Meanwhile, the man in question had already recovered completely.

"So..." Gawain said, leaning casually against the table like he hadn’t nearly eaten everyone ten minutes ago. "This guy... Soren, was it?"

I ignored him and went back to rummaging through the stone box.

"Was he good to you?" Gawain continued. "Did he have no ulterior motives when he kidnapped you?"

Agatha’s glare snapped toward him immediately. "Master Soren isn’t that kind of person."

Gawain lifted both hands in surrender. "I’m just asking."

He turned to me again.

"My Lady, did you trust him that much that you willingly went along and ended up here?"

I paused my stone hunting and typed. "I’d rather go to a kind stranger than be stuck on an island eating those nutrient packs you call food."

"Pfft—!" Agatha instantly covered her mouth, trying to suppress her laughter.

Gawain clutched his chest dramatically. "Ooof! Critical damage!"

"My cooking isn’t that bad!" he protested. "And besides, I made it according to your diet!"

I typed again. "Food here is still better," then I stuck out my tongue at him.

Gawain looked personally betrayed. "How did that man even get to that island anyway?" he muttered. "I swear I was coming back to get you after I finished my mission..."

He sighed dramatically. "But it seems you’re far better living here anyway."

I tapped the screen again. "Soren isn’t bad. I’m grateful to him for letting me stay here for free and letting me study at the academy." I paused before typing the next part. "But I’ll repay him and make a name for myself soon."

Gawain froze, his lips began trembling, eyes slowly filled with tears. "My Lady..." he whispered.

Agatha and I both looked up.

He grabbed his chest again like he had just been stabbed emotionally. "My little leopard has grown up!"

Agatha sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose.

I ignored him completely and continued searching through the stones.

~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~

6:00 P.M.

After hours of rummaging, sorting, rejecting, and occasionally throwing stones that Agatha had to heroically rescue mid-air, I finally found several stones suitable for myself.

Different tones.

Different cores.

Different structures.

Perfect for experimentation.

I cracked my neck slightly, adjusted the mechanical arm, and began carving.

Agatha stood nearby quietly organizing the remaining stones.

Gawain, meanwhile, had made himself comfortable on a chair like he was watching a live theater performance titled "My Lady Commits Questionable Carving Experiments."

One by one, I finished the carvings then came the testing.

First Energy Stone

I held the energy stone, feeling a soft pulse of energy spread through my body then something shifted in me.

Agatha and Gawain blinked as I looked down at myself.

Out of my four limbs, only one had turned into a human arm. My left paw was now a proper human hand.

The rest of me? Still leopard.

I slowly turned my head towards the mirror nearby.

Half of my face had transformed into a human while the other half remained leopard. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

My ears flattened. "...Nyang."

Translation: What the hell is this.

Even my speech was still leopard.

Behind me, Gawain stared in absolute silence.

He slowly looked around the room then looked back at me. "...Where did the lady go?!" he said dramatically, circling me around anxiously.

Agatha stood completely frozen.

Her eyes widened slightly as she studied my appearance like a scholar encountering a deeply confusing research paper.

"My Lady..." she said carefully, "...perhaps this one is not correct."

I immediately deactivated the stone. My body snapped back into full leopard form as I tossed the stone aside.

Rejected.

Second Energy Stone

I activated the second one as the energy surged again.

My body shifted.

This time, the transformation went further, my upper body became human.

Shoulders.

Arms.

Face.

All human.

But from the waist down, still leopard.

A fluffy leopard lower half sat beneath my human torso.

My tail swished behind me.

Agatha blinked slowly.

Gawain stared then he suddenly burst out laughing.

"Pfffft—!"

He pointed at me. "Why is your belly so chubby?!"

He leaned forward with sparkling eyes. "Urrghh! I just want to cuddle it!"

His hand reached toward my leopard stomach.

SMACK.

I slapped his hand away before he could touch it. "NYANG!"

Translation: Touch it and lose your hand.

Gawain clutched his injured pride. "My Lady has become violent!"

Agatha quietly turned her head away, clearly trying not to laugh.

Meanwhile, I looked down at my strange half-and-half body.

Human above. Leopard below. Tail still wagging.

"...No."

I deactivated the stone immediately.

My body returned to normal again.

Third Energy Stone

I activated the third one, energy pulsing through my body again but stronger this time.

My bones shifted.

My muscles stretched.

When the light faded, I looked down at myself.

Two legs.

Two arms.

A torso.

Hands.

But my body was still covered in sleek leopard fur. My ears remained pointed and fluffy on top of my head, my tail swished behind me, and faint spots ran across my arms and shoulders.

A humanoid leopard.

Half beast, half person.

I flexed my fingers experimentally. "...Nyang."

Translation: Almost close

Behind me, Gawain tilted his head. "...So you became a walking leopard instead of a crawling one."

Agatha studied me thoughtfully. "It is... an improvement from the previous attempts, My Lady."

I stared at my reflection then sighed.

’Still not it.’

I deactivated the stone and I’m back to full leopard.

Fourth Energy Stone

I picked up the fourth one. Upon touching, this one had a much purer core.

I activated it.

The energy surged again, far smoother than the previous ones.

My body reshaped completely.

I blinked when the light faded.

Two human hands rested on the table.

Slender fingers.

Smooth pale skin.

I slowly stood up.

White hair fell over my shoulders like snow.

My skin was fair, almost glowing under the chandelier.

My eyes reflected crimson in the mirror.

A perfectly human figure stared back at me.

Slender build.

Sharp but elegant features.

No fur.

No tail.

No paws.

Just human.

Behind me, Gawain went completely still then his eyes filled with tears again.

"My Lady..." he whispered emotionally. "I didn’t know you were this beautiful!"

He wiped his imaginary tears dramatically. "You’re the most beautiful beastman I’ve seen in the entire empire!"

Agatha, who rarely agreed with anything Gawain said, kept staring at me in stunned silence then she quietly nodded.

"I hate to say this," she admitted, "but I agree with what he said, My Lady."

I felt a small spark of pride.

Finally success.

I opened my mouth to thank them. "Nyang— "

Translation: Thank—

I froze.

Gawain froze.

Agatha froze.

"Nyang nya nyang!"

Translation: Oh come on!

I covered my face with both hands in pure frustration.

’What was the point of finally becoming human again...

...if I still sounded like a leopard?! ’

Fifth Energy Stone

At this point the table looked like a battlefield of failed experiments.

Rejected and used stones but I might as well sell them as decorations.

Agatha quietly reorganizing everything while pretending this was completely normal.

Gawain sitting nearby like a proud spectator of "My Lady’s Transformation Show."

I grabbed the final stone, energy surging again.

My body shifted, bones stretching, fur withdrawing, and when the light faded, I looked down.

Human hands.

Human arms.

Human legs.

My white hair fell over my shoulders again.

But this time, there two soft leopard ears sitting on top of my head, twitching softly.

And behind me, a long spotted tail swayed lazily.

I blinked then I slowly opened my mouth. "Testing. Testing."

My eyes widened. "YES!"

I jumped slightly in excitement. "I can finally talk properly!"

I pointed triumphantly at the transparent energy stone sitting inside the glass casing on the shelf. "Hah! Suck that you damn stone!"

That cursed stone had forced me to communicate in "Nyang language" for far too long.

As long as I could speak normally and had proper human hands for carving, I had zero interest in touching that thing ever again.

Agatha looked visibly relieved hearing me speak normally for the first time. "My Lady... your voice..."

Gawain, meanwhile, studied my new appearance carefully.

Human but with leopard ears and tail.

He nodded slowly, looking oddly satisfied. "If you don’t want to stay mute while being human," he said casually, "then use this stone instead."

He gestured toward the one I was currently holding. "At least you can talk."

I crossed my arms proudly. "Exactly."

My tail flicked behind me.

Gawain tilted his head, smiling. "...Though I must say..." He leaned forward slightly. "My Lady, the ears are cute."

Agatha nodded immediately. "Very cute, My Lady."

My ears twitched. "...Don’t make it weird."

Unfortunately, my tail wagged anyway.

Now that I finally had proper human hands, I flexed my fingers a few times just to admire them.

My tail swayed happily behind me.

"With this," I muttered, rotating my wrist, "I can carve energy stones faster and more accurately."

The mechanical arm suddenly felt like a backup tool rather than a necessity.

But before diving back into carving, I needed to check something important.

My shop.

It had been hours since I last checked it.

I quickly opened my OmniSync and pulled up StrataLink.

Messages immediately flooded the screen. Unread replies, customer questions, order confirmations and requests.

A lot of requests.

"...Whoa."

I scrolled through the list.

Many of the customers I replied to earlier had already sent follow-up messages.

My shop.

It had been hours since I last checked it.

I quickly opened my OmniSync and pulled up the marketplace interface.

Messages immediately flooded the screen.

Unread replies.

Customer questions.

Order confirmations.

Requests.

A lot of requests.

"...Whoa."

I scrolled through the list.

Many of the customers I replied to earlier had already sent follow-up messages asking if their orders were confirmed.

Others were asking about delivery times.

But what caught my attention the most were the custom requests.

My eyes narrowed slightly.

"Four-legged variants..."

There were a lot of them.

Others were asking about delivery times.

But what caught my attention the most were the custom requests.

My eyes narrowed slightly.

"Four-legged variants..."

There were a lot of them.

Wolves, panthers, rabbits, horses, and even a few reptiles.

It seemed word had already spread that my carvings worked exceptionally well for beast forms.

Which meant—

More money.

My tail flicked happily again.