I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 125

This wasn’t the first time Yohan and I had come to the temple together.

 

When we rescued Father, we’d been here as well—though back then, I’d been in the body of a squirrel.

 

Back then, Yohan used magic much more than he does now.

 

So I’d never imagined a situation like this.

 

Using magic and ending up in an unstable state?

 

Even now, not only Yohan, but the other wizards were not normal.

 

Does it make sense for people to flock to me in this situation, saying they want to be by my side?

 

No matter how desperate wizards were for stabilization, I wasn’t a divine beast right now.

 

Being drawn toward me purely on instinct was unnatural.

 

“Let’s go quickly.”

 

Yohan said, tightening his grip around my wrist.

 

His voice was far more hoarse than usual.

 

“Now that it’s come to this, I think it’d be best to get everything done as quickly as possible.”

 

Everything was within the expected range, but I didn’t know that wizards would run wild like this.

 

‘And one of those wizards is Yohan.’

 

Even at a glance, he looked unstable in every way.

 

“Yohan.”

 

I asked quietly.

 

“Are you okay? Can you really do it?”

 

“Of course.”

 

Yohan spoke quietly, keeping a wary eye on the wizards who were slowly approaching us again.

 

“Let’s go.”

 

As if he truly couldn’t hold back any longer, he pressed a quick kiss to my forehead— then unleashed a barrage of magic toward the other wizards.

 

And then he grabbed my hand and started running.

 

* * *

 

Rivena looked down at the crumbling temple from the railing.

 

This hidden mechanism was something Patre had taught only to her.

 

Patre told Rivena about the secret device that was only passed down to the previous high priests, and said this.

 

“You love the temple more than anyone. So if you ever use this, it will be because the temple is facing a truly grave crisis.”

 

That was right. Rivena loved temples.

 

The temple supported her in any experiment she did, as long as it made money.

 

When she said she needed children of Medes, they had procured them immediately.

 

When she mentioned wanting to study the Duke of Medes’s blood as well, they had even kidnapped Oscar for her.

 

Because of that, Rivena learned many things.

 

She created things that could never have existed without the temple’s backing.

 

Every time a surprising result was produced, Rivena felt as though she were proving the genius of Artae.

 

She hated Medes for immediately expelling Artae for being bad and conducting wrong experiments.

 

Now, the very temple where she had been born and raised was collapsing before her eyes.

 

‘It’s fine,’ Rivena thought, breathing heavily.

 

‘I can reverse this.’

 

Her last experiment was imperfect, but she still had to believe that it was possible.

 

And that wasn’t the only thing Rivena had invented recently.

 

She had created a fragrance that stimulated wizards.

 

Although there were spatial limitations due to the temple, it was the perfect potion to use today.

 

It was good for distracting Yohan, and it was also useful for getting other wizards to approach Yurika.

 

After all—That, too, would only provoke Yohan even further.

 

Watching Yohan lose control and cast magic again, Rivena curled her lips into a satisfied smile, as if everything were proceeding exactly as planned.

 

Then she began to move toward them.

 

At that time, Theodore was not with Rivena.

 

He had a different assignment.

 

‘Mariel was taken away by that idiot Roymond.… Jayden was locked up.’

 

Theodore had exactly two targets: Mariel and Jayden.

 

More precisely, their goal was to hold back all of Sienna’s blood relatives except for Yurika—so that Yurika would have no choice but to head for the central garden.

 

Just as planned, he had dropped a chandelier directly over Mariel’s head, and trapped Jayden—who was wandering amidst the chaos—by collapsing a wall in front of him.

 

And now that the central garden was on fire, Yurika and Yohan had no choice but to rush in to find a cure for Sienna.

 

With Mariel passed out and Jayden’s whereabouts unknown, swept away by the crowd, the only blood relative of Sienna who could collect the alit was Yurika.

 

No matter how much the Duke of Medes handled everything else, this part could only be done by her.

 

Theodore had even seen Oscar secretly pass a vial to Yohan earlier.

 

From their perspective, it might be the last holy water, so they must have thought they should split it into two and take it.

 

“Well then, why don’t we start putting out the fire? It’s getting hard to breathe.”

 

Theodore waited leisurely in front of the central garden, gulping down the calming potion.

 

“After all, everyone’s already noticed the fire by now.”

 

Behind him stood a large number of escort knights he had brought along, all fully armed.

 

Since no one could bring private soldiers to the temple, it was obvious that Yohan would come alone with Yurika.

 

“Come quickly.”

 

Despite the temple descending into utter chaos, a smile never left Theodore’s face.

 

“I’ll deal with Yohan Hyrad myself.”

 

To be exact, it’s not him, but his escort knights who will be dealing with him.

 

Theodore clearly remembered being hit by Yohan that time.

 

He was so happy to finally get revenge on Yohan.

 

Now, there was no Roymond who could suppress the situation as he did back then.

 

He had already thought through exactly how he would explain everything afterward.

 

Obviously, Yohan would have attacked the wizards who were running towards Yurika as they came.

 

Theodore planned to use it to order his knights, “Duke Hyrad has gone mad and is attacking wizards for no reason! It looks like he’s about to attack me. Arrest him now!”

 

‘That would put him in trouble.’

 

Attacking the imperial knights is also considered treason.

 

‘And once Yohan Hyrad is gone… catching Yurika will be easy.’

 

Rivena had said she would join after observing the situation from above.

 

In any case, Rivena’s plan required a wizard—meaning she had no choice but to use him.

 

She couldn’t betray him.

 

It was at this time that Theodore’s knights were diligently putting out the fire.

 

Most of the alit grass that was planted densely in the garden was burned and disappeared.

 

Except for a small space to use as bait.

 

“Remember this, Your Highness. To complete the experiment, Lady Yurika Medes must be in the form of a squirrel.”

 

Rivena had emphasized that point to him.

 

“When you meet Yurika, pour this substance on her. She’ll most likely transform into a squirrel. There is a time limit, but once she becomes a beast, the rest I can handle. As you know, I’m quite good with animals.”

 

That part was simple enough.

 

All he had to do was pour that on Yurika when she came to collect the grass.

 

He had intentionally left the Alit grass only at his feet.

 

What better environment could there be to lure Yurika in?

 

Yurika probably doesn’t know what they’re up to.

 

Who could possibly imagine an experiment that distorted time itself?

 

After ordering the knights to restrain Yohan, he would brazenly demand of Yurika, “Walk over here on your own.”

 

Just as Theodore stood there, smugly fingering the vial in his pocket while waiting for Yurika and Yohan—

 

—Splash!

 

With a sudden sound, the ground at his feet was drenched in an instant.

 

“What—what is this?!”

 

Theodore suddenly stood up in an unexpected situation.

 

It all happened in the blink of an eye.

 

Because he hadn’t sensed a thing until holy water was poured directly at his feet, Theodore was so shocked he nearly fainted.

 

At the same time, he reflexively pulled out the vial from his pocket and poured it out as well.

 

After all, he had vaguely assumed that the only person who would sprinkle holy water on the Alit grass here was Yurika.

 

And strangely…

 

Strangely enough, the presence felt similar to hers.

 

It happened so quickly that even his escort knights seemed unable to grasp the situation.

 

And only after all of that—

 

“D–Duke Medes?”

 

Theodor blinked as he looked at the man standing before him.

 

“Yes. It’s me, Your Highness.”

 

Oscar spoke in a cold voice, a beastly growl already mingling with his own.

 

“No way….”

 

Theodore instinctively staggered backward.

 

Oscar was infamous on the battlefield for being as fast as a beast and unrivaled in stealth.

 

He had deliberately and unobtrusively arrived at lightning speed, and this was what had caused all this.

 

Oscar said, raising his eyebrows.

 

“You didn’t think we’d fall for such an obvious trick, did you?”

 

One thing was certain. Theodore rolled his eyes, gasping for breath.

 

Something wasn’t going according to their plan.

 

And… even without thinking too hard about it, if the potion meant to turn Yurika into a squirrel had been poured onto Oscar, then right now Oscar would be—

 

“R-Rivena? When… when is she coming? Huh?”

 

Theodore’s face turned pale.

 

* * *