Side Story: Black Beast — Head of the Cats
"My master is usually so cold, but every now and then she has this airheaded side that's just unbearably cute."
"Oh…? So that's what your master is like. That sounds rather nice as well."
The child was muttering to himself as he stared into empty air.
He was probably conversing with the other children who had recognized their own identities and taken control of them.
Of course, most of the conversation was about the person he loved more than anything else in the world.
"…Isn't that a bit of a problem? No, I'm not saying there's something wrong with your disposition, but…"
Looks like he'd run into a version of himself that didn't quite mesh with him.
"Hayeon, what are you doing?"
"Ah, Master. It's nothing."
A woman with long black hair approached the child who had been talking with his other selves and spoke to him.
She was the one he called Master—the person he adored from the very depths of his heart.
"What is it this time?"
"Someone from the Sa clan asked to borrow our forces."
"The Sa clan… Don't tell me it's that Sa Ihwa."
"Yeah. Looks like you'll have to go."
At the words that he would have to go, the child's expression rapidly darkened.
Leaving the side of the person he loved was already enough to sour his mood—but realizing the place he had to go was that frivolous bastard's made it infinitely worse.
"Don't make that face. There's no helping it this time."
"…Understood."
"Seeing you look like that reminds me of when we first met."
"…Must you bring that up?"
"Why not? It was nice back then, too."
At that blunt remark, the child's eyes began to tremble wildly.
Just having the past brought up was mortifying enough—but hearing the person he loved say something like that was more than he could bear.
"You really were a beast back then. Couldn't get a word through to you, and you just came swinging your sword right out of the gate."
"…"
"But even that side of you was nice."
"Please… stop…"
A declaration of surrender slipped from the child's lips—he couldn't hold out any longer.
His face had long since gone red, and he kept his head bowed, unable to meet her eyes.
But she showed no intention of backing down.
"What's wrong? Getting all red-faced like that—it's not like you."
The way she cupped his chin and lifted his face was no different from a fox.
A fox about to devour a rabbit, that is.
"M-Master… just a moment…"
"What is it? Is there a problem?"
"Th-That's not it…"
"Then I can keep going, right?"
The alluring smile she wore as she licked her lips was apparently far too much stimulation for the child.
"Oh, he fainted…"
In the end, the child's eyes spun in circles and he collapsed to the floor.
His flushed face was so red it almost seemed like steam might rise from it.
But the woman still had no intention of stopping.
"Hehe… You can't go fainting in front of me."
She scooped the fallen child into her arms and carried him to the bedroom.
Then she laid him down and lay down beside him herself.
Was it compensation for making him do something he hated? Or was she simply doing it because she wanted to?
Only she would know the truth.
"You don't have to swing that so viciously, do you?"
"You're blocking it with room to spare, yet you talk a good game."
The first meeting between the child and the woman had been nothing short of brutal.
On his master's orders, the child had been killing the woman's subordinates—and the woman, intrigued by such a child, crossed blades with him.
"Still… it's starting to get hard to keep talking…"
"Drop the act. If you're trying to buy time, it won't work."
"Buy time for what? Your master is already dead by my hand."
As the woman said, the child's master had already met his end at her hands.
"For someone who's the Head of the Cats, you killed my subordinates—and yet I know nothing about you."
"So. I figure it's time I got to know you properly."
"Hayeon. Or… should I call you Celestial Sphere?"
"…!"
Called not by his name or title but by his star's name, the child showed panic for the first time.
"You're still living like a beast. If you'd sought learning, you could have woven a story no one else could ever imitate."
"…What are you getting at?"
"I'm frustrated. Frustrated watching you refuse to seek learning and insist on living as nothing but a beast. That's all."
"Is learning worth that much?"
At the child's question, the woman smiled.
"Yes. Of course it is."
"Come under me, Hayeon. I'll teach you everything."
"…And what is it you want to do in this Hongwon by doing that?"
"What I want is…"
And upon hearing the woman's answer, the child decided to follow her.
If it was this person—she might be able to change him.
"You're awake?"
"…Master?"
Finding himself somehow on the bed, with his Master lying right beside him, the child made a dazed sound.
And seeing that reaction, the woman chuckled with amusement.
"Mm, it's me."
"W-Why is Master… no, why am I even…"
Squeeze—
"Is that really all you're going to worry about?"
The soft sensation pressing against his arm brought the child's thoughts to a complete halt.
And the low voice that whispered by his ear was more than enough to stop his breath.
"I made an unreasonable request of you… so I figured I'd give you a carrot."
"So… make sure you take it properly."
"…Yes."
I should stop watching this story here.
I'd like to see the other children's stories too… but unfortunately, there just isn't enough time.
Well then—see you next time.