Rocco's face immediately turned red, but he ignored the teasing.
Instead he focused on the plan that would ensure Sylas's safety—and bring his cruel mother to justice.
"What are you even saying?" Rocco muttered, narrowing his eyes in annoyance as he swatted away Georgio's clingy grip.
Georgio had crossed into the realm of outright weirdness, so Rocco decided it was time to make a quick getaway.
Scampering off with hurried steps, he sought refuge.
"Alright, Ragar, hug me and protect me from that creepy lunatic."
"Ragar, hug me-"
"Ok."
Rocco blinked his eyes in surprise at how quickly Ragar responded.
It was so immediate that Ragar's voice almost overlapped with the end of Rocco's command.
He usually replied with a formal "Yes, Young Master," but this time, it was something more personal and simple: "Ok."
It sounded like Ragar was particularly more motivated today.
"Hmmph… Ragar, can I touch your ears? They're so fluffy; I could use some comfort."
"Of course, Young Master. You can touch them as much as you like."
"Really? Can I nibble them too?"
"…Of course. You may nibble to your heart's content."
Clinging to Ragar's bulky body like a koala, Rocco buried his face into the soft fur of Ragar's ears.
He breathed in and out with a satisfied smile before lightly biting one of the fluffy ears with Ragar's explicit permission.
Nibble, nibble.
Ah, this was something he had always wanted to do.
In his previous life, Rocco had spent countless hours watching animal videos, trying to distract himself from the pain of his illness.
Among those videos, the ones he envied the most were the ones where people buried their faces in their pets' fluffy fur, sniffed them with a delight and gave them playful nibbles.
He couldn't count how many times he had cried from jealousy, wishing he could experience something like that.
And now, finally, he could.
Pets were, of course, prohibited in the hospital.
Having spent the majority of his previous life confined to a hospital room, Rocco had never had the chance to interact with animals before his final death.
That's why meeting Ragar in this world was the most wonderful and unexpected blessing for him.
All the missed opportunities to play with animals in his past life were now being made up for.
In this life, Rocco had every intention of fluffing Ragar's ears to his heart's content—and, of course, nibbling them as much as he pleased!
And so, Rocco began wholeheartedly nibbling Ragar's ears.
But suddenly—something felt off.
"Hah… grrr… ugh… hah, haah…"
Ragar began trembling all over and let out a low growl deep in his throat.
Despite being a Beastman, Ragar's movements were typically no different from those of an ordinary human.
This sudden display of animalistic behavior left Rocco blinking in surprise.
"Ragar? What's wrong? Are you hurt somewhere?"
Hurriedly pulling his mouth away from Ragar's ear, Rocco leaned in to get a closer look at his face.
What he saw completely caught him off guard.
His eyes widened in astonishment.
Ragar, who normally kept such a stoic expression that one could almost mistake him for lacking facial muscles, now had a completely different look.
His gaze was hazy, his pupils gleaming with an unusual heat.
A faint trickle of saliva escaped from the corner of his mouth, and his face was flushed crimson.
His breathing came in short, ragged gasps.
Rocco stared, dumbfounded.
He hadn't expected this reaction in the slightest.
"Rrrgh… Young Master, Young Master… Guh!"
Rocco suddenly found his world spinning as he was being pushed down, his back hitting the ground before he even had time to process what was happening.
Above him, straddling his waist, was Ragar—his sharp teeth that was usually hidden, now fully exposed as his mouth opened wide.
The atmosphere screamed a predator that was about to pounce at their prey, and for once, even Rocco began to panic.
"R-Ragar? W-wait, no! You can't! You really can't! I'm not tasty, I swear! I'm just a scrawny little thing! You absolutely won't enjoy eating me!"
This had to be it—Rocco quickly convinced himself.
Ragar was a Beastman, and this must be some sort of primal instinct kicking in.
Yes, that's it!
The urge to devour fresh meat had suddenly overtaken him.
Ragar must have mistaken Rocco for some delicious meal.
He was looking at him as if he were a prime cut of steak, ready to sink his teeth in.
But Rocco wasn't tasty!
He was human!
Driven by his Beastman instincts, Ragar had clearly gone into a frenzy, unable to distinguish Rocco from actual food.
This was bad—really bad.
Rocco had a critical plan to execute soon.
His mother and Sylas would arrive at any moment.
But before any of that could happen, he was about to become a snack and being gnawed and stripped to the bone!
"…No. You look so delicious, Young Master. Absolutely… irresistible."
"Mhnn…!"
"Master… Master… I want to lick you. To devour you!"
"Arrgh!!"
His cool and villainous mask had completely fallen away.
Rocco who is now pitifully shedding tears.
However, at the same time, he suddenly remembered his trump card in a final desperate bid to save himself.
His ace in the hole—Georgio!
"Don't worry, Master! I'll make sure to burn the moment you lose your virginity into my memory forever! Although I'd much prefer to be the one doing it by myself!"
Rocco turned his head to look at Georgio behind him for help, clinging to a shred of hope.
What he found was not a concerned Georgio watching Ragar's rampage with worry.
Instead, Georgio's face was flushed bright red and his breaths ragged with excitement as he ogled at the scene in front of him.
"G-Georgio, you… you—!"
"Well, it can't be helped, can it? After all, Master, you're the one who performed a 'courtship ritual' with Ragar first. I don't have any right to stop it now! Aww, but I'm so jealous!"
"W-what are you even talking about?"