Beastmen Are Crazy, So I Sell Them Therapy

Chapter 136: Chapter 134

"SOREN!"

I was beginning to think he genuinely enjoyed carrying me around.

"And now you’re treating me like I’m still a cub!" I whined.

"What do you mean?"

"You keep carrying me around!"

Soren looked genuinely confused, like the answer should have been obvious. "But nothing changed."

I frowned. "Huh?"

"You’re still my Blanca."

My brain immediately short-circuited.

The remaining survivors inside my head abandoned ship.

I hated him.

I hated him so much.

Mostly because my heart apparently loved hearing things like that.

Then, as if the situation wasn’t bad enough already, he lightly twirled me once.

I immediately buried my face in his shoulder before I embarrassed myself further.

"Satisfied?" he asked.

"No."

"Then why are you hiding?"

"I’m not hiding."

"You are literally hiding."

I refused to answer.

Soren laughed under his breath and carried me over to the couch before sitting down.

Unfortunately, he didn’t put me down.

"So tell me what happened while you were here."

I immediately looked up.

"If I tell you, will you let me go?"

"Promise."

That sounded suspiciously easy but still, I decided to trust him.

I started talking.

And talking.

And talking.

I told him about the academy, learning my soul weapon, the ridiculous combat activities, crazy students, rude instructors, accidentally making students cry, accidentally becoming an instructor myself, the time I terrorized four different classes.

The more I talked, the more ridiculous everything sounded but through it all, Soren never interrupted me, he didn’t look distracted nor he didn’t even appear bored.

He simply listened while occasionally asking questions, laughing but mostly just watching me.

"Oh!" I suddenly remembered. "Did you know my classmates banned me from drinking coffee?"

Soren looked amused. "They banned you?"

"Yes."

"And why exactly did they do that?"

I pointed at myself. "Apparently I—"

Knock.

Knock.

Both of us looked toward the door.

"Commander."

Spade’s voice came from outside.

"His Majesty is looking for you."

The comfortable atmosphere immediately cracked as I felt Soren’s arms tighten around me for the briefest moment before he sighed.

"Oh."

For some reason, disappointment settled in my chest.

The king was calling which probably meant noble business.

Soren sighed. "Tell him I’ll be there shortly."

"Yes, Commander," Spade said before retreating down the hallway.

I immediately hopped off the couch the moment his grip loosened.

’Freedom!’

I took exactly three steps away from him before straightening my clothes.

"Well," I said cheerfully, "I should probably leave too."

The duke had been waiting for me for who knew how long.

If I delayed any further, there was a very real possibility that Vesphyr would personally start searching the academy.

Actually...

Knowing him, he was probably already searching.

Soren immediately answered, "no."

I blinked. "What?"

"No."

"Soren."

"No."

"You literally have a meeting."

"I do."

"Then I should go."

"You should stay."

I pointed toward the door. "Your king is waiting."

"He can wait five more minutes."

I nearly choked. "You can’t just make the king wait!"

"I already am."

"That’s actually... terrifying."

Soren looked entirely unconcerned. "You never finished your story."

"What story?"

"The coffee."

"Oh," I sat back down immediately. "Apparently coffee makes me hyperactive."

Soren immediately looked skeptical. "Apparently?"

"That’s what everyone says."

"Blanca."

"What?"

"You’re hyperactive without coffee."

I immediately glared at him. "Apparently that’s all the story."

Soren looked completely unconvinced.

"Can I go now?"

For a moment, he simply watched me before sighing. "A promise is a promise after all."

I straightened immediately.

"You can go."

The moment those words left his mouth, I practically lit up as I hurried toward the door before he could change his mind.

"Blanca."

"Hmm?" I paused as I looked back over my shoulder.

"Don’t forget to send messages."

"Promise!" I declared finally opened the door and ran toward my next meeting.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

Standing outside the door was a very anxious Sykelion.

He had worn a path into the floor from how much pacing he’d been doing. Back and forth. Back and forth. Back and forth.

At this point, he was less of an aide and more of a distressed pendulum.

"Sir Vulpes—" I started.

He immediately snapped upright and the moment his eyes landed on me, they actually began watering.

"Miss Blanca!"

I took an involuntary step back.

’Why did he look like a stranded traveler who had just discovered fresh water?’

"I’m glad you’re here!"

His voice actually cracked.

"...Why do you look like you’ve seen your savior?"

"There’s no time!" Sykelion grabbed both my shoulders dramatically. "Please just go talk to His Grace!"

"What happened?"

"What happened?!" he repeated in disbelief.

"Yes."

"He has been glaring at me for the past thirty minutes!"

"Oh."

"He nearly ripped a chair apart!"

"Oh."

"He asked me where you were every three minutes!"

"Oh."

"He wanted to personally escort you here after hearing you were with General Markhelov!"

"...Oh."

Sykelion pointed at me accusingly. "Exactly!"

The poor man looked moments away from collapsing.

"I have spent the last thirty minutes convincing His Grace that Miss Blanca had not been kidnapped."

"That’s ridiculous."

"That’s what I said!"

"Then why would he think that?"

Sykelion dragged both hands down his face. "Miss Blanca."

"Yes?"

"You disappeared."

"I was talking."

"With General Markhelov."

"Yes."

"For nearly an hour."

"Was it really that long?"

His eye twitched. "Miss Blanca, His Grace started counting the minutes."

"..."

"He was counting."

"...That’s slightly concerning."

"Slightly?!"

I decided not to answer that.

Sykelion took multiple deep breaths.

I was beginning to suspect he was using breathing exercises to prevent himself from resigning.

Finally, he straightened his coat.

"Please."

His voice had become eerily calm.

"Go inside."

I looked at the ominous door. "...How angry is he exactly?"

Sykelion looked toward the ceiling. "As your client?"

"Yes?"

"He is worried."

"Okay."

"As a duke?"

"Yes?"

"He is furious."

I immediately pointed at him. "Those are two very different answers."

"They are currently happening at the same time."

"..."

"..."

We both knew I couldn’t run away forever.

Well, I probably could but everyone else would suffer.

Especially Sykelion.

I patted his shoulder. "Stay strong."

"Please go inside."

"You’re very brave."

"MISS BLANCA."

I laughed and finally reached for the door handle.

"Wait, just as a precaution, Miss Blanca."

I paused.

Sykelion hurriedly handed me a familiar energy stone.

The moment I saw it, I immediately recognized it.

"Isn’t this the energy stone I made?"

"Yes."

I turned it over in my hand. "Did he break it again?"

At this point, I wouldn’t even be surprised.

Every time something emotionally significant happened in the duke’s life, an energy stone somewhere seemed to suffer for it.

Sykelion looked exhausted. "I’m honestly not sure anymore."

That was not a reassuring answer.

Before I could ask anything else, Sykelion immediately clasped his hands together like a man sending prayers to every god currently available.

For my safety.

Or his.

Possibly both.

I pushed the door open and the moment I stepped inside, I froze.

’How did it even get this dark here?’

"...Duke?"

No response.

I stepped farther inside as the door clicked shut behind me.

My survival instincts immediately began filing complaints.

"Duke Vesphyr?"

Still nothing.

Crack.

I froze and slowly looked down.

My shoe had just stepped on shattered glass.

"..."

A terrible sense of déjà vu crawled up my spine.

No.

Absolutely not.

Surely not.

The last time I was forced inside a dark room looking for a certain beastman, things had gone catastrophically wrong.

"DUKE COME OUT OR—

Something massive slammed into me.

"WHAT THE—"

I fell on the floor.

Again.

At this point, getting tackled by powerful beastmen was becoming a recurring problem in my life.

"..."

I closed my eyes, counted to three, and opened them again.

I am pinned beneath what felt like an entire fluffy mountain with nine enormous tails spread around us like a living blanket.

"Damn it."

Not again.

The fox’s ears immediately perked up as he immediately shoved his face against mine.

Before I could even struggle—

Lick.

My entire face froze.

"DUKE!"

Lick.

"STOP THAT!"

Lick.

I slowly wiped my cheek but the fox happily licked my hand too.

One of his tails wrapped around my waist, another around my legs, while a third curled around my arm.

"Duke Vesphyr."

Another tail wrapped around me.

"Please wake up."

Another tail joined in.

"At this point, why don’t you also wrap my face with your tail?"

The fox shoved his face into my neck and happily nuzzled me.

I could practically feel him vibrating like an oversized fox-shaped engine.

I groaned. "Why are all beastmen like this?"

The fox made a happy sound as I tried pushing him away.

Nothing happened.

It was like trying to move a very fluffy mountain.

My life had officially become ridiculous.

At some point, I had stopped questioning why powerful beastmen kept losing control around me and started focusing on survival instead.

Lying on the floor beneath an oversized nine-tailed fox, I suddenly remembered the item Sykelion had handed me.

I immediately dug through my pocket and pulled it out before holding it up triumphantly.

"Look what I have."