Chapter 35
Karl’s shock lasted only two seconds. He quickly came to the conclusion that Yomi must have reverted to his original form for self-protection after falling ill. After all, Yomi had sheep horns, so it was only natural for his original form to be a sheep… though he really was exactly the same inside and out. His original form was even smaller than Karl had imagined!
The little lamb was fluffy and adorable, the kind that looked incredibly pettable. The crown prince’s reaction, however, was rather strange… Before Karl could figure it out, Anxius had already risen, picked up the little lamb, gotten off the starship, and headed straight for the villa in the manor.
The private doctor had long been waiting there. When he saw the little lamb in the crown prince’s arms, he also assumed it was Yomi’s original form.
Once inside, Anxius set the little lamb on the bed and immediately looked at the doctor.
The doctor moved swiftly, using instruments to perform a full-body examination on the sleeping little lamb. But after seeing the various readings and images, his brows only drew tighter and tighter.
“What exactly is going on? Is it serious?” Karl asked softly.
“N-no, there’s no problem…” The doctor himself seemed unsure how to put it. He ran the examination again before forcing himself to meet the crown prince’s gaze. “It’s a little strange. The internal structure of this original form… d-doesn’t quite resemble that of a Snarian. It looks more like… an ordinary sheep.”
Anxius did not move at all. Karl was completely dumbfounded.
The doctor had never seen anything like this either. Hesitating, he said, “I wonder if he became disabled and can no longer transform back into human form? If the disability was caused by an injury, and the structure became distorted in the process, that’s not impossible… perhaps… perhaps you should have another doctor take a look?”
Anxius said nothing.
Yomi was human. Something like becoming disabled and reverting to his original form would absolutely never happen to him.
Karl, however, was already frightened by the doctor’s words.
How had a perfectly fine person suddenly become disabled? He had watched the livestream too. Yomi clearly had not been injured or gotten into any accident…
He was already so small. It had been hard enough for him to find work as a human. What would happen now?
Karl looked at the little white lamb sleeping belly-up on the bed, and his heart ached. After spending so much time together, he had developed real feelings for Yomi. How could he not be upset? Glancing at the unresponsive crown prince, he even clenched his teeth and secretly made up his mind that in the future, he would find a way to adopt Yomi. If the little lamb could not work, then Karl would simply feed him well and raise him for the rest of his life.
Anxius quietly gazed at the little lamb on the bed. After a long while, he finally came back to himself and told Karl to block all news related to Yomi.
Karl nodded. After seeing the doctor out, he also ordered everyone in the manor to keep their mouths shut.
When he returned, he found Anxius already carrying the little lamb out of the room. Karl had just started to bow when Anxius said, “Inform Brule. I’m going there.”
Karl: “?”
Brule was Anxius’s grandfather who had distanced himself from the royal family—the designer of humanoid skin suits in the black market.
Could it be… that the crown prince wanted Mr. Brule to make Yomi a humanoid skin suit?
Was it really already certain that he was disabled? Weren’t they going to consult another doctor?
“Yes, I’ll contact Mr. Brule immediately!” Karl stole a glance at the little lamb in the monster’s arms, his heart full of bitterness.
Ah… poor Yomi.
Naturally, Anxius had no idea what Karl was thinking. But even if he did, he would not explain.
Yomi, as a human, was not disabled. He knew that much very clearly. So if Yomi had turned into a sheep, it could only be related to the awakening from Rhea Continent. A doctor could not solve this matter at all.
If his guess was correct, Yomi had most likely awakened an unusual ability never before seen in Snarians.
Ten minutes later, Anxius boarded the starship with Yomi in his arms and headed for the black market.
Not long after the starship started up, Yomi woke up.
He opened his eyes, saw the monster by the bed, and still thought he was on the aircraft leaving Rhea Continent. He was just about to say good morning to Anxius when what came out instead was, “Baa baa!”
?
What kind of sound was that? Where had a sheep come from?
Yomi sat up and looked around, then saw his own four hooves and fluffy body…
“Baa?” What is this?
The moment Anxius saw that he was awake, he immediately leaned closer and stared at him, as if afraid the little lamb would disappear.
Yomi sat blankly on the bed. He realized that he had turned into a sheep.
He could not tell whether he was scared or shocked. He only felt dazed, unreal… This must be a dream, right?
Yomi really wanted to pinch himself to see whether it hurt, but things were different now. Without hands, he could not pinch himself. So he lifted a hoof, intending to smack his own head… It would be even better if it woke him up!
Come to think of it, hadn’t he been dreaming a little too often lately?
Before he could do it, he was stopped. Yomi looked up in confusion. Holding his sheep hoof was the monster’s large claw. He let out a baa, and the other party simply picked him up entirely. “It’s not a dream. You’re sick.”
His field of vision rose higher. Yomi saw Karl walking over and immediately glanced around.
After spending so many days on Rhea Continent, he had developed an instinctive awareness that cameras might be watching him.
Noticing his little movement, Anxius said, “We’ve already left Rhea Continent. There are no cameras here.”
Oh. Yomi gave a soft baa.
By then Karl had already arrived. He was carrying a plate of fresh, tender grass, his face full of worry. “Yomi, I remember you haven’t had breakfast yet. Would you like to eat a little?”
Yomi: ?
…So all of this was real?
He had turned into a sheep?
In an instant, the little lamb’s face collapsed, his ears drooping as his eyes filled with confusion and disbelief.
Seeing his panic, Anxius told Karl to take the plate of grass away.
Yomi still refused to believe that he had really turned into a sheep. He wanted to see what he looked like, so he pointed a hoof toward the mirror not far away.
Anxius froze for a moment, then reached out, picked up the mirror, and held it in front of him.
Yomi climbed from Anxius’s arms onto the bed and carefully looked at the little white lamb in the mirror.
The moment he saw clearly, he wanted to cry but had no tears.
It was bad enough that he had turned into a sheep—but he had actually turned into a Nigerian Dwarf goat!
Back in his original world, this was a kind of small goat many people kept as a pet. As an adult, it was only about the size of a medium-sized dog—just like he was now, even smaller than when he was human… He had horns, yes, but they might as well not count. Just two tiny, blunt little horns. Even if he rammed someone with all his might, he probably would not even draw blood!
Worse still, unlike other monsters, he could not speak human language. Aside from bringing extra income to a farm, he seemed good for nothing else…
Yomi lifted a hoof, rested it against the mirror, and kept looking at himself, completely unable to understand.
Why had he turned into a sheep?
Anxius said he was sick, but who ever heard of someone changing species just because they got sick?
But the more times like this came, the more he knew he could not panic. Holding back his tears, Yomi thought carefully and could only come up with one explanation: the awakening on Rhea Continent.
If it was related to the awakening there, then he should have gained an ability by now. But what kind of ability was this? An ability that directly made him regress from a person into a pure animal?
Yomi backed away across the bed. He bounced around, stamping his hooves, trying to see if some magical phenomenon would appear…
One minute later, he stopped, panting. Looking down, he saw that, well… the bed sheet had been stomped into a mess.
After bustling about under Anxius’s watchful gaze for quite a while, Yomi resigned himself and lay down, staring at his hooves. A few seconds later, he sneaked another glance at Anxius.
Anxius had been watching him the whole time, though who knew what he was thinking.
…He must think I’ve turned back into my original form because I’m sick.
Looking on the bright side, at least his human identity would not be exposed. Yomi rubbed his eyes with a hoof, wiping away the moisture at the corners.
He looked toward Anxius again. He had many things he wanted to ask, but he simply could not say them aloud.
The other party seemed to understand his thoughts. He took out a tablet, opened a typing page, and placed it in front of him.
Yomi looked at him gratefully, then frantically thumped the screen with his hooves: Where are we going? Don’t send me to a farm, and don’t make me a pet!
Anxius froze.
“…I won’t!” His tone was even more urgent than Yomi’s. “I’m just taking you for an ability check.”
So that was it. Did Anxius also think his current state was due to the awakening on Rhea Continent?
Then, afraid of arousing suspicion, Yomi hurriedly typed again with his hooves: I used to be able to turn back into human form! This happened way too suddenly…
A subtle change passed through the monster’s eyes, but he said nothing.
Before they knew it, the starship had arrived above the black market.
The little lamb lay against the starship window and recognized the place where he had once worked. A small sense of safety rose in him, and even his tightly furrowed brows relaxed a little—if he had brows right now, that was…
After the starship landed, Anxius carried the little lamb into the building below.
The moment they entered, Yomi jumped in fright. He saw a familiar old man—the white-bearded old man who had sold him the horns!
The old man was curled up in a chair tinkering with a prosthetic limb. He looked up, startled. “Finally learned to respect your elders, have you? But I can’t make roast whole lamb here. Next time, bring it cooked.”
Yomi: ?!
Suppressing his emotions, Anxius said, “This is not a sheep.”
Exactly! Yomi let out several baas in a row, both angry and panicked. Angry because the old man’s first thought upon seeing him had been roast whole lamb. Couldn’t he at least consider that this might be a Snarian’s original form?
At the same time, he was afraid the old man might mention the matter of the horns he had bought and arouse Anxius’s suspicion. But then he thought again: the old man did not know what his human form looked like now… truly a small blessing in the middle of great misfortune!
Brule said, “If it’s not a sheep, then what is it? Whose original form is this small?”
Yomi: “Baa!”
Anxius carried the little lamb farther inside. “He’s sick. It may be because he awakened on Rhea Continent.”
The moment he heard the word awakening, the old man’s expression turned subtle. He immediately pressed a button on the wall, and a staircase leading underground instantly appeared in the inner room.
The old man led the way in front, glancing back every so often at the little lamb in Anxius’s arms. “A new ability? Is it powerful?”
Anxius ignored him.
The old man kept joking cheerfully.
Yomi felt that the relationship between these two was very strange. They seemed like family, but not that close. Still, one thing was beyond doubt: Anxius trusted this old man.
When Yomi had come here earlier to buy horns, all he had seen was a shabby old shop. He had no idea there was such a hidden world inside—let alone such a huge basement.
It was very clean, with various instruments placed around, but it did not look like a laboratory. It looked more like a workshop.
The old man led Anxius to a platform farther inside. Turning around, he took the little lamb from him, set him on the platform, and began to examine him carefully.
Yomi stood there nervously. The old man checked his ears, then his hooves, then pried open his mouth to take a look, looking exactly like a veterinarian.
“Baa…” Are you done yet?
“My touch is very gentle,” the old man said, thinking he was crying out in pain. Especially with Anxius glaring at him from across the room, he suddenly felt like he was being framed. “Why is this little lamb of yours so delicate? Can’t even be touched? Hmph!”
To avoid misunderstandings, Yomi chose to be a silent sheep.
The old man continued his examination, chatting with Anxius as he did so. “Why did you suddenly go on that show recently? And in your original form too. Aren’t you afraid of being discovered? Or were you waiting to be discovered? That little fellow in there is pretty cute, though…”
The moment he mentioned him, Yomi grew a little nervous. Since the old man had brought him up, it meant he had watched the livestream too. He had definitely seen his face… When Yomi bought the horns, he had no idea the old man was this close to the crown prince. He had unknowingly buried a mine for himself.
Brule noticed that ever since he had brought up the show, the little lamb under his hands had gone stiff all over. Confused, he said, “What’s wrong? You’re not a real animal. Don’t tell me you still get stress reactions in unfamiliar places?”
“Baa baa!” No, please keep talking.
The little lamb stood there with all four fluffy legs straight and steady.
The old man really did continue rambling.
Fortunately, he never mentioned recognizing Yomi or selling him the horns. He only kept talking about the show. “That little one really is quite lovable. I saw people saying you were something like his top supporter… Don’t tell me you really went there to chase a star? You got injured once, but surely your brain didn’t go bad because of it?”
Anxius did not respond to a single one of those remarks. The old man carried on with his one-man performance, enjoying himself immensely.
Whether the crown prince was listening or not was unknown, but Yomi was listening very carefully. Both his ears were practically standing up.
…Mm, he was a man with professional ethics. He had not revealed anything about Yomi buying horns.
Anxius’s entire mind was fixed on Yomi, waiting anxiously for a result.
At this point, Brule finished the physical examination and began using his probing ability. His fingers pressed against the little lamb’s head, emitting waves of blue light.
Yomi rolled his eyes upward to look.
A few minutes later, Brule frowned. “…Something’s wrong.”
Anxius: “What is it?”
Brule was silent for a few seconds. Sweat slid down his forehead. “Th-this is not a Snarian ability.”
Yomi was startled and immediately jumped, all four hooves making thump-thump sounds on the platform as he protested: That’s not true! Don’t say random things!
But to the ears of the two men, it was only a string of baas.
When Brule reached out to grab the little lamb again, Anxius directly blocked him, his face darkening. “What do you mean?”
Brule had only wanted to examine him one more time, but he knew his probing would not be wrong. This little lamb was indeed not a Snarian.
At that moment, he recalled the image of a certain little fellow buying horns here, and how, right after the show ended, Anxius had brought over a little lamb… So that was it!
He looked at Anxius. “This can’t be Yomi, can it?”
Only that would explain everything! Anxius possessed an ability that could see through all disguises. If Yomi were not a Snarian, Anxius would have known from the very start. So when Brule said that just now, Anxius had not been shocked—if anything, there had even been a trace of warning in his reaction.
Could this little guy be a spy from another planet? That seemed impossible too. None of the surrounding planets had people this small, did they?
Brule looked at Anxius in confusion.
Anxius simply picked up the little lamb and soothed him. “Brule’s acting up again. His ability gave the wrong result. Let him calm down first.”
Brule: “…”
After carrying the little lamb out and handing him to Karl, who was waiting outside, Anxius returned to the basement. His tone was calm. “He’s human.”
Even though he had already mentally prepared himself, Brule still found it impossible to believe.
“Human? How is that possible? How could there still be humans in this world?”
Anxius offered no explanation. His gaze had gained another layer of defense that was impossible to penetrate.
Brule saw the warning in his eyes and gave a bitter smile. “You know what kind of person your grandfather is. Don’t worry. I won’t tell anyone.”
After saying that, he found it somewhat laughable himself. If Yomi really had been a Snarian with an original form, then there was no way he would have awakened an ability as useless as turning into a sheep…
From the shadows by the counter, Anxius asked, “What ability did he awaken?”
Brule glanced at him, then found a chair and sat down. After a moment of thought, he said, “It’s form shifting. It’s an ability that lets one use the mind to transform into the form one subconsciously sees oneself as… The reason he turned into a sheep is probably because, deep in his subconscious, he has always regarded himself as a Snarian whose original form is a sheep. But his ability is limited, so he can only produce a false form this small…”
Anxius: “How does he change back?”
Brule: “Changing back into human form isn’t difficult. He only needs to gradually grasp the knack of using the ability. We Snarians grow up surrounded by knowledge related to abilities. Generally speaking, almost no one awakens an ability and then doesn’t know how to use it. But he’s human. He should have no foundation in this area at all… Let him spend some time learning the relevant knowledge. Once he becomes proficient in controlling his thoughts, he’ll be able to change back.”
The gloom in the monster’s eyes slowly cleared a little. He turned to go upstairs, but Brule continued, “However, the human body cannot support this kind of ability for long. Humans went extinct billions of years ago precisely because once they awakened abilities, their lifespans were drastically shortened… Yomi’s lifespan will also be reduced because of this.”
“…What did you say?” The body with its back turned to him went rigid, then slowly turned back, like a storm on the verge of breaking.
“That’s the truth. I’m only telling you to be mentally prepared.” Brule was regretful, but to him, Yomi was still only a stranger he had met once. He did not have too much emotion invested.
It was as though ice had formed across the monster’s face. Even his eyelashes trembled. “How do I save him?”
“You can’t. Snar Star was never suitable for human survival in the first place. I don’t know how he appeared, but miracles don’t keep happening forever.”
Brule had just finished speaking and was about to stand when Anxius stepped in front of him, blocking his way, eyes fixed sharply on him. “He can be saved.”
“He can’t… He’s too weak. No matter what you do, he won’t be able to endure that kind of ability.”
“He can.” Anxius’s eyes were bloodshot, his tone absolute. “He is not weak at all.”
“…”
The oppressive aura seemed to descend from all directions. For the first time, Brule was frightened by this grandson of his.
After a long standoff, Brule finally yielded. He let out a heavy sigh, walked to a table in the distance, took out a sheet of paper, and began writing rapidly with a fountain pen, muttering under his breath, “There is a way, but it might as well be no way at all.”
A few seconds later, the old man, looking rather displeased, placed the thin slip of paper into the monster’s hand.
After only one glance, Anxius said with certainty, “I can do it.”
…
Upstairs, Yomi and Karl stared at each other.
Yomi felt deeply uneasy. His mind was full of that sentence the old man had said…
Karl, meanwhile, was devotedly taking care of the little lamb in front of him, even waving clean grass before him. “Would you like to try some? I had people cut it fresh at the farm. It’s fresh and clean.”
Yomi was both grateful and speechless. What made him even more speechless was that, staring at the grass, he actually did feel a little hungry…
No. He was not a sheep.
He remembered the dark fairy tales he had seen before and could not help fearing that if he ate the grass, he would really become a sheep forever.
Yomi backed away, keeping his distance from the grass, and anxiously paced back and forth on the blanket.
As he paced, he could not help but start playing with his hooves. Ah, they’re kind of fun… Then he suddenly remembered that he was a sheep and immediately stood up straight, no longer playing.
He wondered whether they had a result yet downstairs.
If he could speak, then the moment he saw Anxius come up, he would definitely have run over and asked: What did the doctor say? Is it serious?
Naturally, he could not say any of that. So when Anxius appeared, all he could do was run over while bleating.
But the moment he looked up, Yomi felt his heart turn cold.
Anxius’s features were half-hidden in shadow, making him look somewhat frightening.
Could it be hopeless after all?
Yomi crossed his two hooves together and lowered his head, telling himself he must not cry.
Even if he had turned into a sheep, he was still alive. Slowly getting used to it would not be impossible… Just as he was sinking into his sadness, the monster slowly crouched down, stroked his little sheep head with one claw, then picked him up. “Brule’s back to normal. He’ll examine you again.”
“?”
When they returned to the basement, Yomi did not dare move even a little this time.
The old man looked very tired now. After examining him again, he said, “Little one, you awakened the ability of form shifting. Your current little sheep appearance is only a false form…”
Without even having time to feel happy, Yomi first guiltily agreed: Yes, my original form is actually a much bigger mountain goat. This is only a false form.
Brule, of course, could not understand his bleating, and continued, “A false form will not alter your human form. As for why you can’t change back into human form right now… I heard you came from a wilderness where barely anyone lives? Then it’s probably because you’ve never come into contact with knowledge related to abilities and are completely unskilled. After studying for a while, you should be able to change back.”
Yomi went blank for two seconds, then cried out in delight. If he could speak, he would definitely have said: Yes, I’m unskilled because I grew up in a remote wilderness and didn’t know any of this!
The old man had originally been mentally exhausted, but now, seeing this little lamb bleating nonstop—its voice soft rather than noisy, even carrying a somewhat steady tone—he found it unexpectedly cute and reached out to pat its head.
The little lamb looked at him with smiling eyes.
As for ability-related knowledge… he would definitely study it properly!
Clearly, Anxius had no intention of staying here any longer. Seeing that the little lamb was in good spirits, a rare trace of a smile flickered through his eyes.
After the “checkup,” it was time to leave.
When Karl heard that Yomi was not disabled after all, he was so happy he went numb. In just one day, his emotions had gone through an entire roller coaster ride.
As long as the result was good, that was all that mattered!
No one knew how happy Yomi was right now.
He had actually awakened an ability. Of course that was good news! But… why did Anxius’s expression look so strange? Someone who didn’t know better might think he had been diagnosed with a terminal illness!
In any case, it had all been a false alarm.
Yomi walked over and took a big bite of the grass on the plate. It definitely wasn’t because he wanted to eat it. It had already been cut, and it was so fresh—it would be a waste not to eat it.
Maybe because he was temporarily a sheep, it actually tasted pretty refreshing~
At this point, Yomi no longer had any complaints whatsoever about his sheep form. If he could turn into a sheep, then even a pet goat was still a goat. It was more than enough to serve as an original form.
Now that his mood had improved, even taking a breath made the air smell wonderful. His mood was like the moment after walking out of a college entrance exam hall—like the future was filled with endless possibilities. He would not even let anyone carry him anymore. Flicking his ears, lifting his tail, and jumping high, he dashed out the door. He was going to board the starship by himself.
A few seconds later, his view suddenly became much broader… Oh. Anxius had picked him up.
Thank you. The steps really were a little too high.
The little lamb bleated his thanks.
Rhea Continent, thank you for the awakening too!
