Story 3: The 【Caller】 And The Second Divine Beast

The day after Roa arrived.

「I'm injured, so I'll sort out my stuff tomorrow.」 I told to Roa last night, and I was going to sleep until almost noon anyway.......

「Goshujin-sama, you're safe now that I'm here! From now on, please think of me as a big ship!」

(T/N: Raw: 大船)

First thing in the morning, bang! I was twisting my neck on the bed when I woke up, watching the energetic girl who came running into the lodge.

The girl had a long, waist-length red hair and clear, sky-blue eyes.

And even though they look about the same age, their style, face, breasts, and everything else is better than anyone else in the town.......

「Umm, who are you?」

I'm pretty sure I don't have an acquaintance this cute.

And she's calling me "Goshujin-sama" and I'm wondering if she's visiting the wrong person.

The girl, however, replied, 「I've been waiting for that question!」

「Fuu fuu fuu, If you ask me who I am, I'll tell you who I am! I am Fiana Phoenix! One of Phoenix. I heard goshujin-sama's voice yesterday, so I flew straight here!」

(T/N: Raw: フィアナ・フェネクス. Raw: 不死鳥族の紅一点, One of the Phoenix Tribe or something?)

「Phoenix......? Wait, did you just said voice......」

Just as I thought I had a similar story yesterday, the girl in front of me wrapped her own body in flames and transformed in an instant.

......No, please stop igniting in the room, it will burn.

I was going to say that straight away, but just like yesterday with Roa, I was entranced by the transformed form of the girl.

Its appearance is that of a human-sized bird with beautiful vermilion feathers.

And with flames spewing out from various parts of her body, she looked like no ordinary creature.

The appearance of the phoenix was indeed just like the phoenixes that are said to be divine beasts in fairy tales.

「Yes, it's the power of goshujin-sama's 【Caller】 skill. I could feel your passion, "I don't want this to end here! I could feel it in my heart. That is why, in accordance with an old pact with the human race to help their chosen 【Caller】, I have crossed the ocean to come to your aid!」

「O...... Ocean!?」

Wait, wait. I think it would take more than ten days to walk from this mountain to the ocean.

And you've fly over here in one night.

No, no, phoenix can really fly that fast...... and by the way, did my skill reached across the ocean?

That's why all the monsters in the vicinity will come to me.

「Yes, the ocean! ......Goshujin-sama surprised reaction are kinda normal. I thought it would be more of a jumping up and down kind of surprise...... And by the looks of it, the incident was resolved yesterday, I guess I'm too late......」

Fiana returned to her human form, looking disappointed for some reason.

Well, I was so surprised yesterday that I jumped out of my skin, so I'm not so surprised today.

I think human that are getting used to things are scary.

(T/N: Might be wrong. Raw: 人間、慣れって怖いものだと思う。)

As I crossed my arms and thought about it, I felt the blanket over me squirm and move.

Eh? It can't be......

「Fuaa...... Good morning, oniichan. Who are you talking to in the morning...?」

I knew it, it was Roa who came out of the blanket with a big yawn.

I said a little nervously to Roa, who was sleepily clinging to my chest.

「Ro... Roa, you were supposed to be sleeping in the bed in the next room!?」

「Umyu? ......I was sleepwalking, so I don't remember much...」

I was convinced by the way she smiled and said that.

This girl is a sure thing!

(T/N: Raw: この子、確信犯である！, Kakushin?)

「So, oneechan over there are...... huh? Are you a bird by any chance??」

Roa rolls her eyes as she settles into my lap.

Meanwhile, speaking of Fiana, who barged in.

「U, Uuuuuum...... Goshujin-sama, are you perhaps having fun!?」

She was blushing and saying something very strange.

「No, wait, that's a very bad thing to say!」

Loa is cute, but obviously looks younger, a child!

......I've not done any terrible deed, I'm serious.

「Uum, Goshujin-sama? Did miss bird heard Oniichan's voice too?」

「Miss bird you say...... you, this feeling, you're a dragon!? ......Does this means you too?」

「「......」」

Roa and Fiana both moved their heads vertically and then stared at each other.

Like a stone statue, both were motionless.

「Umm, both of you, what's wrong?」

I had a feeling that the atmosphere wasn't so good, so I spoke to them in a fearful way.

......The next moment.

「「Hmph!!!」」

They both jumped out of the way at the same time and fought in midair.

Then, of course, they would follow gravity and head for the floor.

「Hey, that's dangerous!? ......Gueee!」

「O... Oniichan!?」

「Goshujin-sama...!?」

I jumped to the floor to protect them, and stretched out underneath them.

......It's a good thing they were both light, but if its a normal adult, I might have broken a bone or two.

That's how overwhelmed I was, and I was lying on the floor for a while.

***

「So why are you two suddenly fighting each other?」

「「......We're sorry.」」

I had the two divine beasts sitting upright on the bed, and I was standing on the floor talking to them.

「...... Actually, dragons and phoenixes don't get along very well.」

「Why?」

「It's like they want to punch each other in the face when they see each other. It's like we've been fighting for control of the sky for thousands of years.」

「I see......」

I had a general idea of what was going on with the two of them.

It's not uncommon for monsters of different races to fight over territory when they come across each other.

In short, the two of them don't get along with each other's species like that.

「But that doesn't mean I'm going to let you fight each other out of the blue. It was in human form, but if a dragon and a phoenix got into a serious fight, the place will blown away.」

「「We're sorry......」」

They seemed to really feel bad about it, so I decided to stop scolding them for now.

Next, is questioning...... or rather, about something that has been bothering me for a while now.

「Fiana said you are here to help me, but why do you call me goshujin-sama? By the way, my name is Mug, it's fine to call me by the name.」

Fiana then shook her head.

「I can't do that. It is the tradition of the phoenix tribe that when a person with the power of 【Caller】 who acknowledged their heart appears, we must serve the person. That's why I call you goshujin-sama.」

(T/N: She kinda remind me of Cerea from Monster Musume personality wise.)

「Acknowledging my heart. What's that?」

Fiana placed one hand flattened on my chest and gave me a thumbs up with the other hand.

「That is, of course, the strong and passionate heart that genuinely wants to "Live!" that can be felt from the goshujin-sama's heart. People these days seem to be filled with greed, money, and sex, but not goshujin-sama. I genuinely wanted to move on, or something like that. "If you want to live a straight life, who's going to help you if I don't!" That's what I was thinking......」

Fiana glanced at Roa, who was sitting right beside her.

「I didn't think there was anyone else here before me, ha......」

「Hmph. I didn't expect another dragon or even a bird to come.」

Fiana sighs, and Roa has a sulky tone.

I scratched the back of my head as both of them created another bad atmosphere.

「Umm, I'm happy to hear that both Roa and Fiana are willing to help me. To be honest, I'm not sure if I'll be able to do it without the help of divine beast like Roa and Fiana. So it may sound greedy, but is it difficult for both you to work together......?」

「Hmmm......」

Roa sighed, then said as she snuggled up to me.

「I don't mind. It would be boring to go home so soon since I got to meet my brother. Besides, the food you gave me last night was delicious, and the bed in this house is very soft. I'll put up with it. I'm not as hard-headed as my parent.」

「Roa... Thank you.So, how's it Fiana?」

「U, Uuuu...... I'm not too keen on the idea, but there are traditions and...... I feel like I'm losing out to the little dragon over there if I back down here. Okay, I'll put up with it!」

「Fiana......!」

Now I have two divine beasts who could lend me a hand.

Thanks to my failure skill, I feel like I was on my way to the afterlife. I really don't know what to do about it......!

「However, there are condition」

「Condition?」

Fiana walked up to me and said strongly.

「Just like that little dragon over there, I want you to pat and hug me too! Doing it for that little dragon but not for me, I'll not accept it! .....I feel like I'm losing!!!」

It may seem like an outrageous thing to say, but as I listened to the explanation earlier, I was convinced, 「I see, you don't want to lose to the dragon, Roa in terms of race.」

You don't want to be treated any less than Roa, if that's what you mean.

「All right, I got it. I'm going to need all the help I can get, so I'll do my best.」

My life is at stake, and if I'm going to treat her as well as I did to Roa, I have to take it seriously.

I hugged Fiana as tightly as I had done with Roa.

Then Fiana let out a squeal, 「Fuaa!?」 

「I'm sorry. Did I hurt you?」

「No, it's not...... ut it's nice to have a human body. It feels nice and warm to be hugged like this. A phoenix's body can fly freely, but it can't do this.」

Fiana then snuggled herself against my chest, squeezed me back, and then said.

「Yes yes, this is fine. I'm being treated the same as the little dragon over there. I'm looking forward of this, goshujin-sama.」

Fiana, smiling, looked really cute in a different way from Roa.

I gave one nod to Fiana and thought that this was the end of the matter.......

「......Muu...... I think miss bird was a little longer than I was. And I have a name, Roa. So you can call me that by that.」

Roa gave a small pout and puffed out her cheeks.

Fiana giggled as she poked Roa's soft cheek.

「Then you should call me Fiana instead of miss bird, Roa.」

「......Okay, Fiana.」

At any rate, I'm glad that they're both doing well together.

Well, now that the matter is settled, let's have breakfast.

There's a lot to do today, so the sooner the better.