It had been a few days since Acel found herself trapped in the body of a teddy bear, and though her fluffy form limited her movements, she discovered ways to assist Raquel despite her stubby arms.

Currently, Raquel held the fishing pole while Acel’s plush arm was tied to his wrist. Surprisingly, her strength and stamina remained unchanged from when she was a ghost, and whenever they caught something, she would yank her arm—along with Raquel’s—to pull the fish in. It was an odd sight, but it worked.

Apparently, teddy bears didn’t function on human mechanics. She still had the strength of when she was a ghost, just none of the dexterity.

Even though she was making do, Acel couldn’t help but think how inconvenient this was. If she could choose, she’d rather possess a human body—something that could walk, hold things properly, and look after Raquel the way he deserved. Being stuck in a toy was hardly ideal.

As Raquel untied the cloth binding them together, he began processing the fish just as Acel had taught him. He efficiently followed each step: killing the fish, slicing the gills to let it bleed out in the river, descaling, gutting, cleaning, and then stuffing the cavity with herbs. Finally, he wrapped the fish in leaves and tied them with plant fiber before placing them in the coals.

Watching him, Acel couldn’t help but beam with pride.

‘Despite the struggle the first time, he’s now doing everything himself. Could Raquel actually be a genius?’

She hadn’t even noticed how wide her smile had gotten.

+++Acel hadn’t realized she’d become quite the fool for Raquel.+++

As Raquel munched happily on the fish he had cooked, Acel sat nearby on a rock, her button eyes staring into the forest. They needed to leave soon. She couldn’t shake the feeling that the people from the mansion might change their minds and decide to kill Raquel outright. Leaving him to die in isolation was already a silent death sentence—no food, no water, no care. It was a miracle he’d survived this long.

She glanced at Raquel.

And even if they left, how would they survive? She was now a teddy bear, and Raquel was just a child. Wouldn’t they be easy targets? And if they ran out of money, she couldn’t exactly steal, like how she originally planned —having a physical form meant she couldn’t just phase through walls or disappear.

‘Damn that cursed rock!’ Acel cursed at the rock that caused all this mess.

“Big Sister, what should we do next?” Raquel asked after finishing his meal. “Should we gather more herbs?”

Acel turned to him. Gathering food was not the only thing they came to the forest for, they were also gathering herbs. With no other way to earn money, she had planned to collect and sell them using the information the talking rabbit once shared through the window screen.

Seeing that his basket was already full and the sun beginning to set, she patted his head. “No need. We’ve done enough for today. Let’s head back before it gets dark.”

He smiled, grabbed her plush hand, and together they returned to the cabin.

Once inside, Acel sat across from the pile of herbs and began organizing them. Raquel watched her work, his eyes sparkling with curiosity.

After a few moments, he asked eagerly, “For how much are we going to sell them, Big Sister?”

Acel froze.

Ah, right… I don’t know anything about this world’s currency.

She turned slowly to Raquel. “So… how do you think we should price these?” I asked hoping he might have some idea of how the currencies of this world.

But of course, he was just 6 years old when he got thrown here, there was no such hope from the beginning, “How about we sell them each for 1 million Gils!”

‘I don’t know what Gils is, but I know for sure herbs won’t cost as much as a million, no matter what currency. Even drugs don’t cost that much or else they won’t have any buyers.’ I logically thought to myself.

“…Let’s not do that,” she said with a wry smile. “We’ll check the markets first, see how much they’re charging, and price ours the same.”

“Ask?” Raquel tilted his head.

“Exactly. We’ll just match their prices.”

He beamed at her simplicity.

As she continued sorting herbs, Raquel scooted closer, inch by inch, watching her every move. Acel paused and looked at him.

“Do you want to help?”

He nodded enthusiastically.

She handed him the tying task—something difficult for her fuzzy paws. With him handling the strings and her focused-on sorting, their work sped up considerably.

A few hours later, they stopped. Raquel had dinner—just fruit this time—and afterward crawled into bed. He looked over at her.

“Sister…”

She climbed up beside him and laid down.

Ever since she had become Tibbo, she always joined Raquel in bed. He’d never said it, but she knew sleeping without the bear would feel strange for him, since his been sleeping with it ever since. So even though she didn’t need to sleep anymore, she did so anyway—just to stay close.

.

.

.

Another few days passed peacefully.

It had now been over a week since Acel became Tibbo, and thankfully, no one had come to disturb them. They were foraging deep in the forest when Acel heard it—crunch. A twig snapped nearby.

She froze.

Raquel, holding her hand, noticed and stopped too.

More rustling.

Acel raised her stubby arm in front of her face, motioning Raquel to stay silent. Though her gesture lacked fingers, Raquel seemed to understand. He let go of her and hid quietly.

Acel crept toward the sound.

Through the bushes, she spotted a girl in a maid uniform—someone from the mansion. Her brows furrowed.

Just when I thought things had finally calmed down.

She followed the woman quietly. Ever since she learned these people tormented Raquel, Acel had rigged basic traps around the perimeter—simple ropes and tripwires. She spotted one ahead, just in the maid’s path.

Carefully, Acel grabbed one end of the rope and lifted it.

Please fall, please fall…

The maid’s foot caught the rope, and she fell flat on her face with a loud thud. She looked around seeing what caught her leg, and she saw Acel the teddy bear holding the rope that tripped her. Acel looked straight at her too, completely nervous.

‘Shit! I’ve been seen!’

But instead of attacking, the maid’s eyes went wide. Her face turned pale, and with a terrified scream, she scrambled to her feet and fled, crying as she ran.

“…Huh?” Acel blinked.

Well, that was easier than expected.

But the realization hit quickly.

If she reports back to the mansion, won’t they treat me like a violent, and harmful Guardian spirit? What if they speed up their plan to kill Raquel?!

She ran back toward where Raquel was hiding.

“Raquel! We’re going back—now!” she cried.

Raquel, sensing her urgency, didn’t hesitate. He grabbed her plush hand, and the two of them ran.

Teddy bear or not, Acel had made up her mind.

They had to leave. Before it was too late.