TSROTRATBP Chapter 5

Dawn came late. I crept out from under the covers and glanced at the beautiful black panther.

Fortunately, he took no particular action and had fallen asleep as if he'd forgotten I was even on the bed. Uncharacteristically sensitive to cold, apparently, he'd wrapped himself in the blankets with only his face visible.

'He really is pretty.'

They say predators possess distinctively brilliant appearances, and seeing it firsthand left no room for argument.

Unlike the unsettling things he'd said about eating me or whatnot, his sleeping face looked gentle and lovely. When his eyes were open he was certainly smiling, but somehow gave off a creepy feeling.

To be frank, the fangs visible every time he spoke or smiled had felt threatening from the start.

Just looking at those fangs made my thought processes grind to a halt. What was I supposed to do about that? A faint sigh escaped me.

I'd been staring quietly at Ahin's face flickering in the lamplight when I turned my gaze to survey the bedroom. I'd been looking around since earlier, but there wasn't even a tiny hole to escape through.

This appeared to be black panther territory to begin with, so even if I managed to get out safely, my chances of survival were rock bottom.

I'd actually overheard maids gossiping that predators regularly caught and ate herbivore beastmen while evading the continent's laws.

'We need to leave her this deep to avoid complications later.'

'He commanded that she must die by the black panthers' hands.'

Recalling the day's events suddenly drained my energy. I'd already been cast out by my family and had nowhere to return to.

'This is a terrible curse!'

'How pitiful—a young lamb abandoned by the Beast God!'

The temple had said the Beast God cursed me, but no matter how I thought about it, that part was difficult to understand.

I'd simply failed to achieve humanization—I hadn't exactly embraced darkness or anything.

In any case, my parents clearly wished for me to die in black panther territory under the pretext of being a cursed family disgrace.

What was I supposed to do now? Faced with suddenly having to stand alone, my chest felt unbearably tight.

Even trying to find a way to survive, the future looked bleak in the form of a baby rabbit who hadn't undergone humanization.

I hopped onto the pillow and moved a bit closer to Ahin's face.

If I hadn't ended up in this man's hands in the forest, there was a strong possibility I would have actually become prey for the panthers. He seemed like a benefactor, but if he tried to eat me tomorrow, he'd become my enemy—a truly ambiguous relationship.

'...Maybe he's still someone to be grateful for.'

Seen up close, Ahin's skin was flawless without a single blemish. I tentatively extended my front paw in gratitude when suddenly his eyes snapped open.

Red eyes right in front of me filled my entire field of vision. A breathless silence continued for several seconds.

Ahin blinked his half-opened eyes, then soon turned his body at an angle and propped his chin.

Finally coming to my senses, I immediately—skitter, patter-patter—dug a tunnel under the pillow in an instant and hid.

"You'll suffocate."

Regrettably, when he lifted the pillow, my entire body was exposed, making my hiding pointless. Ahin gazed down at me curled up, his lips curving crookedly.

"Crying again."

I wasn't crying. Rebelling, I pressed my mouth firmly shut and gradually felt my nose bridge sting.

Actually, every time I recalled the day's events, it ached as if someone was poking around my chest. My throat also felt choked as if I'd swallowed something wrong.

I'd long since stopped hoping for family love, but the shock of being completely abandoned seemed larger than I'd thought.

Ahin watched me lower my gaze, then spoke in a flat voice.

"Are you afraid of being eaten?"

Isn't that obvious? Hiding my exasperated feelings, I quickly nodded.

When I kept sending pleading looks, Ahin slowly tilted his head. With the movement, silver hair resting by his ear scattered faintly.

"Then cry more."

'What?'

I couldn't hide my shocked expression—my mouth fell slightly open.

He'd been showing this fixation, or not-quite-fixation, on tears since earlier. Don't tell me he had some kind of fetish for this sort of thing.

Sadly, with no other options, I devoted all my effort to producing tears. However, the problem was that tears which usually flowed easily now stopped completely when I tried to squeeze them out forcibly.

Even scratching my eyes with my front paws only made them sting, and going hng, hng and puffing breath through my nose just made me choke.

Ahin watched me glancing around nervously, then clicked his tongue.

"Lack of commitment. I'll eat you the day after tomorrow, so try harder."

'Is that something effort can fix?'

Sullen dissatisfaction rose, but at least my life expectancy had increased by one day. Before I could feel relieved, Ahin pulled my hind legs and stuffed me under the blanket.

A moment later, a slightly muffled voice drifted out.

"Exist as if you don't. You're annoying."

'How gracious of you.'

Rebelling boldly only in my heart, I obediently closed my eyes. If I got on the black panther's nerves one more time, I'd really get chomped by those fangs.

It was a long night where I couldn't sleep for various reasons.