Dog-Loving Knight

After finishing breakfast, they moved to the office they had visited the day before, and Gadilas began learning his royal duties from Uros.

Listening in alongside them, Kuuga managed to pick up a few more details about the circumstances from their conversation.

Apparently, the aged king had reached his limit these past few years. Every facet of administration had begun to stagnate, and the work Gadilas now needed to take on had piled up alarmingly.

One might think it would have been better to hand over the throne sooner, but it seemed that was not an option.

The reason lay in the divine prophecy related to the Divine Beast that had been delivered to the king. Now that he recalled, Keiry had mentioned something about a prophecy when they had first met.

Uros’s words came with the assumption that everyone present already understood the situation, so he didn’t explain directly, but apparently the prophecy had been given thirty years ago. It required the heir to be the king’s child bearing the mark, and until then, the king was to continue watching over the country. There were various such conditions.

The “mark” must have referred to that thing at Gadilas’s waist.

What was even more surprising was that Gadilas was the child of the previous king. …Kuuga had assumed he was the king’s grandchild. How old had the previous king been when Gadilas was born…?

It seemed the king had been forced to exert himself producing children after the prophecy. Since the mark only appeared on children born after the prophecy, there was no other way.

The women who made up the “procreation team” the night before had also been gathered for that purpose. By the time of the prophecy, neither the queen nor the concubines were young enough to conceive, and since the king himself had no intention of marrying again, other women had been specially gathered.

Incidentally, the king, having exhausted himself producing as many as fifteen candidates, had of course not continued to use the procreation team, and the assembled women, whose term ended with the change of reign, had apparently been left to enjoy themselves as they pleased in recent years. Women who succeeded in bearing children gained certain status, while those who did not were to be dismissed on the day of the ceremony.

Kuuga recalled the worn face of the former king. That man had waited thirty years.

Once all the conditions were met, and if the Divine Beast chose the king, it was said that the country’s peace and prosperity would be assured. Apparently, such a legend existed.

That was why, to make an attempt on the chosen Gadilas’s life was akin to defying the gods themselves—if Gadilas died, the kingdom could fall with him. Uros was indignant: knowing this, who could have dared such a foolish act?

He understood that his own role in choosing the king was important, but had not realized it was to this extent. What would he do if the kingdom began to fail because of him?

He also noticed something else—he could read the writing.

When Uros placed a document before Gadilas and began his explanation, Kuuga casually put his forepaws on the desk and glanced at it, only to discover he could read what was written.

The script, as expected, was not Japanese. But, for some reason, he could understand the meaning.

I can read, but I can’t write, he thought, and fixed his gaze on the document, trying to memorize the shapes of the words.

During this time in the office, many people visited. Some of the royals who had been present during the ritual came to pay their respects, and soldiers dropped in with their reports.

In any case, there were far too many people who couldn’t be trusted.

Perhaps this showed how peaceful Japan really was. Even by Kuuga’s own experience, the proportion of people here that could be trusted was abysmally low.

It was just as he was growing more and more gloomy about this that a certain dog-loving royal appeared.

“There you are, Divine Beast! Good afternoon!”

‘Ah, you’ve come, dog-lover!’

The man spoke with an easy familiarity quite unbecoming of royalty (though Gadilas had his own ways of bending the mold), but Kuuga’s impression of him was not a bad one. With so few trustworthy people around, gaining an ally like this could only be an advantage.

Happy, Kuuga circled the dog-loving royal several times before sitting down in front of him.

“…? Is something the matter?”

“…The Divine Beast is greeting you,” Uros explained, now coming to understand some of Kuuga’s behaviors. The man broke into a delighted grin.

“Edalion Ria Idios. Pleased to make your acquaintance.”

‘Edalion, is it? Pleased to meet you.’

Wagging his tail vigorously, Kuuga nuzzled himself against Edalion’s body. Edalion smiled broadly, rubbing him all over. As expected of a dog-lover—he clearly knew all the right spots and his hands were confident.

Meanwhile, both Gadilas and Uros watched Kuuga with serious eyes.

“…Edalion, what’s your current title?”

“Eh? …I’m vice-captain of the Red Knights, and the animal caretaker.”

Animal caretaker? Just how much does this man love animals?

For reasons he couldn’t quite describe, Kuuga kept his gaze on Edalion, who continued to fondle his body. Then Gadilas seemed to make a decision, lifted his head, and looked straight at Edalion.

“Edalion, as of today, you’re the captain of the Royal Guard.”

“Huh!? W-what are you going on about all of a sudden?!”

Clearly shocked, Edalion stepped away from Kuuga and approached Gadilas with urgency. Even as Edalion flustered, Gadilas’s demeanor remained calm and steady.

“The former Royal Guard are all loyal to my predecessor. …I can’t use them myself—actually, I can’t trust them at all.”

“…So you’re saying you trust me? That makes me happy, but why? You’ve never acted that way before.”

For once, Edalion’s expression twisted with suspicion. Kuuga could understand. Gadilas’s gaze had always carried a hint of mistrust—even toward Edalion.

Now Kuuga vaguely recalled that the soldiers around Gadilas had belonged to this Royal Guard.

Uros looked a little surprised, but refrained from saying anything, watching Gadilas in silence.

With everyone’s eyes on him, Gadilas folded his arms, lowered his eyes, then glanced at Kuuga.

“…Today, about twenty people have visited this room. …However, the only person to whom the Divine Beast ‘greeted’ was you.”

So he’d noticed.

It hadn’t been intentional, but Kuuga really had ignored everyone not worthy of trust.

“I believe the Divine Beast can see into people’s hearts. …That’s why I chose you: because you were recognized by him.”

Delighted, Edalion turned to Kuuga with a broad smile, though there was still a hint of hesitation about the sudden appointment.

“The job entails guarding me and getting to play with the Divine Beast here every day. Any complaints?”

“None whatsoever!”

‘None at all, huh.’

Kuuga couldn’t help commenting on Edalion’s immediate change of heart. Both Gadilas and Uros shot Edalion exasperated looks.

“Finish the transfer today. Also, it would help if you could recommend candidates for the rest of the Guard. …It would be exhausting to vet every last one myself.”

“Don’t ask the impossible—today?! Can’t I just work both roles during a handover period?”

“…Fine. Finish within five days.”

“And are you sure it’s okay to choose the others like this? Normally it’s based on performance in the tournaments, or past achievements…”

“I’ll take that into account, to an extent. But it won’t be the main criterion.”

“Hmmm, a lot of this is irregular… Well, whatever. Got it. Divine Beast, I’ll be counting on you from tomorrow! Now then, time to get started on the handover!”

As soon as Edalion signaled his understanding, he bounded out the door with infectious enthusiasm. Kuuga stared blankly after him, but Uros approached Gadilas with a slightly wry expression.

“…That was quite a decisive move.”

“Sitting here worrying won’t change anything. Better to make a gamble. …At least, he’s someone I doubt would ever betray the Divine Beast.”

That Gadilas could not bring himself to say ‘betray me’ was pitiable, Kuuga thought, but he was moved by how Gadilas was willing to place his trust in Kuuga, even if it was a gamble.

If only he could find a way to properly explain himself—how could he convey his words accurately? He wanted to be able to exchange words as equals.

If only he could turn back into a human.

As Kuuga was thinking these things, Uros, perhaps having finished his explanations, came over.

“I thought of a few signals we could use, as we discussed yesterday.”

‘Oh! You did mention that!’

Uros spread out several pieces of paper on the floor where Kuuga could see them. Each bore not only meanings but also surprisingly well-drawn illustrations—likely Uros’s own handiwork.

Judging by the selection, Uros still couldn’t guess exactly what kind of things Kuuga might need to express in the future, so he had chosen a few basic phrases of daily life, likely planning to add more as needed.

Apparently, he remembered Kuuga’s previous gestures; for now, they established a rule that to get someone’s attention, Kuuga should tap his forepaw twice.

Seemingly convinced that Kuuga was illiterate, Uros pointed at each symbol and explained them one by one. Kuuga listened in silence, memorizing the signs.

However, he couldn’t help but suspect that including ‘do a somersault’ was simply a ploy for Uros’s own amusement… This man wore a perpetually serious face and never so much as cracked a smile, but deep down, Kuuga suspected he was rather mischievous, and eyed him with mild suspicion.

The available signs were things like being hungry, wanting to go for a walk, not understanding something, or wanting something—just a few basics. It wasn’t much, but it was better than nothing for now.

‘…Wait, does this mean I’m allowed to go for a walk?’

He had vaguely assumed he wasn’t allowed to stray from Gadilas’s side.

But the thought of leaving also made him anxious. What if something happened while he was away, especially when there was still no proper bodyguard in place?

Until a guard was officially assigned, he resolved to stay as close to Gadilas as possible. Having made up his mind, Kuuga settled down at Gadilas’s side.