The Strongest Daughter-In-Law Of The Black Lion Family [EN]: Chapter 2

The Black Lion Family’s Strongest Daughter-in-Law (2)

#2.

The distance between us shrank rapidly. The lion, clearly excited, shook its head, its eyes gleaming with anticipation. Its magnificent presence made my legs tremble uncontrollably.

Is this really the end of my weasel life?

Being reborn as an animal was already a raw deal, but to end up as lion chow? That’s just adding insult to injury!

Other reborn folks get to be protagonists or at least supporting characters in famous novels. Me? I’m just a weasel. Not even in a novel, but stuck in some random, unknown place, constantly on the verge of starvation!

Up until now, I’ve only encountered abandoned beast-people or regular animals. It’s been a solid year of living with creatures I can’t even talk to, aside from Bianco.

The moment I opened my eyes in this world, all I saw was an endless field, and I was a pathetic beast-person who couldn’t even manage a human transformation.

And judging by the fact that I have no clue who my parents are, I’m definitely not from some aristocratic family. If I were, I wouldn’t be living this miserable existence!

Whether it’s my past life or this one, I always get thrown into the deep end. Here, just like before, the only person I can truly rely on is myself.

So, I went out hunting to survive, constantly hiding from predators, just like everyone else.

That’s how it’s been for a year. A year of struggling like a madman, and now I’m going to die such a pointless death…

Overwhelmed with despair, I started to cry. How can both my human life and my weasel life be so utterly pathetic?

‘Why am I always alone…!’

I want to go back!

Just as my vision blurred with tears as I voiced my impossible wish,

A dark shadow engulfed me. I looked up in shock to find myself caught in the lion’s massive paw.

“Chew!”

Someone, save the weasel!

I thrashed around in the lion’s grip. Luckily, the inside of his paw was surprisingly soft, so it didn’t actually hurt.

Instead, the lion was rolling around without a care in the world. Rolling, rolling, rolling.

Even while playing, the lion kept a firm grip on me, preventing any escape.

Is this what it feels like to be a rat trapped in a jar?

I foresaw my imminent demise and burst into tears.

“Chew-woo!”

Why is life so unfair! I hate it! I hate everything!

I cried bitterly, shedding tears like sparkling crystals. Then, a wave of indignation washed over me, and I glared at the lion.

The lion didn’t eat me; he just stared at me, observing my every move. His golden eyes seemed to burn like twin suns.

A creepy sensation made my fur stand on end, but the overwhelming sorrow was even stronger.

‘You think I’m just going to die quietly?’

I don’t care anymore; kill me if you want.

After a year of living as a wild weasel, I’ve got the nerve to take on a lion.

So, figuring I might as well taste lion fur before I die, I bit down on the lion’s forepaw with all my remaining strength.

“Chew, chew! Chi―!”

Even if I look like this, I’m still a carnivore! I’ve never eaten a lion before, but I’ll bite off his claws and devour them!

I chewed on the lion’s paw with fierce determination, but it was incredibly difficult to sink my teeth into his tough hide.

Besides, the first winter I experienced as a defenseless weasel was brutal. I hadn’t been able to eat properly and was severely weakened.

The lion’s hide was incredibly tough, nothing like rabbits or other small animals. It felt like gnawing on a rock, and my teeth were starting to ache.

Finally, exhausted, I slumped against his paw. His body seemed to soften, and he transformed back into a boy, muttering quietly.

“How strange.”

As if he’d never encountered a weasel like me before.

The spot where I bit him was still completely unmarked. If I had bitten him while he was in human form, I might have been able to draw blood, but if I did that, he might actually eat me.

I stared at him blankly, acting as if I hadn’t bothered him at all. The boldness I had felt earlier had vanished like smoke in the wind from the boy’s stone-like face.

So, I started to consider another approach. If this guy is susceptible to cuteness, maybe he’ll be moved by my irresistible charm and let me go?

Weasels are pretty cute, after all.

But that hope was quickly dashed. Before I knew it, he suddenly released a wave of pheromones that completely overwhelmed me.

“Chew?”

Attacked by pheromones for the first time, I struggled weakly and collapsed onto his palm. It was a pheromone so potent it made my entire body feel limp, as if I’d been injected with an anesthetic.

‘Tsk. Using cheat codes so unfairly….’

Caught off guard and bombarded by pheromones, I cursed the boy I could barely see through my blurring vision.

I should have just bitten his finger after all.

* * *

When Zerachiel arrived back at the castle, Ivan, who had been in the middle of a conversation with the warehouse keeper, noticed him and hurried over. Judging by his expression, something significant had happened while he was away playing hooky.

Ivan spoke with a serious tone.

“Zerachiel, they’re saying the food warehouse has been robbed.”

“Really?”

“Yes. Judging by the clumsy method, it doesn’t seem to be the work of hyenas. It’s more likely an animal that’s been starving all winter. A weasel, or a badger, or something like that.”

“Hmm.”

Zerachiel gently stroked the white weasel he had placed in his pocket at the mention of the word “weasel.”

It seems I’ve caught the warehouse thief.

Just then, as if annoyed by the constant petting even in its sleep, the tiny, cotton ball-sized creature bit Zerachiel’s finger and mumbled incoherently.

It was as if he regarded me as some kind of jerky. Considering that the little thing had been fearlessly chewing on me since earlier, it was almost certain.

Zerachiel burst out laughing, remembering the earlier encounter.

“Pfft.”

“Zerachiel? What’s so funny about my story?”

Ivan tilted his head, confused, as he had been in the middle of trying to figure out who the warehouse thief was.

Whenever Zerachiel laughed like that, something bad usually followed, so he became wary. Ivan narrowed his eyes and asked suspiciously.

“Did you cause another incident? If so, please tell me immediately. I’m used to cleaning up after you by now.”

“The incident isn’t me; it’s this one.”

Zerachiel said casually, pulling the weasel out of his pocket. Ivan’s gaze immediately shifted to the white weasel.

“Isn’t that… a weasel?”

Ivan asked in a very surprised voice. It was understandable, considering this audacious weasel was fearlessly biting Zerachiel’s hand.

* * *

Inside Zerachiel’s bedroom.

“How did you manage to catch Zerachiel’s eye….”

Ivan stared at the white weasel in front of him as if looking at a doomed creature. The white weasel was fast asleep, completely oblivious to the dark future that awaited it.

While still gnawing on the cushion Zerachiel had provided instead of his finger.

A weasel sleeping peacefully, completely unaware that it’s in the middle of a lion’s den. It was even twitching its feet in its sleep, radiating fatal cuteness.

“Oh my….”

Ivan shuddered as he watched the weasel’s sleeping habits. It felt strange to see such a small creature after being surrounded by large lions all the time.

Judging by the faint pheromones he could sense, it was definitely a beast-person, but it didn’t seem capable of transforming into a human.

Perhaps it was having difficulty transforming due to a lack of natural pheromones.

Usually, beast-people successfully transform into humans before they reach six months old.

Occasionally, some beast-people are late in transforming or can’t transform at all. In those cases, they have no choice but to be abandoned in the wild and live like ordinary animals, just like the weasel in front of them.

Because there’s no place where the law of the jungle is more strictly enforced than in the world of beast-people.

It was clear that this was a beast-person who had been abandoned by its parents.

Ivan recalled his conversation with Zerachiel from earlier.

‘Could it be the warehouse thief?’

‘I think you’ll have to ask this fluff ball.’

‘……What are you going to do?’

Are you going to kill him?

He couldn’t bring himself to ask the question, but Zerachiel answered with a bright smile.

‘I’ll watch him for now.’

‘Watch him?’

‘I think I’ll raise him.’