So I'm a Snake, Who Cares?

Chapter 221: The Serpent Thief (2)

The servant placed me on a decorative stand in the corridor.

The place I arrived at seemed to be someone's mansion.

The owner here must be extremely wealthy.

The corridor was extraordinarily luxurious.

"You've been sold to a great noble's house. Congratulations."

'Thank you.'

Moreover, dozens of decorative stands were lined up along the corridor. Precious items were displayed on each one.

There were paintings, small statues, and mysterious pottery.

I had become one of such decorative items.

Hmm.

The owner of this house seems to have quite good taste and discernment.

Though I don't know what kind of person they are, I'll be rudely imposing until I finish evolving.

Thus I came to stay in the luxurious corridor.

Servants and various guests passed by multiple times.

By listening to their conversations, I learned who the owner of this place was.

Court Count Jimier Berollinger.

This was the home of one of the most powerful and greatest nobles in this country.

==

Evolution Day 20.

I've been in this corridor for 4 days.

There was some progress as evolution proceeded further.

Apart from that, life as a statue was an interesting experience.

I thought it would just be boring, but I heard many things.

A mother and daughter passing through the corridor conversed:

"Court Count Jimier is a fearsome person. He's not called the old fox for nothing. There could be ears anywhere. Always be careful with your words."

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"Then shouldn't we be quiet here too?"

"It's fine. I'm using sound blocking magic."

Servants also chatted in the corridor.

"I heard the Third Prince is entering Emerald School. That sickly troublemaker."

"The master must be very concerned."

"Let's be careful for a while. But at least Sir Obern, who our master sponsors, is entering as a professor..."

I naturally came to hear all sorts of stories.

"What's this ugly snake?"

And this is a first.

Some fat kid approached me.

He was so short that his eyes were level with mine, and his face was full of mischief.

"Young master, that's an item the great master purchased recently."

"Why did grandfather buy something like this?"

Seemed to be the Court Count's grandson.

'Something like this', he says.

"I think it was a wyvern cub that died trapped in crystal..."

"Hey stupid. Are you an idiot?"

That's harsh language to use with a servant who looks three times his age.

"Anyone can see this is a snake!"

Well, he's right though.

The first person to recognize I'm a snake turns out to be this bratty kid.

"No, it's a wyvern, a deformed one born without wings and legs."

"Ugh, it looks gross up close."

"Hahaha, I agree it's a terribly ugly monstrosity."

Rude humans.

The younger and uglier one tried to touch me.

"I should break it."

This bastard must be crazy.

Though it probably wouldn't break easily, I just couldn't stand it anymore.

?Using Invisible Hand lv17.?

Right.

I could now use magic.

Not just use it - I've practiced whenever I was bored, so Invisible Hand is now level 17.

In other words, I could silently and invisibly smack this brat's head.

SMACK!

"Ow!"

The kid grabbed the back of his head and turned around.

He seemed utterly unable to understand the current situation.

"D-did you hit me?"

"Eh? Uh."

Who would think an invisible magic hand had hit the kid?

Both the servant and kid were bewildered.

"You hit me!"

"Th-that's impossible, you misunderstand!"

Hehe, this is fun.

Since this morning, I could also use 'Crown' - this point.

Let's try using my newly acquired skill.

?Using 'Crown of Connection lv1'.?

I wonder what effect it has.

From the name, it's probably not an attack skill. Same with other crown skills.

?Must make contact with target.?

However, I couldn't use the Crown of Connection.

Seems I need physical contact. Impossible right now since I can't move.

Well then. I'll just use something else.

?Using Crown of Domination lv1.?

Right.

What I'm attempting is using the Crown of Domination on a person.

Will it work?

Of course, it won't work if the target's mental strength is strong or they're smart.

That's why I chose that nasty kid as the target.

?Partially succeeded in dominating Human Child lv1.?

?Failed to tame Human Child lv1.?

Partially succeeded in domination.

This is the first time I've succeeded in domination but failed at taming.

So what can I do?

I could control the kid freely for a while by consuming domination power.

"Ow, ouch! Aagh!"

The kid suddenly started hitting his head with his fists.

"Y-young master, what's wrong?"

"Aaagh!"

Servants gathered at the sudden commotion.

The kid was hitting his own face, and the man attending him didn't know what to do.

Thanks to the domination power running out, the kid's self-harm show stopped, but he ran away crying loudly.

"What in the..."

The man followed after the kid, dumbfounded.

I discovered that the Crown of Domination works on humans too.

It could be very useful if my abilities get stronger.

I should train harder.

However, messing with the kid had a big impact on me too.

"An unpleasant and ominous item. Move it to the warehouse."

An elderly man who looked like the butler came and declared this.

Shocking warehouse sentence!

At the butler's gesture, a large man picked me up.

He carried me deep into the mansion.

That path was very long.

'This is a huge mansion.'

I could tell how rich the Court Count was.

After a while, the butler and servant arrived at a warehouse deep in the mansion.

"Open the door."

There were soldiers standing guard in front of the warehouse.

From their looks, they seemed to be skilled soldiers.

'Come to think of it, they would keep really precious things in the warehouse, right?'

"Hehe..."

A house this wealthy would keep their truly valuable items in the warehouse, not the corridor.

To think I'd get to enter a rich person's warehouse. Life brings all sorts of experiences.

Clank-

The magically equipped iron door opened by itself.

Inside, all sorts of rare items were displayed on shelves.

There are many fascinating things.

The servant and butler left me among those fascinating items and departed.

Good. I can stay here and finish evolving.

Getting out of the warehouse might be a problem though...

That's when.

"Oh my. Hehehe!"

Pelerian burst into laughter with admiration.

'What is it?'

"This Court Count fellow. He must be either incredibly wealthy, or thoroughly corrupt."

Unlike me, Pelerian could move around and examined items throughout the warehouse.

'What do you mean?'

"Seems he's quite an impressive level of collector."

I thought the Court Count was just an old man who liked strange oddities.

Pelerian pointed to one of dozens of display cases.

"Selling just this one display case could be traded for a castle."

Oh, my goodness.

"For reference, you can't buy any item here with your 500 sola price tag."

Sorry to interrupt, but my price went up to 700 sola, not 500.

More importantly, artifacts?

Has the time come to return?

As the Snake Thief.