The cave I entered in such a fit of anger was extremely dark and cold.
I walked diligently through that place, which was like the inside of a giant snake's belly.
Walk, and walk.
It was at that moment when my feet were throbbing and I thought I couldn't walk any longer.
Krrrrrr-
The roar of a mighty beast echoed through the cave.
A sound so terrifying that it made my heart sink and my legs tremble.
'Omg!'
At that moment, when I was so surprised that I couldn't react at all and was frozen in place, two lights flashed in the darkness.
The eyes of a frosty beast.
The eyes of the very lion who was said to be the representative of God were clear.
Dump-
My legs gave out and I sat down on the floor helplessly.
The lion that had been staring at me intently stepped forward with its heavy forepaw.
Thump, thump.
The lion's body, finally revealed under the torch, was larger than expected.
So much so that it could swallow someone like me in one bite without even chewing.
'Ugh, I hate it...'
What? Do you want to die quickly?
Do you want to see for yourself if ghosts really exist?
The ridiculous pretense knelt pathetically before the fear of death that was right before my eyes.
‘I don’t want to... die. I didn’t live my life struggling like that just to be food for those kinds of beasts!’
The desire for survival came belatedly.
I wanted to run away at any moment, but I was so scared that I had no strength in my legs.
At that time, I was wiggling my butt like a bug.
Krrrrung!
The lion, which had come up close to my nose, stretched out its neck and opened its mouth.
As if it would swallow me up at any moment.
'It's all over...'
I looked at the lion's gaping mouth with resigned eyes and wished.
I hope that my flesh and bones will not be crushed by those horrible teeth.
I would rather not be swallowed in one bite and suffer in terrible pain.
As if responding to my wish, the lion roared again.
“Oh, man, I said I’m not eating!”
“...?”
What is this?
I opened my eyes wide and looked around.
Surely a lion cannot speak human language, and is there anyone else in this den besides me?
But no matter how thoroughly I searched, there was only the lion and me in the cave.
'What? Are my ears malfunctioning?'
Or maybe it was going crazy from the extreme fear of death.
At that moment, I was just sitting there blankly, unable to tell what was going on, when the lion stomped its large forepaw on the ground.
Then it roared again...
“Why do these things keep letting humans in? I don’t eat humans!”
...What struck my ears were, as expected, human words.
That too, in the Catalonia Empire language.
'Am I dreaming?'
I was so shocked that I just stood there frozen like a statue, staring blankly at the lion.
The lion who had been glancing at me sighed deeply.
“Oh my, I guess she died again.”
Then he turned around annoyed.
'What, what is it? Am I going? Did I... buy it?'
I forgot my doubts about how a lion could speak human language and was filled with a glimmer of hope that I might be able to survive.
But what is this?
Suddenly the lion started acting strangely.
It had its tail raised towards the cave ceiling.
That was when I tilted my head wondering what it meant.
My body, which had been glued to the floor, suddenly rose into the air.
'What, what is this...!'
The unfamiliar feeling of my feet not touching the ground made me want to scream without realizing it.
But before I could do that, my body started to drift away somewhere.
For now, what kind of harmony is this?
'Is that the lion's doing?'
No matter how much I thought about it, that was the only answer I could come up with.
In this cave, there was only me and the lion, and the direction my body moved matched the path the lion was walking.
'...He was said to be a representative of God, but he wasn't just an ordinary messenger?'
When I think about it that way, he can understand human speech to some extent.
But where is it taking me?
It was when I was wondering.
“You damn humans. How long are you going to keep stuffing humans into my hole? Because of their strange actions, my drinking water is getting contaminated!”
The lion began to grumble and complain.
“But I can’t just sit by and watch corpses strewn about my living quarters. Ah, my fate.”
The lion, who had been roaring for a long time, suddenly stopped in front of a small spring.
It was a spring so clear that it was almost transparent, but so deep that it was difficult to gauge its depth.
It's really so far away...
'What? It's so far away?'
The words the lion had spoken just a moment ago rang in my ears again.
“Because of those guys’ strange actions, my drinking water is being polluted!”
'Wait a minute, then surely...'
Has the lion been drowning the women who have been offered as sacrifices in the well until now?
Does that mean I'll be in the same situation soon?
'What? So you're not even a sacrifice, you're just struggling in the water and drowning?'
This was a more absurd ending than I thought.
As I was inwardly astonished, the lion turned his back on me and muttered in a heavy voice.
“You are such a pitiful human being. Please don’t die in vain in the next life and enjoy a long life.”
As soon as the lion finished speaking, my body was suddenly thrown towards the spring.
So, the 'soon' I predicted a little while ago is now.
'Hey, even if I die, I shouldn't die in such a vain way!'
Fear of lions and all, I had to stop the death that was right in front of me first.
I became anxious and shouted in a panic.
“Stop it! I can’t even swim!”
At that moment, my body, which had been falling rapidly, suddenly stopped.
At the same time, the cold eyes of a beast fell upon me.
I did not avoid those eyes, which held a bitterly cold air that seemed to freeze everything in the world.
No, it couldn't be avoided.
Because I had to live. Because I wanted to live somehow.
“S-save me. Please...”
I pleaded with the most pitiful expression I could muster.
However.
“You, how are you still alive... No, more than that, how can a human speak the words of a lion... You, you monster! Save the lion!”
The lion ran away, looking even more frightened than I was.
‘What is this...’
I was so shocked that I was speechless for a while, and only later did I scream out loud.
"...Who is the monster now? And who is saving whom? Anyone can see that I am the one in danger!”
The fear that had made me tremble just a moment ago had long since evaporated like a mirage along with the lion's reaction.
Then, the lion that had run away into the cave suddenly poked its head out of the darkness.
“Oh, really? Am I the risk factor here?”
While I was tilting my head, I couldn't help but burst out laughing at how absurd the sight was.
"Haha."
It was while I was just laughing in vain for a long time.
The lion, who had come closer to me again, began circling around and observing me.
“Hmm, hmm, hmm...”
It's like seeing an alien creature.
'Ha, that's annoying.'
It's not fear but annoyance that comes from seeing a huge beast scurrying around right in front of you.
It was truly mind-boggling.
“If you have something to say, just say it. Don’t bother people for no reason.”
As I spoke, rubbing the back of my neck, the lion suddenly stopped walking as if it had been waiting.
“Okay, then I will ask without hesitation. What is your identity?”
“What am I, a human?”
“What? Human? You’re really human?”
“...Why are you so surprised? No matter where you look, I don’t look like a human?”
I felt somehow offended by the lion's reaction and asked back rudely.
“Hmm, it certainly looks like that, but...”
The lion nodded for a moment, then asked as if he couldn't understand at all.
“But how can a human speak the language of a lion?”
“What the hell are you talking about... I’m not speaking lion language, you’re speaking human language! And that’s Catalon Empire language!”
When I shouted in bewilderment, the lion shook its head and opened its eyes wide.
“Huh? No? I’m speaking in the language of lions right now.”
...What?
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