Chapter 7

Ariena’s trembling shoulders suddenly stopped shaking.

A chick?

Why did he look like a chick?

Before she knew it, Ariena was staring straight at Kyle. Even if Prince Kyle was scary, a little chick wasn’t scary at all!

[※ Daddy promised to let Tunteuni touch big, scary tigers and cheeping chicky chicks, and even let her raise a little three-headed monster!]

Daddy had promised her.

When Tunteuni got healthy, he would let her meet chicks and tigers again.

So chicks weren’t scary. Chicks were super, super cute and admirable!

Thinking of her father, Ariena stretched out her chubby little hand.

At that very moment—

Kyle Chick’s wings shot straight up, as though vehemently rejecting her.

Sparkling words appeared before her eyes.

[※ The “Child-Friendly Filter,” which transforms frightening appearances into things that aren’t scary, has begun!]

Ariena blinked, unable to understand.

F-filter? What’s that?

The words before her eyes flickered, then changed with a click!

[When Tunteuni wears the “Invisible Glasses,” even scary opponents will look like cute animals!]

Ariena gently lifted the transparent glasses resting on the bridge of her nose.

She could see Prince Kyle, looking absolutely furious.

She quickly lowered the glasses again, and he turned back into a chick.

The prince hadn’t actually transformed into a chick. When she wore these glasses, he simply looked like one to Tunteuni!

Then he hasn’t really become a chick?

[For now, only what you see has turned into a chick!]

For now?

The chick in front of her began flapping its wings again, so Ariena ended up turning her head away.

Glasses that made a frightening prince look like an adorable chick.

Ariena understood that much.

[Tunteuni! Now you’re not scared of anything at all, right?]

Ariena remembered what the god had told her.

“You are such a good child. All right, Tunteuni… I shall give you an ability that will make you the strongest you can possibly be.”

Ariena tilted her head and protested inwardly.

But the god said it wouldn’t just make me less scared! He said I’d become really, really strong!

Making a person look like a tiny chick and becoming strong were two entirely different things.

Could there be another secret to this ability?

Even so, she felt as though a warm blanket had been wrapped around her heart.

Almost as if Daddy were right beside her.

[※ Ability test successful! Ability will deactivate in five seconds!]

Exactly five seconds later, the words disappeared from before Ariena’s eyes.

The light swirling around the lenses gradually faded, too.

Instead of the scruffy little chick, Prince Kyle’s actual appearance returned.

Why did it disappear? The chick was so cute.

Ariena blinked regretfully.

Meanwhile, the chick in front of her—or rather, Kyle—was equally bewildered.

“What? You? Why aren’t you looking away? I told you I’m a monster! If you’re scared of me…”

“A wittle bit.”

“…What?”

“Because you’re so tiny. You look just like a chick.”

Kyle’s mouth fell open.

“I-I’m tiny?”

“Yeees.”

“I’m a ch-ch-chick? What kind of ridiculous nonsense is that?! Hah! Honestly!”

After that, Kyle began chattering away like a chick for quite some time.

The boy who had seemed so frightening just moments ago now sounded like nothing more than a little chick going cheep, cheep.

What’s going on? He’s so noisy. Even though he doesn’t look like a chick anymore, he still feels a little like one.

While Ariena blinked in fascination, Kyle continued talking at her.

“You’re the tiny one! I’ve never seen anyone as small as you in my entire, long life! How dare you say something like that to me?”

“G-gasp! I-I’m sowwy!”

At Kyle’s words, Ariena bowed her head.

Kyle couldn’t make heads or tails of this girl.

Now she was even avoiding his eyes again. Where had that bold attitude from a moment ago gone? Her sudden return to being timid only confused him further.

I’ve never learned about someone this strange in any of my books!

Unable to figure out what to do, Kyle eventually—

“Um, can’t we just be fwiends?”

At her simple request to become friends, he flinched once again.

This time, however, he couldn’t bring himself to throw Ariena out of the mansion.

Instead, he left her standing in the hallway and ran away first.

Kyle Chick, running away with a bright-red face!

It seemed like it would take an eternity before she could become friends with him.

If I want to get even closer to him…

A brilliant idea popped into the mind of little schemer Ariena.

It was difficult to befriend the prince when he was human.

But things were different when he was a chick!

If I treat Kyle Chick like a real chick, maybe we’ll become friends!

She didn’t know the first thing about making friends with people.

But when it came to making friends with animals, she was an absolute expert.

Because ever since Tunteuni was a baby—

“Hey. How many times are we going to travel in a single day?”

“I want my baby to see and hear as many things as possible in this world. We’re traveling with a magical artifact, so our Tunteuni won’t get tired, either.”

She had seen all sorts of plants and animals!

Even if I don’t remember Mommy and Daddy’s faces, I know lots and lots of animal faces!

Ariena’s eyes sparkled.

“Our Tunteuni, listen carefully. Chicks are…”

[Characteristics of baby chicky chicks]

Ariena pulled a quill and notebook out of her pocket and began writing down the words in a flurry.

[What are chicky chicks like? 1. They’re super, super timid.]

Next—

[2. You must never leave them alone.]

And the most important thing of all!

[3. …….]

Ariena’s eyes shone as she wrote down the third characteristic.

“What is this?!”

A little while later, Kyle emerged after finishing his meditation and looked around in utter disbelief.

“What on earth is this?! My magnificent ice statues!”

The central lobby of the Monster Mansion had originally been filled with ice sculptures.

Kyle had always loved cold things and ice by nature, and he had personally carved each sculpture using his special ability. He had even applied special enchantments to keep them from being affected by the weather.

And yet—

“Why are they melting?!”

The reason was simple.

There was a little kid making a fire right in the middle of the lobby!

Ariena had gathered some branches from who knew where and was building a bonfire.

How on earth did that little runt even start a fire?!

Furious, Kyle puffed up all the fine feathers covering his body and charged toward Ariena.

“I was wowwied that the wittle prince might be cold! There were matches nearby!”

She was worried I might be cold?

“What are you talking about?! I like being cold! Don’t you know what my special ability is? Y-you saw it earlier!”

“I don’t weawwy know. Oh! Ice tag!”

“It’s not ice tag! It’s f-f-freezing! I can freeze everything!”

Kyle had been surrounded by ice ever since he was born.

Sometimes, the tips of his fingers became painfully numb from the cold, but to Kyle, it was as natural as breathing.

“So get rid of useless things like f-f-fire!”

Kyle puffed himself up and growled.

Then he abruptly stretched out his hand to extinguish the flames.

Whenever he acted this aggressively, people usually became frightened and left him alone without being asked twice.

But this little kid—

“You don’t need fire? Gasp! There’s no way a baby chick wouldn’t need it!”

“I told you it’s true! I really don’t need that kind of thing!”

And yet—

The closer Kyle got to the child while trying to intimidate her, the more a strange, cozy warmth spread throughout his body.

And he didn’t dislike it.

Since coming to Monster Island, this was the first time he had spoken to someone for so long.

The warmth reminded him of his mother’s embrace. It even felt as though the pain that had tormented his body was disappearing.

Kyle’s brows furrowed deeply.

This isn’t right.

No.

He hesitated and took a step backward.

“I hate fire. I hate it so, so much!”

Ariena carefully studied Kyle’s expression before suddenly raising her hand.

“Nope! Chicks wike warm things!”

Then she firmly held up her worn-out notebook.

Under the title Characteristics of Baby Chicky Chicks, she had written:

[3. They wove, weally, weally warm things.]

“…What?”

“That’s why you’re smiling!”

Kyle had been about to argue with Ariena when he suddenly froze.

He could feel the corners of his mouth lifting slightly.

D-did my lips go crazy?!

Flustered, Kyle hurriedly covered his mouth.

“I’m wight, aren’t I? I’m wight, aren’t I?”

“N-no, you’re not!”

“We’ve become a wittle closer! It’s because I made the chick nice and warm!”

To make matters worse, the little brat confidently placed a hand on his shoulder.

Kyle was so dumbfounded by the tiny hand resting there that he lost his ability to speak.

“Then I’ll pwotect the sick chick from now on!”

“You will?”

“Yes!”

“You mean me?”

Nod, nod, nod!

Ariena shook her head so enthusiastically it looked as though her neck might snap.

Looking at the child who seemed to be barely half his size, Kyle pulled himself together and replied firmly.

“Forget it. This place is dangerous. It’s no place for a little kid like you. Monsters can appear at any time.”

“Gasp! But I can’t!”

Ariena’s lower lip stuck out in a pout.

“Why not?”

Kyle snapped back sharply before glancing out the window.

The evening sky had already faded from red, and night was falling over Monster Island.

That kid arrived this afternoon and probably hasn’t eaten anything all day.

“I’ll show you one last act of mercy.”

“Sniff…”

“I’ll share one piece of bread with you. After that, I’ll kick you out immediately. Don’t look back. Just go home to wherever you came from.”

He couldn’t allow anything more than that. He was a little concerned about whether there would still be a boat heading back to the capital now that it was getting dark, but she was the daughter of a noble family, so she probably had something like a communication device.

To clear his head, Kyle slipped his hand into his pocket.

Then he tightly grasped the worn-out brooch inside.

Think, Kyle. Think about what this brooch means.

The moment the rough surface of the brooch touched his fingertips—

Flash! Flash, flash!

Light began bursting from Kyle’s fingertips.