Fabre in Sacheon’s Tang

Yeolbi’s adjustment period turned out to be rough.

Probably because the girls had scared him when they first captured him—he remained extremely wary of Cho, Hyang, Bini, and Yo-hwa. And maybe because of the pirate fight, he even showed a lot of caution toward unfamiliar humans.

No—more precisely, he was wary of everyone except me, and outright afraid of the other girls.

Thankfully, I wasn’t on his blacklist. But since he kept panicking every time the other kids came near and freaked out around strangers, I had no choice but to keep him inside one of the buildings the pirates had left behind.

I decided to introduce him to the others slowly and restrict the number of people he met.

Let him adapt gradually to humans and other venomous beasts.

‘Well, makes sense. He is a wild-caught specimen—he’ll need time to adjust.’

In my previous life, when it came to raising dogs, we used to divide them into three categories based on origin.

Farm-bred ones were called farm breeder dogs.

Dogs bred by individuals were personal breeder dogs.

And lastly, those captured from the wild were classified as wild specimens.

Each category had its pros and cons.

Farm- and personally-bred dogs were easy to raise.

They were already accustomed to commercial feed, didn’t reject food, and had been trained to tolerate basic commands. They also suffered fewer minor illnesses.

The downside?

Coloration and genetic issues.

Selective breeding for color could make the coat more vibrant, sure—but the repeated inbreeding left them genetically fragile.

Unselected litters tended to have duller coloring.

In the wild, males had to compete and show off to attract mates—so they naturally developed bright and impressive colors.

Farm-raised males didn’t have the same pressure.

Owners were afraid they’d fight, so there weren’t any rival males to compete with. Hence, no need to shine.

So when people wanted vibrant colors or a healthier gene pool, they’d often go for wild-caught ones.

But wild specimens? Always took more time to adapt.

That’s why I had prepared a full adaptation period for Yeolbi—he needed time to get used to food, surroundings, and people.

Originally, I was going to go looking for him once the matter with Moji and Soji was resolved.

But he came to us first, so we had some time to spare.

After three or four days, he slowly began to adjust.

By the ninth day, not only was he no longer scared of the girls—he was starting to warm up to people too.

Probably because he wasn’t an ordinary beast, but an intelligent divine beast.

If he’d been just another venomous creature, this would’ve taken months.

—Tski.

“Looks like he’s adjusted pretty well, huh?”

Yeolbi twitched his antennae as he accepted a piece of meat from the Island Sister.

She was watching him with soft, affectionate eyes.

Which made sense—there’s nothing more rewarding than hand-feeding something you’re raising.

Sure, our other kids were incredible divine beasts from the Heavens, and raising them was a thrill in itself.

But the one downside? I couldn’t feed them.

Aside from the rare occasion when Yo-hwa needed to eat a flower to stay grounded, none of them required regular feeding.

But this little guy? Feeding him was genuinely fun.

Just like other beetles, he ate meat.

“Right?”

I watched Yeolbi happily tear into the fresh goat meat the Island Sister had brought him—and noticed the silk thread wrapped around his back.

That was definitely Yo-hwa’s work.

She must’ve tied it to keep him from flying off.

It was time to take it off.

He seemed to have really settled in here.

“Yeolbi, if you live with us, we’ll keep feeding you and clean your shell every day. You know I already plucked all the ticks off your back, right?”

—Tski!

“Feels good being tick-free, huh?”

—Tski!

“Then that’s settled—you’re living with us for good, alright?”

—Tski tski!

Yeolbi nodded while chewing on meat.

I immediately called for Yo-hwa to come and remove the thread.

After all, the most important thing in any relationship... is trust.

If he agreed to stay with us forever, I couldn’t keep him tied up like a prisoner.

“Yo-hwa! Yo-hwa!”

I stepped outside and called for her.

She was up on the rooftop, but descended gracefully along her thread.

Landing near the entrance, she tilted her head.

—Kisit?

“Oh, it’s nothing urgent. Just wondering if you can untie Yeolbi’s back now.”

—Kishiit!

“I mean, he’s adjusted well and he’s decided to stay. So I figured it’s time to take it off.”

—Kishishisit. Kishi?

“I have no idea what you’re saying, so hang on—let me call Cho real quick.”

She kept glancing at Yeolbi and muttering things I couldn’t understand.

Judging by her tone, she was probably saying not to untie him yet.

But I wanted to be sure—so I asked Cho to come help translate.

‘Cho! Where are you? Can you come to the pirate house real quick?’

It wasn’t long before Cho showed up, dripping water.

She must’ve been swimming or something.

She dropped a huge carp beside me and asked:

—Tsrut? “Dad, why’d you call me?”

‘Yo-hwa’s saying something, but I can’t understand her.’

—Tsrrr? “Yo-hwa unnie?”

She turned to Yo-hwa and the two began talking.

—Tsrrr.

—Kisit. Kishishi.

After some back and forth, Cho turned back to me with the interpretation.

—Tsrut. Tsrrrut. “She says Yeolbi is still suspicious, so we should take it slow untying him.”

‘Thought so.’

The moment I heard “suspicious,” I turned toward Yeolbi—only to find him skittering over to me and pressing himself against my leg, rubbing his face on it.

He looked up at me with the most pitiful expression ever.

Like he’d been falsely accused.

—Tskiya...

Then he turned to Yo-hwa and Cho, flailing as if pleading with them.

Yo-hwa stared him down, arms crossed, then casually lifted a front leg and snipped off the thread.

—tuk. tuk tuk.

The motion was so quick, so precise—it was like she had a knife hidden in her leg.

Just like that, the spider silk snapped apart.

As she finished, Yo-hwa gave Yeolbi one last message.

—Kishi...

Yeolbi flinched hard.

Then turned to look at me, shaking his head violently like, Absolutely not! I would never!

—Tski!

I didn’t need a translation for that.

Even without words, I could guess what she had said.

Probably something like, “If you ever try to run away again after we trusted you... I’ll fold you in half and bury you.”

The way Yeolbi kept stammering out denials just made it all the more obvious.

I was honestly worried he might pee himself.

Yo-hwa could be terrifying—even to me.

***

“Yeolbi?”

I had planned to introduce him to the other kids this morning—but when I woke up, Yeolbi was gone.

Thinking maybe he had gone outside early, I stepped out and asked Yo-hwa, who was perched above my head.

“Yo-hwa, did Yeolbi come out this way?”

I’d never let him out on his own before, but since I’d given him permission to go out starting yesterday, I thought maybe he’d taken the initiative.

And since Yo-hwa had been guarding the entrance, if he’d left through there, she’d have noticed.

—Kisit?

This translation is the intellectual property of Novelight.

At my words, she descended on a thread and checked the building.

We’d sealed the windows with Yo-hwa’s silk to keep the mosquitoes out, and the entrance had been covered with a mat.

Worried he might’ve slipped through, Yo-hwa inspected everything, but her silk on the windows was untouched.

We searched high and low, but he had vanished.

That’s when ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) I heard voices at the entrance—Bini, Hyang, and Hwayang entered the building.

—Tsrrr!?

—Kkii!?

—Tsrut?

They were asking what had happened.

I immediately told them the news.

“Yeolbi disappeared. I’m looking for him.”

—Tsrrrut!?

—Kkii!

Hearing that, their antennae all sprang upright in shock.

They immediately began scouring the building.

Hyang climbed up the ceiling and inspected every beam, Bini scoured the floor.

While everyone was combing the place, a sudden scream burst from Hwayang.

—Kkii!

Startled, we turned toward the source. Her cry had come from beneath the pile of grass bedding we’d used for sleeping.

She was whimpering under the lifted lid of the bedding.

When we brushed aside the dry grass, we found it—a cleanly bored hole, right through the wooden floorboards.

“What the hell!?”

—Kkii?

—Tsrrr!

Boring through wood like that should’ve made some noise.

Doing it in silence would’ve taken days—it clearly wasn’t dug in just a night or two.

“This little bastard! He acted all sweet and cuddly yesterday, and meanwhile he’d already prepped his escape!”

All that cute, clingy behavior yesterday—just an act.

As I seethed over Yeolbi’s disappearance, someone else was fuming even harder.

—Kisit!

Yo-hwa.

She was utterly furious over the fact that he had escaped through a tunnel.

Curious why she was that mad, I asked Cho—and her answer made it clear: Yo-hwa was livid because Yeolbi had lied to me.

“R-right... I get it.”

Even without my command, Yo-hwa immediately took charge and organized a search party.

—Kishishishi!

—Tsrut! Tsrrr!

—Shyaa!

Cho and Yeondu took to the skies.

Bini, Hyang, and Hwayang began scouring the surrounding grasslands.

Even Cheongyu joined the search, scattering food to draw him out.

If Yeolbi got caught, he was definitely in big trouble.

“Yeolbi, the big sisters are pissed. If they catch you, you’re dead meat!”

Back in the swamp, Yeolbi’s scream stirred something deep within the cave.

The ruler of the region opened his eyes.

Hearing Yeolbi’s desperate cry, he slowly uncoiled and slithered out with regal arrogance.

—Ska? “What’s going on?”

As the ruler emerged from the cave, sunlight reflected off his shimmering scales.

His red body and bright orange horns sparkled brilliantly in the light.

Yeolbi’s response rang out:

—Tski! “Big Brother, please help me! Intruding beasts have invaded my land and trapped me!”

The regional ruler frowned at that.

—Skaat!? “Other beasts?”

—Tski tski! “Yes, Big Brother! They entered my territory and bullied me...”

—Ska? “So they entered your domain? Even after I declared no private fights allowed? Who dares defy my command...”

At first, the ruler assumed it was an internal dispute.

He’d only recently issued an order to prevent territory fights—such things were all too common among the island’s beasts.

But then Yeolbi firmly shook his head.

—Tskit! “No, Big Brother! They weren’t locals—they were outsiders! I’ve never seen them before!”

—Ska? “Outsiders?”

—Tskiii... “Yes, Big Brother. Foreigners... from outside...”

—Skaat? “Wait, what?! Foreigners?!”

The mention of strangers made the ruler’s brow furrow—but when Yeolbi used the word “foreigners,” his scales bristled.

It had been decades—maybe longer—since he’d seen one.

This island was cursed, or so it seemed. Foreigners were a rarity, if they appeared at all.

—Tski! “Yes! One of them looked like O-gong, and another like Ji-ju or some kind of Spider Maggot—”

But then Yeolbi’s words killed his interest.

He’d been shocked at first by “foreigners,” but now he realized it wasn’t snake-types—it was just beetles and bugs.

—Ska... “Ugh, I thought—”

—Tski? “Huh?”

—Skaat. “Never mind.”

Trying to hide his disappointment, he gave a vague reply.

—Tskit! “Anyway, Big Brother! Please help drive them out!”

If they were indeed new beasts from outside, it was his duty as this land’s ruler to remind them whose territory this was.

Territorial squabbles were common—but they needed to know whose land they’d entered.

—Skaya. “Alright, let’s go.”

—Tski tski! “You’re the best, Big Brother!”

With that, the ruler launched himself out of the cave, sliding straight down the slope.

His massive body dove in and out of soil and stone, tunneling like a serpent missile toward Yeolbi’s territory.

After a long sprint, he reached the swamp.

And when he arrived—he froze.

Floating in the sky... was a light green snake he had never seen before.

An unfamiliar, breathtakingly beautiful snake called out to him.

—Shaya? “Excuse me, but that child seems to have run away from us. May we take him back?”

—Tski! Tsk—! “Don’t trust her! She’s with them! They locked me up and tortured me! I came to beg my Big Brother—”

Yeolbi’s rant was abruptly cut off as the regional ruler wrapped his body around him.

Then, with the most respectful voice he could manage, he turned to the green snake and said:

—Skaya... “As it happens, I had just caught him myself after hearing his story.”

It was obvious.

His little brother had clearly messed up.