Chapter 29

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The time when Koruko was still nameless.

A story from midnight, the day before Koruko was protected by Luria.

Koruko was in a forest, an hour’s walk away from the mansion where Luria lived.

Koruko perched on a high tree branch, glaring around.

It was a moonless night. The only light came from the faint starlight.

For Koruko, who was a chicken, the surroundings were barely visible.

However, Koruko’s senses clearly captured the movements of the curse-wielders lurking in the forest.

Even without good night vision, Koruko could see magical and cursed energies.

Koruko was no ordinary chicken. It was a guardian beast.

On the way to meet the special spirit king, Luria, Koruko had stopped by the forest.

Around Koruko, the frightened spirits were murmuring:

‘It’s scary… please help me…’

Cursed ones devour spirits.

It was Koruko’s duty, as a guardian beast, to protect spirits from the cursed ones.

The cursed one below appeared to resemble a wolf slightly.

However, its size was twice that of a normal wolf, and it had two heads and three eyes.

Its mouth was split in a cross-shape, and terrifying fangs filled its mouth.

Its tongue was split like a snake, and its entire body was covered in mucus.

It was no ordinary cursed being. It was among the most powerful of its kind.

The cursed one flicked its snake-like tongue, searching for spirits.

For cursed beings, Luria was the most delicious spirit. Her magical energy was rich, abundant, and of high quality, making her an irresistible target.

The cursed one’s three eyes locked onto Koruko, who was perched in the tree, and the spirits around it.

Even though Luria wasn’t as tasty as other spirits, any spirit was still a delicacy to the cursed one.

‘It looked this way, it’s scary!’

In the next moment, the cursed one rushed up the tree with incredible speed.

‘Ahh! It’s scary!’

Koruko leaped down from the tree to confront the cursed one.

With its proud claws, Koruko grabbed the cursed one’s head and slammed it into the ground.

Dodging the cursed one’s fangs, Koruko struck with its beak and tore at it with its claws.

After a fierce battle lasting half an hour, Koruko emerged victorious.

The cursed one was destroyed, turning to ashes and decaying.

However, Koruko’s legs and wing bones were broken, its insides damaged, and it had muscle tears.

It was on the verge of death.

‘Thank you, I’m sorry, are you okay?’

Koruko told the spirits who were concerned not to worry, hiding its injuries and walking with effort, trying to appear unaffected.

It was satisfying to have helped the spirits, but Koruko felt deeply sad because it might never meet Luria again.

Still, driven by the wish to die near Luria, Koruko slowly walked on.

“Ho-ho!”

After walking for a while, an owl arrived.

The owl was the leader of the birds in Luria’s aviary.

Having sensed the cursed one’s presence, the owl found Koruko with its keen night vision.

“Ho!”

“Co-co!”

The owl praised Koruko, saying, “Well done, thank you,” and then grabbed it with its feet and carried it to the courtyard.

The guardian beasts gathered around the mansion were not just the birds.

The reason the guardian beasts gathered was not just because Luria was cute.

They also gathered to deal with the cursed ones who came after Luria.

The birds fought cursed ones almost daily, and at night, Carro would stand on the headboard, sensing the cursed ones’ presence.

When Koruko arrived at the courtyard, the birds fed it, surrounded it, and kept it warm.

Though it was spring, the nights were cold.

The birds made sure Koruko didn’t freeze from its injuries.

In the morning, Luria woke up.

Koruko was happy to see Luria and be held by her.

Touched by Luria, Koruko felt an immense sense of happiness.

“It hurts, it hurts. Fly away!”

The moment Luria said that, she unconsciously activated a powerful healing magic.

Koruko’s broken bones, muscle tears, and internal injuries were instantly healed.

“Co-co!?”

It was clear that Luria, being a special spirit king, was not to be underestimated.

Koruko looked at Luria with respect.

Afterward, Luria gave Koruko its name, and after a hearty breakfast, she took Koruko to her room.

Luria taught Koruko where the toilet was before starting a nap, likely exhausted from using her healing magic.

“You helped the spirits, didn’t you? Thank you, Koruko.”

“Co-co.”

When Luria fell asleep, a spirit king in the shape of a cat with two tails arrived.

“Please continue to look after Luria,” it said.

But as the spirit king was speaking, Luria grabbed it.

“…Cat… heh-heh.”

Luria appeared to be half asleep.

“Uh-oh. I can’t reveal myself in front of Luria yet.”

The spirit king struggled, but it couldn’t escape Luria’s tight grip.

Luria, being a spirit herself, could grab non-physical spirits with her hands.

Luria thought her hands were covered in magic, which allowed her to hold spirits.

In her previous life, Louisa had done the same.

However, Luria, as a spirit king, didn’t need to cover her hands with magic.

“Uh-oh. Koruko, help…”

“Here.”

Koruko tried to free the spirit king from Luria’s grip but failed.

If it used its beak to peck or claws to forcibly pull, it might have been able to free the spirit king, but that would injure Luria.

Koruko couldn’t do such a thing.

“Carro, please.”

“Kyui.”

Carro moved, but it was quickly caught by Luria.

“Carro… should… sleep… fuh…”

With one hand holding the spirit king and the other holding Carro, Luria fell asleep.

“D-Darw, help… Darw?”

“…Ahh… ahh.”

Darw was sleeping soundly next to Luria, his belly facing the ceiling, and didn’t wake up.

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