“Squeak!”
It’s an otter!
Rutilian’s brow furrowed deeply as he exhaled a long, irritated sigh. The creature — coated head to toe in dirt, god knows where it had been rolling around — was still clinging to his leg, which was very, very annoying. And on top of that, the stares from his fellow Knights watching the whole scene unfold with barely concealed interest were equally grating.
“If you don’t let go right now, I’m throwing you.”
A cold gaze fell on the top of the otter’s head, making it clear this was not a joke.
“…Squeak.”
Reading Rutilian’s eyes, the otter immediately lowered his head, then quietly slid off his leg while staring into the distance — as if it had been his own idea all along. Still wanting to salvage at least some dignity, he began patting at the dirt on his fur with one paw, nonchalantly brushing himself off as if nothing had happened.
“Haah….”
“Squeak….”
At the low sigh, the otter looked up at Rutilian and cried out clearly. Rutilian sighed again and spoke.
“I can’t understand anything you’re saying.”
“…Squeak.”
That fierce expression. That cold, indifferent tone. Being treated with such dismissal for the first time since waking up in this world, the otter deflated like a punctured balloon and let out a limp, weary cry.
“What’s this entertaining situation we have here?”
“Get lost.”
A man appeared, grinning lazily, and attempted to sling his arm over Rutilian’s shoulders — only to get smacked on the forearm for it. Undeterred and still smiling, he alternated his gaze between Rutilian and the otter with the look of someone having the time of his life.
“I thought I was your only friend? Where’d you go and make another one? You two look pretty close.”
“Squeak?”
Only friend? If he’s Rutilian’s one and only friend, then that would mean…
“Squeak…?”
Pumice?
Pumice was a puma Therianthrope — the first and only friend Rutilian had made after joining the Knight Order. The one Therianthrope that Rutilian, indifferent to everyone and friendless, had actually opened up to. Pumice, of all people! So this is what he looks like!
“Squeak! Squeeeak!”
Nice to meet you! This is so surreal!
The web novel cover had only ever shown Rutilian — the main character — so the otter had never known what Pumice looked like, and actually seeing another character in person for the first time was nothing short of fascinating. The otter began circling around Pumice’s feet, craning his neck up to look at his face.
“Why is your friend doing that?”
“He’s not my friend.”
“Huh? Hey—!”
“Squeak!”
Rutilian grabbed his sword and turned to leave. The otter, who had been orbiting Pumice, immediately spun around and hurried after Rutilian. Pumice watched the visibly irritated Rutilian and the tiny creature scurrying after him, and then, still smiling, followed them both.
Not far from the training ground stood the Knights’ barracks. There were three or four four-story buildings and one single-story building. Rutilian walked straight ahead without stopping either the small pattering footsteps or the larger ones that trailed him all the way to the barracks entrance. But when he reached the door, he stopped and turned around.
“Why do you keep following me? Actually — why are you even here?”
“Squeeeak….”
You can’t even understand me. The otter muttered back quietly, but Rutilian, who couldn’t understand even that, only felt more exasperated.
“Okay, but seriously, what is your relationship? Now I’m genuinely curious.”
Pumice, who had followed them over, pointed his finger back and forth between Rutilian and the otter with sincere curiosity.
“On my way back, I sensed monster activity near Mount Sikon, so I went to check — and found this one there. Being chased.”
“Ohhh, so it was a fateful meeting?”
“…Pumice.”
“What species is it?”
Having pushed his luck, Pumice smoothly changed the subject the moment Rutilian’s cool warning landed. The otter, who had been quietly listening to the two of them talk, flicked his ears and looked up at the two men staring down at him.
“A weasel? Or maybe… a beaver?”
“Eek?!”
The otter gaped at the wildly off-base guess and stared up at Pumice in sheer bewilderment, then stomped his hind feet against the ground. A gesture of pure irritation.
Rutilian, who had been watching, lowered himself down onto one knee to meet the otter’s eye level. The sudden movement startled the otter slightly, and he looked away toward the ground — but Rutilian lifted the otter’s face with two fingers, forcing their eyes to meet again.
“Squeak…?”
Why…?
“You’re a Therianthrope, aren’t you?”
Those confident orange eyes bored into the otter’s small, round ones. The otter, who had been standing on his hind legs, immediately dropped all four paws to the ground at Rutilian’s words.
I got transmigrated into a web novel. Whether I’m a Therianthrope or just a plain animal — I genuinely don’t know. But you’re a Dragon. You’re going to lose control and get everyone killed. Including Pumice, standing right behind you. That’s why I came to stop you.
How am I supposed to explain any of that?
“Squeak…. Squeak…?”
No…. Probably not…?
He still wasn’t sure whether he was a Therianthrope or not — but in this world’s context, it was better not to be one. No matter how he looked at it, the people of this country had no idea what an otter even was, and more importantly, weasel Therianthropes didn’t seem to exist here. He had no interest in becoming some kind of oddity.
Having quietly come to his own conclusion, the otter met Rutilian’s gaze head-on with a boldness quite different from moments before.
“Squeak!”
I’m not!
“You are. A Therianthrope. You understand every word.”
“Squeak, squeak…!”
I — I said I’m not…!
At least my hunting instincts could’ve gotten the transmigration setup. Instead I just got the brain of an otter. Even acting like an animal, avoiding suspicion was proving difficult — and he’d just gone and behaved even more like a human. From his own perspective, he had been following Rutilian’s words perfectly and responding to each one. He’d just handed Rutilian solid confirmation of his suspicion.
“So it’s a Therianthrope? Doesn’t seem like it to me…. Hey, beaver. Try shifting to human form.”
In front of him stood Rutilian, still staring him down, and Pumice, who now looked even more intrigued than before. How was he supposed to get out of this situation while avoiding both of them…?
If I were a real animal… if I were a real otter… what would I do.
Lost in thought, the otter cut his eyes sideways, scanning his surroundings without turning his head.
“Squeak!”
Spotting a small fountain in the garden in front of the barracks, the otter sprinted straight toward it and flung himself in. Water splashed in every direction with a loud splash. He dove under and surfaced, over and over, crying out in what sounded like pure delight.
“Squeak, squeak!”
The fountain was small, but filled to the brim with water — it felt like his own private pool. He’d started out pretending to be thrilled about the swim, but the moment he hit the water he genuinely was. The exhaustion that had built up in his body all day melted away, and the caked dirt rinsed clean off his fur, leaving him feeling wonderfully refreshed.
Splashing happily around the fountain and letting out contented little cries, the otter glanced over to check the two men’s expressions from a distance. Good. That bought it.
“Rutilian, do you think it’s really a Therianthrope? I can’t sense any Therianthrope energy off of it, and even if it were one, it’d barely be three years old.”
“Shut up and go wherever you’re going.”
“We share a room. Where exactly do you want me to go?”
Pumice, who had been approaching the fountain, turned on his heel and followed Rutilian inside the barracks.
“And I’m pretty sure it’s definitely a beaver.”
He glanced back at the brown animal swimming in the fountain, now fully convinced it was a beaver, and muttered into Rutilian’s ear — but got no response.
“Squeeeak!”
Wait for me!
The otter scrambled out of the fountain at the sight of the two men disappearing into the building, shook himself off once, and hurried after them on damp little paws.
“Squeak….”
The firmly shut wooden door showed no sign of opening. It had been hard enough dragging his soaking wet body up to Rutilian’s room on the third floor — and now being turned away at the door on top of it all was just heartbreaking.
They both slipped inside without me. Is this any way to treat a guest?
He pushed at the door with his paw, then tried butting it with his head, but nothing changed.
“Squeak! Squeeeak!”
Heartless jerk. Like I’m doing this because I want to. The otter stood outside the door and cried himself hoarse without stopping. There was nothing else he could do. He hadn’t expected Rutilian to open the door — all his hopes were pinned entirely on Pumice. After about twenty minutes of squeaking away, the door finally creaked open. Through the gap, Pumice appeared.
“If I let you in, he says he’ll throw me out instead. And he’s not the type to say things he doesn’t mean.”
