King’s office. There were only three people, Gadillas, who worked with Uros as usual, and Edallion was always near as the Royal Guards Knight Commander.
Kuuga went out for a walk with Lewis. Edallion removed his envious look and suddenly started talking as if he remembered something.
“By the way, I heard a rumor about the Divine Beast of Jihak~.”
“It seemed like it’s spreading. Perhaps the peddlers are spreading the rumors.”
“It’s the exact opposite of ours.”
Now that he had plenty of time to spare, Uros, who usually ignored him since he’s busy, replied, and even Gadillas, who rarely talked, also got on board.
“It seemed like Jihak’s Divine Beast is very beautiful. Although it seemed to be male, it was said that he was a Divine Beast that had a divine beauty that didn’t show his gender. When asked for a portrait, a certain painter refused because he could not fully express this beauty.”
“…Oi, what do you want to say?”
Gadillas’ voice lowered as something in Edallion’s words seemed to touch a nerve. Uros frowned as he seemed to have some idea of what Edallion wanted to say.
“I thought that Kuuga-sama had a lovely face. It’s a little heart pounding when I see it clearly due to my strong eyesight.”
“So?”
“But I don’t think it’s divine. It’s very human. It’s also masculine and not neutral. Women would receive it well. I don’t want to say it’s bad. However, even if they’re the same Divine Beast, they’re very different… don’t look at me like that!”
Gadillas was irritated by the idea that Kuuga was inferior and was staring murderously at Edallion. Still, when he calmly thought about it, he could understand what Edallion wanted to say.
He hadn’t told anyone that Kuuga was a former human. When he humanized and explained it himself, Kuuga seemed to be selectively giving him information. Gadillas wouldn’t tell others what he said when they’re alone.
Gadillas thought that the appearance of Kuuga was probably when he was human. It looked a little different from the people born here, but it’s a very well-arranged face. He looked a bit younger since he had slightly shallower facial features, but it still had a masculine impression. Maybe it’s because his eyesight was innately strong, as Edallion said.
If that face was normal in the place he was born, he wondered if Kuuga’s neat face was trendy.
The humanity that Edallion felt was natural. That’s why the appearance of Kuuga, who was originally born as a human being, and the appearance of Jihak’s Divine Beast, which was born as a Divine Beast, gave different impressions. However, Gadillas had no intention of explaining it.
“It would be troublesome if both Divine Beast had the same appearance.”
“But I don’t want you to say such a thing-.”
“It’s fine if he looked good, right? I think that black color makes him look strong, and it also looked perfect on him.”
Uros said something a bit off from the topic, but Gadillas nodded because he greatly agreed since he also liked that color. He thought it looked strong and wondered if he cut the white ends, would the tips become white. However, this was irrelevant, so he forgot about it.
“No, I also like how Kuuga-sama looks! But I’m not talking about that!”
“I know. It’s the impression of other people when he would be revealed to the world.”
Although he was beating around the bush, Gadillas knew from the beginning what Edallion wanted to say. He didn’t like it, so he harassed him.
Gadillas was satisfied with Kuuga, who looked like a cute dog in the form of a beast, and good-looking when humanoid. But what about those who only had a short relationship with him or those who overimagined what the Divine Beast would look like?
A man with divine beauty and a human-like man with an exotic face and colors, which would people call more heavenly? In any case, the former was sacred and worshiped. By comparison, they might think that the better Divine Beast was over there. But Ragra didn’t have to match Jihak.
Even comparing their beast type, Kuuga, who could only be seen as a demon beast without any feeling of friendship, still invoked fear in the castle. Even though they thought his figure was cool, fear seemed to come first.
On the other hand, the Divine Beast of Jihak was…
“By the way, Jihak’s Divine Beast is a bird. Did you hear about his reputation and appearance as a bird?”
“No, it seemed like when he comes out in front of people, he’s always humanoid. I didn’t hear any rumors about it, but it seemed like wings grew on his back when he’s humanized. He seemed to look like an angel.”
“Kuuga-sama also has ears and tails, so I think it’s not a perfect humanization.”
“For me, those ears and tail are important! Without that, the cuteness level is as different as heaven and earth!”
“I know how you feel but don’t tell him. He’ll probably be depressed.”
“A depressed Kuuga-sama is also cute!”
“You’re serious…”
The expression of the humanoid Kuuga was as rich as that of Edallion. However, it seemed like the negative emotions were kept out of sight so much that he’d only frown slightly and purse his lips, and many more changes were not noticeable unless observed.
However, those ears and tail betrayed the person who’s trying hard to hide. If he felt sad or tired, it’d droop, and when he’s wary, his ears will move in small wiggles. His tail would shake greatly in a certain rhythm when he’s thinking seriously. And when revealing joy, he’d smile in an easy to understand manner, but the tail was more noticeable.
When he looked at those places, he could understand what Edallion wanted to say, because even Gadillas found it cute.
It was a bit off-topic. So Gadillas shook his head to force the topic back on track.
“No matter how we tweak it, we can’t change the impression of the people. Then we could get popularity in another direction.”
“Hmm, so we have to impress the common people faction to close the distance. It takes a short time to become a humanoid, so they have to accept him as a beast. Then it would be necessary for Kuuga-sama to go on the streets, but…”
“If he did that normally, they’ll be scared! Or rather, maybe we should spread the rumors from the people inside the castle.”
“Children. Let’s borrow their children. Their impression will change if we show him interacting with children in public.”
“I know what you want to say, but be careful how you say it! As if you can borrow a child…”
It sounded bad, but Uros replied with “I’ll make an arrangement” when he immediately understood what Gadillas intended.
Of course, they wouldn’t touch just any child. They had to choose a child with strong enough backing to enter the castle but not too high that they couldn’t negotiate with the parents. Also, they had to let them get used to Kuuga in the castle and then play in public.
“But that’s a long process. Uros, how about the preparations for that?”
“It seems that there’s already a draft from a theater company, so the prototype will be completed tomorrow.”
“Well, then I think we can do it as planned in 5 days.”
“Yes. We are preparing the schedule for that. What about reporting to Kuuga-sama?”
“…it’s probably inevitable, so just say it.”
“Understood.”
As for the content of the conversation, Edallion, who was always with them, immediately understood what it was and made a complicated face. However, he sent sympathy to both Kuuga and the involved people since this was inevitable.