Beli

My name is Itachi, and I'm a naturally beautiful and extraordinary skunk.

I don't know why I smell nice.

I don't know why I'm white, either.

Even less do I know why I'm so intelligent.

I only know that cuteness is a form of capital, and also a weapon.

And I possess that capital and weapon.

That's why humans were willing to let me live.

Because I was more valuable alive than dead.

I understood that very clearly.

Therefore, even after losing my freedom, I wasn't flustered in the slightest.

Until... I met that man who left me at a loss for words.

Inside the empty weapon shop, Maud and Sunny stood on either side of the white skunk sprawled limply across the counter.

Sunny said regretfully, "So this one can't be eaten?"

"It's not a question of whether he can be eaten. It would just be a waste to eat him."

Maud pried open the skunk's hind legs and took a look. After some thought, he said, "He's male."

Sunny looked at Maud in confusion. "Is it important whether he's male or female?"

"Not really. I did consider the possibility of breeding him, but even thinking about it feels troublesome. We might as well sell him directly."

After explaining, Maud suddenly thought of something.

"Sunny, do we still have the auction catalog?"

"We do."

"Bring it here."

At that, Sunny opened a cabinet and rummaged through it. She quickly found the booklet.

Maud took it and began flipping through it.

Last time, Sunny had shown no interest in rare and exotic beasts, so she had gone through it very quickly.

Maud had secretly looked over her shoulder at the time, and after hurriedly glancing through it, he had only seen two brief lines of description.

"Found it."

Maud quickly turned to the page containing the white skunk's entry.

There was no picture, but the entire page was filled with information about the white skunk.

Maud immediately read the description. Going through it line by line, he learned that the white skunk was a hybrid animal, which was why its bodily structure and fur color differed from those of ordinary skunks.

Sunny leaned over and read the description as well.

Before long, the two of them had finished reading about the white skunk.

It was essentially a skunk with abnormal fur color and sweat glands. Its sweat glands in particular could release a pleasant fragrance.

That was why the white skunk was valuable enough to be auctioned.

However, creatures capable of giving off such unusual fragrances were usually highly sought after by perfume companies.

Yet the white skunk had been tossed into a group of pirates. Only pirates like Aibe, who occasionally got the urge to raise a pet, would spend money to buy one.

"He really isn't an ordinary skunk."

Maud looked at the white skunk on the counter as though he were looking at a brand-new fine blade.

"It really would be a shame to eat him."

Sunny was also looking at the white skunk on the counter, as though she were looking at a bulging sack of money.

Under their gazes, the white skunk, who had already given up struggling, lay there like a pool of dead mud without moving.

"Sunny, treat this little thing first so he doesn't end up crippled. Also, do we have anything like chains in the shop?"

"We do. I'll go get them."

Sunny had also realized that the white skunk was a mobile money sack, so she immediately took the matter seriously.

She went down to the basement and brought back medical supplies and a bundle of finger-thick chains.

After returning to the shop, she treated the white skunk's injuries first. Then, as if afraid he might escape, she used the chains to bind his upper body into the shape of a dumpling.

By the time she finished, more than half an hour had passed.

Sunny looked at her handiwork and nodded in satisfaction, but she also thought of a rather important question.

"Where should we put Beli?"

In that short time, Sunny had already given the white skunk a suitable name.

Maud glanced around the empty weapon shop. "How about putting him in the shop?"

"No."

Sunny shook her head and rejected the suggestion.

Maud pondered for a moment before suddenly thinking of a suitable place to keep him.

"How about hanging him in the toilet?"

"The toilet...?"

Sunny thought about it carefully.

Considering the fragrance constantly wafting from Beli's sweat glands, she immediately felt that this was an excellent suggestion.

It would be a little troublesome to take Beli out and put him back whenever someone needed to use the toilet.

But compared to purifying the air, that bit of trouble was nothing.

"Mm, then let's put him in the toilet."

With that, she made the final decision.

On the counter, the white skunk, who had been forcibly given the name Beli, could no longer see any white future ahead of him.

Why are you doing this to me?

If there's a hell, this must be it, right?

Three minutes later, Beli was hung in the toilet, becoming a fragrant air freshener.

Maud then went to his room, strapped weights to his legs, and returned to the shop. He exercised while keeping Sunny company as she watched the store.

Only then did Sunny belatedly ask about Beli's origins.

How had a rare and exotic beast that had been auctioned off ended up in Maud's hands? And why was he injured?

She was quite curious.

"It's a long story."

Maud did not deliberately hide anything and told Sunny everything that had happened that afternoon.

This made Sunny's gaze toward him turn somewhat strange.

"Beli counts as an unexpected bonus. When I picked him up, I didn't expect him to be worth anything. If I'd known, I wouldn't have thrown him out. Fortunately, he ended up returning to my hands."

At this point, Maud sighed with emotion.

He had truly almost missed out on a windfall.

As for Aibe and Kazt's threats afterward, once he returned to the shop, he had Saul as his backing.

Sunny nodded and said seriously, "Thank goodness."

Time passed slowly.

By evening, Saul's Weapon Shop once again ended a full day of business without earning a single cent.

Sunny went to the kitchen to prepare dinner.

Maud closed the shop's front door and cleaned the store.

After finishing, Maud went to the kitchen to help Sunny.

His cooking was not as good as Sunny's, but what he made was still quite tasty.

"Don't forget to prepare an extra serving for Beli."

Maud remembered Beli hanging in the toilet and reminded her.

"Mm, I almost forgot."

After Maud's reminder, Sunny took two more slices of steak and a handful of vegetables from the refrigerator.

Maud glanced at the meal Sunny had prepared for Beli.

All he could say was that when it came to food, Saul's Weapon Shop never cut corners.

The two of them busied themselves in the kitchen.

Elsewhere, Saul, who had just woken up, walked downstairs.

Still looking sleepy, he went straight to the toilet.

Several dozen seconds later, a shrill scream rang out from inside.

"Somebody help me!!!!"

The voice sounded as young and tender as a boy's, and it was filled with panic.

Hearing the unfamiliar cry for help from the toilet, Maud and Sunny stopped what they were doing in the kitchen at the same time. They exchanged a glance, put down what they were holding, and headed for the toilet.

The two of them reached the toilet first and saw Saul gripping Beli's head in one hand, seemingly about to squeeze with all his strength.

Beli's terrified eyes turned toward Sunny, and he struggled to speak human words.

"Mom, Mommy, save me!!"

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