A Rolling Nuisance
I picked up the rolling chestnut and held it out to him again, but the squirrel just glared at me, seemingly having no intention of taking it.
"Are you going to keep doing that?" I tilted my head and asked, but the squirrel quickly spun around, trying to bolt.
The time we had spent together wasn't so short that I couldn't predict a move like that. I swiftly grabbed him by his torso.
A brief standoff ensued between me and the squirrel, who was squirming frantically to break free.
"Suit yourself. I don't mind staying like this all day." He clearly understood my implication: either return to your human form right now, or continue this standoff indefinitely.
His darting black eyes scanned the room. Finally accepting that there was no way out, he squeezed his eyes shut.
His tiny mouth fell open. What came out was not the usual squeaking I heard every day.
"There is no need to transform. We can converse like this." A gender-neutral voice flowed from the squirrel's tiny body.
"You truly are the child we have been waiting for. To think you would corner me like this." I hadn't even done much. For some unknown reason, he was looking at me with proud, approving eyes, which only made me feel deeply uncomfortable.
I scowled and asked, "You called me that last time, too. Who exactly are you, and why have you been waiting for me?"
The squirrel curled one corner of his mouth into a smirk. It was a bizarre sight, almost as uncanny as a human squeaking like a rodent.
"A noble existence far above mere humans. If you knew who I was, you would feel sinful for addressing me so casually." He spoke boastfully, wearing the most arrogant expression a squirrel's facial muscles could possibly muster.
Watching him speak with glittering black eyes, a sudden question crossed my mind. "You can speak even while you're a squirrel?"
Perhaps offended that I wasn't particularly interested in his grand declaration, the noble being in the guise of a squirrel raised a single eyebrow.
"...Yes. But that is not what is important. What matters is—"
"So you were squeaking and making those noises on purpose this whole time?"
"You could say that. However..."
"When you aren't even a real animal?" Personally, when I turned into a horse and neighed, I felt my human dignity chipping away.
"..."
"You went out of your way to mimic an animal?" A noble being that humans have no choice but to look up to? There was no way he missed the sarcasm dripping from my unspoken words. The squirrel shut his mouth completely.
"Well, whether human, animal, or something higher, all existences are noble in their own way. No need to let your pride get wounded." He glared at me as I teased him.
"Ugh." In an instant, he bit my finger, leaving a tiny bead of blood in the shape of his front teeth. The noble being was far more petty and violent than I had expected.
My memory of the day I blocked the wolf's attack was hazy. It was true that I had lost consciousness once, my body completely limp and heavy.
Yet, perhaps due to a subconscious survival instinct warning me that letting go completely meant death, or perhaps because of an annoying voice echoing from outside, there were moments when my consciousness drifted back enough to register the surrounding sounds.
My head throbbed with heat and my eyes stung as if in a shallow sleep, but I managed to turn my head toward the entrance where the sound was coming from. Through my blurry vision, I saw a figure standing on two feet in front of the hollow tree.
Hearing the voice that followed, thoughts drifted through my mind and sank away: Is that some lunatic practicing a play alone in the middle of the forest? If so, should I be more afraid of this madman or a medium-sized predator?
But when a wolf's howl echoed in response, I realized they were actually having a conversation.
From the context of the conversation, I was able to deduce that the two-legged entity was indeed the troublesome squirrel. Only then did his bizarre behaviors—things too strange to dismiss as mere animal instincts—come back to me.
No matter how unusual animal behavior could be in this world, to think I hadn't realized it sooner. I had been completely played.
Amid my sheer disbelief, I felt a strange sense of relief knowing that my ability to transform into animals wasn't entirely unprecedented.
What had pierced clearly through my ears next was a voice laced with mischief and anticipation.
Waiting for me? My eyes, which I could barely open, furrowed on their own.
A complete stranger suddenly pinning their expectations on me is always a red flag. Usually, people only have expectations when they want to ask for a favor far beyond your capabilities, or when they want to saddle you with some bizarre responsibility. Or perhaps both.
Before I could even ponder how to deal with him, my barely hanging consciousness finally gave out. Through my heavy, closing eyelids, the sound of laughter—unmistakably belonging to the owner of those two legs—echoed against my eardrums.
Time had passed since then, and he was still by my side.
"Still, was it really necessary to wrap me up like this?" Though his current state was far from ideal.
The tiny squirrel glared at me, bound tightly to a chair with layers of clothing.
"If you return to your human form like you did back then, I'm sure you can easily break free of that." At my reply, he let out a sigh.
"Why are you so obsessed with outward appearances? One who obsesses over such trivialities can never become a great figure."
"Don't worry, my vessel is only about the size of a tiny soy sauce dish. Since your vessel is as vast as the Pacific—no, as vast as the ocean—outward appearances shouldn't matter to you at all. So wouldn't it be perfectly fine for you to take human form?"
Displeased with my answer, he sighed again and muttered.
"I did find it incredibly strange that you never even thought of naming such a cute animal while keeping me around. Just when did you catch on...?"
Come to think of it, he was right. We had lived under the same roof for quite some time, yet we had never properly introduced ourselves.
"Right. As you already know, my name is Ran Abaran. What should I call you?"
My question didn't seem to satisfy him this time either. He hesitated, his mouth twitching as if holding back words, before finally tossing out a reply.
"...El. You may call me El."
If your name is El, just say it's El. What's with 'you may call me El'? Having expressed his reluctance to reveal his true name in a rather haughty manner, he snapped his head away.
Then again, that level of introduction was perfectly fitting for the current relationship between us. After all, my real name wasn't Ran Abaran either.
"Fine, El. Let's get straight to the point. I'm leaving this country soon. So you can either go back to the forest you used to live in, or if you have other business..."
"What?!" He whipped his head back so sharply I wondered if his tiny neck had snapped. His reaction was far more violent than expected, forcing me to pause.
"You're leaving the empire? Why? For what reason?"
Why? Because the protagonist will be here soon, and that's when the original story kicks off. A massive dogfight is about to begin. In other words, it means a series of events perfect for an insignificant prince to erase his existence is about to unfold.
"Before long, a series of massive incidents will shake the empire. I have no desire to sit here and watch it all, let alone get dragged into it. That's why I'm heading out—"
"Absolutely not!" he shrieked, though given his current size, it wasn't threatening in the slightest.
"I think you're misunderstanding something. I'm not asking for your understanding or permission. I'm simply letting you know in advance out of consideration."
For a period that could be considered either short or long, he had watched over me with suspicious silence. The problem was that he had literally only watched.
While he watched me, I had observed him in return. The squirrel who introduced himself as El had done absolutely nothing.
It made me suspect whether the grand reason he had waited so long for me was actually something as trivial as securing an endless supply of plump acorns.
Thus, initiating this conversation before my departure was partly out of courtesy, but mostly out of personal curiosity. What on earth do you want? Of course, it was also driven by a slight wariness toward his sheer, borderline-obsessive persistence in following me everywhere.
"...Are you from another world?" His cautious question didn't particularly surprise me.
He had said he had been waiting for me for a long time. Ran Abaran had spent nineteen years in the Imperial Palace. This meant the person he was waiting for was at least not the original owner of this body.
"That's right." When I nodded readily, El's face twisted with even greater discontent.
"Then surely you must have a purpose for coming here! To become a hero and seize wealth and fame, or perhaps to annihilate every last member of the imperial family—something like that!"
Those are the kinds of goals usually reserved for protagonists or their companions. I had no desires other than getting out of here alive. If I had to name one, it would be living out the rest of my days peacefully in some quiet place, far away from the imperial family and any conflict.
"No, not at all."
"What?! Then why have you been moving so busily and exerting your strength all this time? Why did you strike up a conversation with me now? Was it not because you wanted my help?"
"I told you. I was preparing to leave the country. I only spoke to you to decide what to do with you before I go."
At my blunt response, El's jaw dropped.
"An utterly bizarre fellow has arrived! A truly strange one indeed!" Hearing myself referred to as a "strange fellow" didn't exactly boost my mood.
"I knew something was off, but you truly have no interest whatsoever! I thought you were just being cautious, but you simply have no thoughts in that head of yours!"
Having suddenly become a thoughtless weirdo, the agonizing squirrel abruptly raised his head. He wore an expression of firm resolve. Worrying all by himself, reaching conclusions all by himself... he certainly leads a busy life in that tiny body.
"You might have no thoughts, but I have plenty of things to tell you and plenty of things for you to do, stubborn child. I truly did not wish to show you this form, but..."
Honestly, if it was that important to him, he didn't need to show me. All I wanted from him right now was to tell me what he wanted, and to realize that I was not the kind of person who would grant it.
However, his patience was far shorter than I had anticipated. Before I could even open my mouth, the form of the squirrel before me began to shimmer. It happened in the blink of an eye.
The moment I thought the fur covering his body had vanished, before my eyes could even trace the afterimage, a human figure was sitting in front of me.
"Well? Do you feel like having a proper chat now?" The gender-neutral voice echoed through the room.
A delicate face, positioned much lower than mine, looked up as if staring down at me. I could finally understand why he had said he didn't want to reveal this form until the very end.
I averted my gaze from his long, cascading platinum blonde hair and stared at his confident, youthful face.
"How hideous..." I muttered, rubbing my temples as I watched anger flare across his face.