Chapter 74: Taming Fears, Teasing Delphine

Gulp, gulp—

I sat on the first-floor sofa, savoring a glass of milk.

The creamy richness was exquisite, almost unmatched in flavor.

‘Strange,’ I thought.

Milk had never been a favorite of mine, but ever since pressing Jinhyang’s stomach earlier,

it seemed like milk was all I could think about.

It was so delicious I couldn’t stop drinking it.

‘Could my eating habits be changing?’

I couldn’t say for sure. All I knew was that I wanted to savor this moment.

Gulp, gulp—

Halfway through the glass, a twinge of regret crept into my mind.

Resources were limited in this remote forest, even something as simple as milk wasn’t easy to come by.

‘I should be more careful.’

Thankfully, I had a solution.

I could prolong my enjoyment.

Grabbing a wooden plate, I poured some milk onto it.

Instead of gulping it down, I began to lap it up with my tongue, letting the milk’s creamy texture linger.

This method allowed me to taste every nuance of its flavor.

‘Genius,’ I thought.

Lick, lick—

As I lapped at the plate, I began to marvel at my intelligence.

Lately, I felt as if my mental faculties had been sharpening.

In fact, I wondered if I might be smarter now than I was before my transformation.

‘Must be my natural talent shining through,’ I thought, amused.

I considered asking Jinhyang for an IQ test later to confirm my suspicions.

While I pondered this, I noticed Raxy Bora approaching me from the distance.

“Harang.”

“Hm?”

I looked up at her, my tongue still peeking out as a single drop of milk slid off its tip.

“What are you doing?”

“Drinking milk,” I replied, showing her the plate and giving it a few more laps for emphasis.

“Is it good?”

“Yeah! It’s really good.”

As I wagged my tail, happily engrossed in my milk,

Raxy Bora sat down beside me and patted my head.

“I didn’t know you liked milk so much.”

I didn’t know either. It wasn’t something I had planned; I’d just been compelled to drink it.

“I just wanted some after doing the pressing thing.”

“Pressing thing?”

Raxy tilted her head, confused.

Realizing she didn’t understand, I decided to show her.

Extending my hands, I mimicked the rhythmic motion of pressing something.

Left hand, right hand.

Left hand, right hand.

Squeeze, squeeze—

‘Now I want more milk,’ I thought, continuing the demonstration for another ten seconds before reaching back for my plate.

“That…”

“That?”

I glanced at Raxy Bora, who had frozen in place.

It seemed as though even her breathing had stopped.

“Harang, who did you do the pressing thing to?”

Her voice had a sharp edge to it as she placed a hand on my shoulder, her grip tightening uncomfortably.

“I-I did it to the boss…”

“The boss?”

“Mhm.”

The pain in my shoulder grew unbearable, and I turned my head to look at her hand.

Suddenly, she began shaking me violently.

“Harang! You pressed the boss?”

“Y-yeah!”

My voice wavered with every shake, making me sound like I was vibrating.

“How exactly did you do it? Can you do it to me too?”

“E-e-e-e-h?”

The dizziness overwhelmed me, and in desperation, I placed my hands on her stomach.

Squeeze, squeeze—
I mimicked the same pressing motion I had done with Jinhyang, alternating between my left and right hands on Raxy Bora’s stomach.

“You pressed… my stomach?”

“Yeah, I pressed your stomach,” I replied nonchalantly, continuing the motion.

Squeeze, squeeze—

While I was focused on pressing Raxy Bora’s stomach, Yoon Bora slowly approached from a distance.

“Harang.”

“Hm?”

I turned toward Yoon Bora but didn’t stop the repetitive pressing motion.

“Can you help Delphine for a moment?”

“Delphine?”

Yoon Bora nodded. “She’s terrified because there’s a silver tiger outside the house.”

Ah, right. Delphine was always afraid of tigers.

“Okay. Let me finish this first, and I’ll go.”

Yoon Bora nodded again but glanced down at my hands.

“Harang, what are you doing right now?”

“Oh, this? It’s pressing. Want me to do it for you later too?”

“…Can you?”

“Yeah, sure,” I agreed.

Of course, there was a condition: she’d have to give me milk in return.

Once I reached the terrace, I found Delphine hiding there.

She was crouched behind the railing, peeking out cautiously at something in the distance.

‘There it is.’

Following her gaze, I spotted the silver tiger sitting outside.

Its fur shimmered under the sunlight, glowing like polished silver.

‘Wow.’

I wondered if my fur could ever look that cool. It would be amazing if it did.

As I idly played with my tail, I lightly tapped Delphine’s back.

“Hey.”

“Ahhh!”

Delphine shrieked, jumping out of her spot in shock.

“Eek!”

Startled by her scream, I jumped too.

‘What’s going on?’

I blinked in confusion, wondering why she was reacting so dramatically.

Delphine cleared her throat, trying to compose herself.

“Oh, it’s you, Harang.”

“Yeah, it’s me.”

Her reaction baffled me.

Did she think I was someone else? I tilted my head, curious.

Meanwhile, Delphine straightened her clothes.

“You’re good at sneaking up on people, huh?”

“Good at what?”

“Never mind. It’s nothing.”

As she shook her head, I stepped closer.

“Delphine, what are you doing here?”

“Shouldn’t you call me ‘Unni’ instead?”

She narrowed her eyes at me, clearly unimpressed.

Not one to back down, I narrowed my eyes in return.

“How old are you?”

“I’m the same age as you, Harang.”

“Wait, what?”

If we were the same age, why did she expect me to call her Unni?

While pondering this strange logic, it dawned on me that my legal age was now much younger.

Still, something felt off.

“If we’re the same age, why should I call you Unni?”

“Because I was born earlier.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me.”

Expecting me to call her Unni just because she was born a little earlier?

The nerve! Frustrated, I grabbed her shoulder—

…Almost biting it out of sheer annoyance.

But Jinhyang’s warning echoed in my mind: never bite others unnecessarily.

Instead, I gave her shoulder a quick lick and let go.

‘That was close.’

I exhaled a sigh of relief, grateful I hadn’t crossed the line.

If I had bitten Delphine’s neck, her slender neck would’ve snapped instantly.

“Whew.”

I exhaled in relief, patting my chest to calm myself.

Delphine blinked her golden eyes at me in confusion.

“Harang, why did you just lick me?”

“To taste you before eating you.”

“W-what?”

Delphine recoiled, stumbling backward in shock.

She seemed to believe my joke entirely.

What a fun person to tease.

Even though we were officially the same age, she really acted like a clueless little kid.

“Kidding,” I said with a grin.

She still looked unconvinced, keeping her distance.

“…You’re joking, right?”

“Yeah, I’m joking.”

“Promise me you won’t actually eat me…”

Delphine clasped her hands together, trembling.

Normally, I avoided doing things that made others uncomfortable.

But for some reason, teasing Delphine felt irresistible.

“Well, that depends on how you behave.”

“W-what…?”

As Delphine backed away all the way to the edge of the table, I raised a finger and pointed behind her.

“Delphine, look behind you.”

“Huh?”

She turned to look where I was pointing, only to find the silver tiger sitting behind her, tongue lazily lolling out.

“Kyaaa!”

She leapt into the air, landing right in front of me.

She must’ve jumped several meters in a single bound.

‘Wow.’

Could she be from the feline family too?

Curious, I patted her back to see if she had a hidden tail, but there was none.

It seemed she was just an ordinary human after all.

“H-Harang…”

“Yes?”

Delphine buried her face in my chest, trembling.

She reminded me of a scared little girl seeking protection,

and I couldn’t help but feel a surge of confidence.

This was my chance to show her the majesty of a true predator.

“Silver, sit.”

“Grrr…”

At my command, Silver obediently sat down.

No matter how big and fearsome Silver was, he was nothing more than a loyal subordinate who followed my orders.

“All done,” I said.

Delphine hesitantly lifted her head, nervously swallowing as she glanced between me and Silver.

Her wide-eyed expression screamed disbelief.

“Harang… Does that tiger really listen to you?”

“Yep. I’m the boss.”

“B-boss…”

Her whispered tone carried pure awe, and her golden eyes sparkled with admiration.

The intensity of her gaze made my tail wag uncontrollably.

“By the way, Delphine, what were you doing out here?”

“Well, I was trying to overcome my fear…”

“Your fear?”

“Yeah.”

Now that I thought about it, she had been hiding behind the railing, sneaking glances at Silver.

Though she hadn’t been hiding very effectively it was obvious to anyone watching.

She’d mentioned being scared of tigers before.

Maybe she was trying to face her fear by observing Silver.

‘How brave.’

Looking at her reminded me of my own experience with a shark-like monster.

I’d been so terrified I couldn’t stop crying.

Eventually, I managed to muster enough courage to watch it from a distance,

though that had been the extent of my bravery.

“Delphine.”

“Yes?”

She looked up at me with innocent eyes, and I couldn’t resist puffing out my chest and placing my hands on my hips.

For some reason, my torso stretched slightly, making me just a little taller than her.

“I’ll help you conquer your fear of tigers.”

“Really? You will?”

She stared at me with wide, hopeful eyes.

I nodded firmly, but just as I did, my body shrank back down, leaving me slightly shorter than her again.