[Because only you can hear me.]

“Go back right now.”

[I don’t want to. I have my dignity as a divine beast. How long has it even been since I ran away that I should already go ba— mmph!]

“Stuff your dignity.”

Camilla smacked Jeti’s beak over and over as he spouted nonsense. This mouth! This mouth!

“My peace matters more than your dignity.”

[Mmph! Oww! That hurts!]

“Leave before I pluck out every last feather.”

[Hey, that’s too much! Why are you so heartless? We’ve known each other a pretty long time, haven’t we? You should be a little kinder!]

When Camilla started tugging hard on his wings too, Jeti flapped frantically up into the air and shrieked from a distance.

“What a useless mouth.”

[Useless mouth? Useless mouth? That’s way too harsh!]

“Shut up.”

She should have hit that mouth a little more.

[This is partly your fault too!]

“What are you talking about?”

What kind of nonsense was that now? Camilla tilted her head and asked,

“Why is your running away my fault?”

[Because we fought because of you!]

“Me?”

What did I do? I haven’t even been to House Jayvillan lately, so why was he dragging in someone who’d been quietly minding her own business at home?

[Because I took your side, that bastard got sulky and kicked me out!]

Naturally, Camilla could not understand Jeti at all.

“I don’t know what you’re saying, but don’t take my side anymore. I can live just fine without it.”

Camilla waved her hand back and forth in annoyance.

[Wow, you’re really too much.]

Whatever.

“So what’s the conclusion?”

You’re planning to stay here?

[That’s right.]

“...You have no intention of going back?”

[Of course not.]

“......”

[Don’t you have anything to eat? Snacks like that aren’t very good. Your tastes aren’t as refined as I expected. Bring me something else. What kind of hospitality is this for a guest?]

“King, go ask.”

******

[There really is someone here who can see us?]

[I’m telling you there is!]

[No, but how?]

[How should I know? Anyway, somebody saw her talking to the dead!]

Two ghosts who looked to be in their early thirties whispered as they stared at the huge entrance wrapped in deep darkness.

[But this is House Sorpel... T-there’s a divine beast here. What if that divine beast tries to wipe us out?]

[They say the divine beast here is still young, so it’s fine. They even said there are ghosts that have settled down and live here.]

[Really?]

[It’s fine, it’s fine! I checked several times.]

The ghost noticed his companion was almost convinced and drove the point home. In truth, he was fairly confident too.

[And I don’t think that white tiger divine beast is here today either. I secretly watched this morning, and I didn’t see it at all.]

He hadn’t even heard its cry.

When he added that it was highly likely it had left the house with the head of the family, the other ghost, who had still been doubtful, nodded with a grim expression.

[Right. Whatever happens, we’ve got nothing to lose! We just have to slip in, find that woman, and ask her a favor.]

[Exactly, friend! And if she says she won’t do it, we’ll just keep pestering her and making her miserable. How long could she possibly hold out? She’ll have no choice but to listen.]

[True. She won’t want to keep seeing things like us.]

Chuckling as they looked at each other, the ghosts finally made up their minds and stepped into House Sorpel.

Whoosh.

[Ghk!]

[W-what is this?!]

But at that moment, a formless force bore down on the two ghosts.

A cold presence pressed on their entire bodies, and they could not move so much as a fingertip.

[Do the dead get bolder after they die? What do you think this place is, crawling in here like that?]

Why were they here...?

At the appearance of the divine beasts Jeti and Luna, the ghosts’ mouths fell open.

[I-it’s a divine beast! What do you mean it isn’t here? There aren’t just one but two of them!]

[T-that can’t be right. The divine beast of this house is supposed to be a tiger, not a bird and a wolf—]

[I’m not just some bird, you idiots!]

[Aaaah!]

[Run!]

When Jeti, who took enormous pride in being an eagle, bellowed in fury, the two ghosts fled in total panic.

[You idiots seem to be under some misunderstanding, but isn’t Camilla scarier than we are? You should be grateful we caught you instead! She’s the kind of human who even puts reapers to work. Hey? Where are you going? You have to listen to the rest before you leave!]

Jeti cackled as he chased after the fleeing ghosts. He looked delighted, as if this had come at just the right time because he had been bored.

[.......]

Was that why he had told King to get some proper rest?

Jeti had even stopped King from letting out the great cry he used to give once a day to keep those vile things from approaching. He had said the two of them would block them, so there was nothing to worry about.

Thinking of the little tiger cub inside playing with Camilla, Luna let out a light sigh.

She did not feel any need to follow Jeti. Unlike how frivolous he looked on the outside, he was meticulous about doing what needed to be done. He would handle it on his own.

Luna quietly looked up at the sky, where even the moonlight was hidden by clouds and darkness lay thick.

She was enjoying that brief stillness when she heard footsteps behind her.

“Luna?”

When she turned her head, she saw Camilla in light clothes, smiling softly as if she had come out for a walk.

Luna immediately walked over to her.

“What are you doing here? Are you out for a walk too?”

Nod.

There was no need to tell her she had been driving out ghosts, so Luna only gave a short nod.

Camilla gently stroked her head. Her eyes as she looked at the black wolf were full of affection.

“Thank you. For everything.”

Unlike talkative Jeti or King, who was secretly rather clingy, Luna was always calm and dependable, which made her someone easy to lean on.

Camilla explained calmly to Luna, who tilted her head as if asking what she meant all of a sudden.

“Just in general? I’ve gotten a lot of help from you. And thanks to you, Rio’s been happy too.”

Camilla knew better than anyone that Luna looked after Rio in all sorts of small ways and always let him win.

She had heard [N O V E L I G H T] Luna sighed a lot, but also that she had never once refused one of Rio’s requests. That alone was more than enough reason for Camilla to adore her.

“What kind of divine beast keeps time because a child is singing?”

At that moment, a groaning sound slipped out from Luna, and Camilla burst into a quiet laugh. So it wasn’t as if she’d had no complaints after all.

The hand stroking Luna grew even gentler. Seeing the wolf close her eyes and begin properly enjoying the touch, the corners of Camilla’s lips drooped slightly.

‘This one can’t be at ease either.’

Camilla knew very well how the Duke of Sepra and Arsian treated Luna.

A being they kept beside them against their will. One they kept near out of necessity, but would never give any affection to...

When she thought about the way House Sepra had passed down the line of the divine beast, she could understand it.

It was not Luna’s fault, but unlike the other two houses, it would have been hard for them to feel close to a divine beast.

But only that much.

They did not treat Luna with malice. If anything, they had clearly drawn the line, saying Luna’s existence and the family’s sin were separate things.

‘Do you resent her? No.’

‘No?’

She had once asked Arsian that casually.

It was because, even while he ignored Luna and treated her like a mutt, she had never felt even a little anger from him, which was what made it strange.

Camilla had always found that odd. Didn’t he hate and resent the very existence of divine beasts?

At Camilla’s question, Arsian shook his head more firmly than she had expected.

‘I don’t even have feelings like that.’

He had said the problem was the family that could not let go of the beast of darkness, and that he had no desire at all to direct anger toward the divine beast itself.

The Duke of Sepra was the same.

‘Is that why?’

Perhaps that was why Luna still followed them steadfastly despite the cold way the two men treated her.

Because Luna knew that too.

Because she knew very well, at least, that they did not hate or resent her.

[.......]

As Camilla silently kept sighing, a worried look appeared in Luna’s eyes.

Camilla tried to force a smile, but in the end failed to control her expression and buried her face in Luna’s fur.

“Isn’t there another way?”

To obtain the beast of darkness, they had to kill the head of the family, then search through the inside of his body and take out the divine beast’s egg.

But that was not the only problem.

For the divine beast’s egg to hatch, it required the unique power passed down through the direct line of House Sepra, and that power was based on hatred and anger.

In order to awaken to and wield that so-called “primal darkness”...

“Ugh.”

At the image of a small child flickering through her mind, a sigh escaped on its own.