The Letter Carries Unwavering Love
I slipped out of the Grandfather White Tiger's study and made my way straight to the altar where the dear old man had given me.
Every day, without fail, I visit and place a paw-print-covered bread on the altar for Mama and Grandfather.
'Even though I couldn't do it in human form today.'
Standing before the altar, I carefully arranged three letters on the surface.
One for Mama, one for Grandfather, and the last for my White Tiger relatives.
Feeling a little nervous that the wind might carry them away, I sprinkled a few of the jewels I had brought from Grandfather's room lightly over the letters.
'They do look expensive. But if I remember the gold nuggets Grandfather once gave me to lick, it should be fine.'
The only White Tiger who has ever been licked with a diamond would be me.
“Hoo.”
I closed my eyes and placed both hands on the altar.
'This is the first time I've done it in human form, but what's there to worry about?'
I slowly drew up the divine energy that swirled inside my body.
Starting from my heart, it flowed through my arms and into the altar, where the newly brightening pure white divine energy glowed.
Uwoong.
As my divine energy touched the altar, the cold stone vibrated and began to emit a dazzling light.
The light grew stronger, gradually enveloping the three letters on the altar in a warm embrace.
Flash!
The letters slowly melted away into the divine energy, disappearing.
“All done.”
I stared at the empty altar and gently hugged it.
There was a faint, once-familiar scent of the dear Grandfather White Tiger that filled me with peaceful calm.
Mama White Tiger sat blankly in the vast open field filled with Blanc's ice fragments, gazing up at the sky.
Once the limit of what a child's eyes could see was reached, she had spent much time here, drifting in thought.
“... The vessel must be completed quickly.”
Thud.
At that moment, a letter envelope dropped right at her feet.
She stared at the fallen envelope with wide eyes.
'... What is this?'
“What... is this...?”
She cautiously stepped forward and picked up the topmost envelope.
“Ah...!”
Her body froze in place as if struck by lightning.
The envelope surface carried a cozy, energetic, deeply familiar scent.
Thick with the unmistakable scent of her beloved child, Blanc.
“Blanc...? The scent of my child...”
Her eyes widened in shock at the scent, and she clutched her heart that felt ready to burst, carefully peeling off the red sealing wax with trembling hands.
Holding her breath so tightly that she might tear the paper and scatter the child's scent.
She carefully unfolded the letter inside.
On it, written in neat, painstaking handwriting, was the script of a child who had only just received a human body, written with love for her.
[To my beloved Mama.]
When she saw the words at the top, she could not hold back any longer and burst into tears.
What had the child done to say she loved him?
[Mama, this is Blanc. I'm doing well with the butlers here.
Did I transform into a human form? I thought Mom would see me someday, but I never imagined it would happen this fast.
But thanks to that, I get to write letters to you like this, and I'm so happy about it.
I really want to meet you for real like last time and hug you tightly, but I'm still growing, so it will take a little more time.
Still, being able to meet you in my dreams often makes me truly happy. I miss you so much, Mama.
I love you, Mama.]
As she read the letter, her eyes began to shake uncontrollably.
“Hic... ugh... ugh...”
In the end, she could not hold back, and thick teardrops fell onto her cheeks.
“Our son... writes so beautifully... He's all grown up now, saying he loves his Mama... Our baby... really grew up...”
She hugged the letter tightly to her chest and collapsed to the ground, letting out a flood of tears.
She had received an enormous gift she had never dared hope for, so her emotions spilled over.
“I love you too, Blanc....... I love you too......”
She sobbed, rubbing the letter all over her tear-streaked face.
She rubbed her face against the letter, forgetting that the tears had diluted the child's scent, pressing her longing for her son tightly into it.
With tears in her eyes, she gently stroked the cheek of the nearby statue of Blanc.
“Wait just a little longer, my baby. Mama's vessel will soon be almost complete, descending to the lower realm....... As soon as the vessel is perfectly finished, I will descend and hug you tightly...”
From a distance, Grandfather White Tiger watched this tearful scene.
He smiled with warm satisfaction as he saw his daughter weeping.
“Heh heh heh. Our grandchild has really taken his mother's soul away. He even learned to write and sent a letter—such filial piety.”
Because he was good at eating, that energy had gone to his head and mind. A child with talent that surpassed even the other White Tigers.
The fact that the last child of the clan was his own grandchild made his shoulders tense without reason.
'... Just like his parents.'
He wore a slightly bitter smile, carefully picking up the letter that had fallen before him.
Grandfather White Tiger's lips curved into a warm smile as he carefully peeled off the sealing wax and read the contents.
“Heh heh, the kid really had a lot he wanted to say to me. How delightful.”
At that moment, the surrounding White Tigers who had been rolling around and watching came rushing over, shouting.
“Father! Father, you only saw the letter!”
“Yes! This is our cute little one's letter, so where's our share?!”
“I saw with my own eyes three envelopes falling earlier!”
“One of them isn't ours?!”
“We want to sniff Little One's paw scent too!”
He clicked his tongue at their appearance, tossing the remaining letter envelope among them.
'... When Blanc's name comes up, their eyes roll around. Anyone seeing them would think they were their own children.'
“Here you go. Yours is here too.”
“Ooooh!!”
The White Tigers tensed their bodies, eyes fixed on the letter he had thrown, ready to leap at any moment.
“Little One wrote a letter to us too!! Get out of the way! I'll read it first!”
“What nonsense! Little One likes me! I'll tear it open first!”
“If you don't want to get hurt, get out of the way! Little One's first letter is mine!”
“Kwaaaang!!”
“Old ones, let Little One have some!”
“... How amusing.”
He looked at the White Tigers tangled together, fighting over the letter, and lightly massaged his throbbing head.
'... Even without Blanc, they act like this. If the whole clan descended to the lower realm together, that would be something.'
Those Divine Beasts really have no weight...
I shook the dust from my hands and stood up from the altar.
“Now the most important delivery is finished.”
Mama and Grandfather should have received my letters well?
I could ask in today's dream, but a strange tension swept over my body.
I cautiously stood up and checked the letters in my arms.
A few more letters remained that had not yet found their owners.
My precious family and the butlers.
Kailian, Lumia, Gumiho, Rosalia, Demian, Lina, and Haetae.
Each of them had brought about a great change in my life.
... Especially Lina.
Um, she has been stuck in the prayer room all day lately. Is she okay?
Every time I see her, I rub my belly against her cheek for a moment and then leave satisfied without saying anything.
And... I'm a little scared to think about what kind of reaction Lina will have when she sees me right now.
... Should I let Lina go last?
“Who gets it first.”
I unfolded the letters and fell into a moment of thought.
At that moment, my vision caught a blonde woman in the far corner of the garden, hands clasped together in a very pious posture, praying.
'... Fate really plays tricks.'
When I was thinking of Lina, Lina appeared.
Fate is the stone that flies in front, destiny the one behind, right?
Perhaps the letter's first recipient was Lina's destiny.
I exhaled lightly and slowly walked toward her.
“... I am praying.”
Her appearance, muttering something and sitting on the floor to pray, was perfectly that of a saintess.
If I hadn't seen her usual appearance, I would have thought she was a truly devout saintess.
“... Lord.”
From behind, I carefully tapped her shoulder with a finger.
“I don't know who you are, but while you're praying... Blanc-sama?”
“... How did you know without even looking back?”
Lina's appearance, suddenly turning and identifying me without looking back, gave me a slightly eerie feeling.
“It's because of Blanc-sama's scent...?”
“Huh?”
“... You're speaking to me right now?”
Lina turned around with wide eyes.
“Hello?”
“... Ah... Lord.”
Lina scanned me from head to toe for a moment, then looked around searching for the Lord and fainted right there.
The smile on her lips was very unsettling.
'... Is there really no other talent besides talking to the gods?'
The unknown god felt unnecessarily resentful.