Chapter 99……………………………………..
Lin was set to meet with the group of clerics.
Following the child’s wishes, Theodore arranged for the meeting with the visitors to be held the next day.
For today, the reason given was to rest and recover from the fatigue of traveling far, as there was concern that his frail little niece might catch a cold or fall ill.
Since the last hunting festival, perhaps because all the bad relatives had been dealt with and many other people at Pegasus Castle were now much happier, Lin’s condition was not bad.
The fatigue from the past few days of travel had vanished as if it had been washed away after a full night of rest.
Feeling completely refreshed, Lin set off to meet the clerics, her round golden eyes sparkling brightly.
In the reception room, Cleric Pine had an expression that seemed to carry a faint smile in his eyes.
Bowing slightly, Pine—whose bright orange hair marked him as a fox beastman—greeted in a soft voice:
“Greetings, Saint. I am Cleric Pine.”
Lin accepted the greeting, but immediately corrected him:
“I’m not a saint; I’m Lin Pegasus.”
“…Right. You haven’t been appointed as a saint yet, after all,” Pine replied. Rather than contradicting Lin bluntly, he spoke in a roundabout way.
“His Majesty the Law King has also been eagerly awaiting the chance to see you in the Holy Nation.”
“The Holy Nation? What do you mean by that?”
Theodore furrowed his brows and asked pointedly, while Pine smiled brightly as if sharing good news:
“It means His Majesty has personally invited you—to the Holy Nation. Isn’t it best to announce such a joyful event—the birth of a saint—at the most fitting place for all to see?”
Pine’s lilting tone, which might charm ordinary people, had no effect on those in front of him.
Lin, who was used to being around the venerable Caligo, merely tilted her head with little interest at Pine’s persistent smiles, noting that his face, smooth compared to her uncle’s, was nothing remarkable.
“Even if she manifests powers, would a family really send a six-year-old heir so far away?”
“Surprisingly, there are many devout believers. And if you are concerned about travel safety, rest assured—we’ve brought the Holy Nation’s finest paladins to escort you,” Pine replied, pressing Lin to accept the invitation with unwavering determination, despite his gentle tone.
He even tried to persuade Lin directly, going beyond just presenting his reasons to Theodore.
“I’ve heard that the Pegasus family has declared your divinity. You are a ‘divine beast,’ different from other beastmen, correct?”
Theodore raised one eyebrow at Pine’s solemn gaze and words directed at Lin.
‘They acknowledge Lin as a divine beast in the Holy Nation,’ he thought.
It was typical of the Numenga of the Law King to proclaim their distinction from other beastmen. Theodore had expected some resistance if another divine beast interfered, but he hadn’t anticipated this proactive attempt to confer the title of Saint on Lin.
“If you visit the Holy Nation, you’ll even meet other divine beasts,” Pine continued. He said that ordinarily, ordinary beastmen would have almost no chance to meet such venerable divine beasts, but with the arrival of a new divine beast and saint, everyone would appear.
Pine used every possible persuasive line that would appeal to anyone with even the slightest fondness for divine beast clans.
‘But I see divine beasts every day.’
Lin, who lived daily with Caligo—the centuries-old senior divine beast—found nothing tempting in Pine’s bait.
Pine was inwardly flustered. No matter what he said, he couldn’t elicit a reaction. It was rare for him.
‘Could it be because she’s the Pegasus family heir? What kind of training did they give a six-year-old to have such a poker face?’
Finally, Pine tried one last tactic to appeal to Lin, even as a cold, calculating family heir:
“Don’t you want to know more about the sacred power you displayed at the Pegasus hunting festival?”
“My power?”
“Yes. That power is a divine gift. It’s the same power held by the Numenga and the divine beast clans.”
Seeing even a slight reaction from Lin, Pine smiled with his fox-like eyes.
“If the Saint visits, the elders of the divine beast clans could teach you.”
Lin raised one eyebrow skeptically.
‘Nope. It’s the same power as Kaidan’s.’
But since Kaidan was hiding information about her own powers, Lin swallowed the words she almost blurted out.
There was no reason to go there just to learn about the sacred power Caligo had already explained. Lin also remembered Caligo’s prior words, firmly denying the existence of something like a “divine beast clan.”
‘This person keeps saying everything wrong.’
Lin eyed Pine’s beautiful yet sly fox-beastman face with heightened suspicion.
Unaware that Lin’s wariness had only grown, Pine smiled, quietly calculating in his mind:
‘She’s not going to fall for it easily. Perhaps it’s because the child of a banned one is beside her.’
Despite his smooth social skills, Pine’s faith was firm, as expected of someone from the Holy Nation.
A banned one: a person officially marked by the Law King as rejected by the gods.
Anyone who believed in the gods despised a banned one, regardless of past achievements.
‘Kaidan Tigris… I thought she would quietly live in her family as a banned one’s child… yet here she is at Pegasus Castle, meddling beside the new saint.’
This seemed like a matter that should definitely be reported to His Majesty the Law King.
Pine planned to request an audience as soon as he returned to the Holy Nation, keeping a flawless smile on his face.
That expression only broke when he heard Lin’s completely neutral voice:
“Are you done saying what you wanted?”
“Eh? Ah, yes. If you have questions about my answer or visiting the Holy Nation, please feel free to ask.”
“No, I’m not curious. I’m not going.”
“…Excuse me?”
Lin’s refusal, without embellishment, cracked Pine’s previously uniform smile.
“Hmm. I suppose my explanation was insufficient. Would it be acceptable to bring another colleague with better words to speak for me?”
“No.”
Even a woman as beautiful as Pine could usually soften any refusal, but his usual charm didn’t work at Pegasus Castle.
Trained by Uncle Theo to firmly say “no” when she disliked something, Lin did not waver.
“I’m not going to the Holy Nation.”
“…The Law King personally invited you. He said he would recognize you as a Saint.”
“I’m not becoming a Saint either.”
“That’s—!”
Pine’s tone rose slightly, frustrated at a child speaking as if rejecting a game of make-believe.
Then Theodore, watching beside Lin, spoke calmly:
“Why?”
“Eh?”
“Why can’t our Pegasus heir say ‘no’?”
Though there was no threatening gesture or tone, Pine felt Theodore’s quiet voice as though a bear was lowly growling in his ear.
Reflexively shivering, Pine covered his lips with his trembling hand.
After a brief moment of suppressing his emotions, Pine smiled with quivering eyes and spoke:
“I suppose my feelings leaked because I was so disappointed at not being able to serve the Saint.”
“……”
“However… yes. It truly is disappointing. I merely came to deliver the most precious gift, and yet such a refusal. As one who prepared a gift, it saddens me.”
Theodore sharply cut in:
“Forcing someone to accept a gift they don’t want is coercion.”
Lin, sitting beside her uncle, raised her hand and clearly stated:
“Yep! I don’t want it!”
“Exactly. Didn’t our heir make that clear?”
“No. I said no.”
“I hope my point is understood.”
The two Pegasus family members, speaking alternately, left Pine feeling as if he had been slapped on both cheeks—utterly powerless.
