“Bless, you should explain directly. What is this final plan?”

Could it be that you approached me with some sinister purpose?

I barely managed to swallow those words.

That could wait until after hearing Bless’s explanation.

“W-well, that’s……”

“Tell me. So I won’t doubt you or be disappointed in you.”

Bless’s troubled face gained some strength.

Soon, he sat properly and looked at me straight on.

It was the same look he had as a monster bird when he stayed by my side through any trial.

“First, I need to explain why we came to this world.”

These monster birds came through a black gate, not a red one.

Come to think of it, I had never considered why they crossed through a gate into this world.

“Those hideous monsters you fought every time when you were a guide are actually the enemies who destroyed the world I lived in.”

The large, destructive monsters that frequently emerged from gates—such as the dragon monsters or the spider monster responsible for Yerena’s gruesome death in the original story—displayed the same violent nature in their original world.

As a result, smaller monsters like Bless lost most of their habitats.

“……We had to find a new place to live. When our once countless numbers dwindled to just a dozen or so, we made this decision very belatedly.”

“I see that happened……”

Bless nodded weakly with a bitter smile.

At that moment, I felt sorry for him.

Bless knew almost everything about me, but I knew nothing about him.

I had only wished for him to stay by my side and get along with me like family.

Without knowing what wounds and stories he carried.

Even as I gazed at Bless with sympathy, his confession continued.

“We came here through a small gate that even they don’t know about, not the red gates they pass through.”

For reference, gates are redder the deeper and larger they are.

The black gate was a small one that large monsters couldn’t pass through.

“The ‘final plan’ refers to the decision we made when coming here. To meet a trustworthy human and establish a new home.”

“Bless. Am I a trustworthy human to you?”

Without a moment’s hesitation, Bless answered.

“Of course! That’s why I’m staying by your side. And I’ll continue to stay. Don’t ever worry about unnecessary things.”

The scolding for asking an unnecessary question was a bonus. Then he asked the other monster birds.

“Do you all think the same as I?”

At that, the birds, who had been quiet for a moment, chirped vigorously as if the moment of dawn had arrived.

‘After watching for a few days, we’ve determined she’s a trustworthy human!’

‘This human provides food so well. We certainly won’t starve to death.’

‘And she also protected us from the bad human.’

The bad human. Probably referring to Benjamin.

I had merely protected the monster birds from Benjamin and fed them at the right time, yet I seemed to have earned their trust.

“Monster birds, thank you. And I’m sorry I didn’t understand your situation, Bless.”

“Master, don’t apologize. I’ve received a lot of help from you too.”

“Yes. Anyway, according to this final plan, you need a place to live, right?”

Bless nodded.

At that moment, I suddenly thought of Jinjijo Transportation, which I hadn’t managed for a while.

And not just my business.

I remembered what I had first planned when starting the business.

‘Monster bird carriages.’

That innovative flying carriage that only VVIP customers could use came to mind.

I looked down at the monster birds perched all over my body.

“By the way, can you all transform into large birds or humans like Bless?”

The second-in-command monster bird answered again.

—Kyuuuu!

‘We are entities with evolutionary potential. Of course, we can transform into large birds. But I’m not sure if we can become human.’

As discussed before, the criterion for distinguishing monsters from animals in this world was ‘evolutionary potential.’

The reason I wasn’t too surprised by Bless’s evolution was because I knew about this potential.

Bless evolved whenever danger approached me.

Then do the other monster birds also need to face danger to evolve?

“I have a good idea, would you like to hear it?”

I began to tell the monster birds my thoughts.

If they could evolve into large birds, they could take charge of pulling carriages in our transportation business.

If they did that, I planned to provide not only generous compensation but also the new habitat they wanted.

Of course, I wanted to provide everything to the monster birds for free.

But I was someone who had been struggling with debt until recently. I lacked the funds to support them.

And wouldn’t it be better for the monster birds to have jobs that would help them blend into this world, rather than doing nothing?

“……What do you think of my idea?”

The first to answer was Bless.

“I agree. We monster birds were actually going to ask if we could work at your business.”

The second-in-command monster bird followed with an answer.

‘I also heard it positively! However, the issue is evolving into large birds…..’

“I’ll help with that. Having evolved twice, I have a definite feeling about how to evolve. Let’s practice that feeling together so we can adjust our size at will without danger.”

Wow, is this man really the Bless I knew?

He had somehow mastered human speech perfectly.

Moreover, the way he spoke with his voice lowered seemed so reliable.

I looked at Bless with fresh eyes.

And it seemed my admiration was completely exposed.

“Master, wasn’t I cool just now?”

Bless smiled mischievously.

Over that image, I could see him as a monster bird going, ‘Ke. Ke. Ke.’

“Of course, I still don’t know well how to return to my smaller form.”

“We can figure that out slowly.”

“But am I still cool?”

I had to acknowledge his coolness.

“Yes, my bird is the best.”

Bless embraced me lightly with an embarrassed face.

His hands on my shoulders somehow felt like soft feathers.

***

“Ughhhh……”

Evans stared at Duncan, who was covering his face with a groan that sounded like a wail.

“I know it’s rude to ask this, but… were you rejected?”

Duncan slowly shook his head.

“No. I haven’t received an answer yet. I only confessed.”

“Then why are you like this?”

“Because I’m embarrassed……”

Evans looked at Duncan incredulously.

Duncan sometimes acted cold and sometimes sly, but he had rarely acted embarrassed like a fool.

‘He must be very sincere. I hope things work out well with Ms. Yerena.’

In Evans’ opinion, Duncan didn’t seem likely to love anyone other than her.

“Is this what it feels like to face something instead of running away?”

Duncan sighed dryly as he lowered the hands covering his face.

His heart had been beating so fast during the confession that he felt like he would go crazy.

Of course, it was because he liked Yerena, but partly also because he was anxious about not being forgiven by her.

He had thought that even if she shot angry words at him, he would only beg for forgiveness.

But Yerena didn’t seem resentful at all; rather, she already seemed to have forgiven him.

The look in her eyes as she gazed down at him contained nothing but gentleness.

At that moment, Duncan realized something.

‘Ah, this woman. She’s truly lovable.’

She seemed almost saintly, embracing him even after hearing about his faults.

He had never quite understood why the three ruffians revered Diana like a saint, but today he finally seemed to understand their feelings.

He was certain he would regret it for the rest of his life if he lost Yerena.

“No problem is easy to face. But it will bring much better results than running away.”

Duncan just nodded at Evans’ words.

If Yerena wanted him to be a servant, he would become one, and if she wanted something else, he would do that too.

He would protect Yerena’s side like that and make sure she never left his side.

So that she would never be kidnapped or criticized by rogues again.

If Yerena became happy because of that, wouldn’t that be a much better result?

At that moment, the person Duncan and Evans had been waiting for entered the drawing room.

It was Empress Patricia.