PRSR | Chapter 4.2

“What difference? Beastmen are all the same, aren’t they?”

I couldn’t explain much about Earth or the Tutorial Field to Jane, so the conversation ended there. But my thoughts didn’t change. Jjikjjiki is my precious companion rat.

If Jjikjjiki’s consciousness were more human than animal, there would be no reason for him to pretend to be a rat and stay by my side.

‘If Jjikjjiki were human, he would have run away when I first brought him home.’

Who would, for some reason, pretend to be a rat and ask a grown man for a kiss, showing his belly and begging for belly rubs? That didn’t make any sense.

No matter what anyone says, Jjikjjiki is a rat. My precious awakened rat companion.

“As long as you weren’t forcefully captured by a human, that’s fine. No other beastman has the right to stop you from living with a human by choice.”

Jane spoke with a calmness that completely removed any suspicion toward me and Jjikjjiki.

“Jane…”

“Just call me Jane.”

“Are you helping beastmen who have been kidnapped?”

“Yeah. Beastmen are expensive, so they’re always targeted by slave traders. I warn the younger ones to be careful, but they don’t listen. Some innocent kids wander into human territory and get kidnapped. They just wanted to live freely, but having their freedom taken away is too much. I try to rescue them.”

Jane seemed angry, her front paw scratching the ground. The ground under her large wolf paw was dug in deep.

“Then, was it just by chance that you saved me?”

“It was by chance, yes. The ones you saw earlier were the beastmen hunters I was following. They were moving, so I followed them.”

“Why did you think I was a beastman?”

“I could smell an animal scent on you. I thought you were a fat cat who had eaten a rat. Plus, those beastmen hunters treated you like a beastman, so I got fooled for a second.”

I stared down at Jjikjjiki. Feeling my gaze, Jjikjjiki raised his head.

“Chii?”

“I thought you’d be mad about being treated like a rat eaten by a cat, but you’re calm?”

“If the cat who ate me was Soul, it’s okay, Jji.”

“Oh~ Jeez.”

The last response wasn’t mine, but Jane’s.

“You’re full of yourself!”

“Stay more than 50 meters away from Soul!”

Jjikjjiki and Jane kicked at each other. The dirt from Jane’s paw scattered, and Jjikjjiki, who was still in my arms, couldn’t kick back with his short legs.

Do rats and wolves not get along? I’ll have to find out when we get back to Earth.

“Jane, I have a favor to ask.”

“A favor?”

“I know it’s shameless to ask after you saved me and fought with Jjikjjiki, but could you teach Jjikjjiki how to transform into a human?”

Instead of answering immediately, Jane stared at Jjikjjiki in my arms.

“He can’t transform into a human because he doesn’t know how?”

“Yes. Jjikjjiki has never met other beastmen since he matured, so he never learned how to transform.”

“That’s why he kept making those rat noises. I see now.”

“Chii!”

I grabbed Jjikjjiki tightly as he tried to run off in anger. He flailed his arms and legs in my arms.

“Look at that. He’s just pretending! Didn’t you see him throw me earlier? He’s pretending to be weak. Pretending to be a rat. He’s acting, acting.”

“Don’t insult Soul!”

No, Jjikjjiki. Those words weren’t for me, they were an insult to you.

“Are you complaining? Then bring it on! Shake off my hand and run at me!”

“Chii…”

When he heard that he would need to shake off my hand to run, Jjikjjiki’s momentum faltered. He wrapped his little paws around my finger like a seatbelt, and then looked up at Jane, pointing a finger at her.

Does he want me to scold her for him?

Unfortunately, I didn’t have the courage to scold a wolf that could swallow my head in one bite.

“Jane, is it really impossible to help us?”

“No, not at all. What’s so hard about it? I’ll help.”

“Really? Thank you!”

“But there’s a condition.”

“A condition?”

I pulled Jjikjjiki even closer in my arms.

“If Jjikjjiki tries to say that beastmen should be set free, I’ll refuse.”

“Soul~!”

Jjikjjiki looked up at me with tearful eyes, sparkling with emotion.

“What freedom does he need? That rat has been living freely as he pleases. Let him do whatever he wants with rats!”

Jane shuddered like she had seen something creepy. She mumbled, “Clever rat.”

“My condition is this, Soul. You help me with my work.”

“What work?”

At my question, the white wolf grinned.

“Beastmen hunter hunting.”

“No way, Jjik!”

Before I could answer, Jjikjjiki stepped in and strongly opposed.

“Soul can’t do something like hunting. He’s weak. I have to protect him!”

“Then live your life pretending to be a rat forever!”

“Chii…”

I scooped Jjikjjiki up and stuffed him into my chest pocket. He poked his head out, glaring at Jane.

“Fine.”

“Soul~!”

“You’ve thought it through well, Soul. I won’t make you do anything dangerous. I promise.”

Jane approached and patted my back with her thick front paw.

“Actually, you know, right? The one behind this whole thing.”

“….”

It would be a lie if I didn’t have a guess.

“Browns’ merchant from the Belford branch. He’s the mastermind, isn’t he?”

“Yeah.”

“…I knew it.”

The reason I suspected that was simple. He was the only one who knew I was looking for beastmen. He was the only one who could connect me with beastmen.

‘The fact that beastmen information is rare and expensive was probably a lie.’

If beastmen were a mythical species, then beastmen hunters wouldn’t exist. The talk about 50 gold for information was just a trick to monopolize the information. If I went to another merchant, the lie would have easily been exposed, but in Belford, there were no other merchant caravans or information guilds.

The merchant was probably hoping I would give up the information. But seeing that I was pushing forward with getting the information, he might have started to doubt. ‘This guy is a beastman who doesn’t know the world, trying to gather information to go back to his family.’

He probably gave me the warehouse room so I would rely on him more. Maybe it was also a way to corner me, making it easier to kidnap me.

“I looked into it a little. I heard he recently sold some butchered skins.”

“Yeah. Was there something wrong with the skins?”

“They all had small footprints on them. He must have guessed that the skins you were selling were monster skins that a small-footed creature kicked.”

“Chii!”

When Jjikjjiki realized that the “small foot” was his, he jumped in my pocket. He had never thought that his careless kicking might leave footprints and endanger me.

“Since only the skins you brought had those marks, he must have assumed you were a beastman. That’s why he sent hunters to kidnap you.”

“Why did he think Soul, not me, was the beastman?”

“He probably thought you were emergency food for a cat beastman.”

“Chii!”

Jane ignored the squirming Jjikjjiki and stood up, staring toward the direction of the merchant caravan.

“He’s been kidnapping beastmen for the past two years. I won’t forgive him.”

“How can I help?”

“I’m going after him now. Taking care of one human is easier than breathing through your ears.”

Of course. You can’t breathe through your ears.

“But once they find out the Belford branch manager is missing, the merchant caravan will move. If a big merchant caravan moves, humans will start paying attention, and then… humans might take interest in beastmen.”

Getting attention from humans wasn’t a good thing. If a wealthy man or a noble with power wanted to take beastmen as slaves, beastmen hunters would start appearing in droves.

Beastmen have innate strength far superior to humans, but in numbers, they are outmatched. If humans swarm in, they will fall without a chance to fight back.

I couldn’t let the situation where I hunted beastmen hunters turn into one where their numbers multiply.

“That’s why I waited quietly instead of jumping in right away. I’ve gathered all the evidence I need. You take it to Browns’ Trine branch. A colleague of mine there will convince the caravan leader and take care of this quietly. Without the beastmen being exposed. Can you do it?”

“I’ll do it.”

“Good. Then, let’s meet here tomorrow at 6 PM. I’ll prepare everything before then. Don’t worry about the ones who attacked you earlier. I’ll take care of them.”

The giant wolf finished what she had to say, turned, and walked into the forest, leaving the village behind. As soon as she disappeared, Jjikjjiki tapped my shoulder urgently.

“The ones who attacked Soul? Who attacked Soul? I’ll take care of them!”

“Jane said she’d take care of it, so don’t worry.”

“Soul shouldn’t leave things to others. That guy was a wolf. Wolves can’t be trusted.”

“Can rats be trusted?”

“Of course!”

I scratched Jjikjjiki’s chin, and he quickly quieted down. He murmured happily.

“Still, it’s better not to trust other rats.”

“Yeah. I won’t trust them.”

I placed the now calm Jjikjjiki on my shoulder and stood up.

“Let’s go. We have a lot to prepare.”

“Don’t worry, Soul. I’ll take care of everything. I’ll deliver the evidence, and I’ll catch all the hunters.”

“I’ll deliver the evidence. You just handle the hunters.”

We wouldn’t meet the hunters directly, so Jjikjjiki wouldn’t have to get involved.

“Remember the Browns merchant? Our warehouse owner. If he’s around, let me know. He’ll think I’ve been kidnapped, so be careful not to get caught.”

“Leave it to me!”

Jane said she’d take care of the unconscious slave traders, so they wouldn’t be discovered immediately, but if they don’t contact me by morning, the merchant will probably realize that his plan is falling apart. If he runs into me, he might try to kidnap me alone. I had to avoid that situation as much as possible.

I wasn’t worried about being kidnapped. I just had to be careful so that Jjikjjiki wouldn’t knock the merchant out and mess up Jane’s plan.

‘I don’t know when I’ll meet a beastman again. I must clear Jane’s quest and teach Jjikjjiki how to transform into a human.’

I decided to treat Jane’s request as a quest. A quest I absolutely had to complete, a kind of favor quest. That meant it was important to me.

“There’s no one around. We can keep going.”

“Thanks.”

“Be careful. There are rocks on the ground.”

“Okay.”

It was so dark that I could hardly see ahead, so Jjikjjiki became my eyes. I stayed alert, relying on him as we headed for the warehouse. It was the place where I had the highest chance of running into a merchant, and although I didn’t want to go there, I had to collect the things I left behind in the corner of the warehouse. Inside were tools for butchering, clothes, a sleeping bag, and other important items for my upcoming journey.

Of course, the most important thing was the wealth I had collected so far.

‘I may not care about other things, but I need to get the money. If I go to the next village without it, I won’t be able to do anything.’

Fortunately, when I arrived at the warehouse, everything was just as I left it. There were no signs that anyone had been there. I quickly gathered my things and stood up.

“Alright, let’s go.”

“Wait, Jji! There’s someone outside!”

At Jjikjjiki’s words, I held my breath and stopped in place. My body tensed up with nervousness.