Entering the Museum
Originally, a museum was not such a grand place.
Of course, as a facility that gathered and managed objects of historical, magical, and academic value, it inevitably stirred a sense of grandeur. But fundamentally it was operated for storage and management—essentially, one ought to regard it as little more than a warehouse.
Even then, it was merely a secretive, private facility never opened to ordinary people.
The closest thing to a publicly exhibited museum would probably have been a temple.
Temples displayed statues of the goddess or sacred relics, flaunting divine power and drawing crowds.
Therefore, when Luke first heard the words “we’re going to a museum,” what came to mind was at best a large warehouse stuffed with holy relics or artifacts. Or perhaps a somewhat oversized temple.
But the sight that unfolded before Luke’s eyes upon arrival was nothing short of shocking.
The museum was nothing like anything Luke had ever known.
“G-good heavens.”
It was vast.
Extremely so.
A modern museum is not built for personal “showing off” or the satisfaction of a collector’s greed.
From the very beginning it is a facility constructed for the education and exhibition of the citizenry at large.
Its very reason for existing differs from the “museums” of the past that stored items for private purposes.
“This is a museum…?”
Even though he had already seen the enormous dome-shaped building before stepping inside, the interior was so immense one might wonder whether they had simply turned the entire structure into a museum.
The ceiling soared open through three full stories, looking higher than the royal palace he had once frequented.
And the sheer number of magical-beast taxidermy specimens—if one claimed they had nearly transplanted the entire ecosystem of the demon realm here, it would hardly have been an exaggeration.
The varieties of large magical beasts visible at a single glance alone were too many to count on one hand.
“Whoa…”
The scale left him speechless; Luke could manage nothing more than soft exclamations of awe.
-…!
Pai seemed equally astonished. Her tail drooped as she gazed up at the specimen before them alongside Luke.
This is on an absurd level.
No mana could be felt, so these were merely artificial models.
True magical beasts would have vanished from the world the moment the connection to the demon realm was severed; therefore these specimens had to be five thousand years old.
Yet to have recreated them with such meticulous precision—honestly, one could not help but admire it.
The phrase “as if they might move at any moment” had been coined for sights exactly like this.
“Truly remarkable… Isn’t that right, Pai?”
-…!
Pai bounced her body as if in wholehearted agreement.
“Yes. The level of recreation is certainly impressive.”
Luke was thoroughly delighted.
It felt as though he had stepped back into the old days.
While Luke was still lost in that brief spell of wonder, Yerna and Serena entered the museum.
“Luke looks absolutely thrilled.”
“Doesn’t he? I knew he’d love it.”
Serena covered her mouth with one hand and smiled as she watched Luke dart about, eyes sparkling.
Yerna agreed wholeheartedly.
Seeing Luke this excited was a rare treat.
She really loves museums, doesn’t she?
Serena savored the childlike joy for a moment, then lowered her gaze to the small hand clutching her own.
And Shirud?
“…”
The contrast could not have been sharper. Even if he did not match Luke’s enthusiasm, one would expect at least a little interest—yet he looked thoroughly unimpressed.
Yerna glanced at Shirud’s blank expression, then sent Serena a questioning look.
“Ah, please don’t mind him. Our Shirud has never been particularly fond of magical beasts.”
“Ah… I see.”
Yerna found the explanation odd.
That sounds strange. If he doesn’t like magical beasts, why deliberately bring the child along?
She understood the desire for the two children to grow closer, but under these circumstances she felt rather guilty.
Poor Shirud, dragged to a place he clearly did not enjoy.
While Yerna tilted her head in puzzlement, Serena smiled and spoke to her son.
“You go on ahead with Luke now. Mommy has something to discuss with Miss Yerna.”
“Well… fine.”
Shirud trudged off with obvious reluctance toward Luke, who was still staring up at a Juper model standing proudly on two feet.
Yerna watched Shirud’s faintly forlorn back for a moment before turning to Serena.
Serena grinned.
“Shall we find a café somewhere?”
“Is it all right to leave the children alone…?”
“No need to worry. My attendants are over there. They’ll contact us if anything happens.”
“Ah… all right.”
Yerna nodded reluctantly.
“Luke, do you like it that much?”
Shirud asked.
“I don’t dislike it.”
Luke answered.
His gaze left the Juper and settled on Shirud.
“I never knew a facility like this even existed in the world.”
Luke grinned.
New knowledge and new experiences had always lifted his spirits.
He was no stranger to magical beasts, but a museum of this era was something he was experiencing for the very first time.
How could he not be excited?
“Was this really your first museum?”
Luke shook his head.
“I’ve visited museums a few times before, but never one on this scale.”
“Really?”
Shirud found that somehow fascinating.
Luke seemed to know everything Shirud was curious about, and even possessed magical skill that astonished the teachers themselves.
She was always buried in books, her concentration remarkable, and the books she chose were far beyond the level of any ordinary ten-year-old.
Sometimes when Shirud visited the library hoping to see Luke (though Luke herself seemed unaware of it, she had already become something of a local celebrity there—after all, a ten-year-old beastkin who sat and read with such focus was rare enough, and the sight of her stacking difficult tomes day after day without fail was remarkable even to children her own age), he would peek over her shoulder hoping for magical tips, only to give up in the face of texts so dense they defeated him.
She played instruments too, apparently. According to Mary, Luke was excellent on the cello and even composed music.
There was nothing she couldn’t do.
Which meant there was nothing Shirud could beat her at.
Even soccer, the one thing he had been confident about, she had defeated him with ridiculous ease.
At the very least she ought to be bad at sports for the balance of the universe to make sense. This was already beyond unfair.
Yet looking at her now, she was just an ordinary child—exactly like him.
So even Luke has things she doesn’t know.
Perhaps he had been intimidated for no good reason all this time.
“Hmm? Is there something on my face? Why are you staring so hard?”
Luke touched her own cheeks, bothered by Shirud’s lingering gaze.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Shirud shook his head and shrugged.
Ordinary? No. From the first impression Luke was a weird girl.
If he could define Luke in a single word it would be convenient, but among all the words that might describe her, “ordinary” was never even a candidate.
Shirud spoke again to Luke, who had returned her attention to the Juper specimen.
“Well, let’s head that way for now. There’s not much to see here.”
“What are you talking about? Not much to see? Was this not everything?”
“Hey, this stuff is just decoration.”
“……I-is that so.”
So the entrance had not been the whole museum after all. Half shocked, half expectant, Luke followed Shirud deeper inside.
Dighton, who had arrived early and was waiting in the magical-beast museum café, received a tremendous shock.
He had completely misread the situation.
Spectacularly so.
A male elf? She was a woman!
And a married woman with a child, no less!
Kirke, just wait till I get back…
He would exact thorough, merciless revenge.
While he was grinding his teeth, approaching footsteps made him stiffen with tension—then a very familiar voice rang out.
“Whoa, Dighton! Fancy running into you here. Did you come to see the magical beasts too?”
“Haha… ha…”
And he had been spotted immediately. How?
His disguise had been perfect.
“How did you know…?”
“What do you mean, how? The second we walked into the café there was someone who was obviously Dighton sitting there reading a newspaper, so I came over.”
“That’s impossible.”
“Oh, and take the sunglasses off—we’re indoors. By the way, do you even read newspapers?”
“I-it just… the headline caught my eye… haha.”
Dighton removed the sunglasses and folded the newspaper he had been holding open for no reason other than to hide his build.
Honestly, who still read newspapers these days? Unless you had circumstances like Yerna’s, you never needed one.
“My, is this gentleman an acquaintance?”
“Ah, he’s a coworker. A forest keeper of Luke Forest. Dighton, say hello. This is Serena Tripind. She’s the one covering Luke’s entire academy tuition.”
“Ah… hello. I’m Dighton Genepper.”
“Ah, so you’re Miss Yerna’s colleague. A pleasure. I’m Serena Tripind—I run a humble little shop.”
“Ah… right.”
The Hwuton Department Store of the Hutri Group was hardly a “humble little shop,” but… Dighton simply nodded.
If she said so, what could he do?
“You have quite an impressive physique. No wonder Miss Yerna recognized you at a glance.”
“……Yes.”
Damn it. So the muscles had given him away after all.
He had hoped that wouldn’t be the case.
I built this body because Yerna said she liked strong men…
To be caught because of it felt a little unfair.
Or did it? Since Yerna had recognized him, maybe it was actually a good thing.
Even he wasn’t sure how he felt about it.
“Was I really that conspicuous?”
Serena lowered her head with a slightly awkward expression.
“First of all… I should apologize, Mr. Dighton.”
“For what?”
“My attendants apparently mistook you for a suspicious person at first. I told them to assess the situation and handle it as they saw fit, but… I hope nothing uncomfortable happened?”
“……Fortunately, nothing of the sort.”
So that was why he had been sensing faint, peculiar mana earlier.
Yerna snorted a laugh, then gave Dighton’s shoulder a light shove.
“Anyway, coming alone to look at magical beasts? Even though you’re all grown up, you still really like them, huh?”
“Huh? Uh… yeah, I guess so? Haha.”
I stopped liking magical beasts ten years ago, but right now I have no choice but to say I do…
Dighton could only laugh sheepishly and scratch the back of his neck.
“My.”
Serena, catching the delicate undercurrent, lightly covered her mouth and chuckled.
“This might be fate as well, Miss Yerna. Why don’t you enjoy yourself with Mr. Dighton?”
Yerna looked at her in mild confusion.
“Pardon? Earlier you said you had something to discuss with me…?”
“What I had to say wasn’t particularly important. Since things have turned out this way ‘by chance,’ I’d like to spend some time alone today. It’s hard to find moments like this ordinarily. And it would be a shame for you to come all this way only to listen to me talk and then leave, wouldn’t it? I can just send you a message later.”
“I-is that so…? Well, if you insist… Please rest comfortably here.”
“Yes. The two of you have a lovely time.”
Serena gave Dighton a small wink.
Do your best!
Out of Yerna’s line of sight, Dighton raised a grateful thumbs-up to Serena.
A museum date with Yerna…!
His heart pounded wildly.
Hoo, haa, hoo, haa. While he was taking deep breaths, Yerna peered at him with a puzzled look.
“Are magical beasts really that exciting?”
“Y-yeah… kinda exciting, yeah.”
It wasn’t because of the magical beasts, of course.
Kirke, thank you!
Thanks to her he had gotten this chance, so the thorough revenge and punishment could wait a little longer.