I Became A Squirrel Seeking For The Villain [EN]: Chapter 94

Although a large fire broke out at the Olteba estate, fortunately, there were no casualties.

The few servants had all fled, and Johan had personally saved the two elderly people who couldn’t move.

Of course, the property damage was enormous. The estate was completely destroyed.

It was, in a way, Johan’s fault for systematically demolishing the mansion while containing the fire.

“Even if I were to compensate you, it seems you have nowhere to stay for now,” Johan said gently, maintaining a composed appearance.

“We will take care of you.”

The Olteba father and son were of lower rank compared to Johan, but Johan remained very polite.

“Compensation? You saved our lives,” Paul said, tearfully.

“I was just waiting to die of old age, but I feel ashamed to receive such help.”

“What are you talking about?” Trevor, who was being supported by Paul, interjected, scolding.

“I’m not going to die. I’m going to live a long life.”

“Yes, please live a long life,” Johan said pleasantly.

“Anyway, it seems you have nowhere to stay right now, so come with me.”

The people watching the scene whispered among themselves.

“Didn’t they say he had a terrible personality?”

“I heard he was a scoundrel…”

“They said he was very rude to the Medest Estate and the temple, but seeing him in person, he seems like a really nice guy?”

“He saved the elderly… He seems like a kind and righteous person.”

“I guess all the talk about him being a scoundrel is just rumors. Look at him.”

Of course, Johan was just being polite because he thought they would be helpful to Yurica.

But from the perspective of the onlookers, it was enough to reassess him.

Entering a house engulfed in flames to personally save elderly people he had no connection to, and even providing them with a place to stay…

“That won’t do. It’s already presumptuous of us to be saved, but to take in two old men…” Paul politely refused, but Johan said languidly.

“It’s a request. Please come with me.”

“No, we can’t cause any more trouble…”

“I am Johan Hyrard. The war hero who helped the Baron return to his hometown. Are you going to refuse my request?”

Paul’s eyes wavered.

Hmm… His tone is very kind and gentle, but it somehow sounds like a veiled threat.

“W-Well, I need to know where we’re going…”

“I am the magician who saved you two from this great fire. I used quite a bit of magic calculating the path and destroying the mansion. Are you still not going to follow me?”

Paul felt uneasy, but he didn’t have the courage to refuse after he said that much.

Trevor’s eyes sparkled as he interjected.

“Is it a place with fluffy beds and three meals a day?”

“Of course. It’s a ducal estate, after all.”

“Oh. Then I’ll go. By the way, I like mushroom soup, so I hope it comes out at least once a day.”

“I’ll ask the chef to prepare it for every meal.”

“Are you an angel?”

“I am a magician.”

In the end, Paul nodded slowly as if he couldn’t help it.

If it’s a ducal estate, it must mean the Hyrard ducal estate…

When Johan gestured, a subordinate brought a new carriage.

Paul had a strange, eerie feeling. It was as if the subordinate was looking at him with pity.

Anyway, Trevor and Paul were helped into the carriage by Johan’s men.

“Um, aren’t you riding, Duke?”

“Ah.”

Johan smiled and personally closed the door.

Paul flinched for a moment, feeling as if he could never return.

Are magicians… originally such eerie beings?

Johan shrugged and added.

“I still have an unfinished conversation.”

Another carriage was coming from afar.

It was the carriage that Johan and Yurica had been riding together, arriving only now.

* * *

I don’t know how fast Johan ran, but by the time I arrived at the Olteba estate in the carriage, the situation was already over.

No, not only was the situation over, but the Olteba father and son were also gone.

As the carriage I was riding in arrived, the carriage carrying the Olteba father and son departed, passing each other.

“I sent them both to the Medest Estate for now,” Johan came and explained as I got out of the carriage and looked at the almost ruined estate.

“I thought it would be better to protect them where we can keep an eye on them.”

“Yeah… right. It’s a bit strange that the fire broke out so suddenly.”

After living peacefully all this time, a fire broke out as soon as Meriel stopped by, so it definitely seemed suspicious.

It was obvious that they would be attacked again if we sent them anywhere else. Anyway, it seemed better to protect them directly where we could watch them.

Medest is a ducal family, so of course, there would be no problem protecting the two from danger.

“I sent them to the Medest Estate because I thought it would be more convenient for you.”

It was a good choice. Since things had turned out this way, we couldn’t have a cozy conversation at the estate anyway.

If we needed another place to talk, the Medest Estate was the best choice to protect them.

“Didn’t they resist? I heard they have some antipathy towards Medest.”

“I just said it was a ducal estate, so they probably think it’s the Hyrard ducal estate.”

Johan was saying he cheated in a very affectionate tone.

Well, is it really a scam? He said it was a ducal estate, so it wasn’t a lie.

“Haa…”

I looked at the ruined estate and made a troubled expression.

If I hadn’t come with Johan this time, I wouldn’t have even been able to talk to the only people who knew about the Artear barony.

“Yurica.”

Johan spoke softly first.

“Would you like to take a look around? There might be some materials left…”

“…Should I?”

Most of the estate was already destroyed, but Johan’s words made sense.

Anyway, we were looking for something, and there might be important materials left that even the Olteba father and son didn’t know about.

“It’s not a very big mansion, so let’s just look around together.”

I nodded at Johan’s suggestion.

And since there might be secrets about our family, Johan and I decided to look around alone.

Even though it was a ruined mansion, some of the partition walls were still intact, so we were able to look around here and there without being seen.

Judging by the fact that the Olteba father and son left without much attachment, it didn’t seem like there would be anything great.

Still, I felt uneasy if I didn’t even check.

“Um… this is like a library, but it’s all burned down.”

I said, looking around without worrying about getting my dress dirty.

“I think I know why they started a fire instead of using assassins.”

Killing two old men wouldn’t be difficult, but they probably set the fire in case any records were left inside the mansion.

This incident further solidified my conviction that the ‘Artear barony’ was somehow related to our Medest family’s secrets.

“Here too… nothing special.”

It was a house where two old men lived with only a few servants, so the household items were simple.

I was almost done looking around in a short time when Johan said urgently from beyond the wall.

“Yurica, come here.”

“Huh?”

I was looking around what seemed to be a reception room, and I hurriedly grabbed the hem of my dress and got up. Then I ran to where Johan’s voice was coming from.

“Is there something important?”

The place where Johan was, was a room that was still mostly intact.

As I carefully entered through the door, Johan’s eyes crinkled as he smiled.

“Yeah.”

I brushed off the ashes on my dress and waited for Johan’s words with anticipation.

“There’s something important.”

It seemed like a small room where the maid stayed, and although there wasn’t much, the small household items filled the narrow room, making it difficult to move around.

Johan gently grabbed my hand and whispered.

“The wall is intact, so it seems like a sealed space.”

“…Huh? What are you talking about?”

Johan guided me to the narrow, old bed. I inadvertently sat on the mattress.

Johan knelt on one knee on the floor in front of me.

“J-Johan?”

“What that means is…”

The chaos from earlier was already fading. The noise from outside was just distant.

The fact that we were looking for something here felt so distant.

Strangely, it felt unreal.

Furniture that was smudged with soot or burned, the blue sky visible above the missing ceiling, and the small, ownerless room where the outside view was blocked even though it was quite collapsed.

It was as if only the two of us existed in a ruined world.

Even the sunlight shining evenly on the space where tragedy had struck just a moment ago was amazing.

“From now on…”

And in that surreal space, Johan looked up at me and smiled deeply.

“It means I’m going to continue what I was trying to do earlier.”