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IBP 120
......This is how the incident began.
If that rabbit is called the ‘Great and Most Great, Leader of All Spirit Beasts, Noble Teacher, Guide, and Star of the Spirit Beasts.’
Wouldn't it be best to put a camera-type magic tool on the rabbit first?
And so, I placed the magic tool on the rabbit first. The rabbit lifted its head haughtily.
“Wait. Why should I use this magic tool?”
“Rabbit. Listen carefully and tell the other animals too, okay? A spirit creature hunter might come soon, so you need to wear the camera-type magic tools to protect yourselves and leave evidence.”
The moment I spoke to the rabbit in a very low voice, this whole mess happened.
From the golden carp and the seal spirit beast hiding under the water, to the rabbit spirit beast that had frozen stiff with only its backside sticking out from the bushes.
I clenched my fists tight.
‘If the spirit beasts are this frozen, Gillen won't move easily.......’
As I looked around, my gaze landed once more on......!
“Rabbit.”
“.......”
......Right. I decided to persuade the rabbit spirit beast, the leader of the spirit beasts.
They say animals understand animals best.
I gave the rabbit's snow-white backside a little pat.
“Hik!”
“Are you scared? You're the amazing rabbit who even saved the penguin.”
At my praise, the rabbit's backside, which was buried in the bushes, twitched for a moment.
“Rabbit, I understand being scared. But if you just stay frightened and do nothing, we can't get rid of the spirit creature hunter. Then you'll have to keep living in fear. You don't want your friends to keep feeling anxious, right?”
“.......”
For a moment, the rabbit's round tail flickered.
“Don't worry. I'll protect your life no matter what. Just like I saved you when you were scared. So, can you trust me?”
“I... I did.”
A mumbling voice drifted from the bushes.
“I did save Peng-Peng and Pyo-Pyo, those guys.”
A laugh escaped me. The nicknames Peng-Peng and Pyo-Pyo were cute, but I think the praise I gave the rabbit about itself touched its heart the most.
“Yeah. So, could you think of it as saving those guys again this time?”
“Fine. I am Rabbit. I shall show you how brave a rabbit becomes when it is no longer afraid.”
As the rabbit lifted its head majestically once more, the penguin clinging closely nearby spoke up, sounding completely stiff.
“Lord Rabbit, will you be alright......!”
The rabbit, looking at the penguin and leopard side by side, spoke solemnly. It already had the camera magic tool around its neck.
“Now, you too shall wear the camera magic tool around your neck.”
“Huh? But I am such a weak penguin. If I wear a magic tool, it will keep slipping down.”
“Do not worry. It will be fine if it is fixed well. I shall do it with my front paws.”
......You've got charisma, Rabbit.
Once the quick-witted Caligo placed the camera-type magic tool around the penguin's neck, the rabbit proudly tightened it.
“Lord Rabbit......!”
“Thank you, Lord Rabbit.”
And so, starting with the penguin, the bell-attached camera-type magic tools were carefully placed around the necks of the spirit beasts.
“Put it on.”
“Yes......!”
I blinked and proudly shook out my hands.
‘And just like that, I've put camera-type magic tools on all the spirit beasts!’
Of course, I also had an excuse to persuade the servants and the young lords of the family.
“I wanted to take pictures with the spirit beasts and see the world from their perspective!”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Yes, yes! Then I can understand the hearts of animals, and it'll be easier to utilize my supernatural ability, animal affinity! My teacher told me so!”
......My teacher never said such a thing.
I covered my mouth and chuckled mischievously.
Since I'd equipped the spirit beast friends with the magic tools, half the work was done.
‘Now I just have to wait for Gillen to arrive.......’
Just as I sat side-by-side with Caligo in the bushes.
Suddenly, my body was hoisted up.
“Coco.”
......Huh.
I think I'm seeing someone who shouldn't be here.
I blinked and looked at my sister.
“Sissy? Why are you here, Sissy?”
Am I seeing things?
But the sister before my eyes was far too vivid to be a hallucination.
“I was worried you might move around dangerously on your own.”
Right now, her gaze was exactly like a puppy suffering from separation anxiety because it had no bones.
And.......
As I scanned the surroundings while worrying about her, something unfamiliar entered my field of vision.
They were the pitch-black shoes she often wore, but the patterns were strangely different.
“Sissy, your shoes are mismatched.”
She must have come in a huge rush.
At that moment, Caligo looked down at his own perfectly matching shoes. Then, he muttered something incomprehensible in a low, sighing tone.
“......Mismatched shoes are hard to beat.”
Receiving the gaze of both me and Caligo, my sister awkwardly changed the subject.
“......What were you trying to do here?”
“Uuung.......”
As I confessed my plan to catch Gillen in a very tiny voice while rolling my eyes, my sister let out a hollow laugh.
“That's not how you do it, Coco.”
“Then how do you do it?”
My sister pulled out a small bundle.
I widened my eyes, staring at the sparkling something inside.
“Wow......!”
And so, my plan met my sister's plan and flowed in a slightly different direction.
* * *
For the next few hours, Caligo, my sister, and I played happily with the numerous spirit beasts.
As the hot sunlight began to fade, people started calling for carriages to return home.
Many spirit beasts left the lakeside under the strict guard of knights and mages.
‘I'm checking them all thoroughly with the camera-type magic tools!’
My sister let out a light sigh while carefully checking another magic tool connected to the camera-type ones.
“It seems everyone has returned safely to their respective mansions.”
“Wow, thank goodness!”
However, exactly one remained here, at Lake Marine.
The penguin spirit beast, which we had intentionally left behind after discussing it with my sister, was floating on the lakeside.
“Penguin is floating on the lake. I think Penguin seems really strong among the spirit beasts. Right, Sissy?”
“Yes. I can feel the power from here.”
“Penguin liked it a lot too. Right?”
When I showed the penguin the bundle my sister brought and told it our plan, I remembered how Peng-Peng—no, the penguin—got all excited, saying it was a ‘super fun plan!’
And so, together with my sister, I watched the penguin moving as if lightly swept by the waves.
A penguin floating on the lake would certainly be a tempting prey for Gillen.
‘So, it won't be long before Gillen approaches.’
I know Gillen covets spirit beasts. Since now is the optimal opportunity for him to attack a spirit beast, he will surely approach.
We all know Gillen's supernatural ability as well. That's why we've made full preparations to catch him in the act when he attacks the spirit beast.......
‘But you know, there's such a thing as animal intuition. For some reason, I keep getting chills down my spine.’
Feeling an ominous sensation for no reason, I poked Caligo and my sister, chattering away.
“Hey, Caligo, Sissy!”
“Hmm?”
“Look over there.”
Before long, as expected, something bluish appeared by the lakeside.
‘You can't see it unless you look closely.’
I pretended not to see anything and stared intently at the back of the penguin floating on the lake.
And it was exactly then.
A subtle light shone on the lakeside and then vanished for a moment.
‘I'm sure. Gillen Amadeus is definitely around here.’
But strangely, his power showed no sign of leaking out.
My sister, Caligo, and I exchanged glances.
‘He'll try to kidnap the penguin soon, right?’
At that moment, the penguin moved as if lightly twisting its body.
Simultaneously, light rose along with the ripples at the lakeside.
But before I knew it, the magic circle that had been aimed directly at the penguin rushed toward me.
“Uh-oh?”
In that instant, a magic circle written in an ancient language—which I couldn't tell exactly what it said—bound me tightly like a lasso.
The moment my sister's eyes widened as she faced me, I felt my vision slowly turn black.
“Coco!”
Hearing my sister's scream, I realized.
Our plan was perfect. Except for the fact that Gillen's target wasn't the spirit beast, but me.
* * *
After losing consciousness for a short while, I woke up in a space I had never seen before.
A tiny space, about the size of one pyeong.
A faint light shone above my head.
‘Is this a subspace created by Gillen?’
Moreover, ancient magic circles were binding my hands and feet like ropes.
‘Why did he kidnap me?’
I'm not a spirit beast.......
‘But there's no need to panic, Coco!’
Because the powerful magic circles tightly wrapping my wrists and ankles were loosening slightly.
I felt the darkness stained upon my wrists fighting secretly against the snow-white magic circle.
‘Huck, Sissy must have cast a protection spell on my body without me knowing.’
This protection spell seems insufficient to take down a magic circle written in ancient language, but.......
Still, my sister is incredibly smart.
Was it because I saw the trace of my sister on my wrist?
Having become much calmer, I rolled my eyes and looked around.
As I explored the surroundings while quietly holding my breath and listening, I heard someone's panting voice within the subspace.
‘Gillen is right nearby.’
If so, this didn't seem to be a subspace completely separated from the caster.
I soon made up my mind. I called out to him in a loud voice.
“Is there someone there? Who are you?”
“......You're awake. I have somewhere to go, so stay put quietly. You can't get out anyway.”
It was a distorted voice, perhaps because he used a magic tool, but I could tell enough that it was Gillen.
However, that one sentence made one thing clear.
‘For now, he doesn't seem to have any intention of killing me.’
I stretched my trembling body and stared beyond the subspace.
‘Let's stay calm, Coco. In that case, there's only one thing you need to do now.’
I recalled the item that had been inside the bundle my sister brought.
‘I have to go back to the lakeside of Lake Marine where Sissy is.’
The keyword that defines Gillen is ‘greed.’
Using his greed, the way for me to escape from this place is.......
“You know.”
“.......”
“Did you see the penguin near the lakeside? The penguin won't be able to go home without me. What should we do?”
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