The Symbiotic Relationship Between the Rabbit and the Black Panther

The leader’s life did not last long even though he had held to hope. The neck of the only rabbit shapeshifter who had survived until the end, fell to the floor as the sword cut through the air.

As the blood spattered on Ahin’s hands, he sighed regretfully.

“.…I forgot to ask you about Bibi’s family.”

Evrin, who had been enchanted by the scene that he just saw, had a giddy expression on his face.

“I’m sorry. I was so surprised that I didn’t even remember.”

A pair of red eyes stayed glued on the leader.  The corpse, for which it was impossible to answer anymore, merely transformed into prey for the black panthers.

While staring at the swarm of the voracious black panthers, Ahin shook his head.

“Ash, you’ve got to get going.”

Ash, the leader of the pack, nodded his head. After a while, the black panthers that had finished their predation, scattered through the bushes.

Evrin, who had been gazing from a distance, then muttered.

“If it’s eighteen, then isn’t it of our age?”

Not a rabbit, but an eighteen year old shapeshifter. Several questions were raised in the man’s head, as he thought about the dead leader’s confession.

“Ridiculous. It’s a shapeshifter that hasn’t been humanized even after its coming of age ceremony.”

“Then, does it make sense for a mere rabbit to be able to speak the continental language or read books?”

As Ahin smiled, he hung the bloodied sword on his waist. He was overly relaxed even after hearing such a surprising fact.

A hollow breath flowed from Evrin.

“In the first place, the lord already seems convinced that the rabbit was a shapeshifter.”

“To some extent.”

“….Why did you pretend you didn’t know when here, I had been assuming it was some different kind of species.”

“Because it was funny.”

What a bad hobby. As Evrin muttered, his look became complicated.

Even though it was a little rabbit at the moment, the fact that Ahin went to bed with a shapeshifter of his age was quite ambiguous.

“What the hell….”

As Evrin got lost in his own thoughts, Ahin sat down on a surrounding high rock. It was a natural reaction for Evrin, considering he had never sensed Bibi’s pheromones properly.

“No matter what it is, not achieving humanization is impossible…. If it doesn’t become a human being, it will have to live as a rational little rabbit.”

“That’s not bad either.”

Ahin teased him while dangling his legs from the rock.

“My lord, how come?”

Evrin, whose frustration had reached its peak, made a blatant remark. Ahin’s smile was replaced by a serious expression at that point.

“Evrin.”

“Please tell me.”

The atmosphere turned cold instantly, as if the main subject matter was finally coming out. Sensing the tension, Evrin became inwardly nervous and waited for the words that were going to follow.

“That rabbit.…”

“Yes.”

“When it’s sleeping, I just want to gobble it up.”

“I see. ….What did you just say?”

As he sighed, Evrin’s shoulders dropped and his tension eased. Contrary to his expectations, the argument ended abruptly.

“Because I had almost bitten it.”

“Oh, okayyy-…. What an amazing thing to do.”

As Ahin responded vaguely, he recalled the moment when he had sensed the pheromones that night.

When rabbits are in deep sleep, the scent of their pheromones is much thicker than when they are awake.

It’s a scent that one can never miss as long as they are a shapeshifter.

Also, the pheromone ability of rabbits was a kind that could be useful for many years. It had a value that was unparalled.

[ It’s already 18. ]

[ It seems to be a different kind of entity that hasn’t achieved humanization even after reaching its adult coming of age ceremony. ]

Unexpectedly, finding out this fact along with its age was like hitting two birds with one stone. If it’s not a human, but a rabbit with limited movement, it would be easier to keep it in sight.

There was still a lot of doubt, but it was only a matter of time before he would figure everything out. Evrin faced Ahin, and unwittingly pursed his lips.

“Master Ahin, please give me a detailed explanation.”

“Bothersome.”

“You’re really mean.”

Normally, Evrin would have responded by saying “If it is Master Ahin’s will.”, but this time his curiosity caused him to return quite a disrespectful answer.

Ahin, who burst into laughter on the side, snapped his fingers together.

“Hasn’t it been a long time since you made us run like this?”

At the same time, the black panthers appeared again, cutting through the bushes. The sight of the several black panthers created an eerie atmosphere.

“You’ll be our dessert.”

Since he was the one who had given the order, the black panthers showered ferocity towards Evrin. Their exposed teeth were covered with blood that had not dried yet.

Recognizing the threat, Evrin responded calmly by stretching out his arms.

“All of you black panthers, please calm down. I’ve been with you for so long, but now you’re looking at me with such a face.”

“I’d rather shut that loud mouth.”

“You’re really too much.”

Evrin, who was accustomed to this situation ran away as fast as he could. He was reluctant to get his neat black hair messy.

As Evrin ran away, Ahin looked at the black panthers who were walking around with slow steps.

“I’ll bring some refreshments. I hope you can rest.”

The subtle scent of old trees tickled my nose. As Meimi stepped back after fixing some books, I looked up at the vast library from the floor.

As expected from such a mansion, the library was also very magnificent. Countless books had been lined up on the bookshelves.

‘It’s late again today.’

It had been a long time since twilight had settled in the sky.

When Ahin’s return was delayed, my daily life naturally prolonged.

He was late yesterday too, so are you busy these days? As I stared blankly into the air, I fixed my eyes again on the book.

「The Theory of Pheromones」

The book that Miss Valence had given me was now completely tattered. My gaze stayed in one place.

「Some argue that if the inherent pheromones are too strong, then they delay humanization. As a practical example, there was a fox shapeshifter who had very complicated pheromones and was thus, humanized at the age of five–」

Using my front foot, I quickly turned the pages faster. Contrary to expectations however, no other reference to that sentence existed.

Only those two lines.

‘…If pheromones are strong, they slow down humanization.’

It was the first useful information that I had encountered out of all the pheromone books that I’d read so far. Just in case, I closed my eyes and focused my mind on the energy that lingered in my body.

‘Ehm.’

Unfortunately, instead of something intense, only a fluffy energy like cotton candy floated around in my body.

That shapeshifter, the fox in this book, had become a human by the age of five at the latest. It may be a unique phenomenon that only applied to the fox clan in the first place.

I, who was frowning at this thought, then turned my attention to the strange presence that I had just felt behind me.

‘A servant…?

Recently, the number of servants had increased significantly in the mansion. Usually, whenever an event was held by the family, they would temporarily hire a large number of employees.

However, the attendant who had just entered continued to do meaningless cleaning, such as rubbing the vases or raising the bookshelves.

As our eyes met, he crept his hand out and gently twisted his eyes.

“Come her–“

I thought that his behaviour was really suspicious, so I bit his body back.

‘Don’t underestimate a rabbit’s vigilance.’

Until now, the mansion’s servants had never dared to approach me this way, due to Ahin’s high status and power. Moreover, most of the time, Meimi would always be holding me firmly.

Furthermore, this servant in front of me had the most cunning impression out of any black panther that I had ever encountered. As he stood up close, his gentle eyes suddenly changed.

‘Ahh!’

Frightened by his sudden act of covering me up with a mop, I quickly withdrew. With a hardened expression, the attendant turned his back to the guard that was standing far away and blocked my path to retreat.

There wasn’t anyone to hold me either.

‘No-one is here.’

Meimi hasn’t returned either. Due to the late hours, except for the guard at the entrance, I was the only one in the wide library.

I shook my paws to send a signal about my crisis, but the distance the guard was standing at was too far for him to notice.

When that servant’s hand reached out again, I hurriedly evaded and ran to the back.

‘Why are you following me!’

As I ran deeper and deeper into the library, I swallowed my breath while repeatedly checking my backside.

It was fortunate that the speed of the servant was slow because he didn’t want to draw the attention of the security guard. Moreover, thanks to the line of bookshelves, I was able to hide my small body easily.

It seems like I can just go around the bookshelf and run towards the entrance. But the momentary relief on my face immediately faded away.

‘What, what is that.’

A pale light emitted from the servant and his size began to decrease. Very soon, a dark brown wolf, which should have never been here, appeared in front of me.

My heart sank and my vision became blurry. The wolf’s teeth were slightly parted, and his saliva dripped down.

‘Why, why….’

Why is there a wolf here? His eyes had obviously been red.

It was a quesiton that I wanted to scream at him, however, it could never be answered. The wolf, whose mobility improved since he had just shapeshifted, now quickly narrowed the distance between us.

[ Did a wolf shapeshifter do this? ]

[ Since a long time ago, there have been frequent disputes between the black panther and wolf clans over territories. ]

[ Since ancient times, the wolves have always sought to covet other territories. ]

Fearful voices engulfed in my head. My feet, which had been running like crazy, quickly got stuck in the terrace railings, hindering my movement. The cold night air made my sweaty body feel extremely cold.

‘Please don’t.’

This terrace. The front was a dead end that couldn’t take me any further. The wolf also looked around to see if anyone was there, and slowly approached me like a predator.

I didn’t even have time to be afraid. My hind feet, which had slowed down, hovered on the railing gaps hastily.

Ah…. Trapped between the terrace railings, I met the wolf with trembling eyes. A distant fear surged in like a wave.

“…Bibi?”

As the low voice was heard, both the wolf and my eyes vibrated simultaneously.

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Translator’s Corner

Well, this was one hard chapter. So, recently, translation hunters have been active again and of course, that puts me at risk. Well, considering this is a blog, I hope my translations can be safe here (as long as some people don’t repost because I just found some sites that have been reposting my translations ). But, just in case, I was thinking if I should make a discord but I still need to figure that app out.

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!