I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain

The hand that was wrapping around me gained strength. 

 

Tezen’s words, ‘my squirrel’, upset his feelings.

 

If I could speak, I would say this:

‘What are you? Dude, you’re not a war hero yet.’ But I couldn’t speak.

 

‘You’re not actually going to pull some kind of nasty character act here and say that this squirrel is actually calming you down, and then we’re all screwed, right?’

 

I noticed the tension building at the table and thought quickly.

 

‘Or maybe you wouldn’t recite the lines of the world’s strongest male protagonist, saying that he’s releasing his hidden powers, right?’

 

‘You’re not the male lead. You’re not the strongest in the world yet.’

 

‘If you show up here without even calming down your magic, I don’t know what kind of situation you’ll face.’

 

The Duke’s servants had all been in Ella’s hands for a long time, and Yohan had no one of his own.

 

‘But why does he have a face like he is about to say something so ridiculous?’

 

But a boy going through puberty doesn’t know what to do.

 

Yohan and I, the weakest members of the Duke family, are quietly lying down and secretly helping each other out in the middle of the night.

 

‘If something happens here, it will be difficult.’

 

I was much more likely to get in trouble than Johan.

 

‘At least I’m expensive.’ 

 

Ella gave most of her personal wealth to the temple to buy me.

 

So she won’t kill or kick me out easily.

 

“Kyuung.”

 

“Yeah, I’ll take the blame.’ 

 

I turned my head away from Tezen as I curled up into John’s hand, refusing to leave.

 

Yohan’s expression softened instantly as I curled up inside him.

 

Tezen, on the other hand, who held out his hand for John to return me to him, frowned in momentary confusion.

 

“Aha, this slav— oh Blackie…”

 

Tezen quickly looked at Mariel and spoke as if making an excuse.

 

“It’s a bit stupid, it doesn’t really understand what I’m saying…it also has a slightly prickly personality.”

 

It was a pity that I couldn’t say anything about being falsely accused of being stupid.

 

‘I don’t know, but I’m probably smarter than Tezen.’

 

“Oh my god, are you grumpy?”

 

Mariel blinked and asked innocently, and Tezen answered right away.

 

“Yes. No matter what I say, it just buries its head and pretends not to listen. In my room, it just curls up in the corner and sleeps almost every day…”

 

Tezen clicked his tongue and continued.

 

“Now that I think about it, I shouldn’t be surprised since it never comes when I’ve asked it to.”

 

Yeah, I’m usually grumpy.

 

Actually, when I looked at the capabilities of my soul, a squirrel was not a very suitable animal.

 

At least if it had been as violent as a sparrow, I could have attacked by pecking at him with my beak.

 

Sadly, I don’t have a single sharp part on my body because my toenails were cut from the temple.

 

As I nodded as if to agree with that, Meriel muttered quietly.

 

“But it’s still cute…”

 

However, to Tezen’s surprise, Yohan’s hands slowly became loose.

 

‘This…’

 

I squinted my eyes and looked at Yohan’s face, which looked somewhat satisfied.

 

He had a very full beastly look that didn’t match his pale complexion.

 

‘I guess it’s good that Tezen is cursing at me?’ 

 

Yohan looked down at me quietly and even smiled slightly. It seemed to mean that I was doing well.

 

‘What? Don’t smile faintly as if you know everything about my heart. What do you know, the heart of a squirrel?’ 

 

I snorted and pushed his hand away with my hind legs. Now, I was done with this whole situation.

 

When Tezen gestured to me, his hand, which had been so firm, was pushed away so easily.

 

“Kyuung.”

 

I crossed the table proudly and sat on Tezen’s shoulders.

 

‘The situation ended with me becoming a bit of a stupid divine beast.’ 

 

I thought about it for a moment, but I felt a little tired, so I put my head on my hands.

 

‘I want to become human soon. My abilities are too great to live as a squirrel.’ 

 

If I became a young lady from a wealthy family…

 

With this quick judgment and strong personality, I could have made any family far more prosperous than the Duke of Hyrad.

 

After many twists and turns, the meal began. I felt a sense of relief as I watched Yohan eat his warm soup.

 

I looked at him like a grandmother’s joy at seeing her grandchildren come to play in the countryside.

 

‘You’re a mess, but at least you’re eating something decent, whereas in the tower, you only seem to be eating food that’s gone cold.’

 

During the peaceful mealtime, small talk took place.

 

“So…Have you heard any news yet about your second daughter? And the Duke of Medes?”

 

“Yes.…, the Duke went missing during the war, so it can’t be helped, but I’m so upset about my second daughter’s case.”

 

Duchess Madest answered Ella’s question with a bitter smile.

 

“The temple says it’s a curse that has been placed on the Duke of Medes.…It’s so horrible. I hope it’s just a coincidence.”

 

The Duchess of Medes sighed deeply and muttered.

 

To make a long story short, the Duke of Medes had a long history of children going missing.

 

This is a phenomenon that usually occurs in the direct lineage, but sometimes it also applies to collateral lines.

 

In particular, the first child never disappeared, and only the second or third children somehow disappeared.

 

Ella asked again, trying hard to hide her curious gaze.

 

“No, that kind of saying has been said since long ago, so weren’t you careful?”

 

The Duchess of Medes sighed slightly as if it was difficult to speak, but she did not ignore the question.

 

“After giving birth to our second daughter, who was a year younger than Mariel, I was so anxious that I kept her in the duke’s mansion the whole time.”

 

Tears began to well up in her pink eyes.

 

“But she had to be baptized, so we had no choice but to go to the temple on my child’s first birthday.… We ran into a bandit. And only my second child….”

 

“Mother.”

 

Mariel said, squeezing Duchess Medest’s trembling hand.

 

“Please go to the bathroom for a moment. I think you need to sort out your feelings.”

 

Of course, tears were welling up in Mariel’s eyes as she said those words.

 

It seemed like she didn’t even know her younger sister’s face, but she was always sad about that situation.

 

‘Anyway, Ella…You really clueless. There are some interesting facts and some that are not….’

 

I clicked my tongue inwardly and slowly wagged my tail.

 

The second daughter disappeared on her way to the temple. That’s why Mariel is the only child and the only heir. Since then, the Duke of Medes has also gone to war.’

 

Anyway, when the Duchess of Medes went to the bathroom, there was a chance to change the subject, so Mariel immediately looked at me again and said.

 

“There have been no wizards in Medes for generations, so I don’t know much about divine beasts.…Didn’t it say that if you have strong magic powers, the divine beast can also become human? That’s really amazing.”

 

Showing interest in me ultimately gave Tezen a chance to show off, and as a result, It was an effective change of subject.

 

As expected, Tezen answered arrogantly.

 

“Oh, my mother also asked the temple when she first brought the divine beast. Just in case, she was afraid that it would be humanized because of my magic power.”

 

Seriously, your dreams were big. Just hearing it, you sound like a great wizard.

 

I shook my head and then met eyes with Yohan, who was looking at me.

 

“But the temple says it’s a very difficult thing to do because the divine beasts aren’t even willing to humanize themselves. They say they instinctively prefer the bodies of animals.”

 

‘What are you talking about? My will to become human is so strong.’

 

I scratched my ear with my front paw.

 

“Ah, I see. That’s interesting. So that’s why only a few divine beasts become humans.”

 

While Mariel nodded, Yohan smiled at me as if sending a secret signal.

 

Yohan was the only one who saw me transform into a human, so I’m sure he found the whole conversation as funny as I did.

 

‘But why does he smile so beautifully?’

 

And I realized another fact.

 

Yohan paid absolutely no attention to Meriel. He didn’t even give her a glance out of courtesy.

 

‘She’s just a woman and I’m so good at calming him down. That must have been his number one priority.’

 

According to the original story, Yohan falls in love with Mariel after the war, when he’s free of his magic.

 

‘Yeah, don’t even start the whole damn love thing, just live without worrying about it.’

 

I filled a bowl with the sunflower seeds the servant brought me and munched on them, thinking.

 

‘What’s more interesting than that is Mariel’s body, it’s so weird. I don’t know how she can calm herself down like that.’

 

It was something that wasn’t in the original at all, but it was still interesting even though I had no idea about that.

 

‘Well, it’s none of my business.’

 

The strange meal ended without any incident.

 * * *