Language Cheat Reincarnation – Young Girl VTuber Saves the World

Chapter 379. [Yesterday's Enemy, Tomorrow's Friend]

After hunting the monkeys, we were on our way back.

A local man, still brimming with excitement, spoke to me.

'To think you actually managed to take down the monkeys! You're incredible!'

It's nice to be praised. But...

The man, who had been talking for a while, suddenly glanced at the basket on his back.

‘Honestly, I didn’t think you’d really pull it off... maybe we hunted too many.’

Ah, so he didn’t join me in chasing the monkeys because he believed in me.

Still, I managed to find one thing I could do in the forest...

'Huh? Oh... yes.'

‘You only did what needed to be done. There's no need to feel guilty.’

‘...Thank you.’

I could tell he was trying to comfort me, so I thanked him sincerely.

But today... just for today, I’d like to get some rest once we return to the village.

That thought crossed my mind as we walked. Then, I noticed something.

‘Huh? This area...’

‘What’s wrong?’

When I first arrived here, all forests looked the same to me.

But after living here for a while, I started to notice subtle differences.

This scenery was familiar.

This place is... near where I first collapsed.

Where the crashed plane is located.

While chasing the monkeys, we must have moved farther than I realized.

‘So that’s why. We don’t come here often ourselves, because... don’t move!’

‘?!’

The local man hushed his breath and then, in a sharp voice, warned me.

What’s happening?

I turned my gaze to his face, trying to figure out what he was looking at.

His expression was one of panic, tension—and unmistakable fear.

‘This is bad... really bad. Don’t move. Don’t provoke it.’

‘Um, what exactly is—’

‘A jaguar.’

‘Wha—ngh?!’

I almost let out a gasp but quickly covered my mouth with my hand. It was too late.

The local man spoke.

‘It’s noticed us.’

I spotted the jaguar moments later.

They were much closer than I expected.

Four of them in total.

They slowly rose, shifting into a battle stance.

‘I’m so sorry!’

‘No, it’s not your fault. Have you been attacked before? It’s natural to be scared.’

At the mention of jaguars, memories came flooding back.

The night I spent protecting a Secret Service woman on my own.

When they attacked... and nearly killed me.

The terror resurfaced, and I couldn’t stop trembling.

Now I understood what the man was going to say after “because.”

He must have meant this:

Because... jaguars appear in this area.

That’s why we avoid it.

Jaguars are the most powerful predators in the forest.

In a one-on-one fight, you can’t win.

But even they have one weakness.

‘W-what is it?’

‘They don’t form packs. So, if there are two or more of us, they usually won’t attack.’

‘Wait, but—’

‘Exactly. That’s why this is very bad.’

The jaguars ahead of us numbered four.

The first time I saw them, they were also in a group, so I assumed that’s how it always was.

Compared to the one in the center, the other three were smaller—probably newborns.

Even newborns had likely been around for some time.

To me, they looked large and terrifying enough to be mistaken for adults.

And the one in the center was the mother.

Still in the middle of raising her cubs, which explained why they were together.

‘...Huh?’

Then I realized something.

The cubs were in a battle stance, but the mother wasn’t trying to stand.

No, she couldn’t stand.

She was injured.

And I recognized her wounds.

‘No way... it can’t be!’

‘What is it?’

‘These jaguars... they’re the same ones that attacked me!’

‘...!’

‘So it is them.’

Come to think of it, jaguar groups are rare.

Even the man, who had lived in the forest his whole life, said as much.

‘Our luck is terrible. They’re starving and thin. They won’t attack right away since they know we’re armed, but... girl, back away slowly and carefully. We’re going to escape.’

‘Y-yes, I understand—’

[“—Don’t come any closer!”]

One of the cubs roared.

I froze at the sound.

Thanks to my ‘language cheat ability,’ I could understand what the jaguar was saying.

But something felt off.

Why “Don’t come closer”?

Why not—“I’ll kill you”?

‘Hey, girl. If we don’t hurry—’

The local man urged me.

I understood. But maybe...

[“—What are you doing, you fools! Go! Leave!”]

[“—No!”]

The mother jaguar roared at her cubs.

They responded with sorrowful cries.

I had assumed they were preparing to attack us.

But I was wrong.

They were... just being cautious.

They were only protecting their injured mother.

In fact, they wouldn’t stray far from her side.

They stayed close, guarding her as she lay there, unable to move.

[“You idiots!”]

The mother roared again.

Her limited vocabulary made it sound that way, but in truth, she was likely saying this:

Leave me behind and go on without me!

Yet the cubs refused, crying out that they wouldn’t abandon her.

‘Ah, I know I’m about to do something stupid. I really do. But still...’

‘W-wait! What are you doing? Come back!’

I stepped forward.

One step closer to the jaguars—.