EP.23 One Night -1
EP.23 One Night -1
Training with the eagle was over, and we decided to return to Suobi Village to enjoy the retreat that had been our original goal.
We came all the way here for a group retreat, and I'd ended up off doing my own thing instead of hanging out with Director Edwiner or the other agents.
The Director tended to turn a blind eye when it came to matters involving me, so it probably wouldn't be an issue, but still.
We were supposed to be here to build camaraderie—I figured slipping away on my own wasn't a good look.
On top of that, I'd been gone for quite a while; I might have even made people worry.
So I tried to head down the mountain fast, but of course, someone had to grab my ankle and slow me down.
"Seon-ju, can't you just stay one more night? Literally just one night! Hmm?"
"I'm sorry. I have my own circumstances to think about..."
"Ugh...! It's just such a shame to let you go like this."
"I'll come visit again. Could you let me off the hook this once?"
"The next time? When exactly would that be?"
"Maybe in about 100 years?"
"That means you're never coming back!!"
She was a Great Divine Beast who'd lived for thousands of years; I figured a hundred years wouldn't feel like much time to her.
Unfortunately, it seemed her sense of passing time wasn't all that different.
"I'll have you know I'm well aware the average human lifespan is under a hundred."
"If you know that much, wouldn't marriage be impossible? You'd automatically become a widow in a hundred years, you know?"
"That wouldn't be a problem at all! I'd simply threaten—ah, no—ask a Divine Beast related to time to extend your lifespan, and that'd be that!"
"My lady, please refrain from actions that might incur the animosity of other Divine Beasts as much as possible..."
"Animosity? I can swear nothing like that would ever happen!"
Hadn't she just buried a certain Divine Beast today alone?
Could it be her thinking was: the animosity doesn't exist because she just kills off everyone who holds a grudge...?
Even to me, that sounded plenty plausible.
"Anyway, a hundred years is a no-go! If you're going to leave anyway, then step over me and go! Or form a contract with me before you go!"
"In that case, stepping over you it is..."
"Too mean?!"
Stuck between a rock and a hard place.
Any way I looked at it, she was a deeply unfortunate Great Divine Beast.
"All right, that's quite enough of that unsightly behavior. Time to go, old lady."
"H-Hey, hold on! What are you doing, crow?!"
"What do you mean, what? You're coming to work with me now."
"I finished the work you gave me last time!"
"There are other things I need you to do, besides that."
"No! I'm absolutely not going!"
"You sure about that? It's something you absolutely must do for your husband—you might even earn some of your husband's affection for it, you know?"
"Tch...!"
"You know it well by now, don't you, old lady? There isn't a single Divine Beast in the whole Divine Beast world who'd sincerely accept you. And among non-Divine-Beast animals, my husband is the only male who'd accept someone like you."
"Urgh...!!"
"Hold on, Yata. What do you mean by that? Her personality's a shame, sure, but as long as she hides her true identity, plenty of people would like her, wouldn't they?"
Hraesvelgr's human form was a beautiful platinum-blonde beauty.
As long as she kept her mouth shut, she had a mysterious air, a noble bearing—and a figure that made your mouth water.
Even among humans, she fell squarely into the "extremely beautiful" category.
Even if Divine Beasts didn't care about outward appearances, in the human world, being beautiful was enough—tons of people would be all over her.
"Dear husband, regrettably, the power of a Great Divine Beast will break a human, even when held back as much as possible. It's similar to us accidentally stepping on an ant while walking down the street."
"Th-then wouldn't I be in danger, too?"
"In your case, husband, your physical abilities have been somewhat reinforced by borrowing a portion of a Divine Beast's power, so you're fine."
"In short, you're saying making a Provisional Contract with another Divine Beast is a prerequisite for living with a Great Divine Beast?"
"That's not wrong, but actually, setting everything else aside, you're the only person who can form a Companion Contract with a Divine Beast, aren't you, husband?"
"That's right. In all of history, Seon-ju, you're the first case of a Divine Beast and a different animal forming a Companion Contract."
"Does that mean I'm the only one who can form Companion Contracts with Divine Beasts?"
"Correct. That's why this old lady, who's been rejected by every last Divine Beast, is coming on to you so hard."
I understood in an instant.
Ordinarily, if someone got rejected that much, their pride alone would have made them give up.
So the reason Hraesvelgr kept courting me so persistently was because I was her only option.
"I'm sorry, but I am absolutely not courting you because you're my last option. So I'd rather you didn't labor under that kind of misunderstanding."
"Oh? That wasn't the reason?"
"Of course not! I will admit, during our first meeting, the sheer novelty of a young man showing up after so very long did make me act a little unseemly... but in truth, I'm the type who considers lots of factors before making any moves!"
"Then why exactly am I...?"
"I knew it the instant I saw you and your Companion Animals. You cherish and love all your Companion Divine Beasts equally, without discrimination—that's why I'm courting you! Because I want to be a woman who is loved! I hate a Companion relationship that's nothing but a formality, too."
As if there wasn't a speck of a lie in what she'd just said, conviction flickered in Hraesvelgr's eyes.
When she spoke with such firmness, doubting her any further would've been rude, surely.
"So? What about a woman as confident as me? Doesn't my attractiveness make you want to marry me on the spot? Hmm?"
"Not in the slightest."
"Urgh...!! Why on earth not?"
That one scatterbrained remark was eroding her whole image.
Everything else was fine, so why did she always have to take it one step further in such a weird direction...? I was dying of curiosity myself.
"Isn't it because you insist on doing nothing but pathetic things? So follow me quietly. If you help me out, who knows—maybe the day will come when your husband finally sees your good points?"
"You really mean that?"
"Believe it or don't, that's your choice. But you haven't forgotten who I am, have you?"
"Ah, fine! I just have to help, right?!"
The moment the eagle accepted the offer, the corners of the crow's mouth stretched long, practically spelling out, "Gotcha!"
Alice, Miho, and I—everyone watching this scene was probably thinking the same thing.
She's vile...
"And so, dear husband! Hraesvelgr and I will go take care of some work for a bit!"
"Got it. Do I need to tell you to be careful?"
"Don't worry! If there's one thing I'm confident in, it's avoiding danger to myself better than anyone."
"Well, that's true enough. And as for you, my lady..."
"Why did you trail off with me?!"
"I mean, you're just so overwhelmingly strong..."
Thinking back to how she'd instantly killed that Sabre Tiger, maybe the one to worry about wasn't Hraesvelgr, but whichever Divine Beast rubbed her the wrong way.
Still, saying that outright would definitely make her feel hurt.
So I offered Hraesvelgr the farewell of "be careful," too.
"Thank you for worrying about me!"
"Don't mention it."
"And Seon-ju."
"Yes?"
"You've been rejecting me nonstop, but I'm absolutely not giving up this time. Even if thousands of years pass, I'll keep pursuing you until we're bonded—so just know that's how it is."
"Ah, yeah..."
In stark contrast to her regrettable moments, Hraesvelgr declared this with a remarkably serious, low voice.
That genuinely unexpected side of her rattled me for once.
What if Hraesvelgr had shown that side of herself consistently? Would I have still rejected her?
Even so, I honestly didn't know.
All I knew was that it was the most beautiful, most charming version of herself I'd seen yet—and it etched itself deep into my memory.
***
After sending Yata and Hraesvelgr off, my Companion Divine Beasts and I headed back toward Suobi Village as planned.
Along the way, Kor returned from fetching Hati—but for some reason, she was alone.
"Hati was nowhere to be found?"
"Yes, I thoroughly checked all the way to the area near Hati's cave, but they weren't theeeere...!"
"I see. Then it can't be helped."
"I'm sorry I couldn't bring Hatiii..."
"No, it's fine! Actually, the job I needed Hati for resolved itself pretty anticlimactically."
I'd called for Hati in case trouble arose during the mediation between the Yeti and the Wendigo.
But things were resolved in such a bizarre direction that the help wasn't needed; Kor essentially made the trip for nothing.
"Is that sooo...?"
"Yeah, so don't worry about not being able to bring them. Honestly, thank you for all the hard work you've done for me up to now, Kor."
"Ah... th-this much is nothing at aaall...! Hehe...!!"
To give some comfort to Kor, who'd worked so hard, I lightly hugged her wolf body.
Kor was the one who'd run nonstop to a far-off place, so she'd had it the roughest out of everyone.
It felt shabby—I was sorry—but right now, this was the only way I had to express my gratitude.
Still, I was relieved to see a faint, happy smile lingering at the corners of Kor's mouth.
"Ahem! Dear husband? Shouldn't we be heading down before it gets any later? The sun's about to set, you know."
"Ah, right you are! Let's hurry!"
For a moment, I'd forgotten.
That showing affection toward another Companion Animal in front of Miho was something I needed to avoid as much as possible...
Luckily, since the other party was a wolf that even the fox acknowledged, it ended with Miho's brow just barely furrowing.
If the one I'd hugged had been Alice or Yata... a sulky expression wouldn't have been the end of it.
"Huh...?"
Distracted by such idle thoughts as I descended the mountain, I arrived in Suobi Village before I knew it.
But for some reason, the village atmosphere was desolate and eerily quiet—it felt like walking into a ghost town.
Streets devoid of any sign of life. Buildings with every light extinguished. Objects scattered and rolling on the ground.
I could hardly believe this was the same village that had been bustling with people just yesterday morning.
"Seon-ju, I made a quick lap around the village, but there was no one theeere...!"
"The village has become quite grim."
"No kidding... What on earth happened in a single day? Did another avalanche hit?"
I tried turning on my phone to figure out the situation, but sadly, there was already no signal.
I suspected the cause was the fallen utility poles and the communication lines snapped here and there.
There was no way to grasp the current situation.
"Yuu...! I'm sleepy..."
"Mm... what should we do?"
"The sun's setting anyway. Why don't we spend the night at the mountain lodge we secured as lodging?"
"Guess we've got no other choice."
The sun was sinking beyond the mountain we'd come down from.
The pristine white snow dyed orange was beautiful, true, but the village was in such a mess that I had no heart for admiring the scenery.
Left with no choice, I brought the Divine Beasts back to the lodge where we'd checked in, but...
It had already become an unstaffed lodge—no employees, no Director or agents from our party.
"Looks like the electricity's out, as expected..."
"The gas and water are still running normally. Shall I brew you some warm tea, dear husband?"
"Yeah. Please do."
"Seon-ju, I've lit the fireplace...! It should get a little warmer nooow...!!"
"Thanks, Kor."
With the electricity and communication devices down, we couldn't use the heating or various convenient functions.
Still, thanks to plenty of facilities still being usable, it looked like we could manage to get through the night one way or another.
"Phew...! This northern region is cold to begin with, plus we're here in the dead of winter—it really is pretty damn cold."
"If you're really cold, shall I lend you my tail?"
"Is that okay?"
"Of course! As long as I can keep your body warm, dear husband, my tail is yours to use as much as you like."
"Y-you can use my tail, toooo...!!"
"Then I'll borrow both your tails for a bit."
""Okay!""
Still holding Tia, who was fast asleep, I leaned back against Miho's fluffy tail and draped Kor's soft tail over my lap in place of a blanket.
The two Divine Beasts' tails each felt different, but they had warmth in common.
Thanks to that, I was able to forget the cold for a while.
It was so comfortable I could've slipped off to sleep at any moment without realizing.
"Now that I think of it, dear husband."
"Hmm?"
"You haven't forgotten, have you—that you promised to absolutely dote on me tonight?"
"Ah...!"
"Ufufu ♡ And they do say that skin-to-skin contact is the best thing when it's cold. So, shall we have a little... firsthand experience?"
"W-wait just a...!!"
"Seon-ju... if it's all right with you, me too...!"
"Kor, you too...?!"
"I've been worked up ever since you hugged me earlier, Seon-ju... I'm so sorryyy...♡"
The two Divine Beasts crept steadily closer.
Back at the hot spring village, I'd learned the hard way just how exhausting it was to handle a wolf and a fox at the same time.
That day, I'd gotten to experience what it felt like to have the marrow squeezed out of me.
Now, the memory of that day was about to replay—the real problem wasn't the village; it was the current situation.
Even as I tried to edge away, the tails already coiled around my body kept me from escaping.
Just as I realized I was utterly screwed and was about to give up.
—Crash!!
Suddenly, the window beside the front door shattered, and something with a heavy form came barreling into the lodge.
A shape that looked human. The crouching figure slowly rose to its feet.
It opened its bloodstained mouth, revealing a grotesque face you could never call human.
And then...
"Kiiieeeek!!"
It let out a scream at us, raw enough to tear its own vocal cords.
That sight was exactly what you'd call a vampire out of a movie.
The pale skin, the pointed ears and fangs, the elongated nails—it was the absolute image of a vampire.
Even its eyes were red; a true blood-crazed lunatic.
The problem was that outside the shattered window, more of those maniacs were strewn about in droves. Normally, it was a scene that would make you scream and tremble.
Thrust into a real-life horror movie scene, that was the appropriate, expected cliché reaction.
Regrettably, however, there were entities far more terrifying than they were.
"Ah, aaah...!!"
A fox whose eyes were blazing red like a vampire's, and a wolf whose hair was starting to blaze with flames.
And on top of that, a baby dragon, forcibly roused from happy slumber by the vampires' rackety entrance.
Victims, all of them—robbed of their happy time by the vampires.
"Ki, kiiiii?!"
I had no idea why vampire-like beings suddenly appeared in this world, but I just had one thing to say to them.
'You guys picked the wrong house...!'
This world ain't a horror movie.