03: Despairing Man

It had been three days since Kuuga came to this world.

As usual, he couldn’t go out because of the ritual, and only Kurone would come. The food he brought was about to rot at best and rotten at worst. Since Kuuga couldn’t complain, the amount was steadily decreasing.

Since that time, Cary brought Kuuga fresh fruits so he had something to eat, but Kurone, who didn’t know this, thought that “the Divine Beast didn’t eat much.”

Kuuga couldn’t talk to Cary but the other person would talk to him so Kuuga was happy to respond.

Apparently, the existence called the Divine Beast hadn’t appeared for about 500 years. Its legend was famous but it hadn’t been transmitted in detail so the people didn’t know what creature it was. Many young people didn’t even seem to believe it and thought it’s just a legend.

And this place seemed to be called a church. The priests and acolytes that lived here received some teaching about the Divine Beast and because the people respected the priests, the common folk just treated it as fairy tales.

Kuuga’s head hurt from the information given to him. Acolytes like Cary and Kurone were still better. If he got out of here, he might be chased with a weapon.

Kuuga leaned on the altar and looked at his reflection on the fountain pool. He wondered if he could go back and it had become his daily habit to faintly hope so.

Kuuga sighed deeply at his unchanging appearance of a black beast. It’s fine to be able to understand what other people were saying but it’s difficult to not be able to respond.

Only Kuuga could understand his own whines and growls. In the first place, he had no basic information like what kind of world he’s in, what ecosystem was present here, and what kind of life the people here were living in.

If I could at least see the outside world and have an image…

The moment he complained like that in his head, the fountain pool suddenly glowed faintly and began to show him something.

[Eh…!?]

His reflection was not there anymore. What was reflected there was a stone building in a forest.

Kuuga was wondering if that’s what the building he’s in looked like when it changed to a city where people came and went.

Did this fountain pool have a TV-like function?

The city reflected in the fountain pool was not as rustic as Kuuga thought, but rather a beautiful city with a uniform wall color. There were horse-drawn carriages on the main street, and the market was full of people, looking very lively.

It’s a mysterious sight for Kuuga, who lived in Japan, to see bright hair colors like red, blue, gold and so on. He wondered if people with the same hair color belonged to the same race. But it seemed like their hair color was just different. Their clothes weren’t as fantasy-like as he expected, and there were many light clothes that seemed easy to move in.

[Is this what a normal person looked like in this world?]

He imagined more of a traditional style because the clothes worn by the priest were unfamiliar robes.

Kuuga said, “ah”. A familiar castle was reflected at the end of the moving image as if he was walking in the city. That castle could be seen from his window.

As soon as he focused on the castle, the image suddenly switched and this time, the entire castle was projected. Perhaps there’s a mechanism that allowed Kuuga to see what he wanted to see.

The people in the castle wore better clothes than those in the city. The knights were wearing armors and swords on their waists while the maids and other servants were lowering their heads to higher ranking people.

What kind of person is the king? Once he thought so, the image moved to a place that looked like an audience hall. The king-like person was sitting on the throne, and though dignified, he looked quite old.

Kuuga was a bit surprised that he hadn’t retired at this age. He wondered if someone could inherit the throne once the king died. This king looked very tired which didn’t look good for this country.

However, Kuuga immediately lost interest on the king. The scene soon changed in response to Kuuga’s feelings, and this time, the outside of the castle was projected.

Reflected was a stable where he could see horses inside. The horses were the same as the ones Kuuga remembered. It didn’t have horns or wings.

He was a little disappointed that he couldn’t find an abnormal beast like himself.

At this time, Kuuga somehow noticed the man who brought a horse out from the stable. The man looked up and was reflected on the fountain.

[Uwaa, what a face.]

His words sounded rude, but it’s not because the man was ugly. Kuuga just had the habit of discerning what kind of person he/she was based on their faces, and beauty was only secondary.

From a normal point of view, this man’s face was neat and his body was tall and well-trained. His gray hair and bright green eyes looked well-matched. However, Kuuga was more concerned about his character more than that.

It’s as if he’s in despair over everything in the world. Kuuga had never seen anyone with such a face.

Kuuga was interested in that despairing face so he continued to observe the man. The man, who had left the castle on a horse, ran to a hill with no one around, laid there for a while then closed his eyes.

He wasn’t sleeping. Kuuga could see the tension from all over the man’s body even when he closed his eyes, as if he’s wary of something.

[This is a good time to take a break…]

Somehow, Kuuga felt it was a pity. He was concerned up to this point because the man was the type of person that could be trusted even though he had a terrible face.

His abilities also seemed to be high, and if he didn’t look like this, he’d be more likely to be admired by his surroundings as long as he didn’t betray other people. If so, he shouldn’t have to live his life like this.

Unconvinced, Kuuga growled lowly since this type of man should be living happily. If he was a human, Kuuga would have befriended him and brought him to his group of friends. No, not just friends, he could be his king. This man was worth it.

[Such a look doesn’t suit you, Green.]

Kuuga didn’t know the man’s name, so he could only call him Green because of the color of his eyes. Of course, he didn’t think it could reach him, but he really liked this guy.

What are you wary of? Perhaps there’s a great person in a great position who’s aiming for his life.

So that even if he came to a place like this where nobody was, he still couldn’t sleep at ease. Kuuga really couldn’t understand it.

[If I’m there, I’d carefully select the people around you.]

Where is this man sleeping? If it’s near the castle, it shouldn’t be far from here. If Kuuga went now–

[No, I’ll be regarded as a monster if I suddenly go.]

Kuuga would have been attacked if he approached. Why did he have this body? Why wasn’t he human?

Dissatisfied, he hit the ground with his forefoot, and with a regretful and disappointed mood, Kuuga laid down on the spot.