Chapter 21: EBPLB

The numbers in the office supply purchase request were strangely misaligned.

“…Is this even right?”

Tracing upward from the mismatched section, I checked carefully—and found that in more than one place, the billed amounts had been inflated beyond the actual cost.

I pressed my nose lightly against the document at the suspicious calculation.

“Hey. This is weird.”

“Are you smelling something good from that paper?”

Ian, who seemed to have completely given up on work, had even taken off his glasses and was lying across the desk watching me.

“How about me? Try smelling mine too.”

He brought his neck closer to Ariel’s nose.

A dark yet strangely warm scent poured out from him.

Ah. I want to smell it more.

No—what am I thinking? Snap out of it, Ariel.

I can’t be like this right now.

‘I almost fell for it.’

I quickly gathered my senses and glared at Ian.

“What do you mean smell you? I’m saying the numbers here are wrong!”

I pushed away his neck with all my strength and carefully tapped the paper so I wouldn’t leave paw prints on it.

Ian’s slow, sharp gaze swept over the ledger.

After scanning it once, he pointed at the part I had indicated with my nose.

And after briefly confirming the wrong section with his finger, he continued absentmindedly stroking my fur.

“Yeah. It’s strange here.”

“Huh? Hey. This part is weird too.”

As I kept looking through the documents, I noticed more places where the amounts had been subtly inflated so they wouldn’t stand out.

As these mistakes kept repeating, an uneasy feeling slowly spread through me.

Is this really just a calculation error…?

No. It must be a mistake. Surely no one would be bold enough to steal from Cardelion’s money.

But strangely, almost all the calculations were too neatly off. Not too large, not too small—just enough that you wouldn’t notice unless you were paying attention.

Ariel’s nose wrinkled in thought. Who would try to steal money here? From Cardelion’s funds? Have they lost their mind?

‘But stealing only that little?’

It almost felt like mockery.

Of course, compared to ordinary noble families, it wasn’t a small amount—but this was Cardelion.

A place so wealthy that even three generations of ruin wouldn’t make a dent.

‘If they were going to embezzle it, they should’ve taken more. No, they should’ve taken way more.’

If it were me, I’d risk my life and take as much as possible.

‘Ah, are they doing this on purpose to mislead us?’

What is this?

I wrinkled my nose and thought hard.

Meanwhile, Ian continued calmly stroking the kitten’s fur as if nothing mattered. Allen watched him and thought:

Slow, steady movements. Calm eyes. That composure.

‘Based on years of assistant experience… this is not good.’

He was definitely thinking about what to do next.

‘Ah… Lord, we’re taking another one…’

He was more worried about the thief’s future than the ledger itself.

Ian, who had quickly processed the trade documents with ease, picked up another paper in front of him and smiled with interest.

“Allen.”

“Yes?”

“The Chameleon tribe is requesting help.”

“Isn’t that one of the secluded tribes?”

A tribe that neither asks for nor gives help.

The Chameleon tribe lived among themselves and rarely interacted with others unless absolutely necessary.

To be precise, they could hardly go outside.

Because once they left, many simply disappeared without a trace.

Because of that, their pheromones were extremely rare—and extremely valuable.

So beastmen often tried to gain favor with them.

Like anything rare, many desired them, and many also hunted them.

That is why they remained a tribe that neither gave nor received help, staying hidden.

“But they’re requesting help?”

Ian spoke as if it was nothing unusual.

“They say a child from the Caon family has disappeared. It’s been a while… maybe a few years.”

“Yes, about two years, they say.”

The Caon family was the leader of the rare Chameleon tribe.

“The Chameleon tribe disappearing again…”

Interesting.

It was rare—almost unheard of—for a noble child from a tribal ruling family to disappear.

And even more so for a secluded tribe.

Even those who trafficked beastmen in the shadows avoided touching a tribe’s noble offspring.

Ariel quietly thought to herself.

‘So a Chameleon tribe heir was kidnapped again?’

Had this happened before?

Strictly speaking, it wasn’t exactly kidnapping.

It was a “disappearance.”

But those disappearances almost always led to kidnapping.

No, missing children from such tribes almost always ended up being abducted—especially those with rare pheromones.

“Isn’t this connected to the recent disappearances of commoners happening everywhere?”

Allen finally spoke in a professional tone.

“And there have also been frequent disappearances among common beastmen.”

“It’s worse in the slums, especially.”

After a brief silence, Ian spoke.

“Feels like nine years ago. Or maybe an extension of it.”

“Yes. I thought the same.”

“Who could it be?”

Who would dare something like this nine years ago—and now as well?

A faint smile appeared on his face.

After that

After catching the intentional calculation errors in Ian’s documents, I ended up in an unexpected… arrangement in the office.

At first, I helped like an angel.

“Kitten, could you check this document?”

“Kitten, could you see if there are any mistakes here?”

“Genius baby kitten, please show me mercy just this once…”

And not long after, I quit.

Being an angel wasn’t suited for me.

‘Hey. Pay up. Don’t you know give and take?’

Why did it feel like I was only giving, giving, giving?

Since I went on strike because it felt like volunteering, Ian and the assistants started bringing me tons of work—and daily desserts.

“Do you like chocolate cookies, kitten?”

“Kitten, how about cake today?”

The quality of desserts kept improving day by day.

“Kitten, how about cream puffs today?”

“Kitten…”

Working while eating desserts wasn’t a bad deal. I wasn’t bored, and I got food. So I ended up sitting at the mountain of documents and working.

‘…But is this really okay?’

Is it really fine for me to be looking through Cardelion’s documents like this?

Even if I’m just a kitten.

Even if they aren’t important documents, shouldn’t I not be allowed to see them?

Since Ian brought me into his office, my plan of “avoiding Ian Cardelion and quietly escaping the mansion” had been abandoned long ago.

‘There’s a high chance Ian already knows I’m a beastman.’

What exactly is he thinking?

The assistants, who at first stared at me blankly every time they gave me work, now accepted me naturally as someone buried in the paper mountain.

Now I had become just another regular resident of the office.

I was also getting used to floating pens and the assistants dodging them like it was normal. Sometimes papers flew around, and even handkerchiefs flew like weapons—but I decided to ignore that.

Anyway, as I got used to this life, Ian and the assistants started leaving work earlier and earlier.

They seemed to see me as some kind of savior from their paperwork hell, judging by how many desserts they brought me.

Allen said with an expectant face,

“Kitten, today I prepared something special.”

‘Prepared…?’

I looked up at him, waiting for the next words.

“Rats.”

“Meowwwwwk!”

‘You crazy… you crazy predator!!!!’

The day’s documents scattered dramatically into the air.

I can’t eat rats! I’m a beastman! Take it away!

I jumped up and clung to Ian.

“Sir Ian, didn’t you say cats like catching rats, so if we bring rats to the kitten she’ll like it?”

Allen looked at Ian with a very wronged expression.

“Since when did I say that?”

Ian looked back at him with a pure, innocent expression like he had done nothing wrong.

I stared at him with a betrayed face.

‘Hey… you were in on it too?’

There wasn’t a single trustworthy beast in the world.

My tail trembled in betrayal as I tapped his neck and then flopped onto the floor.

‘I’m not working with you anymore.’

It was a full strike.

So we entered a cold war.

More accurately, it was just me being unilaterally sulky.

Bringing me rats after I helped with their documents? How could they?

Thinking about it made my fur bristle with rage. From that day on, I stopped working and went on strike again.

Because of that, the assistants and Ian were dragged back into the depths of overtime.

Having already tasted the sweet fruit of leaving early, they were now dying little by little.

They kept offering me desserts to win me back, but the office was quiet.

Or rather, the presence that used to be faint but noticeable—the assistants—was gone.

Two assistants who once hugged each other and worked overtime like it was a festival were now on vacation.

No matter how I looked at it, I still couldn’t tell if this job was good or not.

The salary and bonuses were great, but the boss’s personality…

‘…Still, the cakes and cream puffs were nice.’

Whatever happened, I just hoped they would rest well for their future.

In the office, only Ian, Allen, and I remained.

Allen placed a cake box seriously on his desk.

‘Oh, cake this time.’

My eyes naturally followed it.

“Kitten.”

‘What.’

I turned my gaze from the cake box to Allen.

When my eyes met his, he opened the box.

“Maybe…”

‘Maybe what?’

I stared at him uneasily.

“For reconciliation… how about raw fish?”

Crazy. I shouldn’t have expected anything from tiger-like creatures.