Divine Beasts on Roc Island
The next morning, Simon rose several hours earlier than usual and was walking through the campus grounds. His plan was to talk with Farahan, the Divine Defense professor, about divine beasts, then head straight to his morning class.
I wonder how much he'll freak out when he sees Akalion?
Anticipation bubbled in his chest. Simon opened his lungs and breathed deep — the dawn air was crisp and clean.
And then—
-Caw! Caw!
An unusually loud crow's cry broke the silence of the empty morning path.
-Meooow!
-Meow!
Cat yowls followed right after.
What's going on?
When Simon followed the noise, he found a crow and the kittens squaring off over a sausage that had fallen to the ground.
Cami's cats?
Looking closer, they were indeed the kittens Camibarez kept. So tiny that a single flap of the crow's wings could have sent them flying, yet they stood their ground against it with brazen courage — an impressive sight. In the end, the crow seemed to judge the fight not worth the trouble, spread its wings, and fled.
-Meooow!
The kittens let out a roar of victory.
Just as they were about to claim their prize — that precious sausage—
-!
They spotted Simon.
Abandoning their food entirely, the white and black bundles of fur came pattering straight for him. They clung to his shoes, rubbing themselves against them, mewing piteously and demanding to be picked up.
"What are you two doing out here?"
The names Camibarez had given them were surely Hayangi and Kkamangi.
Simon crouched down to shower the kittens with affection, then scooped them up in both arms and cradled them against his chest. They submitted obediently, snuggling into comfortable positions.
"Let's get you back to the girls' dormitory."
This was a school full of necromancers, where undead wandered the streets at will. It was plenty dangerous for a couple of kittens to be roaming about.
Since their path home was more or less the same as his, he figured he could just drop them off. Watching the kittens nuzzle against him, Simon set off in good spirits.
"Hayangi!"
This time, a familiar voice rang out.
Camibarez, still in her pajamas, was stomping her feet anxiously as she searched for the cats.
"Cami!"
"Ah, Simon~!"
Spotting him, Camibarez beamed and came running at a quick trot. She flapped her little wings and came to a stop, then noticed the kittens in Simon's arms.
"Hayangi! Kkamangi! Where were you two?!"
Simon handed the kittens over.
"They were fighting a crow. Nothing's hurt, though."
"Oh, thank goodness!"
Camibarez scooped them up with practiced ease, and the kittens rumbled out contented purrs.
"I'm worried — they've gotten so clever lately. They keep finding little gaps to slip out through."
As Simon listened, he studied the kittens thoughtfully.
"You know, they've barely grown at all."
Most kittens seemed to sprout overnight, but these two were almost exactly the same size as when he'd first seen them months ago.
"Have you checked whether they're monsters?"
"Yes! I brought in some people to look, but, um..."
She shook her head.
"Even the researchers who know monsters inside and out said they'd never seen babies of this kind..."
"Hmm."
Simon reached out a finger and stroked the kittens' foreheads. Thinking it was playtime, they got excited and batted at his hand with their front paws.
"Hold on, hold on."
As his fingertip brushed their foreheads gently, he felt a sharp little horn. No matter how he looked at it, these were no ordinary cats.
"So that's what's been worrying me lately."
Camibarez bowed her head.
"The warehouse keeper says it's too much for him now, and he wants them sent outside."
"The plan was always to keep them for two months, whether they were monsters or not."
"I know! I'd love to keep them in my dorm room, but the school rules won't allow it... So I've been going around looking for someone to become their owner! I'm planning to visit Professor Hong Peng this weekend!"
Simon smiled.
"Then let's all go together and ask her."
"Really? Thank you, Simon!"
It was time for the kittens to head back for breakfast. They seemed to realize this was goodbye, because they began squirming, trying to climb back into Simon's arms.
-Meow! Meoooow!
"N-no, you can't bother him. Simon's a busy man."
Camibarez hugged the kittens tighter to her chest.
"They really do adore you, Simon."
"Yeah, I guess they do."
Simon scratched the side of his head. The look in the kittens' wistful eyes made his heart ache, but there was nothing to be done.
"See you in class, then."
Camibarez answered with a kind, crinkled-eyed smile.
"Yes, Simon! See you in class!"
-Meow! Meow!
And so Simon parted ways with Camibarez and the kittens and headed for Farahan's office.
He was running slightly behind, so he conjured his Jet-Black and sprinted, arriving at his destination in no time. After quickly tidying his clothes, he knocked on the door with the back of his hand.
Knock, knock.
"Professor, it's Simon."
"Come in, come in."
Simon carefully opened the office door and stepped inside.
He saw an old man in white robes, hands clasped behind his back, gazing out the window. Long curtains swayed in the breeze, and in his hands behind his back he held a folding fan.
"Did the Dispatched Evaluation go well?"
Wise jade eyes turned to look at Simon.
"Yes, Professor!"
Simon answered with a smile of his own.
"What would you like to drink?"
"Anything's fine."
The moment Farahan snapped his fingers, the windows slammed shut, the curtains drew themselves closed, and the room darkened. All across the walls, holy magic circles flared to life, unfolding in layers of light.
A barrier-style white magic that blocked outside approach and eavesdropping alike.
"Have a seat."
"Yes, sir."
Simon settled comfortably into his chair.
Back when Farahan had first caught him with divinity and summoned him here, he'd been terrified. Now, it was a place where he felt at ease, both in body and mind.
"Professor, you seem to be in a good mood."
"Oh, did it show?"
Farahan let out a hearty laugh and stroked his long beard.
"The truth is, I've found myself a house outside the Kizen campus. A small little thing, built up on a gentle hill."
"Oh, congratulations!"
Farahan set a porcelain cup of antique coloring down on the table.
"Some time ago I was invited to Professor Hong Peng's little cottage. To this old man's eyes, it was envy itself — so I petitioned Kizen for permission to set up residence off campus. Naturally, headquarters refused me outright, citing security concerns."
"Ah..."
Glug, glug.
Warm tea steamed from the kettle, filling the cup to the brim. The fragrant scent of the brew suffused the room.
"By the way, it seems the students had plenty of good things to say after this Dispatched Evaluation."
Farahan picked up his cup and went on.
"I hear that when they fought the priests, this old man's classes proved helpful."
"Absolutely! When I fought the Efnel students this time, it helped me tremendously!"
"That does an old man's heart good. Because the students spoke so well of me, Kizen headquarters granted approval for my outdoor residence."
That was Kizen for you — merit above all.
For students and professors alike, proving one's abilities naturally brought benefits. And knowing that Farahan had earned recognition from both the students and the higher-ups lifted Simon's spirits along with his.
"One day, I believe a lot more people will come to see who you really are."
Farahan burst into another hearty laugh.
"Thank you. I can't imagine what pretty deeds this old man ever did to enjoy such comfort in his twilight years, or to be blessed with such a fine student."
Simon ducked his head, embarrassed. A smile like a child's — nothing like an old man's — played at the corners of Farahan's mouth.
"Shall we go have a look at the house? I've yet to show it to anyone."
"I'd love to!"
Just as the two of them rose from their seats, Farahan's eyes sharpened.
"Something's touched the barrier."
"What?"
Farahan waved his fan, and the curtains parted, the windows flew wide open, and the holy barrier dissolved away.
Farahan and Simon stepped outside the building.
"Ah!"
-Meooooow!
Beyond the window, the kittens were yowling, squirming and struggling inside a net of holy power.
Simon cried out in alarm.
"Hayangi! Kkamangi!"
"Children you know?"
"Yes — I'm sorry, Professor. It seems they followed me all the way here."
He'd clearly watched Camibarez take them away. How on earth had they slipped out again?
Simon moved to free them.
"Now, wait just a moment!"
Shock burst from Farahan's lips. His gaze had locked onto the kittens — the ones busily licking and nibbling at the strands of the holy net.
"Th-those are divine beasts!"
Simon's eyes flew wide open.
"Divine beasts?!"
* * *
Simon followed Farahan into his new home.
A snug little house atop a hill ringed by trees — the sight was like a watercolor painting.
Simon let out a gasp of admiration.
"You built this house in that short a time?"
"Built is a strong word. The correct way to put it is that I relocated it with magic."
And there, on the grass of the yard, the kittens and Akalion — who looked exactly like a tiny teddy bear — were tumbling over each other in play.
The feisty kittens, who could hold their own against crows, swung their front paws out in attack after attack, and Akalion, unable to hold out against them, flopped over flat on his back. He was so adorable that just watching made a smile bloom on its own.
"Astonishing, truly. That a priest's divine beast would choose to follow you."
Simon had explained about Akalion on the walk over. He scratched his head.
"I do feel... a little bad for that priest."
"There's nothing to feel bad about. When a divine beast chooses its master, no one can do a thing about it. Even if you had abandoned Akalion there and walked away, he would never have gone back to that Efnel student."
Farahan explained that a divine beast choosing its own master was a rare event in itself. That was why Divine Beast Studies taught methods for leading and raising divine beasts even without being chosen.
-Uung! Uuung!
Akalion, overwhelmed by the kittens' onslaught, darted behind Simon's legs to hide.
The kittens pursued him close on his heels, begging to keep playing.
"That's enough, that's enough. You all need to get along."
Simon picked Akalion up and hugged him to his chest. The kittens mewed and mewed, trying to clamber up his legs.
"Truly rare little ones, these."
Farahan said this as he smoothed the kittens' heads. In defiance, they bit at his fingers.
"I have seen divine beasts born on rare occasion in the Dark Alliance. But to think divine beasts would be born here, on Roc Island of all places."
"Are you sure they really are divine beasts, though? I can't sense any divinity from them at all. And they're perfectly friendly with Cami, even though she's a necromancer."
"Divine beasts can be sorted into two types."
There were complete types — beings born radiating divinity, existing as finished divine beasts from the moment of their birth.
And there were transformation types — creatures that looked like ordinary animals or monsters on the surface, but changed form when divinity was poured into them.
Lethe's baby dragon, Ran, was a complete type, while Simon's Akalion was the textbook example of a transformation type.
"Consider any complete-type divine beast in the Dark Alliance territory as good as extinct. The moment necromancers or natural undead laid eyes on a creature spewing divinity from birth, they would kill it on the spot."
"Th-that does make sense."
"Within Alliance lands, transformation types enjoy a far greater advantage in survival. The fact that those kittens feel no aversion to Jet-Black, and cannot produce divinity without transforming — that, too, is likely the result of evolution."
Simon regarded the kittens with a grave expression.
"Then... if I were to grant these cats divinity..."
"Just so. They would awaken as true divine beasts and become aware of what they are."
Simon swallowed hard. What on earth would these tiny kittens become?
Then Farahan stroked his beard and spoke.
"You said a girl named Camibarez is looking for someone to take the cats?"
"Yes."
"Left in the wild, these divine beasts would not last long. Become their master. A student can't keep cats in the dormitory, so I shall look after them in the meantime."
Simon's eyes lit up.
"You'd really do that for us?"
"Ho ho! Of course."
It was perfect. If the divine beasts could be entrusted to the Divine Defense professor, there was no safer arrangement in the world.
"Then shall you pour your divinity into those little ones, and see them transform into their true forms as divine beasts?"
"Yes, sir. I'll try."
Simon nodded, then lowered himself slowly into a crouch. He placed his hand on the head of Hayangi, who had stuck to his legs first and foremost.
Why am I so nervous about this?
Between his palms, he could feel the sharp little horn.
Hayangi, who couldn't stay still for even a moment and had been bouncing around wildly, was for some reason sitting perfectly still now, like a statue.
She only gazed up at Simon with big round eyes, as if expecting something.
"Here we go."
After one light, steadying breath, Simon let his divinity flow into the kitten.