–Pyoong.

As soon as our eyes met, the creature that had just peeked its head above the water quickly ducked back down with a plop.

And in that moment, I caught sight of its massive shell.

The murky pond water seemed to darken even further, likely due to the color of the shell itself.

“Oooooh!”

A gasp of awe escaped me without thinking.

Even at a glance, its size was utterly overwhelming.

Hyang, who’d been coiled around my body all this time pretending to be armor, pointed toward the creature and said:

–Tssrut! 『Dad! It looks kinda like Geumdo!』

Right, the one that peeked its head out from the green algae was a softshell turtle.

And not just any turtle. A massive one.

I’d heard the Yangtze Giant Softshell could grow up to about a meter long, but this one looked easily like 1.3 meters, if not more.

Of course, it definitely wasn’t one of the Ten Great Venoms or the Twenty-Four Poison Branch.

The only ones left from the Ten were the World-Destroying Golden Toad and Zimjo.

And from the Twenty-Four, only Euneo remained.

The World-Destroying Golden Toad is a frog. Zimjo is a bird. And Euneo is a fish spirit beast.

So this one would be somewhere among the low, middle, or upper-tier spirit beasts.

‘I haven’t had that many chances to encounter mid-tier spirit beasts... but even the "mid-tier" ones have their own charm.’

Would I, Spicy Fabre, treat spirit beasts like royalty and ignore the little guys? Not a chance.

Spirit beasts have their appeal, and even ordinary beasts have their own value.

Though honestly, this one didn’t look like just an ordinary beast.

Even if it wasn’t one of the legendary venoms, as long as it wasn’t a total dud, that was good enough for me.

This turtle spirit beast—it clearly seemed based on the Yangtze Giant Softshell.

Definitely worth adding to the collection list.

Since it looked scared, I told Hyang to try talking to it.

“Hyang-ah, try saying something.”

–Tssrut. Tssssrrr. 『Got it, Dad. Hello there? Excuse me?』

Hyang responded and gave it a try.

But there was no reaction from the creature.

It kept itself hidden underwater, not even poking its head out again.

Had it gone through something traumatic when it was captured? Or was it just completely terrified?

“What the... Is it scared?”

I was pondering what to do next when Baekhwa and Heukhwa raised their heads from within the Princess’s collar.

Currently, the Princess was bearing serious grudges from both the Five Venoms Sect and the Blood Cult.

Considering they’d even tried to blackmail the royal family, it was clear those bastards would resort to anything.

So, thinking they might send assassins or worse, I’d assigned Baekhwa and Heukhwa to protect her on outings.

The moment they poked their heads out from the folds of her robes, the Princess shivered.

“Ugh...”

She still wasn’t used to the kids’ touch.

It’s not exactly easy for a normal person to get used to the cool sensation of snakes slithering across your skin.

Thankfully, they were hiding inside her clothes.

The two of them turned toward me and said:

–Kishaah. 『So-ryong-nim, shall I try talking to it?』

–Shakiii. 『Shall we go take a look?』

Since Hyang was a centipede, she couldn’t see into the water—but the twins could.

They could approach it directly or at least try speaking to it underwater.

They must’ve popped out to help.

“Yeah, could you?”

As soon as I nodded, the two of them dove into the pond.

–Pyoong.

Like synchronized swimmers, they entered the water at the same time.

With the sleek, streamlined movements typical of swimming snakes, Baekhwa and Heukhwa glided toward the center of the pond.

–Kisha. 『Come on out. So-ryong-nim is calling you, so don’t be scared.』

–Shakiii. 『Please come out.』

Heukhwa and Baekhwa spoke gently as they neared the creature’s hiding spot at the pond’s center.

But it didn’t budge.

Only small bubbles rose to the surface of the water.

After trying a few more times, the two of them eventually circled around the bubbling area.

And then the surface of the pond began to ripple.

The turtle started rising to the surface—being forcibly pulled up.

They must’ve used Air-Grasping Technique to hoist it out.

Those two were the only spirit beasts capable of using internal energy.

The creature thrashed underwater, causing the water to churn violently.

The pond began to roil with turbulence.

–Chwaaaa.

“Go easy, guys—don’t scare it too much.”

–Kishaah. 『We’re going easy, So-ryong-nim.』

–Shaki. 『We're being gentle.』

I warned them just in case, but despite what they said, the creature was dragged to the surface in a frenzy.

It began flailing wildly, clearly terrified.

Water splashed everywhere. Baekhwa and Heukhwa grimaced in irritation.

Then came Hyang’s deflated voice:

–Tssrut? 『Wait, Dad? That’s not a spirit beast.』

“What?”

The turtle, now subdued like a criminal under arrest and dragged ashore by Baekhwa and Heukhwa, caught my attention.

I quickly ran up to inspect it.

–Kisha. 『You’re right. This one’s not a spirit beast.』

–Shaki. 『Definitely not.』

I met its dull, frightened eyes.

Right. That shine—unique to spirit beasts—wasn’t there.

True spirit beasts always had this spark in their eyes that struck you instantly.

But this one? Just a turtle. A big one, sure, but still just a turtle.

Maybe an old one?

I looked at Geum Gi-ryung and said:

“This one’s not a spirit beast.”

Geum Gi-ryung, who’d been watching us with fascination, widened his eyes in shock.

“No... no way?”

He looked absolutely stunned.

Pointing at the turtle, he stammered:

“Th-that’s a Yuan-Tuo of this size!”

How could a turtle that large not be a spirit beast?

But now, I understood why Geum Gi-ryung had mistaken it for one.

I asked him, “Did you perhaps get this one from some fishermen?”

“Yes, I heard it had gotten caught in their net and couldn’t escape, so I paid a good sum to buy it from them.”

There’s a trait common among anglers and fishermen: when they catch a really big fish, they always say, “This one’s basically a spirit beast.”

Since it’s not the average catch, they just assume it's close to or actually is a spirit beast.

Of course, it’s not just them. Regular folks do it too.

Don’t they say the same thing if they see a big snake near their house? “That must be a spirit beast.”

It’s basically just exaggeration because something is big—but if the thing they catch really is massive, then the line starts to blur.

Its sheer size makes people feel a kind of mystical awe, and that turns into a sense of overwhelming presence that leads to mistaking it for a spirit beast.

After all, when people encounter something mysterious, they either fear it or revere it. That’s the root of shamanism and animism.

“Fishermen often say things like, ‘This is spirit beast-tier,’ when they catch a huge fish or turtle—but even if it's so big it feels mystical, that doesn’t automatically make it a spirit beast.

This one here is certainly much larger than a typical Giant Softshell, but it’s definitely not a spirit beast.”

Part of me felt a bit disappointed, but I figured I should explain to Geum Gi-ryung the difference between an actual spirit beast and something that’s just spirit beast-tier.

How would an ordinary person be expected to tell the difference?

If it’s big, majestic, and has some mysterious aura, it must be a spirit beast, right?

Even in a world where real spirit beasts exist, few have actually seen one in person.

“True spirit beasts can understand human speech and possess special powers. Even low-tier spirit beasts are like that. So this one isn’t one.”

“I—I see...”

Most people wouldn’t know that.

Even those martial artists who constantly try to steal honey from the Golden-Furred Wasp Kings don’t realize those wasps are intelligent enough to outthink people.

So when I explained clearly, Geum Gi-ryung apologized.

“I—I’m sorry.”

“No, it’s fine. I mean, an ordinary person could easily make that mistake. And since you went through all that trouble just to get something your friend might like, I’ll «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» accept the gesture.”

“I’ll definitely find you a real spirit beast next time.”

Well, even if it wasn’t the real deal, the thought still counted.

Anyone who gives a gift catered to someone else’s obsession is a pretty open-minded person.

Respecting someone’s interests and trying to find a gift they’d genuinely appreciate—that’s always something to praise.

This kind of thing happened now and then in my past life too.

Sometimes, regular people would try to befriend weirdos like us fanatics by buying us something they thought we’d like.

Usually, it didn’t work out too well.

Once, someone I was close to bought me a lizard for my birthday.

They thought I’d love it, since I was Spicy Fabre and all—so they got me this supposedly rare species that had just been imported from Africa.

“Hey, Fabre! Your big sis found you a lizard you’ll love! I figured this would be the perfect birthday gift for you.”

“Huh?”

“They said this is the first time it's been imported from Africa. Tada~!”

“Oh, uh... I already have one at home.”

“What!? How!? They said this was the first batch ever brought into the country!”

“Officially, yeah. But sometimes these guys sneak them in as part of other shipments. When orders get mixed up, stuff like this shows up. That’s how I got mine.”

Yeah. I already had it.

Even if something was an “official first import,” overseas dealers would sometimes slip in the wrong species or extras when shipping unrelated animals, and I’d end up with those.

So with a faint sense of disappointment, I left Geum Gi-ryung’s estate.

He looked just as disappointed as I felt.

Of course he did—this was supposed to be his golden opportunity to connect with the Crown Prince. But he’d just missed his shot.

This could’ve been the break that turned the Geumjeok Merchant Guild into the top trading house in the Central Plains, so it made sense he was kicking himself.

Just as we passed through the marketplace—

The princess, who had been walking ahead with Gun Hye-rin, slowed down and approached me and Geum Gi-ryung.

“I’ll write you a letter of recommendation, so don’t be too disappointed.”

“What!? Oh—no, I couldn’t possibly accept that without giving something in return! What kind of merchant accepts payment without delivering a product?”

She offered to write him a letter for free, but Geum Gi-ryung shook both hands frantically in refusal.

Saying it was simply unthinkable.

Some kind of merchant pride, maybe?

The princess then turned to me, looking confused.

“So-ryong, didn’t you say he’s your friend?”

“That’s right.”

“Then I don’t understand. Why is he talking about compensation with a friend?”

Geum Gi-ryung panicked.

“N-no, that’s not what I meant...”

Seeing him flustered, the princess smiled gently and said,

“If it truly weighs on your conscience, then isn’t it enough to repay the favor through effort?”

“I, Geum Gi-ryung, will not let you down!”

The princess had completely charmed him.

So this is what they mean by royal charisma, huh?

If she hadn’t asked him to hide her identity, the guy might’ve dropped to his knees right then and there.

Geum Gi-ryung had met the right friend and just opened his road to success. I figured I’d gently remind him to channel that momentum into putting more effort into finding actual spirit beasts.

But right then—

a black flash shot out from the princess’s chest.

–KANG!

Suddenly, there was a metallic clang!—and then a scream erupted from somewhere in the market.

“GAAACK!”

I turned my head to see a merchant collapsed on the ground, screaming in panic.

Startled, I readied myself and looked toward where the black streak had flown.

An assassin!?

That was my first thought.

“What’s going on? Heukhwa!?”

As expected—it was Heukhwa who had launched herself from the princess’s chest.

She was now perched atop a large wooden cutting board in front of the screaming man.

A chef’s knife—clearly intended for butchery—was embedded in the wall behind him. Heukhwa must’ve deflected it.

Lying atop the cutting board... was a small turtle.

It had been flipped on its back, its limp body filled with resignation. But when it saw Heukhwa, its eyes went wide.

They sparkled.

And then, from those widened eyes, tears began to fall.

This time—for real—it was a spirit beast!

“I’ll buy that one! That softshell turtle, I’ll buy it!!”

I shouted, nearly tripping over myself as I rushed forward.