Translator Note:
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When I opened my eyes once more, I was greeted with the sight of a white ceiling.
Which makes me confused, since I live in a tent.
Where am I?
As I lay there in a comfortable bed, staring blankly at the ceiling, I suddenly remembered the fact that I was dying from the horned rabbit stab, which made me realize that there is now a huge hole in my stomach.
"Ugh!"
I hurriedly touched my stomach, but found no hole in there.
Did that girl heal me after I fainted?
"Haaa..."
Did I cause another trouble?
With guilt filling my heart, I sighed, then, as I lay there blankly staring at the ceiling, an unknown person's voice spoke to me.
"You are awake already?"
Turning to the side, I saw the girl who had helped me.
I wanted to thank her, but something was off.
Despite being by my side, it felt like I'm hearing her voice from above my head.
"Huh?"
Confused, I reached above my head and felt something soft and furry, like animal ears.
Strangely, I could feel both the sensation of touching and being touched.
It was a weird sensation I had never experienced before, making my shoulders shrink.
"Uh..."
Did I now have animal ears?
Why and how?
Looking up at the girl with trembling eyes, I suddenly fled to the other side of the bed.
My intuition told me that she's the reason why I become a beastgirl.
"Wa–Wait a moment!"
"Stay away."
Once, I heard rumors about a group of kidnappers who would kidnap people and change their bodies, then sell them as sex slaves to some wealthy VIP.
Perhaps this girl was a member of that group.
"Calm down and come here, will you?"
Calm down?
While she's trying to turn me into someone's pet? I don't think so!
I ran around the room, avoiding the girl all the while.
"Don't follow me!"
Despite trying my best to escape from her, in the end, she's able to corner me into the edge of the room.
While leaning against one wall, I realized another thing.
The girl, who before my blackout, was about my height, seemed much taller now.
It took me a moment, but I realized that It wasn't that she had grown, but instead, I had shrunk.
'Crap.'
DId I really get kidnapped by those rumored slavers?
It felt so unfair, I didn't harm anyone, and tried my best living without being a burden, so why did this happen to me?
"Don't be scared, can we talk?"
"I don't want to..."
I resented my frail, powerless body.
As I looked down in shame, I noticed a long, furry thing touching my stomach.
It looked like a cat's tail, but there was no cat in the room.
When I reflexively grabbed the furry thing, my waist twitched.
It felt as if the furry thing was a part of my body.
"Huh?"
Why did my waist feel like it was being pulled?
I looked back hastily, and saw that the furry thing attached to my tailbone.
"...I have a tail?"
First, the ears, and now, a tail.
How much has my body been changed!?
Frozen in shock, I just glanced at the girl.
"Just calm down for a moment? I'll explain everything."
The person who kidnapped, modified, and about to sell me as a pet to some sick VIP was asking me to calm down, all while reaching out her hand.
It was an absurd situation, but I had no choice but to accept it.
"...Just tell me what you want."
"Um... Before that, I have a question."
"What is it?"
"Do you mind telling me your name and age?"
She wants to know my name and age.
Curiosity about the test subject's personal information, huh?
It was too obvious what she wanted, and I didn't feel like telling her.
"I don't know my age."
"Oh, is that so? You don't remember how many years you've lived?"
"Yes. I don't remember."
I had been living on the streets ever since coming into this alternate reality, so it wasn't strange for me not to know my name and age.
"Then, do you have any memories of attending a place like school?"
"No. I've never been to school."
Did she take me for a fool?
She must be trying to extract information about my background through my school.
I was originally not from this world, and after coming here, all I had done was try my best to survive, I had never attended any educational facility or the like, so I could confidently say I hadn't.
"Oh, I see! You've never been to school!"
"Ah...?"
The girl sighed in relief, as if reassured.
I realized what I had done.
I had blurted out that I was an idiot who didn't know my age or ever went to school.
In my own words, I had proven to be the kind of person who wouldn't be searched if I were gone missing.
Tears almost came to my eyes from my own stupidity.
"Umm, my name is—-"
Gurgle–
Before the girl could finish her sentence, my stomach demanded food, rumbling loudly.
I was used to being hungry, so I didn't really care, but the girl stared at my belly for a while.
"Shall we eat something first?"
"No, it's okay."
What strange thing is she planning to feed me?
I shook my head in anxiety, but she ignored my refusal as if it was nothing.
"Don't be like that, let's eat something together."
She cautiously reached out her hand.
Why did she keep trying to slowly reach out to me? Was she enjoying my inability to resist my fate?
"I'm– I'm really not hungry..."
"The food here is really tasty. Just one bite, okay?"
She led me out the door.
She clearly saw me as nothing more than a toy to play with.
It was dreadful, but to survive, I had to follow her.
If I waited and bore it, an opportunity to escape might come.
The place I thought was the girl's house turned out to be a hotel room.
It was a five-star hotel, the likes of which I had never seen before, even in passing.
"This way."
She led me to the hotel's restaurant.
I tried to ask for help from those we passed, but I quickly gave up when I realized most were familiar faces.
"..."
A red-haired woman glanced at me from the corner of her eye.
She was the woman who had laughed at me a few months ago when I was being chased by a horned rabbit.
The man next to her had spat at me, telling me to get lost.
Everyone in the hotel was in on it.
"Ugh."
The situation had gone from bad to worse.
In despair, I grabbed the tail and brought it to my belly.
Holding something fluffy gave me a sense of comfort.
"Don't just stand there, come sit down."
The girl who brought me to the restaurant pulled out a chair from under the table.
It was a luxurious chair, something I couldn't afford even if I worked for a year.
"No, it's okay. I'll dirty the chair..."
Just a few days ago, I was hit on the back of the head by an adventurer for sitting on a bench at the hunting grounds.
They said I was tainting public facilities with my dirty body.
I was hit in the back of the head just for sitting on a public bench. What could happen if I sat on such a luxurious seat?
Not wanting to find out, I just stood there, motionless.
"What do you mean dirty? You're not dirty at all, come sit here."
Tap, tap—
The girl tapped the chair.
It was a clear threat to sit down and not mess around.
This damned bitch.
How far was she planning to torment me?
I nodded, tears welling up in my eyes.
"O-okay, after sitting, I'll clean it thoroughly."
I said it loudly enough for everyone in the restaurant to hear.
It was a plea not to hit me, a promise to clean up after using it.
"Uh, okay... Will you sit down then?"
"Yes..."
Though she told me to sit, I didn't do so comfortably.
Barely perching on the edge of the chair, a person who looked like a waiter came over and placed several dishes on the table – luxurious bread and soup I hadn't tasted in eight years.
"Uh...?"
I hadn't ordered any food, so why were they putting bread and soup in front of me?
Confused, I glanced back and forth between the girl and the waiter.
"I thought you might be hungry, so I ordered just the appetizers first. You can order the main dish yourself."
At first glance, her tone and smile seemed kind.
But I knew there was a sinister intention behind it.
She'd make me order food so expensive I couldn't repay, then force me into debt and slavery.
I was determined not to let her have her way.
"Excuse me, have you seen my bag?"
"Uh... the brown one? Can you wait a moment?"
The girl called over someone who looked like a hotel employee.
He had my precious bag in his hands.
I was worried they wouldn't give it back to me.
Relieved by the worn appearance of the bag, I sighed and pulled out a black bag and an old water bottle from inside.
With these, I didn't need to order any expensive food.
"What's that?"
"It's my meal."
Inside the bag was corn flour, costing only 2,500 won per kilo.
Just a few spoonfuls mixed with water was enough to fill me for a day.
It was my own perfect food that didn't cost much.
"Corn flour...?"
"Yes. I'm going to eat this. Order whatever you want for yourself."
I didn't touch the bread and soup.
There was no reason for me to spend money.
I barely contained a smirk of perfect victory.
I wasn't free from her yet, after all.
"Uh... the food here is delicious. Won't you just order something?"
"No, thanks."
Before she could force me to order food, I quickly mixed the corn flour with water.
To appear undaunted, I even added an extra spoonful of flour.
After closing the bottle and shaking it vigorously, the yellow corn water was ready.
The color was richer than usual, making my mouth water just by looking at it.
'Wow.'
I never imagined a day would come when I'd indulge in such luxury.
Unable to resist, I gulped down the corn water.
Gulp, gulp-
The corn water tasted nuttier and more delicious than usual.
I took a drink from the bottle, and glanced at the girl sitting opposite me.
"Ah..."
Huh, her complexion was pale.
She must be disappointed that things aren't going as she planned.
I silently scoffed at her.
To me, who had experienced all sorts of trickeries and injustice in this new world, her low effort scam is too easy to avoid.