PRSR | Chapter 4.4

That made sense. But still, my unease didn’t vanish. Something about this plan made me unreasonably anxious.

But I couldn’t let this good opportunity slip away because of that feeling. I placed Jjikjjiki into my chest pocket and got ready to leave.

“I’ll head out right now. You’re going to teach Jjikjjiki how to become human when I get back, right?”

“Why would I do that?”

“We agreed that while I run errands, you would teach Jjikjjiki how to become human. Didn’t we?”

“Right, but you never said I’d teach it once you got back.”

What does that mean? Is it like saying ‘I’ll teach you before you die’ or something? A sense of foreboding grew even stronger. A large wolf came toward me and grabbed Jjikjjiki with its front paw.

“You leave the rat behind.”

“What?”

“Jjik!”

Ah, so that was the source of the unease.

“I’ll teach it how to become human perfectly while you’re out. You just focus on your errand, Soul.”

“But…”

“Shut it, Jjik!”

Furious, Jjikjjiki kicked at the round paw that was holding it.

“You little…”

Jane threw a punch toward Jjikjjiki, who was rolling on the floor. The huge white fist was flying fast enough to crush a small rat in an instant.

But Jjikjjiki dodged the punch as if it wasn’t a big deal, lightly avoiding it, and then kicked it like it was stomping, jumping high into the air. Before falling, Jjikjjiki spun around in mid-air, aiming for Jane’s head. It was holding its fist tightly, seemingly planning to strike more powerfully using the gravity of its fall.

Jane stood there with her mouth open, like a wolf waiting under an apple tree for the fruit to fall. Jjikjjiki, on the other hand, raised its fist and prepared to strike.

It was a tense moment. Either Jjikjjiki would be eaten by Jane or Jane would be hit by Jjikjjiki’s small fist and crash to the ground. Before Jjikjjiki could enter Jane’s mouth, I reached out and snatched it.

“Jjik?”

Jjikjjiki, who had been falling straight toward Jane, looked confused when its vision changed. Realizing it was in my hands, it relaxed, and its body became soft again, no longer stiff like before.

I gently held the soft Jjikjjiki and offered it to Jane.

“I’ll leave it with you.”

“Soul!”

“You made the right choice. I’ll teach this little brat some manners… Oh, I mean, I’ll teach it how to become human.”

“Please do.”

“Jjik!”

I tried my best to ignore the desperate cries of Jjikjjiki as it clung to my hand.

“Soul! Soul! I don’t want to go! I don’t want to fall!”

Hearing Jjikjjiki pleading, rubbing its cheek against my finger, made me feel a lump in my throat. The desperate squeaks reminded me of the times when it couldn’t speak at all.

‘I don’t want to be separated from Jjikjjiki either.’

I swallowed the words I wanted to say and gently patted Jjikjjiki’s head. Who knows when I might meet a beastman again. When the opportunity came, I needed to learn how to become human.

Noticing the trembling in my hand, the squeaking from Jjikjjiki grew quieter.

“Jjikjjiki. We need to learn how to become human now to finish the quest quickly.”

“I’ll try harder! I’ll finish the quest faster! Don’t leave me, Soul!”

“You have to become human so my chances of survival increase.”

“…Then I’ll learn.”

Jjikjjiki, having made its decision, relaxed its shoulders. Its black eyes glistened with tears.

“Soul… you have to miss me a lot while I’m gone.”

“If you’re not with me, I’ll be the one who’s really lonely.”

“No, it’s me.”

“It’s me.”

“Me.”

The last sigh came from Jane, who had been watching our conversation. I snapped back to reality when I saw her take a step back, as if she had seen something unpleasant. Now wasn’t the time for this. I patted Jjikjjiki’s head and gave it one last farewell.

“I’ll be back soon.”

“Promise.”

“Promise.”

I kissed the tip of its nose, and Jjikjjiki raised its head, trying to bring its mouth to mine. As always, its nose stuck out, making it impossible to kiss properly.

“You’re really something.”

Jane, who had seen Jjikjjiki’s cuteness live, gave a short comment. Jjikjjiki glared at her and yelled.

“Wolf! Soul will be safe, right?”

“Of course. The road to Trine is safe. I guarantee it, so don’t worry.”

Thwack, thwack. The white wolf slammed its chest with all its might, looking so confident that it could reassure anyone who was watching.

“Soul, I have one last thing to say.”

Jjikjjiki gestured for me to come closer. It probably wanted to say something like “I love you” or “Don’t forget my face.”

I brought my ear closer to Jjikjjiki’s head. With its small hand, Jjikjjiki grabbed my earlobe and whispered softly.

“I’ve received a special quest.”

“Quest…!”

I was so surprised that I almost shouted, but quickly closed my mouth. Jane was standing right next to me, listening to Jjikjjiki’s words. I couldn’t explain quests or awakenings to the Tutorial Field residents, so I had to minimize leaking information.

“What’s up, Soul? Is the rat getting married or something?”

Luckily, Jane dismissed my reaction with a meaningless joke. I lowered my voice as much as I could and whispered.

“A quest? What does it say?”

“It’s a special quest. Deliver the evidence to the head of Brown’s Merchant Caravan in Trine. Reward: right to change regions.”

“Right to change regions?”

“It says you can discard all the quests in Belford and start fresh by making Trine your second base.”

A special quest that allows you to change regions? That meant I could continue the quest without having to return to Belford. This was exactly the quest we needed, as we couldn’t finish the regional quest before leaving.

Such a timely reward. I was lucky.

‘Even though I’m the one running the errand, Jjikjjiki must still be seen as part of me. If I clear the quest, it’s like Jjikjjiki cleared it too.’

That meant I had to succeed in this quest. There was no real difficulty as long as I stayed careful about any monster attacks on the way. I was nervous about being separated from Jjikjjiki, but I could do this.

I clenched my fist to gather my resolve. Jane came up to me and handed me a horn.

“The road is safe, but if anything happens, blow this. I’ll come running.”

“If I blow this in Trine, will it reach here?”

“It’s a special horn. It’ll reach that far, so don’t worry.”

“If Soul is in danger, I’ll come first. I’ll save you, Soul!”

“When you succeed in becoming human, I’ll take you with me. Wait in Trine after delivering the evidence.”

Jane grabbed Jjikjjiki, who was chirping and sitting on my palm, with her mouth and pulled it away.

“Jjik!”

Jjikjjiki, startled, cried out loudly.

“Wouldn’t it be more convenient to take it in human form?”

“Ezzzurg marrr mrrrrghm…”

With Jjikjjiki in her mouth, Jane growled. It seemed like she was saying something about ripping its head off.

‘Jjikjjiki looks so uncomfortable…’

I watched Jane vanish into the darkness before I finally snapped back to reality. I thought I heard Jjikjjiki calling my name from afar.

“……”

For some reason, my heart felt empty.

‘Now is not the time to be thinking like this. I need to move.’

The rat that had been sitting on my shoulder had disappeared, but it felt like my body had been emptied out. I felt a fear like being thrown into a monster field with nothing but my bare skin.

I walked a few steps but then stopped again.

“Right, the apple.”

I had forgotten about the apple I bought for Jjikjjiki. If I had known in advance, I would have wrapped it up separately and left it with Jane… But we had parted so suddenly that I had completely forgotten.

I wondered if Jane would take good care of Jjikjjiki’s food. Maybe she would force it to eat raw meat dripping with blood just because it cried for cabbage. But Jjikjjiki wasn’t a wolf…

‘I’ll feed it plenty of fruits and vegetables when we meet again.’

I pushed the thoughts down and walked toward the location Jane had explained. There was a cart waiting. I paid the fare and boarded the cart. I gazed absentmindedly out the window, waiting for it to depart.

Just before we left, a man climbed onto the cart and sat across from me.

“Hello.”

“Hello.”

“You don’t look like someone from Belford. Are you just visiting Trine and heading back?”

The man across from me kept talking. Is it natural to strike up conversations like this in this world? But if it were, wouldn’t the other passengers be talking too? They sat silently, not saying a word.

“Haha, yes.”

I answered vaguely and turned my gaze back to the window. I was thinking of pretending to sleep if he kept talking, but the man didn’t speak another word.

Soon, the cart, now filled with six passengers, began to move.

Clunk, clunk.

‘Is Jjikjjiki doing alright?’

Normally, I would have tried to gather information about the monsters around Trine from the man, but now, I just didn’t feel like talking. Without Jjikjjiki, I felt drained of energy, responding passively to everything.

Had I been able to act freely because I always felt protected by Jjikjjiki? Now, I was worried that if the cart were attacked, I wouldn’t be able to lift a finger and might even die. I couldn’t let my guard down.

I didn’t want to be noticed by anyone.

I missed Jjikjjiki.

‘…I’m lonely.’

I placed my hand on my left chest. It felt so strange not to feel any softness there. I hadn’t realized just how lonely I’d be without Jjikjjiki. It was like the moment I first opened my eyes in the Tutorial Field, left all alone in an empty place.

“……”

When I meet Jjikjjiki again, I’m going to give it twice as many vegetables as I had originally planned. I won’t worry about it getting fat, and for that one day, I’ll let it eat whatever it wants. I’ll pet it for all the hardship it’s been through and give it lots of kisses.

‘I should have asked when its humanization training would be done.’

By the time the special quest is over, wouldn’t Jjikjjiki’s training be finished too? Even if it wasn’t, when I meet Jane’s colleague, I can ask when I’ll be able to meet Jjikjjiki again.

But first, I needed to safely reach Trine. I slowly closed my eyes in the rattling cart, hoping that when I woke up, I’d find myself in Trine.

Clunk, clunk.

KWA-AAANG!

“Uwah!”

Suddenly, with a massive noise, the cart lurched violently. The jolt sent me tumbling toward the man sitting across from me. Thanks to him catching me quickly, I didn’t end up falling onto his lap, but I hit my knee hard on the floor.

“Are you alright?”

“Ah, it hurts…”

The pain in my knee wasn’t as bad as the feeling of not hearing “Soul, are you okay?” from Jjikjjiki, who usually fussed over me.

Clunk. Boom! Boom!

Strange, ominous sounds rang out from outside the cart. I felt a slight tremor traveling up from the knee that had hit the floor.

Someone… or something, was approaching.

“It’s an attack!”

The coachman shouted.

An attack. The word, one I had never expected to hear in my 20-something years of life, made my heart drop to my stomach.

‘You said it was safe…’

Was “safe” only a term for large, strong wolf-beastmen? As a weak human who hadn’t even awakened, this situation felt incredibly dangerous.

KWAANG!

“Ah!”

With another shock from the outside, the cart swerved as though it might flip over. Amid the chaos, the other passengers, who hadn’t screamed once, rushed out of the cart.