TBF 02

Chapter 2

The sudden appearance of the giant beast made the wolves bristle and lower their bodies.

“Hey.”

The wolf captain called out to the bear.

“Hey, Mr. Bear.”

“……”

“Come on. Answer me.”

“……”

The bear didn’t respond.

An awkward silence followed, and the wolf clicked his tongue in annoyance.

That bear… isn’t a beastman?

In The One I Tamed Was a Fox, beastmen could communicate even while in their animal forms.

It wasn’t exactly speaking out loud—it was more like hearing the other person’s voice directly inside your head.

The novel never really explained it, but Nabom knew from experience.

Although…

I never figured out how to do it myself.

She had tried talking to her parents while they were in animal form, but it never worked.

No matter how hard she wished or repeated the words in her mind, her voice never reached them.

Of course…

Now wasn’t the time to be thinking about that.

The wolf captain slowly stepped toward the bear.

His golden eyes glared threateningly.

“That rabbit is our prey. If you don’t quietly hand it over, then we’ll—AAAAAAAH!!”

He never finished his sentence.

The brown bear swung one massive arm with all its strength…

…and sent the wolf captain flying into the distance.

“Captain!”

The wolves howled toward where their leader had disappeared before turning back to the bear.

Grrrr…

Baring their fangs, more than a dozen wolves charged at the bear all at once.

But—

Yelp!

Whine!

Yowwwl!

Every swing of the bear’s arms…

Every punch…

Every kick…

Sent two or three wolves flying through the air.

The Baekrang, rulers of the Arctic and famous for their enormous size, looked like nothing more than puppies in front of the giant brown bear.

In the blink of an eye, every wolf had either disappeared deep into the forest or been thrown across the snowy field.

He turned the mighty Baekrang into that…

Seriously, who invented teddy bears?

How can something like that be called cute?

And why did a bear suddenly show up here?

Did it come to hunt the wolves?

That hopeful thought lasted only a moment.

Whooooo—

The blizzard swirled around them.

The brown bear suddenly turned its head.

Even through the blowing snow, its shining golden eyes were fixed directly on her.

Why… why are you looking at me…?

Dear God…

Couldn’t You spare this tiny creature who’s only trying to humbly live out her rabbit life?

Complaining to heaven didn’t last long.

Nabom desperately searched for a way to survive.

I’m sure I saw this on YouTube…

How to survive an encounter with a bear.

Step one. Pretend to be dead!

Luckily, she was already lying face-down in the snow, unable to move because so much snow had piled on top of her.

If she stayed perfectly still…

She might look like a corpse.

Maybe her white fur would even blend in with the snow.

Thinking that, she tightly shut her eyes.

The ground shook with every step the bear took.

It was definitely coming closer.

Please…

Please just walk past me…

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

But contrary to her desperate wish…

The footsteps stopped right in front of her.

Twitch!

Feeling the bear’s gaze above her, her body instinctively shrank.

Then—

Hic.

Once.

Hic.

Twice.

She hiccupped.

Each hiccup made her whole body jerk, shaking off the snow that had been covering her.

Her first plan…

Had failed.

Then… Plan Two.

Slowly back away.

The professor in that YouTube video had said this was the most effective method.

Using all the strength she had left in her healthy left hind leg, Nabom slowly stood up.

Don’t make eye contact.

But keep watching the bear.

And never turn around and run.

Just slowly back away…

However…

The bear calmly took one step forward.

The distance Nabom had gained after taking ten careful steps backward…

The bear closed with a single stride.

I’m doomed.

Only one option remained.

Nabom spread both front paws as wide as she could.

Standing on tiptoe with all her weight on her hind legs, she arched her back until all her fur stood on end.

Then she finally stared directly into the bear’s eyes.

It was an animal’s way of saying:

Don’t mess with me, or you’ll regret it!

But…

Her entire body was shaking so violently that she looked more like a trembling leaf than something threatening.

The bear simply tilted its head.

…It doesn’t even realize I’m threatening it.

Despair made the world seem to spin around her.

Then…

She saw the brown bear slowly reaching one huge paw toward her.

Damn you, God…

Nabom’s vision went black.

“I’m sorry… dear.”

A voice reached her ears.

It was a voice she knew so well.

As soft as the new bedsheets in her hospital room…

Yet as sorrowful as the room on a rainy day.

“Please take good care of Naeul.”

Naeul.

That’s right…

Today’s that day.

The day her mother, father, and little sibling were supposed to go to the amusement park together.

Since Nabom had never been able to leave her hospital room…

It had always been an impossible dream for her.

That was why she had insisted they go without her.

Then why is Mom here…?

…

Ah.

Because of me.

She felt a weak breath escape through the oxygen mask covering her mouth.

Through her blurry vision…

She thought she saw her mother’s back.

Slowly…

She reached out her hand.

Toward her mother.

That’s strange.

My body never moved no matter how desperately I wished…

So why is it moving now?

Her fingertips touched her mother’s wrist.

Mom…

She tried to call out.

But no sound came.

Her mother finally turned around.

And then—

“…Haa…”

She let out a long sigh.

Nabom remembered her final moments.

Her mother’s exhausted face…

And the sigh that escaped from her cracked lips.

A sigh filled with overwhelming relief.

Yeah…

That’s good.

You don’t have to suffer anymore, Mom.

You can relax now.

Because I’m dead.

Feeling something lightly touch his wrist, the man looked toward the rabbit.

The little white rabbit was lying on its side atop the bed, resting one tiny paw against his arm.

Its mouth moved slightly, but only a faint breath escaped.

Its eyelids lifted just a little over its round eyes.

It’s awake.

“…Haa…”

The man sighed as he looked at the white rabbit.

The rabbit slowly closed its eyes again.

Its tiny nose twitched beneath its soft fur.

Then…

Something quietly rolled down beneath its eyes.

Tears.

“……”

The man silently watched the rabbit cry without making a sound.

It’s hot…

Just moments ago it had been winter.

Now it felt like the middle of summer.

She could feel sweat soaking through her fur.

Is this heaven?

Or… hell?

After tossing and turning for a while, Nabom slowly opened her eyes.

An unfamiliar ceiling greeted her.

Following the luxurious canopy overhead with her eyes, she finally looked down at the bed she was lying on.

Only then did she understand why she had been so unbearably hot.

How many blankets are on me?!

At least five thick quilts covered her entire body except for her face.

She tried pushing them away with all four paws.

They didn’t budge.

In the end, she twisted and squirmed until she finally wriggled free.

I almost cooked to death…

“Phew…”

A tiny sigh escaped her little triangular mouth.

After catching her breath, she hurriedly looked around.

The bed alone was about half the size of the house she used to live in.

A fireplace burned beyond the sofa.

The tapestry hanging on the wall was clearly made of expensive materials.

And then—

My leg…

Her right hind leg—the one the wolf’s claws had ripped open until blood poured out—

Was carefully wrapped in clean bandages.

As if someone had treated it.

…What happened?

I was sure that bear killed me.

So why am I alive?

Where is this?

Whatever this place was…

She couldn’t stay here.

More importantly…

Her animal instincts were screaming at her to leave.

The room was filled with a frightening scent.

A predator…

It was the same instinctive fear she’d felt when facing the wolves.

Her nose knew.

The owner of this scent was a hunter.

Limping on her injured leg, she hurried toward the edge of the bed.

After struggling for quite a while while clinging to the bedsheets…

Her paws finally touched the floor.

She crawled desperately until she reached the door.

Scratch!

Scratch!

Scratch!

Scratch!

She clawed frantically at it.

It wouldn’t open.

Calm down.

Panicking won’t help.

Taking a deep breath, Nabom prepared herself.

Her injured leg throbbed painfully.

But she couldn’t give up now.

Hop!

She jumped as high as she could, stretching out both front paws.

Success.

She grabbed onto the doorknob.

Creeeak…

The door slowly opened.

Thump.

She fell onto her backside, but she hardly noticed.

I need to get out of here.

She might be considered defective…

But she was still a rabbit.

Leaving the door unlocked?

Big mistake.

Chuckling to herself, Nabom quickly crawled out.

Wherever this is, I’ll escape with my rabbit speed!

But after wandering through the hallways for some time…

She soon found herself panting.

Why is this house so enormous?!

Frustrated, she stomped her front paws while trying not to use her injured hind leg.

Only then did she look around.

“…!”

She had somehow returned to the very room she had just left.

It’s a maze!

At that moment—

Footsteps echoed through the hallway.

Not just one person.

She could hear several pairs of feet…

Along with voices.

And they were getting closer.

This is bad!

Panicking, Nabom squeezed her eyes shut and hurried back into the room she had just escaped from.

The instant she pressed herself flat behind the door—

Creeeak…

The door slowly opened.