CHAPTER 81…………………………
Hide-and-seek, tag, Halli Galli, even freeze tag.
I threw every bit of my knowledge of children’s games into play and gave it my all.
My efforts paid off—at last, all three kids were fast asleep without so much as a twitch.
Judging by the feathers piled up on the bed, we must have played like our lives depended on it.
“Mmm… Linne… let’s play more…”
I quickly slipped out of the room at the sound of someone’s sleepy mumbling.
“That’s scary… after all that, they still want to play more…”
The kids’ stamina was beyond imagination.
Closing the door carefully so they wouldn’t wake, I tiptoed down the hall without making a sound.
“Good morning! You’re up early today!”
As soon as I stepped out of the Divine Beasts’ Palace, Rail greeted me energetically, as if he’d been waiting.
“Hello, Sir Rail…”
“Did something happen last night?”
“I was tormented by Cerberus…”
“…Excuse me?”
“Never mind. Shall we head to the Administration Office?”
“Yes, right this way!”
There was a reason I came to work before dawn.
With my room completely occupied by the children, there was no way I could focus on writing my book.
Well, it wasn’t quite “writing” yet—I was still in the outlining stage.
With two hours before the staff would start arriving, I thought I’d take it slow—
CRASH!
“Eek—?!”
Glass shards exploded across the room as a window shattered without warning. Startled by the deafening noise, I jumped up from my chair, trembling.
“Are you all right?”
Rail, who had been waiting in the hallway, flung the door open and rushed to my side.
“I-I’m fine. Just startled…”
Together we approached the window. Lying amid the glittering shards was…
“…Lord Raykis’s parka?”
It was Parka, the avian beast who served as Raykis’s messenger.
“Parka, are you okay?”
Parka trembled violently, its wings looking all wrong—patches of feathers missing, the wing joints grotesquely twisted.
–Keeiiik….
“Hang on, Parka. I’ll heal you right away…!”
I quickly pulled a healing stone from my bag.
But before I could use it, there was something I had to do first.
“Sir Rail, hold Parka firmly for me. I need to set the wing.”
“Yes! Like this?”
“Be careful not to get bitten. On three, we reset it. One, two, three!”
The misaligned bone snapped back into place. Parka gave one last shudder before going limp.
As I held the healing stone to it, its ragged breathing slowly steadied.
–Kieek… kieek….
“Hm? What did you say?”
–Kieek….
It was trying to speak, but unfortunately I couldn’t understand the language of beasts.
I tilted my head repeatedly in confusion until Parka tugged at my sleeve, then gestured toward the window with its beak.
“You want to go out? But if we leave through there, I’ll die.”
–Kieek….
If Parka had hands, it would’ve been pounding its chest in frustration. Instead, it tried to haul itself over the window sill.
“Calm down, Parka! Even with the healing stone, you still need rest! I’ll take you back to Lord Raykis myself—”
–Kik! Kiiek!
Parka hopped up and down, wings fluttering as though to say I’d finally guessed right.
“Ah! You’re asking me to bring you to Lord Raykis?”
–Kieek!
“Got it! Sir Rail, let’s head to the Divine Beasts’ Palace!”
“Yes! I’ll carry it!”
–Kiiieek!
But when Rail reached out to take it, Parka flared its wings and opened its beak in clear refusal.
“I’ll carry it myself, Sir Rail.”
“…Understood.”
Drooping his arms, Rail simply followed behind me.
When we arrived at the palace and asked a servant where Lord Raykis was, she led us not to his room but to a meeting hall.
The moment my arrival was announced, the door burst open with a clatter.
“Hello, Lord Raykis.”
“Linnegrim. Parka…!”
Raykis’s hair, normally tied neatly up, was disheveled. Breathing heavily, he scooped Parka into his arms.
–Kieek….
“Parka. Why are you so late? I was so—”
“Yeah, Parka. Ray cried so much.”
“I did not cry!”
Raykis smacked Eve on the back as she teased. Eve let out a silent yelp, wiping at her eyes as she turned to me.
“How did Linne end up bringing Parka?”
“Oh, Parka crashed through the Administration Office window. Its wing was broken, so I gave it first aid and brought it here.”
“What? Broken wing?”
Startled, Raykis lifted Parka and began inspecting it frantically.
–Kiing! Kiing!
As Parka cried out, something inside Raykis audibly snapped.
“…Eve, I’ll be back.”
“Where?”
“Where else. The desert.”
Raykis’s golden eyes glinted dangerously, his pupils contracting until it looked like fire might shoot from them.
“Ray! Calm down! Are you trying to start a war with Sinatra?!”
“Why not?”
“Brother! Stop Ray!”
At Eve’s shout, Lunaris rose from his chair.
“Raykis. Sit down and calm yourself. Let’s hear Parka’s story first.”
“…Fine.”
“Linne. You sit too.”
“Me? Really?”
I’d been planning to leave, but Eve tugged me into a seat beside her.
Parka stood on the table and began a passionate tirade, wings fluttering, voice thick with rage and sorrow—but to my ears it was just the harsh panting of a wild beast.
The Divine Beasts, however, nodded solemnly, adding their own comments as Parka went on.
“…I see.”
“Those damned snakes…!”
“…Looks like I really do need to visit the desert.”
Raykis’s fists trembled. I whispered to Eve, hesitant.
“…What did Parka say?”
Eve, who’d been trying to calm Raykis, now seethed as well.
“…Sinatra’s brats toyed with Parka like a plaything. Parka barely escaped.”
“Poor Parka… how much must it have hurt…”
With a broken wing, it had flown all the way from the desert to the palace, seeking me first for healing.
“But why would they treat a messenger like that?”
“They must’ve been angered by my message.”
“In that case, let me go—”
“Raykis. Sit.”
“Tch.”
What on earth had Lunaris’s message been to warrant such brutality against a messenger?
“Lord Lunaris. If it’s not rude of me to ask, what exactly was in that message?”
“Yeah, Brother. I’m curious too! You only told Ray!”
“I had to tell Ray because he’s the one sending the messenger—”
“Unfair!”
Raykis raised a fist instead of placating Eve, and Eve’s mouth promptly shut.
“I told them an intruder who attacked the palace had named Sinatra as the mastermind. I said we knew it might not be true, but we couldn’t rule out the possibility, so they were to appear at the palace—”
“Brother! You’re joking, right?”
“No. That’s exactly what I said.”
Eve swayed, leaning her head on my shoulder.
“Linne, I’m dizzy…”
“Are you all right, Eve?”
“No… Ray’s an idiot… Brother’s an idiot too… Sending a message like that or agreeing to send it… both the same…”
Eve buried her face against my shoulder, pretending to sob.
“Ahem. Eve, how else should I have sent it? Once we decided to suspect them, we couldn’t reveal the truth too soon, but we also couldn’t blindly accuse them.”
“You could’ve used some other excuse! There are plenty! Say you’re arranging a gathering of heirs! Or invite them to an engagement ceremony!”
“But there isn’t one.”
“Then make one up!”
“Oh. I suppose that’s true.”
Raykis nodded seriously.
“But whose engagement? To summon them to the palace, it’d have to be a royal or at least Rihuela’s.”
“What about me and Linne?”
Eve’s nonsense had begun.
“An engagement between a Divine Beast and a human? As if they’d believe that.”
“Why not? It’s not like it’s unheard of. They’d come whether to celebrate or to protest.”
“What about Linnegrim’s consent?”
Raykis looked at me sourly. Eve turned and blinked innocently at me.
“Linne, would you hate holding an engagement ceremony with me?”
“Why would I? It’s not like we’re really getting engaged.”
“But Linnegrim, you’re a human woman. If you get engaged and break it off, you’ll carry that stigma forever.”
Would I? But I’m not planning to marry anytime soon anyway, so maybe it’s fine.
“Don’t worry, Linne. I’ll take responsibility.”
Eve clasped my hand.
“What responsibility?”
“Marriage! If you’re okay with it, I’d be happy! I won’t let any human badmouth you over some engagement!”
People sure propose to me a lot lately.
I chuckled, patting the back of Eve’s hand.
“It’s fine, Eve. Even without you, I can take care of myself.”
“Too bad~ If you change your mind, tell me anytime, okay?”
“If Linnegrim says she’ll marry you, I’ll stop her.”
“Why! What’s wrong with me?!”
Raykis ignored Eve, shaking his head like he pitied Eve’s future wife.
“By the way, didn’t you send a message to the Axxion clan too? Was it the same content?”
Judging by how the two Divine Beasts avoided my gaze, it must have been.
Eve actually started thumping her chest.
“You sent Tirka to the snow mountains, right? What did the Axxion clan say?”
“They said they couldn’t comply.”
“Not wouldn’t, but couldn’t?”
“Lady Harisa is about to give birth. Neither the chieftain nor anyone from the clan can leave the snow mountains.”
Harisa was the wife of Jerron, the Axxion clan’s chieftain.
Though they already had four children, their bond was so strong that after twenty years they were expecting again.
“So both clans said they couldn’t come to the palace…”
“Yes. What should we do…”
“If we can’t summon them to the palace, why not go ourselves?”
“…Hm?”
All three Divine Beasts turned to look at me.
“It’s better to go see for ourselves than to call them here. Like Eve said, we can make up a reason.”
“That’s true, but…”
“Linnegrim. Do you have a good plan?”
At Raykis’s question, I nodded. Then I raised my finger and pointed at myself.
“Me.”
Raykis tilted his head.
