Chapter 27
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Chapter 27
Seol Yo's face drained of all color, turning ashen.
Because the fluffy short fur, the tiny protruding beak, the stubby legs, and the adorable tail feathers looked exactly like....
'That's... me...?'
Except for the color being black, it resembled my own form perfectly.
"Chirp!"
The black chick fluttered its tiny wings.
It let out cute little chirps as if trying to be endearing, but Seol Yo's stern expression didn't soften.
"Peep?"
The black chick tilted its head curiously, then began melting away like mud once more.
At this bizarre sight, Seol Yo flinched.
The black mud coalesced, and this time it became a four-legged black baby creature.
"Mew, mew!"
The cry was slightly different from what Seol Yo knew, but its appearance resembled a certain beast he recognized.
Round, perky ears and lustrous fur, a gently swaying tail, and an adorable face that seemed like it would purr if you stroked its head.
And most of all...
"Roar!"
When the black creature lifted its fluffy front paws, soft pink paw pads appeared with a cute pop.
Seol Yo realized what this black creature was mimicking. Though it was entirely black....
'A tiger...?'
As Seol Yo swallowed hard at this realization.
The black baby tiger cautiously approached Seol Yo and licked his shoe.
Flinch.
Seol Yo startled in fear.
Then the black tiger looked up at Seol Yo with large eyes and wagged its tail side to side.
"Mew?"
....
When Seol Yo still didn't lower his guard, the tiger whimpered, then suddenly flopped down in front of him and exposed its belly.
It writhed as if urging him to touch its belly.
At this sight, Seol Yo suddenly recalled what the Youngest Young Master had told him not long ago.
[I'll specially let you touch my belly, cotton ball! A tiger showing its belly is a real privilege given only to people it truly trusts!]
Seol Yo cautiously spoke to the black baby tiger lying sprawled before him, its eyes sparkling.
"...Are you trying to say you won't hurt me?"
At those words, the black tiger sprang up on all fours and nodded.
"Mew! Mew!"
"Ah.... I'm sorry. I misunderstood—I thought you meant to harm me."
The black tiger shook its head, then gestured toward something behind Seol Yo.
"Ah...!"
Seol Yo turned to look where the tiger was pointing and let out a short exclamation.
"You were trying to protect me from the wild beasts!"
"Mew!"
The black tiger nodded its head vigorously up and down once more.
With my guard finally lowered, I gazed quietly into the eyes of the small black tiger cub.
Those ash-gray eyes that had seemed so frightening at first now felt strangely familiar.
"Huh?"
A sudden realization struck me.
That gaze—the very same one I had felt earlier while playing with the Youngest Young Master.
"Could it have been you watching me back then?"
"Mew!"
The black tiger's eyes curved into crescents as it nodded enthusiastically.
'Ah, so that's it....'
I recalled how this black creature had transformed into the shapes of a baby bird and a tiger cub moments earlier.
It had been mimicking the Youngest Young Master and me.
But while the Youngest Young Master made sense, how could it have known my form as a baby bird when I hadn't even undergone a beast transformation?
'Does it possess some special ability because it's a Demonic Beast?'
I studied the black tiger intently, lost in thought.
Demonic Beast.
Eight years ago, the traitorous Hyunmu Clan had conspired with "the Ancient Evil," and these grotesque creatures emerged in the corrupted Northern Lands.
Hyun Rabaek, the patriarch of the Hyunmu Clan, led the Demonic Beasts in an assault on the Empire, plunging the continent into chaos. In response, the Empire conscripted elite warriors from each family and declared war upon the Northern Lands.
My brother San Yu, who had departed three years ago with the Jujak Family, and the eldest young master of the Baekho Family, whom I had never met, had both been conscripted for the war against the Demonic Beasts.
I had only encountered Demonic Beasts in stories when I was very young; this was my first time seeing one in person.
But why was a Demonic Beast that should be in the Northern Lands here?
'I was told Demonic Beasts are extremely dangerous, so I should be careful....'
The black tiger, whose eyes met mine, made soft whimpering sounds and rubbed its head against the toe of my shoe.
'Yet it doesn't seem evil at all.'
Though I couldn't quite put it into words, my instincts were telling me something: this Demonic Beast was not dangerous.
Moreover, this creature had just protected me from the wild beasts.
I crouched down and gently stroked the beast's head.
The glossy black fur, unlike the Youngest Young Master's, felt rather coarse and rough to the touch.
The black tiger let out a rumbling purr at the sensation, clearly enjoying it.
It looked like an ordinary, innocent young beast-human.
Yet the thought that such a gentle child would be rejected by people simply for being a Demonic Beast troubled my heart.
"Hello, I'm Seol Yo."
"Mew!"
"How did you end up here?"
"Mew?"
The black tiger made whimpering sounds, but unfortunately, I couldn't understand the Demonic Beast's speech.
"You can't stay here. It would be terrible if you did, because...."
Even as I continued murmuring to the Demonic Beast, I suddenly fell silent.
If people saw you, they might think you were a wicked Demonic Beast and harm you.
So I needed to leave this place without drawing attention from others.
I should have said as much, but for some reason, the words wouldn't come.
It was because my own circumstances overlapped with theirs—I had been despised by people as a wretched fledgling, and I had fled the Southern Lands to survive.
Perhaps the black tiger sensed the melancholy that had settled over me.
"Mew, squeak."
The black tiger lifted its front paw and gently stroked the back of my hand, just as I had stroked its head moments before.
"Are you comforting me?"
"Squeak, squeak!"
The black tiger's touch was somewhat rough, and I could even feel the distinctive chill of the Northern Lands emanating from its paw.
Yet despite this, my heart grew warm at that gentle touch, and I offered a small smile.
"Thank you. For saving me and comforting me."
The black tiger moved its front paw and scratched something across the dirt ground.
As I stared at the wavy lines, I realized they were characters.
"Seol Yo...?"
"Squeak!"
The black tiger tapped its chest repeatedly with its front paw.
"Wait... is this your name?"
At my hesitant question, the black tiger nodded vigorously up and down.
Surprise bloomed across my face.
"You can even write your own name—you truly are an intelligent beast!"
I clapped my hands in wonder.
"Squeak, squeak!"
Seol Yo wagged his tail with a satisfied expression.
Thanks to Seol Yo driving away all the wild beasts, the forest was as peaceful as when I first entered it.
But a problem had arisen.
While fleeing the wild beasts, I had ventured deep into the forest and lost my way.
Looking up at the sky, the sun was beginning to set.
'This is bad. I promised Yeon Jeong I'd return before it got late.'
I didn't want to be remembered as a child who broke promises, and my brow drooped with worry.
"Say, Seol Yo. Do you happen to know the way down the mountain?"
I asked on the off chance, but Seol Yo only tilted his head in confusion.
"Sigh, you don't know either. What should I do?"
I let out a short breath and hung my head low.
The scent of grass and flowers tickled the tip of my nose.
As I absently rubbed my nose, a sudden thought crossed my mind.
'Wait, that's right—the Youngest Young Master....'
[The Baekho humanoid can smell scents from a thousand miles away!]
I recalled the Youngest Young Master's voice, boasting with that arrogant tilt of his head.
'Yes. The Young Master will surely catch my scent and come find me.'
* * *
Ga Hyun waited before a table of refreshments for her guest to arrive.
She had accepted this meeting with the intention of personally meeting each of the collateral branch tigers who might become the new master of the Western End Room.
Yet her mind was occupied with entirely different thoughts.
Seol Yo. That child weighed on her mind.
Just yesterday, after overhearing the conversation I had shared with Jeok A, that small, fluffy bundle of a child had scampered away with eyes wide as saucers in surprise.
Brought to you by Valir Scans! To support our team and enjoy the latest releases, please read directly on our official site: valirscans.org