I patted Gaeul’s head while pondering our situation.

I was concerned about how to handle the divine beasts that had followed us.

Sixteen divine beasts had settled in the park.

They seemed safe for now, but divine beasts possessed special and dangerous abilities.

I wished we had at least some minimal means to control them.

‘But they probably won’t like being controlled…’

The divine beasts were currently enjoying their newfound freedom after being rescued from Josephine.

The Guardian was swimming freely in the playground pool, while an unnamed wolf divine beast was running through the park bushes.

‘What should I do?’

Would it be right to control these divine beasts who had been craving freedom?

Though I was worried, many people around us were clearly frightened by the divine beasts.

At the very least, I wanted to get some assurance that the divine beasts wouldn’t harm people.

‘I don’t know if the divine beasts will listen to me.’

Let’s just give it a try.

I clapped my hands to get the attention of the divine beasts playing in the park.

“Could everyone gather here for a moment…”

I spoke quietly, unsure if they would respond.

Surprisingly, the divine beasts began approaching me.

They sat around me in an orderly fashion.

Our children were also among the divine beasts.

What’s going on?

Why are they listening so well?

With these thoughts, I addressed the divine beasts.

“Um, playing is fine, but the people in the park are scared…”

“Huff.”

The wolf divine beast stuck out its tongue and looked around.

Noticing the dwindling number of people, it whined.

Despite its wild appearance, it seemed to have a gentle heart.

“You won’t attack people, will you…?”

“Huff!”

It nodded just like a person would.

Its cognitive abilities seemed far beyond what I had imagined.

“Then I’d like to show the park visitors that you’re not dangerous…”

Hmm.

As I crossed my arms, Gaeul approached me.

She shifted her backpack to her front and began rummaging through it, which was full of odds and ends.

“Gaeul, what are you looking for?”

“Woash!”

Gaeul raised her hand triumphantly.

In her tightly clenched fist was a dog leash.

It was the same leash she had put on me once before.

“A leash?”

“Yeash.”

Gaeul approached the wolf divine beast with the leash.

With clumsy movements, she put the leash on it, then puffed out her chest with an “ahem.”

“Oh! A leash! That’s a great idea!”

“If they walk on leashes, they’ll look like good dogs.”

“Let’s train their paws and feet too.”

The children responded positively to Gaeul’s idea.

The problem, however, was that the wolf divine beast was several times larger than even a large dog.

Would people really feel reassured seeing such a huge divine beast on a leash?

The Forest Keeper’s head alone was as big as my torso.

As I worried, Gaeul grabbed the leash and started running.

The issue was that the leash wasn’t properly secured because the wolf divine beast was too big.

Swoosh-!

The leash slipped to the ground, but Gaeul didn’t notice.

She just kept running through the park without looking back.

It seemed Gaeul was trying to take the wolf divine beast for a walk.

“Yah!”

“Whine…”

Gaeul ran with a battle cry while the wolf divine beast whined and chased after her.

After some struggle, the wolf divine beast caught the dragging leash in its mouth.

“Wow.”

With the leash in its mouth, the wolf divine beast followed closely behind Gaeul.

Despite its intimidating appearance, its behavior was like that of a gentle dog.

This might be enough to quickly show the park visitors that the divine beasts weren’t dangerous.

**

I led the divine beasts to a wide open area in the park.

My goal was to show people that the divine beasts were obedient.

“Look at that.”

“The monsters are following Gyeoul around?”

“…They look kind of mysterious for monsters, don’t they?”

The sight of divine beasts of various sizes following behind me was already drawing attention.

Thanks to the wolf divine beast with the leash in its mouth and Saebyeok riding on the flame-maned horse divine beast, we could indirectly show that the divine beasts were docile.

“Everyone, please line up in a row.”

Under my direction, the divine beasts lined up in the open space.

At the end of the line stood Seol, Kkamang, and our children.

“Sit down.”

The divine beasts sat like well-trained soldiers.

Seol and Kkamang, who had followed the divine beasts, also pressed their bellies to the ground.

“Wow.”

I hadn’t expected them to be this orderly.

I clapped my hands in amazement, and Gaeul belatedly plopped down on the ground.

She looked somewhat flustered.

“Gaeul, you don’t need to sit down.”

“No…!”

“…No?”

“Yes…”

Gaeul glanced at the divine beasts.

For some reason, she was looking at them with anxious eyes.

Bom explained the reason for her anxiety.

“I think Gaeul’s nervous because the divine beasts are so smart.”

“Because they’re smart?”

“Yeah. They understand what we say and they move so quickly.”

“Hmm…”

Gaeul had sat down a step behind the divine beasts.

I thought I understood what was making Gaeul anxious.

‘Is it competitive spirit?’

Did she think she would lose her place to these capable and intelligent divine beasts?

I needed to address Gaeul’s concerns.

“Gaeul is the boss, so does she need to sit and stand on command?”

“Bosh?”

“Yes. The boss doesn’t need to do these basic things.”

“…!”

Gaeul’s ears perked up straight.

She seemed satisfied with a position higher than the divine beasts.

“Bosh! Gaeul bosh!”

“Yes. Gaeul is the boss.”

“Huff…!”

Gaeul beamed with a bright smile.

Looking at her, I wondered.

Why had Gaeul suddenly felt threatened by the divine beasts?

‘She never seemed bothered around family or other people.’

Was there a specific reason she felt competitive only with the divine beasts?

I thought about it but couldn’t come up with a clear answer.

Hmm.

I shrugged and looked around at the divine beasts.

First, I decided to demonstrate that they followed commands.

“Um… next, everyone stand up and jump.”

“Huff!”

Just as the wolf divine beast was about to rise and jump, the golden-furred monkey divine beast beside it grabbed its scruff and pulled it down.

As a result, the wolf divine beast couldn’t jump and had to lie back down.

‘What’s going on?’

They had followed my commands well just a moment ago, but now none of the divine beasts were listening.

They were simply lying still in their places.

Had they taken offense to me calling Gaeul their boss?

My tail drooped anxiously.

Just then, the smiling Gaeul belatedly stood up and hopped.

“Ahem!”

Proud of having jumped faster than the divine beasts, Gaeul stuck out her chest.

Seeing this, the divine beasts finally rose and jumped.

‘Ah.’

So they were trying to let Gaeul assert herself.

The more I observed them, the more impressive these divine beasts seemed.

“…That’s amazing.”

“The monsters really listen to Gyeoul.”

“They look kind of cool for monsters, don’t they?”

“I’ve never seen monsters like these in any guide book.”

The park visitors were showing positive reactions to the divine beasts.

Word that the divine beasts were obedient would spread quickly.

This seemed sufficient to achieve my goal.

**

The children played well with the divine beasts.

They rode on the backs of the larger divine beasts or placed pots on the monkey divine beast’s head.

“Forest Keeper, can you fly with Levinas on your back?”

“Peep!”

The Forest Keeper took off with Levinas on its back.

It didn’t fly very high, staying about thirty centimeters off the ground.

“Wooow! King! Levinas is flying!”

“Yes. It’s amazing.”

The Forest Keeper was flying without flapping its wings.

It felt more like floating than flying.

The magic, not wing movements, seemed to be keeping the Forest Keeper’s massive body aloft.

“Wow… I should ask for a ride later too.”

“I want to ride that flaming horse.”

Seeing how well they played with the children, people’s wariness gradually subsided.

I wanted to try riding too. Should I ask Saebyeok to let me ride for just a moment?

As I slowly approached Saebyeok, I heard Encia’s footsteps from behind.

“Gyeoul.”

“Encia.”

I turned and ran toward Encia.

There was a certain reverence in her eyes.

“I sensed some mysterious mana, and it turns out it was divine beasts?”

“Yes. The divine beasts are incredibly smart. They understood everything I said.”

“Yes. Most of them have lived for hundreds of years. They certainly understand human speech.”

“Ah…”

Hundreds of years.

I had thought they were just very considerate, but it was because they had lived for such a long time.

Perhaps it wasn’t us taking care of the divine beasts, but rather the divine beasts taking care of us.

Like grandparents playing with their cute grandchildren.

“…There’s a wolf divine beast too?”

“Yes. But you don’t call it ‘Lord Wolf Divine Beast.'”

“Correct. We show respect, but we don’t exactly worship them.”

“I see.”

So different beast-kin tribes have different ways of relating to divine beasts.

I learned something new about beast-kin.

“The other divine beasts have lived at least a hundred years. However, that wolf divine beast looks quite young.”

“How young is it?”

“Probably about two years old…”

“Ah… I thought it seemed different from the others.”

It had tried to jump on its own earlier.

That was because it was still young.

Now I understood why the wolf divine beast appeared more innocent than the others.

“Gyeoul, these divine beasts will be of great help to you. Both in hunting and in daily life.”

“Hunting…?”

“Yes. With just one of them, you could easily clear mid-level dungeons.”

“Wow.”

Mid-level dungeons meant levels 4 to 6.

And they could clear them easily?

I couldn’t resist this.

Once everything was settled, I decided to visit a dungeon with the divine beasts.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep