Chick 155
by Cristae155
To show she really was the owner, Grue commanded the SSS-class hamster to “roll over” and “give paw.”
Though it balked in shock, it obediently did as told.
To be honest, there was no need for her to prove it. Jurim already knew what this ominous hamster really was—he’d gleaned the information through “internal interference.” From what he’d discovered, the creature was now bound to Grue.
When he asked Grue what she’d done, she replied with sparkling eyes:
“Grue opened Yorang!”
“Just like the hero in an anime!”
“Like this! Open, Yorang!”
She went on: “In Yorang, my hands weren’t cold at all so I built a snowman and held hands—” and more.
“Really? Daddy would like to try too.”
“Mmm!”
“Wanna open it again?”
“Can’t right now. It’s all wilty.”
“You?”
“The sprout.”
“…It does look wilted.”
“Yeah…”
Talking with Grue, Jurim felt like he was communicating across the stars.
Still, he could just about piece together what happened: Grue had “done something.” Only his brother and Amakusa had ever encountered a creation talent of this tier.
Even among Awakened, power spectrums differed so widely as to make the designations nearly arbitrary—there was so much that defied classification or understanding.
As a father, having a daughter this extraordinary was, frankly, giving him headaches.
Jurim frowned and crossed his arms.
‘But this is…’
He’d said he’d support anything she did, but letting her bring home something this dangerous was another matter. If she kept picking up things like this, it would be a real problem.
“Ongru. Is it okay to keep picking up living things?”
“But this one didn’t have an owner.”
“That’s not the point. Making yourself the owner is different. Raising a living being comes with responsibility.”
“Responsibility…”
“There’ll be times it gets sick, or causes trouble, but you still have to take care of it. A thing like that will become Grue’s ‘forever family.’ Are you really okay with that?”
Chastened by his stern tone, Grue fidgeted with her fingers.
Forever family…
“O-okay!”
She glanced at Beilak, then looked up.
“Grue will hug him every day. Like this!”
She wrapped her arms around Jurim.
In the warmth and baby-soft scent of her cheeks rubbing against his chest, Jurim’s hardened resolve immediately melted to mush.
‘Am I really falling for this again?’
With a face of mock annoyance, Jurim tickled Grue, making her dissolve into laughter.
“…Then if you agree to a few conditions—”
His heart already softening after one hug; he was on the verge of giving in when—
“Mut!”
The hamster’s form began to warp.
“…?”
Holding Grue, Jurim took a step back.
“Huh!”
“…?”
Eyes wide, Jurim stared at where the hamster had been. In its place sat a boy, about Grue’s age.
Jurim looked down at the boy.
With pupils like twinkling stars, the child stared up at Jurim in turn.
Pointing at Grue, the boy calmly explained,
“Looks like the Monarch’s skill level is low. It’s unstable when channeling all my power, so I can’t maintain a form.”
Since reuniting with Grue, he had become the official “explainer bot” for two clueless fools (the Monarch and the usurper).
Jurim turned his gaze to Grue and pointed at Beilak.
“Put it back the way it was.”
“Eeeeek—!”
“Whew.”
Grue locked herself in her room and secured the door.
Pleading, pouting, snuggling, and showering Jurim with affection—she’d managed to buy herself some time.
In truth, it was only because Jurim had to leave for work that the matter had been postponed.
Even though she’d promised multiple times as he left that she could turn Beilak back into a hamster—
‘I don’t know how!’
No matter how many times she tried the “Mold and Shape” skill, it didn’t work outside of Yorang.
‘W-what do I do?’
Meanwhile, the boy with star-flecked eyes cocked his head.
“Do humans have a hobby of storing my kind in vessels?”
“Hm? What’s that mean?”
“I mentioned it because I sensed the Monarch—or rather, Shea’s aura in your father’s left hand.”
Shea was a being on a whole different scale, yet contained in a human’s hand? Was he really human?
“A father worthy of raising such a ridiculous daughter,” Beilak muttered, half amazed, half alarmed.
Grue pressed her face close in anticipation.
“What? Monarch? Shea?”
“Not See-ee, Shea. And he’s not the Monarch anymore. Guess you’d call him ex-Monarch now.”
If by Dad’s left hand, he meant the master of the 99th floor…
So the master of the 99th floor was Beilak’s former master, “Shea”?
“Mmm! Wait. Grue’s got a question.”
“You’d have to. You know nothing.”
Beilak replied cynically, and Grue pursed her lips.
She was annoyed, but had no retort—it was true.
“So I’ll learn now then… What’s a ‘bloodline’?”
The slumbering snow rabbit sprout was Grue’s first “bloodline.” Beilak had introduced himself as Shea’s bloodline.
“In Earth mythology, the creator is said to have molded mankind. For us, the Monarch fulfills that role. The ones personally created by the Monarch in the Cradle are called ‘bloodlines,’ and every other being thriving in civilization becomes the Monarch’s ‘vassal.’”
“Hm. I see.”
Grue nodded gravely.
‘What’s he even saying?’
“So See-ee is Beiy’s dad?”
Like Grue and the snow rabbit?
Beilak shook his head.
“No, he’s my lord. The one who could call Shea ‘father’ is that one.”
He pointed to the chubby baby bird sitting on Grue’s head.
“Shea’s last-created bloodline, and a familiar split from his own power.”
“Mephi?”
“Of all of Shea’s progeny, the only direct descendant in terms of genetic material, to use Earth’s phrasing, is Mephisto. That’s why he’s a parricide who sealed his own father.”
“Aha, so Mephi’s a pat—”
“Right, a parricide.”
Beilak no longer even bothered to correct Grue’s odd words.
“What’s ‘parricide’ mean?”
After a brief pause, Beilak explained simply.
“It means a son with a bad relationship with his father.”
That should suffice.
“Bad relationship…”
Grue echoed, chewing over the phrase, as Beilak glanced at Mephisto.
“So it’s best they don’t come into conflict.”
“Hm? Why?”
But if their relationship is that bad and they avoid each other, wouldn’t that make them grow even farther apart?
“He may be a dumb bird now, but there’s no telling when he could snap out of it—ugh!”
Suddenly, Beilak winced and shook his head.
“Huh?”
And in the blink of an eye—
The child was gone, replaced by a snowy white hamster.
“Beiyi!”
The round hamster let out a tiny cry, glassy-eyed.
“Mut.”
“But I didn’t do anything!”
The hamster simply flopped down with a slow nod, indicating it understood.
Apparently, because the skill’s level was low, its effects were unstable and his form was changing at random.
‘W-well, I guess it worked out?’
If he hadn’t turned back into a hamster, he’d surely have ended up at the Bureau.
If he fell into the hands of the fearsome Uncle Hong Sam, Grue’s subordinate…
‘Shiver shiver…’
Grue did her best to banish the horrifying mental picture being spun in her mind.
Meanwhile, Beilak crawled back into her bag.
‘Is it comfortable in there?’
Better than fighting Mephi for space on her head, anyway.
‘I ought to buy him a house and hamster wheel.’
Once she watched the hamster, as big as her fist, slip into her bag and carefully zip it up, Grue flopped to the floor, head cocked.
“Hmm.”
She’d heard so much today that her head felt fit to burst.
First, Grue visualized Jurim’s left glove.
‘So the name is Shea… Hm?’
Something about it itched at her mind. Furrowing her brow, Grue pieced together what she’d learned.
Master of the 99th floor = Shea
Shea = Mephisto’s father
‘Then inside Grue’s dad is… Mephi’s dad?!’
Grue placed Mephi, the bird on her head, in her palm and looked it in the eye.
Mephisto looked back, as if hearing someone else’s story, completely unmoved.
“Mephi, are you on bad terms with your dad?”
“Pbit?”
Mephisto only tilted its head.
“Can’t remember?”
“Pbee.”
“I see.”
Suddenly, Grue remembered her own dad and grandpa, who’d had a bad relationship.
She didn’t know what had happened between them…
Grue suddenly stood, fetched a jar of marshmallows from her desk, and opened the lid.
“Mephi, family is important. Soft and warm. Like this.”
Mephi snatched up the marshmallow in one gulp. The baby bird puffed its cheeks full, nodding as it chewed.
“Pbit!”
[♡]
A heart floated up for the first time in ages.
Did he like the marshmallow?
When she tapped his head, Mephi rubbed his cheek against her fingertip.