A Grand Misunderstanding

Nothing ever went according to plan. The fellow, who had revealed his identity entirely on his own whim, looked somewhat anxious. At the same time, he seemed to be trying to calmly accept the coming future. He was busy enough in his squirrel form, but now that he was human, his face shifted colors so constantly that he looked frantic even while standing perfectly still.

"So, what is it that you actually want to do?"

"To destroy the Imperial Family, of course."

I stared at his long, flowing platinum-blonde hair. "You're saying you want to wipe out your own kind?"

"Yes. I have waited a very long time for that."

A very long time. He had been emphasizing that ever since the wolf incident. According to the original novel, members of the Imperial Family lived for about two hundred years. But if he was calling it a "very long time"...

"How old are you?"

Frowning slightly, he pondered for a moment before tossing out, "I've lost count. I must be over a thousand years old."

He's ancient.

"You're ancient."

"What an insolent brat!"

At my unfiltered thought slipping out aloud, his eyebrows shot straight up. His temper seemed exactly the same as when he was a squirrel.

Ignoring his huffing, I fell into thought. A thousand years. If it had been a thousand years, wasn't that around the time the legendary Sierra Abaran lived?

"Are you around the same age as Sierra Abaran?"

The expression of the quietly sitting figure shifted subtly.

"...I am a bit younger than him, child. But surely you realize how old I am now? Thanks to that, I know a great deal."

"Sure, let's go with that."

His brow furrowed slightly, but I wasn't feeling generous enough to care. I didn't trust him enough to blindly accept everything he said yet, either. Besides, I couldn't understand why a member of the Imperial Family would want the demise of their own bloodline.

"I get that you want the destruction of the Imperial Family. But what does that have to do with me? Why on earth have you been waiting for me?"

He looked at me and took a deep, heavy breath.

"Child, do not be too shocked."

I think you should worry about yourself rather than worrying about ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠me being shocked.

"It may take time to accept one's destiny. But in the end, one must submit to it. There are things in this world that simply must be. Do you understand?"

His expression, as he prepared to reveal some grand secret, was incredibly solemn—so much so that my own face hardened in response.

"There is another god in this world. ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Also known as Amica."

Huh? A sense of unease washed over me. Destiny and Amica. It was a suspiciously familiar combination.

"You might find this a bit bewildering."

He seemed to be trying to reassure me, but my anxiety only spiked further.

"A very long time ago, there was a prophecy."

Oh, good grief. The word "prophecy" had finally crossed his lips. I let out a sigh and buried my face in my hands. Misinterpreting my reaction, he began to speak in a soothing, comforting tone.

"The prophecy states that when the black-haired..."

"When the black-haired stranger returns to the world, the dark night sky will swallow the moon."

His eyes widened in sheer shock.

"How do you know that?!"

How else would I know? I knew it because it was the prophecy referring to Ratel in Dark Header.

"How did you find out? Who told you? Or is the child destined to save the world truly extraordinary after all?"

Watching him jump up and down in excitement, I ground my teeth. You've got the wrong person, you idiot.

That was the scene where the prophecy first appeared. The situation was so absurd that it completely stripped that tragic scene of its gravity.

He stood there, mute as a fish, staring blankly at the desk.

"To sum it up." When I spoke first, his hollow golden eyes drifted toward me.

"You followed me out of the forest because you thought I was the stranger in the prophecy who would save the world, right?"

A nod. Lacking even the energy to speak, he merely bobbed his head before burying his face in his hands. Soon, he transformed back into a squirrel.

"There's the part about 'returning.' That doesn't apply to me."

Besides, there were countless other reasons why I wasn't the protagonist.

"And if you just guessed that I came from another world, then you really..."

"No! That's not it! ...I realized it when I saw you use your ability."

Desperate to avoid being seen as completely brainless, he spoke up in a hurry.

"My ability?"

"The ability to transform into an animal. That ability vanished from the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠world a very long time ago. I am the only one left who can use it now."

The dejected, thousand-year-old squirrel thapped his tail against the desk as he answered.

I knew Ratel's physical recovery was a lost ancient ability, but was this ambiguous transformation ability one of them too? El's defense sounded plausible at first glance, but it was far from enough to mask his sheer foolishness. No matter how you looked at it, there was no way anyone could save the world with a power like this.

I was speechless at his pathetic state. Was the reason this guy never appeared in the original novel because he had stupidly followed the wrong person and never crossed paths with the actual protagonist?

Seeing him so thoroughly deflated, my wariness and suspicion began to fade. Indeed, if he had wanted to sabotage me, he'd had plenty of opportunities. Despite being so close to me, he had never once intentionally ruined my plans. Perhaps this was for the best.

I tossed him an acorn, which he usually loved. Perhaps because he had spent so much time as an animal, he instinctively caught it and stuffed it greedily into his cheek pouch. No matter how I looked at him, he didn't exude an ounce of intellect or wisdom.

"How do you know that prophecy?" Even in his despair, curiosity seemed to get the better of him, and the little creature asked with a tilt of his head. Why did it feel like his attitude had gotten slightly snarkier the moment he realized I wasn't the protagonist?

"I happen to know a lot of things too."

"Look at this arrogant brat, pretending to be wise in my presence."

Seeing him bicker again, it seemed he still had enough energy to complain. The squirrel I had planned to deal with before leaving turned out to have a much more complicated background than expected, but fortunately, the solution was incredibly simple. I just had to hand him over to the protagonist.

...Though, if he was so stupid that he might disrupt the protagonist's path and the flow of the original story, that would be a different problem entirely.

Pale scanned the line stretching in front of the half-constructed building with a sharp gaze. People dressed in ragged clothes stood looking straight ahead, their faces worn with exhaustion.

"Hey, kid! Once you step out of line, you go to the back! Don't you dare try to sneak back in!"

However, as long as there were the weak and the strong, conflict was bound to arise anywhere. Hearing a voice calling out to a child, Pale signaled the knights following him to stand back and stepped forward. A scrawny man was arguing with a boy who looked even more emaciated than he was.

"Y-you pushed me, mister. I was standing here the whole time..."

When the child hesitated instead of quietly leaving, the crowd began to whisper. Not that anyone stepped forward to help. Those at the front of the line didn't want to get dragged into trouble over a filthy child, and those behind them had nothing to lose by having one less person in front of them.

Emboldened by this, the man raised his hand high.

"When did I ever push you?! Stop making excuses and get to the back!"

The hand that was about to shove the small back once more was stopped by Pale.

"Who the hell are you?!"

The man roughly shook off Pale's grip and glared at him. However, intimidated by Pale's noble features, which contrasted sharply with his worn clothes, the man quickly lowered his gaze.

"Thank you for holding my spot in line. You did well."

"What?"

The man furrowed his brow at Pale's smooth nonsense. "What kind of rubbish are you talking..."

"You agreed to stand in line for me until I arrived. This is your payment."

Pale dropped a silver coin at the man's feet. Lest anyone else snatch it, the man hurriedly dropped to his knees and scooped up the money.

"Y-yeah, that's right. I did."

"Indeed. You've worked hard, so you may leave now. I will take over the spot."

Intimidated by Pale's subtly overbearing aura, the man slunk away, though he couldn't take his eyes off the short distance remaining to the front of the line. He walked away with lingering regret, but only Pale and his knights would ever know that, not long after, the man had his silver coin confiscated by two knights waiting around the building.

Pale slowly followed the people entering the half-constructed building. He ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠was fortunate to have run into a child who looked to be around the same age as the Young Duke. Just as Tollin had said, children of that age group were entirely absent. Normally, children destined for the Tinas Ritual were missing. What connection did that have?

Thud. Someone stepped in front of Pale, who had been following the child while organizing his thoughts. It was the man managing the queue.

"...What is it?"

"You go over there."

Pale glanced behind him. The child who had been standing in front of him was being led behind a pillar by another guide.

"Why is that child going over there?"

At Pale's question, the man's face twisted as if he had been asked something incredibly stupid.

"If we tell you to go over there, you go! Why do you have so much to say? If you don't want the food, get the hell out of here!"

So this is how they distract them. Pale thought of the exhausted people who had been waiting in the long line. Since no one would want to go home empty-handed after waiting so long, a harsh shout like this would make everyone mind their own business.

But Pale was a man who possessed far too much to be swayed by threats involving food.

"Huh? Hey! Where do you think you're going?! Argh!!!"

The man, who tried to grab the arm of the ignoring Pale, was instantly subdued by the men following closely behind.

As Pale rounded the pillar, he came upon a room with a closed door. Without hesitation, he flung it open.

"What?!"

A visibly flustered man was holding a thick sack. It was just the right size to fit a single child. Pale scanned the heavy-looking sack and spoke.

"What were you doing here?"

"Can't you see? I'm organizing the food. Who the hell are you to barge in here and cause trouble?"

The man, who tried to shove past Pale, was slammed face-first onto the floor by a robed knight who entered right behind Pale.

"Whether this is food or not is something I can verify myself."

The man looked back and forth between Pale and his sudden intruders. Realizing the gravity of the situation, he spoke with a terrified expression.

"D-don't spill it. There is precious food inside."

At Pale's nod, one of the knights untied the sack and opened it. Up until this moment, Pale had not doubted his expectation that an unconscious child would emerge from within.

"...Sir Pale, it really is just a sack of grain. There is nothing else inside."

"What? That's impossible."

Panicking, Feil grabbed the bag and emptied it out. Immediately, the man pinned down under another knight shrieked.

"What are you doing?! I have to scoop all of that back up!"

But there was nothing. No child, not even a trace of one.

He immediately dashed to the window. His guard, who had been monitoring the situation below, looked up in confusion at Pale as he frantically leaned out of the window.

He had been outmaneuvered right under his nose. And in such a short span of time.

"Break his fingers and toes, one by one, slowly. Do not stop until he speaks."

Pale gave the cold command, thinking that, under these circumstances, he could hardly blame Jack.