I Am the Otter Who Will Prevent the End of the World

Deep brown fur, a long and plump tail, pink jelly paw pads,
and eyes small and black as little black beans — that would be me…

“Squeak! Squeak!”
Po! Po!

On the night I accidentally fell into the sea,
I opened my eyes to find myself possessing the body of a tiny little otter.

This place is inside the web novel Dragon Who Will Lead to Ruin.
According to my memories, the protagonist of this novel, ‘Rutilian,’
is the last dragon remaining in the world,
and due to his rampage, the world ultimately meets its end.

I can’t go and die in the body of an otter.
To prevent the bad ending, I have to awaken Rutil
and desperately follow along on his adventure!

“Let go. You’re not a leech.”
“Squeeeak!”
Come with me!

And so began the journey with Rutil.
With Rutil always there to protect me,
not even giant monsters or treacherous mountain paths frightened me in the least.

And Rutil, who used to find me nothing but a nuisance,
somewhere along the way began touching me with hands full of gentleness…

“Come with me, Popo.”

Perhaps it’s the comfort that comes from the warmth of Rutil’s embrace —
because every time our eyes meet,
my heart just keeps going thump-thump.