Chapter 15
Chapter 15
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Translator: Vine
Chapter: 15
Chapter Title: The Lightning Beast
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‘What are you going to do?’
‘What are you going to do?’
It felt as though my eldest uncle was watching me with a look of pure curiosity.
‘He still seemed to be wondering why I came to see them instead of treating my father.’
I was back in the present.
“Do you understand, Uncle!”
My thoughts of the past were shattered by a sharp voice, pulling me back to reality.
‘Sigh…’
I let out a deep sigh and turned around.
Not far away, my youngest uncle was listening to my cousin’s lecture with a bored expression.
“Do you understand? You must handle a child with care.”
“Yes, yes, Your Highness.”
“…What kind of title is that?”
He was on his knees, but his slouching posture was worse than any street punk’s.
My youngest uncle scoffed.
“You said I have to treat the kid like royalty. How is that any different from a princess? Besides, you’re a kid too, aren’t you?”
“Don’t swear so proudly. You have a daughter of your own, so why are you acting like this?”
“Hah, what’s it to you? I plan on being the most dapper young gentleman in the world in front of my daughter.”
…Is that even possible?
I tilted my head, listening to their conversation.
My youngest uncle certainly had the face of a nobleman, but what did that matter?
The illusion shattered the moment he opened his mouth.
Heuk Gyewon shook his head.
“…A five-year-old on his way to school would understand me better than you, Uncle.”
“What, are you looking down on me? I was well-educated, you know. I’ve even been to an educational institution.”
My cousin sighed and walked over to me.
“Brother, Uncle’s glaring.”
“It’s fine. He’s a good person at heart, so he won’t hit me. And after all that explaining, he should understand why he shouldn’t pinch you. That is, if he doesn’t have the brain of an earthworm.”
“I can hear you, you know. You’re talking about me, aren’t you?”
I rolled my eyes.
‘They get along so well.’
Gyewon took my hand and dusted the dirt off it. He didn't stop there, brushing off my clothes as well.
“What were you doing here, anyway?”
“Picking herbs!”
“Leave things like this to our youngest uncle. He’s overflowing with energy. Or there’s me, too.”
“Ha!”
Heuk Birang clicked his tongue as if he found that ridiculous. My cousin squeezed my hand and stared at me.
“It wasn’t just Father and Youngest Uncle who owe you. You saved me, too.”
His eyes were clear. My eldest uncle had black hair and red eyes, but Heuk Gyewon’s eyes were black.
He must have taken after my eldest aunt. I nodded.
‘That’s right, I saved you. And I’m going to help you so you don’t become the villain.’
So be the swallow that repays its debt. It would be nice if you grew up strong and became my guard, maybe?
I stood on my tiptoes.
‘Hmm, I still can’t reach.’
Gyewon lowered his head, offering it to me. I patted my cousin’s head with my tiny hands.
Then I smiled with a proud expression.
“That’s a very good attitude! Just like that!”
“…What?”
“Get strong and repay the favor!”
My cousin, who had been staring blankly, let out a chuckle.
“Alright.”
His smile was so childlike that it made me feel a little proud.
It was then.
*Chirp-!*
‘Chirp?’
I heard a strange sound.
I turned my head, but I couldn’t find the source of the noise. Then, I happened to glance down at my clothes and…
“Ahhh, you scared me!”
As I stumbled backward in surprise, someone caught me. It was my youngest uncle.
I turned my head again to look at my hem, and only then could I see what was attached to my clothes.
‘A… furball?’
It looked like a ball of fluff made of dense downy fur. It looked incredibly warm, plush, and cute.
‘A chick with its eyes buried in fluff…?’
Its jet-black eyes blinked, staring at me. The color was familiar—it was the same as my cousin’s.
Heuk Birang, who was holding me, remarked.
“It’s a Lightning Beast.”
“A Lightning Beast?”
I tilted my head.
“Something in the brain…?”
“…What kind of grotesque thing are you imagining? That’s not it. It’s an animal made of lightning. A Divine Beast.”
Well, I’m a physician. Of course that’s what I’d think of first.
‘Anyway, this furball is a Lightning Beast?’
I had a general idea of what it was.
Among the people of the Eastern Continent who wielded nature-based abilities, it was said that for those with particularly immense power, that power could spontaneously gain a consciousness and take on the form of an animal.
The closer it was to an animal’s form, the more powerful it was said to be.
‘The heroine had a very cute little titmouse by her side, didn’t she?’
According to my friend, it was a cute mascot that would pop out whenever she was cooking.
“Your big brother raised a black thing, too. You’ve been raising one of these as well?”
*Chiiirp!*
Before I knew it, the furball was dangling from my youngest uncle’s hand.
It was kicking its legs in protest, but they were so short and chubby that it seemed useless.
“Eldest Uncle has one of these too? Then why didn’t I see it last time when he went berserk?”
“He probably sealed it on purpose. What do you think would happen if that madman let a mad beast out, too?”
Ah, so that’s why I didn’t see it in the first timeline.
In any case, it wasn’t surprising, since I’d occasionally seen it among the fire or earth ability users from the Western Continent.
What was surprising was that Heuk Gyewon had this kind of ability. I didn’t think I’d heard about it in the original story.
*Chirp, chiiirp!*
The Lightning Beast’s mournful cries sounded like it was calling for its master.
But my cousin didn’t even look at it; instead, he turned his head away slightly.
When my youngest uncle held out the hand holding the beast, he even took a step back.
“…It didn’t come out because I wanted it to.”
My youngest uncle’s expression hardened. He looked dumbfounded.
“Hey, are you seriously… denying the existence of a Lightning Beast? Seriously. Something others can’t have even if they want it…?”
“……”
“Is it because you’re young and don’t know? These things grow with their master’s acknowledgment and trust.”
My youngest uncle glanced at the Lightning Beast in his hand.
“Just look at it now, it’s a mess. It’s so weak it looks like it’s about to disappear. If you keep denying it like this…”
Just as my uncle said, the Lightning Beast was chirping, but it looked frail.
*Chiiirp…*
It was cute, but like an abandoned baby animal, it looked as if it would roll over and collapse if you so much as tapped it.
“…I know. My father explained it to me. I know even if you don’t tell me.”
Heuk Gyewon’s face, as he spoke sharply, was full of discontent. Unlike when he was lecturing my youngest uncle a moment ago, he looked like a child.
“Uncle, what does all that mean?”
“Ahh…”
I had a rough idea, but my youngest uncle explained the details to me.
“Among healers and nature-based ability users, the type whose power manifests as a Divine Beast like this is extremely, extremely rare, you see? But that brat over there is kicking his own good fortune away.”
“…Oh.”
“This thing won’t live long.”
My uncle gently shook the hand holding the Lightning Beast. The creature, already drained of energy, just dangled limply.
“He’s throwing away its potential to become stronger.”
“…I’m not throwing it away!”
Heuk Gyewon huffed and shot his head up.
“It’s just… I.”
“It’s obvious. You were scared you’d inherit your big brother’s illness, weren’t you?”
Heuk Gyewon froze as if he’d been struck.
‘He really is still a kid. I can see right through him.’
It would be revealed later, but there was a chance my eldest uncle’s illness could be passed down to his children.
“You were probably scared that if you went mad while possessing a Divine Beast, you’d harm even more people. Scared you’d end up like your father. Am I wrong?”
“…Stop it. What could you possibly know, Youngest Uncle!”
Heuk Birang retorted lightly, as if it were absurd.
“Why wouldn’t I know? I’m scared my daughter will inherit my illness, too.”
The words were tossed out casually, but they must have been the true feelings of my usually flippant uncle.
The two of them clamped their mouths shut. The atmosphere grew heavy.
I felt a little strange.
It was almost preposterous…
“Um… why is everyone so gloomy?”
I tentatively raised my hand.
“Biyu is going to heal you all anyway.”
I came here to treat you all, you know? In case you didn’t know, I’m the greatest genius physician on the continent.
In this life, you won’t have to live as my patients.