My Friend, Mick

That is the way of any house where people actually live. No matter how carefully you keep it, something, somewhere, is bound to give.

Even so, I had never imagined finding a flaw in the hero Yusia's mansion. Yusia was always meticulous about cleanliness, and the servants under that roof devoted themselves to cleaning with a fervor that bordered on the pathological. In my room her standard ran two or three times stricter than in the rest of the house. I had never so much as seen an ordinary housefly.

And yet here I was, looking at this.

"No matter how I look at it, that's a mouse hole."

It was under the table, a place I almost never looked. I had dropped the chunk of wood I was carving, and when I bent to pick it up I found a small hole along the base of the wall—half the size of my fist, more or less. It might have been nothing but a flaw in the construction, but my senses as a cat beastfolk told me exactly what it was. A mouse hole. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠No question. The smell came through so sharply I couldn't mistake it. An ordinary human would never have noticed, but I could. It hadn't been used as a nest for long. At most, there seemed to be only one.

"Yusia will fill it in herself."

In my previous life, the mere mention of a mouse had been enough to send me leaping into the air. The sight of one thrashing on a glue trap could make me retch. Now I wasn't frightened in the least. If anything, now and then I even caught myself swallowing back a mouthful of saliva... No. Even I had to draw the line somewhere.

The free hours granted to me each day were few, so I had no time to waste on a mouse hole. But the world never goes as you wish—no more than I myself could escape this place.

I was sprawled on the bed, letting a sour mood cool, after cutting myself for real. Not the self-harm I staged on purpose. A genuine slip of the carving knife.

Something soft poked my cheek. A sound followed.

"Squeak!"

"Eeh?"

I opened my eyes, and there was a mouse. White, with red eyes. An albino? A mouse rare in this world was kneading my cheek with its wrinkled forepaws. The first feeling that rose in me was not disgust. It was curiosity.

I am a cat beastfolk, and I have a cat's traits. Mice, as a rule, avoid me. Days had passed since I found the hole, and the dainty little thing hadn't shown so much as the tip of its nose, so I had assumed it abandoned the place and fled. And yet here it was, boldly pressing into my cheek?

"What are you?"

"Squeak!"

"You're not scared of me?"

"Squeeak!"

"Hnn. I see."

One advantage of beastfolk in this world is that we can communicate with animals, to a certain extent. I have no idea how it works. I peeled the mouse off my cheek. Astonishingly, the white mouse did not resist my hands. If anything, it squirmed and rubbed its body against me, making a show of how familiar we already were.

"Hey. Do you like me?"

"Squeak!"

"You're a strange one. Then... want to live with me?"

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

It said it would. A mouse and a cat keeping house together. We weren't Tom and Jerry. But for someone like me, who almost never met anyone outside the Sword of Trust, this white mouse would make a fine little diversion. And it was cute, in a dainty way.

"Then from now on, your name is Mick. Understand?"

"Squeak?"

"Mick. That's your name."

I had taken it from the most famous mouse of my previous life. Once I had given it, the name seemed rather good. After I said it two or three times, Mick nodded. He seemed to understand.

"You only come out when I'm alone. All right?"

"Squeak!"

So he said.

And so my life with Mick began. For the time being, I hid the mouse hole behind the table.

A few days of living with Mick taught me something.

"Mick, paw."

"Squeak!"

He slapped a wrinkled paw up with a crisp little smack.

"Mick, play dead."

"Squeee..."

He keeled over in a theatrical little death.

"Mick, hide."

"Squeeak!"

In an instant he moved and vanished from my sight.

"Mick. Come out and bring me my carving knife."

"Squee-squeak!"

He burst straight out of the curtains, came back with my carving knife in his mouth, and I stroked his back.

This one was very smart. Within the limits of what he could do, he obeyed every command I gave. I offered him a small piece of meat, and Mick nibbled it up. A mouse this small, and this obedient. Couldn't he be useful?

During my only free hours I couldn't leave my room, which meant that for all that time I lost track of what Yusia was doing. I was drawing up escape plans along several lines. Setting Yusia and the rest of my companions at odds with one another, and slipping out in the gap, was the best of them for now—but if I could manage it, escaping on my own would be better.

Mick was a mouse smaller than my palm. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Perhaps I could use him for reconnaissance.

The problem was that the hero Yusia would notice a single mouse sent to spy on her without the slightest difficulty. Among the Four Heavenly Kings of the Demon King's army, there had been one who dealt chiefly in insects. Kelisia of Delusion—a creature whose whole body was buried in flowers—created insects smaller than dust and sent them out to scout. In the early days those insects cost us dearly. Was it around our third year?

However small Mick might be, he could not slip past Yusia's eyes.

"Haa. Isn't there some way?"

I was sighing and stroking Mick when it came.

Knock, knock.

My free time wasn't over yet, but Yusia had come.

"Fren. May I come in?"

"Y-yes? Wha—?"

"What's wrong? Did something happen?"

The door burst open. Yusia came in. This is bad. If she finds out Mick is here—

"Fren?"

"Uh, ah. Ahaha."

Mick had taken refuge under the bed. But that alone would not keep Yusia from noticing him at once. Was I about to lose him like this?

Her reaction was not what I expected.

"Did something happen? Why are you breaking out in a cold sweat?"

"What?"

"The room seems a little warm, too. Shall I bring you a magic stone to cool it?"

"Th-that's not it."

"If it isn't, that's a relief. I was thinking we might have dinner in the garden this evening. What do you think?"

"Th-that sounds lovely!"

"Then let's do that. Ah."

Yusia looked at my bed. My heart pounded hard enough to hurt.

"Should we change the bed to another color soon?"

"The bed's color?"

"I had gold embroidery done because I thought it would suit you, Fren, but thinking it over again, diamonds might be better."

"No! It's fine!"

"Really? I'll change it in a month anyway, so keep that in mind. I'll see you this evening, then."

Yusia left the room as if nothing at all were wrong. One minute after she was gone. Two.

When the third minute came, I let my breath out.

"Haa... haa."

"Squeeak!"

"Mick. I thought my life just got shorter because of you."

Whether he understood or not, he showed off on top of my hand. I watched him, then asked, carefully, with my heart still hammering.

"Mick. Just in case. You..."

"Can you move around without other people noticing you?"

"Squeak!"

A fantasy world, sure enough! To think a mouse I had met by chance possessed an ability like that. Just now he had been at point-blank range from Yusia, and she hadn't found him. Then I could have him scout the mansion.

"Good. Then I'll be counting on you from now on, all right?"

"Squee-squeak!"

A reliable ally. Mick's use had been decided.

After that, whenever my free time came, I trained him. I taught him which people in the mansion to watch for, and his chief task was to keep track of Yusia's movements. In a simple drill he did only what was appropriate, and the sight of him chewing the little piece of meat I gave as a reward was unbearably cute.

"Fren. You look like you're in a good mood."

"D-do I?"

"Have you picked up some new hobby lately, nya?"

"Ahaha. Something like that."

Perhaps the sight of me had healed something in her. Kailin, in the middle of tea, was pleased that I had brightened. Ugh. I had to manage my face. I was supposed to look worse with every passing day.

Even so.

"Squee-squeak!"

"Hehe. Mick. You did well."

Watching him work so hard, I drew strength from it too. Of that I was certain.

At last a week passed, and the day of Mick's first mission arrived.

"Mick. Do it exactly the way we practiced. Understand?"

"Squeeak!"

"I trust you. When you come back, I'll give you even tastier meat."

"Squee-squeak!"

"Go!"

Mick slipped into the mouse hole. According to him, that hole had been connected to places all through the mansion from the start. If his stealth and the passages running through the house worked together, he could watch people without ever being caught.

"Heh. Feels like I've just drawn an ace."

And what did Yusia do during my free time, anyway? Training, most likely. Or perhaps she was tightening the mansion's security, so I could never get out. Whatever it was, I would watch for a few days and find a gap. I would.

It was his first mission, so I hadn't asked for too much. I had only told him to learn where Yusia was in the mansion right now. Was this how a parent felt, sending a child on their first errand? My heart would not stay still. If Mick carried the mission off properly, plotting an escape route would grow easier, and when he came back I could fuss over him. A Mick who squeaked so daintily was simply too cute.

I was thinking that when—

"Fren. I'm sorry to bother ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠you while you're resting."

Yusia had come. Mick had only just set out. Had they missed each other? Still, he had only just gone into the hole, so they couldn't have run into one another. That was a relief.

"What is it?"

"I want to apologize."

"Apologize?"

Puzzled, I opened the door. Yusia had her head bowed.

"Y-Yusia? What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry. I'm truly sorry."

"Why are you doing this?"

This was the woman who had smiled even after killing thirty people, and now she was apologizing to me? A sick feeling crawled up my spine.

"I've committed a sin worthy of death."

"What are you saying?"

"I'm truly sorry, Fren. I wanted you to live in the very best surroundings. I was so lacking. Hic—"

She had gone so far as to show me tears. What on earth had happened to make her like this?

"Yusia. First, please calm down and come into my room..."

"No. I'm going to burn this room."

"What?"

"I have no choice but to burn it. Because."

Yusia moved a hand to the small of her back. That was where she wore her dagger. As I had expected, the dagger was in her hand.

"Ah?"

"A mouse! To think there was a mouse in your room, Fren—a room that ought to be clean. You weren't frightened, were you? You aren't hurt anywhere lately, are you?"

Yusia's words never reached me.

All that filled my head was a small life, dangling, blood pattering from it in drops. Mick hung from the dagger, already dead, his head run clean through. Mick, who only minutes ago had rubbed against me because he liked me. Mick, who had acted sweet while he ate his little pieces of meat.

"Ah... aaah."

"Fren? You were scared after all, weren't you? Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Ah, it's because this looks gruesome. I understand."

Yusia swung the dagger and flung Mick's body into my room. Then she drew me in with one arm and stepped back.

"Let's be rid of the awful memory quickly."

The tip of her dagger shone. The light that formed rose, soft and weightless, and settled on Mick's corpse.

Fwoosh.

For all its gentle look, flame leapt up at once. With Mick at the center, my room began to burn. For some reason I could not name, something like pure-white motes leaked from his body.

"Aaaaaaah!"

"Yes. Fren. I'll move you to a newer, cleaner room. Nothing like this will happen there."

Yusia patted my back. Astonishingly, there was not a single speck of malice in the gesture.

Killing the first friend I had made since I came to this ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠mansion had been, to her, an act of innocent goodwill.