The new tiger was wandering through the mansion when it ran into Ol, the Orthrus, who was with Guronde.
Ol froze for a moment upon seeing the tiger, then barked and charged. He must have thought he had the upper hand. His barking even sounded a bit excited.
However, just as he was about to pounce, Miel poked her head out from the tiger’s back. Ol’s barking must have been too noisy for her. Following Miel, Rael, Uel, and Gael all popped their heads up as well. It seemed the four sister cats had been napping on the tiger’s back.
The moment Ol saw them, he stopped barking and executed a flawless U-turn right in front of the tiger. He scrambled back to Guronde, flailing about as if complaining that it wasn't a fair fight. Guronde gave a wry smile and stroked his heads to comfort him.
I think you’re spoiling him a bit much, Guronde.
And Tiger, I’m sorry for the scare. Are you okay?
Wait, why is Miel complaining to me? I didn't do anything.
Regardless, I was glad to see the tiger getting along with the cats... though it looked like Miel and her sisters had decided to become its bodyguards. Well, I’ll leave it to them.
Oh, and I haven't forgotten. I’ll have a quiet word with Ann about lifting the kotatsu ban.
The next person the tiger ran into was Yoko. She observed the tiger as if it were a rare specimen, thought for a moment, and then went to fetch Dos.
Why Dos?
And could they please stop whispering to each other? It was making me nervous.
"It’s nothing"? Truly? This is just a normal tiger, right?
They both nodded in unison, so I chose to believe them, but... seriously, why did Yoko call Dos? Was she planning to use the tiger for some kind of event?
...No. There was definitely a secret here. I told them to stop hiding it and give me a full report.
Apparently, this tiger was the descendant of a Sacred Beast.
A Sacred Beast? What was that?
"They are beasts that have approached the Divine Realm," Yoko explained. "There used to be many of them, but now only three remain: Seiten the monkey, Ganeshui the elephant, and Sangetsu the tiger."
She went on to say that in ancient times, there were many Sacred Beasts—bears, cows, and even horses. Come to think of it, weren't there any fox Sacred Beasts?
"The fox Sacred Beast was recognized by God and became a Divine Messenger."
I see. Speaking of Divine Messengers, Niz came to mind. She was the Messenger of the Snake God. I wondered if Niz had been a Sacred Beast too.
As I was lost in thought, Dos patted my shoulder.
"After that fox Sacred Beast became a Divine Messenger, she became a Direct Retainer of God—but then she ran away. Currently, she’s the Acting Village Head of Village Five."
...Wait. That meant...
"Stop digging up old stories," Yoko snapped, glaring at Dos.
So, Yoko was actually a former Sacred Beast? Huh. I had no idea.
I wanted to ask about the difference between a Divine Messenger and a Direct Retainer, or why exactly she had run away, but I decided to steer the conversation back to the main topic.
So, what did it mean to be a descendant of a Sacred Beast? Was it something like Hitoe?
No?
The tiger Sacred Beast had been worshipped in a human kingdom, but about seven hundred years ago, its cub was kidnapped by a human Hero.
Wait, I thought they were worshipped? Why would a Hero kidnap the cub... Ah, it was a "fake" Hero. That made sense.
The kidnapped cub went missing after that, and there was a high probability that the tiger here was its descendant.
The proof was apparently in its distinctive eye color. They were beautiful eyes, certainly, but since I didn't know what other tigers’ eyes looked like, I couldn't really tell the difference.
In any case, the important question was: if this tiger was the descendant of a Sacred Beast, would it cause any problems?
None at all? Well, that was a relief. Miel and the others had been glaring at me worriedly for a while.
"You can stay here just as you are," I told the tiger.
The next day.
A massive white tiger stood before me. It was huge—about three stories tall. This had to be Sangetsu, the tiger Sacred Beast.
And here they told me there wouldn't be any problems...
Wait, what was this?
He presented me with a silver-furred bear about three meters long. It was a very polite gesture. Since the meat and bones were still attached, I assumed it was meant as a gift for us to eat.
So, his business was... about the tiger in my house, right? I understood that much.
More importantly, was he going to be okay?
From what I could see, Sangetsu was covered in wounds. Apparently, he had received a divine revelation a few months ago and had been making his way toward Village Five.
He hadn't been told why he was going there, but after hearing about his descendant from Yoko, he had been overcome with excitement. Unable to wait a moment longer, he had used the teleportation gate. Ignoring Yoko’s warnings, he had charged straight through the Great Tree Dungeon, only to be intercepted and subdued by Arako the Arachne.
His injuries were from that encounter. If Yoko hadn't stepped in to stop the fight, it sounded like things could have turned out much worse for him.
After receiving some healing magic from Flora, Sangetsu finally came face-to-face with the tiger.
Sangetsu was absolutely overjoyed, but the tiger just looked bewildered, as if it had no idea what was happening. Miel and the cats on its back were much more reactive.
"Hey, stop hissing at him," I scolded. "He didn't come here to take the tiger away by force."
...Right?
"Wait, you do want to take it back?"
Well... that depends on the tiger’s feelings. If the tiger wants to go with you, I won't stop it. But if it wants to stay here, I will protect it with everything I have.
Fortunately, Sangetsu clarified that he had no intention of taking it away against its will.
"See? So, Miel, girls, stop charging your attack magic."
Sangetsu was completely defenseless—and then he collapsed!
"Flora, hurry! More healing magic!"