My Beast Tamer's Lion Got Trampled by Foot Jelly
......The party atmosphere was getting a bit tense?"
Arman walked into the banquet hall with a deliberately casual stride, but his eyes kept twitching nonstop. Of course they would. The scene inside the hall wasn't a celebration at all—it looked more like a battlefield.
Nobles radiating killing intent, surrounding the limp bodies of the assassins like vultures over carrion.
My guards really are terrifying.
"The Crown Prince of Barkan, Arman."
Emperor Karsion looked down from his throne and called out in a low voice.
"You have two lives to spare on someone else's country's banquet day."
"I see an error in your understanding, Your Majesty."
Arman shrugged boldly, as if he had steel plates for cheeks.
"These are assassins. They are the impure rebel forces within the empire. It seems they took matters into their own hands while I wasn't watching. I only heard the news moments ago and rushed here."
Liar.
You have the face of a bloodsucking leech and the aura of a thief.
"Kyaaaang!"
Hey, hurry up and bring me a cage! I'll stuff this bastard inside myself!
"Do you actually believe that?"
Kailian planted an ice dagger on the floor with a smile full of killing intent.
Thud!
The marble floor cracked, and frost bloomed across it.
"You call cutting off my fur rebellion? I'll cut off your head as a gift."
"Please calm yourself, Your Highness. Let's discuss this calmly, calmly."
Arman was sweating bullets and frantically waved his hand. Instantly, Barkan servants came dragging in with rumbling grunts, hauling massive crates one after another.
"Although the deed was done without my permission, since the Barkan crest was found, I'll bear moral responsibility for the trouble I've caused."
The crates were opened.
A blinding light flooded the chaotic hall.
Top-grade mana stones, rare-looking elixirs, and documents for gold mine rights in the Barkan border region—all of it.
The total value was roughly the size of the empire's annual budget.
It was an absurdly cheap "payment" for storming the empire's emperor's banquet hall, but with no clear proof that Arman had ordered it, they couldn't squeeze much more out of him.
"Even this should be enough as cleaning fees, right?"
Arman acted nonchalant, but I had seen it—his right hand was still trembling, hidden behind his back.
The emperor didn't look pleased, but the finance minister's eyes had already rolled back in excitement.
"I will also offer a physical reward of this magnitude..."
Arman changed the tone and looked straight at me.
Look at me.
"Now may I make a personal request?"
He whistled.
Whiiiish!
The rough breathing of beasts and the sound of chains dragging came from outside the hall, accompanied by the whistle.
Sharp claw scrapes on the floor. The crowd's gazes were all drawn to the entrance.
Boom. Boom. Boom.
The floor trembled as if an earthquake had struck.
Finally, the massive figure revealed itself.
"Krurrr...."
A golden-maned lion.
It was no ordinary lion—just absurdly huge. Three times the size? No, four times. Bigger than a horse, muscles bulging like they might burst. Its eyes glowed bright red.
It wasn't a simple beast. A mana-infused, evolved magical beast.
"This fellow's name is Leo. The representative of the Barkan Empire and the strongest magical beast on the continent."
Arman stroked the lion's neck and puffed out his chest. Even as it accepted his touch, the lion scanned the people in the hall like prey.
Hey, don't look down there or the border count's auntie will kill you.
Even now, the image of him restraining the assassins still lingered vividly.
"I heard your empire has beasts similar to ours. Tigers, I believe?"
"Kyaaaang!"
White tiger cub, you brat!
Arman's gaze locked onto me, the small white tiger cub curled in Kailian's arms.
A clear, mocking smile.
His eyes were telling me everything: How could such a fluffy lump of cotton be the empire's guardian deity? It was ridiculous.
"Our Leo wishes to greet the imperial tiger."
"The tiger and the lion. Aren't you curious which one is truly the king of the white beasts? If my Leo wins, you hand over that tiger to me. I'll give it proper beast training in Barkan."
"Are you crazy? Our Blanc isn't a fighting chicken. And I'm sick of getting tangled up with oversized, brainless beasts that are just bigger than the rest. It would be humiliating."
Kailian rejected it in one sharp cut. She was ready to rip the lion's throat out.
But Arman didn't stop.
"You look scared. Of course—you can't beat a lion with a lump of cotton. The grand title of 'empire guardian deity' was probably just a pet name for a toy, wasn't it?"
Arman mocked.
It was a direct insult to the empire's pride. The emperor's eyebrows twitched, and Demian clenched his fists. But I really did look tiny and pathetic; I couldn't argue.
That guy was talking too much.
That yellow lion brat. Ever since earlier, it had been glaring at me. On top of being a mere magical beast without lineage, it was looking at me—Blanc, a true divine beast by the grace of Saintess Lina—with such eyes?
I don't have lineage either, but my feelings were hurt.
I thumped my tail against Kailian's shoulder.
Let go, Butler.
"No, Blanc. That's dangerous."
The butler tried to stop me, but I firmly pushed her arm away.
This was a matter of pride. If I ran now, I'd have to live as a scared white tiger my whole life. And the emperor had said it himself earlier—show him a little bite.
I leapt from the floor and walked toward the lion with heavy steps.
"Blanc!"
"Stop it, Blanc. Even he has common sense."
Kailian screamed, but I didn't stop.
In the center of the banquet hall.
A crate-sized golden lion and a fist-sized white baby tiger faced each other.
Not even David and Goliath had this size gap.
"Heh heh! You really want to fight? Leo, you won't even fill a mouthful, but go on and play."
Arman chuckled.
The lion opened its mouth wide. Its fangs, bigger than my head, gleamed. It looked down at me mockingly, growling low, lifting its paw. It was clearly planning to stomp me to death.
The moment its massive paw descended toward my head with enough force to create wind pressure.
I didn't dodge.
Humans don't run from fights.
Instead, I tilted my head and looked up at it with the clearest, brightest eyes possible, while flashing the salesman's smile I'd perfected on the butler's meat.
Critical hit.
I lifted my paw slightly and waved it in greeting. I even spread my paw pads wide so he could see the holy foot jelly. Emperor of the empire, I'll show you the dignity of my foot jelly.
Kyaaa?
......
Time seemed to stop.
The giant paw froze one centimeter above my head.
The killing intent snapped off like a thread.
The lion's red eyes began to shake as if an earthquake had hit them.
The slit pupils gradually softened into round, dull eyes.
Sniff.
The lion sniffed my scent.
Milk scent. Sweet scent. And most of all, an overwhelmingly irresistible cuteness scent.
This scent was a universal, no, a beast-universal cheat code. A pheromone that delivered the instinctive message: I'm small and cute. You really gonna hit me?
Nibble.
The lion licked my head.
Wet.
The rough tongue swept through my fur, leaving it drenched.
You... don't brush your teeth? You have bad breath.
I took a step back from the disgusting smell.
"Krurrr~"
The lion purred happily and rubbed its face against my body. Just like a big cat showing affection.
Its massive mane tickled me. It even rolled onto its back right in front of me, exposing its belly. It wanted to play together.
"....."
Silence fell over the banquet hall.
Arman's laughter cut off abruptly. He stood with his mouth hanging open like his jaw would dislocate.
The lion he'd been bragging about was disarmed in one glance, playing with abandon.
"L-Leo? What are you doing? Get up! Bite him! Are you crazy?!"
Arman shouted frantically, but the lion didn't even pretend to hear. Instead, when I gently stroked the lion's chin with my tail, it wagged its tail happily.
The floor became spotless, like it had been swept.
This brat wasn't big— it was just a big cat.
I clicked my tongue in disgust.
The lion under the tiger, as expected.
I leapt onto the lion's belly.
So soft it's like a bed. It even has heating function. Not bad.
I wiggled my hips and settled into position on the lion's stomach.
It's so warm here.
As I warmed my bread on the lion's belly, the lion narrowed its eyes in delight and rumbled. My belly and the lion's belly melded together like they were one.
"T-This is... what..."
Arman muttered with a dazed expression, looking like he'd just witnessed his wife cheating.
Only then did the emperor burst out laughing heartily.
"Hahahaha! Did you see it! This is the empire's dignity! Even your lion surrendered to Blanc's charm! As expected, my grandson... no, the guardian deity has a different class! Cuteness is also power!"
"Waaaaah!"
The nobles cheered themselves hoarse at the emperor's boasting.
Arman's face flushed red with shame and disbelief. But his gaze never left me, peacefully sitting on the lion's belly.
"Krurrr!"
I met his eyes and laughed mockingly.
My beast tamer's lion got trampled by foot jelly.