A week had already passed since living with Cairens.
On that day at the hunting competition, Prince Ricarkos ultimately caught a large boar and presented it to the king.
However, the old king of Atlante showed more interest in the beautiful deer that Cairens had brought than in the boar his son had caught.
[This is the first time I’ve seen such a precious-looking deer.]
Laughing heartily while stroking his long beard, he looked so greedy it was unbearable.
The king inwardly seemed to want to possess Abrisius, but Cairens persuaded the king with the same words he’d used on Ricarkos.
The king, who had a quicker mind than Ricarkos, showed a dubious reaction at first.
[…If it’s a sacred creature blessed by the gods, naturally it would be better for you to take care of it, Cairens. Furthermore, if word spreads that you, a demigod, are caring for a sacred creature, not only Atlante but our family’s prestige will become even more solid.]
However, he soon thought of the political benefits that would come from the combination of a god’s son and a sacred creature, and quickly gave up his lingering attachment to Abrisius.
Of course, his son Ricarkos seemed to have much to say. But he couldn’t dare defy the king’s will.
‘…After that, it really was… a comfortable week.’
In front of a sunny window, Abrisius, who had been napping on a soft cushion, woke up leisurely and yawned.
One week. Abrisius was living a very luxurious life in Cairens’s detached palace.
The saying that being a rich family’s pet is the best wasn’t said for nothing—life here was truly comfortable beyond imagination.
“Deer-nim, your meal.”
Behold. Even now, the sight of servants bringing him food as soon as he opened his eyes.
Not only did they treat Abrisius, obviously a deer, with utmost respect, they also provided him with new fruits for meals every day. Among them were several that hadn’t existed in Seianes’s Greenhouse Garden.
Thanks to that, Abrisius was engrossed in the pleasure of eating new fruits every day.
“Kkeok—!”
Like covering a crab’s eyes, as soon as he ate the fruits the palace servants set out, another pleasure came as if it had been waiting.
“Deer, let’s play with me now.”
“Squee?”
Namely, playing with Cairens.
More than expected—no, beyond expectations—Cairens was truly a perfect owner.
He spared neither wealth nor time in caring for Abrisius. While not neglecting his studies and training as a god’s son, he made time for Abrisius whenever he could.
‘Hmph, he’s playing with me because he’s bored.’
Having initially held a grudge against Cairens, Abrisius acted prickly whenever he tried to play with him or brush his fur.
At first, he’d only let himself be held because of survival, and had absolutely no intention of building a friendly relationship with him.
Of course, that resolution didn’t last more than two days.
Even after regaining his past life’s memories, life as a palace deer was boring for Abrisius, whose mind was still that of a young child. Cairens’s palace was spacious and the garden was beautiful, so there was much to see, but that was only temporary.
After two days passed, there was nothing more to do. Boring to death.
Meanwhile, perhaps shocked by Abrisius suddenly keeping his distance, Cairens was busy chasing after him.
‘So it ended up like this.’
They say peers get along well, don’t they?
He’d played with him once out of boredom, then twice—now a week had passed.
“Want to play tag today?”
“Squeak!”
‘Yeah!’
Cairens had become Abrisius’s first friend.
Abrisius understood everything Cairens said. And Cairens liked the deer Abrisius, who could understand everything he said like a ghost even though he couldn’t speak.
“Then let’s play hide-and-seek in the garden.”
‘Come to think of it, it seems like Cairens actually likes me more… This is more like me playing with him, isn’t it?’
Usually, doesn’t the owner play with their pet? The more he looked, the more it seemed like he was enjoying it more.
“I’ll hide. You have to find me, okay?”
Watching Cairens giggle and run away to the garden first, Abrisius let out a sigh.
Of course, kids that age would find playing with animals the most fun. But Cairens seemed a bit extreme in that regard.
How should he put it—he clung too much? Should he say he was dependent? It was also funny that he included himself, a deer, in games that peers would play together.
It was fortunate that even though Abrisius’s body was a deer, his mind was similar to Cairens’s age—though slightly more mature with his past life’s memories. If he’d been an actual beast, he would’ve gotten hair loss from stress.
Even when he tried to be alone for a bit, Cairens would immediately search for him, honestly.
‘Is it obsession? It seems like he’s relying on me as if I were a parent or sibling.’
Digging deeper, it seemed he had no peers to play with either.
Well, that wasn’t Abrisius’s concern.
‘Anyway, since it’s tag, I should look for him, right?’
“Pheeew…”
Letting out a slow sigh, Abrisius entered the garden to look for Cairens.
* * *
In the middle of a sea where waves surged and swirled, a small island drifted aimlessly.
Without establishing roots based on land, the island that drifted riding the waves was called Eurysis’s Island.
It was that very island where the pitiful goddess dwelled—the one Henelion was searching for so desperately, who had gained prophetic powers in exchange for losing her physical body.
And today, a new guest visited that island.
A few days ago, one of the seeds Seianes had scattered in the sea drifted here and there across the ocean, happened to discover the island by chance, and took root in that land.
—Beautiful Seianes-nim, this way.
The seed that had taken root in new land informed its master of the location, and following the seed’s guidance, Seianes walked across the sea and was finally able to find the island shrouded in thick fog.
Parting the fog covering the island and entering inside, the island hidden within the fog revealed itself.
On the island covered with green grass, not even a single ant could be seen. The island, where the only living things were trees and flowers, was eerie.
But that was only for a moment.
“You found your way here well.”
As he sat on the grass, the cheerful voice of a young girl rang out throughout the island as if it had been waiting, breaking the silence.
“What did you do today? Did you eat? Aren’t you bored?”
The cheerful young girl’s questions spread everywhere. As if existing yet not existing, existing yet not existing—Seianes naturally paid no mind to the owner of the voice.
“Eurysis, Father… said he has something to convey… And I came here because I have a question.”
He simply stood calmly and asked toward the empty air. His father’s question. In reality, if a prophecy about Abrisius came out, it was a scheme to distort the truth of it, whatever the content.
“Father is worried about the recently quieted situation in the underworld. And he wants to know why Ircadeon, the king of the underworld, is quiet… and what his purpose is.”
When he threw questions into the empty air toward an opponent with neither existence nor form, a sharp voice immediately aimed at Seianes as if it had been waiting.
“What’s the point if I tell you? No matter what I say, you’re going to change it and convey it in a way that’s favorable to you anyway.”
At her words hitting the mark, Seianes’s expression faltered.
Even if she could see the future, to dig into his insides like a dagger in this way…
It seemed she had known from the beginning why Seianes had come to find her.
“But I’ll have to tell you anyway, right? The fact that you found me means I have an obligation to inform you of the future.”
Giggling that this was the reason he could find her, Eurysis laughed. The fact that he’d found her faster than anyone else.
That meant he was the one most worth telling the future to among those seeking her.
“Henelion made too big a mistake. He believed all his children would be truthful to him. This is why raising children is pointless. Gods, humans, beasts—they’re all selfish.”
The mocking laughter of Eurysis, as if she knew everything, tickled Seianes’s ears.
“Yes, well, I’ll tell you everything you want. I can know it without you saying it. But remember. Sometimes not knowing anything can be medicine.”
After giggling for a moment, she whispered softly toward the ear of Seianes, who was glaring at her with sharp eyes.
It was advice that only she, who prophesied and divined the futures of countless people, could give.
‘A prince who received a prophecy that he would die struck by lightning falling from the sky.
He died trying to go to a land where lightning doesn’t strike.
A princess who received a curse that she would lead her beloved lover to death.
Fearing the prophecy, she treated her lover coldly.
In the end, her lover, fallen into despair,
took his own life.’
Humming and singing of the tragedies of those who learned the future, Eurysis indirectly advised not only Seianes but other gods trying to find her.
“Even the gods cannot avoid my prophecies. Humans, animals, gods—all are equal before the future. Sometimes not knowing is medicine. Yet you want to know the future—avoidance isn’t always the answer. Rather, let’s sing a song. Misfortune always comes naturally, so don’t avoid it, just enjoy it without knowing anything!”
Matching her voice, the trees, grass, and flowers on the island—not a single thing was left out—swayed. As if dancing in response to the song, the entire island rustled along the wind.
