The Little Companion Of The Beast

Episode 6.

It was as if she had been run over by a cart and couldn’t move. Staria, who barely opened her eyes while struggling, discovered a rainbow.

Red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, purple.

The curious patterns on the ceiling were filled with colorful stones, and they were not only large but also sparkly.

It was like a real rainbow, so I wanted to touch it. If only my arms were longer, I could have touched it. After being captivated by the colorful rainbow for a moment, Staria realized that the place she was lying down was not a cabin.

‘Where am I?’

I had fallen asleep on a floor that was clearly covered in mold, but I was on a soft bed. As I was looking around in confusion at my new bed, I felt a presence.

“You’re awake.”

It was natural to be wary of strangers meeting in an unfamiliar environment.

Staria covered herself with the blanket all the way to her head.

“You’re surprised.”

As the man stepped back, her guard dropped. Her round eyes peeked out from under the blanket.

“Nice to meet you, my name is Taylor.”

With hair combed back so that not a single strand was out of place, a neatly pressed vest, a bow tie, and white gloves, the man, with his back straight, looked like a proper gentleman. Maybe it was because he was wearing a monocle? The man reminded me of a strict village chief grandfather.

“Thank goodness. I was worried because the fever didn’t go down for five days.”

Five days? You’ve been lying down for that long?

The date of Staria has not been determined.

“Your Majesty has brought an unconscious lady. This is your Majesty’s castle.”

Staria’s face, which was as pale as flour, became even more pale.

“As for this castle, it was built five thousand years ago and has been passed down to the rulers of the forest for generations. It has been in your possession forty-five years. You won the battle to decide the leader and obtained it as a spoil. At that time, you were not even awakened. Isn’t that truly amazing?”

There was a hint of admiration in his voice, and a sincere respect was felt. He continued to chatter, as if he was asking for an answer.

“Originally, you wanted to leave the castle empty, but I persuaded you. When I was adventuring, I was invited to the lord’s castle and was so fascinated by it that I really wanted to manage a castle like this. Oh, I was chosen fairly and without any irregularities. The competition was fierce, but the position of the 8th chief steward was mine. I was the only candidate among the group who had both intelligence, virtue, and physical strength, so it was an obvious result.”

Taylor continued his chatter, boasting about his mustache.

“Because our race has lived so long, the genealogy of the butler is short compared to the history of the castle. In particular, my predecessor lived a long and healthy life and stayed for nearly 900 years, but I have no intention of staying that long. I will step aside neatly when a successor appears. Now that I’m talking about it, my predecessor kept saying that he could do more, that he had more, and then he was dragged out by force… … How ugly was his back.”

Among the pouring words, there must have been some information that would be helpful later. However, it did not reach Staria’s ears at all.

‘What should I do, what should I do?’

It was a big problem because he was already annoying me and I was causing trouble on top of that.

I was finally able to stay in the forest… … . If I don’t want to be kicked out, I can’t be hated. Staria’s heart, which had been obsessed with compulsive disorder, shrank as much as it could.

It was at that time that I was just looking around, fiddling with the end of my tunic.

Suddenly, my head rose up.

“Why is your complexion still like this?”

“… … !”

A man holding his chin, which is less than a handful, and looking left and right.

Perhaps because he had silver hair and intense blue eyes, he strangely felt familiar. The man’s appearance was mysterious. It was as if God had accidentally chosen the wrong gender.

Isn’t that an exaggeration?

Don’t you know that children’s eyes are more accurate?

Morgana, too, seemed to have a high level of beauty among the people living in the forest.

Who could it be…? My curiosity was immediately resolved.

“Master, you shouldn’t treat me so roughly.”

At Taylor’s remark, the grip on her chin loosened.

“I didn’t even hold it hard.”

“Even if you adjust it slightly, it will be too much for a lady.”

“Didn’t I tell you not to touch it at all?”

“That’s a good idea.”

Staria glanced at the man, who was clicking his tongue as if he was dissatisfied.

This person is ‘him’?

The gap between his white tiger form and his human form was so large that it was difficult to connect the two.

It seems similar, but it also doesn’t seem similar.

Perhaps he had caught me glancing at him, as he quickly approached me.

Her eyes closed tightly in reflex at the ominous atmosphere. What touched her forehead was not a head but a hand.

“Your fever seems to have gone down, but are you still in pain?”

Phew, he wasn’t trying to hit me, maybe he was just trying to take my temperature.

I couldn’t look weak. If I looked like I was going to be too handsy, I might get kicked out again.

To prove that she was healthy, Staria tried to jump out of bed and stand up. However, her newly recovered legs would not move as she wanted. Fortunately, she did not fall over and end up back in bed. That was because ‘that person’ personally caught her and lifted her up.

But even though his forehead was not broken, his heart was not broken.

“I was wondering where the stench was coming from, was it you?”

“My lord! It is rude of you to speak to a lady.”

“Try not to smell.”

He handed her to Taylor as if throwing her and walked leisurely out of the room. When they were left alone again, Taylor whispered faintly.

“Whew, understand. As you can see, you don’t even have basic manners, so it’s difficult to put it out there.”

“… … .”

“If I were to condone my lord’s unmannerly behavior as a subject, it would not be only you. It is a characteristic of our race, shall we say? Well, this will be a long explanation. Please prepare yourself and listen.”

“… … .”

“The Gulas Forest is similar to other forests in terms of ecosystem. Like any other forest, it is home to plants, insects, and animals, but there are additional species of immature and adult beings. I have heard that there are beastmen living in the wasteland of the East, an unknown land, but they are different from us. They have the appearance of beasts from the neck up. Sometimes, it is difficult to distinguish between an adult species and an animal, but Staria must not know this. If they are species, they will rush in saying, ‘Just one bite.’ There are no immature beings among the castle’s employees.”

“… … .”

“If you’re worried that the employees might attack Staria, don’t worry. I’ve been cracking down hard, and my lord has also warned us not to mess with them. However, if you treat us like humans, you’ll be in big trouble. The Gulas are completely different from the human society where we live together. Our race believes in each person for themselves. When disaster strikes, we’re the first to abandon our families. There’s a reason we’re so few in number. In short, we lack sociality and sociability. My lord is the worst of them all.”

“… … .”

“There will be times when you will face difficult situations. Don’t panic and just accept it.”

Taylor winked and tugged on the rope hanging from the canopy pole.

Soon after, maids in various costumes appeared.

“The lord hates contact so much that they do the same work as maids. However, since they were chosen as maids, it is clearly different.”

Taylor, who had been instructed to distinguish between positions, gave orders to her maids.

“You must serve him with all your heart.”

“I will keep that in mind.”

Staria was carried to the bathroom by the most senior-looking maid.

***

A bathtub made by stacking neat bricks.

Unlike the wooden barrels that you could reach by just stretching your legs, this one was wide enough to splash around in, and it was well-maintained, as there was no moss. There seemed to be some kind of device installed at the bottom, and as soon as you poured water in, bubbles started to bubble up.

Staria, who had been feeling uneasy because she hadn’t washed up, wanted to jump in right away when she saw the clean water. However, she couldn’t act recklessly. The maids might think she was rude.

No matter how brave she is, she is only ten years old. Staria, who was left alone in a different world, started to be cautious.

As she was quietly cowering, her tunic was torn into four pieces by the maids. The already tattered clothes were reduced to pieces of rags. It seemed difficult to put them back on.

She was able to do something like taking off her clothes herself, so she tried to tell me that she would do it.

“… … !”

For some reason, no sound came out.