Momoa gazed at Seol nestled in Gyeoul’s arms.

The kitten mewed happily.

Only then did Momoa realize she had made a huge mistake.

‘It was a real cat…!’

Momoa felt wronged.

All the explanations the children had given so far hadn’t actually been about Gyeoul.

A white kitten.

So scared of fireworks and fire that it runs away crying.

Anyone would think they were talking about Gyeoul, but they weren’t.

“I-I’m sorry,” Momoa said, bowing her head to Gyeoul.

She shouldn’t have treated beast-kin children like animals.

As a half-blood who had endured all kinds of humiliation, she knew better than anyone how painful discriminatory words and actions could be.

This time, it was clearly her mistake.

“It’s okay. It’s an understandable misunderstanding,” Gyeoul said, waving her hand at Momoa to indicate it was fine.

The confusion arose because she and Seol looked so alike.

“Thank you for forgiving me. I sincerely apolo-“

“Enough with the sorrys!”

Levinas made an X with her hands, wearing an angry expression.

She disliked how the joyful party atmosphere had turned gloomy.

“Ah, I’m sor-“

“Stop!”

Thump thump thump-

Levinas pounded the table with her clenched fist.

Only then could Momoa stop apologizing.

“C-cake, shall we eat cake?! For Seol, of course!” Momoa suggested.

“Yes, that sounds good.”

Momoa pushed the cat-shaped cake towards Seol.

Seol sniffed it before taking a bite.

“Nom nom nom.”

Seol’s tail perked up.

Gyeoul knew that meant it was delicious.

Chomp chomp.

While eating the cake, Seol looked at Gyeoul.

“No, today is Seol’s day, so Seol should eat it all,” Gyeoul said.

“Meow meow?”

“Yes. Saebyeok also-“

Gyeoul turned to look at Saebyeok as she spoke.

Saebyeok was staring intently at the cake.

Her body trembled as she desperately held back her desire to eat.

“I’m fine. Seol, eat it all,” Saebyeok said.

“…See? Saebyeok is giving it all to you too. Today is Seol’s day, after all.”

The cake was too small to share anyway.

It was best to give it all to Seol.

“Meow meow!”

Seol ate the cake, wagging their tail.

As Seol, the party’s guest of honor, focused on eating the cake, a long silence fell.

At that moment, Momoa cleared her throat.

“Shall we check the presents?”

“Presents!” Levinas exclaimed.

Levinas tore open the wrapping paper with her distinctive horned rabbit front teeth.

Inside was a carrot fishing rod.

A real carrot was attached to the end of the toy fishing rod.

“Woah!”

Levinas’s eyes sparkled as she looked at Gyeoul.

She clearly wanted to play with the carrot fishing rod together.

“Hmm… Should we play outside after Seol finishes the cake?” Gyeoul suggested.

“Yes!”

Levinas hugged the carrot fishing rod tightly.

She beamed, looking only at Momoa.

“Do you like it?” Momoa asked.

“Yes! This is Levinas’s first toy like this ever! Thank you, Momoa!”

Levinas put down the carrot fishing rod and hugged Momoa.

Hmph.

Momoa turned her head away.

But she didn’t push away the hugging Levinas.

The two seemed to have grown closer.

—

—

“Meow! Meow!”

Seol ran around the park with the carrot fishing rod in their mouth.

Levinas and Saebyeok chased after them.

“Get it!” Levinas shouted.

Levinas ran because of the carrot, while Saebyeok ran in response to the small swinging object.

Rather than the children playing with Seol, it was Seol playing with the children.

‘Seol is really smart.’

The carrot attached to the end of the fishing rod darted around the park like a small animal.

My feline instincts reacted, making my body twitch.

‘Hmm…’

Was this a hunting instinct?

I wanted to chase after it and catch it.

I folded my arms and closed my eyes, trying my best to resist.

Then I heard the sound of a cane in the darkness.

“Sophia.”

“Yes, dear.”

Sophia approached me.

Her gaze was fixed on the children playing.

“Is it break time?” I asked.

“Yes, it’s break time. Gyeoul, aren’t you going to play?”

“I was taking a short break too. Trying to control my instincts.”

“Your instincts…?”

Sophia sat on a nearby bench.

She was looking at me with curious eyes.

“My feline instincts are trying to burst out. So I’m holding them back.”

“…Instincts are the destiny of beast-kin.”

“Sophia has instincts too, right?”

“When there’s water, yes.”

That’s right.

Sophia would become aggressive when wet.

But seeing how she didn’t act recklessly even when just a little water got on her, she could clearly control it to some extent.

“…Do you think I’ll be able to control my instincts like Sophia someday?”

“There’s no need to forcefully control them. Instincts aren’t something to be ashamed of.”

“R-really?”

“Yes, take pride in your race. This old lady was late in realizing it, but you’re still young, Gyeoul.”

“Hmm…”

My race.

But what exactly was my race?

I knew I was feline, but I didn’t know exactly what kind of cat I was.

“Is something troubling you?” Sophia asked.

“Um… What kind of shark are you, Sophia?”

“If you’re asking about my lineage, telling you wouldn’t help. I’m not a shark from this world. Just know that I’m a shark from a very ancient time.”

“Very ancient…”

An ancient shark.

Like a megalodon?

Sophia started to seem really cool.

“But why are you suddenly asking about lineage?”

“I got curious about what kind of feline I am.”

Sophia paused at my question.

She crossed her arms and started thinking, just like I had done earlier.

“Your lineage, Gyeoul… Even this old lady isn’t sure.”

“You don’t know either?”

“You were born in an extraordinary way, after all.”

Born in an extraordinary way.

I knew that meant I was a beast-kin born without parents.

“What if I’m from a vicious feline species? Like an extremely ferocious tiger…”

“The more ferocious ones tend to have a harder time controlling their instincts, but…”

“Oh no. What if I’m from a really savage species?”

“Hmm…?”

It would be dangerous if suddenly savage instincts burst out.

I was getting anxious, but for some reason, Sophia looked calm.

“I guess I should try to figure out my species.”

“Yes, looking into it yourself wouldn’t be a bad idea. Work hard at it.”

“I will.”

While it would be cool to be something fierce like a tiger, I’d prefer to be a non-dangerous species.

Hoping I was just an ordinary cat, I decided to look into what my species might be.

—

—

An hour later.

I went outside with the children after they finished playing.

We were headed to the library.

“Wow! Are we going to read books?!” Levinas asked excitedly.

“Yeah. There’s a book that catalogs feline animals.”

“Oh! Is there a book about horned rabbits too?!”

“I’m not sure? We might find one if we look.”

“Wow…! Let’s hurry…!”

Levinas’s eyes sparkled as she grabbed my hand.

She was clearly hoping for a book about horned rabbits.

“Hmm…”

There should at least be some children’s books with rabbits in them, right?

Rabbits often appeared in fairy tales in my original world too.

With that thought, I arrived at the nearby library with the children.

“Wow…”

“There are so many books…”

The bookshelves were more than twice my height.

There had to be at least thousands of books in the whole library.

Maybe even more than that.

How was I supposed to find the book I wanted among so many?

Just as I was about to start browsing through them one by one.

Levinas ran ahead and waved her hand.

“King! Over here!”

Hop hop-

She jumped up and down, waving her hand.

The loud noise made everyone in the library turn to look at Levinas.

“You shouldn’t make loud noises in the library,” a man who looked like a librarian cautioned Levinas.

He even put his index finger to his lips.

“…!”

Levinas’s horned rabbit eyes went wide as she clamped her mouth shut.

She even covered her nose with her hand.

“Y-you can still breathe. Just speak quietly, okay?” the librarian said.

“Okay…!” Levinas spoke in a tiny voice, exhaling.

She even started tiptoeing around stealthily.

Hehe.

The people in the library smiled at Levinas.

Not mockingly, but the kind of smile people have when they see something cute.

“Are you looking for a specific book?” the librarian asked.

“A horned rabbit book…!” Levinas whispered.

“Any book with horned rabbits in it?”

“Mm…!”

The librarian typed on a computer keyboard.

Then a paper came out of a printer-like device.

“I’ll print out a list of horned rabbit books for you.”

“Woah…!”

Levinas received the paper.

There were quite a few books about horned rabbits.

So that’s how you find where the books are located.

I slowly approached the librarian.

“Um, could you help me find a book too?”

“…A book about cats?”

“Yes… A book about felines.”

He knew without me saying.

Did he guess I was feline?

As I tilted my head in confusion, the librarian handed me a paper.

There was an encyclopedia of feline animals.

‘Here it is.’

I took out the encyclopedia and went to find Levinas.

Levinas had pulled out five books about horned rabbits and was sitting at a table.

There were fairy tales, comics, and an encyclopedia.

But the one Levinas was reading was a cookbook.

‘Cooking…?’

Wait, isn’t cooking quite dangerous?

I rushed towards Levinas in a panic, but Levinas’s hand was faster.

As Levinas opened the book, the fur on her ears stood straight up.

Then she leaped from her seat like a startled cat.

“Eek!”

You’re supposed to be quiet in the library.

Levinas, who usually followed rules well, forgot the rule and screamed.

The loud noise drew the attention of everyone in the library.

Towards Levinas and the book titled “Horned Rabbit Food” she was holding.

—

4/6 Enjoy the chappy!

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Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep