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Chapter 07 …
The room was dark because the curtains blocked out all the light. A bed, a desk, a chair—and a small drawer.
That was all there was.
The simple furnishings made the room feel damp and gloomy, unpleasant enough that I didn’t want to step inside.
[Ugh—.]
Even Kalian, who had been complaining about a strange smell, refused to enter and paced near the doorway.
“Hey, hurry up and come in. I need to close the door.”
[I don’t want to go in. It stinks.]
“If we don’t find evidence here, this kind of thing will keep happening.”
Saying that, I grabbed Kalian by the scruff of his neck and lifted him inside.
[Hey! I told you not to grab me like that!]
Kalian yelled sharply. Despite his protests, he let his legs dangle, seemingly used to this position. It was honestly funny.
“We’re in this together now. If we get caught trespassing in an administrator’s room, both of us are done for. So hurry up and find it.”
[Hmph, I’m the great Black Panther Divine Beast, so a mere human like you can’t possibly—]
While he kept rambling, I pulled out a toy ball to distract him.
“Cooperate.”
[…]
His eyes finally softened. Honestly, both humans and divine beasts only move when there’s something in it for them.
Kalian obediently sniffed around, searching for the scent.
Under the bed, behind the desk, inside the drawer.
The room was small, so it didn’t take long to search everything, but the fruit supposedly used in the special meal was nowhere to be found.
“What? Why isn’t it here? Are you sure the smell is from here?”
[It is.]
Now Kalian looked stubborn too, his eyes narrowing as he searched more aggressively. He almost looked like a real black panther—but he was still just a fluffy baby.
Sniff. Sniff sniff.
His black nose twitched faster and more intensely than before. It was oddly cute watching him work so seriously.
There’s really nowhere left to hide it.
We checked everything, even lifting the blanket and inspecting every drawer for hidden compartments.
Still nothing.
But Kalian, whose pride as a black panther had been wounded, refused to give up.
After sniffing intensely for a while longer, he suddenly raised his paw and slammed it onto the floor.
[Here!]
That’s just the floor.
[It’s here!]
I stared at him in disbelief, but he looked completely certain.
Really?
I lay flat on the floor and tapped it. A hollow echo sounded back, as if there was empty space beneath.
“Oh? There is something.”
[You doubted me?]
Kalian narrowed his eyes, clearly offended.
“No, it just feels like there’s a space here. How do we open it?”
I changed the subject quickly—this is the best survival strategy.
I lifted the rug and felt around the floor. Then I found a tiny hole, just big enough for a finger.
This must be it!
Like a primitive human discovering fire, I shoved my finger into the hole and applied force. The floor opened like a lid.
“Whoa—!”
[Whoa!]
We both stuck our heads into the newly discovered space.
A dark interior filled with a sweet fruit smell.
“We found it.”
I reached in and pulled out the fruit. Just as Kalian said, it was a handful of purple bead-like fruit.
“This, right?”
[Yeah. Ugh—disgusting smell.]
“It smells sweet to me though. It’s bad for you?”
[Get it away. I feel like I’m going to throw up.]
Interesting. Other divine beasts must have been tricked into eating this.
“Anyway, we’ve got evidence, so let’s—”
Click.
Huh?
Click.
Slow footsteps echoed down the quiet hallway outside.
Someone was coming.
Kalian and I both turned toward the door with the same expression:
We are so screwed.
“Hey, what do we do?”
[Don’t ask me! You’re the one who said to come here!]
We were doomed. Completely doomed.
If we were caught breaking into an administrator’s residence, we’d be expelled without question.
What do we do?
Click. Click.
The footsteps kept approaching.
“Get in!”
I shoved Kalian into the hidden space and quickly climbed in after him, grabbing the fruit. Before closing the entrance, I carefully laid the rug back in place.
Click.
The footsteps stopped right in front of the door.
“Shh.”
I hugged Kalian tightly, hoping the person would leave.
But instead, the footsteps moved closer again, like mocking my hope.
Did they come in?!
Don’t tell me the owner of this room is back?
Cold sweat ran down my spine.
Above us, the sound of footsteps was clear.
This is insane.
This was scarier than any horror movie I had ever seen.
Even Kalian, who feared nothing, went stiff.
[Dammit, human. Why did you bring me here…]
Can you still be arrogant in this situation?
I tightened my grip on him, signaling him to stay quiet.
The footsteps stopped. Then came the sound of a chair being pulled out. Someone had sat down at the desk.
Rustling papers. The scratch of a quill.
After what felt like forever, the footsteps moved away again. A metallic creak from old hinges… then—
THUD.
The door closed.
“…Haa. I thought I was going to die.”
[Let go now! I can’t breathe!]
The moment the door shut, Kalian wriggled out of my arms. Then he stepped on my head and jumped out.
This little—
“Why are you stepping on my head? You’re asking for trouble.”
[Forget that. Carry the fruit and follow me.]
He shook his fur, scattering a few strands into the air.
Seriously. Not even a single hair should be left behind in a perfect crime.
I picked up the fallen fur and carefully put the fruit into my pocket.
Peeking outside, I confirmed the hallway was empty.
“No one’s there. Let’s go.”
[Wait.]
“What now? We need to leave.”
[Take that.]
Kalian suddenly jumped onto the desk.
“Hey! What are you doing!”
He grabbed a piece of paper in his mouth and returned.
“It’s just a random note. Do we really need it?”
[I can’t read human language. Just take it and figure it out.]
Turns out he was surprisingly proactive.
We quickly escaped the dorm, carrying the fruit, the note, and even his fur.
Fortunately, no one saw us. Everyone was too busy with the sick divine beasts.
Back in my room, I unfolded the note Kalian brought.
【Mission complete. I will wait for the next order.】
It was clearly suspicious.
Definitely evidence of an organization… maybe even multiple people involved. This was enough.
[Ugh—.]
While I gathered the evidence, Kalian kept gagging.
“Are you okay? Want to go to the infirmary?”
[Forget it. Ugh—just get rid of that rotten fruit already!]
“No matter how I look at it, it just smells sweet…”
[Then your nose is broken.]
“Not helping.”
I was thinking about who to report this to.
Maybe I should tell the administrator I saw at the briefing?
Her name was Yulia, I think.
I wasn’t very familiar with her, but I had seen senior handlers speaking to her often.
After deciding, I packed the evidence into an envelope and grabbed Kalian under my arm.
“Alright. Let’s go see Yulia.”
