Shadows of the Sacred Beast
"The Water Sacred Beast is involved in the monsters' rampage… Is that really true?"
The Water Sacred Beast is a being revered as sacred in Laden.
One of the seven attributes created by the Goddess of Creation.
As the holy existence that governs that attribute, it is nothing less than a living legend even now—the Sacred Beast.
A report that such a divine being is causing monster rampages that threaten people would naturally come as a shock.
Of course, if it had only been words, they would have continued to doubt it, but we had proof.
"We also have photographs taken as evidence."
"Photographs as well? P-please wait a moment. This isn't something I can hear alone… G-Guild Master!"
Deisi immediately went to fetch Guild Master Dolant.
A short while later, we were guided to the reception room of the Adventurers' Guild.
"Show me those photographs."
"Here they are."
We placed the photographs we had taken on the table.
"This is… truly the Water Sacred Beast. But something feels off."
"We felt the same when we encountered it. Especially that pointed gem on its forehead—it looked suspicious."
"I agree."
After staring intently at the photographs, Guild Master Dolant raised his head and looked at us.
"Could you explain the situation again?"
We recounted the events once more for Guild Master Dolant.
"In other words… while investigating, you encountered the Water Sacred Beast, witnessed it causing monsters to rampage, defeated the monster horde, and even wounded the Water Sacred Beast… but it escaped. Is that correct?"
"Yes."
Dolant stared at the regenerating photograph of Praton and asked,
"Do you happen to still have the severed lower half of this Praton?"
"We do."
"Oh! Really! If it's all right, please provide it to the guild. If we investigate, we might discover why the Water Sacred Beast did such a thing."
"…We'll provide a portion necessary for the investigation."
"A portion?"
Guild Master Dolant had apparently expected me to hand over the entire lower half right away.
That wouldn't do. I wasn't about to be taken advantage of.
"The lower half of the Water Sacred Beast Praton is clearly a trophy we obtained by defeating it ourselves. The request was only for an investigation in the first place. It didn't say anything about turning over any trophies gained during the investigation."
"W-well, that's true. But…"
"However, not providing anything at all would obviously not help resolve this situation, so we'll separate and provide enough of the body for investigation. Though since it's already severed, I'm not sure how well the investigation will go."
"…Understood."
Guild Master Dolant didn't press further and backed down easily.
Afterward, we retrieved Praton's lower half from the Adventurers' Guild warehouse and separated about a third of it, starting from the cleanly cut cross-section.
Using my spear to pierce and loosen it repeatedly made the separation simple.
"The investigation request is complete! Everyone, well done! May radiant light shine upon you!"
We finished the report without any major conflict with the guild.
Once we left the guild, Yeon-hwa smiled and spoke to me.
"Ohohohoho! Well done, Si-han! You negotiated a proper compromise when the guild tried to shamelessly take all the spoils we earned!"
"Of course. I have no intention of being a pushover."
"That's an excellent attitude!"
"B-but is it really all right to do this when the Water Sacred Beast is involved?"
To Pamela's doubtful question, Atsbal replied,
"Our duty ended the moment the investigation was complete. Showing them the photographs was more than enough! Getting swept up by talk of 'the greater good' and handing over too much would be foolish."
"I myself once made such a foolish mistake. It was four years ago… I was swayed by an inventor's smooth talk about gathering investment for an invention that would help the world, and I invested nearly all my living expenses—only for him to vanish the moment he received the money…!"
Wasn't that just getting scammed, regardless of any greater good?
"To express the fury I felt back then, it was as if the flames of hell rose all the way to the ends of the sky…"
While listening to Atsbal's dramatic description of his past anger, we arrived at the Cats Trading Company.
"Welcome, everyone~ Oh my, I see a new face. Are you a new member of the group?"
"I am Gyeong-hu, serving as Lady Yeon-hwa's maid."
"Ah, I see! Hello! I'm Shasha, president of the Cats Trading Company!"
After a brief round of introductions, we headed to the usual dismantling department warehouse and took out the monster corpses we had hunted today.
Additionally, I took out the magic stones and handed them to Shasha.
"Oh? You brought magic stones today as well?"
"This time it was an investigation rather than monster subjugation, after all. I hope you'll give us a good price."
"Hehehe, leave it to me~. So how did the investigation turn out?"
"Actually…"
I explained what had happened during the investigation to Shasha.
"Th-the Water Sacred Beast? Wow… the scale is much bigger than I expected."
"It just turned out that way."
"Are you all really okay? The Water Sacred Beast must have been incredibly strong."
"Ohohohoho! With my protective barriers, there was never any danger!"
"Lady Yeon-hwa's protective barriers are the best!"
"Surprisingly, the Water Sacred Beast wasn't much. It tucked its tail and ran the moment it took a few hits."
"B-but when we first met it, it was a little s-scary. Its condition looked strange too."
"You all worked hard. Ah, that's right! Lord Atsbal! The Poison Boar steak I mentioned last time is ready to be prepared!"
"Oh, really!"
"Yes! If you want, I can prepare it right away! Would you all like to eat before you go? I tried it once myself, and it was quite delicious!"
"That sounds promising. But before that, Shasha, there's something else I need to show you."
"Something to show me?"
"Yes. This."
I took Praton's lower half out of the dismantling department warehouse.
"Huh? What's this? A severed… blue-furred deer's lower half? Wait, a deer?"
Once she realized what it was, Shasha trembled violently and turned her head away with a squeak, looking at me.
"O-O-O-O-Oppa… this can't be…"
"That's right. It's the lower half of the Water Sacred Beast Praton. We already provided some of it to the Adventurers' Guild for investigation. What do you think, Shasha?"
I asked with a slight smirk.
"Do you think it'll make money?"
"Oppa~!"
Shasha suddenly threw herself at me.
She spread both arms wide, flew into my embrace, wrapped her arms around my neck, and brought her face close.
"It's not just 'make money'! It's the Water Sacred Beast! The lower half of the Water Sacred Beast! The Water Sacred Beast Praton, which no one even dared to imagine wounding! Its lower half! This is something whose value can't easily be measured! And you brought this much of it! The hide, and even the meat—it's all pure money!"
"Even the meat?"
"There are plenty of nobles who want to eat extremely rare foods! And offering them a dish made from the Water Sacred Beast's meat? That alone is worth a fortune! This… giving me something like this! Aaaah! Oppa~! Mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah!"
Shasha's eyes sparkled as she showered my cheeks with kisses.
"A-Aaah! Sh-Shasha is k-kissing Si-han!"
"H-how bold of you, Miss Shasha…! Miss Shasha, do you perhaps have those kinds of feelings for Si-han?"
"No, those are the eyes of someone looking at a walking lucky charm."
"H-how shameless, doing this in front of everyone!"
"Mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah!"
Regardless of what anyone said, Shasha didn't stop kissing me.
"M-Madam President! Please calm down!"
"Get the president off him!"
"Ugh! The president is surprisingly strong…!"
The dismantling department staff panicked and tried to pull Shasha off me.
But Shasha had wrapped not only her arms around my neck but also her legs around my torso, clinging to me like a koala on a tree and refusing to let go.
"S-Si-han! Please get Miss Shasha off… Huh? Si-han?"
Even with the dismantling staff's efforts, I couldn't remove Shasha.
Because the moment her lips touched my cheek, my mind had completely frozen.
Embracing a character I favorited was still acceptable.
Well, I could be happy about that.
Seeing the somewhat revealing outfits of my favorite characters like Pamela or Yeon-hwa up close was also fine.
It was eye candy, and I had honestly admitted that I liked it.
But kissing was different.
The characters from a game I had poured my youth into weren't just moving in reality—they had become my companions, gone on requests together, had enjoyable conversations, and even showed me goodwill.
That alone was already an incredibly happy situation for me as a player.
No, as an individual.
However, because of the frustrating reality of my current situation and the persona I maintained, I simply couldn't show it outwardly.
But for a favorite character to kiss me?
That was the realization of a dream that subculture users secretly harbored.
In that instant, the surge of happiness overwhelmed my brain, and I could do nothing but freeze in place.
"S-Si-han has completely frozen up."
"D-did he get hit with petrification magic? He isn't moving at all."
"Gyeong-hu? Why is Si-han like that?"
"That man… is more of a late bloomer than I thought. He completely froze just because a woman kissed his cheek."
"What? Si-han?"
"S-Si-han did?"
"That guy? The same guy who looks like he'd brush off any woman's advances without a care?"
"It's hard to know everything about a person from appearances alone… Even I was surprised this time."
"Mwah mwah mwah mwah mwah!"
"Madam President! Please stop already!"
"Lord Si-han looks troubled!"
"We won't be able to unfreeze him unless we get Miss Shasha off first."
"Let's pull her off! Gyeong-hu!"
"Yes! Lady Yeon-hwa!"
"P-please get off!"
Only after Gyeong-hu, Yeon-hwa, and even Pamela joined in were we finally able to free me from Shasha's barrage of kisses.
"…Hmm. Now that I think about it, this was a great shutter chance!"
Click! Click!
The sound of a shutter echoed while they were pulling Shasha off.