Chapter 86
<89화>
“Kyuuu….”
The Ferry stared at the crying boy, its dainty pink paws fidgeting with the iron bars.
Seeing it so restless over the child’s tears, it was clear their relationship wasn’t bad at all.
A monster trapped in a cage. A boy worried for such a monster.
Watching them reminded me of Kyle, who had lived in captivity for so long, and myself, who had desperately wanted to save him.
“…Since they like each other so much, wouldn’t it be alright to just leave them be?”
So I just tossed the suggestion out lightly—
“Pardon? Did you just say to leave a monster be, My Lady?”
“Oh….”
“The Lady of Crost, who protects the people from monsters, is suggesting we leave one alone?”
There was a problem.
“No matter how docile that thing looks, a monster is still a monster! They are worse than beasts, creatures that attack and devour humans! You never know when or how it might strike!”
I had overlooked how poorly monsters were perceived by the public.
People like Knox or Grace were the exceptions; in this world, monsters were synonymous with evil.
That was exactly why the Crost family, who maintained the Ice Wall to block them, was so respected.
As the daughter of such a house, my suggestion to leave the monster alone was bound to elicit this kind of reaction.
Well, I suppose I would have said the same thing before I met Kyle.
Hmm. What should I do?
I kept pondering as I looked at the boy.
“M-My Lady….”
The boy was sending desperate, sparkling beams of pleading toward me.
Ugh.
Feeling burdened, I quickly turned my head away, only to find—
“My Lady.”
This time, the adults were nodding at me with determined gazes, as if they placed all their trust in me.
No, these people are really laying it on thick.
‘What do you want me to do?’
Cold sweat erupted from my scalp like a fountain.
I understood the boy’s heart, but I also understood the people’s concerns, so I didn’t know whose side to take.
‘Let’s start by asking his name.’
I let out a soft sigh and asked casually.
“By the way, what is your name?”
“I-I’m called G-Guide….”
And then, the solution to this situation popped up from an unexpected place.
“…Guide?”
My eyes widened at the familiar name.
Slowly, the contents of the original novel unfolded in my mind.
‘Right. Guide. There was a character like that, wasn’t there?’
The description of Guide from the novel quickly took shape and overlapped with the boy in front of me.
‘Wow. He looked like this when he was little… like a tiny little snot-nose.’
He might look like that now, but he was destined for greatness.
Besides, things had changed significantly now that I had Kyle with me.
Perhaps this boy…
‘Could change the world just like Kyle. And in a way that favors the Crost family.’
Once I made up my mind, my thoughts became clear.
“Alright. Guide.”
“Y-Yes?”
I stood up from my chair and looked down at the trembling, snot-nosed boy.
And then.
“You. Come with me to the Duke’s Castle.”
I reached out my hand to him.
A short while later, the shaggy-haired boy, Guide, stood in front of the butcher shop with his few belongings packed.
The butcher shop owner approached him as he tightly clutched the travel cage where Bibi was confined.
“Guide. You…!”
“Y-Yes?”
Facing the owner, who was trembling with a face full of rage, the boy recoiled in fear.
Soon, the owner’s hands gripped the child’s small shoulders.
“Why did you bring that monster brat and make such a mess of things! If you ended up in prison because of that thing…!”
Unable to continue, the owner let out a choked sound—
“Fine! Just go to prison then!”
“What?!”
He squeezed his eyes shut, unable to even look at Guide.
In the owner’s mind, he remembered the newborn baby he had found abandoned on the street years ago.
He had raised a homeless orphan only for the boy to cause strange trouble and be a constant source of worry.
There hadn’t been a single day of peace while raising him.
And today, he had picked up some monster and held it out, claiming it was his friend…!
“I’ve gone through all kinds of hardship picking up a brat like you, and when I told you to get rid of that monster, you just cried. You need to learn that if you keep being that stubborn, you’ll end up in prison!”
“!”
Startled, Guide’s hair practically stood on end, and his small chin puckered like a walnut.
He knew the butcher was a kind man despite his words.
He knew it was all said out of worry for him.
But the tone was so harsh—
“What kind of way is that to speak to a child!”
Sometimes, there were people like the Lady of Crost who misunderstood the man.
“Oops, I thought I was speaking quietly. Did you hear that?”
“Of course. I’m not a Lady for nothing!”
“My apologies.”
The butcher chuckled and bowed his head before whispering to the boy.
“The Lady has quite a personality. Will you be alright following her?”
“I can hear everything!”
“Haha. You heard that too?”
“…….”
Guide, who had ended up watching the two bicker, muttered to himself.
‘Both of them have quite the personality….’
But that wasn’t the problem right now.
‘Why is the Lady suddenly taking me to the Crost Duchy Castle?’
He didn’t know the details, but the Crost family was the one that guarded the End of the World, which teemed with monsters.
Therefore, that place was…
‘A place where only scary, powerful people who can kill monsters gather.’
The ruler of the North, Duke Calips.
The aide, Knox, who was said to be crazy about monster research and always wore a glittering monocle.
And.
‘Hic.’
Even the Lady, who carried poison needles despite being only five years old and had enough presence to shout down the butcher.
Just imagining it made him feel like he would faint from fear, so Guide shook his head vigorously.
He had to keep his wits about him.
“…Bibi. It’s okay. If people try to k-kill you, I’ll protect you.”
He didn’t know why the Lady was taking him, but he was determined to protect his Bibi.
However, a moment later.
‘Huaaa….’
Guide’s resolve shattered into pieces the moment they arrived at the Crost Duchy Castle.
“Greetings, My Lady! By the way, who is this shrimp?”
“He’s my friend!”
“My Lady! Greeti— What is that monster the shrimp is holding? Should I kill it right now?”
“No! I’m going to keep an eye on it for now!”
‘Eek. Eek!’
Scary people were walking around everywhere.
His body shook involuntarily, so Guide hunched his shoulders and hid the travel cage as much as possible.
The escort knights guarding Lady Aisha were one thing, but everyone he encountered the moment they entered the castle was gargantuan.
It felt as if his body had shrunk, like he had arrived in a land of giants.
After passing through the massive castle and its people—
“Guide. Exactly how close are you with Bibi?”
Having arrived at the outdoor training ground, Lady Aisha suddenly turned around and asked.
‘If I say we’re very close… will I be kicked out beyond the End of the World too?’
Zing.
To others, it looked utterly trivial, but Guide was currently glaring at Lady Aisha with what he thought was a sharp, piercing gaze.
Bibi was his one and only friend.
It all started when they crossed paths by chance while he was walking in the mountains a while ago.
At first, he was busy running away from Bibi’s sharp claws and agile body.
‘Chomp.’
But when Bibi first pounced on his face, he felt a warm, soft belly against his forehead.
‘Kyuuu?’
When he turned his head, he saw eyes as pure as black beans.
The moment Guide saw Bibi’s face, he realized instinctively: the creature wanted to say hello.
After that, Guide spent happy times with Bibi as friends.
Usually, they played in the mountains, but sometimes he would bring it to the butcher shop to give it something to eat.
Then, an excited Bibi had been caught stealing meat from the warehouse, which led to this whole situation.
‘…….’
It was true Bibi had done wrong, but it wasn’t a sin worth dying for.
Filled with that sense of injustice, he glared at the Lady.