This Beast-Tamer is a Little Strange

Owl

‘What a coincidence…’ Speaking of the Owl seat, Kain was also ruminating on who had voted for him in the first round and, after the Holy Son was proven to be the incorrect answer and Cassian was unable to vote in the second, the most likely suspect revealed herself—the white-eyed girl in the owl seat.

After all, although the number of people she could vote for was limited in the second round to Cassian, Kain and the eastern man, Kain still ended up with 3 votes against himself.

Kain was certain that Serena was the sole vote for the easterner.

But for the other girl, while she naturally wouldn’t want to vote for Cassian, logic would dictate that unless she had something against Kain, the white-eyed girl should have also voted as Serena did—but she didn’t.

‘Why?’

Unfortunately, Kain wouldn’t be able to receive an answer to his question.

In the next round, everyone except for one person answered correctly. It was a tricky question, but perhaps because it was so early on and the questions weren’t too difficult, or because this relic was supposed to be a gathering of the elites from around the world, everyone but one passed.

And that one was…Cassian.

‘Is it really okay that he will be our future king…?’

Although Kain could admit his talent as a beast-tamer, his intellectual prowess was proving to be much less desirable…And being a good ruler isn’t just about raw strength.

‘It’s strange…when interaction with him is limited,, his flaws aren’t revealed, nor were there any rumours about the prince being…not particularly impressive intellectually. The royal family must have exerted a lot of effort to maintain his flawless image…’

[One participant answered incorrectly. They forfeit their vote this round. Only they may be chosen. Six votes are automatically cast.]

Naturally, since he was the only one everyone could vote for, Cassian automatically dropped to a level even beneath Kain and the Holy Son.

And soon enough the next round began…and the next.

With each round the painful sensation emanating from the restraints strengthened, making it harder to concentrate.

Moreover, the types of questions also grew more difficult. From the odd riddle, like in the second round. To assessing how well you understood and remembered the various actions of those present.

For example, being asked in the fifth round, “Who did the Snake vote for in the third round?”

Or being asked in the ninth round, “Who has the Wolf’s voting choices matched with the most since this trial began?”

Fortunately, for Cassian, as the difficulty of the questions increased, so did the number of incorrect answerers—and the number of people one could vote for.

One round even had everyone go down one spot due to a riddle that Kain still couldn’t quite understand. While the number of rounds in which everyone passed were becoming fewer and further between.

Fortunately for Cassian, as long as there were multiple options, perhaps afraid of the repercussions they would face if he were to die in this relic, Cassian was hardly voted for again, unless the other option was someone’s closest ally.

Currently, it was the twelfth round. And honestly, the competition was going on for far longer than Kain had anticipated.

In the safest positions at the top were the white-eyed girl, and Serena. Both of whom had only gone down two spots.

The Holy Son had only gone down one more position since his poor start at the beginning, now halfway to the bottom.

Kain and the eastern girl were just below him—six spots down from the top.

And Cassian and the eastern man were without question at the bottom—two more spots away from death.

‘Hopefully, this all will end soon…perhaps even in this next round’

Kain could see the nervous beads of sweat dripping down the prince’s forehead as the next question started. Kain was willing to bet that if the prince survived, he would probably get into the habit of completing a memory puzzle a day.

Kain couldn’t help but thank the relic. As a citizen of a country that followed the laws of hereditary succession of power, Kain was pleased that the relic essentially kicked this heir’s brain into high gear.

Every button had already taken shape at least once, and now it was more of a riddle-style question given by a tiny fox that had leaped from the back of the chair he was on.

Kain furrowed his brow. Thinking hard about the question he’d just received. It was some kind of twisted metaphor he couldn’t quite figure out.

It sounded like it was about perception. Maybe duplicity. Maybe… no. He gritted his teeth, picked the Owl button, and pressed it.

A soft, metallic ding.

Immediately, he knew he’d messed up.

His buttons dulled, the luminous surface fading to a muted gray. The result wasn’t announced by the relic yet, likely because not everyone had voted, but the result was clear. He couldn’t vote this round.

He swallowed, heart hammering as he looked around. A few of the others still had bright, glowing buttons. Had they just not answered yet? Or had they answered correctly and Kain was the only option this round…

Kain tried not to panic. Maybe he wouldn’t be the only one. It was a tricky question, so maybe—

[The following participants answered incorrectly: Fox. Snake. Crane. Tiger. Boar.]

Five names. Five.

Kain exhaled, only partly relieved. That meant only two people could vote this round: the Owl and the Wolf.

The white-eyed girl.

And the Holy Son.

The two people Kain was most unsure about.

‘Okay,’ he told himself. ‘Okay. Serena, my closest ally, got it wrong. But that’s fine. There’s no way the white-eyed girl votes for me again. Right? Surely she’ll pick the Easterners this time.’

Preferably, the eastern man who was only two spots away from death—then they could hopefully end this ‘game’.

He looked across the ring of thrones.

Cassian’s jaw was clenched. Sweat trickled from his temples, his fingers twitching slightly as he stared straight ahead, teeth bared in frustration. The eastern man looked… resigned. Almost dazed, like he’d already made peace with his fate.

Then came the soft clicks.

One.

Two.

A long pause. Then the voice:

[Two votes cast. Fox.]

Kain’s eyes went wide.

‘WHAT?!’

His pedestal groaned.

The shrieking of the beasts below returned all at once, louder than before as the barrier vanished and air whipped around him. He dropped two full levels—now equal with Cassian and the eastern man.

Only two away from the pit.

Kain’s stomach twisted. He looked down and saw the creatures practically leaping over each other now. They knew. They could smell blood.

Kain realized that for whatever reason, that girl was dead set on him dying. If he wanted to have any hope of surviving this relic, then he couldn’t get the next wrong under any circumstances.

[New Round Commencing.]

The relic’s voice returned, as mechanical and impassive as ever.

A click sounded from Kain’s armrest, and this time, it was the Owl emblem that flared to life.

[Which participant cast their vote immediately before the Fox in the first round?]

Kain’s heart stopped.

‘The… first round?’

He tried to remember the order—the seconds between each drop, the subtle shifts in the pedestals. He had been the last to vote. He was sure of that. Right?

No. Wait.

He hadn’t voted until after the eastern girl had dropped… hadn’t he?

Kain grit his teeth. Too many unknowns. Too much confusion.

He took a breath. He had to guess.

‘Okay… first to drop was the Boar. Then came the Holy Son, three votes nearly all at once. Then I dropped. Then the Snake girl. Then I voted. I think…’

‘So it must be whoever voted for the girl from the eastern continent…’

He selected the Wolf button, fingers trembling.

[Answer Submitted.]

Almost immediately, he felt it.

The fade.

The dim.

His buttons dulled to gray, again.

“No…”

[The following participants answered incorrectly: Fox. Snake. Boar. Tiger.]

Almost the same as last round, except Serena retained her right to vote…not that it helped Kain. As long as the Owl and Wolf voted in the same way as last round…

Kain’s eyes widened. “Wait… no. No no no—”

He had never felt so unbelievably helpless in his life.

He looked at the location of the Owl.

Her hands hovered over the armrest. Then, finally, she pressed a button.

A single click.

[One vote cast. Fox.]

Kain’s pedestal groaned again, descending with an ominous shudder.

Now, only one level above death.

Kain’s breathing grew shallow. His thoughts fragmented under the weight of growing dread.

The monsters below shrieked louder than before, sensing his closeness. The claws, the gnashing teeth. They weren’t a warning anymore; he could practically see them already tearing into him.

[One vote cast. Boar]

Kain looked over and realized Serena must have just voted.

All that remained now was the Holy Son…

His heart stopped.

The creatures shrieked in unison.

Kain braced himself—

‘Please…please…’

[One vote cast. Participant eliminated. Please say goodbye to Participant F—]

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