Chapter 4
Don’t tell me… I’m going to get fired over this?
If I got kicked out of here, I had no idea where I’d end up.
That couldn’t happen.
“My goodness, heavens! I knew it! Ah, Meho… what should we do?”
The healer’s increasingly dramatic reaction was making my heart shrink and burn alive.
Did the divine beast assigned to me kill another divine beast?
What could be worse than that?
“Is it… very bad?”
I cautiously asked the healer, who was covering their mouth.
“Right now, Meho is…”
Why were they dragging it out so much?
I stared only at the healer’s slowly opening mouth.
“Very…”
“…”
I was just about to die from suspense.
“…putting on an incredible performance.”
“…What?”
“Acting.”
“…What?”
“Acting.”
Acting?
The healer poked the chick’s belly.
Its tiny body twitched.
“Wake up, Meho.”
And just like that, the chick who looked as if it would never open its eyes suddenly blinked awake.
Little black bean-like eyes stared back.
“Whenever Lord Kallian bites and carries Meho off, he pretends to faint.”
“…Why?”
“Because if he stays conscious, Lord Kallian throws him around like a ball.”
“Oh…”
So he’d been acting all along.
That was some serious dedication.
Still… thank goodness.
At least he wasn’t dead.
If something had happened to the chick, I would’ve ended up a homeless wanderer in this world.
“Meho will recover after a little rest. You should go rest too.”
The healer looked at me worriedly.
I probably looked pathetic.
“Yes. Should I leave Meho here?”
“Ah, could you return him to your senior? They’ve been very worried.”
“Yes, I will.”
I stood up to leave.
Kallian was still sound asleep.
Meho, however, clearly did not want to come with me.
Fair enough.
If I were him, I wouldn’t want to be near the one who used me as a toy either.
“Meho, Kallian’s sleeping now, so it’s okay.”
Shake shake.
The chick firmly shook his head.
“Want me to put you in my pocket?”
Oh.
That worked.
After thinking for a moment, he toddled over.
Apparently the pocket had been comfortable.
“Then I’ll go. Thank you for today.”
“Don’t mention it. Let’s just not see each other too often.”
I decided to lay sleeping Kallian down in my room first.
For such a tiny thing, he was surprisingly heavy.
When I entered the room, evening had already darkened outside the large window.
“What a long day…”
Fatigue hit me all at once.
I just wanted to return the chick and collapse into bed.
[You worked hard.]
“…”
At the unfamiliar voice, I instantly pressed myself against the wall.
What?
Who?
It obviously wasn’t sleeping Kallian.
And the voice wasn’t his.
There couldn’t possibly be an intruder in this miserable new recruit room.
Then…
“The chick?”
[Oh? Can you hear my voice?
Something fluttered in my pocket.
I slowly pulled him out.
Very small.
Very yellow.
Very fluffy.
Very cute chick sat in my palm.
[You are a strange human. No human has ever heard my voice before.]
“…”
But despite the appearance—
the way he spoke…
did not match at all.
“You can talk too?”
I had assumed I could only hear Kallian.
Apparently not.
The chick’s black-bean eyes sparkled.
[How did you learn the language of divine beasts? Humans should not be able to. Did someone teach you?
“Wait. One question at a time. My head hurts.”
[Thank you for saving me earlier. That ill-mannered black leopard constantly carries me off, and if not for you, today again I would have been tossed around like a toy ball.
The chick talked a lot.
A lot.
Let me organize this.
I applied to an animal hospital.
Got hired.
Woke up on my first day in a place called the Divine Beast Management Office.
Employment scam.
And now…
I’m apparently the only employee who can speak the divine beast language.
The chick chattered on in my palm.
But most of it passed through one ear and out the other.
There was another life I had always wanted as much as working with animals.
A rich life.
Having suffered crushing poverty—
wanting wealth was natural.
And when I realized I’d ended up here, I didn’t just feel shock.
I saw opportunity.
I could care for animals I loved—
and make money.
If I worked here for several years…
I could own a home.
A cozy little house.
A yard where animals could run free.
A warm place full of laughter.
My own family-like space.
I had imagined it so sweetly.
But…
The fact that I could do something no one else could—
understand divine beast language—
was dangerous.
Why?
Being different attracts attention.
A unique ability, even more so.
Instead of my happy little home—
I might end up a lifelong slave in the Divine Beast Management Office.
“AAAH! No!”
I grabbed my hair and groaned.
I knew this ability was incredible.
And I knew how wonderful talking to animals could be.
If only I could have said goodbye to Cheoli before he left.
If only he could have told me where he hurt.
What he wanted to eat.
Where he wanted to go.
I had gained an ability I had always wished for.
Of course I was happy.
But if I wanted to live happily with animals for a long, long time—
and still own a home—
This must never be discovered.
No one can know…
I had to hide it at all costs.
That I could communicate with divine beasts—
must remain secret.
“Chick, so no one else can talk with you, right?”
I asked solemnly.
The chick flapped.
[Of course. No one but you has ever responded to me. Perhaps you are a special human chosen by divine beasts—]
“That’s enough.”
I narrowed my eyes and brought my face close.
The chick recoiled.
“This absolutely cannot become known.”
[…]
“You’re sure no one else can hear your voice? Absolutely sure?”
Hic.
He even started hiccuping and nodded furiously.
“Even if no one can hear you, don’t go around muttering that I speak divine-beast language. Got it?”
He nodded again.
“Good. If you break the promise…”
I smiled ominously and pointed at sleeping Kallian.
“I’ll hand you over to him as a toy ball.”
Hic.
I felt bad scaring him.
But I did not want to rot here as a slave forever.
Never.
“Alright. Let’s take you back.”
I smiled kindly.
But the frightened chick’s hiccups wouldn’t stop.
[Terrifying human…]
“Hm? What?”
[N-Nothing. Let us hurry back and rest.
Ignoring his muttering, I took the oddly mature little chick to my senior’s room.
Knock knock.
My exhausted-looking senior opened the door.
“Lorelia?”
“Here’s the chick… I mean, Meho.”
“Oh my!”
Seeing the tiny chick wriggling in my palm, my senior brightened.
“I thought he was badly hurt. Is it really okay he’s back already?”
“…Yes. The healer said he wasn’t injured. Just briefly fainted from shock.”
A harmless lie.
I handed Meho over.
And didn’t forget to send him one final warning.
“Thank you so much, Lorelia. You’re the first person ever to catch Lord Kallian alone, with bare hands.”
“Haha… really?”
I didn’t really want that kind of noticeable achievement.
“The staff praised you endlessly. They said an extraordinary talent entered the management office.”
“Ahaha…”
I do not want to be some extraordinary talent.
“Go rest.”
“My goodness, you must be exhausted. Hurry and sleep. And please take good care of Lord Kallian!”
For some reason—
I already felt my future going wrong.
Please…
Let that just be paranoia.
* * *
Contrary to my worries, peaceful days followed.
Well—
peaceful except for troublesome Kallian.
Biting employees’ hair.
Bullying weaker divine beasts.
Stealing staff belongings and running off.
And so on.
Still, this much is kind of cute.
At least he wasn’t kidnapping other divine beasts anymore.
As time passed, I adapted to this world.
And got used to living with disobedient Kallian.
“Their condition is bad lately. I thought it was simple fatigue…”
“What did the healer say?”
“I’m only telling you this… apparently the management office is in terrible shape right now.”
“Really? Why?”
“I thought it was only my divine beast…”
It was lunchtime.
I happened to overhear it in the dining hall.
A contagious disease among divine beasts?
I had heard recently many were suffering from mysterious illnesses.
Kallian, of course, wasn’t affected at all.
He was too healthy.
He leapt off high places every other day and had never even scraped a paw.
But apparently other beasts had stopped eating.
Some could barely move.
The office was deeply worried.
So was I.
Even today, employees were lamenting that their divine beasts wouldn’t get up.
Then—
“Lorelia! Lorelia!”
My senior called urgently.
“What is it?”
“Have you seen Meho today?”
“Meho…?”
My senior’s chick.
“Meho is missing?”
My senior nearly cried.
“He was weak yesterday, and when I woke up today…”
“He was gone!”
