortable!?』

Annoyed, she still gently helped me up and said:

—Chi-i. 『Wait... is this because of you, So-ryong?』

“Eh? Me?”

Startled, I shook my head.

Even I didn’t know exactly why spirit beasts appeared in human form as they did inside their mental worlds.

But I was sure it wasn’t my fault.

If it were, wouldn’t they all have looked the same?

Yet Cho, Hyang, and Bini all took the form of young girls suited to their personalities. Cheongwol appeared as a boyish, rough older sister type.

Hwayang had the look of a woman with a fondness for food.

Among Seol, Bing, and Dong, Seol looked like a dignified wife. No similarities at all.

I could say my range when it came to venomous and spirit beasts was as wide as Niagara Falls.

Insects, arachnids, reptiles, amphibians—I covered them all.

But my taste in human women was narrow as a mountain stream.

That was why, when the children appeared human in their mental worlds, I never felt attraction. If it had been based on my taste, at least some reflection of it would have shown—but all of them had fairly ordinary chests.

Their only common trait was simply that they were prettier than average.

So I gave her a look that said, “This has nothing to do with me.”

But she nodded knowingly and said:

—Chi. 『Yes. So-ryong, you like human females with large breasts.』

“Wha—?”

Her words froze me.

I’d always felt a strong intimacy with her, but hearing such a thing directly from her lips was...

She smiled faintly and added:

—Chi-chi-i. 『This sister knows all about it. Our So-ryong likes human women with big breasts.』

How could she know my taste so well?

Then again, it would have been stranger if she didn’t.

She was always hidden right by my side.

Of course she might have overheard my conversations with Hwa-eun.

And lately, hadn’t I expanded all three of my wives’ chests with Rich Bust? There was no way she wouldn’t know.

I had basically come out about my tastes.

I laughed awkwardly.

“I-I do like big breasts, that much is true. But Sister, your body being like this—well, I don’t think that’s because of me.

This place, this is your mental world. It shows the form you prefer, or reflects your own nature.

So your appearance probably has nothing to do with me. Probably.”

It was true—I did like large busts.

But to say her chest was my fault, that was going too far.

So I explained why her form looked the way it did. She tilted her head curiously and asked:

—Chi-i? 『Really? You mean I actually like appearing this way?』

“Not necessarily ‘like.’ More that there must be some reason for it.”

I was nodding when suddenly she flinched, startled, and began to panic.

The elegant Sister grew flustered, then quickly tried to change the subject.

—Chi-i-i? 『Why would I ever like appearing this way? It’s only uncomfortable. I’d rather look good for So-ryong, like Hwa-eun—ah!』

“Sister?”

—Chi, chi-i! 『Th-the registration! How did you say we do it? Let’s just do that quickly.』

‘Wait... could it be?’

She dodged my question, insisting we hurry and complete the registration. It made me suspect.

Could it be she also... liked me, like Yo-hwa did?

She had almost blurted out something about looking good for me, then cut herself off.

And the way she flustered now only made it seem more certain.

Still, because it could also just be the Beast-Heart Technique’s effect, I pretended not to notice and answered her.

“F-fine then. All you have to do is press your lips to either my forehead or the back of my hand—or I can do the same to yours.”

—Chi-i-chi? 『That simple?』

She came straight toward me, clearly intending to kiss my forehead herself.

At first I thought I should do it, since she was a woman and might be embarrassed—but then I remembered, she was a butterfly.

And a blood-drinking one at that. She had no hesitation about putting her mouth to a man’s skin.

Every day she stuck that straw-like proboscis of hers into men’s arms, after all.

‘You could call her a kind of professional phlebotomist.’

So I figured I should just let her do it.

But the moment we got too close, we couldn’t get any closer.

As always, once we crossed a certain distance, she instinctively shoved me back.

She frowned at her own chest, then told me:

—Chi-it. 『Sigh. Just give me your hand.』

Apparently, her breasts were in the way. So she meant to use the back of my hand instead.

I nodded and held it out. She took it, turning it over in her fingers, then looked at it with a strangely regretful expression.

—Chi-i. 『But when will our So-ryong finally grow bigger?』

“...Eh?”

—Chi-i-i. 『I mean... when will your body grow larger, like other men’s? I was wondering.』

Out of nowhere she asked when I’d get bigger. So I had to tell her the truth—that I wouldn’t.

My body was already fully grown.

I’d gone through rebirth—hwan-gol-tal-tae—and had completely passed my growth stage.

“I think this is it. I already went through hwan-gol-tal-tae.”

—Chi-i. 『Really? But... that’s a problem.』

Her face darkened suddenly at my answer.

I tilted my head and asked, “Why?”

And she, with a very cautious look, asked me:

—Chi-chi-i. 『So-ryong... what do you think of me drinking blood?』

“I don’t think anything of it.”

Honestly, I didn’t.

It was just what she needed to survive.

There was no reason to attach any personal feelings to it.

It was no different than Yo-hwa needing yang energy.

She looked a little relieved and said:

—Chi-i-chi-i. 『I only asked because there are bad ones who drink blood. I was worried.』

“Oh, but you’re nothing like them. Those bastards suck other people’s vital blood just to strengthen themselves. You only take a little, just enough to live.”

It seemed she’d been worried because of the Blood Cult. I shook my head firmly.

But in truth, her real reason was different.

—Chi-i-i. 『To be honest, So-ryong, your blood tastes the best. But you’re small... so...』

Of course. She liked men built like the burly Peng Clan warriors.

Just like I liked breasts, she liked big-bodied men.

Not out of aesthetics, but because of her survival.

She continued:

—Chi-i-i-i. 『I’ve been holding back, feeding on other people’s blood... but I thought if you grew bigger, I could finally ask you...』

‘W-wait, so Sister was planning to raise me for later?’

Her words startled me.

But at the same time, it was a bit of a relief.

I’d thought her reactions earlier meant she liked me romantically.

But no—she just wanted to fatten me up to eat.

Not love across species, just... a meal plan.

Smiling, I gave her good news.

“Sister, once a month is fine even now.”

—Chi-i? 『Really?』

“Yes.”

In the modern world, blood donation was supposed to be once every two months.

If you gave 400ml, you needed at least eight weeks of recovery.

But this was Murim, where things like Boheoldan existed.

So I could afford to give her once a month.

I was already donating yang energy to Yo-hwa and my wives—and planned to keep doing so—so what was a little blood?

At my words, her face lit up and she threw herself at me.

—Chi-i-i! 『So-ryong, I love it!』

She was probably just trying to hug me in her excitement—but of course that wasn’t possible.

I ended up knocked flat again, rolling backward.

She leaned over me upside down, looking into my face, and said:

—Chi-i. 『Then, from now on... I’ll be counting on you for life.』

Her lips touched my forehead. And then, my vision gradually blurred.