Chapter 12: The Beast King and the Beloved
“Aah, what do I do? God, the gloom is killing me...”
Ruri had been pretty excited to meet another Beloved, but then she was told that the same Beloved might harbor hostility toward her. She had no idea what kind of person the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King was, but she wanted to limit her interaction with her as much as possible.
“Fear not, Ruri. If the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King does anything to you, I will strike her down,” Kotaro said.
“Me, too! I will teach her to never mess with you ever again,” Rin added.
Chi hopped on the bandwagon and said, “Oh yeah? I’ll help you guys with that, too.”
The three spirits all gave Ruri their support—Kotaro and Rin out of concern for Ruri and Chi because it seemed like it’d be fun.
“I appreciate it, but I have a feeling that would end up causing a scene for no reason...” Ruri explained. The rather extreme remarks from the spirits left her extremely unsettled. Thinking it best they not meet, given the fervor of her spirits, Ruri decided to avoid the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King as much as she possibly could.
As Ruri walked through sector one toward the garden, she happened to see a man and a woman talking on the terrace along the way.
“Who could that be?” she wondered. They both had entry to sector one of the castle—that much was obvious.
There were a multitude of maids and guard soldiers in the castle, so she didn’t remember everyone’s faces, but the two people she saw on the terrace weren’t dressed like any soldiers. The woman wore an outfit of thin material—almost like you’d see on a dancer—unlike anything worn in these parts. The man was dressed in stylish apparel of his own.
Although purely assumption, it seemed to Ruri as though the man was someone of high rank. After all, the only other people allowed in sector one besides maids and soldiers were high-ranking officials. And there weren’t many high-ranking people who served Jade to begin with. Considering Ruri spent almost all of her time in Jade’s office, she would have at least remembered seeing his face before, but she was drawing a complete blank.
However, upon closer inspection of the woman, it became all too clear who they both were. Several spirits were floating around the woman. Yes, just like Ruri herself.
“Could that be the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King?”
As Ruri’s eyes remained on the two, the man noticed her and met her gaze. This sent a jolt through Ruri’s heart—not in the romantic sense, of course. The pounding sensation in her chest was from shock and regret for accidentally making eye contact.
The man started to make prompt yet firm steps toward Ruri. The closer he came, the more her eyes had to shift farther up.
“He’s huge...” Ruri unintentionally murmured.
There were quite a lot of physically tall dragonkin, and Jade was much taller than Ruri, but the man who stood before her was even bigger. His body was well-built, and his muscles rippled underneath his clothes, making him appear that much larger.
Overcome by an invisible sense of pressure, Ruri started to back away.
“Looking at your company of spirits, I assume you’re the Beloved of the Nation of the Dragon King?”
“Y-Yes, sir...” she answered, trembling slightly.
His lips curled into a grin. “Yeah, I knew it... Oh, right. I haven’t introduced myself, have I? I’m the Beast King, Arman,” he said as if remembering his manners. He introduced himself with a smile, probably wise to the fact that Ruri was on her guard.
“I’m Ruri. By ‘Beast King,’ do you mean the same one with nineteen queens, or...?” she asked, that being the only impression she had about the Beast King.
“That’s some way to remember a person. Well, not like you’ve got it wrong either way...”
Not only was Ruri raised in a monogamous society, but she was surrounded by dragonkin, who devoted themselves to a single mate for their entire life, so she looked at Arman with a bit of a cynical eye.
Picking up on that cynicism, Arman started to feel a little awkward. “Well, whatever the case, we’re part of the allied nations, so I’m sure we’ll be running into each other often. Nice to meet you,” Arman said, extending his hand.
“Yes, likewise,” Ruri replied, extending her own.
True to his physique, his hand was large and meaty. Once he gripped hers and squeezed, it felt like her hand was getting squashed like a bug.
Arman then turned around and introduced the woman he was with. “And this here is the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King, Celestine. Since you’re both Beloveds, here’s hoping you two get along just fine.”
“Charmed,” Celestine said in a curt manner.
Here she was, the very person Ruri swore not to meet just moments ago. Before she even realized it, her back had straightened up. Perhaps it was all in Ruri’s head, but Celestine’s gaze felt intense and uncomfortable, as if she was sizing up her romantic competition. However, as intense as her gaze may have been, she didn’t feel any hostility from it, which made Ruri breathe a little easier.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Ruri.”
“Celestine.”
Celestine’s expression seemed far from what one would call “amicable,” but seeing as how Ruri had been convinced she’d come at her with her dukes up, the look on her face didn’t bother her much.
After the two ladies exchanged a handshake themselves, Celestine looked away from Ruri and toward Kotaro and the others by Ruri’s side.
“Oh, this is Kotaro, Rin, and Chi. They’re spirits with physical bodies,” Ruri said, making the distinction that they were spirits and not magic beasts.
Celestine then took to one knee before the trio of spirits. “My name is Celestine. It is a great honor to meet a group of supreme-level spirits—overseers of the world,” Celestine said, bowing her head.
Ruri stared at her with wide eyes, bewildered by her behavior.
That was when the carefree Chi interjected. “Hey, no need for that here; I’m not a fan of being all stiff and formal. Loosen up and relax,” he instructed.
“Consider it done,” Celestine said, standing up.
Arman spoke to Ruri, who was still in a state of confusion. “That shocked you? The Nation of the Beast King is far more spirit-religious than other nations. And out of all of them, Celestine’s tribe is the most religious. Spirits are a symbol of worship to them. They have the most respect and adoration for spirits out of any race around.”
“Oh, is that so?” Ruri remarked.
Since Ruri was raised in a world without spirit-based religion, Kotaro and the others were akin to friends to her. But to Celestine, spirits meant something different. If she saw them as a symbol of worship, then she could see the logic behind Celestine’s sudden behavior. Even though they were both Beloveds, their ideologies about spirits couldn’t be any more different.
“Ms. Ruri?”
“Uh, yes!” Ruri exclaimed, surprised that Celestine suddenly called her by name.
Celestine stared straight at Ruri, and Ruri stared right back, trying not to buckle under the pressure. Their eyes were locked on one another as if they were conducting an impromptu staring contest.
“I will be staying here until the raider is apprehended.”
“Oh... Yes, of course...”
Euclase had described Celestine as being hostile toward her, so she braced for an unfettered shower of abuse. But Celestine’s subdued response subverted her expectations and threw her for a loop. She was slightly fired up to retaliate if need be, but the situation just sort of sputtered out. As such, Ruri’s first conversation with Celestine came to a harmless close.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
Arman and Celestine remained on the terrace after Ruri took her leave.
“You were mighty behaved back there. I was on the edge of my seat hoping you wouldn’t flare up at her like every other girl in the past. Were you holding back because she’s a Beloved?”
There was no shortage of women who had tried to court Jade, but the one who always dispersed of all those would-be suitresses was none other than Celestine. Arman was afraid she might throw a tantrum over Jade fancying someone, but Celestine was surprisingly level-headed. She didn’t even try to remove Ruri from the picture.
Celestine looked displeased with Arman’s remarks. “Of course I was. From what the dragonkin have told me, Master Jade is madly in love with that girl. If I were to attack her like all the other girls, then Master Jade would be ever so cross with me!”
“Aah, yeah. I suppose the chances of that are high. Then again, it seems she’s not his mate just yet.”
“Yes, but, I’ve heard a great number of people saw him feeding that girl by hand,” Celestine said, sounding honestly depressed.
Feeding someone by hand was a sign of affection dragonkin showed toward their mates. She apparently wasn’t his mate just yet, but that act made it clear where Jade’s heart lay. Putting her hands on a dragonkin’s mate was just as dangerous as putting her hands on a Beloved. Even though Ruri wasn’t technically his mate, if Celestine were to attack her, Jade would never forgive her.
Arman found himself blessed that Celestine was someone capable of properly checking a situation before acting. Celestine would fight for dear life if Jade was involved, but she wasn’t foolish enough to not consider how he would react as a result of her actions.
“I am fully aware that I cannot do anything to her. After all, Master Jade is a chaste soul, unlike you, Master Arman!”
“Hey, don’t pretend to praise Jade while punching me down. I’ll have you know that I love my wives just as much as Jade would love his!” Arman objected.
Celestine simply shot him a cold stare, replying, “Master Arman, while I do believe you are a magnificent king, I have no faith in you when it comes to your relationships with women. You are the type of person to watch and snicker over women vying for your affection. Even if you were in Master Jade’s shoes, it’s obvious that you would simply watch from the sidelines in amusement.”
“Aww, but seeing girls in a tug-of-war over my affection is simply adorable.”
“I’m afraid I don’t see the appeal.” Celestine’s tribe was also a monogamous race, so she couldn’t comprehend the feelings Arman shared for his nineteen wives. “In any case, I shall be evaluating whether she is worthy for Master Jade during my stay here!” Celestine said, making her decision known.
Arman silently prayed that her decision didn’t cause any trouble.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
After parting ways with Celestine and Arman, Ruri went to the garden, where she was currently resting atop Kotaro’s fluffy body. Just then...
“Ruri!” exclaimed a voice.
Turning toward the direction it came from, Ruri saw Jade running toward her and stood up. “Oh, Jade-sama.” He had probably heard from Euclase or someone else that she’d returned.
He made a beeline straight for her. “Oh, Ruri, I’ve missed you,” he said as he caught her in a stiflingly tight hug.
Ruri chuckled. “We’ve only been apart for a few days, haven’t we?” she asked, finding it funny that Jade was acting as if she had been gone for several months instead.
He loosened his grip slightly and looked at her with a sulky face. “What, are you saying you didn’t miss me? I can’t stand to bear even a single day away from you,” Jade said as if gushing to a romantic partner rather than a pet.
Ruri tried to exercise some self-control so that she didn’t misconstrue his affection, but she couldn’t stop the pounding in her heart. “That isn’t it. I missed not being able to see you, too, Jade-sama,” she said hastily after sensing Jade’s mood dropping.
Upon hearing that, Jade’s face naturally took a satisfied turn as he embraced Ruri once more.
“Um, should I change into a cat?” she asked, assuming that he had a severe cuddle deficiency.
“No, you’re fine as is,” he replied.
From an outside perspective, this looked like a lover’s rendezvous. Ruri could logically assess that unless she made Jade understand that she was a human and not a cat, he wouldn’t be getting married any time soon.
(Even if he sees me as a pet, no other girl is going to approach someone who embraces another girl like this. I certainly wouldn’t.)
Since he was a dragonkin, if he were to actually be involved with someone, he probably wouldn’t give Ruri the time of day. When she considered that and the shock that would come from it, it secretly brought Ruri’s mood down.
Once she started to wriggle from the slight discomfort of his strong embrace, Jade relaxed his arms, allowing Ruri to breathe easier. She could now give herself over to his embrace in comfort.
Ruri then remembered that she needed to introduce Chi to Jade. She tried to move away from him, but Jade denied her attempts by keeping a firm grip on her.
“Jade-sama, could you let go of me for a second?”
“No. This still isn’t enough.”
“No, I mean, I want to introduce you to Chi.”
“Chi?” Jade repeated, finally loosening his hold on Ruri.
Ruri walked away in search of Chi. She soon found him using Kotaro’s pelt as a pillow, passed out with his gut hanging out. She knew he was a supreme-level spirit, but she couldn’t help but think that he was a little too lax for his own good.
Walking over to Chi’s sleeping body, she shook the capybara. “Hey, Chi, get up.”
“A spirit?” Jade asked, skeptical.
“Yes, he is the Spirit of Earth, the same spirit who made a contract with the First Dragon King,” said Ruri, causing Jade’s eyes to shoot open. “He said he came to see me out of curiosity for making a contract with Lydia. But then he went ahead and made a contract with me anyway...”
“...Contracting a spirit isn’t something you can normally just do, but you make it seem like child’s play.”
“I’d like to note that they all pushed me into making contracts with them,” Ruri said, thinking about all the times she was contracted. Not counting Kotaro since she unwittingly named him out of convenience, Rin just showed up and badgered Ruri for a name, while Lydia and Chi forced her into a contract without any consent whatsoever. She was practically coerced.
Then again, it was fortunate that none of these contracts really changed much, so she never felt bothered by any of them. In fact, gaining all these pets was a sight for sore eyes. Chi’s mean mug was a little concerning, but it was cute once you got used to it. The same happened with Kotaro’s old body.
“Hngh~” Chi grumbled, finally opening his eyes. He slowly got up, albeit still groggy.
“So, hey, Chi? This is Jade-sama. He’s the current Dragon King.”
Chi looked up at Jade with heavy eyelids. “So you’re the current Dragon King? I’m Chi. Nice to meetcha.”
“Yes, I’m Jade, the Dragon King. It’s an honor to meet you.”
“Oh yeah, sure,” Chi said, stretching with a big yawn.
The gestures themselves were cute, but it wasn’t enough to draw attention away from his mean-looking eyes. It made Ruri question why Chi decided to possess a body with a face like that to begin with.
“Oh, yeah. There’s another Beloved here right now, right? I can sense a lot of spirits around.”
“Yep. Aside from the Nation of the Beast King’s Beloved, there’s also the one from a nation called ‘Cerulanda.’ Isn’t that, right, Jade-sama?”
“...Right. She’s in sector two right now,” Jade said after a slight pause, making Ruri raise an eyebrow.
“Alrighty, let’s go give ’er a look-see!”
“I can’t,” Ruri said. “As much as I’d like to learn about her, I’m not supposed to meet the Beloved of Cerulanda.”
“Oh, what? Psh, lame. Oh well. Guess we’ll just go ourselves,” Chi said, hopping up on Kotaro.
Kotaro was surprised, to say the least. “Hngh? I have to come along?”
“Why, of course! Don’t you wanna know what we’re dealing with? If she’s interesting, I can quit my contract with Ruri and make one with her, too.”
“A free spirit as always, eh, Earth?” commented Rin in an exasperated tone, but since she remained on Kotaro’s head, it was assumed she was tagging along as well.
“Alright, let’s get going!”
With that, Chi and the others rode off on Kotaro. The other spirits glanced at one another before following Kotaro and the others, possibly curious themselves.
“...There they all go.”
“Indeed.”
Now that the garden was no longer teeming with spirits, a short silence descended upon Ruri and Jade. Not sure of her next course of action, Ruri looked up at Jade, who placed his hand on her head and stroked it. As his hand ran through her hair, Ruri’s lips curled into a smile. And once he saw her smile, Jade smiled as well.
“Sigh, you are simply adorable, Ruri...”
“What brings this up all the sudden?”
“Your cat form is cute and you yourself are comforting. A world of difference from the Beloved of that nation.”
“‘That nation’?” Ruri asked. The only two people who popped into her mind were Celestine and the Beloved of Cerulanda, who she had yet to see.
“Cerulanda. She is a tad... No, she is very much spoiled to the bone. And avoiding her is tough since she’s apparently taken a liking to me.”
“Jade-sama... You have the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King in love with you, too. Beloveds just can’t help but throw themselves at you, can they?”
“Where did you hear that from?”
“Euclase-san. They also told me to be careful, and that she has me pegged for your mate. She didn’t really give me any grief, though.”
“You met her?!” Jade exclaimed in surprise, letting go of Ruri and staring her straight in the eyes.
“Yes, before coming here.”
“She didn’t do anything, did she?!”
“No, we just talked.” It was such an uneventful encounter that Ruri felt embarrassed for being so high-strung about it in the first place.
“I see. That is good to hear, then. Not as though Celestine would be foolish enough to lay a hand on a Beloved of an allied nation. Regardless, if anything happens, let me know.”
“I don’t mind letting you know, but is there anything that you can actually do, Jade-sama? I mean, you’d be squaring off against a Beloved, wouldn’t you? Are you capable of stopping a Beloved?”
“Urk...”
Ruri figured that not even a dragonkin would be able to stop a fight between Beloveds if one were to ever break out. And if Ruri were to be involved in said fight, she wasn’t sure what action the spirits would take. But she had a feeling it wouldn’t be a situation Jade could break up, at the very least.
She hadn’t asked her question with the intent to insult him, but her words made it seem like Jade was useless, which cut him pretty deep.
“I mean, Celestine will listen to reason, so I should be able to talk her out of anything drastic,” Jade elaborated. “Well, I would think if a girl was chewing out another girl for coming onto the man she’s after, and the man in question started scolding her, it would only add fuel to the fire.”
Ruri had never experienced that before, but it was a common trope in TV dramas—which was fine for dramas, but she didn’t want to have the misfortune of experiencing it firsthand.
“Um, well, don’t worry. If something does happen, I can take care of it myself. Kotaro and the others will likely stop things if it comes to that, too.”
Ruri’s words poured salt on Jade’s wound, robbing him of anything else to say. “...Which means I’m useless, then.”
It seemed that Ruri’s attempt at reassuring Jade ended up needlessly hurting his feelings instead.
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