The Heavenly Demon Who Reigns

"Baekjo-"

Mihwa called out to Baekjo lovingly.

Then, Baekjo waddled towards Mihwa like a puppy.

Hop-.

As if it couldn't fly yet, Baekjo hopped towards Mihwa.

And a person was smiling broadly at the sight.

The smile did not disappear from Mihwa's face while she was looking at Baekjo.

'Mihwa really likes animals.'

If she liked it that much, it would be okay to entrust Baekjo completely to Mihwa.

Mihwa seemed to be able to raise Baekjo very well.

'That would be more convenient for me in many ways.'

Although he could be with Baekjo like this today, he couldn't be like this every day.

He probably wouldn't be able to pay attention to it when he was training, and besides that, there was probably little he could do for Baekjo.

Perhaps from Baekjo's point of view, it would be more beneficial to be with Mihwa and be taken care of than to be with him.

Grumble-.

At that moment, a feeling of hunger was felt in Cheon Myeong's stomach.

Come to think of it, wasn't it already dinner time?

Since Mihwa had always brought the dinner table on her own at this time, Cheon Myeong realized that fact belatedly.

'Mihwa?'

However, Mihwa, who should have been giving Cheon Myeong his meal, was playing with Baekjo here.

Looking at her, it seemed that she had completely forgotten that she had to give Cheon Myeong his meal.

Since this had never happened before, Cheon Myeong felt a little strange.

'...I'll have to think again about entrusting Baekjo to Mihwa.'

If it was like this now, if he entrusted Baekjo completely, it seemed that she would be completely neglectful of other things.

Of course, that other thing would include Cheon Myeong's meal.

Putting other things aside, Cheon Myeong could not stand by and watch Mihwa neglect his meal.

"Mihwa."

"Yes?"

"I think it's time for dinner."

"Ah...! I'm sorry, I'll bring it right away!"

As Cheon Myeong said that, Mihwa was about to leave the room in a hurry.

Peep-!

At that moment, a cry was heard from behind.

Hearing the sound, Mihwa stopped walking and looked at Baekjo.

"Come to think of it... shouldn't Baekjo also eat?"

"Ah, that's right."

"What should I prepare for Baekjo's food?"

"Hmm..."

What do birds eat?

He had only eaten cooked birds, but he had never thought about what birds actually eat.

'Since there's a saying that the early bird catches the worm... does it eat worms?'

However, Baekjo is not an ordinary bird.

Although it wasn't very obvious now because it was young, since Cheon Myeong knew Baekjo's parents, he knew roughly what kind of bird Baekjo was.

'It was probably one of the birds of prey. Since it had such sharp beak and claws.'

The staple food of birds of prey was meat.

But no matter how much it was a bird of prey, could a guy born today eat meat?

Since even humans can only drink their mother's milk when they are babies, it didn't seem that that part would be much different for a bird of prey.

'For now, I should feed it something that is easy to digest rather than meat.'

Since he couldn't feed it milk, he needed a substitute food.

Cheon Myeong thought so and said to Mihwa.

"This guy is a bird of prey, but since it was just born, shouldn't we feed it something that is easy to digest for now?"

"Baekjo is a bird of prey?"

To think that this cute child was a bird of prey.

Mihwa seemed a little surprised to hear Cheon Myeong's words.

"Hmm... then would finely crushed grains like raw rice be okay?"

"Yes, that should be fine."

"Then I'll prepare it like that and come back!"

Answering so, Mihwa hurriedly left the room.

And a moment later.

Mihwa came back here with a dinner table.

"Peep-!"

As Mihwa returned, Baekjo flapped its wings as if it were happy.

And in front of that Baekjo, Mihwa held out a small bowl.

"Baekjo, eat well."

"..."

In the bowl, various grains were mixed, including rice.

Although Mihwa had deliberately prepared the grains with care for Baekjo.

Baekjo's reaction as it looked down at the inside of the bowl was somewhat lukewarm.

"You were hungry, right? Come on, hurry up and eat."

Mihwa kept urging Baekjo.

Then, Baekjo pecked at a grain with its beak as if it had no choice.

"Peep!"

As soon as it ate the grain, Baekjo spat out the grain in its beak on the floor with a nervous cry.

It seemed that the grain did not suit its taste.

Seeing this, Mihwa said with a tearful face.

"Baekjo, what's wrong? Does it not taste good?"

"Peep, peep-!"

"Or do you want to try this?"

Mihwa said that and held out a leaf of bok choy to Baekjo.

Then, as if it were smelling it, Baekjo lightly pecked at it.

But just like before, Baekjo spat out the bok choy nervously.

"Peep-!"

"I-I'm sorry! Does this not taste good either?"

"Peep, peep-!"

"W-what should I do? There's nothing else for you to eat now..."

Mihwa said, looking troubled.

And leaving Mihwa, Baekjo began to move somewhere.

The place where Baekjo was heading was near Cheon Myeong's knees, who was just about to eat.

"Huh?"

As Baekjo suddenly pecked at his leg with its beak, Cheon Myeong stopped his chopsticks and looked down at Baekjo.

"What, what's wrong?"

"Peep, peep-!"

"What? Your food is over there. But why are you asking me for food?"

"Peep!"

"Why are you the only one eating something delicious..."

What should I answer?

Cheon Myeong pondered for a moment and then held out the meat he was holding with his chopsticks to Baekjo.

"Do you want to eat this?"

As soon as the words were out, Baekjo pecked at the meat with its beak.

And after tasting it, it showed a very satisfied reaction, unlike when it had eaten grains or vegetables.

"What, even if it's young, a bird of prey is a bird of prey."

Cheon Myeong said that and put down the meat in front of Baekjo.

Then, Baekjo took its place and began to eat the meat in earnest.

Mihwa was looking at Baekjo with worried eyes.

'No matter how much it's a bird of prey, is it okay to eat seasoned meat?'

Although she had that thought, since Baekjo was eating the food she had made deliciously, she also felt a sense of pride.

"Peep-!"

At some point, all the meat that Cheon Myeong had put down had disappeared into Baekjo's stomach.

And Baekjo began to cry towards Cheon Myeong as if it wanted more.

And Cheon Myeong looked at Baekjo while chewing the food in his mouth.

"You want to eat more?"

"Peep-!"

"As expected, meat is much more delicious than vegetables, right?"

"Peep, peep-!"

"You know something for a guy born today. Yes, eat a lot."

Cheon Myeong said that and put down a piece of meat in front of Baekjo.

Then, Baekjo began to peck at the meat with a frightening force again.

As they say, a pet resembles its owner.

It seemed that Cheon Myeong and Baekjo were very much alike in their love for meat.

* * *

It had already been about ten days since Baekjo had started living at the Socheongak.

Since it was a very smart guy, Baekjo was able to blend in as a member of the Socheongak without any hesitation.

And now, it was loved by everyone at the Socheongak.

Swish-.

As the night deepened, Cheon Myeong got into his bedding and lay down.

Although he had gotten into his bedding to sleep, the lamp was still lit in the room, and Cheon Myeong poked his head out of the bedding and said.

"Baekjo."

As Cheon Myeong called out Baekjo's name, a fluttering sound was heard from somewhere.

Baekjo, which had become able to fly at some point, was gliding through the room and flying somewhere.

Flap- flap-.

The place where Baekjo arrived was in front of the lamp.

And standing in front of it, Baekjo flapped its wings vigorously.

Then, a fairly strong wind arose and the lamp began to shake.

Flicker-.

In the end, the lamp could not withstand the wind that Baekjo was creating and went out.

Then, the room became dark in an instant.

And Baekjo returned to its original place as if it had done its job.

"Good job."

Cheon Myeong said to Baekjo, who had returned to its cage.

In the end, Baekjo had decided to live with Cheon Myeong in the same room.

Since Baekjo itself did not seem to want to be separated from Cheon Myeong, it had decided to live with him in Cheon Myeong's room.

At first, Cheon Myeong had thought that living with Baekjo would be quite uncomfortable, but as time passed, that thought had completely changed.

Look now.

When he just spoke from inside his bedding, didn't Baekjo turn off the lamp on its own?

Although it was not a very difficult task, it was quite a troublesome thing to come out of the bedding to turn off the light.

But since Baekjo did that just by him speaking, although it seemed trivial, it was quite convenient.

'It's really convenient to be able to order Baekjo to do this and that.'

For now, it was just turning off the light or picking up small things, but if Baekjo grew bigger in the future, wouldn't it be able to do much more?

Cheon Myeong was planning to gradually increase the errands he could order Baekjo to do.

Of course, when he had first ordered it to do such things, Baekjo had gotten a little angry at him as if it were troublesome.

But when Cheon Myeong said just one thing, Baekjo had carried out the errands without a single complaint since then.

"You have to work as much as you eat, do you not want to eat meat in the future?"

The power of meat is indeed great.

Because even the ill-tempered Baekjo had turned into a gentle lamb in front of meat.

'It seems that life will be a little inconvenient without Baekjo later.'

Thinking so, it was a little disappointing to let Baekjo go.

But he couldn't forcibly hold it in his arms.

For now, he had no choice but to enjoy this life until then.

Cheon Myeong thought so and closed his eyes and said to Baekjo.

"Good night.

"Peep-"

A greeting that was naturally exchanged between them.

And no more sound was heard in the room.

"..."

As if he had completely fallen asleep, Cheon Myeong did not move at all.

And how much time had passed?

A bug crawled into the room where Cheon Myeong was through a gap in the door.

Sss-.

A bug about the size of two finger joints.

Moreover, since the room was dark, the bug's appearance was even less noticeable.

Sss-.

As soon as the bug passed through the gap in the door, it moved straight in the direction where Cheon Myeong was lying.

Its movement felt quite suspicious to be called natural.

And on the bug's tail, there was even a dangerous-looking stinger.

"..."

Although a dangerous-looking bug was getting closer, Cheon Myeong did not move at all, as if he had not noticed that fact at all.

And when the bug came within a distance of less than one step from where Cheon Myeong was lying, something suddenly attacked the bug from above.

Crunch-.

What had attacked the bug was Baekjo.

As Baekjo was pressing down on the bug's body with its sharp claws, the bug could not move an inch.

And Baekjo, maintaining that state, pecked at the bug's body with its beak.

Peck- peck-.

A power that could not be compared to when it had pecked Cheon Myeong.

The bug's shell, which seemed to be quite hard, broke immediately.

Whoosh-.

The bug tried to resist Baekjo by swinging its tail.

However, Baekjo suppressed the tail with its other foot so that it could no longer move.

And as Baekjo's one-sided attack continued in that state, the bug eventually ran out of its life and could not move.

"Peep-"

Baekjo looked at the dead bug as if it were ridiculous.

And at that moment, Cheon Myeong muttered in his sleep.

"Be quiet... if you cry one more time, I'll scold you..."

"..."

I saved you, and you're being a pain.

Baekjo's face as it looked at Cheon Myeong seemed to be saying that.

(End of Chapter)