I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain [EN]: Chapter 129

“What!”

Rivena was about to rush towards Johann in surprise when—

*Thud!* A pillar from the temple flew in front of Rivena.

Johann hadn’t even glanced at Rivena as he cast his spell.

With his hand on Yurika’s stomach, Johann spoke earnestly, “You’re human, Yurika… You’re human. So, you have to become human. You absolutely can’t remain a sacred animal.”

He recalled what Rivena had said. She had stated that Yurika’s consciousness would definitely be stuck before coming to the Hyrard estate.

If Rivena’s experiment succeeded, time would inevitably revert to the past.

That much was unavoidable, because Yurika’s safety depended on Rivena.

Johann had made the best choice he could.

If he didn’t inject magic now, Yurika might die. As Rivena said, he had to take responsibility for the end of this experiment.

However, not in the direction Rivena wanted, but in the direction he wanted.

“Remember, Yurika. You’re human. You must become human.”

Even if they returned to the past, it was so she could become human again, so she could come to Hyrard’s tower to see him.

According to Rivena, he would be able to remember all of this.

If that were true, he would gladly return to his painful childhood and wait for Yurika to become human.

“Why, why…”

In the distance, Rivena, pinned under the pillar, sobbed.

“No, why… If you just stayed as a squirrel, I could exist by your side…”

At those words, Johann frowned. He wasn’t entirely unmoved by her suggestion.

No, to be honest, his instincts constantly urged him to do as Rivena said.

Having Yurika, the squirrel sacred animal, by his side would always soothe his painful magic.

He wouldn’t have to take her to the Medest estate every evening and return alone. He could always stay with her in the Hyrard estate without parting.

He could also prevent her gaze from going to his family. Oscar, Sienna, Meriel, Jayden… he could monopolize all the affection showered on those many people.

He wouldn’t have to see those damned Theodore or the wizards hitting on Yurika. That feeling was truly like his blood running backward.

Thus, Rivena’s proposal was quite tempting.

Especially now, with his reason half-gone.

It couldn’t be helped. Rivena had set up the entire game so that he had no choice but to be true to his instincts.

Burning incense that stirred the wizard’s emotions, gathering all sorts of wizards to ignite his possessiveness, and using magic to make his inner self more unstable.

“Don’t you get it? If that squirrel becomes human, the current situation will be repeated! You won’t be able to monopolize her!”

Rivena shouted, driven to the edge.

Johann calmly replied, “Not a squirrel, Yurika.”

“…What?”

“Of course, it’s nice that I can monopolize her… but then I wouldn’t be able to get engaged to Yurika.”

At his answer, Rivena’s eyes widened.

“I wouldn’t be able to go to famous workshops together and match rings…”

“Wh-what…”

“I promised. To go on many dates.”

“Ha!”

Rivena laughed out loud in disbelief.

“Seriously… seriously, a wizard would make this choice because of such childish things?”

“Watch your mouth.”

Johann warned.

“The only reason I’m keeping you alive is to save Yurika in case something goes wrong. And I’m human before I’m a wizard.”

He continued in a low voice.

“Yurika always reminded me of that.”

With a desperate heart, Johann injected more magic into the unconscious Yurika.

Whenever he felt like acting like Theodore, Yurika would silently trust him and hold his hand tightly.

Surely there were more than a few people around her who warned, ‘Johann Hyrard is a wizard, be careful.’

Whenever he hesitated, she would say without hesitation, ‘Don’t think about being human or a wizard, just do what you want to do.’

Moreover, she even said to get engaged first, even if he was a wizard.

Remembering her lovely appearance, how could he let her stay as just a squirrel?

He possessed more beautiful memories than possessing her.

“But, if things stay this way, that princess will be happy enough among the Medest family! Your love might not be essential to her!”

Rivena shouted once again. Johann coldly replied.

“Duke Oscar Medest has already accepted me as family. He was the first adult-like adult who truly advised me. I can’t betray him.”

And slowly closing his eyes, he poured in more magic.

“Yurika, please.”

He could instinctively feel it. Something was about to burst out of Yurika’s body. There was finally a limit to the magic she could accept.

“Please… please become human. You’re human. Don’t forget.”

And Rivena, sensing that something was about to happen, shouted in a frenzy.

“No! Don’t become human! Stay a sacred animal! Don’t remember anything! Go to Tezen Hyrard like that, get retrieved by the temple, and die quietly!”

Yurika began to twitch. Rivena hissed and cursed Johann as well.

“Johann Hyrard, you didn’t even know Yurika existed, then you came back as a war hero and became obsessed with Meriel, and you’ll destroy Medest with your own hands! You’ll team up with a guy like Theodore and do villainous things, then betray each other and meet a miserable end!”

“…”

“Renat? That doctor who bothered us will never see the light of day. He’ll live in poverty all his life, then later catch Roymund’s eye. And then that bastard will be killed by you!”

Johann ignored Rivena’s words, which were becoming frighteningly muttered. Her curse was so specific that it listed even Sienna and Jayden’s deaths.

However, Johann, who didn’t have the strength to respond to that curse, released his magic strongly for the last time. Sweat dripped from his forehead.

Soon, a great light began to emanate from Yurika’s body. And Johann and Rivena, who were the subjects of the experiment, lost consciousness simultaneously as if it were a lie.

* * *

I slowly opened my eyes.

When I raised my hand, a human hand caught my eye. Before I knew it, I had returned to my human form.

“Haa…”

I sighed and got up. Johann and Rivena were lying unconscious. I blinked and muttered.

“Sir Trevor was right.”

Trevor had clearly said that Rivena’s experiment to turn back time could not succeed. He believed that tampering with time at will was not easy.

As he said, Rivena’s experiment must have failed from the start.

“This squirrel has already lost consciousness, but everything has regressed and is staying in the past.”

When Rivena said that, I knew, ‘Ah, this experiment has failed.’ Because I hadn’t lost consciousness.

I just couldn’t put strength into my body, but I could hear all of Rivena and Johann’s conversation.

Of course, memories floated around in my head as if all the time was constantly tangled. Especially the memories I had lost were coming back one by one.

So, the time when I was in this temple.

The time when I was Rivena’s test subject, with almost no awareness as a human and acting like a beast in a cage with only instinct.

I ate the food I was given, fell asleep when it was time, and instinctively hated Rivena, so I tried to escape.

I wasn’t easily tamed and resisted fiercely, so when Theodore came to verify my abilities, Rivena gave me a sleeping pill to make me lose consciousness.

Then… suddenly…

The day it was decided that I would go to the Hyrard estate, a desperate voice suddenly rang out, and I began to think that I was possessed.

“Please… please become human. You’re human. Don’t forget.”

And that voice overlapped with Johann’s voice in this temple now.

‘Ah!’

The realization came quickly.

Usually, sacred animals don’t have a strong will to become human, but why did I want to become human from the beginning?

What was that voice that rang in my head after regaining consciousness, like brainwashing?

The very voice that brought me here.

“You’re human, Yurika… You’re human. So, you have to become human. You absolutely can’t remain a sacred animal.”

Rivena’s experiment had clearly failed, but she had still touched the line of time in any case.

That voice had already been heard in my past.