Chapter 85………………………………………………
Caligo, flustered by Lin’s sharp criticism, wildly animated the version of himself in the painting.
Kuwaaang!
The painted Caligo spewed fire, shattering countless monsters into dust.
The people who had been crying while being chased by the monsters suddenly changed to faces of joy and cheered for Caligo.
“See? This is the record of the accomplishments I’ve built.”
The painting Caligo created continued to change into countless forms over time.
Mostly, it depicted defeating monsters and saving people.
A painting that lifted chunks of earth to save people being swept away by pouring rain.
A painting that blew away volcanic ash with strong winds before it could harden over people.
A painting that rescued beastkin in snowy mountains while delivering something.
“By performing good deeds, you accumulate virtue and grow in stature. Naturally, the more virtue you have, the stronger your divine beast power becomes.”
Lin, fascinated by the paintings of Caligo’s accomplishments, raised a hand and asked,
“What exactly are good deeds?”
“Spreading positive energy in the world. Simply put, it’s doing kind things.”
Caligo pointed to his achievements as examples, explaining that saving people was a representative form of good deeds.
“Eliminating monsters that spread negative energy is basic for a divine beast. That is also a good deed, but for us divine beasts, it’s easy, so it doesn’t build up much virtue.”
“Oh, so I just did the basics!”
“Exactly. That’s why your tiny amount of divine power couldn’t suddenly increase that much.”
Returning to the original topic, Caligo thought for a moment, spun through the air, and flew in front of Lin’s face to ask,
“Who did you meet?”
“Huh?”
“Even if it was just in a dream while you were lying down.”
“Hmm? A dream… did I have one?”
Lin pressed her index fingers to both sides of her head, trying to recall something.
“Search your memory carefully! This isn’t a case of someone just handing over divine power—it’s far too much for that to be possible.”
Caligo urged her repeatedly, but still, nothing came to mind.
Lin tried her best, even wrinkling the area under her lips in concentration.
“Pah!”
Still, nothing came. No matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t remember any dreams during the time she had been unconscious.
Hearing that, Caligo muttered, pressing his doll-like foot against his forehead in frustration.
“Strange… very strange. That white one must be sleeping now.”
Lin, used to Caligo muttering to himself when lost in thought, just left him be.
“You confirmed she’s in a hibernation state, right? Then… is she really from another world?”
Caligo, asking himself aloud, suddenly erupted with a fiery roar.
“What kind of being dares meddle with a divine beast in someone else’s world?”
Annoying! So annoying!
Ignoring Caligo, who had started rampaging, Lin sat at her desk and took notes on the new information she had learned.
“Divine Power. Good deeds = Doing kind things makes it grow.”
Looking at the neatly written words, Lin made a resolve:
“I’ll do lots of good deeds to make my power grow!”
After experiencing the hunting festival, Lin felt the need to strengthen her abilities.
Her golden eyes, serious beyond her age, stared at the word “divine power” with determination, her fists clenched tightly.
Once Lin’s personal physician declared her fully recovered, she returned to her daily routine.
And finally, she attended a class of the Pegasus clan for the first time in a while.
“Huh?”
Lin felt the changed gazes of those around her prick at her cheeks.
“Lin-sama!”
“Our heir!”
“They said you used your newly awakened incredible power during the hunting festival to wipe out all the monsters!”
They kept their distance, like before, but the whispers and glances were completely different now.
“Hmm?”
Tilting her ears and listening, Lin’s expression turned confused.
Unlike the varied expressions of the other children—sparkling eyes, blank stares, stern faces—the feeling she sensed was the same.
Everyone’s emotions were like excited anticipation and joy.
“What’s going on?”
Lin muttered without realizing it and tilted her head.
Wow!
Even her small gesture drew exclamations from the children.
Startled by their reactions, Lin flinched, but they kept whispering things like,
“She’s so charismatic.”
“She looks amazing.”
“Is this what the heir’s stature is?”
The comments made her feel a bit embarrassed.
“Shall we start the class now?”
Because of this, Lin couldn’t concentrate for the first time in class.
Any small action drew gasps and whispers from her peers—too overwhelming to bear!
Even during the beastkin transformation practice, their gaze intensified.
Bang!
Lin simply transformed, as usual.
“Wow! Look at that elegant neck.”
“She ran through the sky with those slender legs? Not flying with wings but running? That’s amazing!”
“Even the beastkin form of her face is so beautiful. I bet our ancestor looked like that too.”
They whispered about her mane shining like light in the wind, the power felt in her hoofsteps, even the meaning in her blinking eyes.
Every movement Lin made drew endless whispers from her peers.
“Class is over!”
“Can we greet her…?”
When the long class finally ended, the group that had been whispering about Lin all along approached her at once, eyes shining suspiciously.
“What… what’s going on?”
Panicked, Lin leapt away in her beastkin form, fleeing into the large trees in the garden.
“Ah! Lin-sama!”
“We wanted to shake hands!”
Hearing voices from behind, Lin pushed her legs even harder.
The children’s disappointed sighs followed her as she disappeared from view.
I need to hide here.
Lin hid in the garden bushes to avoid the overwhelming attention of her peers.
Determined to stay until the children had gone, she lay down gently on the soft grass.
Curled up with her head buried, she considered taking a short nap.
Voices reached her from not too far away.
Could they have come this far?
Her ears perked up.
Luckily, it wasn’t the children—it was the voices of some maids.
Relieved, Lin rested her head on her front legs, listening.
“They really can’t see through people at all, can they?”
“I know, right? They were whispering about mutations behind our backs before!”
It seemed the topic of conversation was Lin herself.
Hearing the word “mutant,” Lin twitched her ears reflexively.
“Our young lady was always so adorable!”
“Exactly! They only realized now and are making such a fuss.”
“They were shocked to hear that Lin-sama awakened such incredible power—serves them right.”
“Anyway, how annoying.”
Those who had openly avoided or looked down on the heir previously now praised her as if witnessing a legendary ancestor come to life.
The maids grumbled about how ridiculous this sudden change was.
“Lin-sama was cute from the start!”
“The ones who used to say nonsense are suddenly talking about sacred beastkin forms. Don’t they feel embarrassed?”
Their voices faded as they walked away.
Rustle.
Peeking out from the bushes, Lin blinked her round deer-like eyes at the maids’ shrinking figures.
“….”
She felt a mixture of relief and a strange sense of warmth.
