Chapter 6
Eating Bugs vs. Telling the Truth
The place I arrived at was the dining room.
Set on top of the table, I wriggled my nose up and down eagerly.
Food? Come to think of it, I hadn’t eaten in quite a while.
“Night Chestnut. I prepared a special meal just for you.”
With Idrish’s words, the head chef brought out a covered plate.
What is it that it even needs a lid?
I sniffed and sniffed, but no smell came from inside at all.
“Please enjoy your meal.”
The chef lifted the lid.
White, long things filled the plate—wriggling, squirming.
“Special fresh beetle larvae!”
The wriggling things all turned toward me at once.
Aaaah! What is this?! No!
“Screee!”
I shrieked and jumped wildly. My hind legs tangled, and I fell over with a thump onto my chubby backside.
Flailing, my short four legs thrashed in the air.
At that moment, one of the beetle larvae crawled off the plate toward me.
I raised all the spikes from my forehead to my tail and scrambled across the table in panic. My feet slipped several times.
In an instant, I fled to the seat in front of Idrish. Still feeling like those horrible bugs were chasing me, I burrowed into his sleeve.
“Hey. That stings.”
Idrish grabbed my hind leg and tried to pull me out.
Let go!
I kicked hard, shaking off his hand, and burrowed even deeper. Only after hiding completely inside his sleeve did I finally catch my breath.
Huff… huff… I hate bugs…!
“A hedgehog being afraid of larvae. It can’t be helped. Take that away.”
Really? I quietly focused on his words.
Clink, clatter—the sound of the plate being cleared away echoed.
After a while, I cautiously poked my nose out of the sleeve. I looked around before coming out—no larvae.
Phew.
“So you’re not even a hedgehog beastman, yet you can’t eat larvae?”
Idrish looked down at me and smirked.
Ugh.
I frowned and raised my forehead spikes sharply.
“If you hate fresh beetle larvae that much, you’d better reveal your identity soon. Otherwise, tomorrow at this time, you’ll have to eat them alive.”
With that, Idrish stood up from his seat.
When I had barely returned to my room and was catching my breath, someone knocked softly and opened the door.
The one who came in was a small child.
“Hey, monster!”
Huh? Is he talking to me?
I slowly examined the rude kid who had just spoken so casually upon first meeting me.
A small build, about seven years old, silver curly hair, and blue eyes.
Ah, a white tiger with blue eyes—I knew exactly who he was.
Rodrio Atigrado. Idrish’s younger brother, a child born carrying a great destiny.
The serpent clan, Servian, possessed the power of prophecy.
And they had received a prophecy: when a blue-eyed white tiger appears, their entire clan will be destroyed.
Because of that prophecy, this child would eventually meet his death.
From that point on, the story of the novel would race toward its climax—so narratively, his death was essential.
Facing a child destined to die felt strange.
Of course… it wasn’t my place to interfere. I had no intention of helping a villain. What mattered to me right now was my own safe and comfortable life…
“Wow, you really look weird.”
At the teasing, I frowned and raised my spikes.
Feeling sorry for him was one thing, but his manners were terrible.
“But why are you in this room?”
It’s not like I’m here because I want to be.
“Idrish doesn’t even let me into his room. So why would he let an ugly monster like you in?”
The more he talked, the more ridiculous it sounded.
I bristled my spikes sharply. I had no intention of listening to a child’s jealous nonsense.
But unexpectedly, Rodrio’s eyes widened.
“W–wow… do that one more time.”
What? Raise my spikes?
Feeling uneasy, I lowered my spikes… then raised them again.
“Wow!”
A total of 49 times—I lowered and raised my spikes.
At first, he called me a monster, but maybe he started thinking I was some kind of transforming robot, because by the end he was completely fascinated.
He even said he understood why Idrish kept me in the room.
Kid… do you really think Idrish keeps me just to watch me raise my spikes?
Well, to be fair, I don’t know the real reason either…
Still, thanks to that, I finally got to leave the room.
A child is still a child—after playing with him a little, he quickly cheered up and said he’d show me around the mansion.
“This is the library. Grandpa is usually here. But don’t go in—he’s scary.”
Some things I already knew, but there was also new information—useful for escaping.
“And this is…”
Rodrio stopped in front of a black door in the hallway.
“I don’t know what’s inside here either. They won’t tell me, and they said I must never go in.”
Oh?
This definitely smelled like something important.
I jumped out of Rodrio’s hands and scratched at the door with my front paws.
“You want to go in there? No! I’ll get in trouble!”
It’s fine. Just open it. I’ll only look for a moment.
“I shouldn’t…”
Rodrio glanced around. No one was nearby. He bit his lip.
“Then just for a moment.”
I nodded quickly.
He picked me up again and grabbed the doorknob.
Creeeak.
The door opened with an eerie sound.
Beyond it was a staircase leading downward.
The stairs stretching into the basement were dark and ominous—like the mouth of a cursed dragon.
“I–I don’t think this is a good idea. Let’s go back. It’s too dark, and if Idrish finds out, I’ll really get in trouble.”
Just stay still for a second.
I bravely went down first. Well… it was less “going down” and more like I tumbled onto the next step.
I turned back to look at Rodrio.
Under my urging gaze, he hesitated, clenching and unclenching his fists. Then, as if making up his mind, he shut his eyes tightly and opened them again.
“Okay… I can do this too.”
His legs trembled as he stepped downward.
We soon reached the bottom of the stairs.
“I think we should go back now. Hurry, get on my hand!”
Rodrio urged me, but I was too busy looking around.
The entire basement was filled with shelves.
And on them were countless glass bottles.
Most of them were tightly sealed and filled with black powder.
All the spikes on my body stood on end.
“Gasi, let’s get out of here.”
Not knowing what the bottles were, Rodrio gently picked me up and hurried up the stairs.
But I knew exactly what they were.
They were explosives—prepared by Idrish to burn the world.
My mind went blank.
Boom! Crash!
The ground exploded with deafening sounds, buildings collapsing. Beastmen screamed and ran for their lives—but there was nowhere safe. Explosions chained one after another.
I could clearly remember the scene of the rabbit beastman protagonist, Jaika, running away. The sight of desperate people fleeing was so horrifying that even I couldn’t sleep that night.
In a single day, a peaceful city turned into ruins.
Beastmen burned or were crushed beneath buildings.
Those glass bottles… created that explosion.
My mouth went dry. Fear crept in, stiffening all four of my legs.
Knowing someone was a villain in a novel… and seeing it with my own eyes… were completely different things.
Maybe I had grown numb after seeing Idrish collapsed and groaning as if he might die, or lying lazily and laughing.
Or maybe it had just felt like something far away.
But now—seeing these nearly filled bottles—
it felt like the day Idrish would destroy the world was not far off.
“Gasi, what’s wrong? We got out without getting caught. So don’t worry too much.”
Rodrio said, concerned. After hesitating for a moment, he gently stroked the spikes on my back.
The spikes that had been standing stiff slowly relaxed under his soft touch.
But that didn’t make me feel any better.
Rodrio, too, belonged to the white tiger clan.
“If you’re still scared, I’ll protect you.”
Rodrio said innocently.
At that moment—
“Who do you think you’re protecting?”
At the cold voice, my spikes shot up again.
It wasn’t Rodrio’s voice.
I buried my face deep into my spikes. All I could see were large footsteps approaching.
“I–Idrish.”
“I clearly told you not to go into the basement.”
“Th-that’s…”
“And you even brought that Night Chestnut with you?”
“I was showing the Spike King around the mansion, and before I knew it…”
Unlike when he spoke to me, Rodrio’s voice was small and trembling.
Idrish walked closer. I curled up even tighter, and Rodrio froze in place.
Without hesitation, Idrish picked me up.
“Rodrio. Do you not know what happens to those who disobey me?”
Rodrio just blinked his wide eyes, unable to answer. He looked like he might burst into tears at any moment.
“I cut off all their lives. Did you think you would be an exception?”
His voice was so cold and emotionless that it was hard to believe he was speaking to his own brother.
Rodrio said nothing—but he was surely trembling.
“Go back to your room immediately. Wait for your punishment. I will not overlook this.”
“…Okay.”
Rodrio’s tearful voice faded along with his retreating footsteps.
Once Rodrio left, only Idrish and I remained in the hallway.
