I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 131

My mother gave the tiger a good slap on the other buttock.

 

“Oh, stop making a fuss! What, are we supposed to keep our daughters with us forever? They should get married and live happily, just like we did!”

 

Finally, the tiger sighed and hid its teeth.

 

Then, it stood up and slowly showed me the Alit it was holding.

 

“Ah…”

 

I took a deep breath.

 

Before I knew it, all the eyes of the people loitering around the temple were turned towards me.

 

“Go on,” Jayden said with a smile.

 

“I figured there was no need for me to pull it myself, so I left it.”

 

My heart started pounding.

 

“We believe you are truly Yurika, but proving it in front of everyone wouldn’t be a bad idea, would it?”

 

So far, I have not found any objective evidence to prove my blood relationship.

 

No matter how much my family believed in me, my official status was that of an adopted daughter.

 

Earlier, my father said in front of everyone that only those who are blood relatives can pull out the alit grass for it to be effective.

 

“Uncle…”

 

That was why Jaden, even though he could have pulled it himself, had waited for me.

 

Perhaps everyone had been waiting—desperately.

 

I nodded once and silently walked to where the tiger had been sitting.

 

And then I picked the grass in one breath.

 

The Alit grass, imbued with holy water, shimmered brightly in my hand.

 

“Please.”

 

Runart, who had been standing behind the tiger, carefully held out his hand.

 

“If we prepare it immediately and mix it into the medicine we brought, that will suffice.”

 

With trembling hands, I handed the freshly torn alit grass to Runart. I felt many eyes on me.

 

“If my sister recovers just like this…” Jayden said, glancing around.

 

“Then as my brother-in-law said, those who treated you carelessly just because you were an adopted daughter won’t even be able to set foot in high society again.”

 

I could see the faces of Lady Lella and her little clique turning pale.

 

I never once thought of them as my opponents, they were just kids.

 

And yet—it felt unbelievably satisfying.

 

Runart immediately began preparing the medicine right there, under everyone’s watchful gaze.

 

“If I eat this, my head won’t hurt?”

 

As soon as the preparation was finished, my mother took the medicine right away.

 

Everyone’s eyes were fixed on my mother.

 

She took the medicine and closed her eyes for a long time before opening them again.

 

Then, she blinked for a while with a dazed expression, looked around once, and suddenly shouted.

 

“KYAAAAAA!”

 

We all rushed toward her in shock—

 

“T-Tiger! A tiger! Why is there a tiger here?! Why?! KYAAAAA!”

 

Looking at the tiger, who wore an aggrieved expression, Jayden muttered,

 

“She’s definitely back to her senses. That’s the normal reaction.”

 

* * *

 

That day, my father returned to his human form only after he entered the Duke of Medes’s residence in the evening.

 

“Ugh… turning into a tiger again… that was really horrible.”

 

Now that Rivena was captured, there was no longer any need to live in fear of being transformed into a beast.

 

Since my father had no memory of what happened while he was a tiger, I told him everything. He was overjoyed to hear that things had turned out well.

 

In my mother’s case, she was very confused because she suddenly came to her senses, but after Mariel and I calmly explained this and that, she was able to accept reality without difficulty.

 

“What a relief, really.”

 

My mother hugged me tightly and said.

 

“To come back to my senses and find such a happy ending waiting.”

 

Surprisingly, my mother only had a few memories, and she vaguely remembered recognizing me.

 

“Yes. I knew at first sight that you were our second daughter… Your father recognized you too back then. Even if he wasn’t in his right mind, perhaps his instincts were still alive.”

 

There was a sharp clarity in Mother’s eyes now—so different from before.

 

She said she no longer felt any headaches.

 

My mother, who had always lain weakly in bed, was now energetically roaming the estate, efficiently inspecting household affairs.

 

“At last…”

 

Runart wiped away tears, clearly moved by the scene.

 

“I’ve finally kept my promise to you, my lady.”

 

Now that no one would ever again call me “adopted daughter,” I grinned and thanked Runart.

 

Theodore and Rivena had both been arrested and were awaiting trial.

 

Now my father would be the one to pass judgment on them—the Emperor had granted us full authority over the aftermath.

 

My father, who had come to his senses, looked at Yohan and said,

 

“Ah, Duke Hyrad. Thank you again. Thank you so much for protecting our Yurika until the very end.”

 

Though I could still sense the underlying growl in my father’s heart, he was a man who knew gratitude.

 

“So, have you thought about it?”

 

The ‘thought’ that my father was talking about was whether Hyrad could give up his wizard’s bloodline.

 

Yohan answered awkwardly.

 

“Actually… I failed at spending time without using magic. I ended up using quite a lot of it at the temple.”

 

“So you realized how useful magic and power are? Being able to wield strength at all is no small thing.”

 

“Yes. To be honest, many things could be resolved with magic.”

 

Yohan admitted it with a calm face.

 

“That was all to protect Yurika….”

 

But he continued speaking with a look of determination on his face.

 

“The temple has fallen. And there are no more remnants left who would endanger Yurica. So… I don’t think my power is needed anymore.”

 

“Hmm….”

 

My father hesitated for a moment, rubbing his chin.

 

Then he began to speak slowly.

 

“……Actually, the method is quite simple. The Medes family’s seal of power calms magical energy, but at the same time, when in beast form, it even further absorbs it.”

 

Yohan and I nodded with serious faces.

 

Father’s explanation continued.

 

“In theory, if a Medes in beast form were to absorb all of Hyrad’s magic power—so thoroughly that it cannot even regenerate—then both would return to being ordinary humans.”

 

Yohan and I blinked at the same time.

 

My father sighed and continued speaking.

 

“The experiments conducted in Artae using Medes’ children were attempts to break the balance of that power. Originally, Medes’ children are born like Mariel—possessing both magic power and the ability to calm it, which cancel each other out. But the children experimented on the temple, had their magic power completely removed while maximizing their calming ability to absorb magic instead.”

 

“Oh…”

 

After hearing that, I understood why, unlike Mariel, I didn’t possess much magical power.

 

My father continued his explanation with a serious expression.

 

“To be honest… this method was already deemed impossible long ago. The Medes family forgot how to transform into beast form over the generations. And even if one somehow did transform, it would be nearly impossible for a naturally born beastman to absorb all of Hyrad’s immense magic power. So now, the only option would be to try and rediscover that method…”

 

“Um…”

 

I carefully interrupted.

 

“Father, you said both would return to being ordinary humans. Then the Medest who absorbs the magic power—does that person just become human too?”

 

“That’s right.”

 

Wait.

 

Yohan and I looked at each other—and realized we were thinking the exact same thing.

 

I had been a divine beast with overwhelming calming ability—so powerful that even Rivena acknowledged it.

 

I hadn’t been born naturally, but I had been artificially refined that way.

 

And the one who had just absorbed all of Hyrad’s magic power…

 

‘Well. That had just happened.’

 

“It’s a bit weird. I feel like I’ve poured out all my magic power, so I can’t even feel the calming effect anymore. It’s like I’m completely empty.”

 

“Oh—have you ever poured out that much magic before?”

 

“Of course not. I didn’t even know I could fully exhaust my magic like that. I don’t know what Rivena did to you, but it just kept pouring in endlessly. It was completely different from usual.”

 

Yohan slowly raised his hand.

 

Then he muttered with a face of disbelief.

 

“I thought I had just overused my magic and that it would take time to refill. But right now… I only have about as much magic as an ordinary person.”

 

“And the pain? You don’t feel any pain?”

 

“With almost no magic left, of course I don’t.”

 

What came over Yohan’s face at that moment was anticipation and joy.

 

If… if we had truly exhausted our opposing powers entirely— Then perhaps both Yohan and I had become ordinary humans.

 

With a dumbfounded look on my face, I searched through my bag and took out the potion that would turn me into a squirrel.

 

And swallowed it all at once.

 

* * *