DTMT 01

Chapter 1

 Walking Straight into the Tiger’s Den

Sssss—!

Water boiled over from the pot and spilled down. Before it could even touch the blazing fire, it turned into white steam and vanished into the air.

I trembled as I stared at those terrifying flames.

Am I really going in there? No. No way. Somebody save me!

“It’s fully boiled, Lord Idrish.”

“Then go catch it.”

“Yes, sir!”

With a flimsy reply, a scrawny man walked toward me. A huge shadow fell over my head, and a large hand grabbed me tightly.

“Kyaaaak!”

I flailed my short limbs, but it was useless.

In an instant, I was right in front of the man they called “young master.”

His golden pupils widened, then narrowed vertically again. Every hair on my body stood on end. The man opened his lips in a cruel smile.

“Roast it and serve it on my table today.”

A death sentence.

No! Spare me! I’m human! A human! If you kill me, it’s murder!

I struggled desperately, but the boiling water came closer and closer.

Ha… damn it. So I’m dying young again. And this time, boiled alive.

My mind went blank.

So, I had died once before.

Not in this world, but in another one.

I had been sick since I was young. I didn’t give up hope and tried several surgeries, but they only made the pain worse. In my final years, all I could do was lie in a hospital bed, enduring the pain while listening to audiobook novels.

So when death finally came, I was actually relieved. I wouldn’t have to hurt anymore, and I wouldn’t have to stay in that hospital.

I felt a little sorry for my family, who cried while holding my hand, but perhaps it was better for them too that I left so quickly. They had already suffered enough taking care of me all my life.

If there is a next life, please… just let me be healthy.

With that thought, I closed my eyes.

It felt like a very long time had passed—or maybe just a moment.

Because when I opened my eyes again—

I was alive.

The first thing I noticed wasn’t the strangely enormous grass or the unfamiliar trees in the vast forest.

Huh? That’s weird. Why doesn’t my body hurt? Am I dreaming? Or is this because I died? Is this the afterlife? Heaven?

As if possessed, I moved forward, pushing past grass as tall as me. My steps led me to a small stream with clear, flowing water.

Seeing the water made me thirsty.

Can you still feel thirsty after dying?

Without thinking, I reached my hand toward the water.

Or… I thought I did.

W-What is this?!

Instead of a hand, I saw something long and unfamiliar.

This isn’t a hand!

Where my fingers should have been, there were four small, sharp claws covered in dirt. A plump pink “hand” twitched awkwardly whenever I tried to move it.

My hand turned into a foot! And such a tiny, pathetic one!

I tried to touch it—but I had no hands to touch it with.

What is going on? Do you turn into some primitive form when you reach the afterlife?

Shocked, I hurried closer to the water.

The surface, briefly disturbed by my movement, soon became still. It reflected the thick trees and the cloudless sky like a mirror.

And in that beautiful reflection—

There was me.

Each time I breathed in, a long, pointed nose—like a fairy’s shoe—twitched lightly. My small, black eyes sparkled innocently, like dots made with a marker.

And on top of my head—

AAAAAAAH! WHAT IS THIS?!

As I panicked, sharp spikes shot up all over my head and back.

I looked like a living chestnut burr.

I know this animal…

It’s that… what was it called? A cactus that poops.

Right!

A hedgehog.

…I think I’ve been reincarnated as a hedgehog.

At first, I was completely devastated.

Dying young after a lifetime of illness was already tragic—and now I was a hedgehog?

But I couldn’t just sit around doing nothing.

First of all, I was hungry.

I wandered around and found some edible-looking fruits to eat.

Oh? This is good?

The sweet and sour taste made my eyes widen.

Back when I was sick, I couldn’t eat properly or taste anything. This was a sensation I hadn’t felt in a long time.

Entranced, I kept eating and eating.

Only after my belly was completely full did I collapse onto the ground. For the first time, I noticed the scenery around me.

A dense forest filled with birdsong, a red sun painting the sky orange, and fresh, clean air.

How long has it been since I’ve seen the sky like this?

A breeze blew gently. The soft fur on my round pink belly fluttered.

Suddenly, tears welled up.

I’m alive. And I’m not in pain.

Right. So what if I’m a hedgehog? I’m healthy!

At that moment, I decided to become the happiest hedgehog in the world.

But there was one fatal flaw in a hedgehog’s life.

I realized it about a month later.

I heard human voices somewhere nearby. It was the first time since I came here.

Instinctively, I hid behind some leaves and curled up. As the voices got closer, two small figures walked past me.

“Is that rumor really true?”

The language was unfamiliar, but I understood it perfectly.

“Keep your voice down. This is top secret. If it’s known they’re alive, our entire species is as good as dead.”

“Who’s going to hear us in a forest this deep? So is it true or not?”

“It is! My older brothers work at that house. The young master there had already stopped breathing. If it weren’t for that thing, he would’ve died long ago. They say if a living creature brews it and drinks it, their lifespan increases by 50 years.”

Wait. Lifespan?

It felt like I’d been struck in the head.

Why didn’t I think of that until now? How long do hedgehogs live? About 10 years? That’s like a third grader! That’s way too short.

I didn’t even know my current age.

What if I’m already nine? What if I’m near the end of my life?!

No way. I can’t die like this. I just decided to live happily as a hedgehog—how can it be taken away so soon?!

I quietly followed them.

“Where is that mansion?”

“Go straight west and look beneath the red cliff—wait, why are you asking?”

“Let’s steal it and sell it.”

Ah. What is that exactly? Let me in on this too.

“Don’t say something so crazy. How are you going to secretly steal a White Tiger’s whisker? If the owners catch you… you’ll end up roasted like a raccoon.”

A White Tiger’s whisker?

…It sounded unbelievable.

This wasn’t some novel, after all.

But when you’re desperate, you’ll cling to anything.

Well, I already died and reincarnated as a hedgehog. So why not believe in a life-extending White Tiger whisker too?

If what they said was true, this was my chance.

A chance to avoid dying young!

A chance to become the longest-living hedgehog in the world!

I didn’t know whether this “White Tiger” was literal or symbolic, but I’d find out when I got there.

So I started walking in the direction they mentioned.

I wandered through the deep forest for a week. Just when I was too exhausted to even raise my spines—

I saw it.

The White Tiger’s mansion.

It’s… huge.

I couldn’t take it all in at once. But despite its size, it looked old and half-ruined from the outside. Surrounded by gloomy trees, it felt eerie and strange.

This is creepy. I’m not going to end up as roasted hedgehog, am I?

After circling the mansion, I found a small hole and slipped inside.

But once I got in—

I couldn’t believe my eyes.

Wow… wow! It’s incredibly luxurious!

It was like a completely different world.

I even forgot for a moment that I came here to steal something and just looked around in awe.

The floors and walls were made of flawless white marble. The ceiling was so high it felt like you could stack 1,200 hedgehogs and still not reach it. A massive angel-shaped marble statue hung from above, watching over the entire mansion. Torches filled the space with light.

It felt like walking through heaven.

Statues of White Tigers lined both sides, so lifelike that my legs trembled just looking at them. The large gemstones in their eyes sparkled with every step I took, as if they were watching me.

It feels like they’re going to pounce on me any second.

But I couldn’t stop here.

I had to find that thing and steal it!

I wandered through the enormous mansion, avoiding servants as best as I could.

And finally—

I found the White Tiger.

On the third floor, in the central room.

Moonlight streamed in directly onto it.

It’s… it’s a real tiger.

Its massive white fur shone as brilliantly as the moon. It looked like a divine creature from legend.

The enormous beast slept peacefully, breathing slowly. Even at rest, it radiated overwhelming pressure.

My legs, which had never hesitated before, froze on their own.

My instincts screamed at me to run—that if I got any closer, I would die.

No. The whiskers are right there. I didn’t walk for over a week just to run away now.

I remembered the hardships I went through to get here—escaping predators, drinking rainwater to survive dehydration, losing spines from exhaustion.

If I were going to give up, I wouldn’t have come at all.

Summoning my courage, I moved my stiff front paw.

One step.

Then another.

It became a little easier.

With effort, I climbed onto the bed.

But what kind of tiger sleeps on a bed? In the best room, no less?

I looked around, wondering if the owner was nearby, but there was no one except the tiger.

How much do they love this pet tiger to treat it like this?

If they’re taking suggestions, maybe they should consider a pet hedgehog instead.

I’m clean, cute, and can even do tricks. Sit, shake, roll—I can do it all.

The ultimate companion animal is a hedgehog…!

Before I knew it, I was right next to the White Tiger.

I cleared my distracting thoughts.

If it opened its eyes and stretched its paw, it could reach me instantly.

Cold sweat soaked my belly.