Chapter 74

At that, Jaeha thought for a moment before speaking.

“So the royalty have abilities on par with dragons, then.”

“Personally, I don’t think so. No matter how high the Beasts’ magic resistance is, it’s not enough to withstand a breath attack, and fundamentally, the difference in physical scale is too great.”

“That’s true.”

“There’s also no objective data available, so I can’t say for certain. It’s true that Beasts have aggressive personalities and enjoy fighting, but on the other hand, they’re a somewhat contradictory species that dislikes killing living things.”

“They like fighting but hate killing…… That’s unusual.”

“They’ve always been that kind of species.”

Saying that, Gersia rose from their seat. Then, looking at Jaeha who was sitting still, they asked.

“Contracting with a Beast will not be easy.”

“Oh?”

“Indeed. Contracts with Beasts are fundamentally difficult. Simply encountering a Beast is hard enough, but the contract itself is also difficult.”

“Is it different from Spirits?”

“It’s quite different from contracting with Spirits. A contract with a Spirit ends with a few words. However, I understand that contracts with Beasts are extremely troublesome.”

“What do you have to do?”

“I don’t know the exact details either.”

“Then tell me whatever you do know.”

“There isn’t really anything I could call knowledge on the matter.”

At that, Jaeha furrowed his brow.

“Well, anyway, it’s not like I absolutely have to do it.”

Saying that, Jaeha manipulated the magic circle in front of him. Then he input the coordinates for the 7th dimension again and activated the magic circle. As the gate opened, a familiar environment came into view. Seeing no one there, Jaeha rose from his seat.

“I’m going to head up, so call me if anything happens.”

“Yes.”

And Jaeha left the sparring ground.

* * *

“Chrise is really late.”

“Indeed.”

About five more days had passed since meeting the Beast. It was now the seventh day since Chrise had gone to her original world, and not a trace of her had been seen since.

“Of course, finding people isn’t exactly easy.”

“Still, it’s taking too long.”

“Right? If he’s someone who was called an absolute being, he should have some money saved up.”

“If he spent generously while searching, finding an ordinary civilian shouldn’t have been that hard. It’s taking far longer than expected.”

“Something must have happened.”

“Even if something happened, it’s past time for him to be back.”

“Exactly.”

At that, Jaeha muttered along with Amy, and then Gersia approached Jaeha.

“I will go to the Lair.”

“Now?”

“Yes.”

“Then look for Chrise while you’re at it.”

“No.”

“Do it.”

“……Tch.”

At that, they clicked their tongue and crossed through the gate.

“Alright. So should we play around a bit now?”

Jaeha said that while fiddling with the magic circle.

“We don’t know when he’ll come back. Shouldn’t we leave it open?”

“Well, Gersia will find Chrise. Once they realize it’s not open, they’ll open it and come back.”

“That’s true.”

With that, Jaeha opened the gate connected to the 6th dimension, the Beast Realm.

Chapter 20

As the gate connected to the Beast Realm opened, Jaeha manipulated the magic circle again. Before long, Jaeha was able to project the place where he had seen the Beast before.

However, there was no sign of the Beast—or any presence at all.

“Are you going to contract with a Beast?”

“If it’s not bad.”

“And if it is bad, you won’t?”

“Yeah. But honestly, I’m wondering if a Beast would even be that helpful.”

“That’s right. Magic resistance is practically a trait you don’t need, Master.”

“Besides, I’m someone who uses my body anyway. So it’s even more useless.”

“Then the possibility of it being useless overwhelmingly outweighs the possibility of it being useful—why bother looking?”

At her question, Jaeha shrugged and spoke.

“Well, just…… If I had to put it into words, curiosity, I guess. It’s a new species. And they look interesting too.”

“Is having cave ears on your head really that fascinating?”

“Well, you’re a woman. And not even human—an elf. So you wouldn’t understand, but men have that kind of romantic ideal.”

Saying that, Jaeha fiddled with the magic circle.

“I’m not particularly curious.”

Jaeha fiddled with the magic circle, and each time he touched it, the view of the Beast Realm reflected in the gate shifted rapidly.

After about thirty minutes of diligently scanning, Jaeha soon managed to find the Beasts. The place seemed to be something like a village where Beasts lived, and there were quite a lot of them.

“Oh.”

Jaeha silently watched the Beasts, and before long, they gathered together and approached the gate. Jaeha observed them quietly, and the Beasts cautiously came closer to him before opening their mouths.

“%!@%!@%.”

“Ah, right. Amy, translation magic, please.”

“Yes.”

Amy immediately used her magic, and only then did the Beasts’ voices begin to be heard.

“State your identity!”

“Ah, nice to meet you. My name is Na Jaeha.”

“…….”

At that, they started whispering among themselves.

“Did you open the gate to make a contract?”

“No, not really. I was just curious about the Beast Realm.”

“…….”

“It’s also my first time seeing Beasts.”

“…….”

At Jaeha’s words, they seemed displeased, their ears twitching as they moved. Then, after a moment, they looked at Jaeha and spoke.

“Fine. So, have you satisfied all your curiosity?”

Still, the Beasts seemed interested as well, perhaps not having seen humans often. Watching them, Jaeha looked at the Beasts for a moment before asking.

“First off, I heard Beast abilities are divided into three types. Is that right?”

“Indeed. They are divided into physical, supernatural, and royalty.”

“Then what about you all?”

“Our village has a large number of physical-type Beasts.”

“Saying ‘our village’—so there are multiple villages?”

“That is correct.”

“Then what about contracts?”

“There is nothing special to it.”

“Hmm.”

After thinking for a moment, Jaeha spoke.

“Well, regardless, I got it. Thanks for your trouble.”

With that, Jaeha tried to manipulate the magic circle again. At that, the Beasts’ faces began to harden. They urgently grabbed hold of Jaeha.

“You’re not going to make a contract?”

“Nope.”

At Jaeha’s firm reply, they seemed momentarily flustered and said nothing. Then they spoke to Jaeha again.

“Th-then why did you open a gate connected to our Beast Realm?”

“Honestly, I didn’t even know it was the Beast Realm.”

“…….”

Having said that, Jaeha looked at the Beasts and spoke.

“Anyway, I’ve said everything I needed to. That’s it, right?”

As Jaeha reached for the magic circle again, the Beasts grabbed him once more.

“H-human. We have far more uses than you think. So how about making a contract?”

“No, I’ve heard about you all, and I know. There’s no real need for that. If I were to find a use for you, it’d be as decoration. I mean, you’re interesting, sure, but not so amazing or pretty that it’s worth it.”

At Jaeha’s words, some of the Beasts got riled up. The middle-aged Beast who had been talking with Jaeha blocked the ones trying to charge out.

Then they whispered among themselves for a bit, and the Beasts around them nodded. At that, about three Beasts looked at Jaeha and spoke.

“Human.”

“What.”

“Fight us.”

“I don’t want to?”

At Jaeha’s words, they had nothing else to say. But they didn’t give up easily.

“Are you lacking confidence?”

“Why would I fight when I’m going to win anyway? Besides, I won’t even be seeing you all anymore.”

“Grr!”

At that, the Beasts got riled up again, and watching them, Jaeha smiled and spoke quietly to Amy beside him.

“They’re more fun to tease than I thought.”

“Aren’t you bullying the innocent ones a bit too much?”

“Still, I do feel a little bad. Ah, right. Gersia said they like fighting. So as payment for playing with them, I’ll give them a spar or something. Whatever.”

Having said that, Jaeha looked at the Beasts, who were still making a fuss, and spoke.

“Fine. Alright. Let’s have a go. Come over here.”

Jaeha rose from his seat, and at that, the Beasts crossed the gate, setting foot on Earth for the first time.

“So this is a dimension we’ve never been to?”

“So places like this existed.”

“I should come travel here someday to see what kind of world this is.”

At the Beasts’ words, Jaeha chuckled softly and spoke.

“You sure are good at counting your chickens before they hatch.”

Then he swept his gaze over the Beasts and spoke.

“A fox, a wolf, and one more……”

“A rabbit.”

“Mm. Right.”

Watching the rather large ears twitch, Jaeha nodded. Then, after thinking for a moment, he asked the Beasts.

“Can you get back without this?”

“We can.”

At that, Jaeha immediately dispelled the magic circle. Then, looking at the Beasts, he asked.

“So, shall we spar now?”

“Let’s.”

As they answered, Jaeha walked over to the side where the Corpse Puppets weren’t. Then, as he looked at the Beasts, they too moved to where Jaeha was.

“Well, do we just go at it?”

Without answering Jaeha’s words, one of them pulled out a weapon from somewhere.

“Where did you pull those out from?”

The Beasts raised their arms, showing off the bracelets they were wearing.

“Ah, some kind of artifact, then.”

At that, Jaeha watched the Beast walking toward him. His weapon was of a type Jaeha wasn’t quite familiar with.

“A scythe, huh.”

One Beast was holding a fairly large scythe in each hand.

“This is my first time facing a scythe. By the way, what’s your name?”

“My name is Jin.”

“Jin?”

“Indeed.”

Nodding, Jaeha opened his Inventory and pulled out a sword. Then, looking at Jin, he spoke.

“I’ll yield the first strike.”

“……You’ll regret that.”

And with that, Jin charged at Jaeha.