A month and a half.

  That’s how much time Somnu had lost in his blurred-vision and clouded-mind state.

  After everything he had promised himself, his mother, and Mr. Emberlyn, he ended up wasting precious time. Whether he could have controlled it or not, it still sat heavy on his chest.

  However…

  Everything aside… This means that the lizard guy actually took care of me for so long…? Somnu questioned, beginning to see things a bit differently. Did he feed me, wash me, even cut my hair and nails…?

  For a moment, Somnu stood motionless, his thoughts blank, breath stuck in his throat.

  He had been a mindless puppet for so long, and now he had threatened the very one who had treated him like some kind of sleeping, naked prince.

  If anything, I should be kneeling down to this guy! He’s a saint!

  “Hello, Somnu, buddy? You’re still there?” Mathros asked after the silence grew a bit too tedious.

  “U-um, yeah… I’m here…” Somnu replied, still not quite sure how to talk to the guy.

  “So, are we cool now? Could you come out of there so we can meet properly and talk things through?” The lizardman asked, keeping his tone low.

  “Wait!” The lady screamed. “You make sure you’re covered up or else I’ll really-”

  “I’m clothed!” Somnu cut her off. “I’m completely clothed, alright?! Just forget that ever happened, please!”

  “...”

  Hearing his sudden plea, everyone outside seemed to grow completely silent.

  Then…

  “Hahaha! Like hell I could forget it, brother!” Mathros suddenly burst into laughter. “Come on out and let’s talk already!”

  Whatever the case, Somnu was almost certain the first folks he was encountering weren’t too bad. No one would have done what they had for so long if they were.

  Canceling the summoning of his sickles, Somnu took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down.

  Okay, let’s do this… I can talk to them, I can hold my own now in a conversation. He affirmed to himself. I just have to stay aware of the situation and take full control of it…

  “Caaw!”

  Just as he turned around to step away from the wall he had been using as cover, Fala flew and landed on his shoulder, as if offering emotional support to her master. Soon enough, they got close to the cave’s entrance and walked out.

  “Hey, look! It’s finally the naked guy with the little schlong! Hahahaa!”

  “?!”

  Noooo! Crow-shit! Dammit all!

  The lizardman’s laughter stabbed through Somnu like invisible arrows, forcing him to his knees. The weight of misfortune pulled his back down as he took it out on the rocky floor.

  All his confidence and affirmation flew out the window, along with the last of his hopes for his reputation going forward.

  “It wasn’t that little…” The lady muttered from the side.

  “W-what…?!” The guy next to her blurted out. “Lulu, how do you know that?!”

  “He’s been walking around naked, who wouldn’t know that by now?!” Lulu let out again.

  “Hahahaha!” Mathros kept laughing. “I was just breaking the ice, but that’s hilarious!”

  A win is a win! Somnu was on the verge of tears as a sliver of hope seemed to ignite within him again. Then he realized something. Wait…!

  “Walking around…?” He asked as he slowly raised his head up to finally meet the people he’s been talking to.

  “Not just walking around, you really did a number on us, brother! We just got done stopping you from running into the lake again. Thank goodness it was the last time and you’re finally back to yourself now!” Mathros let out a long sigh and offered Somnu a hand to get up.

  “!”

  Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

  As soon as he saw the figure in front of him, Somnu’s eyes shot open.

  Mathros the lizardman stood tall, his posture straight and confident. He was indeed covered with light green scales, and where scales didn’t grow, his skin seemed to choose between the same green color or almost pure white. They both seemed to shimmer under the luminescent light coming from the walls around, creating an almost intricate pattern that rippled across his lean muscular figure.

  The lizardman’s face, though reptilian in nature, carried an intelligent atmosphere that every sentient being had. His eyes were sharp, glowing yellow with a faint red narrow, vertical slits for pupils like a serpent’s. On top of his head, accompanying the many other spiky protrusions of scales were a set of long gray horns reaching behind him, rather than upwards.

  He truly looked like what Somnu would imagine a lizardman to look like.

  However, the outfit was a different story, clean and properly tended to. A thick, padded leather vest hung around his torso, reinforced by metal buckles and straps that matched similar looking pants. His arms were wrapped with dark leather that seemed to act as both a defensive measure and a storage for some reason.

  Over his shoulder, he wore a loose, faded coat that seemed all too similar to the one Somnu was covered with, reaching down the lizardman’s back where his long and heavy tail seemed to be resting.

  What stood out the most was right above the simple necklace of bones, stones and teeth. A scar traced horizontally across his white neck, its still faint pink hue clearly hinted at a deep wound from pre-adolescent age.

  And yet, despite all that information, what had shocked Somnu was not the appearance, but the fact that he had multiple fresh cuts and bruises, still bleeding. Putting the recent information he had learned together, that could have only meant…

  “Did I… do that to you…?” Somnu asked, looking up and down at Mathros.

  “Wouldn’t be the first time, brother.” The lizardman let out a soft snicker. “Take my hand already, will ya?”

  Not wanting to cause more trouble, Somnu gritted his teeth and took the hand offered to him.

  “Please tell me everything that happened…”

  If he were to properly understand the situation and return the favor, he would need to know all the details concerning the last month and a half he had missed.

  “Before that, we’re still missing one person who went out to find some firewood, but let me introduce you to these two.” Mathros stepped to the side, revealing the two figures a few steps behind him. “Meet Lucy and Benji! They were your sleeping buddies for a month!”

  “!”

  “H-hey! Why are you looking at us like that?!” Lulu let out as she hid behind Benji.

  “What is wrong with you?!” Benji held a shaking sword in front of him, his eyes darting between Lulu and his sword instead of his target.

  Their reaction was not exaggerated, despite how it seemed.

  The second Somnu had looked their way, his face twisted into a nasty expression of disgust.

  Naturally, he had a perfectly good reason for such a reaction.

  Although he had expected more lizardfolk to accompany Mathros, instead, the two long and prominent protrusions standing tall from the top of their heads made it clear they were bunnyfolk.

  Somnu couldn’t stop his face muscles from twisting around after seeing them. After all, he hadn’t had any good encounters with bunnies since falling into his coma.

  Besides that, while reptiles such as snakes were quite helpful to farmers and scarecrows in ridding the crop of some potential danger, bunnies and rabbits were exactly part of the danger that threatened to eat the crop.

  “Calm down now, brother. They didn’t mean anything wrong by what they said earlier. Forgive their bluntness.” Mathros tapped on Somnu’s shoulder, trying to calm him down.

  “...”

  Although having misunderstood the situation, Mathros’ words still made the scarecrow come back to himself. It wasn’t just that, but seeing some of the red patches on the soft and smooth looking fur covering both Lulu and Benji, Somnu felt a knot tighten in his chest again.

  It seemed he had caused them all too much trouble.

  However, it wasn’t just him that had felt at odds after seeing them.

  “Caaw!!”

  “Hey! Get that crow away from us!”

  “What…!? Why are there suddenly four of them?!”

  Although she had kept silent for most of it, Fala took off flying at the potential nightmare enemies, even summoning her clones to help her.

  Reluctant, Somnu canceled the summoning and hoped Fala wouldn’t be mad at him later.

  “Seriously, you’re nothing but trouble!”

  “We should have just thrown you into the lake!”

  The two hissed at the scarecrow.

  Despite their words, their slightly elongated and muscular legs were shaking. While Lulu seemed to be covered by white and pink fur surrounding her lime-colored eyes, Benji was covered in white and blue fur around some brown eyes with a hint of ember in them. Both of their fluffy tails sat at the base of their spine, seemingly bigger than what a bunny would have.

  They both were wearing similar-style outfits to Mathros, almost making them all look like an adventurer party who went out on a quest. The only difference was Lulu’s tight high shorts, allowing better movements, while Benji chose to go with a more baggy choice. It was clear who was the one running around during a fight, and who chose to stay put.

  Nevertheless, Somnu chose to be more friendly towards them for now.

  “Sorry for all the trouble…” He said, scratching the back of his head.

  “Forget that! Come and sit, let me tell you everything!”

  “...”

  Mathros gestured for Somnu to follow him to a small campfire next to the cave entrance.

  The other two seemed to trot after them, keeping their guard up the entire time.

  At the very least, Somnu confirmed that he was able to see their Systems after all, making sure their names were at least truthful. He ignored the rest of the information for now, not wanting them to catch him acting weirdly while spending too long reading their information.

  He made a mental note of doing that at a better opportunity, like when they all had to sleep and he had to pretend to be unconscious. He just needed to make sure it was safe until then.

  “Let me start from the beginning, from the time I saved your stoned, naked ass, both figuratively and literally, from the lake!” The lizardman announced.

  Yep, I’m never living that down, am I? Somnu hunched his shoulders and facepalmed.

  Here's the Patreon link for those who can't wait and want to read 30+ chapters:

  Rating and Leaving a Review goes a long way to support the series!

  !