DTMT 03

Chapter 3

 Damn It… I’m Completely Naked

Hey… it’s not like I wanted to pee.

It’s just that you grabbed a tiny, helpless animal and growled at it like that…

But I had no chance to argue.

I was immediately sentenced to cage confinement.

After Idrish left, I was left all alone.

Maybe because the forest was right in front of me, all kinds of terrifying sounds echoed around.

Whoooosh. Creak, creak. Grrr. Caw, caw. Ptui!

…Wasn’t that last one someone spitting?

No—this isn’t the time to worry about that. This isn’t the time to be scared either.

I began organizing the overwhelming amount of new information.

This is a world of beastmen. That man’s name is Idrish. A White Tiger living hidden in the forest.

All of this pointed to one thing—

The audiobook novel I used to listen to in my past life while in the hospital:

“The Rabbit in the Coil.”

I searched through my vague memories. I often fell asleep while listening, so I didn’t remember everything clearly, but the general story was certain.

It was about a rabbit heroine who meets a snake beastman male lead, and they struggle against their instincts to fall in love.

Of course, there was a villain in that story—

And that villain… was probably that guy.

That deceitful White Tiger who tricked me and locked me up!

In the novel, the White Tiger was royalty. But because of his indifferent nature, typical of tigers, the kingdom fell into disorder. He even killed beastmen who protested.

Eventually, a massive rebellion broke out, and the White Tiger clan was wiped out.

After that, in the beastman kingdom of Derod, a power struggle began between three clans: snake, eagle, and wolf.

The one who ended that three-way war—

Was the reappearance of the supposedly extinct White Tiger clan.

They returned to take revenge on the world and completely devastated the kingdom.

At that moment, the male lead—the snake beastman Ozar—appeared dramatically, saved the world, and ended up gaining both power and love.

A simple story.

Back then, I just thought it was an entertaining romance.

But being inside that story is a completely different matter.

Especially when I walked straight into the White Tiger’s territory and got caught!

If I had realized this earlier, I would’ve gone to the kind male lead Ozar instead of the White Tiger. Why am I only figuring this out now?!

But what’s the use of regret?

I was already captured.

The only thing left was to figure out how to escape.

Maybe I really am a beastman too? Good. If I turn human, I can escape this cage. But how do I transform? Transform! Transform!

I strained my entire body, trying everything.

Nothing happened.

After a long while, I collapsed inside the cage, exhausted.

…Am I just getting my hopes up for nothing? I really might just be a normal hedgehog.

I let out a small sigh through my tiny nose.

I’m thirsty…

I tried and tried to become human, but nothing worked.

At this point, I was probably just an ordinary hedgehog.

And an ordinary hedgehog had no way of escaping this cage.

For days, Idrish didn’t show his face.

Servants came to look at me occasionally, but no one gave me even a drop of water.

During the day, I lay limp under the blazing sunlight. At dawn, I barely survived by licking the dew that formed on the iron bars.

On the third day, after sunset—

“Chestnut.”

I didn’t even have the strength to lift a single spine. I just lay there, rolling my eyes weakly.

Now I’m hearing things…

Then—

Clank!

The cage door opened loudly.

W-What? That wasn’t my imagination?

I tried to jump up, but Idrish grabbed me first.

“Squeee!”

“You’re still alive. Impressive.”

Muttering that, Idrish calmly started pulling out my spines again.

Aaaah! That hurts! What are you doing?!

I screamed in shock.

I’ll bite you!

I tried to bite his hand, but he held me too tightly, and I couldn’t reach.

Ignoring me, Idrish carefully wrapped the plucked spines in a handkerchief and put them into his pocket.

Satisfied with what he collected, he tried to put me back into the cage.

Taking me out was easy for him—but putting me back? Not happening.

I waited for the moment the cage door would close.

Now! I’ll escape—

Ow! My head got stuck in the door! Open it!

Idrish opened the door again.

Phew, I thought my head would get crushed—

Just kidding! That was acting!

I tried to escape again.

A fierce struggle began—him trying to shove me in, and me trying to keep the door from closing at all costs.

At that moment—

Whoosh!

With the sound of air splitting, Idrish suddenly reached his hand toward me.

Is he hitting me?!

Startled, I jumped instinctively and curled into a spiky ball.

But then—

I saw it.

An arrow stuck in Idrish’s hand.

His hand had been right in front of me.

Which means…

That arrow was aimed at me?

If he hadn’t blocked it, I would’ve been pierced through and died instantly.

My legs gave out, and I collapsed.

No—focus.

If one arrow was fired, another could come any moment.

Of course, the target would be Idrish—but who knows? Someone might miss again like before.

I couldn’t dodge, but I stayed as alert as possible.

But in the deep darkness of the forest, I couldn’t see anything.

By then, Idrish had already transformed into the White Tiger.

His left paw, where he took the arrow for me, was stained red—but he didn’t seem to feel any pain.

The air tightened with tension.

Idrish stared into a single point in the darkness. His yellow eyes glowed like ghost fire.

He slowly stepped back, and every muscle in his body moved like a piece of art.

A low growl rumbled.

Even my fur stood on end.

Right now, Idrish was an untouchable predator—a true beast.

With a thunderous roar, he kicked off the ground and leapt forward.

“AAAH!”

A scream came from the darkness.

Not Idrish’s.

A man, covered in blood, crawled toward me.

Behind him, Idrish reappeared—

But he wasn’t alone.

More than ten men, their faces hidden under black hoods, surrounded him with weapons.

A suffocating silence followed.

It felt like even the slightest movement would slice through the tension.

The White Tiger bared its bloodstained teeth—

And then the hooded men attacked all at once.

The White Tiger bit the leg of the man on the far left and flung him away.

Hey—why are you throwing him THIS way?!

The man’s body flew toward me and slammed into the cage.

Crash!

The world spun.

My head, my back—ugh, that’s at least two weeks of recovery…

I crawled out from under the heavy body crushing me.

And the moment I got out—

I locked eyes with the man.

His eyes glinted with killing intent.

H-Hey… just ignore me and keep fighting, please.

But he clearly had other plans.

Even while bleeding heavily, he pulled out a dagger and swung it at me.

I’m just an innocent pet hedgehog of the White Tiger!

Seriously, what do people think hedgehogs are?! Why would you go out of your way to kill the enemy’s pet?!

My legs trembled, but I ran as fast as I could.

It was the fastest I had ever run since becoming a four-legged creature.

The man dragged his injured leg and crawled after me.

It was so terrifying, I never wanted to see something like that again—even in a nightmare.

The bizarre chase continued.

Then the man shouted in a boiling voice:

“Cecilia… Cecilia Erizo…! I will kill you!”

Cecilia?

My legs stopped instantly.

I could feel it instinctively.

That name—

It was mine.

Slowly, I turned to look at him.

Through the gaps in his hood, his eyes gleamed.

At the same time, he coughed up blood and made one final slash.

“Ah—!”

I barely dodged. The blade grazed past my leg and stabbed into the ground.

That was his last move.

He collapsed.

I sat there, panting heavily.

“Haah… haah…”

Cecilia Erizo.

I repeated the name over and over.

Who am I?

What kind of person is Cecilia Erizo…?

A breeze blew.

Long hair brushed against my back.

Startled by the unfamiliar sensation, I looked down.

In the darkness, I saw pale, long legs.

I touched my body.

I had hands.

Arms. Legs.

When I brushed my hair back, long red strands fell into view like flowing paint.

They slipped through my long fingers.

No spines.

No snout.

No tail.

“I… I turned human!”

I almost shouted, then quickly covered my mouth.

I couldn’t risk alerting everyone now that I finally had a chance.

I didn’t know why Idrish spared me, but now that I had turned human, getting caught would be a disaster.

I wouldn’t even be able to deny anything—I’d be branded a spy.

I jumped to my feet.

The wind swept across my entire body.

…Damn it.

I’m completely naked.