The first page depicted a great witch.
“Half demon, half human, and known for her high aptitude in all kinds of magic. She was especially unmatched in dark magic. Because of her lineage, she did not fit in with either humans or demons and lived for a long time in solitude. However, after meeting the holy beast, she learned how to love and later became a champion who saved many people with her extraordinary magical abilities.”
Hmm?
I casually flicked a few pages ahead and landed on a description of a male alchemist.
“The major difference between him and the other Champions of Destiny was that he was a commoner merchant, a fact that has been forgotten by most now and overshadowed by his brilliant alchemy. His business acumen and grasp of human psychology were far beyond standard, and he became known for developing magical tools and potions—many of which are still used today. Whenever he lacked something that he truly wanted, he would simply create it himself.”
Where have I heard this story before?
The next page showed a gorgeous princess of a large kingdom.
“Renowned through history as a stunningly beautiful princess and even a femme fatale. Those acquainted with her also knew that she was a talented songstress. She possessed the rare ability to weave mana into her voice. Sometimes her lips spun songs of prosperity, and sometimes songs of ruin. It is said that her ability may be the reason she came to be known as a femme fatale.”
Huh? Huuuh?!
Feeling restless, I continued flipping through the book.
One page described a Champion of Destiny who had been a hero. A little past that, there was an illustration of him wielding a holy blade against a large, intimidating black dragon. I went back to the first page of this section and read the introduction.
“His greatest achievement was undeniably the sealing of a demon lord that threatened the safety of the world.”
Wait a second.
I tilted my head. This book was giving me an extreme sense of déjà vu, but why?
Looking at the other pages, I saw that although the content was detailed and interesting, nothing struck me as new information. After all, everything sounded vaguely familiar to me.
Lady Alice noticed me staring and frowning at the book and said, “Oh! Isn’t that one fascinating? It’s short, but I like how it introduces the Champions of Destiny and their accomplishments in a thought-provoking way. It’s even more interesting if you read it alongside this one!”
She smiled and handed me what looked like a book of illustrations. The artwork was labeled with the names of the champions in fancy, decorative lettering.
Let’s see, what do we have here? Alys the great witch, Clarissa the great saint, Matthew the chef and S-rank adventurer, Conrad the alchemist of the century, Roselia the singing princess, Hinako the otherworlder, Efren the chosen hero...
Wait, what?! I know all of these people! They were Lilybell’s owners! Every last one of them drowned me in affection!
Are you telling me that they were all Champions of Destiny? I-Is that even possible?!
Struck by a sudden realization, I opened the first book to the page introducing Efren.
This description and illustration... Was the “demon lord” Maouldoth?!
The book seemed to treat the demon lord and the dragon as separate entities, but the part about the demon lord was definitely talking about Maouldoth.
Um...that little guy was a demon lord?!
I gasped and went back to the very first page.
Hold on. If the Champions of Destiny were my beloved owners and the demon lord was Maouldoth, then that means I know everyone mentioned in this book except for one. Unless...
Every book about the Champions of Destiny mentioned the same thing on the first page:
“The Champions of Destiny were always accompanied by a holy white beast.”
I thought back to the first time Lady Alice had told me about the Champions of Destiny.
“Every Champion of Destiny was accompanied by a holy beast! It was said to be a beautiful creature with a gorgeous pure-white coat and eyes the deepest color of the sea!”
C-Could it be that the holy beast that accompanied the Champions of Destiny was...Lilybell?!!!
There was no other possible explanation. The identity of the mysterious holy beast was almost certainly my past self, Lilybell.
What a shocking revelation!
I’d been disappointed that I’d never encountered any of these famous champions or their holy beasts despite living for such a long time as Lilybell, but the reason was self-evident. After all, I’d had no idea that I was the holy beast!
I wondered if my owners had known that they were being called champions. Most likely not, given that they had all been the boastful type, especially Hinako and Efren. If they’d known, they would’ve asked me to praise them.
It was common for people to become famous posthumously, after all.
Then again, in the end, I’d just been an ordinary white cat. Sure, my owners had loved me so much that they’d given me a longer lifespan and a few of their abilities, but I certainly hadn’t been amazing enough to be considered a holy beast.
Well, I won’t deny that Lilybell was a precious and adorable creature deserving of love, though.
“Big sister Lucille? Is something wrong?”
Lady Alice’s voice brought me back to the present.
Oops, I was frozen in shock.
I smiled and said it was nothing, then continued poring over the books about the Champions of Destiny. As far as I could tell, they all ended with the holy beast’s disappearance. Some even speculated that the final champion had incurred the holy beast’s wrath.
No! I didn’t leave out of anger; I died!
By the way, I wonder who they’re referring to when they say the “final champion”? Didn’t I witness the death of all of my owners?
The only one for whom I hadn’t done so was my last owner, the nameless boy with a beautiful soul. However, he had still been a child at the time of my death, and we hadn’t been together for long. The time that we had spent together had mostly been confined to a small, dark room, where we had curled up together. Unlike with my other owners, we hadn’t traveled or even gone out in public together.
If I hadn’t died, I’d have liked to have gone places with that boy and done fun things.
It was highly unlikely that that boy would’ve been considered a Champion of Destiny.
Wait! Could it be that I had an owner that I didn’t know about?!