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chapter 18
It was infuriating.
I was furious—completely, utterly outraged.
–Kiiing! Krrr! Kheung!
–Kehengheng! Phueng!
I had no idea why these creatures were acting like this toward me.
‘Why the hell are you acting this way?’
Everyone was staring at me suspiciously.
“Those… are… scared, right?”
“Shh! Be quiet, Darya.”
“Yes… s-sorry, Father.”
Yeah. That was the real problem.
They weren’t acting cute because they liked me.
They were desperately trying to survive, trying to show that they were harmless.
Their tails twitched awkwardly, flapping like frightened little flags.
Anyone could see they were terrified.
‘How could anyone not suspect something?’
Even I would have been suspicious.
“Azell.”
I called out to the one staring at me most suspiciously at the front, but he didn’t respond.
‘…Why the hell did you follow me all the way here?’
At this point, it felt like even the heavens had abandoned me.
“Azell.”
“I’m listening.”
“I don’t know what you’re thinking, but it’s a misunderstanding.”
“…A misunderstanding?”
“Yes, a misunderstanding.”
“…What do you mean?”
“I didn’t come here to find Aegis.”
Just as I tried to explain why I had come to the Red Forest, another anomaly occurred.
–KRHHOOONG?
The two creatures, previously meekly rubbing their heads, suddenly shot their heads up.
–Kheung! Kyahoooong!
–Phueng!
Then they clung to each other and trembled violently.
Even encountering a gang in an alley wouldn’t have been as terrifying.
“…That’s a misunderstanding?”
Once again, a deep silence fell.
‘Is this some kind of “possessor bonus” thing?’
I had no system to check, no one to ask. It was maddening.
Aegis was afraid of the human in front of him.
He wasn’t just an ordinary wild beast. He was naturally superior, yet the ignorant humans treated him as a ferocious monster.
But that no longer mattered.
Even Azell, who had battered him, wasn’t frightening.
A death at the hands of a stronger, greater being would have been natural—and even honorable.
‘But this one is different!’
The real problem was Elpis.
‘She smells of time. A scent so strong—it must be a human treasured by Gaspartha.’
Indeed, not long ago, Gaspartha, the spirit of time, had bestowed a blessing on Elpis.
A small favor to protect her from any unforeseen dangers.
And the extraordinary Aegis naturally detected the scent of that blessing.
‘A servant of Gaspartha exists in this land!’
Through that scent, Aegis could perceive all causality and, following the laws of nature, acted accordingly.
‘Mess with her, and it won’t be death—it’ll be worse!’
He submitted to a higher predator.
–Krrrreuuung!
That’s why this massive creature produced an unexpectedly adorable sound from its huge maw.
Of course, it wasn’t a perfect or fully rational choice.
Ordinary humans couldn’t understand blessings or spiritual scents.
To them, it was simply bizarre.
“…This is a misunderstanding.”
“Believe me, Azell. I really didn’t do anything.”
A single blessing from a spirit, and humans who didn’t know about it.
No one yet understood what small cracks like this could bring.
–Krrr, krrr!
“Mary, wait! Don’t look away! I’m serious! Really!”
“…Yes. I’ll believe you. Misunderstanding. Yes… it’s all just a misunderstanding.”
For now, a small snowball was rolling fast, building momentum.
In the end, I gave up trying to explain.
Oddly enough, that brought me an incredible sense of relief.
–Keng! Kheung!
–Kiiing! Grrr!
Hearing their cute little sounds no longer bothered me.
Other people’s suspicious looks?
No longer mattered.
Why?
‘I don’t know! I don’t care anymore! Whatever happens, happens! As long as we’re alive, that’s enough! Hahaha!!!!’
I had surrendered to the chaos.
The reason was simple.
We were currently riding two Aegises like horses.
‘Aegis is supposed to be ferocious and untamable? Then what is this?’
Because I needed a way to transport the injured, the two had instinctively offered their backs.
Even those who had warned me about Aegis’s ferocity couldn’t say a word at that moment.
As a result, the boy, Darya, looked at me with admiration.
Trying to convince everyone on my own in this situation was laughable.
–Krrr!
“Good, good. Clever, clever.”
I habitually patted the head of the one who was acting cute, and Mary’s voice reached me from behind.
“Didn’t you say you had a different purpose for coming here? Are you sure it’s fine to just go back like this?”
We were heading toward Darya’s village.
Leaving the injured old man behind didn’t sit right, and more importantly, I couldn’t ignore Mary’s shoulder in this state.
“First, treatment comes first.”
‘Still, I wish I didn’t have to.’
Then a good idea occurred to me.
‘Wait. Do I really need to go myself?’
After all, what I needed was somewhere in this forest, and I happened to have a very smart helper right here.
“Hey.”
I called the Aegis carrying me, and it visibly twitched.
–Krrr?
“Can you run an errand for me?”
I asked in the gentlest voice I could muster. The creature looked at me with soft, obedient eyes.
It seemed to sweat nervously, but surely that was just my imagination.
Naturally, everyone else’s attention shifted toward us.
“There’s a lightning-struck tree to the northwest. Could you fetch the white flower growing nearby?”
It was a ridiculous request.
But the creature seemed capable of understanding, so maybe it could work.
‘Well, if it fails, it fails.’
I just had to try. There was no harm in trying.
“It’s very precious, so be careful.”
–Krrr?
It reacted as if to ask, ‘Precious?’
“Yes, very precious. Bring it carefully so it doesn’t get damaged. Can you do that?”
The flower wasn’t truly that rare, but considering the creature’s sharp teeth and the number of ears listening, I had to stress caution.
I emphasized it repeatedly, and it blinked.
–Grrr! Keuhng!
After a moment of thought, it answered with a sound from its throat.
Everyone else stared in wonder, and honestly, I found its behavior fascinating too.
“Father, that lady is talking to the beast!”
“Shh! I said be quiet!”
Their eyes seemed glued to me, but perhaps that was just my imagination.
Anyway, the creature understood and hurried off.
‘It works?’
At that moment, I had no idea how ridiculous this task actually was.
Not long after.
–Grrr!
The creature returned.
But it hadn’t brought the white flower I expected.
“…Huh?”
It wasn’t even a flower.
What it had brought was…
“…Uh… uh…?”
A small pendant, painted with white flower petals.
