22: Chief Retainers 3

For the time being, he’d start with Yog. This person was the scariest.

Kuuga sat down in front of Yog, who was having fun. He hit the floor with his tail, and Gadillas, who knew Kuuga’s intention, followed.

“Kuuga wanted to say hello.”

“Fofo. This is an honor for me. Thank you very much, Kuuga-sama.”

Kuuga rubbed his forehead on the bowing Yog’s hand. As Uros said, many thought that he was something they couldn’t easily touch, so he wanted to start from here.

As expected, Yog also seemed to be surprised.

“Ah, he likes being patted, so feel free to touch him.”

“Hoho. This seems to be different from what I had expected…”

Looking intently on Kuuga’s eyes, Yog gently patted Kuuga’s neck as he was told. When Kuuga shook his tail, Yog laughed “fo fo fo” as if he found it fascinating.

Then, Kuuga turned to Luon, who was next to Yog. Luon’s eyebrows jumped.

This man shouldn’t hate animals. However, he had a face that didn’t know what to do with an unknown creature that had just shown a power that he hadn’t expected.

When Kuuga moved in front of him and sat down, Luon bowed down and said, “thank you very much.” It created an atmosphere of whether he also had to pat Kuuga.

Kuuga wanted him to touch and stroke himself to make him get used to his existence. So Kuuga forcibly pressed his head against the man’s hand.

Luon stroked Kuuga’s head while being embarrassed. After that, Luon acted as if he had fulfilled his duty, and let his hand fall. Kuuga muttered that this would be a long term battle.

Next was Restalion. He had pursed lips, but Kuuga couldn’t see any feeling of hatred. However, he didn’t think this man would pat him obediently.

In the same way, he sat down in front of the man and looked at him, but he only stared at Kuuga, speechless and unmoving.

Because Kuuga got tired of the stalemate, he tried to raise his head to let the other person touch like the others. The man immediately removed his hand, and Kuuga was left staring at Restalion. The man had turned away with a slightly embarrassed look.

The last was Rhode.

Rhode immediately knelt down and looked up at Kuuga, whose eyes were higher. The emotion on his face was “gratitude.”

“Thank you very much, Kuuga-sama.”

[I don’t know the circumstances, but please help Gadi.]

When Kuuga rubbed his cheek against him, Rhode’s shoulders shook a bit as he whispered another “thank you very much” to Kuuga’s ear.

By the way, Kuuga was happy with Rhode, who patted from his neck to his torso. As soon as this ritual was over, Yog called out to Gadillas.

“By the way, Your Majesty, the advice from this old man is that it’s better to decide on the Queen’s position as soon as possible.”

“…there shouldn’t be an obligation for the king, who contracted with the Divine Beast, to have children, right?”

“Fofo. There are a lot of people who aim only at the Queen’s position.”

It seemed like a storm of appeals came from people wanting the power of a Queen even if he/she didn’t become the nation’s mother. Some parents might want to be involved in politics as a maternal relative.

Gadillas groaned with a face that said it was annoying, then suddenly turned his eyes to Kuuga. Yog, who followed Gadillas’ line of sight, also made a complicated face implying, “did you have that hand?”

[Eh.]

“I’m sure there’s a precedent where the Divine Beast was made the Queen.”

[Huh.]

“That’s right. That way, no one could openly complain about it.”

Kuuga understood what the two men meant. Even though he didn’t want to understand, he still did.

It meant that Kuuga, who’s only appearance was a beast, would become the Queen.

Gender issues such as being male or female wasn’t a big deal here. But in the first place, Kuuga wasn’t human. Gadillas felt a little complicated at seeing the face of Kuuga, who was appalled at knowing that he was serious.

“Don’t look like that. I don’t have that kind of hobby. All you have to do is fill in the Queen’s position. Since we have the same life span, I won’t have to choose it again and again.”

Apparently, Gadillas misunderstood Kuuga’s line of sight to mean, “eh, did this person have that hobby?” Of course, Kuuga knew that Gadillas wouldn’t look at him like that.

Despite the misunderstanding, Kuuga understood that Gadillas could choose a Queen many times. It was said that the king contracted with the Divine Beast would live a long time. He didn’t know how long that was, but it would be much longer than the average human life.

[But even so, to become the Queen...]

Rather than the problem of how it’d look for outsiders, Kuuga’s own mental issues were more important to him.

He was gradually accepting that he had become a beast. But his mind was human. It’s difficult for Kuuga to accept becoming the Queen.

What he wanted to say was that a man, like himself, would be married to another man… that was his pride as a straight man talking.

After seeing the unconvinced and hesitating Kuuga, Yog narrowed his eyes and thought about something for a moment. Unfortunately, Kuuga didn’t see it.

“It’s the marriage of the king, so let’s make it a big show.”

[W-what are you saying! Do you want to show such a strange scene to the people!]

“You’re the Divine Beast-sama and also the future Queen, so you have to dress up luxuriously――”

[That’s torture! I object!]

Kuuga knew that Yog was half-teasing him, but he couldn’t help it. Although Kuuga’s words hadn’t been transmitted, it only seemed like he’s rushing to appeal something. Yog stared at Kuuga’s appearance and lifted the corner of his mouth as if he confirmed something.

At that moment, Kuuga knew that the old man was testing him. Yog was trying to elicit Kuuga’s reaction, but he decided it’s also an extension of Yog’s hobby. What a blunder on his part.

“This is interesting. Its values and ethics are really like humans.”

[――ahh, I see… that’s right...]

Certainly, Kuuga would not have been so resistant if he had no memory of living as a human. Without it, he might not have even thought about it. He would have turned to the humans while feeling that they’re creatures who thought strange things.

Yog noticed Kuuga’s clear rejection, so he said something like that. And got his blunder.

When Kuuga returned to Gadillas’ side, the man patted his head comfortingly with a complicated face.

“Don’t worry, there’s no showing off. Marriage ceremonies are unavoidable, but you don’t have to dress up, and there will only be the minimum number of people.”

[...so you’re not going to withdraw…]

“In the first place, I have no intention of appearing in front of the public.”

“Ho, why not show yourself after the coronation?”

“It’s better not to. For them and for me.”

For a moment, Gadillas’ eyes got colder than usual. Yog stared at Gadillas, but in a few seconds, the old man relieved his tension and softened his expression.

“I suppose so.”

“…certainly, it would be better not to stimulate the people.”

Kuuga was dissatisfied to hear that even Luon, who had been silent for a long time, agreed. This might be related to the reason why Gadillas was hated.

A bit of an awkward air lingered around the room.

“By the way, can I go back now?”

And Restalion, who didn’t read the atmosphere, said so.