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* * *
Sadly, after the meal, my sister kicked me out ruthlessly.
"Stop joking."
"I'm not joking..."
"You're done eating, so get out now."
"Hey, you're kicking me out too harshly. I'm still a baby..."
"Ruth, get lost."
"Wow, you're swearing at me. Coco got a pass because she's a baby."
...Anyway, it's all because I look weak.
One more reason to catch Tiger was added to my heart.
Before returning to my detached residence.
I looked at my tomb and said cheerfully.
"Animal friends, summon!"
Even after saying that, I wasn't really thinking about mice.
Scurry, scurry, a white mouse crawled out of the wall.
"We will bring the leader of our mouse group, 'Emperor of Mice'."
"Okay..."
I nodded at the slightly foolish-looking mouse.
Soon after, 'Emperor of Mice' made a majestic appearance through a hole in the wall.
"...Hoo, truly astonishing. You're going to catch Tiger?"
After hearing my story, the mouse curled its tail as if troubled.
"Yes!"
The mouse shuddered.
"I can't help you. A mouse like me would be a snack if I went near Tiger!"
"Why! Aren't you 'Emperor of Mice'!"
"Ahem. Even the great 'Emperor of Mice' has things he can't do."
"..."
"I really don't want to go near Tiger! My instincts are telling me. Avoid Tiger. Avoid the vicinity of Tiger! You'll become a half-eaten mouse, crunch, crunch!"
"Then, what animal can help me..."
"Absolutely, absolutely none!"
This time, it was different from when I was repelling the maid.
The animal friends who could help me had disappeared.
I grabbed my head with a gloomy expression.
'Think of my sister, shiny head! Work!'
Right now, I have no one to help me, no animals.
'First, I need to find out where Tiger is.'
Even the future I saw didn't show where to find Tiger.
All I can trust is my head, blessed by God.
As I was grabbing my head and lost in thought.
"Gasp!"
Suddenly, a thunderous realization struck me.
"What's wrong, Coco?"
"You said you didn't want to go near Tiger, right? Instinctively!"
"That's right! So, I will never help you find Tiger Spirit Creature!"
"Mouse! No! You just helped me."
"Huh?"
I stroked the head of the confused mouse.
"You or any of the small animal friends. Is there a place in this entire mansion that you instinctively never want to go?"
At that, the mouse solemnly tapped its tail on the floor.
"Ugh, yes! It used to be my pantry, but it's become a very scary and terrifying space!"
"A place you've recently started to dislike?"
"Yes! Hoo, that, that place is..."
* * *
The place I ran to, hair flying, after hearing the mouse's words.
'This is the scariest place for the mouse these days.'
It was near a building on the far west side of the Duke's Castle, where there were many soldiers and a lot of wind.
'Weak animals like mice are instinctively afraid of scary beasts like Tiger!'
I laughed, "Uhoohuhut."
'Besides, there are habits that only animals know that people don't.'
I thought about what everyone looking for Tiger had forgotten.
'Animals are simple. They only think about one thing.'
I'm a puppy who likes to roll around in the grass.
And it was said that Tigers are similar.
They like Tiger Grass, so they roll around diligently in Tiger Grass?
'Here, they probably only thought about one thing. Tiger Grass.'
I walked around and looked around.
The Tiger Grass here was pressed down as if trampled.
As if someone was pressing down on it.
I raised my hand and rubbed it in the air. I whispered lowly, lost in thought.
So...
"You know. Tiger might be here."
I pointed to the pressed grass.
As if explaining to 'Emperor of Mice', who wasn't there.
"The wind is strong today. But... the grass isn't moving."
Even today, when the wind was strong, the Tiger Grass was only pressed down and didn't change direction with the wind.
'Tiger Spirit Creature's Special Ability is, maybe it's hiding.'
I quietly recited.
"I think it's hiding on the Tiger Grass."
* * *
Black Tiger, who had run away, swallowed hard and looked ahead.
'Did she read my mind?'
A gloomy corner of the Duke's residence that no one finds.
A Black Tiger was hiding, invisible.
'I thought I would never be caught because I was invisible.'
Black Tiger lay on a small patch of grass next to the dog hole, panting heavily.
But right then.
"Hello!"
The silver-haired little girl, who had properly finished her reasoning, shouted cheerfully.
While clearly looking straight at him, who was supposed to be invisible.
'Is she calling me?'
Black Tiger pressed his body even more tightly against the Tiger Grass.
"You're here, Black Tiger!"
...An undeniably clear and bright voice.
The gentle Black Tiger couldn't run away and pressed the letters on the ground.
[Can you see the letters?]
...Of course, he wouldn't be able to see these letters.
Humans couldn't read the letters written by Black Tiger.
"Yes! I can't see it, but I can see it!"
Black Tiger opened his mouth wide.
'A human who can read my writing?'
His confusion was brief.
The polite Tiger wrote the letters on the ground again.
[I see. It seems like a lucky day.]
"Why?"
[It's amazing to be able to communicate with words. Everyone else doesn't know...]
He is a Tiger with a shabby appearance because all his teeth have fallen out due to the long Fiend War.
Who would talk to a toothless Tiger?
Hiding that fact, he pressed the letters on the ground with his claws.
[Yes. Originally, I was killing Fiends in a very cold land, but no one talked to me, so it was hard.]
"...I see..."
[So, I guess I was able to hide my body. Anyway, no one was interested in me.]
The little girl blinked, staring as if engraving in her eyes the letters that were being written little by little on the ground.
"No."
[What?]
"I'm interested in you!"
'There's a human who's interested in me...?'
His withered paw tried to reach out to the girl, but it fell with a thud.
As his mind wavered, his transparent body slowly began to reveal itself.
A shabby body with all the ribs exposed, exhausted from the long war.
Black Tiger stared at the small girl with gentle eyes.
With spirited round eyes.
Gently grabbing his paw, from which fur was falling out.
A small, young girl who was probably only a tenth of his size.
"You must have had a hard time living as a stray Tiger."
Black Tiger stared at the girl with yellow eyes.
"You know, my name is Coco."
"..."
"Let's go together now. Actually, at first, I wanted to catch you because I wanted to become family with my sister."
"..."
"Now, I just want to be friends with you!"
[Frie...nds...]
"Yes! I'll play with you and heal your pain, and make you happy."
"..."
"Ah! I'll also introduce you to my sister, who is the coolest in the world!"
The girl smiled brightly and held out her hand.
But...
Black Tiger raised his paw with a hesitant expression.
[No.]
...Black Tiger couldn't take that hand.