Fabre in Sacheon's Tang

Ah? Fur?

At the expression “you need fur to give in,” sister Seol blinked her eyes. It was a phrase that seemed insignificant, but since sister Seol was from the beastfolk who raised mammals, I wasn’t sure if she would understand. For me, this was a very serious and crucial issue.

Mammals, with their fuzzy fur, also emit heat, which makes them very different from amphibians, reptiles, insects, or slime creatures, which are cleaner, but also much dirtier creatures. With fur, dandruff falls out, and when they defecate, they also release oils and secretions from their scent glands, which, when overloaded, can even cause them to skate on ice.

When I was a child, I once visited a friend’s house, and I, along with my mom, was shocked when we saw the dog skating with its scent glands. My friend, a dinosaur, said something similar, though, of course, I wasn’t one to understand.

“Fur? That’s too much, really!”

I had heard such things before, but even so, when it comes to arthropods like ants, I think their strawberry-like shape brings even more help. The lawyer’s family also does not hesitate to take the side of the daughter.

Mammals with fur were just something I would avoid as much as possible, no matter how cute.

There are many good kids out there, after all. But who would break a copper plate for such things?

As for mammals with fur, the difference isn’t as significant as with reptiles, amphibians, or even insects.

“No matter what, I guess it’s fine.”

Still with a confused expression, sister Seol looked at me as if she couldn’t fully understand. When I gave a look that said I didn’t want to think about it, sister Seol smiled mischievously and nodded.

In any case, I wasn’t about to say anything too nice about sister Seol’s situation.

“I get it... but what does it matter? What’s important is that I’m getting a creature soon, right? Hehe. Thanks, So-ryong. You’re the only one I can count on.”

As always, sister Seol was quick to understand.

After we finished our informal agreement about the creatures, Hwa-eun pointed to the bush and said,

“Eh? One head?”

I followed Hwa-eun’s finger and looked at the bush, and sure enough, the two creatures were poking their heads out and staring at us.

“Eh!? There are really two heads!?”

Hwa-eun and sister Seol thought about it and suddenly realized that I had never actually mentioned how many heads the creatures had. I had rushed through it earlier without explaining properly.

Nodding, I answered their questions.

“Oh, there are three in total.”

“Three!?”

“Three!?”

Hwa-eun and sister Seol were both surprised by the number three. Sister Seol especially looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

She had just assumed I’d hand over one creature, but three?

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“W-Wait. You’re not giving all three, are you!?”

“Oh, of course.”

“Really!? I can’t believe it... but even one...”

Sister Seol must have thought she would only get one, but I smiled and said,

“Even if it were ten, I’d give them all to you.”

“Of course, I’ll give all three. Sister Seol, all three are yours.”

“What!? Really!?”

Sister Seol’s eyes widened in disbelief at my words. And suddenly, from those eyes, the cry of a whale-like Choco-pup echoed, as if it were a desperate shout.

“Kaaya! Thank you, So-ryong! Thank you!”

As expected, sister Seol understood quickly.

When the two of us had roughly reached an agreement about the creatures, Hwa-eun pointed to the bush and said,

“Eh? One head?

Hwa-eun pointed to the creature, and sure enough, now two of them were poking their heads out and staring at us.

“Eh!? There are really two heads!?”

Hwa-eun and sister Seol suddenly realized that I had never mentioned how many heads the creatures had. I had rushed over and didn’t explain properly.

Nodding, I answered their question.

“Oh, there are three in total.”

“Three!?”

“Three!?”

Hwa-eun and sister Seol were both surprised by the number three. Sister Seol especially looked at me as if she couldn’t believe it.

She had just assumed I would give her one creature, but now it was three?

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“W-Wait. You’re not giving all three, are you!?”

“Oh, of course.”

“Really!? I can’t believe it... but even one...”

Sister Seol must have thought she would only get one, but I smiled and said,

“Even if it were ten, I’d give them all to you.”

“Of course, I’ll give all three. Sister Seol, all three are yours.”

“What!? Really!?”

Sister Seol’s eyes widened in disbelief at my words. And suddenly, from those eyes, the cry of a whale-like Choco-pup echoed, as if it were a desperate shout.

“Kaaya! Thank you, So-ryong! Thank you!”

Sister Seol, ecstatic, couldn’t hold back and screamed. At that moment, from inside the creature, like adorable little moles in a game, the creatures took turns poking their heads out and came into view.

In the darkness, the red glint of their eyes was intense and scary, but upon seeing them closely, they looked rather cute, almost as if they were filled with fear.

“Chiiiii!”

“Chii!”

Seeing them talking to each other and wondering what to do, Seol, who had answered first, spoke up.

“Alright, I’ll open a clear path for you all. Do you think they’ll be able to escape?”

“Yeah, that’s fine. We’re not catching them by running.”

Seol was taken aback by the unexpected comment as I opened a path, and her expression seemed to ask, "What does that mean?"

Smiling, I responded.

“We can catch them just by following them quietly. Those guys.”

“Eh?”

“You can catch them just by following them quietly?”

Hwa-eun and Seol exchanged looks, both showing expressions of disbelief. The creatures were incredibly fast and agile, so they couldn’t understand how just following them would be enough to catch them.

But the truth was, those creatures could indeed be caught just by following them.

The reason I said we could catch them easily by following was because of the unique traits of the shrews.

Shrews belong to the group of animals called Insectivora, which includes animals with a high metabolism like the hedgehog, bat, and similar small mammals. Shrews don’t grow large incisors like rats and are strictly carnivorous, unlike other rodents. They primarily hunt small animals for protein, which is crucial for their high metabolism.

Despite their small size, shrews need an enormous amount of energy, which is why they consume only protein-rich food. They have such fast metabolisms because their hearts beat incredibly fast — anywhere from 900 to 1500 beats per minute, depending on the species. This rapid heartbeat burns up a lot of energy, making them highly active but also needing constant sustenance.

That's right. Because of their fast heart rate, shrews have a higher metabolic rate than any other animal and must eat only protein. Depending on the species, if they don't eat ➤ NоvеⅠight ➤ (Read more on our source) within 3 to 24 hours, they can die from heart failure. The shrew's heart continues to beat rapidly for extended periods, drawing energy from the muscles and bones, and when that runs out, the heart simply stops.

No food? Well, if that's the case, then it just takes a break. But what happens if the heart rests? A brief break could turn into an eternal rest.

That's why I told Seol and Hwa-eun that we could catch them just by following them quietly. If they go without food, their energy will quickly drain, and we’ll be able to catch them easily. If they get desperate because they haven't eaten, we could negotiate with food. If I told them, "Choose whether to starve or go with me, and I'll feed you," they would obviously choose the latter.

“They lose energy very quickly if they don’t eat for a few hours. They probably haven’t eaten anything since morning, so they’ll likely give in soon. That’s why they probably hunted in a hurry, even under pressure.”

“Really? So that’s why?”

At my explanation, Seol, who had been blocking the upper path, quickly cleared the way, and Hwa-eun’s signal immediately led us into the brush. Then, startled by the sudden movement, Seol dashed towards the path where the creatures were.

As we checked the brush, a creature, seemingly lifeless, appeared before us. It had just abandoned its family, clearly having fled without eating a single bite.

“So-ryong, how much further do we need to chase?”

Seol asked after confirming the wolf in the brush.

I smiled and replied, “Well, it seems we’re almost there.”

***

The shrews, after hunting the wolf, tightly clung to the trail of the prey and slowly pursued it. They knew it was warm, but the late harvest hadn’t been fruitful. They knew that they wouldn’t be able to escape far.

It seemed like they had hunted in a hurry and hadn’t eaten anything since last night. That meant they didn’t have much time left and had to hunt again. If they didn’t eat, their lives would be in danger.

Sure enough, after only a short pursuit, I spotted the shrews, who had caught the attention of a raccoon coming to drink from the well.

Chiiik!Chiiik!Kkaeeek!One of the shrews distracted the raccoon by drawing its attention, while the other two, like wild beasts, rushed in to bite and quickly pulled away—an efficient hit-and-run tactic.

With their speed and paralytic poison, this was the perfect hunting method for these creatures. But despite their previously cute appearance, they now looked fierce.

Although they might seem adorable, their hunting was savage, and since it was a life-or-death situation, they didn’t behave like the generally friendly, cute shrews. They bit anything in sight—sharp and cunning.

Thud.When the hunt was over and the raccoon collapsed from the paralytic poison, the shrews pounced on it in a frenzy.

Yoho-ya... stealing the upper ground was a clever move.Kieek!At my words, Yo-hwa growled angrily at the shrews, and they, startled, retreated back to the lower ground, moving in a strange manner.

“Hey! So-ryong, look! They look so strange!”

“So-ryong, what’s going on with them?!”

Seol, with a curious expression, pointed out the shrews’ behavior. It was indeed strange—they were now moving by holding onto each other’s tails, which was a behavior rarely seen. This was typical for young shrews, as they travel together while holding onto each other’s tails, since their eyesight is poor.

It looked like they were moving as a family unit. This suggested they weren’t fully grown yet, probably just independent juveniles. Given that they were also preying on human food, it seemed they were still in the early stages of development.

If they had been adults, they wouldn’t have acted like this. They wouldn’t have needed to rely on each other in this way.

"Normally, they move in a formation, holding onto each other's tails because their vision isn’t great. But I think these shrews are still very young. They probably act this way to rely on each other for safety," I explained.

"Yeah... so, does that mean their mother isn’t around?"

Seol smiled happily at my explanation.

Even after the shrews had caught the raccoon, there was still a commotion coming from up ahead. Not far from where we were, two of the shrews were shaking a raccoon, making sounds of distress.

It seemed one of the shrews was exhausted.

Chiiik!Chii!One of them lay down, exhausted, struggling to get up.

I handed the dead wolf carcass to Seol and said,

"Seol, take this to the shrews and see if you can talk to them."

"Ah, okay! I'm nervous..."

Seol carefully tied the large wolf carcass and began walking slowly forward.

As we got closer to the shrews, I noticed the sharp, watchful eyes of two others.

Chiiik!Chiiiii!It felt like a warning not to come any closer. The two shrews then tossed the raccoon, which had been clutched by the neck, towards us.

Thud!The shrews recoiled, startled, unable to make a move. Seol then threw the wolf carcass at one of the shrews and said,

"Hey, are you hungry?"

Chii?Chaat?Suddenly, a gentle voice rang out, and the shrews began to drool.

Looking at them, Seol nervously made a suggestion.

“If you follow me, I can give you food. Would you like to follow me? Doesn’t your little one need food too?”

At Seol’s words, the two shrews looked at each other. Seol then drew a rather large knife from her pouch and sliced off a large chunk of wolf meat, offering it forward.

“Here, let’s feed your little one first since it’s urgent.”

As the shrews squabbled, blood slowly dripped from their mouths.

A moment later, the shrews that had come forward were met with a sharp warning from one of the others.

Chaat!The shrew that had been about to approach immediately flinched and stepped back. But the shrew that had given the warning looked at its bloodied sibling on the ground and, seemingly deciding there was no other choice, cautiously approached. It grabbed the meat from Seol's hand.

After placing it near the bloodied shrew’s mouth, something incredible happened. The nearly dead shrew suddenly sprang up and started devouring the meat greedily.

The other shrews watched with hungry eyes, drooling.

Seol, seeing this, moved closer and cut more meat, placing it in front of the others. Only then did the remaining shrews start eating.

It seemed like they were all on board now.

‘Well, if they’ve all started eating, I guess we’re good?’

Although I was a bit disappointed that the new shrews were small, furry mammals, I was satisfied with the catch since Seol had managed to tame them.

Watching the scene, Hwain suddenly shouted,

“Oh! I remember their name! Those are definitely Blood-Eyed Grass Green Fur Grass!”

Looking at them now, the name did seem to fit.

“Maybe we should add a little flair to the name?”