Chapter 136
Chapter 136
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Translator: Ace
Chapter: 136
Chapter Title: 46. My Guardian Deity (2)
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As a dragon, she possessed an innate ability to detoxify poisons, so the drugs that BY smoked were dozens of times more potent than ordinary ones. Sometimes, the dosage couldn't be controlled properly.
That day was one such occasion.
Perhaps feeling aroused, BY stuck out her tongue and licked her lips. Her golden eyelashes twitched. Her restless hands roamed aimlessly over her own body.
A smile played across her face.
It was like black ink spreading across a pristine white canvas.
"What are you doing? Hurry up..."
Yoo Ji-tae did not stroke Baby Yellow's hair.
"Think of me as your daughter..."
There was no such sentimentality back then.
"Your daughter who had a bad day today..."
He was protecting her, yes, but not because he liked the Gold Dragon.
He had never once wanted to be in that position.
"Hurry... yeah...?"
Her brazen behavior twisted his nerves. For a moment, he felt like grabbing her by the hair and slamming her onto the living room floor.
It was a deeply buried feeling, so it didn't show.
Time passed like that.
And BY gradually fell asleep.
"..."
Once her excited breathing settled...
The sordid atmosphere finally lifted from her face. There lay the innocent young BY from five years ago, the one he had first met, sleeping with a pure smile.
Yoo Ji-tae carefully picked her up. He carried her to her room and laid her down on the princess-like bed.
He gently pulled the blanket over her.
"Where are you...?"
As he turned to leave, BY mumbled.
"Huh...? Where...?"
In her dream, she seemed to be searching for someone.
*
Such situations didn't happen often.
To be precise, it was an impulsive occurrence maybe once every few months.
"Sorry about yesterday. I sincerely apologize..."
The next morning, she conveyed her apology with a deep sigh. She said she didn't know why she acted that way. If it made his duties uncomfortable, they could switch security personnel. She spent the entire breakfast apologizing profusely.
"It's fine. Don't worry about it."
His irritation had already faded.
He brushed it off as no big deal.
A few years later, BY would have another such outburst once in a while.
These episodes were confined to moments when no one else was around. They only happened rarely, after her packed schedule ended and she was alone at home.
Thus, only Yoo Ji-tae, who handled her 24-hour surveillance and protection, knew about it.
BY's deviations were a secret known only to him.
The usual BY loved people. She truly cherished those who loved her. She even teared up when receiving surprise gifts from her fandom.
In the media, Baby Yellow was hailed as the textbook example of a top star.
She seemed content with being loved by others.
The purpose of the fourth round was to observe the Gold Dragon's daily life, so Yoo Ji-tae simply watched.
And so, five years passed.
Around the time BY turned thirty.
She appeared on a famous variety show. A renowned Black psychologist joined as a guest.
She conducted a psychological consultation on BY, while the other guests joked that she didn't need any counseling.
But after a simple art therapy session, the psychologist's response was different.
"...Hmm. It's quite ambiguous."
Looking at the picture BY had drawn, the psychologist tilted her head.
"There might be some 'intense fear' buried deep in your heart somewhere."
The panel erupted in "Ooh!" reactions.
"WHAT THE... Baby Yellow, seriously?"
"No? I'm fine though?"
BY laughed it off. The panel agreed with a "That's what we thought!" vibe.
Still, the psychologist stood firm and recommended getting a pet.
The next day, Baby Yellow brought home a parrot.
It was a white, clean, and pretty parrot.
Around that time, she still couldn't sleep comfortably.
She tossed and turned all night, waking up irritably to throw her pillow. She even tore the blanket for no reason. White down feathers scattered everywhere.
He watched silently.
Fortunately, the parrot seemed to help.
When BY couldn't control her temper, covering her face with her hands and breathing heavily, the parrot would fly over, flap its wings, and act cute.
Then BY would fall back asleep.
She grumbled but forced herself to rest.
"Nngh!"
Autumn stretched languidly as she woke up. Her face was full of smiles.
She glanced at the clock and jolted.
"Ah! I slept too deeply...!"
"Sleep well?"
"Yeah, Ajusshi...!"
Still in a good mood, she beamed.
By her bedside sat the little chick Pipi. It had woken up too and was blinking its beady black eyes, bowing its head to the floor.
But sleeping too much meant trouble sleeping at night. Autumn stroked the chick's feathers.
"Wake up, Pipi! Time for a walk, walk...!"
"Peep..."
'What kind of walk does a chick need...' it seemed to grumble.
But Autumn, who still didn't understand its words, scooped up Pipi.
"Walky walk~♪"
Using the restraining rope from Summer, she loosely tied the chick's neck and wings. Autumn prepared for their walk. Pipi chirped excitedly whenever it was time to go out.
"Wanna come with?"
"Sure."
Today, Yoo Ji-tae decided to join them for the walk.
The chill had fully receded from the season. Walking with the two hatchlings felt warm.
When they hit a muddy path, Autumn picked up the chick, and Yoo Ji-tae lifted her calves and thighs onto his shoulder.
"Wheee─!"
It was a sort of piggyback ride.
......
Meanwhile, in Room 301, Winter poked her head out from Spring's room.
Just the cleaning lady?
Yes.
For some reason, he had stealthily pulled out a picture book, but she paid it no mind.
"...I'll be back."
"Ah, yes. Take care, little miss."
Winter grabbed a sack of spirit beast feed and dashed outside. Then she flew into the sky.
As always, Winter headed toward the ridge behind the mountain. Today too, the cat spirits were huddled together waiting for her.
Time to feed them.
Nom nom nom...
In the quiet mountains, the sound of eager eating continued.
Watching them eat, Winter tilted her head.
Today, there were so few cats that the large sack felt embarrassing.
"...Huh?"
She tilted her head, a question mark floating above her.
Come to think of it, the number of cats had been dwindling lately. After her guardian restricted her outings, she hadn't gone out much, so maybe they stopped coming. That's what she thought.
But even now that she went out often, their numbers weren't increasing.
"...Where did they go."
Moreover, the remaining three looked injured somehow. Spirit beasts fought fiercely over territory all the time, sure.
But their matted fur and wounds seemed worse than usual.
"......"
Winter cautiously extended her hand.
She planned to create healing water for their bodies and apply a little.
But the moment Winter reached out, the cats freaked out and scattered. They even dropped their food. One hissed at her—kyaaak!
Startled, Winter carefully stood and backed away.
"......"
These guys hate me even when I feed them...
Feeling betrayed, Winter frowned. But she couldn't figure out why they were suddenly like this.
If she closed her eyes and tried to sense their feelings...
What she felt was fear.
Time passed.
Summer won her individual spar against Yong Dan-bi. She also beat promising ranker candidates from Noblesse School. Plus, she scored high on her assignments again, surging ahead in the second quarter of the competition.
Even without official rankings, everyone acknowledged she was in the top three.
Unlike the first quarter, there was no backlash, which was nice.
Winter was eating well. Still a child, she had no grand life goals yet—just faithfully playing and eating day by day.
Spring started serializing a horror novel on the Lair community boards.
Excluding Spring, very few wrote horror novels. Having rewritten and prepared it multiple times, it finally caught people's attention. Views hit triple digits.
One day after class, some gloomy-looking East Asian guys approached her.
"Hi... Loved your novel... Wanna join our horror club...?"
They were somehow dreary and drab. Anyway, that type. Spring said she'd think about it and put off answering.
The guardian was lately immersed in the internet. Watching his large hand on the mouse, it looked like a quail egg to Winter.
His recent search term was 'dishwasher'.
"...Impressive. To think such a thing exists."
Was he finally seeking escape from the hell of dishwashing to boost work efficiency?
No.
"But it lacks flexibility compared to me."
It was a matter of pride. A home dishwasher didn't seem capable of cleaning his wok-sized fryer.
"You're 'disqualified'..."
Today too, the guardian notched another win against modern appliances.
"......"
And Yoo Ji-tae remained unchanging.
His life hadn't really changed.
In the daily flow of time in Room 301...
The anomaly struck suddenly.
"Walky walk~♬"
"Cheep cheep~♬"
The chick, now a bit larger and harder to carry. And Autumn, running excitedly.
The two were enjoying their usual walk. The air was clear. The spring forest path was beautiful.
That's when the anomaly hit.
Adults in hazmat suits blocked their path.
"Excuse me, cadet."
Two men, one woman. Badges indicating official duties.
Autumn stopped in surprise.
They seemed momentarily flustered looking at her—probably due to the dragon's 'aura'. But they didn't recognize her.
"Yes? Why? Who are you?"
"We're from the Academic Affairs Bureau's Spirit Management Division."
The hazmat-clad officials exchanged hand signals, then approached Autumn cautiously.
"It's about that chick spirit beast. Is it registered?"
"Huh? Registered...?"
Her tone implied she had no idea, hardening their expressions.
"No way... You're not walking around with an unregistered spirit beast, are you? You wouldn't even know about quarantine or infections."
"R-registration? And Pipi is clean..."
Suddenly scared, Autumn asked cautiously. Unease crept over her head like a black shadow.
Autumn thought back. Now that she recalled, the chick Pipi had escaped from the breeding farm.
She'd been careful with it the first few months, but lately thought it was fine and walked it openly.
"Registration? Have you, as a cadet, never even heard of the pet spirit beast registration process?"
"Y-yeah..."
They clicked their tongues.
Their initial caution faded. Suspicion gathered in their eyes.
"Good grief. To keep a spirit beast in the Lair, you need pet spirit beast registration. No certificate? Mind if we ask about its origin?"
"W-why...? What's going on...?"
"We're the escaped spirit beast recovery team. About half a year ago, the breeding farm was destroyed. We couldn't recover some escapees. A few formed a group and raided the management division the other day."
"Ah... Uh... I didn't hear about that..."
"Of course not. How would a cadet know about management division matters? So, unregistered means it could be an escapee. That said..."
Autumn bit her lower lip, unable to speak. Her mind went blank. She noticed the large cage the man beside her held.
Two cages made of dark metal. The one in his hand rattled.
The woman stepped forward.
Her gaze alternated between the chick and Autumn, suspicion deepening.
"That chick spirit beast. Where did it come from?"
