“I don’t know why you’d want to punch me.”
“Hang on a second. You can read my mind?”
“Heh heh. Impressive, right? I told you I was a divine beast,” he said with a smug look on his face, puffing out his chest again. Sure, he was cute, but reading someone’s mind without their consent was also a massive invasion of privacy.
“So you are just spying on me.”
“No, no, no. Watching over you and spying on you are two different things.”
So that arrogant god had sent him here. But why? First he forced me into the world of my own novel, and now he sent this weird creature after me. Did he seriously think that’d be enough for me to carry out the revenge?
“Can I trade you for a different divine beast?”
“How rude! No one else could possibly take my place!” the beast protested.
So in other words, all divine beasts were useless.
I mentally wrote “divine beasts equal useless” in my mind as the creature thumped his tail against the bed in irritation.
“So rude... Well, whatever. You’ll realize my greatness and respect my sacred nature in time.”
“I seriously doubt that.”
The divine beast bared his fangs again, but then he quickly realized what he was doing. “Oops, sorry...” he apologized. “You really throw me off. Anyway, I’ll always be at your side as your support character. And I’ll even let you name me!”
“Name you?”
“Well, yeah. Don’t you think it’ll be a little suspicious if you call me O Great Divine Beast in front of everyone?”
Why would he assume I’d call him that? I wondered to myself, but I asked something different. “So you being a divine beast is a secret?”
“That’s right. I look like a perfectly ordinary pet to everyone else.”
Isn’t he really just an ordinary pet? If so, then what’s his reason for being here? I wondered, but I didn’t ask that. I didn’t want him to say, “Being cute is my purpose!” because I knew it would just piss me off.
“Anyway, give me a name already.”
“A name, huh?”
I’d never been good at naming characters, even back when I was a novelist. I mulled it over with a groan, and after a while the beast snapped, “How long are you gonna keep me waiting?!” Apparently divine beasts were quite impatient.
“How about Professor?” I suggested.
His snowy white fur reminded me of the eccentric old man who’d lived next door to me. He always wore worn-out clothes, he was arrogant but wise, and the other tenants had affectionately called him Professor.
I kind of blurted it out as I was absorbed in my nostalgic reveries, but then I quickly snapped out of it. That wasn’t even a real name; it was just a nickname. Plus, the two of them couldn’t have been more different. The old man was actually helpful at times. But this so-called “divine beast” was just going to sit around and watch me.
“Hang on, I’ll come up with something better...”
“Professor? Hmm, Professor... I like it! From now on, I’m Professor!”
Really? But judging by how his tail was wagging like crazy, he seemed genuinely thrilled by the name choice. I guess if he was happy, that was all that mattered.
I plopped back down on the bed, feeling oddly deflated.
“Hey! Will you call me by my name?”
“Huh? Um... Professor.”
Suddenly my body filled with heat and my mind went completely blank. After I regained consciousness, I found myself looking at the ceiling.
“The hell was that?” I shot up, panicked.
Professor was stretched out leisurely at my side, and he snorted softly, completely unfazed. “That was our contract. Now our bond is even stronger. From this moment on, I’ll always be at your side. And in exchange, you’ll offer me compensation.”
“Contract? Compensation? I don’t remember agreeing to any of this. And what exactly do you mean by compensation?”
“Well, that depends on the divine beast. Some want your life, others steal your mana. But I’m a nice divine beast, so I’ll just take food and shelter!”
“You mean all I have to do is feed you and let you sleep somewhere?”
“That’s right! Aren’t I generous?”
“Ha ha...” I could feel my blood pressure rising as I looked at his smug little face. A support character who “watches over” me, huh? He’s nothing but a burden!
“So basically, you’re my pet dog now, huh?” Useless and annoying. Who needs a divine beast like that?
And if he was a pet, there was no reason to speak politely to him anymore. I told him as much with my arms crossed, and he rose to his feet and bared his fangs.
“P-Pet dog?! I’m a divine beast! How dare you compare me to a—”
“Sit!”
“Awoo!”
Proper training from the start was essential with pets. Although I expected resistance, the moment I commanded Professor to sit, he immediately did so.
“So you can sit properly. Good boy.”
“N-No, that must just be leftover reflexes from this creature’s body’s previous form... Hey, don’t— Ahh, nngh!”
I roughly patted Professor’s head in praise, and all the tension disappeared from his face, despite the fact that he’d been baring his fangs moments before. Apparently he had a weakness for head pats.
“Anyway, I’ve got a lot of work to do, so don’t get in the way. Got it?”
“Wh-What do you think I’m... Ahh, mmgh... Yeah, right there... Oooh!”
I’d always liked animals, but I’d never been able to keep any pets in that crappy apartment. And since I had a tough road ahead, maybe a little comfort like this wouldn’t be a bad thing after all.
Still, convincing the master of the house to allow a pet would be no small feat.
Anyway, now that I’d decided to keep Professor as a pet, I had to be responsible for him. I braced myself to go see the lord of the Louboutin estate when Elly came barging back into the room, looking scared out of her mind. Then I had to go somewhere else entirely.
I’d already lived this life once, but it was impossible to remember every single detail of each day. Unless of course, there was some kind of dramatic event.
So naturally I’d totally forgotten that we were expecting a visitor today.
“My apologies for keeping you waiting, O Noble Sun who lights our kingdom,” I said as I entered the special reception room we used exclusively for entertaining important guests. I automatically performed a customary bow, still panting from running all the way here, but I forced myself to steady my breath and compose myself. But then I looked up, and what I saw stole my breath away all over again.
Lounging on the sofa was a man so beautiful even another man would be completely captivated by him. He truly was a noble sun.
“It’s about time you showed up.”
The man turned toward my voice, his long, silky, black hair tumbling over one shoulder. His sharp, intelligent eyes seemed to pierce straight through me.
They were a purplish-black color. Purple was said to ward off evil, yet when people gazed into his eyes, they would freeze as if they were entranced. It was because of this that his eyes were widely considered demonic.
He wore a jacket, dress shirt, and trousers, which was standard attire for nobility in this world. Yet when he wore them, he looked like he’d just stepped out of a movie.
I was dressed similarly, but we couldn’t have looked any more different. It wasn’t just the tailoring of the clothing, but his long limbs, his lean, muscular frame...
He was a living portrait. Back in my previous world, I’d seen all kinds of manufactured beauty on TV and in magazines, yet I’d still never seen someone as beautiful as him.
Of course I’d already seen him many times during my first life in this world, but now that my own memories had returned I was once again struck by how gorgeous he was.
He propped his elbow up on the armrest and gave me an exasperated look. “How many times must I tell you, enough with the formality, hmm?”
Not only was he the Noble Sun, but he was Kreis’s sun.
He was Siegfried Schoenberg, the king of Claan.
My heart pounded wildly in my chest. Just seeing him again made joy surge within me. The memory of Kreis’s tragic death struck me with the urge to throw myself at him and sob. Somehow, I managed to hold myself back.
Since I’d experienced Kreis’s life, it was difficult to tell where his feelings ended and mine began. I wasn’t Kreis, but then again, I was. It was all so complicated that I didn’t even know how to handle myself.
Siegfried Schoenberg, the reigning king, was skilled with both a pen and sword, blessed with beauty and kindness. Kreis had admired him deeply.
Despite his royal status, Siegfried was never arrogant. He and Kreis had been friends since childhood, and he’d always treated him as an equal.
All Kreis had wanted was to become someone worthy of serving at his side. He’d worked very seriously with dedication, hoping to always walk the righteous path so he never dimmed Siegfried’s light. If not for him, I would’ve hesitated to seek revenge—because revenge was about dragging someone else down, after all.