A hungry child stealing meat was a crime. But it was not a crime punishable by death.
Because it was pitiful.
But Bibi, just because she’s a Creature…
Before she realized it, Guide’s vision had blurred with tears as he clutched the travel cage to his chest.
The butcher chased Bibi away the moment he saw her. So of course the Young Lady would too…
It was natural.
If the place for humans was the duchy—relatively warm, even by Northern standards—then the place for Creatures was beyond the ice wall, at the cold and treacherous end of the world.
But.
“…We’re very close.”
Even so, he couldn’t bring himself to abandon his small friend who only ever looked at him.
“Bi—Bibi and I, we’re really, very close…”
“How close? If you tell Bibi to sit still, can she actually sit still?”
“If she’s full, and she’s already gone to the bathroom, and her digestion is settled, and there’s no danger around…”
Guide squeezed his eyes shut.
Bibi. Let’s go to the end of the world together!
He made that solemn vow somewhere inside his heart.
“Then—then she can sit! She can!”
But in the end, the fear and grief welled up too quickly, and he burst into tears with a trembling wail.
He had just told her how close they were—surely she would banish him along with Bibi to the other side of the ice wall.
How terrifying must that place be, filled entirely with Creatures…
“Then why don’t you open the cage door for me?”
“…Pardon?”
His imagination was spiraling into something horrifying, his face crumpled completely—
—when a warm question cut through the noise, soft enough to thaw something in his chest.
Guide opened his eyes.
Through his blurred vision, a pair of vivid crimson eyes came into focus, meeting his gaze directly.
“I’d like to see her, too. Your friend.”
…Friend?
She had called Bibi that. A Creature.
A secret nickname that had only ever lived in his own heart—and now it had tumbled out of someone else’s mouth. Guide was stunned into silence for a moment.
Then, a little while later—
“Oh—yes. Yes!”
He scrubbed at his wet eyes with a determined swipe and nodded.
✿∘˚˳D°∘°✿∘˚˳a°∘°✿∘˚˳°∘°mஐﻬ
There was a reason I had told Guide to open the cage.
It wasn’t because I trusted the bond between him and the Creature. It wasn’t because I had assessed the Creature as harmless.
I simply trusted the information from the original novel—thoroughly and completely.
“Th—then I’ll open the door.”
Guide, who had been staring at me slack-jawed as though my offer had caught him entirely off guard, held out the cage.
He began fumbling with the latch—
“Young Lady. It’s dangerous.”
The knight who had moved silently to our side stepped forward and grabbed Guide’s hand before he could proceed.
“The fact that she didn’t attack earlier could simply have been luck. Perrys are dangerous creatures—they dive straight for people’s faces the moment they see them. In all my years of Creature hunts, I have never encountered a tame Perry.”
I studied him for a moment, then asked a question.
“You and the others attacked Bibi first, didn’t you?”
“What? Of—of course we did. A Creature lunges at us, and you expect us to just stand there?”
“So you fought back. If someone extended their hand for a friendly handshake and the other person drew a sword on them, they wouldn’t just stand there and take it either, would they?”
“…That’s true, but…”
He went quiet, clearly turning my words over in his mind. It was obvious he had just recalled what Guide had told him earlier.
That when a Perry covers your face, it isn’t an attack—it’s a greeting.
Hmm. I’ll have to take charge here.
I walked over, planted my hands firmly on the knight’s broad back, and shoved with all the force my small body could muster.
“Right then—when in doubt, find out! Our good knight, if you’d kindly step back—”
It was barely enough force to move him, but my command settled it. He shuffled backward with a reluctant “Oh, er…”
“Guide, carry on with what you were doing!”
With the knight out of the way, I stepped in and gripped Guide firmly by both shoulders.
“Yes…”
Guide’s eyes had gone round and bright. He gave a little nod and opened the cage door.
“But—Bibi might be a bit sore right now. She might come bounding straight out—”
He was nervous too, already rambling with explanations. I cut him off cleanly.
“That’s fine.”
I had a plan.
“You just let Bibi do the greeting. You can handle it.”
I said this as I crouched behind Guide, tucking myself completely out of sight behind his back—
“Ack!”
—and the moment the door swung open, Bibi came shooting out and launched herself straight onto Guide’s face.
“Kyuu!”
Having delivered her greeting, Bibi climbed to the top of Guide’s head and began shaking her long body in a wild, ecstatic little dance.
“Kyuu, kyuu!”
I watched the fluffy bundle perform her celebration routine and touched the tip of my nose.
…Yes. Still absolutely adorable.
“Bibi, this isn’t the time. You have something to show the Young Lady…”
After a good long celebration dance, Bibi was caught in Guide’s hands and lowered to the floor.
Guide knelt down in front of her and pointed at the ground.
“Bibi, sit.”
“Kwut?”
At his command, Bibi tilted her head to one side—then immediately planted her bottom on the floor.
“?”
The knight and Mai, who had been watching, both let their jaws drop.
I watched with genuine interest.
And then—
“Bibi, jump.”
Guide punched his fist into the air and gave the command.
Boing!
Bibi coiled her spring-like little body and released it—launching herself into the air.
“…Y—Young Lady. Why does that Creature understand human speech? Has some magic been cast on it?”
“No. It’s not magic.”
I shook my head gently.
“It’s not that Bibi understands our language. I think Guide is communicating in Bibi’s language.”
That was precisely it.
In the original novel, Guide was a Creature trainer—the closest equivalent, in my previous world, to a legendary animal handler. He was the first person in this world to ever conceive of the idea of training Creatures, and he went on to become a formidable adversary to the male lead, who had set out to exterminate them.
Original novel protagonists really are something else from the very start. I thought he was a late-bloomer type because he just looked like a snotty little kid—but he already had real talent at this age.
“Bibi. Shake.”
Guide held out his tiny palm toward Bibi. I was watching his face—so much more at ease now than when we had first met—with quiet satisfaction when—
“Kak!”
“Ahhhhhh!”
Out of nowhere, a sulky Bibi sank her teeth into Guide’s outstretched hand.
“Oh! Are you okay?!”
“See! This is exactly why she’s a dangerous Creature—!”
I scrambled toward Guide in alarm, and the knight yanked out his sword—
“I—I forgot. Bibi sulks if you give her more than three commands without a treat.”
“…I see.”
Treats are mandatory for training. Noted.
The flustered knight slid his blade back into its sheath.
Regardless, Guide had made his point well enough. He could train Creatures.
It was still early days—barely a seedling—but even this much potential was more than sufficient.
My eyes gleamed as I turned to Guide with an offer.
“Guide. Would you like to work at our estate? I can guarantee three meals a day and a place to sleep.”
This was the reason I had brought him here in the first place.
If I couldn’t use my own Affinity, I would recruit someone whose abilities the original novel had already vouched for.
As a future Creature trainer of considerable skill, Guide would be an enormous asset.
“P—pardon?”
Thud.
Guide blinked at me as though I had knocked the sense clean out of him.
While he was busy being stunned, Bibi wriggled free of his hand and trotted toward me, tail swishing with curiosity.
I was admiring her little bean-like black eyes when the boy, who had been frozen in place, finally spoke.
“I—I’m grateful, but… what could I possibly do to be of use…”
“Just keep training Bibi like you’ve been doing. Sit. Stand. Jump. Eventually, things like ‘Attack!’ and ‘Stand down!’ too.”
“Young Lady, that’s—!”
“It’s completely impossible! Training Creatures—the very idea—!”
At my repeated proposal, Mai and the knight both gaped at me.
If I hadn’t been the Young Lady, they looked like they would have straight-up asked whether I was feeling all right.
But.
“…I—I think I could… probably do that.”
Guide answered first.
Of course he did—this world’s greatest Creature trainer. He nodded readily, as if the task were almost too simple.
“And—and I hope I’m not being too forward, Young Lady, but…”
Oh. Our little crybaby was starting to show some backbone.
Inexplicably charmed, I nodded encouragingly.
“Go on, say it!”
“I—if it’s not too rude… what would the pay be…?”
Ah.
I had forgotten. He was the type who cried easily and scared easily, but always said what needed saying.
