Chapter 42
<44화>
At that same hour.
Near the End of the World.
A knight, struggling to see through the swirling snow, rubbed his eyes.
“A talking monster? There’s really such a thing?”
Once a day, the knights of the Crost Duchy patrolled beyond the End of the World.
The topic of the talking monster that had supposedly been spotted earlier had come up.
“I’m telling you, I really heard it!”
“Fine. If it was a false report, we’d be in deep trouble. That’s why we’re back here now, isn’t it?”
Thanks to a comrade who insisted on reporting something that sounded like a tall tale, he had ended up out in these snowfields once again.
This was the habitat of the Alosini.
These creatures, which resembled four-legged beasts, were as massive as lions, but since they didn’t live in packs, they weren’t too difficult to handle.
Sweat began to dampen the leather gloves gripping his sword.
It was about time for an Alosini to appear.
“If there really is a talking monster like you say, maybe I’ll try having a chat with it.”
It was then.
Beyond the snow blocking their vision, a massive shape began to prowl.
‘An Alosini.’
Exchanging glances, the knights fanned out in a wedge formation and began to walk silently toward it.
“Kyahhh!”
The Alosini, which had been prowling normally, suddenly staggered as if struck by something.
It looked like a small syringe was embedded in its hide.
Where on earth did that come from?
As one startled knight scanned the surroundings, someone who had fired the dart leaped down the cliff with quick steps.
Judging by the silhouette, it wasn’t a knight of Crost.
But that wasn’t the problem.
Kaaaaaack—!
With a piercing shriek that rattled their eardrums, the Alosini suddenly lunged at the knights.
A short while later.
Calips pulled the syringe from between the Alosini’s fur, which was damp and matted with blood.
“…It appears to be the Madness Amplifier found during the last successor trial.”
At the knight’s report, he recalled Aisha’s words.
‘I know what this is. This is a Madness Amplifier made by the Pose Duchy.’
A drug manufactured by the Pose Duchy.
‘Could they be…’
He knew the Pose Duchy had long been conducting various experiments using their Poison Ability.
However, those were for the purpose of war between kingdoms, not for killing monsters.
Furthermore, even those plans had been thwarted because of the monsters.
Since the Crost Duchy, who built the Ice Wall, had become the saviors of humanity from the monsters, the Doctia Kingdom had tacitly halted the war.
So, he had never even imagined they would create a drug targeting monsters.
Calips stood up, a deep furrow appearing between his brows.
“What is the status of Marquis Lillis?”
“We are attempting to coax an answer out of him through interrogation, but he refuses to speak to the end.”
“Increase the intensity. Dunk his face in boiling water. If that doesn’t work, pull out his fingernails. Just don’t kill him to the point where he can’t talk.”
“Understood.”
What was the Pose Duchy’s intention?
What profit could be gained by driving monsters into a state of madness?
It was then.
“It’s an Alosia!”
The surrounding knights shouted warnings and took up combat stances.
Calips also walked forward leisurely, drawing his sword from its sheath.
Thwack—!
From the front.
Thwack.
No, from behind.
“Kiyahiyaaa!”
Alosias that had suddenly been hit by something began to let out thunderous roars as they collapsed.
“Th-they’ve been hit with the Madness Amplifier!”
“Everyone, stay sharp and defend!”
“But there isn’t just one or two Alosias!”
A chilling, gruesome harmony of roars began to close in from all directions.
‘Just what are you up to, Duke of Pose?’
Calips’s eyes narrowed dangerously as his sword cleared the scabbard.
At that same hour.
The garden of the Queen’s Palace in the Capital.
‘Hmm.’
I glanced at the terrace not far away.
They were still huddled around the tea table, talking seriously for over an hour now.
In particular, the expression on Knox’s face as he stroked his chin was quite grim.
‘What’s going on?’
They probably sent me out because they judged the topic too dangerous for a young child to hear.
“Baby. I wonder what it is? Should we try eavesdropping?”
At my words, the baby cat rolling on the grass tilted its head.
“Nyo—?”
Bathed in the warm sunlight of the capital, the baby’s eyes sparkled brilliantly.
Because it had taken the eye-transformation potion, it looked like an ordinary cat, but I could tell.
Looking at the baby’s eyes up close, they were definitely not ordinary.
And it wasn’t just the eyes. I felt like I was looking at something with an ego and intellectual level similar to my own.
Come to think of it, it’s strange.
The baby listens to me so well.
If it were a normal cat, wouldn’t it sit on a table and knock things off?
Or sit on a bed and knock things off?
Or sit on a cat tower and knock things off…?
It was then.
“……?”
I felt a gaze so intense it felt like it was boring a hole into the back of my head.
“Who is it?”
I whipped my head around, but all I saw were pretty flowers and trees.
However.
Twinkle, twinkle—
I definitely felt it.
‘This is the “Twinkle Beam” I send out whenever I’m desperate…?’
Sensing a somehow familiar streak of light, I scanned the surroundings—
“…Squeak—?”
Under a bench.
A mouse peeking out from between the blooming rose stems was emitting a desperate Twinkle Beam.
It was Jjikjjigi, the telegram mouse.
“Oh, Jjikjjigi!”
I hurriedly hugged the baby cat.
“Baby. You can’t eat that Jjikjjigi, okay?”
“Nya?”
Suddenly trapped in my arms, the baby’s eyes narrowed into slits.
The baby looked at the frightened Jjikjjigi with an expression of utter indifference, then wrinkled its nose.
“Ptooey—”
“…Did you just go ‘ptooey’?”
It looked like an expression saying it wouldn’t eat the mouse even if it were offered. At any rate, it was a very unique cat.
Regardless, this telegram mouse, Jjikjjigi, would follow me until it delivered its message.
It was better to check it quickly and send it on its way rather than pretending not to notice.
“Jjikjjigi, shush.”
When I made a shushing sound at the mouse, Jjikjjigi, who had been emitting the Twinkle Beam, hid its face behind a rose.
“Miss May.”
“Yes, Lady Aisha.”
When I called for May, she stopped chatting with the royal servant and answered with a smile.
“I’m going to play hide-and-seek with the baby. Can I wander around from here to over there?”
I pointed to the area inside the white fence surrounding the garden.
May stood up slightly from her chair to gauge the distance.
She seemed to be considering if it was a distance from which she could still watch over me while seated.
“It won’t be dangerous, will it?”
May asked the royal servant.
The servant burst into a hearty laugh as if she were worrying over nothing.
“Whether it’s here or there, it’s the private grounds of the Queen’s Palace. There are royal knights guarding the perimeter, and the Queen’s personal knights know the Lady is here. She’ll be safe.”
“Hmm. Then…”
At the servant’s words, May nodded and gave me a reminder.
“Lady Aisha. You still must be careful. Just in case, why don’t you come back after playing hide-and-seek just once?”
I only needed to check the telegram. I nodded my head.
“Got it! I’ll just do it once and be right back!”
With a grunt, I scooped up the baby cat again and gestured with my head to Jjikjjigi while looking down—
‘Jjikjjigi, follow me.’
‘Squeak!’
Jjikjjigi, who had somehow learned how to salute with a front paw the size of a grain of rice, followed after me.
After walking a certain distance along the pretty garden path, I finally bent my knees and settled down.
“They won’t be able to tell what I’m doing from here. Jjikjjigi, come out.”
“Squeak… squeak…”
Jjikjjigi, whose front legs had been trembling as it kept a wary eye on the baby cat, stepped forward.
The sight was far too amateurish.
“Jjikjjigi. This is your first time working as a telegram mouse for me, isn’t it?”
I felt a bit sorry for it.
Last time, when it was with Dad, it got caught by Knox and faced the consequences.
And today, it’s scared out of its wits again, isn’t it?
Feeling pity, I cheered Jjikjjigi on.
“I’ve washed my hands of it now… but I know because I’ve spent years in that line of work myself. If you want to live as a telegram mouse, you can’t be afraid of things like cats.”
It might sound like an old-timer’s lecture, but advice was the only encouragement I could give.
“Since it’s a dirt path, you won’t need paper. Here, I’ll give you a twig.”
As I placed a twig in Jjikjjigi’s front paw—
“Squeak… squeak…”
Jjikjjigi, taking my advice to heart, scrunched up its tiny nose and began to write something down.