King of Beasts

After a while, a sense of dispersal began to fill the room, and when Kuuga looked at Gadilas, uncertain what he should do, Gadilas simply said, “Come,” and walked out of the room.

Glancing at Ada, Kuuga saw that he had no objections to Kuuga leaving; Ada wore nothing but an expression of joy.

It seemed he was allowed to leave and remain by Gadilas’ side. Trailing after him, Kuuga exited the chamber with the others and proceeded down the corridor.

He’d always thought, from outside, that the building was quite large, but moving through its halls now, it seemed every bit as spacious within.

Every so often, Kuuga glanced at Gadilas, who led them with an impassive face, while also keeping an eye on those around them.

Most of the glances directed at Gadilas were anything but kind. Some were complicated, but that was the best of it; some looked at him as though he were filth, and others’ eyes brimmed with hatred. Was this the world he lived in every day?

When they stepped outside, priests and acolytes were lined up on both sides; among them, Kuuga caught sight of Keiry and Kurone. For a moment, he wanted to go to Keiry, but remembered that his visits had never really been permitted, and stifled the urge.

Honestly, the desire to tattle on Kurone for his unfair treatment was overwhelming, but Kuuga, unable to speak, could do no such thing.

Passing before the rows of bowed heads, they advanced to where horses and carriages waited. As Kuuga drew near, the horses, which had previously stood calmly, all turned toward him and bowed their heads as one.

‘So the horses recognize me, too?’

‘Divine Beast, our king.’

For the first time, a response came to Kuuga’s voice, and he started in surprise. It seemed the voice had come from the horses themselves…

Approaching the horse who had spoken, Kuuga asked, nervously,

‘You understand what I’m saying?’

‘We understand the voice of beasts.’

Their words were halting, but the mere fact of a reply was enough for Kuuga. Elated, he tried asking various questions, but the horse only knew things about itself.

Well, that’s to be expected, Kuuga thought with a sigh. If a horse knew the intricacies of human affairs, that would be another mystery altogether.

‘O king! O king!’

‘King, king!’

Now, from somewhere, two small birds swooped down and alighted on Kuuga’s head, chirping excitedly. Kuuga wanted to tell them, “Should you really be perching on the king’s head?” but doubted they’d understand.

Like the horses—no, even more so—the birds spoke haltingly, brimming with joy but uttering only simple words. When he tried exchanging a few words, they only responded with happy chirps, never anything of substance.

‘Want to come with me?’

‘King, together!’

Ah, that got through.

With the enthusiastic birds still riding his head, Kuuga looked up at Gadilas, who had mounted his horse.

The horse that had spoken to Kuuga earlier must have been Gadilas’ own; it carried its rider with an undeniably proud air, and Kuuga found himself a bit envious.

‘Hey, I’m big enough to carry a person. Why not ride on my back instead, Gadil… Gadi?’

Kuuga shortened Gadilas’ name on his own whim, tapping Gadilas’ leg with a paw as he made his offer, but of course, Gadilas didn’t understand, and the horse rejected the idea too.

‘It is my role to carry the master.’

‘Stingy.’

Kuuga grumbled, but the horse ignored him after that.

They proceeded, the procession winding through the forest path with Gadilas at its center. Judging by the scenery Kuuga had seen from the window, the forest likely wasn’t very big. Expecting they’d soon be through it, Kuuga decided to scout ahead and slipped away from the line.

“Hey?”

‘I’ll be right back.’

Gadilas called out, and Kuuga responded, though he doubted the words would be understood. Unconcerned, he pressed on and leapt to the nearest tree.

With this body, climbing was a simple matter.

Extending his claws a bit, he dug into the trunk and sprang upward, reaching a thick branch in only two or three bounds. From his high vantage, he could see the forest would end in about a kilometer.

Satisfied, Kuuga jumped down and returned to Gadilas. Feeling rather pleased with his body’s abilities, he was nonetheless surprised by Gadilas’ voice ringing out to him.

“Don’t play around. Behave yourself.”

‘Play around…!?’

He hadn’t expected his actions to be described that way, and the shock of being scolded by Gadilas made Kuuga’s ears droop.

He hung his head, tail also trailing limply, and one of the men at the rear—one of the original fifteen, the obvious dog-lover—could not suppress his laughter and snorted aloud.

Startled, Kuuga glanced back to see the blonde, blue-eyed prince-like man grinning and chuckling softly.

“The Divine Beast is just too adorable. I’m so jealous—becoming king means you get to be with the Divine Beast all the time!”

“Is it… really cute?”

“Of course! Gadilas, you were petting him earlier, weren’t you? I’m absolutely envious!”

“…”

This man showed no coldness toward Gadilas. They seemed to get along, but Gadilas’ eyes remained chilly, his lack of trust clear.

Yet in Kuuga’s judgment, the dog-lover was harmless.

‘Gadi, this guy’s all right. You don’t have to look at him like that.’

“The Divine Beast is saying something to you.”

“Like I’d understand.”

“So even with a contract, you can’t actually communicate, huh… Haha, there he goes, looking all dejected again. Too cute…”

Depressed by the ever-present language barrier, Kuuga nonetheless gleaned a bit from everything the dog-lover let slip. It seemed that, by the terms of the ritual, Kuuga and Gadilas had entered into some contract as Divine Beast and king. From now on, Kuuga and Gadilas would be together.

Still, Kuuga wondered, just what sort of being got to choose the king? They treated him as a beast, yet when he made his choice their dissatisfaction never rose to outright protest.

Could no one ever just explain things from the beginning? With nothing to do but go along, Kuuga let out a deep, resigned sigh.