Minoa's Bull (5)
Asterios, the monster trapped in the labyrinth, had finally escaped it.
"Is it really okay for me to walk around like this?"
"Of course it is."
Asterios, whose massive body now made it hard to pass through doors, kept glancing nervously at the people around us.
"I've cast a spell, so no one can see you or me. Don't worry about it."
"B-but..."
His build was like a mountain, yet his heart was so timid. He huddled against the wall, afraid of bumping into passersby—it was downright comical. Still, considering he'd endured years in that underground labyrinth without turning twisted, ending up this shy was probably a blessing.
Together with the hesitant Asterios, I headed first to the queen's chambers.
"This is..."
"Come on, your mother's waiting. Let's go in."
"The queen...?"
I let out a small sigh as I watched the giant boy who couldn't even call his own mother "mother."
"She's the one who asked me to bring you back. Why are you hesitating like this?"
"But..."
Asterios kept dragging his feet, so frustratingly. With another sigh, I conjured a rope of mana and wrapped it around him.
"If you're going to hesitate, I'll just drag you."
"W-wait! I'll walk on my own, just give me a moment to prepare myself!!"
"No. I can see you're just stalling with that 'preparation' excuse."
I yanked him along into the queen's room. I pulled a bit too hard, and his head smacked into the top of the doorframe. No real harm done, though. The ox-skull mask shattered into pieces, but whatever.
Why was he wearing that in the first place? A skull-shaped mask of all things—anyone seeing it would be terrified.
"Ah! The skull!"
"What? It wasn't a mask—it was a real skull?"
It was actually a real skull? Okay, that's... something.
With the skull removed, Asterios's face was revealed: a remarkably boyish, youthful one, surprisingly cute compared to his enormous frame. He couldn't even fit through doors without shrinking himself, yet his face was all adorable innocence. Quite the mismatch.
"B-but the king said I had to keep my face covered from now on..."
"We don't need that crap! Forget that idiot—let's go in!"
After some back-and-forth, I finally dragged Asterios inside.
The room held the queen, gazing out the window with a face full of worry, sighing deeply.
"Sigh... I wonder if it'll be okay..."
"I gave permission because it sounded plausible when we talked it over, but... was it really alright to send such a small child into the underground labyrinth...?"
Even now, she was fretting over me. Hmm... worries come in all shapes.
Near the queen, I dispelled the magic hiding us and said,
"I'm back."
"Kyaa! Y-you startled me..."
The queen, thoroughly shocked, stared at me and the dazed Asterios standing behind, speechless.
"I'd heard rumors, but... you've grown so big."
Asterios said nothing in response. Or rather, he probably didn't know what to say.
"He's been through a lot, this kid. For now... why don't you two, mother and son reuniting after years, have a quiet talk."
"W-wait, Tia!"
I gave a small smile to the urgently calling Asterios, then used magic to teleport outside the room. I set up a barrier to keep others from noticing the two inside, then headed alone to my next destination.
The king's chambers, naturally.
"It wasn't... a dream?"
"You're calling it a dream the moment you see a human face."
"B-but..."
"Eh, believe it or not, doesn't matter much. I'm just here to grant your request."
The king's eyes widened at my words.
"My request... you mean reconciliation with the queen?!"
"Exactly."
The king eyed me skeptically, as if I were lying.
"How on earth...?"
"Nothing special. I just resolved the root cause of the fight."
I pulled three strands of hair from my bosom: the king's, the queen's, and Asterios's. Lined up, their colors were strikingly similar.
"What are those...?"
"Hair from you, the queen, and your son."
"He's not my son!"
The king bellowed at my words.
"No. That boy is your blood son."
"Lies! How could a beastkin be born from the queen and me?! Those horns aren't fake!"
"Deny it all you want—truth doesn't change."
The genetic data from the king and queen's hair formed faint glowing shapes before us, and similarly, the shape from Asterios's hair materialized in front of the king. I sliced the parental shapes in half, swapped them, recombined into a full form, and slowly overlaid it with Asterios's.
The two shapes matched perfectly.
"The life data from you and the queen is a near-perfect match for the boy's. Impossible unless he's your biological child."
"Lies! Just because those weird drawings overlap doesn't prove that monster's my son! And why should I trust you?! You could be lying!"
Hmm. Well, this era doesn't know genes or whatever. Yeah, he's not getting it. Too annoying to explain. Ugh. Ehhh. Screw it, all this is a hassle.
"Then, will you believe if I declare it under the name of the Goddess of Life?"
"What?"
I spoke to the king's slack-jawed face.
"As proxy of the Goddess who governs life, I declare here and now: Asterios is the child born of you and your wife."
"What did you just...?"
In the name of Shamash, Goddess of Light, Justice, and Law: Her words and will are true. Do not deny them.
Hmm. Shamash? Thanks for the assist, but popping up like that catches me off guard too. And how'd she pinpoint my exact spot? Such a troublesome kid. Well, anywhere light reaches in this world—except deep underground—she can find me just by my movements.
"What in the world was that...?"
"Eh, just a declaration that everything I say is true. Don't sweat it. So, unless you want the wrath of the Goddess of Life and the Goddess of Light... better believe me."
Half—nah, 95% straight-up threat. Even a rich city-state king can't defy gods.
"Th-then... that monster really is my son? I mean, is it?"
Realizing I wasn't ordinary after the divine endorsement, the king's tone grew politer.
"Yes. Asterios is your biological son."
"But how?! The queen and I are both human! How could a beastkin be born?!"
"Because beastkin blood flows in your veins."
I tapped the king's forehead, and light poured out, drawing a family tree. More detailed than the hair snippets, tracing his lineage back: parents, grandparents, great-grandparents. Mostly human, but one outsider mixed in—his maternal grandmother, a beastkin.
"Your maternal grandmother was a beastkin."
"What?! But I heard she died when my mother was young!"
Did his mother never talk about her own mom? Makes sense. Stories of dead parents from childhood... hard to bring up. Especially if she died young, memories fade.
"Your mother was half-beastkin, so she might not have had horns. Same for you. The dormant beastkin blood skipped generations and manifested in your child."
"Is... is that truly true?"
"You doubting the word endorsed by the Goddess of Light, Law, and Justice?"
"No, but... it's just..."
The king looked utterly confused. Whatever, not my problem. I just need to fulfill my promise.
"Anyway, suspecting the queen over Asterios's bloodline was your stupid mistake. Shut up and beg her forgiveness."
"Wh-what? Didn't you say you'd reconcile us?!"
"I said I'd resolve the issue caused by the beastkin birth. Never said I'd reconcile you."
"Isn't that the same?!"
"Of course not."
I grinned widely.
"The problem from the beastkin birth—i.e., the secret of your bloodline. That's what I fixed for you. Any new conflicts after? Not my business."
"Th-that's sophistry!! You clearly said you'd reconcile us..."
I clicked my tongue at the king trying to argue more.
"If I were you, I wouldn't rely on some stranger—I'd act myself. You didn't know about your beastkin blood, so you wrongly suspected your innocent wife and threw your child into that dark labyrinth."
"Th-that's..."
"A father who doubts his wife and abandons his son. Think you can be a proper husband and father like that? Huh?"
The king fell silent.
"Then... what should I do?"
"Obvious."
I said coldly,
"Apologize. To your wife and son. Beg thoroughly. Might not melt their hearts, but better than nothing."
If you've done wrong, beg forgiveness. No choice for the offender. Sure, ignorance explains the suspicion, but it doesn't erase the victims' pain from years of doubt and abuse. Beg until forgiven—that's the only way.
