Akio was walking through a dark part of the cave after falling into the trap guarding the forbidden ninja scroll. He had some scratches on his body from the rough fall, but he didn’t care and walked as if nothing happened, lighting his path with a small lightning orb he had created in his hand. Akio stopped walking for a moment and began talking to himself.

Akio: “I feel tired. I’ll rest for a bit before continuing my search.”

He sat on the ground, and as soon as he did, he heard a sound of footsteps. Alerted, he quickly drew his sword from behind his back, ready to confront whatever enemy might appear. But he got shocked, the creature in front of him was just a small, oddly shaped cow. What was even stranger was that it was walking on two legs, had blonde hair, and was wearing a red outfit and a skirt. The little cow approached Akio, whose face was filled with disbelief at the sight.

Cow: “Hello, my name is Shiko. What’s your name?”

Akio screamed in shock, as the cow, which wasn’t supposed to speak, had just spoken.

Akio (panicking): “What is this?! A talking cow?!”

The cow, Shiko, laughed, stunning him further as she transformed into a human girl with blonde hair and hazel eyes, appearing to be around six years old.

Akio (screaming): “What is this?! The cow turned into a human?!”

Shiko: “Are you stupid? I’m a human, but I can transform into a cow!”

Akio: “Is this some kind of Vaken?”

Shiko: “I don’t know, but I just love being a cow!”

Akio: “How strange! Anyway, my name is Sakamoto Akio, and I’m a samurai.”

Shiko transformed back into a cow and continued walking alongside Akio. Soon, they were surprised to find Ken and Ann ahead of them, and Vico appeared from another direction. It seemed they had all found each other quickly.

Vico: “Akio! Ken! And Ann too! I’m so glad you’re all safe!”

Vico ran toward his sister, Ann, and hugged her.

Vico: “Sister, I finally found you! I brought Akio and Ken with me, and they’re really strong friends. Without them, I wouldn’t have been able to do anything!”

Shiko: “And what about me?”

Vico turned toward the source of the voice and screamed in horror at what he saw.

Vico: “A c-c-cow that t-t-talks?! Impossible!!”

Ken and Ann stared at Shiko with quiet curiosity.

Akio: “This cow is really amusing! We’ve become friends!”

Shiko transformed back into a human girl.

Shiko: “Nice to meet you all! I’m Shiko, and my ability is to transform into a cow, as you can see! I’m six years old, and my favorite foods are sweets, grass, meat, rice, cookies, and…”

Ken (interrupting): “What’s a child like you doing here?!”

Shiko transformed back into her cow form, leaped onto Ken’s shoulder, stood there innocently, and clung to him, leaving Ken utterly shocked.

Shiko: “He’s my new dad!”

Ken (sharply): “Get off me, cow! You’ll make me dirty!”

Shiko: “Please, become my dad, pleeease!”

Ken (angrily): “I am NOT your dad!”

Ann, seeing Shiko showing interest in Ken, became furious. She attacked Shiko, grabbed her by her clothes, and started yelling at her with a comically angry expression.

Ann: “Get away from Ken-san, you stupid cow! You’ll never steal him from me!”

Vico (confused): “Sister… What’s going on here?!”

Shiko (comically angry): “No! He’s mine! He will be my dad!”

Ann: “You’re just a child! You can’t even marry him! That’s why he’ll be mine!”

Vico was stunned by Ann’s intense admiration for Ken, while Akio was laughing hysterically at the situation. Meanwhile, Ken walked away coldly, ignoring them as he smoked his cigarette.

Akio (laughing): “Look at your admirers, Ken! You should give them more attention!”

Ken (calmly): “Shut up.”

Vico (comically dumbfounded): “I feel like I’m surrounded by a bunch of idiots and lunatics!”

Ann and Shiko began walking toward Ken.

Ann (with heart-shaped eyes): “Now, Ken-san, you have to choose—me or Shiko!”

Ken kept walking, closing his eyes with indifference and annoyance.

Ken: “I’m neither anyone’s boyfriend nor anyone’s dad. Leave me alone.”

He took another puff from his cigarette and continued ignoring the fanatics trailing behind him.

Ann: “How dreamy! He looks just like a prince!”

Akio: “And he’s really one.”

Shiko (excitedly): “I’ll tell you how I got here! I was playing in the forest when I saw you walking near the cave. I got curious, so I snuck into Akio’s bag, and I’ve been with you all along without you noticing!”

Akio (his eyes turning into yellow stars): “Woooow! That’s amazing, Shiko! How did you manage to endure all this time as just a little girl? You’re so strong!”

Suddenly, as Ken was walking, he collapsed to the ground, unconscious. He was panting heavily, and his wound had reopened, causing him to bleed again. Everyone quickly gathered around him, panic-stricken.

Akio (nervously): “Ken! What’s wrong, my friend? Wake up!”

Ann (fearfully): “K-Ken-san, what happened to you?!”

As Shiko began to cry, she threw herself onto Ken’s body.

Shiko: “Dad, please wake up! Don’t leave me alone!”

Vico: “Calm down, everyone. We need to get out of here immediately and take him to a hospital!”

Akio: “But how? We’re lost here! And we haven’t even gotten the manuscript yet. What should we do?! I’ll try to wake him up!”

Akio started acting impulsively and childishly, hitting Ken in an attempt to wake him up. Ken responded by coughing violently, spitting up blood. He opened his eyes for a moment but then lost consciousness again, his face pale as ever.

Ann (serious and angry): “You’re hurting Ken-san! Stop it!”

Akio (with a sorrowful look): “I’m sorry…”

Suddenly, Vico pointed to a small puddle of water in front of them.

Vico: “Look! There’s water here. Is it drinkable?”

Akio: “Maybe. Let’s try it!”

The moment Akio saw the puddle, he removed his clothes and jumped in. Shiko eagerly leaped in after him, and they began swimming and drinking the water, feeling delighted.

Ann (annoyed): “Are you kidding me?! We have an injured person here, and you’re just casually swimming?!”

Akio (sharply): “Ken is strong; he’ll be fine. There’s no way he’ll die before achieving his dream!”

Vico pulled a piece of cloth from his bag, soaked it in the puddle water, and went over to Ken. He placed the wet cloth on Ken’s forehead.

Vico: “This should help bring down his fever.”

Ann removed the bandage covering Ken’s wound on his abdomen, and she was shocked by what she saw. The wound was deep and large.

Ann: “H-How was he able to walk with a wound like this?! Impossible!”

Vico: “This is unbelievable… He must have been in pain the whole time and finally collapsed now!”

Akio and Shiko got out of the puddle, and Akio put his clothes back on. He looked at Ken with sadness before turning to Vico.

Akio: “Listen, Vico, I’ll leave Ken in your care, and I’ll go search for the manuscript.”

Ann: “I’m coming with you! It’s my manuscript. Listen, Vico, if you don’t take good care of Ken-san, I’ll kill you!”

Shiko: “And I’ll stay here to help Vico-senpai!”

To be continued…

Note: We are working on converting the novel into a webtoon comic, I hope you’re enjoying the novel now! Share your thoughts in the comments.