Chapter 29

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When Koruko was still nameless.

The story of the midnight before Koruko was taken in by Ruria.

In the forest, one hour’s walk from the mansion where Ruria lived, Koruko was there.

Koruko perched on a high branch of a tree,

"Ko..."

and surveyed the surroundings.

It was a moonless night, and the only light came from the faint stars.

As a chicken, Koruko could hardly see anything around.

"Ko..."

However, Koruko's senses firmly detected the cursed beings lurking in the forest.

Even without night vision, Koruko could see magic and curse power.

Koruko was not just any chicken; it was a guardian beast.

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

Around Koruko,

"Scary..." "Help..."

were the frightened spirits.

Cursed beings eat spirits.

It was Koruko's duty as a guardian beast to protect the spirits from these cursed beings.

"Here..."

The cursed being below looked a bit like a wolf.

However, it was twice the length of an ordinary wolf, had two heads, and three eyes.

Its mouth was split in a cross, filled with terrifying fangs.

Its tongue was forked like a snake, and its body was covered in slime.

It was not an ordinary cursed being but one of the particularly powerful ones.

"Gyurururu..."

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

To the cursed being, the most delicious spirit was Ruria.

Ruria's magic was rich, fragrant, and of high quality to the cursed being.

"Gyururi?"

The three eyes of the cursed being caught sight of Koruko on the tree, or rather, the spirits around Koruko.

Even if they were not as delicious as Ruria, spirits were still a delicacy for the cursed being.

"Over here, scary..."

In the next moment, the cursed being climbed the tree with incredible speed and charged.

"Kyaa" "Scary..." "Koko!"

Koruko jumped down from the tree to confront the cursed being.

Using its proud claws, Koruko grabbed the cursed being's head and slammed it to the ground.

Avoiding the cursed being's fangs and claws, Koruko pecked and tore it apart with its beak and claws.

After a thirty-minute battle to the death, Koruko emerged victorious.

The cursed being was destroyed, turning to ash and decaying.

As a result, Koruko's legs and wings were broken.

There was damage to its internal organs, and it had suffered muscle tears.

Koruko was on the verge of death.

"Thank you, sorry, sorry..." "Does it hurt? Are you okay?"

"Ko..."

Koruko told the spirits who were thanking and worrying about it, "Don't worry," and started to walk.

To avoid worrying the spirits, Koruko hid its injuries and forced itself to walk as if nothing was wrong.

It was good that Koruko could save the spirits one last time. Koruko was satisfied with that.

However, Koruko might never see Ruria again. That was very sad.

But with the desire to die as close to Ruria as possible, Koruko walked slowly.

"Whoa!"

After walking for a while, an owl arrived.

This owl was the leader of the birds that lived in Ruria's birdhouse.

Sensing the presence of the cursed being, the owl rushed over and spotted Koruko with its keen night vision.

"Whoa!"

"Kokko"

The owl praised and thanked Koruko, saying, "Well done, thank you."

Then, it grabbed Koruko with its feet and carried it to the courtyard.

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

The guardian beasts gathered not only because Ruria was adorable but also to defeat the cursed beings that gathered for Ruria.

The birds were fighting cursed beings almost daily and stood guard on the headboard every night, sensing the presence of cursed beings.

When Koruko arrived in the courtyard, the birds shared their food and gathered around to keep it warm.

Even in spring, the nights were cold.

The birds thought about how to prevent the injured Koruko from freezing.

Morning came, and Ruria woke up.

Koruko was able to see Ruria and be held by her.

Touching Ruria, Koruko felt very happy.

"Ouch, ouch. Fly away—"

At that moment, Ruria unconsciously activated a powerful healing spell.

The broken bones, muscle tears, and internal injuries were all instantly healed.

"Koko!?"

Indeed, being a special spirit king was no joke.

Koruko looked at Ruria with admiration.

After that, Koruko was given a name, had a hearty breakfast, and was taken to Ruria's room.

Ruria taught Koruko where the bathroom was and then started to take a nap.

Ruria must have been tired from using the healing spell.

"The spirits say you helped them. Thank you, Koruko."

"Kokko"

When Ruria fell asleep, a spirit king in the form of a cat with two tails appeared.

"Please take care of Lady Ruria—meow."

The spirit king was caught by Ruria while talking.

"...cat... hehe..."

Ruria seemed to be half-asleep.

"Bad. I can't appear before Lady Ruria yet."

The spirit king struggled but couldn't escape because Ruria had a firm grip.

As a spirit, Ruria could grab non-physical spirits because her hands were covered in magic.

Ruria herself thought she could grab spirits because her hands were covered in magic.

In her past life, Luisa did the same.

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

"Bad. Koruko, help..."

"Ko..."

Koruko tried to free Ruria's hand but couldn't.

Koruko could have pecked hard or used its claws to pry the hand open, but that would hurt Ruria.

Koruko couldn't do such a thing.

"Caro, please help."

"Quo"

Caro also tried to move but was easily caught by Ruria.

"...Caro should... sleep... mew..."

Ruria held the spirit king in her right hand and Caro in her left, and continued to sleep.

"Darw, please help. Darw?"

"...uh... uh..."

Darw was sleeping soundly on its back next to Ruria, so it didn't wake up.

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