Makoto looked at the "High-Class Cuisine" before him, stirring up some unpleasant memories.
Once, he had visited a Michelin three-star Kaiseki restaurant in his past life.
The taste... let's just say if it was just for "experiencing the culture," he might as well have eaten vinegar fish.
These so-called exquisite dishes in front of him would be better off replaced with a bowl of cheap curry or greasy grilled meat.
If that wasn't possible, even Naruto's instant ramen would do.
But this couldn't really be blamed on Ryuchi Cave.
After all, they weren't human, they were snakes.
At most, they usually ate people raw, so their understanding of "cuisine" was naturally limited to "is it breathing?"
Being able to conjure up illusionary food that looked like what Daimyos ate was already considered thoughtful hospitality.
"Trial-taker," Tagorihime stood behind Makoto, holding a serving plate.
Seeing Makoto motionless, she felt a bit strange and urged him. "These ingredients are extremely precious. Eat, eat? Why aren't you eating?"
Hearing this urging gave Makoto a sense of déjà vu.
It felt like the next second, this beautiful woman would lose control, slam the table, and shout, "Dammit, why aren't you eating! Are you disrespecting my cooking?!" like an angry grandmother.
Even though she was affectionately calling him "trial-taker" now, for them, the word "trial-taker" was no different from "dinner is served."
Failing the Ryuchi Cave trial meant being eaten.
Literally.
And as far as history knew, the only ones who passed were Orochimaru and the future Kabuto.
Orochimaru passed the trial mentally but his body was too weak for Sage Mode.
Kabuto passed by injecting himself with everything under the sun.
As for Boruto and his group passing in the anime?
Makoto was more inclined to believe that the White Snake Sage intentionally had the Three Snake Princesses lower the difficulty to "Tutorial Mode" because she was afraid Naruto would come down and nuke the cave if his son got eaten.
Otherwise, the trial would be too ridiculous.
There was even a tangram puzzle segment!
If you didn't know better, you'd think it was early childhood education for snakes!
"Um," Makoto finally spoke up, poking a suspicious-looking fish with his chopstick. "May I ask... when you eat people, do you chew them? Or do you swallow them whole?"
"Of course, we swallow them whole," Tagorihime answered subconsciously.
She was wondering why Makoto had no reaction to the illusion, so she let her guard down.
The room fell into dead silence.
Tagorihime realized what she had said.
Her face gradually darkened. Her originally beautiful appearance began to ripple, showing signs of scales.
'Oops. Since it was exposed, I might as well eat him now...'
"Oh," Makoto nodded sagely. "So it seems what Jiraiya wrote is true."
Makoto calmly pulled out an illustrated novel from his cloak pocket.
'Jiraiya?'
Tagorihime frowned.
'That name sounded familiar—wasn't it the contractor from neighboring Mount Myoboku? The Toad Sage?'
'How dare someone associated with those slimy dead toads come to Ryuchi Cave? Is he seeking death?'
With this thought, Tagorihime opened her bloody maw.
Her jaw unhinged, revealing rows of razor-sharp fangs. Her face twisted violently into a monstrous serpent visage.
ROAR—
'HUUUHH?'
Just as she lowered her head to swallow Makoto whole, her gaze caught the cover of "Jiraiya's Literary Works" in his hand.
The cover depicted a humanoid monster with a face as terrifying as her current form.
A Lamia.
But what made her uncomfortable was that the humanoid monster was being fucked by a muscular human dude name Drako!
'What in the actual hell is this?!'
'Have the toads from Mount Myoboku started creating Ryuchi Cave porn?!'
Tagorihime was so startled that her face instantly reverted to human form.
She glanced at the title—"The Snake Princess's Secret Chamber."
"After receiving Ryuchi Cave's approval, rereading these scenes hits differently," Makoto remarked casually, flipping through the pages right in front of her.
Being an illustrated novel, it contained vivid images.
To Tagorihime, these illustrations were utterly shocking.
There was a snake-bodied monster with a human head, resembling her true form.
And then...
Reading further, she noticed the humans in the illustrations grew more excited the stranger the monster girls appeared.
The scales, the fangs, the tails... they were features of attraction for the man, not fear!
These worldview-shattering images made Tagorihime's head spin!
'Do humans... like this?'
"What did you mean earlier," Tagorihime asked, her voice trembling slightly. "By asking whether I swallow prey whole or chew?"
"Ah, this," Makoto pointed at a panel. "Jiraiya wrote that Ryuchi Cave snake maidens devour human 'Milk.' I didn't believe it when I first read it, but now I see I was ignorant. You being a local, your confirmation proved it. You always... swallow 'whole,' right?"
"Nonsense!" Tagorihime screamed, looking disgusted. "When did I confirm that?!"
"You said you swallow people whole, right? Doesn't that include the 'Milk' inside them? Or do you only eat women to avoid the extra protein?"
"I..."
'How could it be interpreted that way?! This man is a degenerate!'
Tagorihime's face froze.
"By the way," Makoto continued his "thirst for knowledge," flipping another page. "Have you heard this biological fact about snakes? They have two hemipenes. Does it apply to Ryūchi Cave serpents too? Or is the physiology different for females?"
"Ahem... Trial-taker!"
Tagorihime retreated two steps.
She felt a primal danger!
Not of being killed, but of being... educated.
"I have matters to attend to! I must go... check the oven!" She turned to flee.
"You can't leave."
GRAB.
Makoto suddenly turned and grabbed her arm.
"HOW DA-... Le.. let me go!"
She almost shouted "How dare you!" and tried to transform into her terrifying serpent face to intimidate him.
But remembering the illustrations—where the monster girl transforms and the human gets more aroused—she feared it might backfire.
'If I transform, he might try to... rape me!'
Crucially, the moment Makoto grabbed her, she sensed immense physical strength in his grip.
And worse—torrential Natural Energy flowing through him like a dam about to burst.
'This guy isn't a normal human!'
If he truly intended to force anything, she might not be able to resist him.
"If you leave, who will I turn to?" Makoto pressed, stepping closer. "What about the trial? You haven't tested me yet."
"The trial? Right! It's about to begin! I'll call someone over! I'll call my sisters! Release me first..."
Makoto smiled widely that makes his face looks like a demon king!
"Call them from here then, as they say..... the more the merrier!"
"...HELP!!! HELP!!! TASUKETEEEEEEEE!!!"
Tagorihime screamed at the top of her lungs.
....
Outside the Palace.
In the thick fog, Ichikishimahime and Tagitsuhime heard Tagorihime's terrified cries.
"Heh," Ichikishimahime smirked, floating in the air. "She's really getting into it. Could it be that the trial-taker not only stirred her appetite but also her lust?"
"That's strange," Tagitsuhime frowned. "Playing pitiful and weak—isn't that your specialty, Ichikishima?"
"Who knows. Maybe she's trying a new roleplay today."
The two chatted, completely ignoring Tagorihime's pleas for rescue. They thought she was just torturing the food before eating it.
While they waited for Tagorihime's trial to conclude—if the trial-taker passed (which they doubted), it would be their turn—Tagorihime made a desperate decision.
Inside, Makoto had just said: "You're a snake transformed, so is that clothing made from shed skin? Come on, be good, let me take a look. Does it peel off?"
That was the last straw.
In her fear, Tagorihime surrendered.
She offered to take him directly to meet the White Snake Sage and pass him instantly, on the condition that Makoto hand over the "Cursed Book" to her.
Makoto agreed.
He not only gave her "Pale Iris," but also threw in an extra one—also written by "Jiraiya"—titled "The Legend of the White Snake: Tama's Love Story."
(It was a story about a human man marrying a snake demon. Very romantic. cultured man will like it).
...
Deepest Chamber of Ryuchi Cave.
The White Snake Sage had transformed into an old woman, reclining halfway on a stone bed, smoking a pipe.
Seeing Tagorihime dragging Makoto in, running like she was being chased by a predator, the Sage frowned.
"Why are you the only one here? Where are your sisters?"
"Lord White Snake! Save me!"
Tagorihime wailed as she threw herself at the Sage's feet.
"This person is a spy sent by Mount Myoboku! He... he's a beast! A pervert! He showed me terrible drawings!"
"We are beasts too," the White Snake Sage said calmly, blowing a ring of smoke.
"We eat people. What's the fuss?"
Her slit pupils shifted to Makoto as she narrowed her eyes.
"Besides," the Sage hissed softly. "Can't you sense the aura on him?."
---------
Read 40 chapters ahead and support me on patreon.
patreon (.)com/Newbietranslator