The Divine Beast's Master

A gentle warmth washed through my entire body, and I shuddered.

What the hell is this?

Blessed Pearl of the Sea — so that was the meaning behind the name Cordelia Beatrice.

The moment Ria used the skill, I could feel her emotions with startling clarity. Her awe and excitement poured straight into me, and I understood at once that she genuinely wanted to help us.

Good grief. Mages can cast magic like this too?

Realizing how sincere she was, I felt a twinge of guilt.

Because I couldn't fully open my heart to her in return.

Ah, damn it.

Are all the kids around here this pure?

Truth be told, I'd been ready to ambush her the second she showed any impure intentions. That was the whole reason I'd waited until she was alone. If she looked at Brother Beak and got greedy? Instant goodbye forever. And of course, only one of us would have walked away from that parting.

So yeah… better not to Empathize right now. I was protecting her innocent heart, after all. She'd understand.

"Oh! Rudeus! Talk to me the way you write those letters — just pour your feelings into the mana!"

"Mrrrow?"

I tilted my head with a perfectly clueless expression. Thankfully, Ria seemed to regard me as some kind of genius kitten who'd somehow learned human language at one year old.

"Hmm, maybe you're still too young to respond to magic…?"

"Mrr?"

Perfect. Not only could I keep getting scooped up into soft, fluffy hugs, I could also preserve her childhood innocence. Something weird about that? No way! For the record, I'm a male tiger!

"Anyway — so this is why you came looking for me!"

Ria sounded a little disappointed, but she still examined Brother Beak with complete dedication. As expected of a mage from the Magic Tower of Knowledge. She checked over the egg like a full-fledged veterinarian, then sprang into action. She even pinpointed exactly what we were so worried about.

"Don't worry. I won't tell a soul!"

She yanked the curtains shut, locked the door, and carefully inspected Brother Beak. His condition was worse than I'd thought.

"Oh no! A little later and it would have been a disaster. Why is the phoenix in this state? Mana keeps leaking out of it… it can't seem to control it on its own."

What? So that's why that red energy had been swirling around?

I watched Ria sink into thought, then gave a firm nod.

"Mrr!"

Maybe that was the problem. Hoping it might help, I shared what I knew.

Could that be where things went wrong?

Fortunately, my hint seemed to land. Ria clapped her hands and bolted off somewhere.

"Just a second! Watch the egg!"

"Mrr!"

A tense moment. I checked ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Brother Beak's condition. On top of the cold and fever status effects, [Mana Deficiency] had been added, and his HP bar had dropped below half.

"Per…"

"Mrr!"

Just as we were fretting ourselves sick, a tremendous clatter erupted and Ria burst back into the room. Someone pounded on the door, pleading desperately.

"M-Milady! ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠You really can't take that! If the Count finds out, I'm dead!"

"I'll pay you back with next month's allowance!"

"Your allowance isn't nearly enough for this, milady!"

What on earth was going on?

I stared blankly at the suspicious liquid clutched in Ria's hands.

Even at a glance, it looked obscenely expensive. Was she seriously about to just use that?

Ria mixed the Salamander's Tear with the root of a Flame Herb and water from Unia's Spring, then dripped a few drops of her own blood into the concoction. She gathered her mana and heated the liquid —

Amazingly, the Salamander's Tear had transformed into an essence. Good lord — an essence! Did that mean it was an elixir?

Ria poured the Flame Essence over the egg, wrapped it in Flame Herbs, and set them alight.

"P-Please…!"

"Mrr!"

"Perrrrr!"

What followed was a desperate prayer. We clasped our hands before the blazing phoenix egg as if performing a sacred rite.

After some time had passed —

Fwoosh!

The flames enveloping Brother Beak gathered into one, forming the shape of a tiny firebird that soared into the air — just like before.

—Kyaaah!

Compared to last time, it was a feeble little ascension. But we all understood what that firebird rising above the phoenix egg meant. The aura radiating from the egg before us was completely different now.

Fwoosh!

Having absorbed the surrounding flames, Brother Beak's egg now rested in peaceful, healthy slumber. The fiery energy that once leaked outward was now gently contained within. That single difference alone filled the egg with an ineffable sacredness.

I examined Brother Beak with a face full of emotion.

He'd grown. Every status effect had vanished, too. And with the HP bar that had floated above the egg now gone, there was no doubt — Brother Beak had become a true phoenix.

"I-It survived? Did I actually succeed…?"

Ria gazed at the egg, equally overcome. Then a message appeared, carrying a gentle warmth.

I wasn't the only one who saw it — Ria and Eryllion both gasped.

"Ah…!"

"Per!"

We looked at each other in silence. And then —

"I did it!"

"Mrr!!"

"Per, per!"

We threw our arms around each other in celebration. Well — Ria used her arms. Anyway!

Brother Beak! Treatment complete!!

Meanwhile, outside Ria's room, Count Friedrich and Knight Commander Albert stood staring at each other with wide eyes. The Count swallowed hard, then dismissed the nearby servants.

"Haha. Looks like Ria's gotten absorbed in another experiment. Leave her be — don't interrupt. Ah, and one more thing."

He locked eyes with Albert and spoke quietly.

"Come see me."

"Yes, my lord."

A short while later, Friedrich held a private conference with Albert.

"…You're certain of what I felt?"

"Yes. It's unmistakably the same aura from that night."

"In that case."

Friedrich and Albert exchanged a look and nodded. Careful not to let a single word slip, they didn't even mention the word "phoenix."

Friedrich rubbed his chin with an incredulous expression.

How in the world…?

Even Albert had failed to find the phoenix egg. Just when he'd been ready to give up in despair, that aura had been detected in his daughter's room. How on earth had Ria found the egg? And why was she trying to hide it?

"What should we do, my lord?"

"Hmm…"

After a moment's thought, the Count nodded to himself.

"We wait."

"Pardon?"

"She must have her reasons, don't you think? When the time comes, Ria will tell us."

"But…"

Albert glanced around, then lowered his voice.

"Someday, word of that night will get out. If the Magic Tower or the Church learns of this, they won't leave us alone."

"No, they won't."

"So perhaps it would be better to…"

Friedrich looked at him. A phoenix egg was not a treasure a mere count's house could hope to keep. Albert was suggesting they hand it over to the royal family or the Church first.

Friedrich sank into deep thought. The reason Ria was hiding the egg… Ah. So that was it.

"Albert."

"Yes, my lord."

"We still have time, do we not?"

"…Sir?"

Friedrich thought back to the past. The year Ria was born, an elf had happened to visit the territory. Upon seeing her, the elf had left these words:

A statement without a subject. What kind of destiny? At the time, Friedrich had thought, ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Well, I could say something like that too. But as time passed and he came to understand just how extraordinary Ria's ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠talents were, he found himself reconsidering fate and destiny.

"They say a divine beast chooses its own master."

"…"

"The fact that the phoenix egg revealed itself not to us, but to Ria… may not be a coincidence."

"…Please don't say such things. I fear the Church might overhear."

"We can't have that, can we?"

The Count smiled easily and looked at Albert.

"Then we protect her so that it doesn't come to that. Isn't that our duty?"

"Ah…!"

Albert grasped the meaning behind those words and bowed his head deeply. Yes — when had they started living so cautiously? What he was meant to protect was never merely the safety of House Bloodmoon.

"My loyalty!"

As Albert reaffirmed his devotion with deep emotion, Friedrich spoke again.

"So put every effort into keeping this from leaking. If word gets out, we're completely fucked."

"…"

"Who knows — Ria might just become the phoenix's master! Hahaha! I can practically hear that filthy Pope clutching the back of his neck from here! Bwahaha!"

"…Urgh."

Apparently, that part had been Albert's own wishful thinking.

A few days later, Friedrich found himself alone with Ria at her request. He waited with quiet anticipation. Was she finally going to come clean about the phoenix egg?

But the story that came out of Ria's mouth was nothing like what he'd expected.

"…Goblins?"

"Yes! So, just in case, if you could send a reconnaissance party just once…!"

Friedrich tilted his head. What on earth was she talking about out of nowhere?

Then —

Knock knock.

"My lord! Urgent report!"

A soldier rushed in and held out a communication crystal to the Count.

"Darkluna Grove has come under attack by goblins!"

"What?!"

Darkluna Grove was a small village within the Bloodmoon count's territory. Being close to the forest, monsters occasionally wandered into the village — but an attack? With so few troops stationed there, the Count's face hardened to ice.

"The number of goblins is extraordinary — that's why we sent an emergency report!"

"Damn it, what's the damage situation?! Can they hold until reinforcements arrive?!"

"Th-That is…!"

The soldier bowed his head, apparently not yet in possession of those details. The Count quickly poured mana into the crystal and opened a channel.

But contrary to expectations, no frantic sounds came through. Instead —

The guard captain was babbling nonsense with remarkable composure.

"…So what you're telling me is that a magical beast burst out of the forest and slaughtered the goblins?"

What in the world…?

As Friedrich locked blank eyes with the soldier, Ria's cheer erupted beside him.

"Wooow! So it was true!"

"…Ria?"

"Ah? Uh, um… I-I saw it in a dream, okay? Hahaha! Oh my, did I receive a revelation from Sol or something? Hahaha! Oh no! I forgot to feed my babies! I'm off!"

And at that very moment, the one who had stopped the goblins at Darkluna Grove was —

"Mrr?"

— tilting his head at the status window floating before his eyes.

When the hell did I get this trait?

What the hell are these blacked-out boxes?!

I glared at the status window, then shook my head. Stuff hidden like that probably meant I couldn't see it at my current level. Unfortunately, I didn't have time to worry about those mysterious squares right now.

Because —

The growth potential I'd been putting off forever had finally exploded!

Yeeeah!!

Heart swelling with excitement, I checked the growth information.

"……!!"