The Beast in the Barn
The servant desperately wanted to clock out—click, glug-glug-glug…! Tilting the teapot, a stream of amber liquid poured out, steam curling upward as it filled the cup. Haah, please just let me go home already. At the same time, a hot surge of frustration welled up in my chest. It was the resentment of someone who had long since missed the end of their shift.
“Well then, I’ll enjoy this.”
When I finished pouring, a slender, elegant hand lifted the cup with graceful ease. The person who had knocked on the lounge door just before closing—the guest—smiled at me. Then she brought the cup to her nose and savored the aroma.
“Mmm, such a delicate fragrance……”
“It’s hot, so please take your time.”
Smiling faces make it impossible to be rude, so I forced a professional smile in return. Outwardly polite, but inwardly I was praying she would finish quickly and leave.
“Ah, by the way, Breeder? How long has it been since you arrived at Valkyrie Island?”
But my guest wasn’t so easily dismissed. Just when I thought she would simply drink her tea and go, she suddenly asked a question.
“It’s been exactly one month since I came to this academy island.”
Valkyrie Island, the academy island of dragons. Roughly the size of Jeju Island. True to its nickname, the entire island functioned as an academy—an educational institution exclusively for hatchlings. In simpler terms, it was a high-level academy for young dragons.
Dragons had an average lifespan of around eight thousand years. Because of their longevity, their hatchling period was correspondingly long. While humans reached adulthood after twenty years, a dragon’s youth stretched far longer. From what I had heard, one had to surpass eight hundred years of age before shedding the title of hatchling. By around seven hundred fifty, they would have completed all their education. In other words, graduation from the academy came at approximately seven hundred fifty years old.
The enrollment period spanned from age two hundred to seven hundred fifty, including a one-hundred-fifty-year vacation, divided into four stages of one hundred years each. All told, it took roughly five hundred fifty years to graduate. Essentially, it felt like a four-hundred-year university.
That was the information I had gathered over the past month. It might not seem like much, but obtaining even this had been exhausting. I had picked it up by eavesdropping while serving coffee to the staff. Perhaps ordinary coffee wasn’t enough to raise favorability? Every single academy employee seemed reluctant to even utter the word “dragon.” Whenever I mentioned it, they would glance around nervously, eyes darting like frightened herbivores. That was why the information I had was so lacking.
I had tried visiting the academy’s archives, but as a servant I was denied entry. Consequently, the quality of the information I had collected over the month was inevitably poor. Moreover, the island was surrounded by ocean on all sides, making escape nothing more than a dream.
I should have looked up the original novel instead of obsessing over the gacha……
I was a complete newbie who had never even read the original novel of Destiny Dragons. All I knew were the background settings I had hastily absorbed from the internet. I had no knowledge of the actual story or detailed lore. The one thing I did know accurately was the heroines’ rarity chart. I had memorized the characters listed on the official site to decide where to spend money—though only the SSR ranks, of course.
But what good was that information now? I was nothing more than a servant. I held the nominal position of dormitory supervisor, yet it was nothing but a hollow title. How could a mere human possibly manage or supervise dragons? Perhaps the academy staff were no different from me, despite their more respectable-sounding jobs. They were simply the workforce needed to maintain the facilities while the dragons completed their education.
Ah, right! Speaking of facility management……
Slurp……!
The very person in charge of the academy’s facilities was currently sipping tea right in front of me—the head of the management department.
“Mmm, such a rich flavor. In six hundred years of life, I’ve never encountered a scent quite like this.”
An elven woman who kept murmuring in admiration even though I had only served ordinary green tea. She continued drinking, savoring every sip.
But what on earth brought her here so late at night? Surely she didn’t come just for tea……
She had shoulder-length golden-blonde hair and long, pointed ears on either side. Despite being six hundred years old, she looked to be in her early thirties. Her name was Erdin. As I mentioned, she was the head of management. Everything from the academy’s equipment to its landscaping fell under her jurisdiction. She was also, unbelievably, the oldest among the department heads—and the only woman.
“Breeder? Could you tell me the name of this tea?”
“It’s just ordinary green tea… or rather, green tea. I’m glad it suits your taste.”
“Green tea? Green tea? I’ve never heard that name before. It’s been a long time since I’ve smelled such a fresh, grassy aroma.”
“Is that so? I thought someone like you would be familiar with it, since it’s quite common.”
“……Common?”
Erdin’s eyes suddenly sparkled with curiosity. Her bright golden irises turned toward me, reflecting my face clearly within them. It was as if she were asking me to share anything else I knew about green tea. Perhaps in this world, green tea wasn’t as ordinary as I assumed.
“Ah, as for its benefits…… It’s a tea leaf excellent for dieting and preventing aging. It also helps with fatigue recovery—”
“A-aging prevention…?! Is that true?”
“……?”
Erdin, usually so composed, cut me off. Even her tone and expression had become unusually animated. It was the face of someone who had finally discovered the elixir of immortality.
“Well, I wouldn’t say it has an immediate effect, but drinking it regularly should certainly help.”
“To think such a precious tea existed……!”
“Haha……”
Anti-aging must have been Erdin’s greatest concern lately. From what I had gathered, elves in this world lived around a thousand years, so at over six hundred, Erdin’s age was considerable even by elven standards.
Slurp, glug-glug……!
Because of what I had said about its anti-aging effects, Erdin began drinking the tea more urgently.
I just said whatever came to mind……
Like those old restaurant menus quoting phrases from ancient medical texts. That aside, why had she really come? I had finally finished cleaning and was hoping for a moment’s rest, yet here she was, sipping tea……
The moment Erdin stepped inside, she had instantly detected the scent of the drying green tea and demanded some, curious about the leaves. She had looked as though she had business with me at first.
“Um… Breeder? Where did you gather these green tea leaves?”
Erdin, who had already emptied the entire pot, was now touching her own skin while her eyes sparkled like stars. I wanted to ask what she had come for, but since she was one of the few kind staff members, I decided to answer first. It wasn’t a difficult question anyway.
“Ah, I happened to find them growing behind the barn.”
“Pardon—? Th-the barn……?!”
She had asked a simple question, yet her face suddenly turned pale. The lively expression from moments ago had vanished completely.
“Yes, the barn. Erdin, is something wrong?”
Her eyes widened in shock, though I had no idea why she was making such a fuss.
“Oh dear, what was I thinking…! I didn’t come here just to leisurely drink tea……!”
“???”
“I actually came because I had something to tell you, Breeder.”
“Ah, I thought as much. So what’s the matter?”
Erdin took a deep breath to calm herself before slowly opening her mouth.
“Breeder? Do you happen to know why the barn is in such a terrible state? Managing the barn is part of your duties, isn’t it?”
“What? It looked fine when I checked this morning. Did something happen? I was busy cleaning the lounge all day and never got the chance to go outside.”
“I knew it……! The barn’s condition is serious. You should go check on it right away! The young ladies are supposed to arrive tomorrow, and if they see the poor management, we’ll both be reprimanded……!”
The “young ladies” referred to the dragons. Still, why was she only telling me this now? Did elves develop dementia when they got old? She should have said something sooner.
“Anyway, please go ahead first! I’ll call for the night-duty staff……!”
“Ah, right!”
Behind the dormitory lounge stood a small barn. Well, calling it a barn was generous—it only housed a few chickens, rabbits, and goats for use in magical practice. Strictly speaking, the barn’s management fell under Erdin’s jurisdiction. However, due to severe staff shortages, the responsibility had naturally been pushed onto me.
Come to think of it, there was a reason she was so kind to me.
Still, caring for the animals in the barn wasn’t such a bad job in an academy where I had no one to rely on. Watching them munch on hay brought a brief sense of comfort that eased my loneliness. Ah, and while managing the barn, I had also acquired the character’s unique skill.
“Skill Check.”
Allows communication and bonding with animals smaller than the user. Increases proficiency upon successful bonding.
A blue holographic window appeared before my eyes as I muttered softly—the only status window that could manifest in this world.
“Bonding List.”
[Rabbit (Lv.1 / None) — Friendly]
[Rooster (Lv.4 / None) — Wary]
[Goat (Lv.2 / None) — Neutral]
[…Slots are full…]
What a pitiful bonding list. To think this was all the skills a Beginning-grade character possessed…… Beginning-grade, my foot—this was clearly a Stone Age trash character. The developers must have held a grudge over my aggressive complaint post and deliberately reincarnated me into this character. I hadn’t even spent 5,700 won, yet I had poured in two million. It was truly excessive.
Thud, thud……!
I mulled over my hollow feelings as I walked. The surroundings were already dark, so I relied on a small lantern for visibility. The barn was located not far from the dormitory lounge. After stepping outside and circling around, a small wooden structure came into view……
“……Haha? What kind of day is today, really?”
Upon reaching the barn, I couldn’t help but laugh. The barn that had been perfectly fine this morning was now completely collapsed, as though struck by a meteorite. And furthermore……
Rustle, rustle……!
What’s that? Something’s moving inside?
Amid the rubble of the collapsed barn, a pair of glowing green eyes flashed and stared straight at me. They were unmistakably the eyes of a beast. In that instant, I instinctively knew—these weren’t the eyes of any animal we had been raising. None of the livestock in the barn possessed such luminous, otherworldly eyes.
Then what exactly are those glowing eyes……?