Farewell Comes Swift, Reunion Remains Distant
I spun in a circle around the altar, devoting every bit of my attention to it.
The bread that had just been placed there was now gone.
It was being sent to Mother and Grandfather, wasn't it?
If I wrote a letter here and sent it along, they would read it, right?
Of course, my jelly paw pads couldn't grip a pen, but I could just ask Haetae to write it for me.
If that didn't work, I'd have to dip my paw pads in ink and send that instead.
I lifted my head and looked up at the Progenitor.
“Kyaa! Kyaaaang?”
Progenitor, can I take this? I want to use it at home too.
My bold request made the Progenitor burst into laughter.
[Heheha ha. What a clever little thing you are. Yes... of course it's fine. This altar belongs to you now anyway, so use it as you like.]
“Kyaa!”
Thank you for allowing it!
I puffed out my chest with pride, wagging my tail in a circle, and flicked my front paw at the butlers standing behind me.
“Kyaa! Kyang!”
Butlers, wrap this up! Let's move it to the Princess's Palace!
The first to react to my order was Lina.
“Ah, I'll handle it. This is something I should take care of.”
Lina rolled up her sleeves and stepped in front of the altar.
She concentrated her sacred energy in both hands and gripped the sides of the altar tightly.
“Hueeup...!”
A vein bulged on her neck and forehead, and her forearm twitched, but the altar didn't budge at all.
“Kyaa...?”
Did Lina not manage to lift it...?
The same Lina who had once casually lifted a massive monster in one hand couldn't lift this?
“Huu... It's not a stone slab, it feels like lifting a mountain range... The sacred energy is compressed in an absurd quantity... It's heavy.”
In the end, Lina sat down on the floor, panting heavily.
Watching her, Rosalia carefully examined the altar. She floated magical circles in the air and scanned the altar rapidly.
“This... It's impossible to move by physical force. The altar's own density of sacred energy is too high; if loaded onto a wagon, the wheels would shatter.”
Rosalia spread numerous magical circles in the air and wrapped the altar in them.
“I'll store it in a pocket dimension.”
As she activated her magic, a portal-like form wrapped around the altar and slowly swallowed it whole.
“Huu... As expected, it's quite tiring... An object beyond my imagination.”
Sweating, I rubbed my head against Rosalia, who had stored the altar away.
“Kyaa.”
Thanks for your hard work.
“Yes... Thank you.”
The corner of Rosalia's mouth lifted slightly.
Once the storage of the altar was complete, the air inside the cave subtly changed.
The Progenitor looked at the butlers standing behind me with blue eyes.
[You humans who have taken care of this child until now. Step forward now.]
At the Progenitor's call, the butlers all held their breath and walked forward one by one.
The giant eyes of the stone statue swept over the four of them in turn.
[This child is the last one of our clan. Please take good care of him. He must be raised into the happiest being in the world, with not a single hair of his fur damaged.]
It was a command wrapped in the form of a request.
Kailian knelt on one knee to show respect, and the other butlers offered deep bows in their own ways.
“I swear with my life. Blanc will be raised more precious than anything I have.”
Kailian's words were short, but the determination in them was clear to the Progenitor.
The women standing behind Kailian nodded their heads with eyes full of resolve. Their sincere replies made the Progenitor's oppressive gaze soften.
[Good eyes. I like them. Not a single lie can be sensed in your souls.]
The Progenitor stroked his chin and added in a low voice.
[If there had been even a hint of deception in the answer just now... I would have returned the human world to the Stone Age once more.]
“......!!”
The silence in the cave was as if cold water had been poured over it.
The fact that the speaker was a legendary divine beast, and moreover the primordial one, made their spines tingle.
Sweat poured down Kailian's forehead. Rosalia swallowed hard, and Lina gripped her clothes so tightly her face turned pale.
Even Haetae's tail drooped low.
“Kyaa ha ha! Kyaaaang!”
The Progenitor's joke was fun! The Stone Age, seriously!
In that tense atmosphere, only I laughed.
I laughed at the small laugh hidden in the Progenitor's words.
The Progenitor had already acknowledged the butlers when they came in, yet he joked about worrying about me?
A faint smile spread across the Progenitor's face at my laughter.
[Hehe, as expected, only my own bloodline truly understands my jokes. It was half a joke, after all.]
The butlers remained frozen in fear, but the Progenitor paid them no mind.
He lowered his massive body until his gaze met mine, and began chatting with me in a warm tone.
As I talked with the Progenitor, Lumia suddenly came to mind.
“Kyaa!”
Right! Progenitor! I have someone I want to introduce!
I sidled up to Lumia and lightly bit her neck.
“Kyeng! ... Kyeng!”
Lumia struggled for a moment, scared of the Progenitor, but I ignored her and pulled her along.
If I didn't stamp a face seal on her face right now, she'd hold a grudge against me later.
Since she's my little sister, she needs to greet the Progenitor now.
“Kyaa. Kyaaung.”
Progenitor, this is Lumia. She's a fox. I rescued her and she's been living with me.
Lumia looked up at the Progenitor with my neck clamped in her mouth, trembling from the pressure.
She hugged my tail tightly and buried her face in it.
Phew, what a scaredy-cat.
[Oh? A young gumiho. What a splendid thing you've done, rescuing the weak. Well done, as expected, my descendant.]
The Progenitor praised me, then whispered gently to Lumia.
[Little fox, don't be afraid. Since you've been connected to my descendant, you're like my granddaughter. From now on, get along well with Blanc.]
At the warm words, Lumia stopped trembling, cautiously lifted her head, and then smiled brightly, wagging her tail.
“Yes... hehe.”
As I chatted with the Progenitor, his blue eyes gradually dimmed.
The waves of sacred energy maintaining the stone statue became noticeably smaller.
[Soon, the time is up. It seems the limit has been reached for holding consciousness in this shell.]
At those words, my tail, which had been swinging vigorously, suddenly dropped to the floor with a thump.
“Kyaa, kyaa...?”
You're already leaving...? But... then I'll be alone again?
My voice trembled involuntarily.
Farewell had arrived.
Compared to the short reunion with my blood-related kin, this separation was far too vast.
A heavy stone sank into the corner of my heart, and I felt extremely gloomy.
My ears drooped backward.
Seeing my appearance, the Progenitor gently stroked my head with his front paw.
[Don't be sad. Even if I disappear, you'll always be watched over by your clan members there. We will always love you.]
“Kyaaung...”
Really? Then can we meet again later?
At my teary upward gaze, the Progenitor said with a reassuring tone.
[Of course. On the day you grow up bravely and complete your potential, we will definitely meet again.]
At those words, my heart calmed a little.
It wasn't a complete farewell; it was just being a little farther apart.
At that moment, Kailian, who had been watching us from behind, stepped forward.
Her expression looked very anxious.
“U-um, I want to ask one thing.”
[Go ahead.]
Kailian hid her trembling hands behind her back and swallowed hard.
“Earlier... you said you'd meet again after Blanc grows up. Then... when Blanc becomes an adult, will you... leave us forever?”
The question made the air in the cave freeze instantly.
Rosalia, Lina, and Haetae all stared at the Progenitor with hardened faces. The fear that Blanc might grow up and leave them forever had arrived.
The Progenitor calmly looked at Kailian and answered with terrifyingly calm words.
[That is correct. Divine beasts cannot be bound to the mortal world. When this child grows into a mature form and awakens her complete power, she cannot remain in the human realm, land of mortals.]
At those words, Kailian's pupils shook violently.
The fact that Blanc would completely leave for a place she could never reach was impossible to believe.
Tears gushed from Kailian's eyelids.
“Kyaa...”
I scurried over and rubbed my head against Kailian's legs, looking up at her.
Don't cry, I still have a long way to grow, silly girl.
Kailian collapsed to the floor and pulled me into her arms.
Her trembling hands clutched my back tightly.
“Blanc... no. Don't go. Even if you become an adult, you can't abandon me... huiig...”
The Progenitor, watching Kailian's sobs, opened his mouth after a short sigh.
[Divine beasts take a long time to mature, so it's too early to be sad.]
Kailian lifted her head sharply at those words and looked at the Progenitor.
[And when this child grows splendidly and leaves this land. If this child truly considers you her family, you will be able to come along too.]
“......!!”
[So, cherish and raise her so that she can truly regard you as family. The size of the love you pour out will determine the outcome of this farewell.]
At those words, a bright light returned to Kailian's pupils.
The moment despair turned to hope.
Kailian hugged Blanc tightly.
“Kyaa...”
I can't breathe...
[Oh... it's almost time.]
The blue eyes that had been shooting out from the Progenitor's eyes were now flickering like a candle about to go out.
The time for real farewell had finally come.
“Kyaa!”
I broke free from Kailian's arms and walked confidently in front of the Progenitor.
I gathered my front paws neatly and bowed my head.
My own farewell greeting: Goodbye, see you later.
[Yes. Live bravely. Little one.]
The Progenitor showed a final kind smile...
At that exact moment, the light completely extinguished in the stone statue's eyes.
A sharp voice pierced into Lina's mind.
[There, you saintess who is standing there in pious pretense.]
“......?!”
Lina's shoulders shook.
Her heart dropped with a clunk at the Progenitor's voice echoing directly in her brain.
[I know well that you cherish my cute descendant with all your heart. And making dolls from my child's fur and collecting her teeth... you can treat it cutely.]
Lina's face instantly turned as red as a tomato.
Her secret hobby, one that must never be discovered by the wrong person, had been discovered.
[However... if 'that' should be seen by my child... I will personally descend and give you a severe scolding. Behave.]
Lina lowered her head with an even redder face.