Aria of the Withered Branch
Chapter 7

The strips of purple wallpaper that decorated the otherwise white walls glittered as if they’d been brushed with powdered jewels, and the curtains that covered the windows were obviously made with the best silk the eastern continent had to offer. There was even an airy, pure-white canopy draped over the silk cushions, which seemed soft and fine enough to sleep on. This did not just resemble a noble’s sitting room—it looked like a miniature version of a room one might find in an exotic kingdom’s royal castle. One where people traditionally sat on the floor.

“It’s… very fancy,” I said.

The ceiling looked extremely high, and the vehicle looked huge, even from the outside. I hadn’t expected anything like this, though. This had to be bigger than three ordinary automobiles combined. Julius’ massive beast was taking up one entire row of seats, but even with all six of us sitting inside, the interior would still be only half full.

“Oh, this is nothing. Haha. We’ve secured ourselves a house near your workplace, Al. It’s being repaired at the moment, but it’ll be done by the time we arrive. You can look forward to seeing that.”

“A house…?”

When did you get a house? And when did repairs begin? It had been only two days since they’d found out that I’d been assigned to the Chaive embassy in Vichatzer. But those two days had been enough time for sizable additions to be made to our party, a huge vehicle to be brought, and repairs to start on a new house. No matter how definitively they were people of action, things were simply moving too fast.

Not good… Not good at all! I put a hand to my head, the thought of what might unfold in the future terrifying me. Phay handed me a glass of fruit juice and smiled apologetically. It was obvious he could see what I was thinking. Unlike the handsome, perceptive blonde-haired man, however, the beast didn’t seem to have any sort of tact at all. Maybe it didn’t even have a brain.

“You’re a lot like your master, aren’t you?” I said calmly to the beast as I sat with its jaws around my head. The pressure on my skull only increased.

Am I going to die here? Well, that might not be so bad.

“No, Poppi. You can’t eat him. Stop that!” Jules said.

The beast huffed.

“Well done. You listen to me now. I told you earlier, he’s not worth eating.”

I was slowly realizing that Jules seemed to be bad-mouthing me in a roundabout way. But perhaps I was mistaken.

No.

“No, don’t do it. He’s not very tasty and bad for your health. Spit him out already.”

Of course, I’m not mistaken. He is obviously doing this on purpose! I was as ordinary as they came, without a position of value and no talent, but there was one thing that I could beat everyone else in. I was a brave man—well, woman—and given the opportunity, I was as bold as they came. In other words, I can be very scary when I feel the need to be. I’ll show you.

“How would you like a stomachache?” I asked. Following this bold statement, I grabbed hold of the animal’s head with both hands. Its fur was soft and plushy. I could sense the beast’s surprise and grinned grimly with triumph.

All set. The animal seemed to suddenly regret its actions since it tried to pull away. I gripped its cheeks once more, forcefully.

“Oh dear! What are you doing, Al?”

“Honey, have you lost your mind?” Chandy said.

“Al!”

I shoved my head into its huge mouth. Despite successfully putting my life on the line for a split second, the others separated us following a desperate struggle, and my plan ended in failure. Jules got a healthy dose of criticism from the others after that, and I grew miffed.

I’m feeling especially depressed today, so leave me alone. I wore a look on my face that said exactly that as I sipped the fruit juice Phay had handed me. The tactless animal slunk over to me again.

“Didn’t you hear what he said? I’m not edible. Shoo.”

I shooed it away with my hand, but as expected, it did not listen. It simply grunted. The fur around its neck and face made it resemble something like a lion. Its pointed, upright ears and plump tail were like those of a fox, though. Though it had sharp teeth that made it clear it was a carnivorous animal, I didn’t smell anything bad on its breath. Even when I’d shoved my head into its small mouth, all I’d smelt was the scent of grass. In any case, this animal covered with abundant silver fur was not one I had ever seen before. I couldn’t guess its species.

“What in the world are you?” I asked as the creature as it gently pushed its head against my shoulder.

It suddenly whined in the voice of a young boy.

“Huh?”

It was a strange sound, and I couldn’t guess if it was an exclamation or a laugh. I’ve never heard anything like it. The automobile was big, but it was still just a vehicle. And the only people inside it were myself, a human, five Binah, who were demigods, and a single beast. The other members of our entourage were not inside the car, traveling either in front or behind. I knew the sound had come from the animal. I looked around me once again, then down at the animal, which was alternating between rubbing its head against me and nudging at me.

“Smells nice. Smells tasty.”

Huh? It just spoke.

It seemed that it was the animal who had spoken, after all. I’d expected it to be a massive, brainless animal, but it was able to talk. I was genuinely taken aback. My face was generally expressionless, so nobody seemed to notice. But as nonchalant as I usually was, even I was shocked. More surprisingly still, the voice did not carry through the air, but it seemed to reach me telepathically.

What an interesting creature. So many shocking things had already happened, however, that this paled in comparison. This being my new reality made me sad.

“Is Poppi really your name? It’s not just a nickname?”

“Yes. Hehe. I like it.”

The voice had made me wonder, but its tone now made it clear that it was very young.

“Julius told me that what people called me before wasn’t a name. So Poppi is my name. Heh!”

I couldn’t see its eyes, but I wondered if it was smiling. “What did they call you before? It’s strange that you like a name like that.”

“Well, back at home, they all called me the Young Hellion.”

“The Young…” I coughed, searching desperately for Jules. I found him wearing an eye mask and lying on a cushion and promptly kicked him awake. He seemed to have been enjoying a nap since he reacted grouchily.

“What the hell was that for?”

“Your pet, formally known as the Young Hellion, is it really ‘young?’” I asked.

“Huh? What are you talking about?”

Wait, this isn’t what I really wanted to ask.

“In any case, that animal. Poppi. What is it, exactly?”

“What else? It’s one of my summons, just like you.”

“Do I look like a summon to you?”

I hadn’t realized it, but he was still hung up over that fly lord thing. Well, if this is how things are going to be, I might as well hold on to my resentment.

I was clenching my teeth when Jules lowered his voice in a threatening way. “You. Why do you use that disrespectful tone with only me?” he asked.

He was right. I was speaking to him in a very familiar way, and it had come so naturally that I hadn’t even realized it.

I guess you seem the least worthy of respect. I’ve never really spoken this way to anyone before, but disrespect comes easily when I’m talking to you. Unable to say this out loud, however, I debated for a moment.

“Because… I find you to be more comfortable?”

“A cowardly excuse.”

So he knows I’m lying.

“It’s a little over one hundred years old, but it’s quite young as far as its race is concerned. In human terms, I would say it’s in its mid to late teens.”

“In its teens… I see. So that’s why they called him the Young Hellion.” Perhaps he’d been going through puberty. I could understand.

“It’s changed its ways quite a bit, even so. Back in the day, it was really troublesome, trying to pick a fight with everyone it saw. I’ve helped it see the error of its ways.”

“If you will recall, it put my head in its mouth as soon as it saw me. Are you sure about that?” I said.

“I couldn’t help it! You smelled so tasty! I thought you were a snack!”

“A snack?” I asked.

“Poppi is referring to the treats I give.”

I fell silent. Why did I bother to ask?

“It seems to be a breed of Signysphian Silver. Interesting that you managed to summon that exact breed,” Phay said, having listened to our conversation. He laughed quietly.

Hellie, Chandy, and surprisingly, even Mahorren were doubled over on the floor, shouting about dog chews, but I chose to ignore them.

“It looks quite big now, doesn’t it? It’s actually going to grow a lot bigger,” Phay said.

“Even bigger than it is now?” I asked.

“Yes. Once it’s fully grown, it’ll be big enough to fill this entire automobile. The massive size aside, it’s well known that this breed is so touchy and vicious that it can easily subdue summons that are ten times bigger than it. This specimen would actually be considered quite tame. How cute.”

Phasion smiled kindly, and I felt like I could almost see an angelic halo floating over his head. He had the look of a prince from a fairy tale, and even his smiles seemed somehow divine. I’d always considered myself to be more male than female, at least psychologically, but my heart began to race as soon as I saw that smile. He was so powerfully good-looking that he was helping me remember my lost sexual identity.

Gathering my confused thoughts, I turned back to face Poppi. Apparently, it was hot, since it had laid down with its belly up.

Jules tutted and commented, “You should just use magic if you feel so hot. You might not look it, but your race is a magical one.”

This seemed to remind the creature that it could indeed use magic, and it moved its front legs in the air to create a small blue magic circle. The magic flashed into view for only a moment, and while that was intriguing, I couldn’t help but ask.

“You know… It seems pretty… slow.”

“No! I’m very intelligent!” Poppi shouted, jumping to its feet. It looked outraged.

“Hehe. It might look like a canine or feline predator, but as with all summons, it’s a bit of a mix. It even has hidden wings. It’s not actually a mammal. To be more precise, it’s a big cat that’s part bird.”

“A bird… Does it have a bird’s brain?” I asked cautiously, glancing at Phasion.

His eyes were wide as he stared at me. Moments later, he tumbled to the ground clutching his belly. “Hahaha! You’re right! A birdbrain! Haha!” Phasion laughed.

“Hey! Poppi’s feelings will be hurt!” Jules said.

“Hahah! Al, you’re the best! Haha! Stop making me laugh! I’m getting cramps in my stomach!” Hellie said.

I didn’t really know what to say, given how amused everyone seemed. With the exception of Jules, who sat slumped over glumly, everyone was rolling about mirthfully on the floor.

That’s not what I meant! And what’s so bad about a bird’s brain? There are many smart birds. I knew that the word, birdbrain, was used as a light-hearted insult out on the streets, but that wasn’t my intended meaning when I asked about its anatomy. In any case, these people had insisted they would make my life enjoyable, but they were the only ones who seemed to be having a good time.

“Apologize to Poppi.”

And you aren’t going to apologize to me? I could see that he was now treating me as less than his pet.

“I’m not a birdbrain. Mhm. I’m very smart.”

“I heard you were a bird, so… Yeah, I’m sorry.”

Despite its massive size, its tearful eyes were pitiful in the extreme. And the creature looked very imposing at first, but the moment it spoke, that impression immediately evaporated. Feeling a little tired, I rolled over onto a cushion, closed my eyes, and tried to go to sleep. Some time passed this way.

Eventually, someone shook me awake, and I opened my eyes slowly. Hellie’s plump face filled my field of vision.

“Get up, Al. It’s time to eat.”

“Eat?”

“We’ve arrived at the accommodations we reserved. We are going to eat dinner and sleep here for the night. Now, come on. Get up.”

I had no choice but to get out of the car. I was greeted with the sight of a famous hotel I’d only seen in magazines—the Taverna Hotel. It was the best of the best when it came to luxury hotels, with branches in all nations across the continent. According to rumor, even nobles from the capital could not get a room unless they reserved one a month ahead of time. It was almost exclusively used by royal families, great nobles, and the richest merchants on the continent.