Chapter 08 …

That was right.

The only person who could communicate with divine beasts was me, and the woman taken to the Imperial Palace was refusing to speak about the cure even if it meant death.

From what I heard, she was just a small fry, but extremely loyal—so loyal that she wouldn’t utter a single word.

So I had to go.

Right now. Immediately.

“Take me there!”

[I’m not going! Why should I go there?!]

“Your friends are suffering, and you’re saying you won’t go? You’re not going to find the Water of Life?”

[Why should I help when humans caused this? Humans should fix it themselves! Why should I help?]

Kalian, the only divine beast who could help me, was being extremely prickly.

“It wasn’t me who did it! The bad person is someone else, so why won’t you help me too?!”

[Ugh, I don’t know. Handle it yourself. I have no intention of going to the Divine Beast Forest.]

Saying that, Kalian turned around and lay down.

“If we don’t get the Water of Life, everyone except you will die.”

[…]

“What about Meho? He’s your friend.”

[Friend, my foot.]

His voice softened slightly at the mention of Meho.

[Still, I hate the Divine Beast Forest.]

What was this? He wasn’t as sharp as before, but there was something… personal in his tone.

I approached Kalian, who had turned away.

“Is there a reason you don’t want to go to the Divine Beast Forest?”

[…]

There is.

“There is, right?”

“You can tell me. I’m the only one who can understand you, after all.”

[And what would you do with that information?]

No matter how infamous Kalian was, he was still a young divine beast.

After some gentle coaxing, he answered grumpily while glancing at me.

“You’re the divine beast I take care of. I want to know at least why you don’t want to return home.”

Whether human or animal, a soft voice weakens anyone’s resolve.

I spoke as gently as I could while stroking Kalian’s back. His fluffy fur slipped softly between my fingers.

[Because if I go to the forest… I might want to stay there.]

Kalian muttered in a small voice.

‘Well, that makes sense. Divine beasts are originally meant to live in the forest.’

I understood him completely. But today, I needed his help no matter what. I needed to know the way to the Divine Beast Forest, and there were traps along the way.

“I understand how you feel. I’m not from here either.”

[…]

“The place I came from is very far away. So far that I could never go back even if I wanted to.”

At my words, Kalian turned his whole body toward me.

[What if you want to go back?]

“That…”

Honestly, my past life had been so harsh that I never once wanted to return. But right now, I needed to bring out every bit of empathy I had.

I gave a bitter smile and looked out the window at the distant mountains. The sunlight was blinding.

“Longing is something you endure alone. Even if you’re lonely, you bear it and grow into an adult.”

My distant, thoughtful tone seemed to work, because Kalian slowly stood up. He looked a little hesitant, clearly affected.

[If I endure it like you, will it get better?]

“Not really. You just learn to live with it. You miss it, but over time, it becomes dull. You slowly become okay.”

If I added a faint, wistful smile—perfect.

Kalian looked at me with softer eyes than before. He seemed to feel a sense of connection, as if we shared the same pain.

[Let’s go.]

“Really? You’ll go with me?”

[Hurry before I change my mind.]

Kalian jumped down from the window, his tail standing stiffly in good mood.

“Alright, let’s go!”

I smiled brightly and set off on an unexpected journey with Kalian.

“Huff… huff…”

I thought the Divine Beast Forest would be a mystical fairy-tale forest.

A place full of colorful flowers, deer drinking by streams, butterflies fluttering around.

Nope.

The Divine Beast Forest was located deep in a treacherous mountain. I nearly died before even finding the entrance due to exhaustion.

And from the entrance onward, there were so many traps set to protect the forest that I would’ve died without Kalian.

By the time we finally reached the real entrance, I collapsed in exhaustion.

“I’m never coming here again…”

Kalian clicked his tongue at me.

[How are you supposed to save divine beasts if you’re this weak?]

“You’re walking on four legs…”

Unlike me, whose legs had given out, Kalian was calmly grooming himself. It was infuriating.

“Anyway, this is the Divine Beast Forest, right?”

[Yeah. If you’re done resting, follow me.]

Kalian disappeared through an arch of bushes. I hurriedly followed him.

And then—finally—the real Divine Beast Forest appeared.

“Wow…”

Yes. This was it.

This was exactly the forest I had imagined!

Fields of colorful flowers, trees with mysterious purple leaves, glowing butterflies flying through lush greenery.

It was an entirely different world.

Even the sky with drifting white clouds looked like a painting.

I was mesmerized—until Kalian’s jelly-like punch snapped me out of it.

[What are you doing? Hurry up!]

“Ah, sorry.”

I almost got lost staring at the scenery.

Following Kalian, a large river soon appeared, cutting through the center of the forest.

The water sparkled under sunlight like glitter.

“The water quality must be insane.”

This was way beyond first-class water.

[What are you talking about? Stop rambling and fill the bottle.]

Kalian kicked a water bottle toward me.

What an attitude.

I filled the bottle with the calm river water and closed it. It was so clear I almost wanted to drink it right there.

[Let’s go. Better leave before sunset.]

“Wait. You haven’t been here in a while, right?”

[So what.]

“Geez, so grumpy. Come here.”

I set the bottle down and reached out to him. Of course, he recoiled immediately.

[What are you doing?!]

“Come on, hurry! You said we need to leave before sunset!”

[Why are you suddenly acting weird?! What are you planning?!]

“Do I look like I’d do something bad to you? Come here already.”

[Disgusting! Stay away!]

But before he could escape, I grabbed him.

[Agh! Let go!]

“Stay still.”

I ran toward a large rock I had spotted earlier. His legs flailed in the air.

[Let go! You lowly human touching my body again!]

Thinking I really needed to fix his attitude someday, I climbed the rock.

It was high enough to see most of the forest.

[Let go! I said let go!]

“Look at this!”

Ignoring his protests, I stretched my arm out. Kalian hung limply in my hands.

“How is it? Pretty, right? You can’t see the whole forest, but it’s a nice view.”

The red sunset painted the forest in warm orange hues. From above, everything looked peaceful and gentle.

Birds chirping, rivers flowing softly, young divine beasts playing in the distance—it all formed a beautiful harmony.

“You can come again. Until then, endure your longing with what you saw today, okay?”

Sunlight covered Kalian’s limp body. The sunset filled his transparent eyes.

Kalian silently stared at the view for a long time, not missing a single detail.

Seeing that, I smiled softly.

There was nothing more I could do—but I sincerely hoped this would ease his longing, even a little.