What kind of nonsense is this?
So does that mean I understood what the lion was saying?
'No way. I've never understood animal language before...'
It was a time when I couldn't hide my embarrassment.
“But why didn’t you die?”
“That’s because you haven’t eaten me yet?”
When I asked back as if it were obvious, the lion made a puzzled expression.
It seemed like there was some unresolved question, but I couldn't wait for him to open his mouth.
Because I too had important issues to address.
“Excuse me, could you please let me down for a moment? This is my first time being levitated, so I feel a little strange.”
“Oh, right.”
The lion as if it had blinked, struck my forehead with its huge forepaw and then swung its tail once.
Then, my body which had been floating in the air slowly descended to the ground.
Only then, after clearing my mind, did I begin to have a serious conversation with the lion.
“But I heard a little while ago that you said you wouldn’t eat me. Is that true?”
“Of course. I don’t kill.”
“You say that wild beasts don’t kill? Why? Oh, because they are God’s agents?”
When I nodded as if I understood, the lion snorted.
“What about the agent? I’m not like that. I’m just a contractor.”
“Are you a contractor?”
“Yes, if I refrain from killing for a thousand years and cultivate my mind and body in this cave, Hedel promised to make me a divine beast. Since then, I have never broken my contract.”
'You've never broken it?'
I questioned the lion's words.
Judging from the situation so far, it seems that the lions have been drowning the sacrifices that entered their dens, but they have also committed murder.
They just didn't eat it.
“Then the sacrifices offered up until now...”
It was at that moment that I was about to ask what happened.
“That’s not me!”
The lion was startled and flapped his forelegs.
“I don’t know, it’s not my fault. They kept crawling into my place and bothering me, so I yelled at them to stop coming in, and then they all just collapsed and died! What did I do...?”
I nodded in understanding as I watched the lion scratch the ground with its huge forepaws and have a sullen expression on its face.
'Aha, so that means they died of a heart attack.'
Actually, I might have died suddenly if I hadn't heard the lion's roar translated into human language.
How many people could keep their sanity when a lion roars like that?
'It'll be difficult unless you have a strong heart.'
I nodded my head repeatedly for a moment, then another question occurred to me and I opened my mouth.
“Wait a minute, according to that contract, you can’t leave this cave for a thousand years. Then what are you going to eat and live on? There’s no way there’s anything to eat in a cave like this.”
The lion sighed deeply at my words, then tapped the cave wall with his forepaw.
“These are my stocks.”
I was curious so I went to look and noticed moss growing densely along the wall.
“...A lion that lives by eating moss?”
“Yeah, I guess there’s nothing I can do since the only thing growing in this cave is moss.”
The lion's eyes drooped.
It seemed that the so-called strongest predator on land was not spiritually fit to live off of moss.
'No, if moss becomes your staple food, you can't help but have that kind of expression.'
I clicked my tongue in regret and asked carefully.
“Then how much longer will it take to fill that thousand years?”
At that moment, the lion, his expression hardened, muttered in a sinister voice.
“...I got it.”
“Huh? What did you say?”
Because the voice was so small, I just asked it again.
Never.
“It’s been a while, it’s been a while, it’s been a long time! It’s been a thousand and five years since I’ve been stuck in this cave, eating moss!”
“...”
I had no intention of leisurely listening to the lion's tale of fraud.
The lion continued to roar as if some kind of trigger button had been pressed.
What's worse, he even cried, shedding tears like chicken poop.
I was so shocked by this rare sight that I was seeing for the first time in my life that I finally asked after a while.
“Well, then the contract period has already expired. So why are you still here?”
“Why! Hethel, because that damned goddess disappeared!”
“The goddess disappeared? Where did she go?”
“If I knew that, would I be doing this now?”
The lion growled, revealing its sharp fangs as if it were angry at my thoughtless question.
“That’s right. I was short-sighted.”
I hurriedly changed my attitude before sparks could fly and quickly changed the subject.
“Then why don’t we go out and look for the goddess? The deadline is over anyway, so there’s no need to stay locked up in this cave.”
Then the lion's expression became gloomy again.
“If I could, I would have done so a long time ago. I can’t get out of this hole.”
“You can’t go out? Why?”
“Hethel has put restrictions on me so I can’t leave this cave without her permission.”
“Huh? Why did she put such a restriction on it?”
As I tilted my head in confusion, the lion spoke hesitantly.
“That’s... Actually, I tried to escape a few times. I got sick of being stuck in a dark cave, eating only moss, so I just gave up...”
The lion scratched his temple with his huge forepaw and chuckled awkwardly.
'What is that about someone who wants to become a god?'
I shook my head in frustration at the glimpse of shame, then opened my mouth again.
“Anyway, that means I don’t have to die. You said you wouldn’t kill anyway. Right?”
“What, really?”
The lion's nod made me feel relieved again.
“Thank goodness. My life was too foolish to die like this.”
What I especially regret is that I couldn't trample on that trash more thoroughly.
'What should I do with them? First, I should seize the trinkets that were left behind. Then I should seize the trinkets that were left behind. Why should I pay off the gambling debts that scum made with the Duke's fortune? I was too merciful. Now, what should I do next... Huh? Wait a minute.'
I, who was calmly planning my revenge, suddenly froze like a stone statue.
“It looks like you only investigated my personal assets, but that’s not all I disposed of. I sold all of the family’s assets and donated them.”
“Why don’t I have any rights? The seal of the family and all the authority belongs to me. My grandfather handed it over to me before he passed away, saying that if I left it to my incompetent father who only knew how to spend money on luxury, we would be ruined within three years.”
“What and where? Everything from the house where my father lives to the mine and the business. Oh, but I didn’t touch the ornaments of my father and his belongings.”
Because it just occurred to me that I had no property left, not even a home to return to.
'...That's fucked up!'
Why did I do such a crazy thing?
What hardships did I endure to protect my property, enduring the incompetence of my father and his extravagant and ignorant subordinates!
I felt like all the blood was draining from my body.
But this was nothing.
“You didn’t expect that because you’re stupid, did you? I knew it.”
“Of course it’s revenge. I was pushed to my death by my father’s hands, and my father wants to play family games with those bastards and live happily ever after. That’s just so unreasonable. Don’t you think so?”
“If you’ve satisfied all your curiosity, then you should just wash off that dirty face. I’ve said everything I wanted to say and I’m going to die feeling relieved, but I feel like shit because I keep looking at that disgusting face.”
Compared to the crazy things I've said.
Even if you don't have the authority, you are still the head of the household.
Do you think that piece of trash will leave me alone?
'They'll try to somehow pull me down from my position as successor... Ha, this damn thing!'
I slapped my reckless mouth and quickly shook my head.
'No. At least I managed to save my life. I came back alive from the dead, so there must be a way.'
I wiped my wet eyes and headed towards the entrance.
At that moment, the lion called out to me.
“Huh? Where are you going all of a sudden?”
“Where? Outside the cave, of course.”
“What? You’re leaving? This cave? Why?”
“You said you weren’t going to eat it anyway. Then there’s no reason for me to stay here any longer.”
When I answered as if asking an obvious question, the lion, who had been blankly blinking, suddenly let out a loud roar.
“No. You can’t go out! Absolutely not!”
The sight seemed so desperate that I became even more puzzled.
“Why? Is there any reason why I shouldn’t go out?”
“Of course there is. That’s a very big reason too!”
The expression on the lion's face as he spoke was quite serious.
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