It would undoubtedly be a huge boost to my territory’s strength if I could forge a pact with it, but that was a huge “if.” The requirement for doing so was showing the beast that you had not just a strong desire but the will to see it through to the end.
In the game, the hero engaged one of the Twelve Apostles of Hades, during which his master of sorts was killed. In the face of his own powerlessness, his desire for more strength allowed him to forge a pact with a Divine Beast.
Did I have that kind of powerful desire myself?
“Are you okay?” I asked.
“Kew!”
The Divine Beast must have hurt its leg in an attempt to flee the goblins; I could see scratches all over it. Despite looking like a rabbit, it had something like a gemstone embedded in its forehead. Oh yeah, and it was super cute.
When I reached out to treat the creature, it bit me as hard as it could.
“Ow!”
I cried out on reflex, then quickly took a deep breath to calm myself. The creature was glaring at me with its teeth clamped in my skin, but its body was trembling in fear.
How could it not have been terrified? It literally had just been attacked by monsters. Obviously, it was going to be afraid of me too. I recalled that the pet rabbit I had in a previous life was like this at first, and a wave of nostalgia washed over me as I gently rubbed its back.
“There, there,” I murmured. “No need to be frightened. I’m on your side.”
“Kew?”
It may not have understood my words, but I was certain my feelings would get through to the small creature. I continued to rub its back for a time, and it wasn’t long before the beast began to lick the wound it had given me, looking at me almost apologetically.
“Hey, no worries. It doesn’t hurt,” I said. “I just wanna heal you, okay? Will you trust me?”
“Kew?”
First, I rubbed some medicinal herbs on my own wound to prove that they weren’t harmful. Then, having put the creature at ease, I began to rub the herbs over its injuries. Its fur was so soft that I honestly felt like it was healing me instead.
“Keww!” The beast must’ve been feeling better, as it cried out happily and began to nuzzle me. After watching everything unfold, Aigis and Nyarl came over, as did Rosalia, who had easily dispatched the goblins.
“You sure are tough, Rosalia,” said Nyarl.
“Seriously,” added Aigis. “I’d love to have you as one of our soldiers.”
“I appreciate the kind words. This strength is necessary in order to protect Lord Weiss,” she replied, then looked at the creature. “That is a Divine Beast, right? It’s adorable!”
“Yeah, and it’s all thanks to you that we were able to save it. Thanks a lot.”
Rosalia was spellbound by the small creature; this was perfect. If someone with that much magical power were to become this Divine Beast’s master, she would get that much stronger, and she’d be able to better protect herself.
Her desire to protect me was powerful. At least as powerful as the hero’s drive to protect the world. Surely it would forge a pact with her.
But when I tried to make that happen, the small creature chirped and hid behind me instead. Was it afraid of humans other than me? Maybe it was just keeping its guard up against other creatures in general after what had happened.
“Kew! Kew!”
“It seems to like you, Lord Weiss,” said Rosalia with a giggle. “It clearly understands how kind you are.”
“Is that really what’s going on? You’re way kinder than I am.”
Pacts with Divine Beasts were forged by fulfilling the aforementioned conditions, as well as supplying the creature with one’s own magic power. Unfortunately, that was looking to be rather difficult in this particular scenario, but since it liked me so much, I’d feel bad letting its kindness go to waste.
Once it became more accustomed to her, it would probably grow as fond of Rosalia as it was of me, and it’s not like there was a downside to traveling with a Divine Beast. Plus, there was how adorable it was on top of that.
“Wanna tag along with me, then?” I asked.
“Kew! Kew!”
“Now, now. Calm down.” I patted the little creature perched on my shoulder when I noticed that Aigis had gone stiff. “Um, Aigis? Is something wrong? You’ve been quiet this whole time.”
“It’s n-nothing,” she answered.
“Don’t tell me you’re scared of little animals. Look how soft this cutie is.”
“Oh, shut up. I’m not scared, okay?! It’s just, I don’t really know how to deal with animals!” She huffed. “Anyway, let’s hurry to the Divine Spring! Come on.”
I must’ve been right on the mark. I chuckled at Aigis’s surprising weak point, but decided to let it go for now. Her mother’s life was on the line, so we couldn’t sit around wasting time.
“Right. We’re close now.”
A short while after resuming our trek, Aigis awkwardly spoke up. “Um, it’s not that I hate the little guy or anything. It’s just, my pet hamster bit me when I was a child! Ever since then, I’ve struggled with small animals. Sorry if I came off poorly…”
“Nah, everyone has something they struggle with,” I told her. “Thank you for being honest with me. Feels like we’re even better friends now.”
“Is that so? Eh heh, I’d like that.”
As we chatted and made our way toward the spring, the Divine Beast on my shoulder began to squeak loudly, like it was attempting to draw our attention to something. Aigis’s face locked up at the sound, and I couldn’t help but chuckle at this surprisingly soft side of such a tough girl. That made her shoot a glare at me.
Going by the creature’s reaction, we must’ve been close to the spring. After proceeding a little further, we came upon a beautiful water source reflecting the light, with a host of Divine Spirits fluttering above it—a truly resplendent sight.
“Wow, how beautiful,” Aigis murmured.
“I can’t believe something like this has existed in our territory this whole time,” Rosalia said, sounding awed. “Well done, Lord Weiss!”
“You could easily turn this into a tourist spot,” added Nyarl.
All three of my companions had different reactions to the beautiful sight before us. I didn’t say anything, but that wasn’t for lack of thoughts. I was simply at a loss for words to express them. It was so much more beautiful and mysterious than how it looked in-game.
When I took a step toward the spring, an arrow flew straight toward me.
“Lord Weiss, watch out!” Rosalia shouted.
A surprise attack! But I hadn’t told anyone we were coming here before we left.
“Whoever you are, show yourself!” I shouted. “Have you attacked knowing that your target is Lord Weiss Hamilton?”
“Who would’ve thought there was a Divine Spring here?” a stranger said, ignoring my question.