I Became the Emergency Food Supply of the Bear Family - Chapter 10

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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Chapter 10

A sticky sensation made him shake his head, but something long and damp brushed against his eye again. As he forced his eyes open at the sound of panting, a puppy stood before him.
A young dog with brown fur draped like a cloak, a white belly, and white eyebrows.
“Aleksei, you rascal!”
Nook scolded from the side, but the puppy merely grinned, completely unbothered.
This dog—I’ve seen it in animal videos on YouTube before.
‘A malamute?’
The moment Nabom identified the breed, the puppy jumped in place and began kicking at the snow with its hind legs.
‘Argh!’
Buried in the snow by the dog’s kicks, Nabom scrambled to push his head above the surface.
Shake, shake—he thrashed his head, scattering the snow. Nabom pushed back at the puppy’s hind legs in protest, but the malamute simply opened its mouth wide and extended its tongue again.
‘It’s licking me again!’
He covered his face with his front paws at the thought—
-Don’t cry.
A young boy’s voice echoed.
The voice rang directly in his mind, cutting through the panting breaths, and Nabom lifted his head.
‘……Is this dog a Beastman too?’
A malamute—could it be one of the Sled Dog Knight Order?
Before he could dwell on the thought, the puppy’s tongue covered his face again. Nabom squeezed his eyes shut and endured the wet sensation, but another voice came.
-Don’t cry. Come play with me.
‘When did I ever cry!’
Nabom shrieked inwardly and bounded backward.
He wasn’t so weak as to cry over mere hardship. There had to be a way through. A way to survive, no matter what!
Nabom scraped his hind legs against the ground, both his resolve toward his goal and his displeasure at the dog evident in every motion.
The malamute spun in place and, grinning, spoke.
-Your tears stopped. Now let’s play!
The voice was brimming with excitement as the puppy bounded in all directions, churning up the snow.
Whoosh-whoosh-whoosh.
As the snow swirled around his face, Nabom could hold back no longer. He scraped the ground hard with his hind legs and charged straight at the dog.
Whether the snow had stirred something in him or the dog’s provocation had touched his rabbit nature, Nabom and the malamute soon found themselves racing joyfully through the Garden.
Nabom did not notice that he was running well on all four legs. Watching the malamute move on four legs just like him, he simply ran naturally.
The cold, crisp sensation beneath his paws felt wonderful, and in the midst of running, he paused mid-stride to jump straight up.
“Oh, Snowflake runs so well!”
Louis, unable to resist watching the puppy and rabbit play, bounded after them. Ferdi, who had been watching the three, soon joined the game.
Heinz, who had been quietly observing the four playing in the Garden, finally clapped his hands and called out.
“Didn’t you say you wanted to tour the castle!”
At Heinz’s cry, Nook, who had been watching the four with a satisfied expression, whistled.
The malamute immediately trotted over and stood before the sleigh.
Watching Nabom rush over after Louis and Ferdi, Anna murmured with a smile on her face.
“I think we can remove the Bandage now.”

***

The afternoon was drenched in the glow of sunset.
Anna bowed to Theodore, who had come to Nabom’s room.
“The rabbit.”
At his brief question, Anna led Theodore deeper into the room.
“I apologize for not following your orders.”
Theodore stopped in his tracks, hearing Anna’s apology behind him.
On the crimson carpet, Louis, Ferdi, and Aleksei, the malamute squire of the Sled Dog Knight Order, were curled up around something.
A small rabbit, its body curled in a tight ball with traces of dirt clinging to its fur here and there. The rabbit’s white belly rose and fell in a steady rhythm.
“It’s fine.”
Theodore spoke softly.
He had set a rule that no more than two people were to be in the rabbit’s room. But if the rabbit was fine with it, it didn’t matter.
Theodore gazed at the four sleeping Beastmen and fell into thought.

“What is it. Did you already know what would happen?”

Pallas’s voice carried his characteristic mockery.
He was cynical, but he spoke only truth.
That was why Theodore had always accepted Pallas’s words quietly.
But this time was different.

“Then there’s no need for me to take on the role of villain—”
“There isn’t.”
“What?”
“I have no intention of having you use that power.”

Pallas’s eyes narrowed to slits.

“Your pity is meager indeed. Your daughter is already dead. If you brought this small life as a replacement for a dead child, the pitiable one isn’t you—it’s that small creature.”
“Even if it’s meager, pity is still something.”

Theodore spoke with conviction, undeterred by Pallas’s harsh words.

“A powerful, unknown force. We cannot know what may happen if we use it carelessly.”
“…….”
“We are not so weak that we must be saved at the cost of this small life.”

He meant it sincerely.
Perhaps not only his wife and himself, but his daughter too would not wish for such salvation.
His wife had thrown herself forward to protect their daughter.
But he could not save her, and his wife fell under an incurable curse.
He had thought that was the ending, that it would end here.
Theodore moved slowly toward the sleeping rabbit and knelt beside it. He reached his hand toward the white rabbit’s head.
“…….”
His fingertips trembled as they touched the soft fur.
Why was it?
It felt like a gift.
This small life felt like a gift left behind by that child.

“You truly never cease to test my patience.”

A laugh, heard for the first time in ages, followed. The Sage’s lips curved upward.

“Then shouldn’t you at least tell them it wasn’t brought along as emergency rations?”

With those words, Pallas vanished without a trace.
Theodore brushed the rabbit’s forehead with the tip of his thumb and murmured.
“That’s for another time.”
There was no way he’d wake the child while it slept so peacefully.

***

Nabom opened his eyes.
Because he had been dreaming of racing through snow, his four legs were suspended in the air.
Wet. He wiped the drool from his mouth with his front paw and sprang up.
‘What was I doing again.’
And what was I supposed to be doing.
His mind felt sluggish, struggling to engage. Yet his body felt remarkably light—lighter than any day since arriving at Grizzli Castle.
Only after sitting on the carpet and looking around did Nabom sense something out of place.
There seemed to be fewer people than before.
At the same moment he felt it, a gaze made Nabom’s shoulders twitch.
Something was there.
It clung perfectly to the dark tan wall, camouflaged, motionless.
The moment yellow eyes met Nabom’s, thick fur puffed out in a perfect sphere.
A creature that looked like a tiger or cat face grafted onto a furry cylinder drew closer to Nabom.
An unknown animal approaching expressionlessly.
Nabom felt as though he were still dreaming.
The moment that thought crossed his mind—
-I never imagined I’d meet you while I still drew breath.
A voice rang in his mind.
-And this close, no less.
Curiosity and quiet satisfaction colored the voice of an adult male.
-How curious. Power and soul are tangled together. Is that why you’re so suppressed?
The animal’s face was now inches from his own, and Nabom blinked.
The creature was not particularly large and carried no scent of a beast of prey. Yet why did it radiate such overwhelming dignity?
The black pupils set within yellow irises seemed to pierce straight through to his core.
-Are you content to remain as you are?
Remain as I am? Nabom tilted his head.
-Yes. As you are. Will you be content to live your entire life trapped within the form of a rabbit?
Nabom tilted his head again. That was not something he could choose. He was dead, and he was born anew. He could not undergo Humanization. In fact, he wasn’t even certain whether he was truly a Beastman.
-Your words surely have not reached the other Beastmen, have they?
How could it possibly know that. Was he dreaming after all? Lost in thought, Nabom nodded vaguely.
-How about it. Would you not like to speak with everyone in human form?
In human form? Was such a thing possible?
And besides—everyone?
A predator and emergency rations conversing together?
As Nabom contemplated this with a puzzled expression, a sudden question blossomed in his mind.
If I could be heard, if I could show them my human form, what expressions would they wear?
Would Louis smile brightly for him?
Might Ferdi gaze at him with satisfaction and ruffle his hair?
Would Anna beam and rejoice?
What would Theodore’s reaction be?

-Let’s return now.

Would he speak to him once more in that gentle voice, like that day?
‘……Yes.’
The answer tumbled from his lips unbidden.
‘I want to try talking.’
As Nabom nodded, the creature before him also nodded.
-Well done.
Or was it just his imagination.
The animal seemed to smile.

Suddenly the world grew bright, and Nabom woke from his sleep.
He blinked his eyes blearily and gazed confusedly at his surroundings.
The room was empty.
Had it truly been a dream?
Just as that thought occurred to him, a knock sounded and the door opened.
“Snowflake! Let’s eat hay!”
Louis, Ferdi, Anna, and the malamute entered.
Nabom leaped from his spot without thinking.
Food!

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Novels. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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