Chapter 92
At the same time. In the hallway of the Main Castle.
“No.”
“Do it.”
“I said no!”
“Just do it! You need to catch the scent and find Bibi!”
Zzzzt.
Sparks flew between Lucas and Kyle as they glared at each other.
“But the smell is too awful! I hate this even more than the poison that woman forced me to eat!”
Kyle had realized something was wrong the moment Guide pulled out the socks.
‘A terrible stench.’
Before he could even track the scent of the long, white fluff-ball, something dark and murky had overwhelmed him.
Those socks were a weapon.
Even the most powerful monster would flee if someone held those socks.
“I won’t! It stinks!”
Kyle huffed and turned his head away, refusing to even look at the socks.
His sense of smell was already sensitive enough; he felt like he might die if he caught a whiff from that close.
It was then.
“…U-Um, Young Lord Lucas?”
The person who had been standing silently in the middle of them spoke up in a timid voice. It was Guide.
“What is it?”
When Lucas asked, Guide glanced at Kyle—who was still pouting with his head turned—and whispered quietly.
“Is… is Master Kyle a cat-human… or something like that…?”
“Well, something like that. You can think of him as half-monster, half-human.”
“Aha. S-So that’s why his sense of smell is so sensitive.”
“Why?”
Lucas asked again, but Guide didn’t answer. He looked lost in thought, his mind racing.
Then, as if he had made a decision, he clenched his trembling fists, snapped his head up, and spoke.
“M-Master Kyle!”
“What?”
“The s-socks are over here, but you can smell them from all the way over there! You’re truly a-amazing!”
He gave a thumbs-up.
Lucas watched with wide eyes. He was a Monster Trainer, after all—was he trying to train Kyle?
It was a surprisingly brave move for a crybaby. If only his outstretched thumb wasn’t shaking like a leaf.
However, Kyle stared at the trembling thumb for a moment and arched an eyebrow.
“Can’t you see Lucas hyung is plugging his nose too? It’s not that I’m amazing; it’s that your socks are amazing.”
This was bad. Kyle was unexpectedly sharp.
‘What do I do?’
As Lucas fell into deep thought, troubled by the sharp observation—
“L-Lord Lucas.”
The whispering started again.
“I-I’m sorry, but could you u-unplug your nose? I don’t think M-Master Kyle believes my compliment.”
“…Huh?”
Lucas flinched at the sudden request, his fingers still pinching his nose shut.
He turned his head to see the brave boy looking at him with furrowed brows, holding the socks.
‘To be honest, I really don’t want to…’
But Guide was right.
If he didn’t unplug his nose, Kyle would never agree to track the scent.
There was no choice. Since even that crybaby wasn’t giving up, Lucas felt he had to fulfill his duty as the heir of Crost.
“…Fine. I get it.”
Finally, Lucas let go of his nose.
“It d-doesn’t smell at all, right?”
“Ugh.”
Guide asked as he held out the socks, and at the same moment, Lucas’s face crumpled as he collapsed on the spot.
But he was the sole heir of Crost.
Even if he went down, he had to complete his mission.
“Yeah. Not at all. Doesn’t. Smell.”
At those words, Guide’s expression brightened.
“S-See! O-Only Master Kyle can smell this!”
Did their desperate wish reach him?
Kyle, who had been eyeing the two of them with sharp, narrowed eyes, finally turned his head.
“…Really?”
“O-Of course! And if M-Master Kyle tracks Bibi’s scent and finds her, Lady A-Aisha will be so happy.”
“Oh? Really?”
At the mention of Aisha’s name, Kyle’s ears perked up like a rabbit’s.
Lucas, who was barely clinging to consciousness while lying on the floor, suddenly thought:
‘I should have mentioned Aisha from the start…’
Kyle would do anything for Aisha.
If they had just said that earlier, he wouldn’t have had to smell those socks and pass out…
Regardless, Guide continued to coax Kyle.
“O-Of course! Lady Aisha is the l-lady of the House of Crost. If you solve the p-problem in the castle, she’ll praise you as a h-hero, Master Kyle!”
“Whoa. A hero?”
Startled by the word ‘hero,’ Kyle scurried closer.
Kyle had learned during his lessons with his tutor that ‘hero’ was a very prestigious title.
“Aisha will praise me as a hero?”
“Yes!”
“Then I’ll do it! Give me the socks!”
Kyle immediately snatched the socks from Guide’s hand and took a sniff.
The claim that they didn’t smell at all was a lie. Nevertheless, without a word of complaint, he managed to pick out Bibi’s scent from the midst of the terrible foot odor.
Then, after sniffing the air—
“Over there!”
He pointed in one direction. Startled, Guide began pitter-pattering after him.
“B-Bibi! I’m coming!”
“I’m coming too!”
Kyle started to follow but paused and looked down.
His gaze fell upon Lucas, who had now completely lost consciousness.
‘Lucas hyung is heavy. Should I just leave him?’
If Lucas stayed lying in the hallway, the passing knights would surely take him back to his room.
However.
‘O-Of course! Lady Aisha is the l-lady of the House of Crost. If you solve the p-problem in the castle, she’ll praise you as a h-hero, Master Kyle!’
“…I am a hero.”
Recalling Guide’s words, Kyle muttered with grim determination.
In his lessons, he had learned that a hero never abandons anyone.
That was right. No matter how heavy Lucas was, a hero saves people until the very end.
“Heave-ho!”
In the end, Kyle slung the unconscious Lucas over his shoulder and, dragging the older boy’s long legs behind him, followed after Guide.
They didn’t know yet.
That the destination the scent was leading them to was the Ice Cave where Aisha was.
“…Who are you?”
I was supposed to be the only person in the Ice Cave.
The being I had been terrified was a ghost was now thrusting its face right in front of mine.
“It’s Bibi, you brat. Haven’t you been calling my name this whole time?”
The moment I confirmed who it was, my fear turned into absurdity.
“Well, yes, but…”
I lost my words and eventually shut my mouth.
This monster was claiming to be Bibi herself…
A small weasel-like monster scolding me in human language. Is this normal?
And just how old is she that she sounds like a grandmother?
As I stammered, unable to say anything, the granny-monster’s eyebrows arched.
She even crossed her short arms—though they didn’t quite reach.
“My, my… you dazed child. With a face like that, will you even last a day in the Ice Cave?”
Goodness. Now she’s even nagging me.
I stared at Bibi with wonder.
“…Um, but, Grandma…”
“It’s Bibi!”
“Ye-Yes. Bibi. When did you learn human language?”
When I asked, Bibi’s black bean-like eyes went wide.
“Human language? What are you talking about! No matter how much you ignored me, this old lady kept screaming until you finally came to your senses!”
Pardon? It’s not that I’ve lost my mind?
Blink, blink.
I blinked slowly and pulled on my round cheek with a fingertip.
“Ouch.”
Since it hurt, I knew I wasn’t dreaming.
‘…Then does that mean I’m understanding the language of monsters?’
But how?
Naturally, this was something I had never seen in the original novel.
But then.
‘Save Aisha! Don’t hurt people, follow Aisha!’
Kyle’s voice suddenly echoed in my mind. Back when he was forced to obey the Duke of Pose’s orders due to black magic.
It was a situation where my father and I could have been in grave danger.
‘Suddenly, I heard Kyle’s voice in my head, and the black magic was broken.’
Come to think of it, hearing Kyle’s voice was strange enough, but his command had been directed at the monsters, not me.
It was very odd, but I had been too distracted at the time to pay it much mind.
‘Could it be related to this?’
“Hmm…”
Who should I ask about this? Should I tell Dad when he comes later?
While I was stroking my chin in thought—
Plop. Something landed on my knee.
I snapped out of it and looked down; it was drool.
“Child, give me some b-bread already. This old lady is hungry and cold.”
Drooling, Bibi held out a thin pink palm toward me.
Oh dear.
“Here you go, Grandma Bibi.”
Knowing she looked ready to pounce on my face again if I didn’t give her food, I pulled out the bread from inside my jacket and handed it to her.
Bibi snatched the bread and began eating ravenously.
Watching her, I tentatively spoke up.
“By the way, Grandma Bibi.”
“Yeah?”
“Why did you come here?”
She paused.
At that moment, Grandma Bibi, who had been aggressively working her front teeth on the food, froze.
She looked at me hesitantly, as if unsure whether she should tell me.
Then.
“…I ran away.”
“Pardon?”
“That boy, Guide, got locked in his room because of me. I thought it would be better for him if this old lady wasn’t around, so I ran away.”
She muttered it as if it were nothing and went back to eating her bread.