TBPV 14

Chapter 14

“What on earth does the tiger want!”

I ruffled my hair in frustration.

The black tiger disappeared again, becoming invisible.

I continued pacing around, but the tiger didn’t appear.

I couldn’t figure out how to write again either.

‘Just by looking at its eyes, it seemed like it wanted to follow me.’

So why wasn’t it working?

‘Not just for my sister… now I feel sorry for the tiger. I want to hug it.’

I pressed my hands to my head, lost in thought.

Then I remembered something I read in a newspaper from the future.

It said that in the future, only the corpse of the tiger was found, after it had wasted away and died.

There were a few clues about the tiger’s death.

‘Right before it died, it tried to return to where it originally lived.’

I could vaguely understand something, but not exactly.

I wandered around, lost in thought.

Before I knew it, I had passed the place where the tiger had been and found myself in front of a large building.

“Huh… where is this?”

A human child’s body is much faster than a dog’s paws.

‘Nearby the north part of the mansion… there’s the Senate hall, a few old houses, the training grounds, and…’

…Branch Academy?

Since I had never seen this place, I thought about turning back.

A small bell rang.

Then, five or six children came rushing out of the door at once.

All of them wore the same uniform, each with a small name tag on their chest.

“Who are you?”

“Are you the new one?”

The neatly dressed kids swarmed toward me.

‘I don’t have time for this.’

I was embarrassed by how they looked at me as if I were an animal at the zoo.

I hesitated but spoke.

“I-I’m Coco.”

“What’s Coco? A commoner’s name? No family name?”

“Uh… I live in that annex.”

“Hmm…?”

“Uh, uh. I’m the Blessed Child!”

At that one phrase, their curious faces immediately twisted into frowns.

“I know that. It’s fake.”

“So that’s why you have no maid and wander around alone. Like a commoner!”

“Why are you here? Huh?”

“Just wait quietly for your adoption to be finalized, commoner. Why come here?”

Why are they suddenly bullying me?

As a flood of criticism rained down, I bit my lip.

Back when I was a stray, humans had bullied me before.

I even got hit on the head with a rock so much that some fur never grew back.

‘S-Scary…’

Seeing the children hurl one criticism after another, my body trembled and my mind went blank.

I knew I shouldn’t say this… but instinctively, I stepped back.

“I-I just… wanted to help the t-tiger… I tried to t-talk to it, to s-see if I could help it. Please don’t hate me…”

“What?”

“…I-I’m going.”

I hesitated, then moved.

Did they understand me?

The children silently clamped their mouths shut.

Then, three seconds later, one of them grabbed my head.

“What’s this dumb commoner saying? The tiger’s gone. How are you going to talk to it?”

“First, you’re fake, and now you have delusions too?”

“Delusions?”

“Don’t know what delusions are? It’s when someone lies!”

“I’m not like that… I can talk to the tiger!”

“Ridiculous. Hey, abilities are divided into five main types. Among those, there’s the Aitra-class ‘legendary abilities,’ then Bidento-class, Cidian-class, and the lowest, Dilan-class. Even a normal Cidian-level animal affinity isn’t something a worthless commoner should have.”

I stared at the name tag on the child listing abilities, stunned.

‘Speedwagon.’

Even the name looks like it would explain things well.

Finally regaining some composure, I muttered quietly.

“My ability isn’t just animal affinity. I have the ability to talk to animals.”

“Nonsense! Direct communication with animals and spirits is an Aitra-class ability, a legendary power!”

Everyone’s eyes widened.

Mine probably widened the most.

‘Wow, the ability God of Dogs gave me is amazing!’

My flustered feelings faded.

My tail wiggled like crazy.

‘Hehe. I’m the coolest dog!’

Immediately, I felt better!

Regardless, they continued to raise their voices in criticism.

“Ha! This stupid kid! The Blessed Child is fake, and now you claim you have powers too?”

I proudly lifted my head, like a dog holding its tail high.

“Phew, I’m letting you off because you’re children!”

“What?”

“Next time I prove my ability is real… then you’ll have to apologize. Got it?”

I lifted my head high again, like a brave little dog.

‘Time to go find the tiger!’

Then, at that moment, carriages lined up around the academy.

Ladies got out of the carriages.

“My son.”

“Mom!”

“‘Mom’? You should say ‘Mother.’”

The reason the children were gathered here was probably because it was dismissal time.

The faces of the children who had previously surrounded me with malice brightened quickly.

After everyone ran toward the carriages, I was left alone in front of the academy.

A few of the ladies looked at me with curiosity.

“Oh my, who’s this? I’ve never seen her before.”

“Mother, that’s the fake child you told me about!”

“Fake? Ah… Blessed Child, I’m sorry.”

A careless apology was whispered by a lady to her own child.

“As a leader of society, you should treat even a soon-to-be commoner child well. That’s noblesse oblige.”

Unlike the children, the adults knew how to hide their feelings.

But in their eyes, there was still clear disdain.

‘They all think I’ll be chased away.’

What was sadder than the disdain, however, was the pity mixed into the eyes of a few kind ladies.

“You shouldn’t say that. The child is pitiful. You should treat her well.”

“Tch.”

“Hurry, get in the carriage.”

The ladies held their children close, like they were precious, and got into the carriage.

I could hear warm whispers inside.

‘Families really do look happy.’

Soon, the noisy commotion faded.

I was truly alone.

I pressed my small hand to my chest.

It was fine for people to criticize or ignore me.

I could just bark and growl like a tiny dog.

But it was different when they treated me like a poor stray with no family.

‘I’m not a pitiful stray. I’m a smart dog with an owner!’

Watching children reunite with their families almost stabbed me in the heart, but I didn’t care.

I clenched my fist and glared at the empty air.

‘I’m really not pitiful at all.’

I was so brave!

I even crossed the rainbow bridge to see my sister. Who cares about pitying looks?

I only needed one thing.

My sister.

Thinking of her, courage filled my heart again.

‘Yes, I only care about one thing! I’m an instinct-driven animal!’

As I walked strongly and bravely, I suddenly widened my eyes. I realized something.

“Huh!”

Animals, including me, are different from humans.

We’re very simple.

If something catches our attention, we focus on only one thing.

The reason I crossed the rainbow bridge to return to this world.

The reason the tiger refuses to escape with us to a “better place.”

It’s for only one thing.

‘And that is…’