Perhaps this was the reason for the faint blue tint that had appeared in his once pitch-black hair. Come to think of it, the snake scales that had grown on his body were also faint, but they also had that bluish tint.

“By the way, what happened to the scales?”

“I hid them.”

“Hid them?”

He didn’t say anything more about it. It was as if he didn’t want to show them. It reminded me of the past. At first he didn’t even want to show his tentacles. He hated his own body so much that he used to cover his eyes in front of me. But with time, he stopped caring what I saw.

“All right. Show me when you feel like it.”

The scales would probably be the same. There would come a time when he would choose to show them himself. As I traced his eyes, they narrowed slightly and he smiled. The way he looked down at me was sweet, almost like honey. At the same time, a wave of warmth and desire washed over me. He was full of longing for me.

“You’re naughty.”

I couldn’t help saying it. Zetak chuckled softly. He took my hand in his. As I watched him in silence, he leaned forward and spoke softly.

“Do you know the first thing I checked when I shed my old skin and crawled out of the swamp?”

Zetak took my hand down. Down. Towards his centre. He pressed my palm firmly against his centre. What does he want me to do? Does he want me to praise him for his safe return? Ding, ding, ding. He tapped it, which felt quite thick. I did as he asked, but it didn’t react when I looked up. I stroked it gently from side to side and said, “Is that it, or do you want me to stroke it?”

“You’re so good.”

“……”

I don’t understand why hearing this compliment makes me want to stand up. It doesn’t seem like the right reaction, considering the curse word I just heard. His curse seemed like it had been a while since he had last used it. He sighed and washed his face with cold water.

“I…”

Whatever was bothering him, he sighed again before speaking. His voice seemed full of frustration.

“Do you know what decision I made when I came out of the swamp? The prince who said he could see the future kept saying that I would become nothing. So I decided not to be surprised, even if a distorted form was attached to me. I told myself that even if three of them appeared, I would remain calm.”

That was my resolution. Zetak spoke through clenched teeth. I was stunned.

“Three? Do you think you’re some kind of monstrosity fused to a genital? Your imagination is a bit much.”

“Who says so?”

He slammed his hand against the wall beside my head, a small gurgle coming from his throat. I wondered why he’d suddenly become so chilly when he’d been so honeyed a moment before. I realised now: he wasn’t asking me to compliment him on being early. He was asking me to look at the shape and size of his p*nis. I slid my fingers down his trousers and felt for it. I ran them up and down, then down again. As I pressed it against his trousers I could see the shape of it.

“One.”

“F*ck, of course.”

“You have two t*sticles.”

“Did you think there would be five? No, actually, when I came out of the swamp I was afraid there might be… …”

I think it’s got grapes or something. There was a hint of fear in Zetak’s voice as he murmured this. Somehow I couldn’t imagine him being afraid. I imagined him in the Demon Realm.

The grey swamp mud stirring. His sinewy hand would come up and grasp the ground. The other hand would come up, grab the ground and pull him up. The swamp is not an easy place to climb and the Zetak must be breathing heavily after such an exertion.

Once he had calmed down a little, he would have looked down with a face full of fear. How many of them were there? How big would they be? He must have thought about such things. Perhaps the shape would have looked bizarre because of the thick mud. It would have looked like several horned clubs had been attached to it.

He must have been desperate. I imagined Zetak clutching his chest and thinking “Is this really…?” before finally falling to his knees in defeat. His own would not have revealed its true form until the mud had washed away from the lakeshore. As the mud washed away, Zetak would probably have cried “Oh!” and gently cradled mine with both hands as if it were a sacred object.

“F*ck. What you’re thinking. Stop it right now.”

“What the f*ck do you think I’m thinking and you want me to stop?”

“I don’t know what it is, but I don’t like it, so stop.”

Is he trying to put boundaries in my mind now? How annoying. But it’s been seven years since we last saw each other. After such a long time, I didn’t want to spoil his mood. How long had I been waiting for this moment? Of course, I hadn’t imagined that I would be reminiscing while touching him like this.

Since I had already caught him, I decided to take my time and admire him. I put my finger on the top of his trousers and checked the area around the gl*ns. It was quite thick. The sh*ft was also larger than average for a human. What happens when it is *rect? But for a monster it’s a bit… …

“It is small.”

“…….”

He was eerily quiet. Then I heard a strange crunching sound coming from the hand at the side of my head. I looked to the side and saw his fingers digging into the brick.

“……Yeah, it’s small.”

He laughed softly and pulled his fingers away from the wall. The corners of his mouth were slightly upturned, his eyes slightly crinkled. For some reason, I couldn’t take my eyes off that smile. Maybe that’s what you call charming, or colourful.

Why are you standing there talking?

“Shall we go to the room?”

He whispered, smiling. He was a child who usually had a blank expression on his face, just like me, but his smile was strangely sweet. It felt strange to describe a smile as sweet, but that’s how it seemed. Yes, he often smiled like that. Often smiling and crying. He took my hand. It was cold, but strangely it felt warm.

I see. I have a lot to say too.

I held his hand. It was still cold. But it was all right. It was the hand that tried to protect me. Seven years. The long wait was over.