6 Soul mate

With time flying by, one day passed since Boros named himself. Nothing much happened. Carla and himself mostly talked without end,

Boros peeked out of the hidey-hole on a few occasions, confirming that the number of his siblings is withering over time.

Like all those times, while talking with Carla, Boros took a look outside when something strange caught his eye leaving him speechless.

"... And that is how the great continental war concluded. Any questions?"

' ... '

"Boros?"

The lack of response from Boros concerned Carla. I wasn't talking to a wall, right?

'Ah, sorry. I was just distracted with what is happening to that sibling of mine over there...'

Hearing Boros's response, eased Carla's worry, and then she asked: "You mean the one by the dirt wall?"

'yes, why does the part of his body that shed its old skin looks so much different from the part that is still yet to shed?'

"Oh, he is mutating. This is actually pretty rare... That is the third mutation from the single batch of hatchlings."

What Boros observed was a snake, slightly bigger than himself, in the middle of its shedding. The snake, unlike its other siblings, had slight extrusions on its head, slightly resembling a horn-like growth. The head of this snake had red ember like colouring, making it obvious it is somehow turning into a fiery serpent.

Carla proceeded to explain how the monsters of this world are split into a couple of categories. The first category is "Low born monsters". These are the monsters that are born without sentience, created by the mana provided from the dungeons core. Boros is one such monster, but he is a clear exception.

They can also be found outside of the dungeon and they are best described as a magic version of wild beasts.

The second category is "Wild born monsters". These are monsters that contain some sentience, hold minor territories and can build societies. Goblins would be one such example. They are mostly born the same way humans are born, but there can be some exceptions. For example, being born from the condensation of mana in some elements.

The third category is "Noble born". These are creatures that are neither human nor Demi-human.

Some say that they were first created when the world was still unspoiled by the human hands, in the times when God's walked the Aequalis, while the mana was so dense that the rivers of it could be found flowing everywhere.

The others, however, say that these Noble born were given birth to by the Goddess of the Monster Isles, to be her devoted followers.

Which one of these stories is true, Carla doesn't really know.

"Ever since I was young, my mother told me that the Goddess is the one who created us, but the historians don't really agree with that. I was not sure which story to believe so I simply decided that I don't care. I am here and my parents gave birth to me, that is all I need to know."

From the things that Carla said, Boros finally confirmed something that poked at him from the way Carla spoke about the world till now.

'So, you also aren't human.'

What made Boros feel like he uncovered some great mystery made Carla slightly confused.

" I thought that was obvious. "

'But you aren't demi-human either...'

"Well that part is a bit technical, you see. The humans are the ones that decided if a race is 'worthy' enough to be called a demi-human. But it is all just a show of grandeur. There are many humanoid noble-born races, but just a few are considered demi-human. At the moment those would be Forest elves, dwarves and some of the beast-kin."

Upon hearing Carla's explanation, Boros hit the ground with the tip of his tail, as if to declare that he has understood.

'So that is how it is. You wouldn't happen to be a "gifted" elf, right?'

"What? No, I am not an elf... What do you mean by gifted? What does talent have to do with being an elf?"

'Don't worry about it, just feeding my curiosity... What are you then?'

The bluntness of the question made Carla a bit irritated. She knew Boros had no intention to be rude, but the way he asked sounded very rude, even more so by asking a lady.

" First of all, that is no way to ask a lady!"

A lady? Where?

"And if you really need to know my race, I am a gorgon."

'Okay, I did not see that one coming'

Carla being a gorgon, made Boros a bit confused and flustered.

The novels I read didn't prepare me for this kind of situation. It was always elves and catgirls, with an occasional vampire. I don't know how to tease her properly!

"Eh, why are you so speechless. You don't know what a gorgon is?"

With Carla's question, Boros saw an opportunity. I will forget what I know about the gorgons from my world, because there are so many different ways people depicted gorgons, and some of them were pretty scary. There is no way Carla is scary with such a pretty voice, right?

"why do I feel like you are thinking about something stupid again?"

'Well, you are not wrong there. Please tell me more about gorgons from this world. I heard some stories, but I don't know how true they are. I would love to hear more about you.'

Hearing what Boros said made Carla mumble some words. What she said Boros didn't manage to make out. But she sounded like she was somewhat excited.

" You are not disappointed that I am a Gorgon? You do know what Gorgons are, right? We Gorgons are one of the noble-born races. We, like many noble-born races, can change our forms, from looking almost human to being half snakes. While in the humanlike form, there are five major differences making us different from humans."

'...'

"First off, our skin retains scale-like structure on random parts of our bodies. Second, our ears look sharper than those of humans, but nothing as extreme as elf ears. Third, our eyes have vertical pupils and lastly..."

'what, why did you stop?'

Carla starter grunting something to herself, as if trying to think of the words to use.

" I am not sure how to say it... It might sound embarrassing..."

Listening to Carla's docile reaction, Boros took the moment of silence to think of what would be bothering her soo much when a picture of a gorgon from his previous world suddenly popped up in his mind.

'Could the thing that is bothering you be the snake hair?'

"You knew? So you had gorgons in your previous life?"

'No, no. Just some old myths.'

Figuring out why Carla was so tense made Boros confused.

Why did she think that it is embarrassing?

Well, there is no need to wonder, I'll just ask.

'Hey, Carla?'

"Hmm?"

Nervousness could clearly be heard withing Carla's tone. This situation seems to really have her on her toes.

'Why did you find it so hard to tell me about your hair? It can't be that you are embarrassed by it?'

"It might seem like nothing to you, but we gorgons are always getting shunned for it because humans find it gross!"

Carla screamed with frustration, this seems to weigh heavenly on her mind.

He used to be human, he will think I'm weird... He probably won't talk to me now.

With all the chaos going on inside Carla's head, Boros decided it was best to clear something up with Carla.

'Carla, I know that I used to be human, and I understand that humans are in many ways disgusting creatures, but there still exist those that are understanding of others. Those that wouldn't judge a book by its cover. To be fair, I can be a real hypocrite sometimes and I do and say stupid things. But you are helping me since the moment we met, even if I might tease you sometimes, it is not for the purpose of offending you. It is simply because I find you cute.'

"..."

'... Somehow I feel like our roles reversed... '

"Why would you call me cute?"

When Carla's voice could be heard once more, it sounded so docile and so silent, so much so that the faintest breeze would make it lose itself. Becoming incapable of reaching Boros.

Boros couldn't see Carla, but his head still looked upwards, as if wanting to enter his own mind, where he would be able to meet the cute red-faced girl which he feels a weird sense of connection to.

Boros exhaled, dropping his head back down. I will see her when the time comes, there is no need for me to be inpatient. Even if I do see her, so what? I am a monster, why would such a nice girl like someone like myself?

"Carla..."

'...'

"You have been helping me since I came to this world. To me, you are like my guardian angel. Without you I would be roaming this world, not knowing where I am going, not knowing if I am crawling into my own death."

Once he ran out of breath, Boros decided he won't be like one of those guys he has read about in the novels, one of those that clearly like a girl but are afraid to say it. Making the whole story an irritating game of tag between the main character and the girl he likes, with the romance fading as the time goes on.

"Carla, I know that I am just a snake right now, but I will find a way to become humanoid so that I can hold you within my arms. If you wouldn't mind..."

Damnt it, that sounded soo laaaa~me!

But you can't hit a shot if you don't take a shot, right?

Boros knew that he is doing things too impulsively. He couldn't find a reason why he likes a girl who he has never seen before. But he knew one thing. Even without ever seeing her, the time they spent together, no matter how short it may be, was the time he felt like he was with someone who he could trust wholeheartedly.

"Y-y-y-you..."

Carla couldn't make a single sentence from the stuttering caused by her surprise and embarrassment.

How could he be so blunt?! Idiot, dummy, rouge...

This... Something isn't right. There really is some strange connection between us, but I thought that it was just in my head.

The awkward silence once more engulfed the cave's interior. The only thing that could be heard were silent slithering sounds of the outside siblings.

Why is she so silent? I knew it, what was wrong with me, we don't even know each other yet I went ahead and said something so bold.

The storm of thoughts went amok inside Boroses head. His tail started hitting the floor non-stop. A clear sign of a nervous mind.

She probably got scared off from my idiotic rambling.

"Boros..."

Carla's soft whisper broke the silence, making Boros freeze in place.

'Y-yes?'

Boros took a gulp, barely stuttering out a reply.

I know I'm weak now but is this really a way to be from a simple confession, I am starting to get disgusted by myself. So much for not being a wuss.

"I... I believe I know why we have been having these weird thoughts for no apparent reason..."

We? She has been having these thoughts as well?! Wow, this makes me feel a bit more at ease.

Boros finally relaxed his muscles all over his body. Being so tense made him appear like a weird branch. Is this really how my otherworld experience is going to be? I seriously need to get stronger to boost my confidence.

'Well?'

"Boros, does your world have a concept known as soul mates?"

Hearing her say that both answered and created more questions within Boroses mind.

Soul mate? What could that have to do with these weird feeling of connection... Wait. It couldn't be.

No, I can't jump to conclusions just yet.

I'll hear her out first.

'I have heard of the concept in my world, but that is all it is. Having a destined another half somewhere in the world, just waiting for you to find him or her? Just a concept created to make lonely people feel better about themselves, giving them hope that they won't spend the rest of their lives unloved and alone.'

Speaking till this point, Boros came to a sudden realisation.

' The Gorgons in my world were from stories that are to some extent similar to the Gorgons that live here... Are soul mates really something that exists in this world? I couldn't be that lucky to find my soul mate as soon as I got reborn?'

Hearing Boros say that much, Carla felt somewhat relieved. He didn't take too long to realise it by himself.

"Yes, soul mates are a real occurrence that rarely happens in this world. It is different from just finding a person that you love. Rather, this is a much deeper kind of connection than the one that people get from mutual affection. Boros, I have a reason to believe that we are soul mates. It would explain why we got all these emotions towards each other. And also why we can hear each other's thoughts. "

Finishing her speech, Carla went silent waiting to hear what Boros has to say on the matter.

'Are you an idiot?'

The dead seriousness that Boros emitted with his voice would make one's hair stand, and chills run down their spine.

Did she hear what she just said, is she an airhead?

"W-whaaa! You meany! How can you say something like that, and to your own soul mate no less! My brother was right, all men are the same! Explain yourself!"

Boros was speechless. Carla did say things that would make her seem like an airhead, but some parts were unconcealed sarcasm, meaning she said it like that on purpose. This girl really wants to play with me.

I might not be the smartest person that there is, but I am most definitely the smartest snake in this room!

...

Well, that isn't really and achievement now that I think about it. It would be actually pretty sad if that were not the case.

My previous life would have been lived for nothing.