TBF 06

Chapter 6

Why didn’t I think of that? Bears hibernate!

Nabom clasped her tiny front paws together and closed her eyes.

Thank you, God.

If they were eating that much salmon before hibernation, it meant the bears would be asleep for a very long time.

She didn’t know exactly how long bears hibernated, but it would surely be more than enough time for her to escape.

They’ll only eat… salmon, right?

There’s no way they’d eat something as tiny as me when they already have that mountain of salmon.

Right. That has to be it.

She repeated those words to herself like a prayer.

Before she knew it, she had been brought to the Great Hall of Grizzly Castle.

More precisely—

She was sitting on the long dining table.

On the very table covered with plates full of food for bears.

Thank you? My foot.

What kind of cruel god would do this?!

“Kying! Kyiiing! Kyaaah!”

Filled with despair and grief, Nabom lifted her head and cried.

Yes.

Rabbits cried too.

When they were angry or felt threatened, they could make cries like this.

But the predators gathered around the table only looked at her with curiosity as she cried with her buck teeth exposed and her tiny mouth stretched open.

“Kyaaa!”

“Louis, don’t make so much noise during meals. And don’t imitate Snowflake like that. It’s rude.”

“But she’s so cute.”

Sitting on either side of Anna, Ferdi and Louis chatted casually with Nabom between them.

The people gathered around the long table weren’t only members of the Grizzly family.

The Grizzly family and their servants all shared the same meal together.

Everyone seemed genuinely happy, as though they had been looking forward to this moment.

When Theodore, the head of the family, gave a small nod, everyone bowed their heads in gratitude.

Then they immediately began eating the steaming salmon dishes before them.

Thud! Slice, slice.

The sound of forks and knives echoed throughout the hall.

Nabom flinched nervously.

Everyone was focused on the salmon now…

But she had no idea when they might suddenly decide she looked delicious instead.

Especially that brown bear.

Theodore.

Everyone even addressed her as “Emergency Food Supply-nim.”

As ridiculous as the honorific sounded, there was no denying she really was the family head’s emergency food supply.

Instinctive fear made Nabom slowly back away.

“Emergency Food Supply-nim.”

A chilling voice suddenly spoke beside her.

Nabom whipped her head around.

It wasn’t the Grim Reaper.

It was Anna.

“Here. I think this is better for you than salmon.”

Anna smiled as she held out some fresh greens.

Perhaps she’d mistaken Nabom’s intense stare at the salmon for hunger.

In reality, Nabom had only been wondering when she herself would become someone’s meal.

She wasn’t hungry anymore, but instinctively bit the leaf anyway.

Crunch, crunch, crunch.

As she chewed mindlessly, her anxiety eased a little.

They said I’m still too small to be Theodore’s emergency food.

They won’t eat me until I grow bigger.

More than that…

Anna gently scratched beneath her chin every time she fed her.

It felt incredibly nice.

After eating several more leaves, Nabom frowned.

Huh?

My body’s… different.

Normally, even while sitting, she could clearly see her hind legs.

Now…

Her belly was so round and swollen that she could barely see the tips of her feet.

Wait…

Did I already become one full serving of emergency food?!

She was still horrified when—

“Anna.”

A deep voice came from across the table.

A huge man with a thick black beard glared fiercely at Anna.

“You’re standing too close.”

“Don’t overstep your place.”

“My apologies, Commander.”

Anna immediately stood and bowed crisply.

“As His Grace’s personal maid, Emergency Food Supply-nim seems to trust me.”

Her explanation only made the Commander’s expression darker.

“You know this yourself.”

“This is the first time His Grace has ever invited an Emergency Food Supply to dine at his table.”

“I know.”

“If you know that, then bring that tiny adorab—”

He coughed.

“…Emergency Food Supply-nim closer to His Grace.”

The moment the order was given, Anna reached out.

Still frozen from the Commander’s glare and her newly round belly, Nabom couldn’t avoid being picked up.

Soon she was placed directly in front of Theodore.

Now she sat helplessly in the very center of the enormous dining table.

“So that’s why the young masters call her Snowflake.”

“So white…”

“So round…”

“Nngh…”

“That fluffy white fur…”

“It must be unbelievably soft.”

The retainers seated beside Theodore leaned in close.

One clutched his chest while frowning deeply.

Another stared at Nabom with trembling hands and eyes filled with obsession.

Their massive muscular bodies—each easily twenty times larger than hers—were terrifying enough.

But that wasn’t what frightened Nabom most.

“…”

Theodore simply kept looking at her.

Silently.

Carefully.

His gaze traveled from the top of her head to the tips of her feet, as though he were thinking deeply.

Every hair on Nabom’s body stood on end.

She was certain.

He’s deciding… whether to eat me or not…!

The moment she reached that conclusion, she acted.

She clenched her trembling front paws.

“Emergency—”

“No, Snowflake-nim!”

The Commander who had just been scolding Anna now held out another handful of greens.

But Nabom noticed neither the fresh leaves nor his strangely affectionate tone.

Hyaaah!

With a battle cry in her heart, she swung both front paws with all her weight.

Smack!

She knocked the Commander’s arm aside.

Unfortunately, she put too much force into it.

She tumbled straight off the table.

Thump!

She tried to land on her hind legs but instead landed squarely on her bottom.

“Kyaaaah!”

She cried out in pain.

At that exact moment—

Theodore shot to his feet.

“Catch the rabbit.”

The instant he gave the order, every retainer jumped up as well.

A short.

Firm.

Absolute command.

Dozens of predators suddenly focused entirely on her.

Nabom forgot all about her injured leg.

She leaped away.

She ran as fast as she could.

She crashed into table legs.

Knocked over serving trays.

Several plates shattered behind her.

She didn’t stop.

She only searched desperately for an exit.

Naturally, she never heard Theodore’s next words.

“The rabbit injured her hind leg.”

“If she keeps running, the wound could reopen.”

“Catch her quickly.”

“Yes, sir!”

The retainers answered with loud salutes.

It had been so long since they’d heard their lord speak such a long sentence.

Everyone rushed after the rabbit with all their strength.

Ironically…

That only made escape easier.

Nabom slipped through the gaps between reaching hands and charging bodies.

She jumped onto a nearby man’s shoulder.

Just as he tried to grab her—

She launched herself into the air.

She clung to a window.

Bang!

The half-open window flew wider from the impact.

Without hesitation, Nabom squeezed through the gap.

“Snowflake-nim!”

Panicked voices echoed behind her.

She never looked back.

Stretching out her body, she leaped toward the garden outside.

Then—

Thunk!

Her injured hind leg caught on the window frame.

Her body suddenly lost balance.

She fell straight down.

Thump.

She hit the ground.

The impact wasn’t nearly as painful as she’d expected.

Carefully opening her eyes…

All she saw was green.

The ground beneath her was soft, covered in thick grass and earth.

Get up…

I have to keep running…

But despite her instincts, her eyelids kept growing heavier.

After spending so long surrounded by the scent of predators…

The fresh smell of grass felt like the softest bed in the world.

Flop.

All the strength left Nabom’s body as she collapsed onto her side.

***

“Snowflake-nim!”

Someone was calling from far away.

“Emergency Foooood!”

The voice was desperate.

Full of worry.

Who is it?

Who are they searching for so desperately?

“Where are you, Snow Rabbit?!”

At the loud voice of the young boy, Nabom suddenly became alert.

It was the second son of the Grizzly family.

Louis.

They’re looking… for me.

But she couldn’t understand why they sounded so anxious.

Is there some reason I can’t disappear?

Maybe they’ll be punished if they lose the family head’s emergency food.

That can’t happen.

“We were finally supposed to go to the amusement park today! Why did this have to happen today?”

“She can’t even transform into a human. She’s such a useless fool. We should never have had her.”

I don’t want anyone to suffer because of me.

“It’s all your fault!”

“Why do I have to be treated like this? It’s because of you.”

I don’t want to become anyone’s burden anymore.

Nabom gritted her tiny teeth.

She forced herself to stand, trying to crawl out of the sea of green.

Just then—

“…?”

Suddenly, her surroundings became much brighter.

At the same time…

The overwhelming scent of a predator washed over her.

Slowly, Nabom opened her eyes.

Standing amid the parted grass…

Looking directly at her…

Was a gigantic brown bear.

It was Theodore.