Chapter 6: 6

Above the Running Hamster, There’s a Flying Northern Grand Duke (3)

Contrary to concerns, Kyle didn’t kill anyone.

I trembled upon seeing the terrifying yet shiny blade, thinking that he was really going to kill the three people all at once, but instead he beat the thieves down with only the back of his sword.

No, to be honest, it wasn’t right to call it a mere beat down.

— Squeak… (Um…)

Kyle literally beat the three guys enough to make dust rise on a rainy day.

Two of them passed out in an instant from the beating full of personal grudge, while the other fell on the floor and trembled like an aspen tree.

It’s not that he didn’t faint, it was more like he couldn’t. Because Kyle beat him by controlling his power as precisely as a demon. …Was he venting his anger?

“Who sent you?”

Kyle asked, pressing the knife close to the thief’s throat.

“If you tell the truth behind this, I will spare you an execution.”

“W-we’re, just, looking for anything worth some money…”

“Anything worth some money?”

It wasn’t completely wrong, but the words were slightly misleading.

Didn’t you say that if there was a woman, you could catch or assassinate them? Since the opponent was Kyle, they just looked like fools, but if it were someone weak, they wouldn’t have hesitated to rob them.

And their lack of plans and impulsivity only made them look all the more insignificant. Compared to other nobles, the grand duke’s room wasn’t as strictly guarded, so it must have looked easy.

“No one ordered you to kidnap the beast?”

Kyle asked darkly.

“This is my last question.”

“T-that, um…”

The trembling thief somehow picked himself up and looked at me. Why, huh? Don’t look at me asking for help, you hamster thief.

“…It was a beast?!”

That’s right. He had heard rumors that the grand duke was hiding a woman, but she was nowhere to be found, and there was a hamster eating almonds instead. They must’ve been embarrassed too.

Kyle’s gaze quickly scanned the study. There were a few messy papers pertaining to the administration of the Blake estate, macadamia nuts… They were my snacks.

Kyle raised his sword, as if convinced that at least they weren’t professional or organized. Not only the petty thief, but even I was nervous at his ferocious spirit, as if he would cut his throat at any moment.

“T-that, Grand Duke…”

Thud.

The masked man who had been getting up suddenly collapsed unsightly. Thanks to that, I jumped in surprise from the corner of the house I was cooped up in.

God, that scared me! Even if you fall, why would you do it right in front of my nose! I made eye contact with the fainting guy!

“Cashew.”

He reached into the hamster house and carefully lifted me up.

“Are you okay? You must have been very surprised.”

— Squeak… (Uh…)

“Don’t worry now. Since the festival is right around the corner, and they don’t seem to be trained assassins, I’ll put them in the dungeon instead of killing them. Due to the arrival of guests from the capital…”

Kyle gave a short nod of his head.

“Yeah, there shouldn’t be any word going out. I don’t want anything bothering me.”

— Squeak. (No, not that.)

“When the important matters are over, I’ll dump them out into the fields.”

— Squeak. (Got it.)

Could you put down your sword when telling me? And have the collapsed fools taken away.

What are you thinking, taking care of a hamster without even cleaning up this hideous atmosphere? Even though those damn guys over there were caught red-handed while engaging in hamster theft.

— … 

Maybe it was because I’ve turned into a mouse, but my guts seemed to have become the size of a mouse’s too. I see my heart is thumping at even the slightest sound.

‘Well, in my original world, knives all meant kitchen knives.’

A knife used to cut people or beasts would differ in its sense of intimidation. If you could stand firm in front of that razor-sharp blade, you must have a strong heart.

Also, all office workers barely have guts by nature. It was not because I’m a scaredy-cat.

“Your Highness!”

— Squeak! (Oh god! You scared me!)

The door suddenly burst open and armed men poured in. The guards seemed to have rushed in at the sound of an intruder.

Are all people in the north originally so bold?! Won’t the door break?!

The loud noise made the hairs all over my body stand on end. I quickly got out of his palm. It was a reflexive action. As if my habits had changed as a hamster, my body was moving on its own before I knew it.

Anyway, I wanted to avoid loud noises and situations where so many people were staring at me. What can I do? My MBTI starts with I.

“Cashew!”

While Kyle handed the fallen men over by pushing them with his feet, I landed on the desk and jumped down. After running around 700 laps, this was at the same level as stepping stones.

I dropped down to the floor in an instant and went into the bottom of the bookshelf.

‘Since I have a small body, I can fit in places like this.’

I felt comfortable when I was free from the eyes of those terrifyingly large people. Yeah. By all means, you need your own space filled with ceilings and walls no matter what.

“Everyone out!”

Wow, what a loud voice. I think it shook the floor.

I crawled more and more into the dark. It must’ve been difficult to clean up to this point, and a few lumps of dust hit my face.

“Y-Your Highness?”

“I told you to get out.”

Kyle’s voice was almost as cold as death. If they didn’t leave within 10 seconds, I think that they were really going to get well acquainted with his sword.

The soldiers squeezed out all the strength they didn’t really have. In the blink of an eye, they dragged the fallen out. Suddenly, when the door closed, it became quiet.

After agonizing for a while, Kyle came closer to me.

“Come out, Cashew. It is dangerous there.”

No, think carefully. Hamster houses are more dangerous. Didn’t the thieves break in an hour ago?

“Come out quickly.”

He whispered in an earnest request.

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His arm came in, but it wasn’t long enough to reach inside where I was. I stared at his outstretched hand, picking at the fur on my paws.

The five fingers groping the floor looked very pitiful. So, I put something like an ink cap that had fallen in the corner into his hand. …However, why do I feel so comfortable here?

[Hamsters love dark places!]

A system window popped up in front of me. Well, it is a nocturnal animal.

I subtly nodded and looked at the hand that slowly slipped away. Kyle was silent for a moment, but then this time, something else suddenly came in.

— Squeak! Squeak squeak! (No, you lunatic!)

What he held out was a sword. Of course, the blade was well placed in its scabbard, but it was natural to be afraid of it as long as you knew what it was.

Shiver! I trembled and hid myself deeper into the corner. I was becoming a lump of dust as the dust that had been rolling around clung to my fur.

“Please come out, Cashew. I was wrong.”

Then was this crazy Northern grand duke right earlier? What are you so desperate for?

“Shall we sleep together today? You need to wash up, and I’ll do whatever you like. You won’t be left alone.”

— … 

I was definitely not bitter at those last words.

But honestly, it was lonely. Aside from the hamster house that looked like a playground, the study was bigger than the studio I lived in. Even a human would have felt that it was spacious, much less a hamster who isn’t even bigger than a hand… 

Above all, I had already seen his death printed in text once, but it was also true that it felt weird.

It has only been a few days, but it seemed like I had grown fond of this guy and wanted to save him, not just because of the miracle value, but also from the bottom of my heart. Also, people who like animals were originally not bad people.

I cautiously got out from under the drawer to avoid Kyle’s sword. Kyle threw away his sword with delight and held me dearly.

“You made the right decision.”

Wasn’t the Grand Duke of the North set to be ruthless? When he was looking at me, he looked more foolish than anyone else on the planet. The Northern grand duke is colder than anyone else, but to his hamster, he’s warm and kind… 

Kyle brushed the dust off my body and headed to the bathroom. He then filled the sink with warm water and washed me.

‘It’s good…’

It felt like I was in a hot spring. Should I put a towel over my head? But, could I get washed like this? Rodents shouldn’t be bathed in water. There wouldn’t be anything wrong happening to my body, right?

[Northern field mice love water!]

I see. That was a relief.

Afterwards, Kyle brushed my fur several times and laid me down on a cozy towel. His skillful hand made me wonder if he had done it many times before.

I lied down quietly, feeling like I was getting a full body massage. This was the hamster life.

“You seem to be falling asleep.”

This demon jerk. I forcibly opened my eyes, which had been starting to close.

I wanted to enjoy this laziness a little more. He kissed my belly and headed for the bedroom. I lied quietly on his bedside, enjoying the feeling of the white towel wrapped around me like a blanket.

‘Is this… heaven…?’

As I was rolling over on the soft sheets, he put a hamster wheel next to me. What. What’s this? Maybe he had taken it out because he thought I liked it.

I looked at Kyle once and then the wheel with a puzzled face, then kicked the Ferris wheel with my foot.

The pink Ferris wheel spun smoothly, as if it had been oiled. …What? Maybe it was because I got used to it, but it seemed a little more stable now.

“I’ll be back in a moment, so stay still, Cashew.”

He stroked me with his index finger and left the bedroom. There must’ve been quite a lot of work to deal with right away since that mess had happened earlier.

‘Not just anyone can be the Northern grand duke.’

If you really looked at what being one was, it was doing overtime.

Turning the wheel with my feet, I jolted up at a thought that flashed through my mind. Wasn’t this the perfect opportunity?

I quickly called the system and checked my remaining count.

[787/1000]

‘It’ll be quick.’

If there are only about 200 laps left, it would be so easy that I could do this while eating almonds. I jumped on and started running on the wheel.

Clack. Rattle. Clatter.

There was a sense of stableness. I wouldn’t be able to turn it any better than the way I was doing it now. Whether the bed was a stone bed or not, it wasn’t normal for it to firmly support the wheel like this.

I was excited and spurred on.

[864/1000]

…

[958/1000]

…

[990/1000]

And finally, with the last 10 laps to go.

“Cashew.”

The door opened, and Kyle entered the room.

I quickly threw myself onto the towel-covered sheets. Then, pretending that nothing happened, I acted like a pitiful hamster who had suffered a serious problem, rolling up my body.

Fortunately, Kyle, who confirmed with his own eyes that I was well… didn’t care that the wheel was still running. No, it was more like he couldn’t see it because his eyes were focused on something else. Anyway, he went to the bathroom after saying that he was going to wash up.

I sighed deeply and looked at the spinning hamster wheel.

‘The count only goes up when it stops.’

I sat idly and watched the frantically spinning wheel, and only when it came to a complete stop did I climb back on cautiously.

[999/1000]

[1000/1000]

When the 1000 laps were finally completed, the system windows flashed along with a strange fanfare.

‘Wh-what…?’

[You have learned ‘Summon’!]

[The miracle value has risen!]

[Current miracle value: 5.0%]

[Do you want to use ‘Summon’?]

‘Now? Here? Can I use it…?’

I pressed the [YES] button with my tiny forepaw.

Then, a light identical to the light emitted from the system window enveloped my body.

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