STM 143

“So that’s why the Ma Trading Company is so powerful. To think such talent was supporting them. The Ma family will never forgive me for snatching Hoiga away.”

Hoiga saw this as mere flattery, and turned away. It was true that his presence here prevented him from properly assisting the family’s affairs.

Lately, at Kilu’s request, he’d been deciphering Montaine’s ancient texts day and night, leaving him exhausted.

‘It must contain information about the divine beast. If we obtain that information, Montaine will rise to the pinnacle of power in Tubain, with no rivals left.’

He had already sworn to work wholeheartedly for Montaine. So, he had to prioritize this mission, and he sometimes worried about the Ma Trading Company without him. His brother had written this in a letter, almost playfully.

‘It’s fine. You’ll be doing more important things from now on, so don’t worry about us. Do you really think we’d ruin the company overnight just because you’re not here?’

Yes, everyone was capable. He worried whether they’d made an unreasonable contract with the Southern Textile Guild, but he chose to trust his family. But as he let out a small sigh, Kilu suddenly grabbed his hand and pulled him closer.

“But now you’re mine.”

“…….”

“I’m amazed you managed to hide such brilliance all this time.”

“Then now, Your Grace, surprise me. Everyone must be in the right place at the right time.”

Hoiga emphasized in a low voice.

“Not only must Priest Sidro remain by the Adeye siblings’ side without fail, but we must also keep Grand Duke Kun far away so that Lu can leave the Kun household.”

“Yes, that’s right. I promise you everyone will be where they need to be, when you need them.”

Kilru smiled as he kissed the back of Hoiga’s hand.

“To let such talent slip away… it makes one question Tairok’s intelligence.”

Hoiga’s expression hardened, but Kilru deliberately spoke the name again.

“How much will Tairok beat his chest in regret when he learns the truth? All Adeye Lu does is whine to his sister for help. By now, Tairok is surely struggling to placate Lu as he whines to him.”

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Why was he so shocked? Were the divine beast’s words true? Do we really need its power?

I watched Tairok instead of asking. At first, he looked shocked and confused, but his expression soon grew cold. Then he spoke a single word.

“Alright.”

“What?”

“It says it’ll show me how to use the power of the Sarne divine beast.  I’ll accept the power first.”

That easy? I wasn’t the only one surprised; Black Bear’s grip tightened on her sword. 

But Tairok set a condition.

“In return, the divine beast must answer my questions.”

His gaze fixed precisely on the divine beast. The divine beast seemed to hear him and slowly rose to its feet.

Grrrr…nnngh…cha~

I pushed aside my question about whether it really had to get up that slowly even now and carefully watched the shape of its arms. It stretched both arms diagonally downward and stayed like that for a long time. An ‘ㅅ’. Then another 30 seconds passed.

Fortunately, there were only two initial consonants, so it didn’t take long. But even after the bear slumped back down, I couldn’t quickly convey the meaning. However, I couldn’t just keep him waiting, so I turned to Tairok.

“What did it sat?”

“It says ‘no’.”

I glanced at Tairok. I expected him to get angry, but instead, his eyes crinkled. He sneered in the direction of the divine beast.

“You say no before you even know what I’m going to ask?”

This time, I looked at the divine beast. Tairok couldn’t possibly see the divine beast, yet he was staring precisely in its direction. That strange staring contest continued until Tairok spoke first.

“You said I need the divine beast’s power, but isn’t it the other way around?”

The other way around? What did he mean? Did the divine beast need Tairok? But the bear didn’t react this time. It just stared at Tairok with chilling eyes.

Because of that gaze, visible only to me, I alone could grasp the answer. Tairok was right. The divine beast needed him too.

But why? Then I realized Tairok hadn’t specified Sarne when he said ‘divine beast.’

Huh? Then another divine beast?!

My guess seemed correct.

“If you’re thinking of using me for your friend’s sake, wake up from that dream.”

The bear finally rose slowly to its feet. The divine beast’s eyes glowed an unusually wild, white light, and I nervously watched its movements.

It made no sound, but the divine beast radiated anger. But my I immediately relaxed. Even in this state, it was painfully slow.

Is it messing with me? If it’s angry, couldn’t it move faster? I felt slightly annoyed. Unaware of my thoughts, Tairok waited a while before asking.

“No reaction?”

“Just wait. It’s finished two letters now.”

Tairok’s jaw seemed to twitch, but I couldn’t appease him. Besides, I didn’t want to get called out by the divine beast for looking away again. And the long, drawn-out body language ended in five characters. The problem was the content.

‘ㅋ ㅈㅅㅌㅇ’

I felt an ominous sense of déjà vu. Damn it, no way…

[Kun, you unlucky bastard.]

Mo delivered the final blow to my dread.

“Oh, seriously.”

I really tried not to show it, but I couldn’t help it and sighed. All this waiting just to hear this? Ugh. I clutched my forehead, and a question cut through the air.

“Did the deity curse me?”

My eyes flew open. I couldn’t keep my words civil when I saw the root of this chaos.

“Wasn’t fighting Borhumi’s divine beast enough? You want to fight the Sarne divine beast too?”

I retorted in disbelief, but he just chuckled. Was this situation funny? The bear was bad enough, but this guy, who’d rather bite his tongue before speaking to a divine beast, was the bigger problem.

With Borhumi divine beast, the serpent’s tail worked overtime to convey the message properly, but the bear was on another level.

What if a childish argument started, and after waiting patiently, the words I got were something like ‘Bald-headed Kun’? My hair stood on end.

“Apologize.”

Tairok glared at me as if to say, “What?” I had no intention of backing down even if he stabbed my eyes with his gaze. Finally, Tairok twisted his lips and retaliated angrily.

“Why should I?”

“Why do you think? You accused the divine beast of insulting you when it didn’t even say much, and you’re just looking for trouble.”

‘Bastard’ wasn’t even really an insult. It was just a mildly negative expression. I justified my lie to myself, lifted my chin, and demanded,

“Apologize quickly.”

“Yes, apologize!”

Whoa, that startled me. Black Bear suddenly shouted in a deep voice. An unexpected supporter, but it only backfired. Tairok’s eyes turned icy. I quickly turned to Black Bear.

“Um, I’ll handle this myself…”

“Apologize to the divine beast now!!!”

Wait, is she from an oratory academy? What a powerful voice. But unlike me, marveling at her vocal technique, Tairok’s eyes only grew colder.

Ah, this doesn’t feel good.

“No.”

The word that ended the conversation finally left his mouth. I looked at the bear with a troubled expression. The divine beast was slowly getting up.

What nonsense is it going to spout this time… Huh? It wasn’t “speak.” The bear’s body suddenly floated up into the sky.

Only then did I notice the wings on its back flapping. Real wings?! Not fake armpit fluff?!

My mouth fell open, drawing both their gazes to me. But there was no time to explain.

Its plump body, light as cotton candy, floated effortlessly and landed directly on the massive rock beside the hut. Then it plopped down, and folded its arms across its chest.

There must be a reason for folding those chubby arms forward like that.

I looked closer and realized it resembled something.

Huh? Is it crossing its arms? Even though they’re too short to cross properly?!

The question “Why?” vanished the moment I met the eyes staring at me. As if it had been waiting for me to look, the bear turned its head around faster than ever the instant our gazes met.

I was surprised it could move that fast, and then surprised again by what its whole posture meant.

…It was sulking. It was sulking. I clutched the back of my neck and closed my eyes.

Haa, these whiners.