The Symbiotic Relationship Between The Rabbit And The Black Panther [EN]: Chapter 39

The light flickered, darkness and light taking turns. It felt like someone was waving a hand in front of my closed eyes.

In a flash, the moment I opened my eyes, I was met with four pairs of eyes.

Four children were huddled together, peering down at me. They were plump-cheeked little ones, looking no older than four or five.

“Um, are you awake?”

“Is Ivena-yeongshik [yeongshik is a Korean honorific suffix used for young children] stupid? Of course, they’re awake since they opened their eyes.”

“Everyone, be quiet.”

Listening to their childish voices made the hair on my neck stand on end.

It wasn’t that the children had any malice, but their touch was too rough. It would be a disaster if a baby rabbit were handled roughly just because it was cute.

I abruptly sat up, and the ivory cloth covering me slipped down.

“Ah…!”

I hurriedly grabbed the cloth and saw my elongated limbs.

‘Yeah, I thought so….’

I had turned into a human. As I frantically pulled the cloth around me, I discovered the pocket watch dangling from my wrist.

How did this happen? I pulled on Ash’s backpack to get the Perennium [a magical artifact], and then… I touched my forehead, still disoriented from waking up.

“He’s a rabbit beastman, I’m sure of it. I said his appearance was like a rabbit… didn’t I…?”

“Why… is he… here? Ibe… yeongshik, let’s go ask him.”

“Why are you doing this to me…?”

The children’s constant whispers from the right kept distracting me. Just then, I heard a strange pattering sound, and a black fur ball suddenly hugged me.

“Ash!”

Ash seemed happy to see me in human form after so long, and he licked my cheeks repeatedly.

The fangs touching my cheek were a little scary, but I’ll bear with it. I squeezed my eyes shut and shared the affection, then belatedly looked around.

It was already bright, and the place I was lying was not Roon’s guest room, even though the structure was similar. Judging from the frames, old furniture, and jars, it seemed to be an unused storage room.

Then, after checking my pheromones, I fiddled with the pocket watch in my hand.

Since I didn’t feel any particular physical pain and my pheromones were stable, I was likely to have used the Perennium unconsciously. Once again, I keenly felt the necessity of dominant pheromones.

‘…Only two uses left.’

I let out a worried breath and met the eyes of the four children huddled in the corner.

I flinched, and the children jumped in unison. They were covering their eyes with their hands, but they seemed to be staring at me through their spread fingers.

After a standoff of several seconds, the smallest and most shy-looking boy among them hesitantly approached.

“Um, excuse me.”

The boy, who had come close, cupped his hands around his mouth and whispered. His cuteness was enough to make my guard drop, and I nodded awkwardly.

“Yes-…?”

“Aria-yeongae [yeongae is a Korean honorific suffix used for young children] is curious why you’re dressed like a ragamuffin.”

The unusual word that popped out of the child’s mouth made me gape, and my gaze slowly went down.

White hair that reached my knees and an ivory cloth tangled messily. I needed to get dressed first.

* * *

It was a tense and dizzying moment. Ahead was a bottomless cliff, and behind me, a chimera was chasing closely.

My eyes met with the three-headed chimera in the air. Judging that there was no more retreat, I drew my sword from my waist.

Swish, at the sound of the blade being drawn, I jumped high.

“So, so what happened?”

The four children, huddled together, swallowed hard. Their round pupils trembled with tension.

“After a fierce battle, my armor was all ruined, and with the help of my closest aide, I collapsed here.”

“Are you talking about that black panther as your closest aide?”

“Of course.”

Several pairs of eyes glanced at Ash and then away.

“Brave warrior, did you defeat the chimera then?”

Brave warrior, huh. I covered my mouth with both hands, having encountered a title I would never hear in my life. Hehe, my cheekbones bulged.

“Ah, anyway. The chimera spat out this pocket watch at the last moment. It’s a rare treasure that all warriors seek to obtain.”

I felt guilty for comparing Ahin to a three-headed monster… I cleared my throat and shook the pocket watch that was hanging on my wrist like a bracelet.

“No matter how strong a chimera is, it’s nothing against my attack,”

“It dies?”

“That’s right.”

I raised my arm and showed off my non-existent muscles.

“Wow, that’s really, really cool!”

“The chimera legend was true. Heeya- you must really be a brave warrior.”

“Geez, I’ve been saying since earlier that he’s the brave warrior from the picture book. He has similar colored hair and commands a black panther!”

The children, who believed it without question, became agitated.

The hero from the picture book seemed to have Valence-nim’s description. I felt that my lies had gone too far, but I was in no position to correct them.

“Shh, I’m currently on a secret mission in the Rabbit Territory, so keep it down.”

When I brought my index finger to my lips, the children covered their mouths and nodded.

“The black panther also played a big role, taking charge of the chimera’s flanks. Ash, say hello.”

Thanks to the practice in Roon’s carriage, Ash immediately gave a salute. The children who had flocked to Ash in an instant continued their excited discussion. Ash, annoyed by the small hands, shook his tail to swat them away.

‘Sorry, Ash.’

Having barely succeeded in diverting their attention, I took a breath and straightened my clothes.

The periwinkle blouse and white riding pants that Mayme had packed in Ash’s backpack. Considering my inexperience with dressing, she had prepared the kind that I could easily put on without help.

‘Mayme….’

I bit my fist, overwhelmed with emotion. Putting aside the unexpected emotion, I began to sort out the situation step by step.

It seemed that Ash had noticed something was wrong with me and moved me here, and then I had turned into a human. And it seemed I was discovered by the children who were playing hide-and-seek.

The children were not beastmen of the predator class, but judging from the different colors of their eyes, they seemed to be the children of nobles from other territories invited to the mansion.

I got up and approached the window. In the distance, I saw a familiar, fancy carriage entering.

‘Ahin.’

I could tell it was Grace’s carriage just by the coachman with his burly frame who didn’t seem like a coachman at all, the black horse adorned with expensive jewels, and Jane.

‘Did he go out and come back?’

Where did he go? As I felt a small question, my hand gripping the window frame involuntarily tightened. My bloodless hand turned white.

It might be advantageous that I turned into a human. If I were a baby rabbit, my parents would easily recognize me when I met them, but I had to be with Ahin. And it was impossible to communicate fully.

I saw Ahin and Ivelyn getting off the stopped carriage, wearing light riding clothes. It was a distance where I couldn’t see their expressions, so I could only distinguish them by their hair color.

‘What….’

My eyes stung. It had only been a little over a day since we were apart, but why did it feel like it had been a long time?

Thinking it was ridiculous, I hurriedly leaned my back against the wall and sat down. It was because Ahin’s gaze was directed upwards.

Did that beast have eyes on the top of his head? I muttered some silly insults and bit my lip tightly.

‘If I’m with Ahin….’

If I were to meet a member of the Rabian family, I didn’t know what kind of treatment I would receive. I didn’t want to show those aspects to Ahin.

‘…What should I do?’

The banquet was tonight. Rabian Mansion and this place were not that far apart, so even if my parents attended, it would be closer to the evening.

As I pondered, I lifted my gaze that had fallen to the floor. Because a small boy, who had not said a single word so far among the four children, was approaching.

‘Is he from the Capybara clan?’

He was a child with black eyes and navy hair, with a somewhat dazed atmosphere.

“Scratch.”

The boy made a cute voice and pointed to the back of my hand. There was a scratch mark where I had bumped into something. Before I could answer, my wrist was grabbed.

“Let’s go.”

“Yes?”

I reflexively got up and looked down at the child in a daze.

“Oh my gosh, isn’t that a scratch you got fighting the chimera? Let’s go quickly.”

“Russell-yeongshik’s mother is an excellent doctor.”

“She’s downstairs, so it’ll be quick!”

The children who had followed me pushed my butt together. Even Ash, who had found the scratch on the back of my hand, nudged me forward.

As I awkwardly pushed back and looked back in embarrassment, they put strength in their eyes and gave a salute at attention. It was an extremely difficult moment.

* * *

The rabbit had disappeared. Roon, who bitterly regretted having been careless and falling asleep last dawn, ran around the mansion non-stop.

‘Damn it.’

Even though it was a rabbit the size of a fist, he thought he would find it quickly since it had disappeared with a conspicuous black panther. But strangely, he couldn’t find any trace of it.

Roon, who was running down the hallway with the purple carpet, stopped. Two people who were both unwelcome and welcome were walking towards him from the opposite side.

Golden eyes quickly scanned Ahin. The riding clothes pockets were empty, and the black panther, who secretly resented Roon for the rabbit’s sake, was not visible.

Roon, who was in a hurry, unknowingly circled around Ahin and Ivelyn. He examined every pocket of their jackets and the back pockets of their pants.

When he was on his third lap, Ahin, who had been quietly following his gaze, drew his sword.

Hick, the passing employees screamed and stuck to the wall. Ivelyn, who calmed them down with a gesture, advised.

“Ahin-nim [nim is a Korean honorific suffix], please refrain from doing so in other territories.”

“I’m already annoyed because my pockets are lonely.”

“What is the correlation between that and drawing your sword?”

“He’s scanning my pockets with those dirty eyes.”

Not only was he breathing heavily, but he was also circling around with a persistent gaze. Roon, who belatedly realized his strange behavior, waved his hand.

“It’s not that-,”

Roon’s voice, who was about to claim that the rabbit he had brought had disappeared, stopped abruptly. Ahin was not looking at him. Feeling a question, Roon turned his head to the right hallway, following Ahin’s gaze.

Whizz, three heads that had been sticking out side by side behind the pillar disappeared. Roughly five years old, the young children of herbivore nobles.

Soon, a hushed discussion was held.

“It’s-very red. I think it’s a black panther. It’s really my first time seeing a predator beastman!”

“I agree, judging by their eyes, they must be black panther and lion beastmen.”

“Uh…. But aren’t cow beastmen’s eyes also gold…?”

After a moment of silence, three pairs of eyes popped out from behind the pillar again. The children, who blinked and looked at Ahin, Ivelyn, and Roon alternately, hurriedly put their heads together.

“They have fangs. They must be from the black panther and lion clans.”

“But the brave warrior… the brave warrior said that all black panthers are frivolous. But those people somehow….”

The boy scratched his cheek in confusion. Unlike Bibi’s slander, the black panther clan he actually saw had a calm and beautiful appearance.

“I think it’s true that lions are lazy. That lion’s eyes look very suspicious.”

Brave warrior? Although the pronunciation was not clear, Ahin, Ivelyn, and Roon’s eyebrows ambiguously twitched as they fully understood the meaning.

Thanks to this, the anxious employees could only stomp their feet without stopping them. It was unknown which country’s brave warrior was slandering other clans in such a way.

Ahin, who had sheathed his sword, smiled and pointed at Roon.

“Your eyes look very suspicious.”

Roon, who was standing crookedly, scratched his ear.

“I think I hear some frivolous sounds from somewhere.”

The children who heard the conversation peeked out their heads.

“Wow… look at the size of him. Doesn’t it look like he’ll pierce the sky?”

“Ivena Young Master, even so, you can’t pierce the sky.”

“Oh oh—since his mouth is closed, I can’t see his fangs. What a shame.”

Their eyes were full of admiration and anticipation for the beast-type beastman. Ahin, who was crouching down, raised his upper lip to meet their expectations.

“Roar.”

“Run away!”

“Aaaah!”

The children giggled and ran to the end of the hallway.

“At this rate, the young masters will really think black panthers are frivolous.”

Ivelyn looked down at Ahin calmly. After visiting the information guild, he had been in a constant low mood, so it was ambiguous to stop him since he was enjoying himself for the first time today.

“Bibi would pretend to be dead first in this situation.”

“It’s to induce carelessness and look for a chance to kick. It’s the rabbit’s habitual tactic.”

Roon, who was listening to the conversation about rabbits, suddenly turned his head with a snap. It was the direction the children had run away.

No way. Roon, who was worried, hurriedly moved his feet. Ahin, who was staring at him as he quickly disappeared, narrowed his eyes.

“Suspicious.”

“Are you talking about Roon’s eyes?”

“No, his behavior. He’s too diligent.”

“That’s right, he’s not usually like that. Earlier, when he was walking around, he was looking at Ahin’s pockets, perhaps he was looking for the rabbit.”

Ahin, who swept back his hair, turned to the window. Bibi would definitely be enjoying tea and snacks with Valence at Grace Manor.

“…Bibi’s reply?”

“If the Lord’s owl flew diligently… we’ll get the rabbit’s reply around evening.”

“Too late. Call the gorilla.”

As if the things he worried about always became reality, he had a strangely bad feeling.

* * *

Dragged along by the headstrong boy and Ash, I walked cautiously down the hallway. It was fortunate that there was no one to run into in such a short distance.

‘Roon might be looking for me….’

Yesterday, Roon didn’t ask why I had been in the state of a baby rabbit for quite a long time. Even if he deliberately didn’t ask to avoid instilling wariness, it was better to reduce the number of times we ran into each other as much as possible.

‘Wouldn’t it be better to go to Ahin?’

The wound on the back of my hand wasn’t big enough to be treated either.

While I was repeatedly contemplating this and that, the guest room I entered smelled of medicinal herbs. The noblewoman sitting at the table was rummaging through something with her back to the door.

“Professor Jinanna.”

No sooner had I thought her back looked familiar than the boy rushed towards her. Ash and I, who were grabbed by the wrist and tail respectively, were inadvertently dragged along.

Only after reaching the table did the boy release my wrist and poke the noblewoman’s back.

“Professor Jinanna.”

“Russell, would thorns grow in your mouth if you called me mother? And even if it’s a safe place, going out on your own is….”

“There’s someone here who’s having a hard time.”

“What? What do you mean,”

The noblewoman, who was turning around, jumped up in surprise.

“Who is this, the patient!”

“Doctor?”

The boy’s mother, who was said to be a medic, was the doctor I met in Endelus. Currently, she was sitting as a noblewoman in an elegant dress, not as a doctor.

Even back then, she had a strangely aristocratic side, which made me feel bewildered….

Contrary to expectations, she wasn’t very surprised and calmly dismissed the employees. Rather, the employees left the guest room as if fleeing with pale faces.

‘Why?’

“Let’s take a look at the wound first.”

While I was following them with my eyes, I was led by the doctor’s hand and sat on the sofa.

“It’s a light bruise. Did you bump into something hard?”

She brought a medical kit and examined the back of my hand in detail.

“Before I knew it… I got hurt.”

“Really, you have such a smart appearance, yet you get hurt so much here and there. How did you come to be with Russell?”

Due to the doctor’s question, my gaze naturally fell to my feet. The boy, who was squatting next to Ash, gave a “shh” signal.

I moved my lips and made up an excuse that we had run into each other in the hallway.

“By the way, with this much coincidence, is it fate?”

The doctor introduced herself while treating my hand. A lower-ranking noble of the Capybara territory, and in charge of a professorship at the Belhelm Academy.

Isn’t Belhelm the only academy where herbivore beastmen and carnivore beastmen are mixed? I, who only knew that it was an enormous scale, widened my eyes.

“Belhelm?”

“Why are you so surprised? Well, I don’t look like a professor or a noblewoman.”

“N, no, that’s not what I meant.”

“I know, I know. How big must the Belhelm Academy be?”

She laughed heartily and slapped my arm.

I rubbed my throbbing arm and recalled the characteristics of the Capybara clan. The clan itself has high sociability, so much so that, to exaggerate, the territory residents know each other regardless of status.

Even after finishing the treatment, the doctor’s chatter continued.

“It’s a banquet that only high-ranking people from other territories or nobles from the rabbit territory attend, but I have a separate friendship with Chief Amon. As for the patient,”

She fiddled with her chin as she chattered.

“Ah. I saw the Grace family’s carriage yesterday, so you must have come with Ahin Grace.”

‘She knew Ahin’s identity?’

They were definitely strangers in Endelus? I couldn’t say a word carelessly, so I opened and closed my mouth like a goldfish. The doctor, who examined me, who was dumbfounded, added an explanation.

“You didn’t know? Was it right before you left Endelus back then? Lord Grace recognized me and took good care of me.”

She made a circle with her thumb and forefinger to represent gold coins.

“I used it well for research funds.”

“Recognized you, did he have a relationship with you?”

“The dean of the academy I work at is Lord Grace’s grandfather.”

Ahin’s grandfather then….

“That stubborn person is the dean… cough!”

I widened my eyes and covered my mouth. I moved my lips like a rabbit, and the sound came out as a voice.

“As I said, there are many troublemakers in the cat family.”

The doctor, who twitched her lips, sympathized quietly.

“Anyway. So, I only met Lord Grace once when he was very young, but he had a good eye.”

Anyway, that beast is like that with the medicine thing, he’s the only one who knows and doesn’t tell me properly. An untimely anger flared up. Thanks to that, I’m in a situation where I’m running around without any information.

“Come to think of it, I’m late for the introduction. I’m Bensi Jinanna, the mistress of the Jinanna family. People call me Mrs. Jinanna or professor, so feel free to call me comfortably. The child who brought the patient is my son, Russell Jinanna.”

My gaze stayed below the sofa. The boy, who was fiddling with Ash’s tail, was surprisingly quiet for a child.

“He’s smaller than his peers, but he’s a respectable six years old. What about the patient?”

“Ah, I’m Bibi. The family is,”

The family is. Without realizing it, I trailed off, and just then, I met the boy’s eyes. The boy, who was looking up with black eyes that showed no emotion, murmured softly.

“You’re a hero.”

“Russell, what are you talking about all of a sudden?”

“A hero who splits rocks in two.”

The boy, who made a lisping pronunciation, soon focused on Ash’s dangling tail.

“Break… rocks…?”

The doctor, who repeated it, looked at the back of my hand with suspicion. Could it be that she suspects that the wound on the back of my hand was caused by hitting a rock? I, who regretted exaggerating, shook my head.

“Well… it’s strange, Russell is so shy that he doesn’t say a word in front of strangers. The patient must have a clear aura.”

“A clear aura?”

“In simple terms, you have a good sense. You have pheromones that roughly distinguish the energy of living things.”

In the end, it meant that she evaluated me as a good person. Russell, you—…! When I held out my index and middle fingers to shake hands, the boy blankly took them.

“It’s a pheromone that’s hard to handle with a Capybara beastman’s body. He only barely got rid of the beastman fever and went through humanization a while ago.”

“Yes?”

“That’s why he’s still clumsy in his speech and behavior. Well, it’s also because he’s young.”

It was a nonchalant tone, but it was the kind that couldn’t be passed over carelessly.

“Russell went through humanization… late?”

I, who stiffened noticeably, looked back and forth between Russell and the doctor. She shrugged with a faint smile.

“Yes, like Bibi.”

“Ah…?”

How could she be so sure that I went through humanization late? It’s hard to see Ahin telling her. I, who felt like I had been hit in the head with a hammer, asked again.

“…What?”

“Like Bibi.”

A silence like the eve of a storm swept through. I jumped up and quickly stepped back.

“What are you?”

Ash, who sensed the rapidly changing atmosphere, surrounded me with his tail as if to protect me. Growl—a low rumble hit my ears.

Oh my, the doctor, who quickly picked up Russell and ran away, took refuge behind the curtains.

“Actually, I wanted to tell you from earlier, but personally, carnivores are a bit…. Could you keep them away while I explain?”

“Professor Jinanna, I’m okay.”

“Good job, Russell. As expected of a descendant of the outgoing Capybara clan. But I’m not okay.”

I, who was newly shocked by the doctor’s reaction, sat down.

“Ash, shh—”

When I gently stroked Ash to calm him down, the wary breathing subsided.

‘That’s right, I forgot.’

That’s right, that’s right. The people at Grace Manor were so nonchalant about it that I had forgotten that Ash was a foreign existence in the herbivore territory.

‘How could I forget that.’

People are animals of adaptation. Now I understood why the employees’ faces were pale.

Ash, I think I’ve become a carnivore too. I, who had a complicated feeling, gently scratched Ash’s back.

Whether he liked the large touch compared to his front paws, Ash bit the uninjured hand.

It was only a moment before my whole hand was sucked in.

“……?”

This is another fresh experience. The doctor, who happened to meet my gaze, had her jaw dropped open.

“It’s okay, it’s a joke… he’s joking.”

I reassured her, who was trembling, and wiped away my tears while smiling bravely.

The hand in my mouth was wet. At the same time as feeling the papillae of the soft, tongue, I staggered, holding my forehead.

“Bibi!”

It was no different from the shock I felt last time when Ash brought a dead mouse.

* * *