Once upon a time, a museum was not considered a grand place.
Of course, it managed significant historical, magical, and scholarly artifacts, inevitably evoking a sense of magnificence. However, it fundamentally operated at a level of storage and management, effectively resembling a warehouse.
Moreover, it was merely a secretive and personal facility, not made public for ordinary people.
The closest thing to a public exhibition museum could arguably be a temple, as temples showcase statues or sacred artifacts of goddesses to display their divine power and attract people.
Thus, when Luke first heard the words “going to the museum,” what came to mind was, at best, a large warehouse filled with sacred objects or artifacts. Or perhaps a larger temple.
However, upon arrival, the scene that unfolded before Luke was shockingly different.
The museum was nothing like Luke had known.
“Oh my God.”
It was vast. Extremely so.
Modern museums are not intended for personal “exhibitions” or “collecting desires.”
From the start, they were built as facilities aimed at educating and exhibiting for the majority of the public.
Its significance of existence was entirely different from the “museum” that once kept items for personal reasons.
“This is a museum…?”
Before entering, he had seen the enormous dome building, but it was so immense that it felt like the entire place had been completely turned into a museum.
The three-story ceiling appeared to soar higher than the royal palace he frequently visited.
Moreover, the number of taxidermied magical beasts was astounding; it could almost be said that the entire ecosystem of the demon realm had been relocated here.
The varieties of large magical beasts he could immediately see were beyond what he could count on one hand.
“Whoa….”
The scale left him speechless; Luke could only emit such exclamations.
-…!
Was Py equally surprised? With his tail hanging limply, he was gazing up at the specimen alongside Luke.
‘This is beyond reasonable.’
Since he sensed no magic, it was clearly an artificially created model.
If they were indeed magical beasts, connections to the demon realm would have been severed, meaning these specimens were likely over 5000 years old.
Yet, to be replicated so meticulously was something that could only be admired.
To say it looked as if it would move at any moment was an understatement.
“Really, this is amazing… Isn’t it, Py?”
-…!
Py seemed to agree, bouncing his body slightly.
“Yes, it’s definitely an incredible replica.”
Luke felt very pleased.
It was as if he was transported back in time.
———-
While Luke was momentarily lost in admiration, Yerna and Serena entered the museum.
“Luke seems to be really excited.”
“Indeed, he clearly likes it.”
Serena watched as Luke wandered around, sparkling with excitement, laughing while covering her mouth with her hand.
Yerna strongly agreed with that sentiment.
It was frankly rare to see Luke so spirited.
‘He really loves museums.’
Serena, satisfied with his childlike demeanor, then glanced down at the child holding her hand.
On the other hand, what about Shirud?
“….”
In stark contrast, while it wasn’t as extreme as Luke, he seemed a bit indifferent.
Yerna glanced sideways at Shirud, who wore a dry expression, and shifted her gaze to Serena.
“Oh, you don’t have to worry. Our Shirud just doesn’t really like magical beasts.”
“Oh… Okay.”
Yerna thought it was strange.
‘That’s odd. If he doesn’t like magical beasts, why bring him along?’
While she understood wanting them to become closer, didn’t this make her feel guilty?
It seemed quite pitiful for Shirud to be brought to a place he didn’t particularly enjoy.
As Yerna contemplated this peculiarity, Serena spoke to Shirud with a smile.
“Why don’t you go join Luke? I have something to discuss with Yerna.”
“Okay…”
Shirud trudged over to Luke, who was intently staring at a model of Juper, seemingly reluctantly.
Yerna turned her head to Serena after watching Shirud’s somewhat pitiful silhouette.
Then Serena grinned and said, “Shall we find a café or something?”
“Is it alright to leave the kids…?”
“No need to worry. My servants are around. If anything happens, they’ll contact us.”
“Oh… Okay.”
Yerna nodded her head hesitantly.
——–
“Luke, are you that happy?”
Shirud remarked.
“It’s not that I dislike it.”
Luke replied, turning his gaze from Juper to Shirud.
“I never knew such a place existed in the world.”
Luke smiled.
New knowledge and experiences always put Luke in a good mood.
Although he was no stranger to magical beasts, this experience in the museum was unprecedented for him.
So it was only natural that he felt elated.
“Is this really your first time at a museum?”
Luke shook his head.
“I’ve been to a few museums, but nothing of this scale.”
“Really?”
Shirud found that quite intriguing.
Luke seemed to know everything Shirud wanted to ask, even having magical skills that surprised even the teachers.
He regularly read numerous books, possessed remarkable focus, and all the books he read were of a level far beyond what a ten-year-old would usually read.
Sometimes when Shirud visited the library, hoping to sneak a look at Luke (though he seemed unaware, Luke had already become somewhat of a celebrity there. It was fascinating enough for them to see a ten-year-old Hyun absorbed in reading complex books day in and day out at the same spot), he’d come across bewildering books that made him give up trying to understand.
Plus, he was said to play an instrument. According to Mary, he was exceptional at playing the cello and even composed music.
There was nothing he couldn’t do.
Thus, there was nothing Shirud could ever beat him at.
Even at soccer, where he was confident, he was easily defeated by Luke.
Shouldn’t he at least be bad at physical education to achieve balance? This was already beyond unfair.
But looking at it now, he seemed like an exceedingly ordinary child.
‘Luke has things he doesn’t know, huh.’
Had he really been feeling inferior for no reason?
“Um, do I have something on my face? Why are you staring at me like that?”
Noticing Shirud’s continued gaze, Luke touched his own face and asked.
“No, it’s nothing.”
Shirud shook his head and shrugged.
‘Ordinary? No, Luke was an odd girl right from first impressions.’
If only he could define Luke in one word, it would be great, but in any case, the word “ordinary” didn’t belong in the lineup of words to describe him.
Shirud spoke to Luke, who had resumed staring at the Juper specimen.
“Well, let’s go over there. There’s not much to see here.”
“What are you talking about? You mean there’s nothing to see? Is this all there is?”
“Hey, traditionally, things like this are just decor.”
“… Is that so?”
Could it be that what was at the entrance was not all there was? Filled with shock and anticipation, Luke followed Shirud deeper inside.
———-
Meanwhile, sitting in the café of the Magical Beast Museum, Dyton was in for a huge shock.
It was a blunder.
A grand one.
A male elf? No, it was a woman!
And a married one with a child!
‘Kirke, I’ll see you when I get back…’
I will definitely enact a thorough punishment and retaliation.
While he was grinding his teeth over this, the moment he stiffened up with tension at the sound of approaching footsteps, a very familiar voice rang out.
“Wow, Dyton! What a pleasant surprise to see you here. Did you come to see the magical beasts, too?”
“Haha, ha….”
Moreover, his disguise had been seen through right away. Why?
It should have been perfect.
“How did you know…?”
“What do you mean how did I know? The moment I walked into the café, it was obvious you were reading a newspaper, Dyton.”
“That’s ridiculous.”
“Oh, and take off your sunglasses indoors. But hey, do you usually read newspapers?”
“Uh, I just found the headline impressive… Haha.”
Dyton took off his sunglasses, folding the newspaper he had unfittingly spread out to disguise his figure.
No one reads newspapers these days. Honestly, you won’t need to unless you have circumstances like Yerna’s.
“Oh my, is this man someone you know?”
“Oh, he’s a colleague from work. He’s the Forest Keeper of Luke Forest. Dyton, this is Serena Trisphind, the one who covered the full tuition for Luke’s academy.”
“Oh, hello… I’m Dyton Geneper.”
“Aha, so you’re Yerna’s colleague. Nice to meet you. I’m Serena Trisphind, I run a humble shop.”
“Oh… yes.”
It didn’t seem like the Hootree Group’s Hooten Department Store was a humble shop, but well… Dyton just nodded.
What could he do if that’s what she said?
“You have quite an impressive physique. Yerna must have recognized you at a glance.”
“…Yes.”
Damn it, was it really the muscles?
He had hoped it wasn’t just that.
‘Yerna said she likes strong men, so I worked on my body…’
Although he felt a bit unfair to be found out for that.
Or was it good that Yerna noticed? He wasn’t quite sure himself.
“But, was I that eye-catching?”
Serena lowered her head with a somewhat troubled expression.
“First of all… I apologize, Dyton.”
“What do you mean?”
“My servants seemed to have mistaken you for a suspicious person at first. I’d told them to assess the situation and handle it… Did you experience any inconveniences?”
“…Fortunately not.”
Somehow, he had sensed unusual magical energy from before, and that must have been the reason.
Yerna chuckled and gave Dyton a light nudge on the shoulder.
“By the way, for coming to see the magical beasts alone, you must really like them.”
“Uh? Well, something like that. Haha.”
‘But it’s been ten years since I liked magical beasts; here, I have no choice but to say I do…’
Dyton just awkwardly laughed and scratched the back of his neck.
“Oh my.”
Picking up on the peculiar atmosphere, Serena lightly covered her mouth before chuckling softly.
“This might be fate, Yerna. Why don’t you spend some time with Dyton?”
Yerna looked at Serena, somewhat bewildered by her words.
“Huh? But you said you had something to talk to me about…?”
“What I wanted to say isn’t all that important. Since we ended up ‘coincidentally’ like this, I also want to spend time alone today. It’s hard to make time like this normally. Also, it would be a shame to just go back after hearing only my stories after coming all the way here, right? It could wait till later for me to text you.”
“Uh, really…? If that’s the case… then please take your time here.”
“Yes, you two have a great time.”
Serena winked at Dyton.
‘Good luck!’
Dyton gave a thumbs-up to Serena out of Yerna’s sight, silently expressing his gratitude.
‘A date with Yerna at the museum…!’
His heart raced.
Huh, huff, huh, huff. As he took deep breaths, Yerna looked at him with a strange expression.
“Are you that excited about seeing magical beasts?”
“Uh, yeah… it’s kinda exciting.”
It wasn’t because of the magical beasts, though.
‘Kirke, thank you!’
Thanks to this opportunity, let’s put the thorough revenge and punishment on the back burner for now.
