I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain Chapter 70

3. Temple Explosion 

 

“This is a celebratory event, but we’ll proceed with the usual procedures.”

 

Before departure, the main participants of the celebration gathered in front of the main gate of the imperial palace. High Priest Patre offered a warm smile as he spoke.

 

“Duke Hyrad, you should join us for the first stop as well.”

 

The “first stop” Patre referred to was as follows:

 

A short detour from the path between the palace and the temple led to a place on the outskirts called Daisy Village.

 

‘Daisy Village’ was a small town where patients with Lev’s disease lived together.

 

It was highly contagious to people with poor health or children. So, Lev’s disease Because they were not able to move freely, they usually lived in groups inside buildings and were cared for by strong and dedicated medical personnel serving out of goodwill.

 

Patre looked at Yohan’s tall figure and made a light-hearted joke.

 

“I don’t think you’re at risk of catching Lev disease.”

 

Before visiting the temple, the royal family would traditionally stop by Daisy Village to personally encourage the patients and participate in a brief moment of service.

 

Of course, being of noble status, they didn’t volunteer for long.

 

The service wasn’t intense—mostly holding hands and listening to the patients’ stories.

 

Still, it was a meaningful event where the imperial family visited the lowest place in the empire and gave their grace.

 

And so, a royal procession, heavily guarded, made its way to Daisy Village.

 

“Wow, it’s Duke Hyrad!”

 

“I heard he’s a total jerk, but an insanely powerful wizard!”

 

“He’s more handsome than I thought. I thought he’d look like a monster!”

 

As they moved toward the outskirts of the capital, children who were seeing them for the first time began to chatter.

 

“Hey… don’t you think the Duke’s jacket pocket is really big?”

 

“Is that popular in the capital city?”

 

“I don’t know, but it looks cool when I see someone handsome wearing it.”

 

Among them, a sharp-eyed child noticed something others didn’t.

 

“Ah! I think something just wriggled!”

 

“Really?”

 

“I think… I think… I saw something like a squirrel poking its head out!”

 

But even after rubbing their eyes and looking again, Yohan’s large pocket remained still.

 

So the child who shouted about the squirrel was quickly dismissed as seeing things.

 

After all, would a war hero like Duke Hyrad really carry a squirrel in his pocket?

 

A cold, handsome man and a cute little squirrel didn’t match in the slightest.

 

Of course, this murmuring didn’t reach the ears of the royal family or Yohan, who was surrounded by layers of their own escort.

 

“Ahaha, Duke,”

 

The emperor chuckled heartily and struck up a conversation.

 

“To be honest, with the continent’s greatest wizard accompanying us, I thought we wouldn’t even need guards.”

 

Beside him, his two sons rode along with calm expressions.

 

The emperor glanced at Yohan and added teasingly,

 

“Why are you riding so stiffly? Are wizards not good at horseback riding?”

 

That was understandable, as Yohan was riding in a very stiff posture.

 

More precisely, he was trying not to let his right jacket pocket sway.

 

“No, I’m quite skilled.”

 

Roymond, who overheard that, thought, ‘If you’re going to say that, at least fix your posture’, but didn’t bother to voice it.

 

“Yohan Hyrad might act a bit strange that day… but don’t worry about it.”

 

“I can’t tell you everything right now, but I’m sure everything will work out as planned.”

 

Though Mariel had involved the crown prince in her plan, she didn’t share all the details.

 

But Roymond didn’t mind. He was already crazy in love.

 

If Mariel told him to die, he would even pretend to die, so there was no reason not to participate in something that didn’t involve any risk.

 

‘And if it goes well… the reward will be…’

 

So Roymond simply turned his head away without pointing out Yohan’s strange posture.

 

Anyway, amidst rumors spreading here and there that Yohan Hyrad was a strange person in many ways, they arrived at ‘Daisy Village’ on schedule.

 

“Okay, let’s get started.”

 

In every alley of Daisy Village, knights lined up densely.

 

The royals, paired with high priests, entered the wards where the patients stayed, offering words of blessing and replacing damp cloths.

 

Yohan did not participate in the volunteering himself.

 

“Although I’m here, I’m not a member of the royal family, so I’ll simply stand guard with the escorts.”

 

He made this clear as soon as they entered the village, blending in with the knights.

 

“It’s a traditional event that only the royal family and high-ranking officials participate in, so it doesn’t look good for me to be involved.”

 

Of course, no one cared whether Yohan personally participated in such volunteer work, which may or may not have been helpful.

 

So everyone just nodded indifferently and soon forgot about Yohan.

 

Only the knights who were by his side were cautiously muttering.

 

“Is it because he is a wizard? Don’t you think the way he walks is a little strange?”

 

“He’s physically fit, but I don’t think he’s much help as an escort. Even his basic posture is all wrong.”

 

“But he’s a wizard. If he wanted to, he could blow up this entire village.”

 

In truth, Yohan was walking with the right side of his body as stiff as possible.

 

Because of that, Yurika, who was in Yohan’s right jacket pocket, felt quite a comfortable ride.

 

‘It’s a long trip, but it’s not as exhausting as I thought.’

 

Yurika rubbed her eyes leisurely.

 

However, even though the plan was proceeding smoothly, her heart was not entirely at ease.

 

During the three days she stayed at the Duke of Hyrad’s estate, Yohan kept bothering her in a different way.

 

Every night, she calmed Yohan down in the form of a squirrel, but strangely, the atmosphere was different than before.

 

‘The place, time, and people are all the same as before… but something’s off.’

 

Even Yohan’s hand gently stroking her inside the narrow tower felt the same, yet gave her a strange feeling.

 

The persistent emotion flickering in his purple eyes felt new.

 

His sweet, almost lover-like whispers were confusing.

 

‘I was okay with pretending to be lovers outside, but why is it so weird when we’re alone together?’

 

In the meantime, she secretly received a note from Lean of the Hisri Information Guild.

 

It was a warning: Be careful, very careful, of the wizard.

 

Well, considering Theodore was targeting her, it wasn’t entirely wrong.

 

And through such Theodore, Yurika realized something.

 

The wizards have a considerable obsession with the divine beast, and once they become attached to it, they don’t want to let it go.

 

If Theodore is this obsessed with her after just one calming, what will Yohan think of her after she calmed him down so many times?

 

Yurika wasn’t oblivious.

 

She knew Yohan treated her in a special way and even realized he was subtly trying to seduce her.

 

Whether or not she was falling for it was another issue.

 

‘Does Yohan want me that much?’

 

Up until now, Yurika had approached Yohan with vague expectations — that they were childhood acquaintances who could help each other.

 

She also felt a bit proud that he hadn’t grown into the villain described in the original story.

 

‘Was I wrong to assume that the obsession with divine beasts was gone after the calming potion was developed…?’

 

But now that they were back to spending time together at the Duke of Hyrad’s estate, it was clear something different existed between them compared to their childhood.

 

At night, lying beside him in squirrel form, even her toes felt a little ticklish.

 

And during the day, meeting him at the estate in human form felt strangely awkward.

 

‘He’s so gentle and gentlemanly during the day, but at night, there’s something subtly decadent about him. It’s so annoying.’

 

When Yohan rubbed his eyes and laughed softly or stared silently at her.

 

Every time that happened, Yurika’s heart would start pounding strangely.

 

Having experienced Theodore, she found the obsession of wizards downright terrifying, which made her even more confused.

 

But anyway, the days of feeling this internal dissonance were almost over.

 

Things would proceed step by step according to the plan, and she would soon return to the Duke of Medes’s estate.

 

‘If I distance myself from him a bit, I might be able to look at the situation more objectively.’

 

‘Today is just the beginning.’

 

Yurika nodded, crossing her arms in Yohan’s pocket.

 

Yohan was Yohan, and today was today.

 

‘The temple will be destroyed today! Just wait and see!’

 

And even as she firmly renewed her resolve for revenge, time was moving outside.

 

Royal family members and high priests were moving around, and Yohan was among the group of escort knights.

 

It was at that moment that everyone stopped paying attention to Yohan.

 

* * *