Thanks for all the early support, comments, and coupons! 76th Episode
25. The Magical Beast and the Beginning of a Hot Summer – #3
━ Why is it so quiet here?
I asked Leaf as we strolled down a forest path heading to the southernmost part.
The path was so serene that not a single buzzing insect dared to break the silence.
Only the occasional rustle of the trees swayed by the breeze coolly ruffled my fur.
Leaf was peering around, whispering softly.
━ We’re near Yan-Mite’s cave. If we make too much noise, we might disturb his nap.
━ Ah, that dinosaur.
I pictured a massive reptile in my head.
With solid scales and a long tail, it was quite the monstrous sight.
From what I gathered, he was a hardcore nocturnal creature who mostly slept during the day and roamed about at night.
━ Kraaak!
Suddenly, a thunderous sound shook the forest.
It echoed like the sonic boom of a jet slicing through the atmosphere.
Bluebirds that had been napping nearby all took off into the sky in a panic.
━ What was that!?
I bristled, looking around.
The Southern Forest was known for its savage and violent reputation, but during the day, it was a peaceful land straight out of a fairy tale.
So, Leaf and I, who had been walking without a worry, suddenly tensed up at the booming noise.
━ Hey, that sounds like Yan-Mite’s roar.
Leaf covered his ears and trembled.
━ Isn’t he supposed to be sleeping during the day? If he catches us, we’re toast!
I recalled our last conversation.
‘When we meet next, he said he was going to eat me.’
He hadn’t outright claimed it, but after I emerged from the Ant Cave, he definitely said goodbye in a way that hinted at it.
Those eyes of his definitely had “delicious prey” written all over them.
Looking back, I think he might have even drooled a bit.
━ Is there any other path we can take?
When I asked, Leaf shook his head and replied in a shaky voice.
━ W-Well, it should be fine. I heard Yan-Mite hasn’t been coming out of his cave much lately. Rumor has it he got pretty beat up.
His answer conjured up the image of that day when humans and Yan-Mite clashed.
That leader, wielding a massive sword, managed to deliver a nasty gash to Yan-Mite’s body.
‘Yeah, that was some serious damage.’
The other beasts, except for me, seemed to lack the ability to recover wounds by leveling up or to alleviate their pains with low-frequency sounds.
‘Ever since I turned into this body, my perception of injuries felt weird, but a wound that could pierce through and cut like that? That’s bound to stick around for months.’
I reminisced about the time I was still human, back when I got a nasty cut on my palm from glass.
Nowadays, I was quite accustomed to seeing bl**d fairly regularly.
But then, I panicked, worrying if I had damaged my nerves or tendons.
In the end, a shallow cut that required just five stitches did the job.
‘Even with that, I struggled for a couple of months, unable to use my hand properly. Clenching my fist felt like a chore.’
Raising a front paw, I rubbed my belly.
That spot was where the serious wound from the pig Pao-Hoo had been during the festival.
Now, though, it was just soft fur—no scar in sight.
‘If I hadn’t leveled up, I probably would’ve taken months to heal from that.’
Again, the enormous sound echoed, a certain pain-laden howl.
━ Still, we should hurry. A hungry one could wander out to hunt.
I urged Leaf to pick up the pace.
He shorted, saying, “Uh-huh,” but looked like he was dragging his feet.
━ Come on, walk faster.
━ I want to, but my legs feel so awkward. I can’t crawl on all fours like before…
Leaf looked close to tears, inspecting his legs.
He brushed off the thorns and pebbles stuck to his bare feet with his hands.
━ My feet hurt so much. This body is uncomfortable.
He moped about his human form.
I clicked my tongue, then continued.
━ Don’t you think there’s a chance you’ll return to normal?
Instead of answering aloud, Leaf shook his head slowly, a frown on his face.
It had been about half a month since we tumbled out of the Western Forest, and for reasons unknown—whether it was the aftermath of a big event or something else—Leaf hadn’t reverted back to his raccoon form.
━ How do humans and Eve live like this? Just walking down a path and getting thorns stuck in their feet all the time.
Leaf whined.
Of course, his feet were much softer and more vulnerable now than when he was an animal.
I calmly explained.
━ That’s why they wear shoes.
━ Shoes? What’s that?
Leaf cocked his head, curiously.
Even transformed, that curious little growl of his never left him.
━ It’s like clothing made of leather or soles that you wear on your feet. Just like that horned rabbit outfit you’re wearing now.
I gestured to the crude horned rabbit skin dress draped over Leaf’s body.
Made from the skins of two horned rabbits and roughly stitched together, it was barely worthy of being called clothing.
━ You wear something so uncomfortable on your feet? Eww….
Leaf frowned, as if unable to comprehend.
━ Plus, it’s super hot right now. Why do I even have to wear this? Can’t I take it off?
He tugged at the outfit, clearly unhappy.
━ Don’t take it off. If you want to keep looking like that, you’re going to have to wear that outfit.
I stopped Leaf from stripping and started scanning the area for something usable.
I spotted some reasonably large and thick leaves.
Climbing the tree, I grabbed four leaves.
Then I pulled out Hela’s spider silk from the vine bag tied around my waist.
━ That’s toothpaste tree leaves. What are you planning to do with those? Eat them? They’re too tough to eat.
Leaf showed interest in my actions.
He had a knack for following along with whatever I did, always curious.
That look he gave me reminded me of how my young sister or cousin used to gaze up at me in admiration.
‘So this is the famous toothpaste tree leaf?’
I doubled the two leaves in my hands and wrapped them with Rahel’s spider silk.
The silk tightened around them like a rubber band.
Voila! My desired object was complete.
━ Here, wear this.
I handed Leaf the makeshift toothpaste tree leaf slippers.
He looked down at them with a mix of disbelief and hope.
━ But the spider silk is too tight on my feet. What difference does this make?
━ It’s kind of a quick fix. Just try walking in them.
━ Hmmm.
Leaf took a few awkward steps before blurting out an impressed, “Oh!”
━ My feet definitely hurt less! Do city folk wear these toothpaste tree leaves?
━ The materials vary, but they basically wear something like this. Now that you get the concept, you can make a proper one yourself.
━ For sure, I could do a better job using animal hide and some thin vine.
Leaf looked down at his feet, deep in thought like he did when he made a fishing rod or a portable fan.
Whenever I showed him a shabby item, he could whip it into something much better with his knowledge and Handiness.
━ My feet don’t hurt at all!
Leaf hopped around, delighting in his new footwear.
While he was distracted, I slyly scraped the bark of the toothpaste tree.
Sniffing the bark, I was hit with a slightly tangy scent.
‘It really is toothpaste.’
I took a small breath in, then popped some of it in my mouth, chewing away.
‘Tangy and sweet.’
It tasted like the mint chocolate ice cream I had in my past life—only this was hardened, creating a texture similar to tree bark.
‘This isn’t half bad. It would’ve been better cold.’
Unlike the complaints from the beasts in the West, the bark from the toothpaste tree turned out to be quite a delicacy.
‘Wait, what?’
I turned at the tickling sensation on the back of my neck to find Leaf looking at me with scrunched-up eyebrows.
━ Why are you eating that? Do your teeth hurt? You should only eat toothpaste tree bark when your teeth hurt…
━ Ah.
I guess the name ‘toothpaste tree’ was earned for a reason—it’s where beasts sought comfort when their teeth ached.
I spat the bark out and inspected Leaf’s feet.
Unbeknownst to me, he was wearing something like an upgraded version of the crude slippers I made.
‘His skills are top-notch. As long as he understands the principle and has materials, he can make just about anything, huh?’
I envisioned the concept of an air conditioner before it shrank down to resemble a fan with a propeller.
‘Well, maybe I could whip up a fan, even if making an air conditioner is too ambitious. But how do I convert electrical energy to kinetic energy….’
However, I wasn’t exactly a science whiz, and sleep-inducing music seemed to be my choice during science class, so detailed formulas didn’t come to mind.
‘Ugh. If I had known, I should’ve paid more attention in class.’
With that regret, I resumed walking alongside Leaf.
*
━ Zzzzz.
━ Spio, spio.
━ Rumble, grumble.
The deafening cries of insects could be heard.
This meant we had crossed into Yan-Mite’s territory, edging close to the southernmost point.
━ Hey, how much longer do we have to go? Are we gonna make it today?
I thought of the endless expanse of land in the West.
The Southern Forest itself was just as vast as the West, so reaching the southernmost point might take longer than half a day.
━ Do you see that stream over there?
Leaf pointed at a distant trickle of water.
Since we’d been walking under the hot sun for a while, I figured he’d suggest stopping for a drink.
━ Beyond that stream lies the Bewitching Forest. It’s the territory of the Monkeys.
━ Ah, finally…!
My weary heart, already overheating under the blazing sun, felt like a cool breeze had blown through.
I dashed toward the gently flowing stream, splashing my front paw and face while drinking.
The water had no flavor, but due to my thirst, it was sweeter and cooler than any drink I’d ever had.
Leaf practically threw himself into the water.
━ Ugh, it’s cold.
After spending a while submerged, Leaf crawled out and shook himself off.
Droplets splattered onto my fur, making me grimace and growl.
━ Shake off the water far away.
Salome’s words echoed in my memory.
Did she also feel like this when I watched her shake off nearby?
━ Hehe, sorry! Ah, this feels so refreshing!
Leaf squatted down, lifting his feet to shake off the water from his neck and hair.
I wasn’t sure if a human was capable of doing such animal-like actions, but Leaf’s flexibility exceeded my expectations.
‘He might look human, but inside he’s still a beast! Ah, what even is a human…’
As a once-ardent literature buff, I found myself contemplating the relationship between outward appearances and inner selves.
But the rumble of my stomach threw those deep thoughts into disarray, like clouds scattering.
━ Seems I’m not destined to be a hungry Socrates.
━ Socrates? What’s that?
Having shaken off the water, Leaf approached me.
Instead of over-explaining, I turned my head to look at the other side of the stream—the Bewitching Forest.
━ We’re crossing the stream now.
━ O-Okay!
I led Leaf across the stream.
The current wasn’t strong, and the water barely reached my waist while standing, so we were able to cross safely.
Finally arriving at the entry of the Bewitching Forest, we discovered two bizarre creatures standing there.
━ What in the world is this?
As I approached the strange beings, I tilted my head in confusion.
Between the two beasts stood a wooden sign resembling something, with a bizarre worm-like drawing on it.
The two beasts standing side by side rasped together.
━ Ah, you don’t know? This is what we call letters.
