Short Story: A Day in the Life of a White Tiger

My name is Kohaku. I am a white tiger, a Heavenly Beast, serving my most esteemed liege, Mochizuki Touya. I woke up in the morning to find that he was no longer in bed, already having gotten up. It is pathetic for a servant to wake up later than their master, I know, but Touya didn’t mind it, always telling me to sleep as long as I need. Before long this became the natural order of events. The first thing I did after waking was head to the kitchen.

“Here you are, Kohaku. A steak from the large deer the master hunted yesterday.”

“You have my thanks.”

I bit into the meat on the plate that Crea had presented to me. The perfect seasoning on the steak drew out an exquisite flavor. The taste of her cooking had me no longer caring for raw meat. That was a bit worrying, honestly.

With breakfast over, I decided to relax in the garden. I found a nice bit of shade under a tree on the lawn, then curled up beneath it. I was just dozing off when I heard someone cry out.

“Oh, it’sss darling little Kokaku. Taking a nap, are we?”

“You’re one to talk with how much you sleep.”

“…Give it a rest. It helps us maintain our wisdom.”

The Black Monarch… Well, Sango and Kokuyou, were floating in the air. I looked at them as they came over to me and noticed that they were dripping wet.

“What were you two doing?”

“We were cooling off in the water fountain. We like being by the waterfront.”

That made sense. I glanced over toward the small water fountain in the garden. The two of them also decided to curl up under the tree. Though actually, Sango was lying in the sun. Was he sunbathing, perhaps? I wasn’t sure. “I didn’t think you’d sssspend your dayss kicking back like thisss, darling.”

“Hmph, this is only for now. The day where my master and I must take to the battlefield is drawing near.”

“When that happenss, I do hope you’ll call on the remaining two asss well.”

I frowned as I listened to Sango speak. The Red Monarch was fine, but the Azure Monarch… Was that disgusting, quibbling lizard really going to come here? Grrr…

“Eehehehe. You don’t look too happy, darling.”

“He’s probably thinking of the Azure Monarch. They really don’t get on well.”

“Give me a break.” My master’s power would have let him summon all of the Heavenly Beasts, but it seemed he didn’t intend to. That was good, as I’d rather have had my tongue slit than ask him to call on that lizard-brained bastard.

I glanced over at the other two who shared my master, before shutting my eyes once again. I’d never have thought I’d spend days relaxing with them. That was thanks to my master too. I supposed the day might come when the remaining two were brought here as well.

…As long as that lizard didn’t come here. That pathetic one and its ilk make me sick, all talk and no guts… Just imagining them made my blood start to boil. Those conflicted feelings remained within me as I once again drifted off to sleep.