CHAPTER 21…………………………………………
After the sulky relative left—
Rin turned her gaze to the remaining hyena and cheetah kids.
They had bullied a timid peer under the excuse of “playing hunting,” and yet, without even a hint of guilt, the little beastfolk raised their chins proudly. They blinked, then sneered nastily.
“Hey, you’re a deer too?”
“Got bad ears?”
“What?”
“I told you, I’m a Pegasus.”
Rin tilted her head and answered calmly.
The beastfolk kids growled, provoked by her complete lack of fear.
At the instinctive sound that made bodies freeze, the little water deer boy flinched and stiffened—
but Rin only frowned, putting on a strict expression that looked just like her uncle’s.
“You shouldn’t make that kind of noise at a friend.”
“Ha! I’m a predator beastfolk.”
“So?”
“I can make whatever sounds I want!”
“You shouldn’t do whatever you want when you know it’ll scare someone else.”
“‘Friend’? As if. I’m not friends with grass-eaters.”
“Really?”
The hyena kid bared his teeth on purpose, flaunting it to scare the water deer child.
The trembling in the deer kid’s small frame—clinging to Rin’s back—transmitted straight to her.
Rin calmly slipped a hand into her pocket.
“Then I guess you don’t expect to be treated with friendliness either?”
“Ha! Friendly? Of course not!”
“Good.”
Rin activated the magic tool she held and thrust her arm forward.
Pop!
A blast of intense light shot out.
“Uwah?!”
“Argh! What the—!”
Blinded, the beastfolk kids shook their heads wildly.
Confirming they were disoriented, Rin pulled the water deer boy with her and stepped back.
“Pinch your nose and hold your breath.”
Bang!
Rin threw something at the still-spinning beastfolk kids.
A loud pop—then a red powder burst into the air.
“GYAAAAH!”
“KYAA! KRRK!”
Their screams now were incomparable to before.
“It’s chili powder mixed with lemon juice.”
“GAAAH!!”
“If you don’t wash spicy powder off fast, it gets even hotter.”
With their keen predator senses of smell, the kids couldn’t endure it.
Before Rin even finished speaking, the hyena and cheetah kids bolted away like arrows.
“…Wow.”
Once the bullies were gone, the water deer boy blinked blankly and finally let out a breath of awe.
“You’re… really amazing!”
“This? It’s nothing.”
Rin’s shoulders rose slightly under the admiring gaze, though she fought to keep her grin in check.
“N-no, you really are. They’re super scary. I couldn’t even move…”
His already droopy eyes drooped even further as he remembered how helpless he’d been.
Flustered by his gloomy expression, Rin blinked rapidly.
“Uh—my name’s Rin. What’s yours?”
“Oh. I’m Julien.”
“I see. Juli… Julien?!”
Rin, who had tried to change the subject to cheer him up, jerked in surprise.
Julien? A water deer beastfolk with that name… could it be—
Her future knowledge flashed through her mind.
If the boy in front of her was that Julien—
Rin’s eyes sparkled like she’d struck gold.
“Julien. That’s your real name, right? Do you have an older sister, by any chance?”
“Huh? Uh. Yeah.”
“Relatives living in leopard territory?”
“Oh! Yeah! How’d you know?”
Feeling more at ease, Julien began chatting freely about himself.
It was his first time visiting the lord’s estate; he’d come along because his sister was working here; he’d lived long in Pegasus territory, but might move next year to the domain where his relatives were.
Rin listened carefully to every piece of personal information he volunteered, then nodded with certainty.
As expected! It’s that Julien. The great inventor Julien!
Even in her prophetic dreams that only showed major events briefly—
Julien’s name was unforgettable.
Most of the wondrous inventions of the future were created by her!
In fact, the trendy new drink she’d just read about yesterday in the original story was also Julien’s creation.
Before she became famous as an inventor, she ran a tiny street stall to make ends meet—
and the new beverage she developed became such a hit that she opened branches in other territories.
Back then, her drink was more famous than her name.
After that, not just her inventions, but stories about Julien herself became legendary.
Indeed—Julien, the inventor of the century’s greatest creations.
She was also… famously gullible.
She got swindled so much, her older sister supposedly collapsed from stress.
Right after moving to her relatives’ territory as a child, those very relatives cleaned her out completely.
Then each time she rebuilt her fortune with new inventions, she was betrayed again:
by the friend who consoled her for being tricked by family,
then by the neighbor who was angry on her behalf,
then by the younger sibling-figure who comforted her after the neighbor betrayed her…
Endlessly giving and endlessly being exploited—
those personal tragedies made Julien known across the continent.
She piled up mountains of gold from world-changing inventions—
and lost those mountains entirely.
A legendary pushover.
“Julien!”
“H-huh?”
Rin seized both of Julien’s hands, eyes burning with resolve—
so he couldn’t slip away.
“Let’s be friends.”
To think she found the future great inventor AND future… well, friend, right here!
A huge stroke of luck for both herself and Julien.
What did her prophetic dream call this again?
A blue-chip stock? Buying at the bottom?
Whatever it was—this was it.
“Friends? Uh… I’d like that.”
“Me too.”
Julien blushed at the sudden offer but nodded shyly.
Delighted at the talent that had rolled to her on its own, Rin shook his hand firmly.
We’re friends—friends.
Like stamping a contract, their clasped hands bobbed cheerfully.
Then Rin spoke with complete sincerity:
“My friend. I’ll protect you.”
“O-oh? Th-thank you.”
Thinking she meant the earlier bullying, Julien simply thanked her—
but Rin made a quiet vow.
I’ll protect you from con artists, never betray you, and we’ll help each other.
With Julien on her side, carrying out her future plans would be so much easier!
Of course, Rin wasn’t going to exploit a friend like the scammers did—
she would protect her from the tragedies she’d seen in the future.
Yes! Starting right now.
Rin began immediately.
“Julien. If those predator kids bother you again, tighten your stomach muscles.”
“M-my stomach?”
“Yeah. Then shout!”
“Shout? Uh… like this?”
“No. The cry you made when you first saw me.”
“You mean… my beast form cry?”
“Yep. Water deer beastfolk have strong voices, and predator beastfolk have sensitive ears. If they attack, blast that cry right into their ears. They’ll faint.”
Julien’s eyes went wide at Rin’s bold words, but soon he looked tempted—That would work?
Rin then helped him practice making loud sounds as a celebration of their new friendship.
Teaching him diaphragmatic breathing she’d read about in the library, and wearing specialized earplugs, Rin happily watched his new “weapon” being polished.
At the same time—
Sir Kay, the knight who’d clung to a tree and vomited spectacularly during Rin’s morning visit, had just returned from the unpleasant cleanup duty he’d been punished with.
But even that hardship couldn’t reform the hopeless drunk.
“Ugh… my head…”
Kay shuffled to work, clutching his pounding skull, muttering in a sluggish voice. He had drunk heavily the previous night as usual.
Dragging his feet as he entered the training grounds, he stopped after a few steps and rubbed his eyes.
“…Did I not sober up enough?”
Or maybe his brain just hadn’t woken up yet.
He knocked himself on the head a few times, but the scene before him didn’t change.
Kay froze, dumbfounded.
