Prologue
In a place some distance from the Nation of the Dragon King, Beryl, Ruri’s grandfather, was on a journey with the previous Beast King, Andal.
Near Andal’s feet, the supreme-level spirit of earth, Chi, was trotting along. Currently in the form of a shifty-eyed capybara, Chi had made a contract with and been given a name by the First Dragon King, Weidt, in the past, so he had deep ties with the Nation of the Dragon King. He had made a contract with Ruri not too long ago, but after taking a liking to Beryl’s unconventional personality, he had casually annulled his contract with Ruri and struck a new one with Beryl.
He was an eccentric spirit even among the supreme-level spirits, with the most contract-bearers in the past, forming new contracts with people on the sole basis of finding them interesting. However, it was easy to guess what kind of personality Chi had, seeing as he readily accepted the name that Weidt gave to him on the spur of the moment.
It was a quality that made even Lydia, the supreme-level spirit of time, exasperated. She had commented that although allowing someone to name a spirit meant that the spirit would serve that person, the way Chi handled it was far too casual.
After making the contract with Beryl, he had set off with Beryl and Andal on their journey. Being a Beloved himself, Beryl was welcomed everywhere he went with open arms. He had no monetary issues, since he’d received a sizable amount of money from the Dragon King, Jade, before leaving the Nation of the Dragon King, but since people welcoming him in would give him piles upon piles of gifts as tribute to the Beloved, he never really had a chance to use any of the money he had on hand.
Then again, the money given to Beryl was a portion of public funds that were set aside for the Beloveds of the Nation of the Dragon King. In other words, it was tax money. Therefore, it was best to be thrifty with it. Beloveds brought so many benefits to the country that no one would complain even if he did spend it, but unlike Ruri, who had lived in the Nation of the Dragon King for quite some time, Beryl had just arrived, so he felt a tad more hesitant. That was why he was so grateful for the items that the people willingly gifted him.
At the same time, Beryl was very surprised that the majority of people in this world accepted spirits as the norm, since he had never met a person who could see spirits in his own world. There was a certain population of people who didn’t believe in spirits here, mostly because of not being able to see them due to a lack of mana or not being compatible with them. However, the majority of nations and races worshipped them.
Not seeing spirits was commonplace in Beryl’s world, which had made it a difficult place to live in, since he not only could talk to spirits but had superhuman abilities that allowed him to charge into a hail of gunfire completely unprotected. The same was likely true for his daughter and Ruri’s mother, Riccia. That was, after all, one of the underlying reasons for their promptly agreeing to go to the other world upon hearing the news that Ruri was there.
Beryl and Riccia felt somewhat sorry for the person who had ended up getting wrapped up in all of this—Ruri’s father, Kohaku. Unlike them, he was a completely normal human being with no mana to speak of, so he was undoubtedly hesitant about going to other worlds and whatnot. However, the more time Kohaku and Riccia spent as husband and wife, the more he was able to see spirits, even though he couldn’t converse with them.
The shock when Kohaku saw a spirit with his own eyes was so funny that the mere recollection made Beryl chortle. However, thanks to that, Riccia had been able to make him acknowledge that spirits existed, and Kohaku was finally able to share in the same world as her—a fact that greatly delighted her.
Although he was a regular human and was seriously conflicted about coming to the other world, according to the spirits, he was doing a fine job working in the castle by utilizing the skills he had picked up from being a former diplomat.
Being able to verbally communicate was another reason Beryl was able to enjoy himself in peace, but he wasn’t very sure of the science behind that and did not intend to put any deep thought into it. Accepting things as they were was typical for him. The same could have been said of Riccia, as her optimistic and flexible personality resembled his to a tee. Ruri was optimistic in some ways as well, but she had a serious side from Kohaku; the fact that she differed slightly despite being from the same bloodline was interesting.
According to the spirits, Riccia was enjoying her life in this other world just like Beryl. Not wanting to be outdone, Beryl continued journeying day after day. Andal was amazed at Beryl’s physical strength, which allowed him to fight on equal footing with the dragonkin despite being human. He steadily continued journeying with his never-waning supply of youthful stamina.
It wasn’t uncommon for them to camp in the wilderness since they didn’t always have access to lodging. However, Beryl had mastered the art of outdoor survival in his home world, so he never once complained. In fact, he seemed to enjoy himself.
There were still a host of things that he wasn’t used to due to the different advances in this world’s civilization, but with Andal, an experienced traveler, accompanying him, he found himself with zero issues. And he had extra security with the spirits, which were very strong allies in their own way. He could even use magic as much as he wanted, allowing him to stay comfortable to a certain degree while camping outdoors.
Up until now, in his home world, Beryl would have been instantly treated as a wacko for trying to engage in pleasant conversation with the spirits in public, but now he could talk to them without having to worry about prying eyes. Here it was the exact opposite—people actually envied him.
Not only did that make things less stressful for Beryl, but he found himself pleased with everyone else around him experiencing the same world and things he himself could see. He was so glad that he had decided to come to this world. In fact, he’d thought that so many times that he’d lost track. With the satisfaction of making the right call in his heart, he spent each day in high spirits.
During their journey, they stopped by a certain town.
“I guess we’ll stay here for tonight,” Andal said.
“Our first time at an inn in a while, eh?” Beryl replied, breathing a sigh of relief. Even though he had become accustomed to camping outdoors, naturally he would rather sleep in a bed. And even though the beds at the inns were hard compared to the ones in his world, he wasn’t going to whine about it. He’d been prepared for that before leaving the Nation of the Dragon King on his journey. It was a tad inconvenient, but this world afforded him the freedom to live without fear of those around him. That alone was a luxury.
“We’re about out of food, so we’ll have to stock up.”
“We’re already out?”
Thanks to the townspeople of any town they visited giving them tributes, they should have had food stocked in their pocket space—enough that it wouldn’t easily run out. Beryl’s eyes were wide in shock, but Andal gave him a side glare.
“And whose fault is that? You eat way too much.”
“Really?”
“You don’t eat the same amount as a normal human. You consume as much as a damn dragonkin. What the hell kind of body do you have?”
“That so? Sorry. I’ll cut back a bit.”
Beryl’s apology was genuine, causing Andal to lose steam.
“No, I mean, most of it was food that you got, so I have no right to complain even if you do eat it all up,” Andal said, unable to bring himself to be stern since he knew that Beryl’s presence alone was a great help. “I suppose we’ll stay in this town and stock up for a while.”
“Sounds good.”
They weren’t in a hurry and were free to set off when they wanted to, so they and the spirits looked for a place to stay in the meantime. The town was not as big as the capital of the Nation of the Dragon King. From Beryl’s perspective, knowing the metropolitan cities lined with buildings in his home world, he saw it as being rather small. However, it seemed to be a flourishing town all the same.
Upon seeing Beryl with his giant entourage of spirits, some passersby froze, while others did double takes in shock. Having grown accustomed to these reactions by now, he focused on his search, unperturbed.
“Now, which inn to choose?” he pondered.
Since Andal was an experienced traveler, his opinion took priority when it came to picking the right inn. Although it was prohibited in the Four Great Nations, human trafficking was tolerated in some countries. For that reason, there were many unsafe places to stay; just because the lodging was upscale didn’t mean that it was necessarily safe. Being able to judge legitimate inns and establishments was extremely important. That said, if anyone were to target Andal, the Beast King who had become king through sheer strength, and Beryl, a Beloved protected by the spirits, there would be a world of pain in store for them. Because of that, safety wasn’t really a factor Andal considered when choosing a place to stay.
“M’kay, we’ll stay here,” he decided, picking a place that was not too expensive yet not too cheap—somewhere right in the middle—despite there being more upscale offerings.
“I always wonder why you, the former king of a nation, choose to stay in such ordinary inns. Don’t you want to stay at a more luxurious place?” Beryl asked. While he wasn’t dissatisfied with Andal’s choice, he did question the man’s decision as a former king who likely lived in the lap of luxury in the past.
“You don’t get it, do you? These middle-class inns actually have better food and provide a more comfortable experience. Those upscale hotels just make you feel ill at ease.”
“Huh, is that right?” Beryl replied, recalling that the food in the inns Andal picked out hadn’t failed them so far. The fact that he could discern that just by inspecting the outside of the inn was an incredible feat.
“Whatever; let’s go in! I’m starving!” Chi said as he entered the inn first, prompting the two men to follow him.
“Chi, you’re a spirit, so you can’t be hungry,” Beryl quipped, but the spirit wasn’t listening.
Andal wasted no time and addressed the concierge. “We’re looking for a short stay. Any rooms open?”
The concierge didn’t reply. Upon looking at Beryl and the others, they froze with a look of utter shock on their face.
“Heeeey,” Andal said with a raised voice and a wry smile, attracting the stares of those who were in the dining hall on the first floor. Ignoring the stares, he waved his hand in front of the concierge’s face, snapping them back to their senses as they started to reply.
“Oh, we have openings! However...are you certain you’d like to stay here, sir? There are higher-class offerings nearby,” the concierge said to confirm, taking quick peeks at Beryl all the while. Just from their reaction, it was clear that the concierge had caught on to Beryl being a Beloved.
“Yeah, it’s fine. We’re staying here. That okay with you, Beryl?”
“If it’s okay with you, it’s fine with me,” Beryl agreed. He had traveled with Andal long enough to know that wherever he picked was fine, so he had no complaints.
“Very well, sir!” said the concierge in a delighted tone as they handed over the room key.
After safely securing an inn, Beryl and his party decided to grab a meal. Despite all eyes being on them, the meal they ate was fantastic.
After they had stayed for several nights, word of Beryl spread rapidly through the town, causing some people to go out of their way to find the inn and bring him tribute. He had no reason to refuse the offerings, so he accepted them, stocking up for his journey.
One day, as his breather in the town continued, he overheard something from the table next to him in the dining hall. Judging by their attire the speakers seemed to be merchants. They either had no mana or were incompatible with spirits, because they showed no signs of caring about the many spirits floating around Beryl’s head, likely meaning that they couldn’t see them.
However, they could see Chi, who had a physical body, so they were initially a tad surprised to see him sitting at the table with them, but aside from that, they conversed normally without really keeping their voices down.
“Hey, did you hear? They say a human suddenly showed up in the castle of the Nation of Furgal.”
“Ah, yeah. I did hear that. And I heard that there were multiple people, not just one. All of them had dark hair and dark eyes.”
“Are they all related somehow? Dark hair and dark eyes are already a rare color, but all of them with the same color?”
“Nah, apparently they’re not.”
Andal, who was also secretly listening in on the conversation, turned to Beryl, his face screwed into a grimace upon hearing the news. “The inside of a castle should have been reasonably well guarded, so for that many humans to just show up there... Are they transmigrators like you?”
“Not sure, but it’s certainly not uncommon to see people with dark eyes and dark hair in my world. Kohaku is a prime example,” Beryl replied as he turned to Chi, sitting in the chair next to him. “Chi, do you know anything?”
Chi had been standing in his chair, front paws on the table, and scarfing down his food like no tomorrow. Upon being asked, he stopped and tilted his head, puzzled.
“No clue. No use asking me,” he replied indifferently.
“Don’t spirits share information with each other?” Beryl asked.
“I don’t share information all the time. The little spirits stockpile all kinds of information and talk a lot, so it gets annoying. That’s why I usually make it so I can’t hear them.”
“Oh, really?”
Seeing as Beryl didn’t know how it felt to share memories and information with other spirits, he had no choice but to accept what he was told. However, he couldn’t deny that the spirits around him on a regular basis tended to get too chatty and noisy. If that was the case with just the few spirits that followed him around, the voices of all the spirits scattered across the world had to be noisier than he could ever imagine. Thinking of it like that, he couldn’t really blame Chi for shutting them all out.
Just as they were about to leave, they overheard more of the merchants’ conversation.
“And get this—I heard that there’s a Beloved among them.”
Beryl’s and Andal’s ears perked up. They looked at each other and listened quietly so as not to miss anything.
“Yeah, but that’s just a rumor, isn’t it?”
“Not sure. I can’t attest to the validity, but I heard the Nation of Furgal has been rushing to prepare for war.”
“The hell? That story took a pretty tense turn.”
“I can’t believe they would, but you think they’re gonna use the Beloved for war?”
“I don’t know about all that, but it might be good to stay away from Furgal. If that person does end up being a real Beloved, who knows what kind of disaster could occur.”
Perhaps it was because they had alcohol in them, but the merchants continued on with their boisterous talk. Beryl’s crew ate in silence so as not to miss what they were saying, but Andal’s brow was creasing more and more by the second.
“Is there some kind of issue?” Beryl asked.
Andal gave a sour grimace and replied, “The Nation of Furgal is a neighbor of the Nation of the Beast King. It’s a country that also has many demi-humans, which might be the reason they’ve been on bad terms for so long. They’ve disputed and warred many times over territory. Then again, it has basically been them stoking the flames of hostility, and we’ve brushed them off. They don’t keep to the fact that the Nation of the Beast King is considered one of the Four Great Nations.” Andal took a sip of his glass of wine and whet his whistle before continuing. “They continued to wage war even after control of the throne went from me to Arman, but once that Beloved named Celestine showed up, they finally stopped their crusade. It seems that even they are afraid of Beloveds.”
Andal chuckled for a second, but his expression soon turned serious. “But now that a Beloved has appeared in the Nation of Furgal and they have a means of fighting back, I wouldn’t be surprised if they launched an offense.”
“I see,” replied Beryl.
“So...preparing for war...” Andal trailed off, seemingly worried about his homeland as the former Beast King.
Beryl decided to lend a helping hand to his first friend since coming to this world. “Chi, can you gather some information? About the Nation of Furgal and the Beloved there?”
“Hmm... Well, I’m not all that great at doing research like Wind is.”
“Can you at least try?”
“Well, I guess I can for you. But why don’t you contact Ruri just in case? Wind could probably do a bunch of research.”
Beryl put his hand on his chin. “Good point. Ruri seems to be on good terms with the Nation of the Beast King’s Beloved, so maybe I should tell her to keep an eye out. But I’m not sure how to relay the message...”
The lower-level spirits were extremely bad at playing telephone. The more difficult the story, the likelier it was to be weirdly misinterpreted.
“Couldn’t you just relay the message to Kotaro or Rin, Chi? Both of them are usually next to Ruri, so they’d likely tell her.”
“Aah, hmm, yeah, but...I’m not very good at explaining things either, so I don’t know if they’ll get the full message. Why don’t you just write a letter, drop it in your pocket space, and have Lydia deliver it for you? I’ll make sure she knows. That should be simple enough.”
“I didn’t realize that was an option.”
Beryl had never met her personally, so he only knew about Lydia’s existence in the pocket space from Ruri. He had tried to enter his own pocket space since he was interested, but everyone vehemently stopped him, stating that it was dangerous for anyone besides her contract-bearer, Ruri. When warned that he would suffer a mental breakdown, he’d tried to smooth things over by saying that he would just tough it out the old-fashioned way, but once even Chi had stopped him, stating that it wasn’t something you could just tough out, he’d had no choice but to give up.
“Okay then, I guess I’ll whip something up.” Beryl wrote down the situation, including the supplementary information from Andal, on a piece of paper and placed it in the pocket space. “That should do, right?”
“Yep. Now I’ll tell Lydia to deliver it.”
“Andal, why don’t you write your son a letter too? Even if you’re on bad terms, you’re still worried about the nation, aren’t you?”
“Even if I did that, he would just rip it up and toss it without ever looking inside,” Andal swiftly replied with an awkward smile. Beryl had still never been told how Andal’s relationship with his son had become so strained. “Well, anyway, even if anything does happen, the Nation of the Dragon King and Nation of the Spirit King are allied nations, so there shouldn’t be any need to worry.”
“I sure hope so,” replied Beryl, having a bad feeling about all of this but keeping it inside, as he was reluctant to say it aloud to Andal.
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