The Emperor’s Daily Nitpicking - CH 48

The ragged breathing which belonged only to fierce beasts and the restless trampling of water by hooves and paws came from there, hitting the curved stone walls of the secret passage and inflicting several echoes which sounded inexplicably anxious.

It was definitely not a peace sign.

The descendants of the Giant Beastman were born in human form until they would suddenly begin to take on a beast form at some later point. This process was similar to an ordinary person talking and walking, some earlier and some later. Still, there was always a relative period when it was concentrated. Too early or too late would be treated as a rarity.

The week of Bettan Days each year was the peak time for the transformation of young Giant Beastman, around three years old.

It was well known that they would briefly become disoriented and unpredictable the first time a Giant Beastman took on the beast form. On the one hand, this happened because the physical change was accompanied by a certain amount of physical discomfort, which tended to make them restless and irritable. On the other hand, it is the first time that the beast’s nature is unleashed so entirely that it is inevitable that one cannot control it without putting the brakes on.

So for the family, the first time a young child changes into a beast is both a delight and a headache, and it is always a struggle for the adult Giant Beastman to keep the youngster down without killing it, often leaving the house in shambles.

But they are still young, so how much more brutal can they be?

The one in front of him was different …… he was at least ten years delayed in his development compared to ordinary Giant Beastman, not even remotely related to the word “young”. Usually, when fighting seriously in human form, Kevin could only rely on his experience and skills to win over half of the time. He was no match for Oswald when it came to strength and other physical things alone. Now, if he changed into a beast, the size and strength suppression would only intensify. If he went crazy……

I think that the three of me can’t even keep him on a leash, right? Kevin thought with a dry smile.

The massive shadow on the wall looked so intimidating that Kevin didn’t charge straight through but instead took one step at a time towards the back of the stone wall, trying not to make too much noise that would make the already restless beast even more anxious.

It turned out he was right not to rush past as the one behind the wall didn’t seem too keen to see him.

With every step he took towards the wall, he could clearly see the vast shadow take a step backwards behind it. And the beast’s breath tossed back and forth in the secret passage became more ragged with every little movement. If it weren’t for knowing who was behind the wall, Kevin would have decided that the other man was either trying to escape or planning to attack him by retreating.

“Your Majesty?” As the shadow took another step back, Kevin couldn’t help but open his mouth.

The beast produced a low growl from the base of its throat with the slightest hint of warning in its voice.

Kevin thought about taking a step forward again and said, “Oswald?”

The beast went quiet for a moment.

Kevin: “……” I don’t usually see you respond to name-calling, do I?!

He mulled it over in his mind for a moment, thinking that it was a bit of a childish reaction to obsess over a name and that he couldn’t have changed his form and liberated his mind along with it, could he? It’s not a good thing to be stupid like the Giant Beastman ……

“I’ve seen you. Why are you retreating?” He was afraid that Oswald would turn and run on impulse, so he confronted him first.

Oswald seemed to think he had been seen, and his huge figure stopped retreating.

Kevin took the opportunity to stride around the stone wall, mouthing the words, “Are you afraid the meat will be too thick for me to slaughter and eat or-”

The last half of the sentence was swallowed before it left his mouth, as Kevin finally saw Oswald in his beastly form…

A celestial wolf.

Before him was a huge celestial wolf. Snow-white, with fluffy fur and transparent eyes that were cold and penetrating, and a chilling fierceness that always came out when he looked down at anyone. The look and temperament were similar to the snow wolves of the Mowgli Icefield but much more aloof.

Kevin: “……”

Kevin was hit by the aesthetic g-spot and didn’t know what to say for a while. He only sighed in his heart: This kid knows how to choose his looks to change!

His sudden appearance caught Oswald, who had turned into a celestial wolf, off guard. The fact that he looked stunned upon meeting Oswald made the already somewhat agitated Oswald even more unsettled.

He seemed irritated by Kevin’s silence, narrowing his eyes and lowering his neck slightly. The arch of his back displayed an attacking stance, his muscular lines becoming more prominent as he moved, appearing smooth and powerful, not something to be messed with at first glance.

Oswald lunged with a couple of low growls from the base of his throat.

With a leap, the massive beast loomed over Kevin’s head and seemed caught up in the tradition of the Giant Beastman’s first transformation; the beast was uncontrollable and incapable of recognising anyone.

When he returned to his senses, Kevin’s pupils shrank, and he subconsciously raised his hand to touch the short sword’s hilt at his waist.

However, when his fingers touched the hilt, he suddenly realised who the beast was. He had to change his mind halfway through the fight and abandoned the knife.

This hesitation slowed his counter-attack and put him at a disadvantage before he knew it.

The wolf lunged so quickly that Kevin had barely taken his fingers off the hilt before he felt the huge creature’s front paws unceremoniously pressed against his throat.

Immediately afterwards, the entire Celestial wolf body pressed against him.

“Pfft–” Kevin, who had been crushed to the point of almost vomiting blood, lost his sight and felt the whole world slamming down on him, simply the most unbearable weight of his life! And the wolf’s fluffy white fur slapped him all over the face, a few of which he almost got into his mouth.

When he recovered from his dizziness, he found the handsome lord lying on top of him, the claws against his throat retracting their razor-sharp tips and leaving only a not-so-soft mass of fur.

Kevin: “……”

He felt as if he had been forced into a giant plush sleeping bag, with only barely a head showing. It wasn’t a bad experience, but the scary thing was that the sleeping bag had several huge boulders pressed on top of it, and it was so heavy that the furry sides of the bag were rubbing against his neck, making it prickly and itchy as hell ……

This was fucking killing him.

It was torture!

The Honourable Kevin Fassbinder, a man who had been through a lot, was never afraid of “pain.” He could cut his skin and bones without saying a word and handle this kind of pressure.

But he was ticklish ……

After all, nobody had had the guts to tickle him since the beginning of time, had they?

“You’re conscious?” Kevin asked, speaking with difficulty.

He attempted to hold his expression taut and act very serious. Still, he was becoming tickled, so the expression finally settled on was slightly twisted as the two parts competed.

The celestial wolf, pressed firmly against him, withdrew his wings unskillfully on either side and lowered his head to stare at him with prey eyes for a long moment before suddenly opening his mouth, “You think I’m going to go crazy like one of those newborn Giant Beastman cubs who can’t control themselves?”

Kevin froze, “You can still talk like that?”

The question sounded a bit like a curse, leaving Oswald speechless. He snorted disdainfully from the bottom of his throat and said, “Probably a credit to the half-blood.”

Kevin, who was pinned to the ground, now understood that the series of uncontrollable animal-like looks that the bastard brat in front of him had just given was deliberate.

Celestial wolf’s head pressed down a little more, his nose tip almost resting on the end of Kevin’s. Oswald’s voice was low and deep as it travelled down his chest into Kevin’s, “What do I look like now ……?”

Kevin: “……”

“I’ll tell you if you take your head off a bit.” Kevin gave him a blank look and said unkindly, “It would be best if you could take your whole body away.”

Oswald, however, did not listen to him obediently; his transparent eyes stared into Kevin’s without turning and said, “No, I can see a bit of a reflection in your eyes.”

“There are plenty of puddles on the floor, so pick a big one if you want to look in the mirror. I’ll get the knife if you keep staring like that!” Kevin was so overwhelmed that his words practically leapt out of his mouth. The big man on top of him continued to play dumb and act as if he couldn’t understand a word.

“You just fiddled with the knife too ……” Oswald said evasively upon saying this. His tone became odd at the mention of Kevin’s earlier actions, and he even sounded slightly menacing, obviously very bothered by it.

Kevin’s neck and ears were slightly red from the heavyweight he had to take to breathe. “It was a subconscious move. I was going to move my hand away when I remembered it was you, but you were already on top of me. Do you know how much you weigh now? A weaker man would have been crushed to death!”

Oswald managed to see the general appearance of himself in Kevin’s eyes, and considering that Kevin, who was acting as a mirror, even had veins popping up around his neck, he finally gathered some conscience and moved his massive body to the side. However, one front paw was still pressing against Kevin’s neck, unrelentingly, only easing up on the force.

“Whew-” Kevin finally came to life and took a few heavy breaths. He slowly eased himself out of the crushing, suffocating feeling he had just felt, then breathlessly lifted his hand to flick Oswald’s paw to the side.

Oswald’s eyes turned to stare at him, watching the blood on his cheeks, ears and neck fade a little, and his breath slowly settled, but his hands still couldn’t get up the strength. …… A sudden urge to do something came to his mind.

Kevin gave Oswald a slap when he failed to remove his paws after two tries, “Tch – that’s about right.”

He hit him with little force, but it strengthened the urge in Oswald’s head. The young, immature emperor finally sighed inwardly, admitting that the so-called untamed nature of the Giant Beastmans was a bit hard to control.

Kevin, of course, had no idea what was going through his mind, only that Oswald’s eyes suddenly narrowed, and he brought the tip of his nose close to the side of his face and sniffed, rubbing his large, heavy forepaws over him twice like grinding circles, rubbing Kevin’s whole body.

“What kind of madness is this ……” He had just glanced at Oswald when he felt the creature move his paws a little further away before extending his tongue to lick at the joint between his chin and neck.

Kevin: “……”

The celestial wolf’s tongue didn’t have the barbs that the tigers and lions had, but it was by no means smooth either. Kevin’s scalp exploded as the coarse touch slid down his neck.

When their nature got the better of them, these beasts sometimes would give two licks like this before snapping the neck of their prey. The movement was full of danger and death signals, and the caught prey would be terrified by such a provocation.

But not now. The beast in front of him was not likely to come and bite his throat.

On the one hand, Kevin felt that Oswald had become slightly feral. On the other hand, the emperor’s usual appearance popped into his head uncontrollably. When he thought about it, the action became extremely ambiguous……

Oswald nailed it perfectly, and as Kevin was about to speak, he very sensibly lifted his paws and moved to the side.

“……” Kevin glanced at him with a slightly complicated expression, not saying anything, and finally sat up without saying a word.

“What kind of animal is this? I’ve never seen one before.” Oswald pulled away without a change of expression. But of course, it could be because he was wearing the face of a beast and couldn’t change his expression if he wanted to, with the advantage of natural feigned deafness.

“Celestial wolf.” Kevin stood up and straightened his clothes, explaining, “I’m afraid they’re only found in the ‘History of the Gods’ with illustrations, and not many in total have appeared. I thought they’d gone extinct long ago, but I didn’t think a bit of bloodline was left. A fierce beast’s body and the raptor’s wings combined to make a beast. How wonderful.”

He was going to use it to bash the emperor, but when he saw Oswald’s current appearance, he couldn’t bring himself to do it, nor could he say something harsh.

This was an excellent example of how important it was to be able to hit his sweet spot.

“……” Kevin sighed and rolled his eyes, thinking that it was almost impossible to live with this situation. He couldn’t even hit him as his hand was tied.

He was silent for a moment, gave Oswald a sidelong glance and said, “Since you’ve become such a beast, don’t expect to be a human until Bettan Days are over. Resign yourself to being a mount.”

Oswald: “……”

The emperor’s transformation into a mount was a strange encounter that no one but Oswald could have experienced. If someone else had said such a thing, Oswald could have killed them on the spot, but it was Kevin who said it, so he had no choice but to listen.

It had to be said that the speed of a four-legged creature was not the same as that of a two-legged one; with and without wings, the difference was even more significant.

With Oswald, Kevin could travel a thousand miles a day and chase after the army ahead of them like a godsend. In less than a day, they saw the tracks left by the advance party.

But the tracks were not pleasant ……

It was a trail of soldiers’ bodies left behind in the tunnel.