When I asked, Zahid let out a sigh. Then he began to roll up his shorts.

“No, Zahid!”

Startled, I shouted out.

“Ray is here too…”

At my words, Zahid, who was halfway through pulling up his shorts, suddenly snapped.

“It’d be even worse if I did this when Ray wasn’t here!”

“Yikes. You’ve got a good point.”

In the meantime, Zahid had pulled up his shorts halfway.

A red mark appeared on the smooth skin of the boy’s thigh.

“Look.”

“Mhm.”

“Don’t stare too closely.”

“You got caught?”

“……”

Zahid let out another sigh and lowered his shorts again as he explained.

“This is the mark of being the Divine Beast’s master. It appeared when Fire came to me after my father passed away.”

“Ah…”

“The Lavendal Duke, the Orgon Duke, and Lady Linna Idra probably have one too. Blue, green, and brown, respectively.”

Suddenly, something came to mind. I lifted the hem of my skirt and looked at my thigh.

At the same time, Zahid reached out and forcefully pushed Ray’s head down.

“Hey! Warn people before you start flashing skin!”

A blue mark had appeared on my thigh.

Its shape was similar to Zahid’s.

“This is…”

Ray, having freed himself from Zahid’s grip, cut in.

“Athena’s true master is still my father. But for a mark like that to appear… that’s definitely strange. And one more thing.”

Zahid, grumbling “Now that you’ve checked, put it down,” lowered my skirt himself. Ray kept explaining.

“There’s no red mark. I thought maybe the Fire mark appeared too, since Fire listens to you. But that wasn’t it either.”

“Oh.”

I scratched Fire’s ear as he yawned at my feet and said bitterly,

“Fire only listened to me out of pure friendship… His real master is Zahid.”

“That’s what’s weird. A Divine Beast obeying someone purely out of friendship… I’ve never seen or heard of such a thing.”

Ray furrowed his brow and cleared his throat before continuing.

“But I think this is what the High Priest wanted.”

“…Huh?”

“The High Priest wanted to become the master of all four Divine Beasts. But he didn’t know how, so he started forcing all kinds of experiments.”

Experiments?

“Linna became the master of the Earth Divine Beast at such a young age because of pressure from the Temple. And Yuta was adopted into the Orgon family to become the master of the Grass Divine Beast—that was the Temple too.”

Suddenly, my heart lurched.

“Try harder! Try! You were born a wretch, so put in the effort! Why can’t you understand? Try harder to get it! Figure out what it takes to become the true master of your Divine Beast!”

That was what Cecil had screamed at me before my regression.

What it takes to become the master of all four Divine Beasts.

Back then, the Temple had already tried different methods on three Divine Beasts.

“Brainwashing the master didn’t work, forcing inheritance didn’t work, and separating the Divine Beast from its master didn’t work either? Huh?”

That time, Yuta died after forcibly inheriting the Grass Divine Beast.

Only the Lavendal Duchy, with the Water Divine Beast, had endured to the end…

“Now that the mark has appeared, Athena will obey you. It’s practically the same as gaining the power of water.”

Ray explained slowly.

“So if the time comes when you want to use the power of water, just tell me.”

“The power of water?”

“Yeah. Even though I’m not Athena’s master, I resonated with her. So I can bring her near you. If you just give a command mentally, Athena will act accordingly.”

“Ah… really?”

“She doesn’t have the same strength she used to—like causing floods or tidal waves—but as you saw earlier, she can still flood a building.”

Blankly, I nodded.

“Got it. I guess I could call her when I want to shower or if I’m thirsty.”

“…Well, theoretically, yes.”

A moment of silence passed between us.

Seriously… If I keep a Divine Beast of water nearby and can control its power… what is even happening right now?

“Rosie.”

After a moment, Ray looked at me with an expression of burning curiosity and opened his mouth.

“How did you do it? How did you become another master of Athena?”

“Hey.”

Zahid suddenly interjected between me and Ray, eyes sharp as blades.

“Don’t go asking questions like that. Rosie might not want to talk about it.”

“…W-Well. It’s okay, Zahid.”

I furrowed my brow and rolled my eyes.

Honestly, I didn’t even know.

“I really don’t know… Things were so intense at the time. I think we said something to each other, but it wasn’t much, and I barely remember. It felt like I was just peeking into a small part of the Divine Beast’s memory? But even then, I don’t know why I saw it…”

This translation is the ~Nоvеl𝕚ght~ intellectual property of Novelight.

“Nothing? Really nothing?”

I hadn’t even fully communicated with Athena. It was basically just two people talking past each other.

I racked my brain, trying to recall, and muttered seriously,

“I do remember calling her a damn scammer birdbrain… Maybe you have to curse to become a Divine Beast’s master?”

Both Ray and Zahid looked at me with mixed expressions of distaste.

So I decided to experiment.

“Hey, you dumb, short-tempered mutt!”

“Woof! Woof woof woof!”

<How could you! How could you!>

“You’re just like your owner!”

“Ruff ruff ruff ruff ruff!”

<Outrage! Outrage!>

Sure enough, Fire just barked angrily and nothing happened.

“…Guess that’s not it.”

I said, crestfallen, and Ray looked equally defeated.

“Anyway… the High Priest must never find out about this.”

“Oh, obviously. I’ll run to the ends of the earth to avoid him.”

I nodded enthusiastically.

If a nobody wretch like me had casually taken over a Divine Beast he had marked for himself… he’d definitely find it unbelievable.

‘So unbelievable he’d probably just wipe me out…’

Even thinking about it was terrifying.

Zahid, arms crossed, spoke up.

“Well, there’s a way to hide it. I’ll teach you, so start practicing.”

“Yeah, I’ll practice right away.”

I nodded eagerly.

Ray, watching me, spoke firmly.

“Judging by the fact that the High Priest was after it, it’s clear that becoming a Divine Beast’s master gives you some kind of massive power.”

With a gentle smile, he added kindly,

“Let’s take our time figuring out how you did it. I’ll keep helping you.”

Then Fire growled and glared at Ray. The sharpness in his eyes made it clear—he saw Ray as an obstacle.

“Woof woof! Woof woof!”

<Go away! Don’t marry that one, marry this one instead!>

He even pointed at Zahid with his paw in desperation.

“Ahaha… Fire, stop being mad. You’re acting like Zahid.”

“Ruff ruff! Ruff ruff!”

<Outrage! Rage!>

I rubbed my thigh absentmindedly.

If I were to become a co-master of a Divine Beast, I’d have assumed it would be Fire first.

After all, Fire and I had been trapped together for such a long time.

We’d waited for Zahid together, leaned on each other, and endured hellish days side by side.

But out of nowhere, this owl Divine Beast I’d just met…

‘So I guess being close or emotionally connected doesn’t really matter, huh.’

Still, one thing was clear.

“Guys.”

I spoke slowly.

“To sum it up, if this gets found out… I’m dead, right?”

That was more important than whether I was the master of a Divine Beast or not. I looked at the two boys, who couldn’t bring themselves to answer, and added firmly,

“I’m scared of tight, dark places. So if I ever get kidnapped and locked up in one, you have to drop everything, screw your plans, and come save me right away. No matter what. Got it?”

The two boys nodded reluctantly.

“Don’t be too scared, Rosie. This isn’t a bad thing. You’ve gained power. And not just any power—Divine Beast power.”

Ray smiled softly and took my hand.

“Now that things are like this, the Duchy of Water and I will always be on your side.”

At that moment, Zahid slapped Ray’s hand away.

“Let go of her hand!”

Of course, Fire also barked loudly enough to shake the room.

“Woof woof woof-woooof! Woof woof!”

<Go away! Get lost! Don’t marry that one, marry this one instead!>

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep