PRSR | Chapter 6.1

From the next day on, Jjikjjiki strictly divided its time between staying in its rat form and its human form. As Rio, it ran around wildly, sweeping through the field, and once back at the inn, it transformed into a rat and shoved its little snout against me. Its priorities were clear—getting kisses from me was more important than getting used to moving around in its humanized state.

“Soul-jji. Kiss-jji.”

After much effort, Jjikjjiki mastered the art of pressing its lips to mine without bumping into my nose, even in its rat form. The downside was that it had to cling to my chin in a rather awkward position, squeaking and struggling, but Jjikjjiki didn’t give up.

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At one point, I brought it up seriously.

“Do you really still need praise?”

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“Jjik!”

Hearing that, Jjikjjiki froze as if it had been struck by lightning. Its body trembled, seemingly overwhelmed by a huge shock. It quivered for a while before collapsing dramatically, pretending to cry.

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“Did I do something wrong-jji? Do you… not love me anymore-jji?”

If it had said something like that in its human form, I would’ve just scoffed and ignored it. But looking at the tiny, fluffy Jjikjjiki, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything harsh.

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‘It must be because it’s still not used to living like a human. Turning from a rat into a human overnight and being forced to live a completely different life—of course, it’s not easy. It’ll get better gradually.’

Patting the stiff little Jjikjjiki on the back, I did my best to soothe it.

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“No, I love you.”

“Then give me a kiss-jji.”

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Instead of pushing its snout toward me, Jjikjjiki suddenly flipped onto its back, exposing its belly. The sight of a man, tall and barely dressed, lying down with his stomach showing overlapped in my mind, and it felt… deeply unsettling. But refusing was tough when Jjikjjiki’s belly looked so soft.

‘Pull yourself together, Kang Soul. That’s not a rat. That’s a full-grown man with muscles.’

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But… it’s a rat right now, isn’t it?

“Hurry-jji! Do it-jji!”

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Succumbing to the temptation of its fluffy fur, I buried my face in Jjikjjiki’s belly and blew air onto it—a classic “raspberry” move. Jjikjjiki squirmed and laughed, clearly ticklish.

“Jjik-jjik!”

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Honestly, I think it’s me who’s struggling to adjust to Jjikjjiki being a human, not the other way around. Ever since Jjikjjiki started spending most of its time in its rat form except during hunts, I found myself mentally separating “Jjikjjiki” and “Rio” as completely different entities.

If I didn’t think of it that way, I’d feel too heartbroken, like I’d lost a cherished family member. It was easier to just consider them as separate beings—at least until I could return to Earth and regain some emotional stability.

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‘For now, just teaching Rio to be cautious when he’s human will have to do. Jjikjjiki is smart—he’ll pick it up quickly this time too.’

I also decided to slowly reduce our physical affection and correct Jjikjjiki’s definitions of “family” and “partner” over time.

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While I was making such resolutions, Jjikjjiki, now in Rio’s form, toddled up to me.

“Soul, are you not tired today?”

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“No, I’m fine.”

“I’m tired. Can I touch your belly?”

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“Are you crazy?”

“…I killed twenty orcs today. I’m exhausted and sore from butchering them too. Can’t I touch your belly while we kiss?”

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……Can this really be solved by redefining our relationship?

‘Maybe this is just a lack of social skills?’

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Rats, by nature, are social creatures and tend to get lonely easily. When I first brought Jjikjjiki home, I had actually planned to get another rat as a companion for it. But Jjikjjiki was so wary of and hostile toward other rats that I gave up on the idea.

Because of that, Jjikjjiki seems to have grown up as a rat with poor social skills. And now, as a beastman—or neither fully rat nor fully human—it’s pestering me, asking to touch my belly like some needy child.

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‘Should I get him a beastman friend?’

But Jjikjjiki is supposed to return to Earth with me someday. If I introduce it to other friends only for it to leave them behind later, it’ll feel even lonelier. For now, I’ll just have to teach and support it myself until we go back.

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“Soul-ah.”

“Yeah.”

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Chuu. Jjikjjiki, in Rio’s form, suddenly kissed me on the lips without warning. Bending down to match my height, Rio’s face lit up with a ridiculously handsome smile.

“Surprise kiss.”

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No, seriously. The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced—what Jjikjjiki really needs right now is a rat friend.

“…Where did you even learn something like that?” I asked, dumbfounded.

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“From the TV shows you like.”

I was so taken aback that I completely forgot to scold him for doing something he shouldn’t. Right then and there, I mentally updated my “Things to Do First When We Return to Earth” list. The original number one, “Get Jjikjjiki a friend,” was demoted to second place, and at the top, I wrote, “Get rid of the TV.” From now on, any potentially harmful media for a rat-beastman is strictly for me alone. On a laptop. With headphones.

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“Soul, are you mad?”

“…I’m not mad.”

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“Then can I do it one more time?”

“Are you joking?”

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“Nope. Not joking.”

I grabbed a bag filled with clothes and tossed it at Jjikjjiki.

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“Kang Jjikjjik. You’re in your Rio form right now to carry luggage, not to kiss me. Remember that.”

“Yes, sir.”

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When I used the same firm tone I’d use to train a mischievous pet rat, Jjikjjiki nodded obediently without a word of complaint.

Today was the day Jane and I were moving out of the inn sponsored by the Brown Merchant Caravan to find a new place to stay. Even though it wasn’t the most luxurious upgrade, at least we had enough money now to afford a decent and cheap inn, far better than the times when I had to curl up in the corner of a store or a storage room.

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Jjikjjiki had been actively participating in hunting and butchering, which significantly sped up the collection of monster by-products. The amount of leather we traded daily increased by three or four times, and naturally, our savings grew just as quickly. Moreover, Jjikjjiki had become skilled with weapons, aiming for the monsters’ necks rather than their bodies. This technique allowed us to get flawless leather that fetched much higher prices.

While the party’s overall value improved, I couldn’t help but feel a bit bitter. My role within the team seemed to have diminished. Still, even the talented awakened rat Jjikjjiki, with a talent stat of 80, wasn’t perfect.

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He had one glaring weakness: negotiation.

Even putting aside his inability to communicate with NPCs other than beastmen, Jjikjjiki was terrible at bargaining. The first time I saw him trying to hand over ten high-quality orc hides in exchange for a single gold coin from a merchant, I nearly had a heart attack and ran to stop him.

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Another time, he tried to exchange a gold coin for a silver one, claiming it matched his fur color better. I couldn’t hold back and smacked his broad back. Of course, my hand hurt more than it hurt him.

Since then, managing our finances had fallen squarely on my shoulders. If I had left it to Jjikjjiki, we wouldn’t even be able to afford an inn and would end up sleeping in some barn corner.

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“This is our new nest, Soul and me!”

Our new lodging was smaller than the previous inn connected to the caravan, yet Jjikjjiki seemed much happier here. As a small rat that loved sleeping on my chest every night, the bed’s softness didn’t seem to matter to him. However, I wasn’t thrilled about waking up every morning crushed under the reverted form of Rio. The narrow, harder bed wasn’t exactly my preference either.

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‘I’ll make sure to get a better place in the next area.’

Now that I thought about it, wasn’t it about time for the next area transition quest to pop up? We’d wiped out so many orcs around here that they’d started running at the mere sight of Jjikjjiki, yet no new quests had appeared.

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After some thought, I suggested an idea to Jjikjjiki.

“Hey, Jjikjjiki. How are you feeling today?”

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“When I’m with you, I’m always at my best, Soul.”

“Then… should we wipe out all the remaining orcs in our field?”

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Jjikjjiki blinked his big eyes at me. Still in Rio’s form, his expression looked like he was asking, “Jjik?” It was incredibly cute.

Once we got to the field, Jjikjjiki mercilessly massacred every orc in sight, clearing quests at lightning speed. While Jjikjjiki handled the smaller orcs, I focused on selecting and butchering the larger ones. The amount of leather we obtained was significantly less than when Jjikjjiki managed both hunting and butchering, but speed was the goal this time, so it didn’t matter.

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Quooaaarrr!

A giant orc, three times larger than usual and with red skin, appeared but was quickly dealt with.

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‘What the heck was that? Was that… the field boss?’

No way. This wasn’t even the Beginner Village anymore. Boss monsters shouldn’t go down that easily.

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“……”

Actually… it definitely seemed like a boss monster.

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No way I was letting that boss monster’s leather go to waste. Ignoring the excited Jjikjjiki running circles around me, I started butchering the enormous orc.

“Soul!”

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Sweating from all the effort, I looked up to see Jjikjjiki running toward me. Unlike me, drenched in sweat, he looked utterly pristine despite all his rampaging.

“I got a new quest. It’s one I’ve never seen before.”

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Finally!