“Haaaa~”

Sighing deeply, Sophia remained seated in the chair.

Though she had heard of the future king being both wild and kind-hearted, to Sophia, the girl seemed nothing more than a poor and frightened child.

She couldn’t have been very old even before the transformation.

Witnessing a homeless child wandering, Encia and Argo must have been mistaken.

It was an error only a beast-kin, who judges everything through strength, could make.

‘What should I do now…’

A timid child did not fit the image of a king of the beast-kin.

At least, not by the ‘ordinary beast-kin’ standards.

However, Sophia, known as an oddity among her kind, didn’t dislike the child before her.

She valued a wise king over a powerful one.

As gentle as her personality, with proper guidance, she could become a benevolent ruler.

With her mind and body softened by the Blessing, she would surely absorb everything she was taught.

Sophia decided to make the best of the situation and nurture the child into a good king.

‘It’s a relief she’s under the protection of the Daybreak Guild…’

Though grateful for the guild’s protection of the future king, why did the Daybreak Guild make the child live outside the building?

Was it to cultivate the beast-kin’s wild nature?

Unable to discern the reason, she grew discontent.

The guild seemed harsh for neglecting the bearer of such a precious Blessing.

“The Daybreak Guild really lacks compassion.”

“Why so?”

“Treating a prospective king who has received the Blessing like this-!”

Before Sophia could finish her sentence, Yeoreum appeared out of nowhere and clamped her mouth shut.

Sophia’s small hand waved up and down, gripped quite strongly.

“Whale, shall we have a talk?”

“Mmph, mmph!”

Taken aback by the sudden intrusion, Sophia swung her staff at Yeoreum, but she didn’t land a single blow.

Yeoreum dodged with movements close to magic.

Watching this, Gyeoul thought to herself that it wasn’t a whale, but a shark.

“Gyeoul, I’ll have a quick chat with Whale and be back, okay?”

“Okay…”

Yeoreum carried Sophia off to a considerable distance.

Though far from Gyeoul’s tent, Yeoreum softly called out, just in case.

“Gyeoul, can you hear my voice?”

Hearing her faint voice, Gyeoul nodded from afar.

How much better had her hearing become?

Since the Blessing shouldn’t be known to Gyeoul, Yeoreum ran even further away.

To a place where Gyeoul definitely couldn’t hear.

✱✱✱

‘Let’s put the pot here…’

Left alone in the tent, organizing the belongings, Gyeoul suddenly remembered the minnows she brought from the valley.

She had taken a few to raise in the pond, wondering if they were still alive.

Just as she approached the bucket containing the minnows, two girls approached her from a distance.

“Does the Daybreak Guild not even respect the elderly?”

A girl with a shark’s tail grumbled, baring her sharp teeth.

Yeoreum awkwardly shuffled next to her.

“I’m sorry… I didn’t realize you were an elderly…”

“Oh dear, my poor bones.”

Thud Thud

The shark girl tapped her waist and approached me.

Judging by her actions and manner of speaking, she might be much older than I thought.

Just how old is she to act like an elderly person?

Curious, I decided to ask directly.

“Grandma, how old are you?”

“…Don’t call me grandma.”

“Eh?”

Didn’t she just refer to herself as an elder?

Confused, I tilted my head as the shark girl, leaning on her staff, sat down on a chair.

“I may not look it, but I’m not that old.”

“But you’re using a walking stick.”

“Being of aquatic origin, I’m just weaker on land.”

Ah, I see.

So it’s like how humans are weaker in water.

Concerned about her condition, I pointed to a nearby pond.

“Do you want to rest in that pond over there?”

“No, I detest water.”

A shark that hates water, that’s odd.

But I decided not to pry into her personal matters.

What mattered now was why the beast-kin had come looking for me.

“Why are you here?”

“…I’ve come to teach you the basics, now that you’ve become a beast-kin.”

Sophia glanced at Yeoreum as she spoke.

After exchanging a silent signal, Yeoreum nodded slightly.

“Is there something special I need to learn?”

“A lot. The way beast-kin use mana is different from humans.”

“Ah, mana…”

I was planning to refuse anything strange.