~Chapter 1~
âP-Please, teachers, calm down. There seems to be some misunderstanding.â
âWhat misunderstanding! You were just rifling through the fallen divine beastâs clothes!!â
âNo! I wasnât rifling through, I was just checking its condition by taking off the clothes!!â
âWhatâs that in your hand? Isnât that the divine beastâs?!â
The knights approached me with sharp swords pointed fiercely. Just seeing those shining blades, I instinctively covered my head and shouted desperately in defense.
âAh! Teachers! Please calm down! Listen to me first! Iâm not a kidnapper! Not a divine beast kidnapper either!! Iâm just a good citizen! Please!â
âWho ever heard of a culprit introducing themselves as the culprit!!â
âAhhh!! This is driving me crazy!!!â
So this is… a story about how a kind, impulsive act can lead to huge trouble.
Yesterday was a lucky day. I got a good reward because I treated Popo, the pet dog of Mr. Whirde, the richest man in the territory.
âThanks to Miss Rinnegrim, our Popo is healthy again! How did you even think to use medicine on animals?! You must be a genius!â
Miss Heila, Mr. Whirdeâs eldest daughter, praised me highly, but sadly Iâm no genius. The reason I thought to use medicine on Popo is that in 21st century South Korea, where I worked as a vet, prescribing medicine to animals was common sense.
But if I started talking about reincarnation or past lives, the trust I built would fall apart, so I just laughed it off.
âIâm glad I could help. Iâm happy Popo is healthy again.â
âReally, I donât know how to thank you… but we prepared a small gift as a token of appreciation.â
Honestly, that small pouch Heila handed me was more welcome than a hundred compliments. Especially if it held three monthsâ living expenses inside.
âThen please call me again!!â
With a bright smile, I left the Whirde mansion.
The money pouch was so heavy my hands tingled. It was a huge amount. That meant the Whirde family truly loved Popo.
âThe Lionel Empire has been around for 18 years, but I still donât get it. They love animals so much, yet their veterinary knowledge is so poor.â
Of course, thanks to that backward veterinary level, I can make a living!
Because animals are treated so religiously here, if a pet gets sick, the folk remedy is to run to the temple and pray for three days and nights. In this empire, my medicine was like a ray of light.
More than a hundred animals have saved their lives thanks to my medicine. Hmm? You want to know what medicine I made?
In the 21st century, it was one of the most basic and widely used medicines worldwideâ
âCrash!!
âMom! What was that?!â
While walking through the forest path, I was startled by a sudden falling object and hid behind a tree. When no sound came, I peeked out and looked ahead.
âIs that… a bird?â
In the middle of the forest lay a golden-feathered paradise bird.
âDo paradise birds live nearby…?â
I carefully checked the motionless bird and saw it seemed exhausted.
Looking at the bird with drooping wings, I picked it up gently.
It was a small bird that fit perfectly in my hands. Its heavy breathing stirred my sympathy.
I hesitated a moment. Normally, I avoid doing things that donât bring money…
âI wonât get paid, but who knows? Maybe itâll bring me a treasure chest or something.â
Thereâs always an exception. With my pockets a bit fuller, I decided to be kind in a way unlike myself.
âI thought it was a swallow. Anyway, you should be thankful you were found by me. Other people might have just sat you down and prayed all day.â
I took the bird to my lab, gave it saline water, and warmed its body.
The next morning, after feeding my sleeping mother porridge as usual, I opened the lab door to check on the bird and prepare medicine…
âBang! Bang!!
âHaha! Boom! So fun!!â
A blond little kid I didnât see appeared and completely wrecked my lab. The beakers were boiling over, and colorful smoke was rising.
âBoom! Boom! One more time! One more time!â
I stared at the ruined lab, then snapped out of it and threw the windows wide open.
âWhat do you mean one more time?!â
I rushed to the desk and checked the herbs that should have been neatly arranged. Damn! They were all mixed up in a mess. No need to think longâthey were all trash now.
âThese herbs cost a fortune! They arenât even iron these days, so theyâre hard to find!â
I rarely cried, but tears welled up just now. The only consolation was that my precious research tools, my fatherâs heirlooms and my business foundation, were safe.
But that was it. I was about to throw away a monthâs living expenses worth of herbs.
I trembled, holding a handful of broken herbs.
âWhat is this… total disaster…â
âOne more boom! One more!â
âYou littleâ!â
I flicked the little kidâs forehead, who was jumping shouting âOne more!â without understanding the situation. He pouted, holding his forehead. Well, what was I supposed to do?
âOuch!!â
âMy heart hurts more, you know?â
I took a deep breath to calm down and carefully looked at the kid who wrecked my lab.
His blond hair was neat, and his clothes were made from expensive fabric. He must be a rich young master.
âHey kid… canât you just not enter other peopleâs houses like that?â
Looks like his friends snuck into our mansion last time pretending to explore a haunted house, but this isnât a haunted houseâitâs a real home.
âWhere are your friends? Take them all out. If not, Iâll tell your parents.â
Good. I was calm and reasonable. Though he ruined my herbs, getting angry at a child was ridiculous. Iâd calm him down and send him off.
âNo friends. Kinya is alone.â
His confident face cracked my adult reason, but I held back.
âAre you lying?â
âIâm not lying!â
I didnât trust him, but after checking every corner of the lab, there were no signs of anyone else. Looks like the kid was alone.
âYou came alone to my house? Arenât you scared? What kind of kid are you?â
âIâm Kinya!â
âNo, I wasnât asking your name…â
âKinya is four!â
I wasnât asking his age either.
His broken conversation style was exactly like a toddlerâs. I decided to fix the lab first and turned around. Then a small hand tugged my sleeve.
âWhen someone greets, you have to greet back.â
â…You want me to greet too?â
âYeah. Thatâs manners.â
It should be âmanners,â not âmaners,â but I didnât want to ignore him. Afraid heâd keep whining, I introduced myself half-heartedly.
âIâm Rinnegrim. Iâm the owner of this house.â
âHow old?â
âForty-eight.â
âHuh?â
The kid tilted his head, but I was confident. Not a lie. Thirty years from my past life plus my current age of eighteen makes forty-eight.
The kid pointed at my face and said,
âBut you donât look wrinkled.â
âMy body is eighteen. Anyway, did you see the bird that was in the cage?â
I lifted the birdcage that held the exhausted bird. The door was broken and bent, no longer a cage.
The windows were closed until I came, so the bird should be inside the room, but I couldnât find it.
âA paradise bird, about the size of two hands, with golden feathers and yellow eyes… Why are you raising your hand?â
The kid stomped his foot like a student raising a hand.
âMe! Me! Kinya!â
âYeah, youâre Kinya, right?â
âHey! Itâs me! Rinne brought me here!â
âThat kid, you canât just shorten names like that. And donât say I brought you here! When did I ever?â
Why would I kidnap a kid? Listening to the nonsense, I suddenly felt a strange sense of déjà vu.
âGolden hair… golden eyes?â
The kidâs hair and eyes were golden like honey, the exact same color as the bird I found.
But I shook my head at the absurd idea, laughing at myself.
âAre you saying youâre that bird?â
âYeah!â
âWow, amazing. Then can you fly away now? I need to clean the lab.â
Kidsâ imaginations. I answered without much care and started tidying up. Then an uneasy feeling suddenly hit me. The kid appeared where the bird disappeared. His hair and eyes matched the birdâs feathers. His noble clothes.
âHaha… Thereâs no such thing as a bird turning into a person…â
If I were my past self, Iâd have called that nonsense. But in the Lionel Empire, arenât there animals that can transform into people?
I knew that well from being a fallen noble. The five divine beast clans protecting the empire can transform their form with divine power.
âUgh, no way… why would a divine beast be collapsed in the forest…?â
Besides, if itâs a bird divine beast, it should be the Rihwiella clan that lives in the palace. If a young divine beast is alone so far from the palace, it would cause chaos.
âBy the way… whatâs your name…?â
I asked hesitantly. It wouldnât hurt to know for sure. Even if itâs a truth I canât handle.
âIâm Kinya!â
âI mean your real name! Your full name and family name!â
âOh! Iâm Kinyaxis! Kinyaxis Rihwiella!â
âGasp!â
I held my breath and clenched my trembling fists. The kid had said the name of the central divine beast clan, Rihwiella.
Could he be pretending to be from the Rihwiella clan?
No way. If someone who isnât a divine beast pretended to be from a divine beast clan, itâs considered blasphemy and their body would be engulfed in blue flames. But this kid said Rihwiella like it was normal, and wasnât engulfed by flames. Besides, why would someone pretend to be from a divine beast clan in this shabby mansion?
âHuff. Huff…â
I had no choice but to believe it. The kid who wrecked my lab was indeed a noble young master of the divine beast clan.
How would a fallen noble like me react seeing a divine beast?
Only one way.
âA poor person in such a precious place!! Rinnegrim Feahil pays respects to the divine beast!â
I immediately prostrated myself on the ruined lab floor. Hoping he wouldnât mind me flicking his forehead earlier.
âAhem!â
The divine beast shrugged his shoulders, looking quite satisfied. His round chin lifted high.
Wow, such a change of mind~
I am.. very confused