There Is a Reason the Branches Are Dry
In my previous life, extreme poverty had strangled my childhood. The only comfort my little sister and I had was a stray animal that wandered the back alleys. Jet-black fur. A clean streak of white running from its snout down to its underbelly. A stray cat with the tip of its right ear torn away. It would hiss at everyone else, yet it alone would rub its cheek against my battered old sneakers. But as an elementary-school boy, I never had a single coin in my pocket to fill its starving belly.
Feeling guilty for that poverty, my sister and I spent days arguing over what to name it. We bickered over whose suggestion was better until we finally agreed, on the way home from school, that we would settle on a name that very evening. Rain was pouring down in sheets. In the middle of the crosswalk, while I held my kindergarten-aged sister’s hand, my eyes locked onto a crushed corpse flattened by countless tires, reduced to a red smear. Only the torn right ear and the white fur stuck to the pavement proved it was the same cat.
My sister wailed as if the sky itself were collapsing. The crude name tag we had cut from a cardboard box, its lines drawn crookedly, would never be filled. After that day, any trace of affection for animals was completely erased from both of us. An uncontrollable, colossal loss. The fear of giving affection to an animal and then losing it always lay between us siblings like a wall.
Defense fortress beside the Arzen Magic Stone Mine. I leaned back in the worn office chair, gazing across the table. On my lap lay a silver ball of fluff, its wet placenta now dried into soft, downy fur. It slept like the dead. Its tiny ribcage rose and fell in steady rhythm. I scoured my previous-life memories to calculate the value of this alien life-form, but the fragments my sister had chattered about at the dinner table were utterly useless.
Brother! Divine beasts are so pretty and cute, right? They’re totally healing!
Not a single line about ecology or breeding methods—just pure sentimentality. I cut off the pointless recollection and slowly lifted my gaze.
Vivian sat across the table. The traces of her near-death struggle inside the tunnels clung to her entire appearance. The golden hair she had twisted up tightly before entering the mine had come undone during the fierce battle; she hadn’t even noticed. Brilliant strands now spilled messily over her smooth shoulders. Her white cheeks were smeared black with dust. The torn silk dress revealed the precarious curve of her delicate collarbone. Yet even in that disheveled state, the contrast between her bloodless, clear skin and vivid red lips radiated a beauty so sorrowful it stung the eyes.
“The magic stones we recovered from inside the mine—roughly thirty-five hundred gold coins’ worth—will belong to my firm, exactly as stipulated in our prior contract.”
The moment of negotiation that would decide the flow of capital. At my declaration, Vivian fidgeted with her pale fingers and parted her lips.
“...I agree. However, Lord Victor.” She blushed, lowering her eyes shyly. “You will, of course, be separately calculating the cost of transporting those stones from deep within the tunnels to the surface, yes?”
That bold yet petty mischief so characteristic of Vivian. I swallowed a dry laugh and rested my chin on my hand.
“In that case, Your Grace, am I to understand you intend to separately bill me for the cost of hauling out the more than one hundred basilisk corpses that Lady Elina and I slaughtered?”
At my pointed retort, Vivian’s green eyes drew a gentle arc. She scratched her cheek lightly and confessed with a touch of embarrassment.
“To be honest… I was a little upset.”
“......”
“I never imagined you would recover every last one of the missing stones so perfectly. It made my stomach twist to see such flawless work.”
Her candid admission, free of any pretense. Vivian gave a lovely smile and added in a bright voice, “Since you saved the Arzen Mine from crisis, how could I possibly charge you for transportation? As a token of gratitude, I will mobilize the Arzen laborers to carry everything free of charge.”
“Then I, in turn, will strike the cost of the recovery potions consumed by the knight order from the ledger.”
A perfect exchange of aristocratic courtesy, each of us returning the other’s volley. I interlaced my fingers on the table and threw out a heavier topic.
“By the way, do you have any guesses as to how a magical creature like a basilisk ended up all the way inside this mine?”
Vivian wiped the dirt from her cheek with the back of her hand, her eyes gleaming coldly.
“I can think of a few higher noble houses that would profit from turning this mine into a monster breeding ground.”
“......”
“However, given the current political entanglements, I do not believe any house would risk such an overt move at this time.”
A thoroughly rational, macro-level inference based on cost-benefit analysis. Yet inside I swallowed a bitter smirk. Even without orders from the top, there were always micro-variables—petty loyalty contests or people chasing small profits—who would act on their own initiative.
I kept my thoughts hidden and continued.
“Do eggs that exert this kind of influence on surrounding monsters appear frequently?”
“According to records, it is an extremely rare phenomenon—once every ten years, if that.”
“......”
“But if we also consider the deep territories of monsters where humans never set foot, it likely occurs about once a year.”
Her sharp, data-driven prediction.
“So this little one is more common than I thought.”
At my dry assessment, Vivian shook her head urgently.
“No! Its ecology has barely been studied, but this child is not a mere monster. It belongs to the category of divine beasts—creatures of legend!”
“Divine beast.”
“Yes. Unlike monsters that pose physical threats, they are said to possess intelligence far surpassing humans and to wield auspicious energy. Their numbers are also extremely low.”
Just as she was explaining with rising fervor—
“Chup… kyuung.”
The Fenrir on my lap squirmed, then sucked on its own front paw with a small noise. Vivian’s lips, which had been moving so animatedly, froze instantly. Her gaze fixed on my lap. Then she clapped both hands over her mouth.
Behind me, Elina’s blue eyes sparkled as well; her shoulders trembled as she fought to hold back the sound threatening to escape. Two women completely disarmed by the charm of a single animal.
“Most importantly,” Vivian continued after clearing her throat with effort, “a monster hatched from an egg will die of a ruptured heart within a few hours if it is more than two adult males’ height away from the person it has imprinted on as its parent.”
A fatal and highly inefficient physical constraint. I silently felt the tiny heartbeat pulsing regularly on my lap.
Shall I raise it anyway?
This was exactly the kind of absurd restriction one could only encounter in a world straight out of a novel. I let out a short sigh and glanced down at the Fenrir. A cotton ball curled up in a vicious embrace, sleeping peacefully. The destructive contrast created by that extreme gap filled the office with a strange heat. Every time the Fenrir shifted, Vivian’s and Elina’s cheeks flushed crimson and their eyes melted helplessly.
Return to the capital mansion. The moment I stepped down from the carriage, I lifted the sleeping Fenrir.
“Here.”
I tossed the cotton ball carelessly into Silvia’s arms as she came out to greet me.
“...!”
Silvia’s usually ice-cold gray-blue pupils dilated bizarrely. A warm living creature had suddenly landed on arms that were normally as mechanical as they were frigid.
“Kyuung…”
Unfamiliar scent made the Fenrir whimper softly with its eyes still closed. Silvia’s pale hand stiffened, then very carefully patted the creature’s back. Once it found stability, the puppy rubbed its head against Silvia’s neat bosom and quickly fell back asleep.
Silvia’s lips parted in a daze. Watching her fall for the creature in an instant, I gave my order in a detached tone.
“Prepare a space beside my bedroom where this one can sleep.”
Her head snapped up. Victor had never once allowed anyone to sleep in the same room with him. The fact that this tiny silver puppy had shattered that iron rule in a single moment made Silvia’s eyes tremble faintly. She then gazed down at the cotton ball in her arms with an odd expression. Her arms tightened around it—careful yet firm—as though she were holding the most precious thing in the world. The ice sculpture had been completely disarmed.
“I will keep it in mind, Master.”
She cradled the Fenrir with great care and walked into the mansion. I ordered Elina and the combat slaves to rest.
I immediately turned my steps toward the back alleys. The brothel had been closed for three days while interior repairs were underway. Before I even reached the entrance, loud cursing split the night air in front of the firmly shut door.
“Hey! Open this damn door right now! You picky about your customers or something?!”
A drunkard reeking of liquor was kicking the door. Anna stood blocking his path, restraining him with refined speech that never wavered.
“My lord, please calm your anger. We are currently performing interior repairs and cannot receive guests at this time.”
Anna’s elegant, composed response.
“If you tell me the preferred disposition and appearance of the companion you desire, I will guide you to the finest establishment in the area.”
“Shut up! Do you know who I am? How dare you send me elsewhere! Open the door before I flip this whole place over!”
The man’s face burned red as he raged.
“The mine work went to hell and I’m already pissed off—now even these whore bitches are looking down on me?!”
Two combat slaves waiting in the shadows had already placed their hands on their sword hilts, ready to twist his neck the moment he crossed the line. But what set my nerves on edge was a single word that had slipped from his mouth.
Mine.
There were several magic-stone mines near the empire. Yet here was a man ranting that “the mine work went to hell” at precisely this timing. It was reasonable to suspect he might be connected to the anomaly at the Arzen Magic Stone Mine.
Just then, a scrawny back-alley cat slunk past near the man’s legs.
“You filthy beast, where do you think you’re going?!”
Thud—!
He savagely kicked the cat’s belly as if venting his anger. The cat couldn’t even scream; it flew into the corner of the alley, rolled across the ground, and convulsed. I stepped out of the darkness, seized the man by the scruff of his neck, and slammed him onto the marble floor without mercy.
Crack—!
“Guhk…!”
His jawbone shattered. Blood foam bubbled from his mouth as his eyes rolled back. The body went limp, unconscious from a single blow. At my sudden appearance, Anna swallowed a gasp and bowed deeply. The combat slaves in the shadows offered silent salutes as well.
I watched from the corner of my eye as the convulsing cat staggered to its feet and vanished completely into the darkness, then spoke.
“I have questions for this one. Lock him in a room and keep him under strict surveillance.”
The two combat slaves grabbed the unconscious man by the legs and dragged him inside like a sack of garbage. I looked at the frozen Anna and asked dryly, “How much of the preparations are complete?”
Anna immediately straightened her posture and reported in a crisp voice.
“I have selected and placed on standby ten children who meet the conditions Master specified.”
“Lead the way.”
Inside the brothel, the gaudy, vulgar red chandeliers had been removed and replaced with subdued lighting. The ten talents Anna had chosen all possessed above-average beauty, yet they kept their eyes fixed on the floor in fear. I dropped heavily onto the worn sofa, folded my arms, and scanned them.
A knowledge test required for working in a high-class salon. I pointed at one at random.
“List the three most powerful noble houses in the empire right now, in order.”
“...Pardon? Uh, that’s…”
The girl turned deathly pale and stammered. I pointed at another without hesitation.
“The name of the capital of the neighboring Holy Empire.”
“......”
I pointed at yet another.
“The three major specialties of the southern region.”
Silence. These were people whose only expertise was holding their breath in bed. I turned my gaze to Anna.
“This is information work. Weed out not only those with loose lips but also those with empty heads.”
“...Master.”
At my cold assessment, Anna took a step forward as if to shield the girls behind her.
“Most children who live as prostitutes learn, through bitter experience, how to close their eyes, ears, and mouths.”
“......”
“If a story a customer let slip is repeated elsewhere and reaches that customer again, the prostitute who moved the story will have her throat cut that very day.”
Survival-type airtight security learned for the sake of staying alive. Anna added cautiously, “Even so, if you wish to keep only those with truly steadfast character, it may be difficult to find many…”
I scanned the ten faces once more, then waved my hand lightly.
“In that case, from now on I will teach you what you need to know.”
I leaned forward on the sofa and began to speak to them.
“It is not the body, but the tongue that strips the opponent bare.”
The pupils of Anna and the prostitutes all locked onto my lips at once.
“First. Stimulate the petty vanity of males.”
“Vanity… you say?”
“When noble bastards are cursing their political enemies and venting their rage, simply nodding like an idiot is the act of an amateur. When everyone else is chasing immediate gain, say this: ‘It must be so exhausting for you, seeing the bigger picture alone.’ That single line is enough.”
Perfect psychological synchronization that dismantled the opponent’s defenses.
“Second. Create openings through intentional ignorance.”
“Openings…”
“If you need information on a certain firm’s distribution network, do not ask directly. Instead, let slip a stupid rumor: ‘The reason southern silk isn’t arriving is because a monster is living in the river, right?’”
I flicked the back of my hand and added dryly, “Then the noble, drunk on superiority, will proudly blurt out the real reason. They derive perverse pleasure from teaching ignorant women, after all.”
A hunting technique that reeled in enormous information without offering the body. The instinctive fear that had lingered in the girls’ eyes transformed into bizarre fascination and heat.
“I will organize the rest of the conversational framework, the empire’s basic political situation, and the relationships between nobles into written documents and hand them over. Do not simply memorize them like parrots. Melt them perfectly into your breath, your gaze, and the flow of conversation.”
“......”
“The deadline is two weeks. During that time, devour every document I give you and specialize in the strengths that match your own appearance and personality.”
An order completely different from the lives they had lived until now.
“You are no longer beings who spread your legs and sell your bodies for money. You will become companions who engage high-ranking nobles in intellectual conversation and provide solace, thereby generating enormous profits.”
The birth of the empire’s first true salon. It was a declaration that a new deity of the salon world—where information and eloquence, not flesh, held and shook power—was awakening.
“Anna. Since this is no longer a brothel, strip out all the interior decorations as well. Remodel it elegantly, like a secret reception room for nobles. I will write out the additional list you need.”
“Yes, Master. I will keep it in mind.”
Having finished my instructions, I turned without lingering and headed for the inner room where the drunkard was confined.
Creak.
Inside, a man lay sprawled on the floor clutching his broken jaw. His body was completely still. A shallow trick—pretending to be unconscious while holding his breath to eavesdrop on the situation. I grabbed a fistful of his hair roughly and whispered a chilling voice into his ear.
“Open your eyes. I can see your eyeballs rolling madly beneath the lids.”
The brutal interrogation techniques of a slave hunter and a corporate raider. The man’s body began to tremble like an aspen tree.
“From now on, if you spit out only the perfect information you know in answer to my questions, you will be able to walk out of this building unharmed.”
The corner of my mouth twisted cruelly.
“But the moment even a shred of petty trickery or lies leaves the tip of your tongue—”
“Hiiik…!”
“Your remaining lifespan will be hacked away in twenty-year chunks.”