Chapter 15
I ran quickly, panting for breath, until I reached the patch of tiger grass again.
“Tiger!”
“……”
Still no answer.
“You… you have someone you want to see, don’t you? A friend maybe?”
I was sure—there was someone precious in its heart.
“Or… do you have an owner?”
“……”
“Whether it’s a friend or an owner… you want to see them again, right?”
At those words, the tiger grass where the black tiger was lying shifted slightly.
I remembered the newspaper from the future.
It said: “The tiger wanted to return to the place it used to live.”
So I asked once more, with all my heart.
“That’s why you want to go back to the place you lived before, right?”
At last, I was certain.
I had guessed the reason why this tiger escaped.
Slowly, the tiger appeared on the grass.
***
In the northern barracks of the Riviera Grand Duchy, full of iron bars.
No one knew, but the black tiger had been treated like the general’s toy—abused and tormented.
At the time, nobody realized it was a spirit beast.
“Ugh, a tiger with broken fangs. Useless.”
“It’s weak now too. We can’t use it for war anymore, so just throw it out.”
It had only ever heard cruel words like that.
But then, one person reached out a hand.
“You… you’re a sick tiger, aren’t you?”
A boy, golden-haired and blue-eyed, like a little prince.
He coughed constantly, weak like someone with an incurable disease.
But with his thin hand, he carefully touched the tiger’s body.
“You must be struggling too, right? Because you’re different from everyone else.”
He knew nothing about the tiger’s real situation.
“Sometimes… I’ll come visit you. Until then, please stay alive.”
It was just a single sentence.
But sometimes, one sentence is enough to move a heart.
The black tiger wanted to be that boy’s friend.
But…
“Oh, right. There was an order about that tiger. It’s to be sent to the Ardoth Duchy.”
“I don’t know why, but send it off. We can’t use it in war anyway.”
Without ever learning the boy’s name, or who he truly was, the tiger was dragged away to Ardoth.
‘Just once more, I want to see him. Before that sick boy dies, I want to see him again.’
But no one could understand the tiger’s words, or read its heart.
It was the same in the Ardoth Duchy.
“Why is that tiger going wild like that?”
“Maybe because its body is weak. Looks like it’ll die soon.”
“They say the Duke himself brought it from the barracks. Poor thing—it suffered so much, only to die here.”
Then, the tiger overheard people say it would die soon.
So, for the first time, it gathered the courage to escape.
All so it could meet that boy again.
Somehow… it felt like maybe it could help him.
And then, Coco whispered softly.
“I knew it.”
Like a sharp little puppy, she had figured out what the tiger wanted.
“I’ll find your friend for you. I promise!”
At those words, the tiger spirit’s paw trembled.
“So first, you have to get healthy.”
“……”
“It’s way too cold here.”
Coco hugged the tiger tightly.
Of course, with their size difference, it looked more like the tiger was holding a tiny pup.
“It’s really windy here too…”
Quietly, the black tiger accepted her hug.
For the first time in its life, it felt the warmth of a human’s body.
***
“I brought home a huge tiger spirit beast alive, from the Duke of Ardoth’s estate!”
I announced proudly, as if I was making some grand declaration.
I had called together three people: Chloe unnie, Rus, and Dot.
Actually, Chloe looked uninterested, but Rus dragged her here anyway.
Dot mumbled awkwardly.
“…Um, Baby?”
“Yes!”
“But, where is the tiger?”
Rus rolled his eyes around, confused.
“I don’t see anything.”
I blinked.
‘Ah!’
I had forgotten—the tiger hadn’t released its invisibility.
I stomped my foot and looked to the side.
“Tada! Black Tiger, show yourself!”
As soon as I said it, the black tiger slowly revealed itself.
“W-whoa…”
The tiger politely bowed its head, then wrote on the ground:
[Hello]
The room went quiet.
Rus’s mouth dropped open.
“Am I… am I dreaming right now?”
“It’s not a dream!”
“No way… our messy little one just brought back a tiger. A tiger…”
“Yep!”
“And… huh… is it writing? Or drawing? I can’t even tell what it’s saying, but…”
“At least it seems polite. Looks like it said hello.”
“It said ‘hello’!”
“No, really? You actually brought a tiger? This must be a dream. Someone pinch me.”
I pinched Rus’s hand hard.
“Ow! So it’s real… but how is this happening…?”
While Rus stood frozen, Dot stayed calm and asked,
“How on earth did you find it? Even soldiers couldn’t catch it.”
“Well, I went for a walk, but got lost. Then the tiger kept appearing and disappearing. It was so amazing! And then…”
“…And then?”
“And then I talked to the tiger! I can talk to animals, so I saved it!”
Dot and Rus’s eyes grew wide.
“Huh? You can talk to animals?”
“That kind of power only exists in legends…”
They looked at each other with shocked faces. Clearly, they didn’t believe me.
“Maybe she just has animal affinity?”
I puffed my cheeks happily, not caring.
“Anyway, she must have some kind of ability. That’s good. Really good.”
“Ubu…”
“I guess I really should start thinking of you as my youngest sibling.”
“Yay! Chloe’s little sister!”
I proudly stuck out my tummy, waiting for praise.
I remembered how, in the past, my sister always clapped for me when I did something great.
“Wow! You brought back a sock? You’re so strong, Coco!”
“Woof! Woof!”
“Good girl. You’re amazing. You’re the best.”
But this time, it wasn’t a sock. I had brought back a spirit beast!
She should clap twice as much, right?
Excited, I looked up at her.
Chloe only said, “I really want to know what you actually are.”
Her expression was suspicious, like she was looking at a shady kid.
And that was it.
“She’s just a lucky kid, that’s all.”
Rus patted my head, but I felt a little deflated.
‘Hmph… no praise, and no sweet potatoes either.’
Still, it was good.
I was one step closer to being Chloe’s real sister.
‘The day she recognizes me isn’t far!’
Once the Duke adored me, and I became Chloe’s true sibling, she would shower me with kisses again.
I patted the tiger confidently, just like Rus had patted my head.
“Until the Duke comes, can we feed the tiger lots of delicious food?”
“Yeah, sure. It looks weak anyway. We’ll tell Father that we’ll take care of it instead of the researchers.”
“I’ll help you with everything, Baby.” Dot said firmly.
While Dot and I happily dreamed about taking care of the tiger, Rus frowned at me.
“Actually… now I’m getting worried.”
“Why?”
“You’ve never met my father, have you?”
