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Chapter 9
If it was something left behind by a dragon, then maybe it would be another dragon, or a unicorn, or if not that, maybe a rainbow bird…
You know, the kind of sacred and divine creatures people imagine when they think of holy beasts.
But the monkey answered that question proudly too.
[Originally, I can transform into the form of any animal. But out of all the animals I’ve seen, monkeys looked the smartest. So I chose the form of a monkey!]
“It says monkeys looked the smartest.”
“Is that so…?”
[And it looks convenient for grabbing food like this too.]
“Ah!”
Before anyone could stop it, the monkey snatched up a sausage from the table and stuffed it into its mouth.
[The taste is excellent!]
Ookkiki.
Watching the baby monkey hold its forehead and laugh, Jean felt troubled.
‘So that thing is supposed to be… our kingdom’s sacred beast? That monkey stealing breakfast from other people’s tables…?’
For a divine creature, it was far too small, cute… and frivolous. There wasn’t an ounce of dignity to be found.
Still, since it had hatched from the egg, it was definitely some kind of mysterious being. Jean swallowed nervously in tension.
Through Vivian, the monkey conveyed its wishes.
“Dad. The monkey says you should prepare food for it too!”
“……”
Jean returned to the kitchen, used the remaining ingredients to make food for the monkey, brought it out again, and watched the monkey happily empty the plate while making excited kikki noises.
The whole time, Jean’s expression remained deeply troubled.
He still wasn’t even sure whether it was truly a sacred beast and not some monster, but more than anything, he worried whether it was really safe to keep it around Vivian.
Because every monkey Jean had encountered on the island had possessed filthy personalities.
Even while staring at the tiny fingers of the baby monkey, Jean looked serious.
It would be a disaster if those hands scratched Vivian’s face.
[Small human. Your father’s gaze toward me is extremely disrespectful!]
“It says the way Dad looks at it is pitiful!”
[That’s not what I said! …Ugh. Forget it. Forget it.]
After finishing its meal, the monkey casually wiped its hands on the tablecloth—Jean let out a startled noise—and climbed onto Vivian’s shoulder.
“It’s heavy!”
[Consider it an honor, short human. Not just anyone is granted the glory of bearing my weight.]
“What’s it saying?”
[What an impudent human……. Anyway, when are you going to give me a name?]
“A name? I have to name you?”
[Of course! You awakened me, and you’ll be serving me from now on. If you don’t name me, then who will?]
“I have to serve you…?”
That sounded incredibly troublesome.
She had only known the monkey for a week, but it talked endlessly, looked down on humans, and yet constantly meddled in everything.
“Isn’t waking you up enough?”
[Insolent human! Heartless human! You’re saying you’ll abandon me even after agreeing to receive my powers?!]
The monkey screeched and wildly ruffled Vivian’s hair. When Vivian screamed, Jean hurried over and separated the two.
“You mustn’t do this! You must not, Divine Beast! How could you try to harm a child?!”
[I wasn’t trying to harm her… Kyak!]
Unable to contain its frustration, the monkey ran a full lap around the dining room before finally calming down and climbing onto Jean’s shoulder.
Once there, it began grooming Jean’s brown hair as if trying to show that it meant no harm.
[How did I end up meeting humans like these…?]
After finishing with Jean’s hair, the monkey also started fixing Vivian’s hair that it had messed up earlier. The chaotic strands gradually became neat again.
[Small human. Hurry and tell your father that I’m a kind sacred beast. Tell him not to think about throwing me out.]
“It says it’s a good kid, so don’t throw it out.”
“Sigh… Right. We can’t just abandon a Divine Beast… But how can Vivian hear Your Holiness’s voice?”
“I dunno. It says I have some kind of power!”
Jean’s brows furrowed.
Vivian was an ordinary child. There had been no auspicious signs when she was born, nor did her parents possess special powers.
If some hidden power really existed within her, then she wouldn’t have met such a miserable death before.
Completely unaware of her father’s complicated feelings, Vivian hugged the monkey in her arms—it was surprisingly obedient—and began thinking of a name.
“Hmmm, a name. A name… I’ve never named anything before.”
[It’ll be my first name too, so don’t worry, human.]
“Usually your first name becomes your last name too, Monkey. Hmph. You won’t even call me by my name.”
[That’s because you keep calling me things like ‘egg’ or ‘monkey’! Fine. If you give me a name, then I’ll call you by your name too!]
“Tch, you say it like you’re doing something amazing for me. Hmm, then… Kkikki? How’s Kkikki?”
[Kyak!]
Seeing the monkey’s extremely clear reaction of dislike, Vivian held her head again.
“What about Kiki?”
[What difference is there?]
“Kiki is cuter than Kkikki. And Dad calls me Vivi. Since Kiki sounds similar, it’ll be like you’re my little sibling.”
[Kyak! Why would I be your younger sibling?!]
“Well, you were born today. So you’re younger than me, right?”
[Kyaaaak!]
Though it screeched loudly, the monkey’s expression didn’t look displeased at all.
Assuming monkey expressions meant the same thing as human ones, anyway.
[Fine. Then from now on, call me Kiki!]
“Okay! Uh, please take care of me from now on?”
[Very well. Serve me properly from now on, Vivian!]
Jean, dressed in outdoor clothes, appeared in the hallway where Vivian and Kiki were running around playing.
The moment Vivian saw her father fully prepared to go out, she abruptly stopped running and stared at him with trembling eyes.
“D-Dad! Are you going somewhere? Where are you going? I want to come too!”
If he was dressed like that, it meant he was leaving the village. Vivian’s voice shook.
Jean smiled reassuringly and picked Vivian up.
“Mm, our Vivi is coming too. I was planning to take you from the start! There’s no one in this house, so would Dad leave our princess here alone?”
Vivian looked at him with eyes full of resentment, making Jean quickly avert his gaze.
He had left her alone before.
Well, not exactly alone.
But it had been worse than leaving her alone.
After briefly drowning in self-reproach, Jean forced a cheerful voice.
“We’re going to the next village to buy new clothes for our princess, and there are things Dad needs to look into. We also need to hire new servants. We should hurry so we can come back before sunset. Let’s get changed first!”
At those words, Vivian’s eyes sparkled brightly.
“The next village? Wow, I’ve never been there before! Kiki, we’re going to the next village!”
[What’s so exciting about that? As someone who serves me, you must maintain dignity, Vivian. Don’t make such a fuss over something trivial!]
“The next village has a super huge shopping district too! I don’t really know what a shopping district is yet though. I’ve never seen one before! It’ll be your first time too, right Kiki?”
Naturally, none of Kiki’s words entered the ears of the overly excited Vivian.
After all, Vivian had spent her entire life in this tiny village. This was her very first outing. There was no way she wouldn’t be thrilled.
“Now then, our Vivi’s clothes…”
Fortunately, after searching through the storage room, they found clothes Vivian had worn when she was five. Though the sleeves were short, they didn’t look too strange.
She probably hadn’t grown properly because she hadn’t been eating enough.
Swallowing his bitterness, Jean adjusted Vivian’s clothes and left the house together with Kiki.
The Lambert family owned two carriages. One was the original carriage they had always used, and the other was the one Jean had ridden home in.
The latter had been driven so roughly that it was basically ready to be scrapped. But even the original one looked terrible in Jean’s eyes now, after riding so many fine carriages while helping merchants before his regression.
Jean mentally calculated the value of the jewels he had brought for trade.
“Yeah, it should be enough. We’ll buy a new carriage in the village too. Vivi, the ride there might be uncomfortable, but can you endure it?”
“A carriage? We have lots of money now, right! Yup! I’m okay, Dad!”
Clatter, clatter.
As expected from a carriage bought cheaply after heavily bargaining down the price, the ride quality was terrible.
But for Vivian, who was leaving the village for the first time in her life, even the rattling bumps felt exciting.
