<Chapter 19>
#2. A Hamster in the Snake’s Den (9)
“……”
He hadn’t expected a positive answer, but he didn’t think he would hear such a sharp response. Unlike his previous trembling, Melty’s firm assertion of his opinion made the corner of Calix’s lips quiver. Although he had never objectively analyzed his own appearance, he had never been called unattractive anywhere, so Melty’s answer was shocking.
“Y-you’re not angry, are you…?”
“…It’s rather shocking.”
“B-but! Everyone else says Calix-ssi is handsome!”
“Huh…?”
“I-it’s true.”
At the sound of Calix’s sigh, filled with complex emotions, Melty lowered his head with a dejected expression. Annoyed at seeing the head that had just been raised now lowering again, Calix reached out and grabbed the irritating nose.
“Ow. Ow ow.”
“Why are you making that face? I’m the one who should feel wronged.”
“Not everyone can find you handsome.”
His bold assertion once again sparked an inexplicable anger. Calix pulled Melty’s nose again. Melty’s upper body bent forward to reduce the pain, following the pulling hand.
“Ow. It hurts.”
“That’s punishment for saying something annoying.”
Calix, with his mischievous face, only let go of the nose when Melty’s eyes became moist. Melty clutched his reddened nose with both hands and shot him a resentful look.
“What.”
“This level of lying makes you a habitual offender. Even though you said I could speak honestly.”
“I said you could speak honestly earlier. This time should be calculated separately.”
Discontent surged on Melty’s face at Calix’s words as he shrugged his shoulders. Instead of arguing that such a thing made no sense, Melty stretched his legs forward with all his might. It was his strategy to avenge his innocent, tormented nose by kicking Calix in the shin.
“Oof.”
He swung his foot from side to side, but all he hit was air. Melty’s body gradually descended. His feet, stretched straight ahead, wriggled around seeking their target. Easily guessing the situation as Melty was now practically lying on the chair, Calix reached under the table. And he easily grabbed the sly ankle attempting revenge.
“Eek!”
“Where do you think you’re going?”
“Uh, uwaah… l-let go…!”
“Well. What should I do?”
Unlike Calix, who was grinning like a snake, Melty’s body trembled as he faced the crisis of falling to the floor. Chuckling at the trembling transmitted through his hand, Calix obligingly allowed Melty’s foot to safely land on the floor.
“I’ll let you off this time.”
Letting out a sigh of relief, Melty managed to wriggle back onto the chair like a worm. Looking at him with an expression that said he was cute, Calix asked his final question with his chin propped on his hand.
“Looks like you’re not afraid of me anymore?”
Melty’s eyes widened at his question. Perhaps due to their continued squabbling, he was no longer as frightened as when they first met. Smiling at his expression, Calix lightly tapped the table.
“Since you’ll be working with me from now on anyway, I’ll give you a gift.”
“…A gift…?”
At Melty’s questioning echo, Calix, with a contained smile, held out something he had prepared in advance from his pocket. Melty’s shoulders visibly stiffened when he noticed the thing approaching him. Looking at him, Calix smiled brightly and delivered the final blow.
“You surely weren’t thinking of leaving my gift behind, were you? Assistant.”
At his words, Melty made a tearful expression and had no choice but to accept what Calix offered, like eating mustard while crying.
Feeling something cool being placed on his hand, Melty tightly closed his eyes. His recent thought that ‘maybe he’s not that bad a person after all’ seemed absurd now. With the cool sensation resting on his palm, Melty stopped breathing and silently unleashed a torrent of curses against Calix.
‘Bad guy, mean person, meanie-face.’
Calix stared blankly at Melty’s pale face with tightly closed eyes, then picked up what he had placed on his hand with a laugh. When the sensation disappeared from his palm, Melty carefully opened his eyes and exhaled.
“If I give a gift twice, I might kill someone.”
“If you know that… then you could just not give it.”
In response to the resentful gaze that questioned how this could be considered a gift, Calix lightly shrugged his shoulders. Melty, who was about to glare at him, hunched his shoulders tightly when their eyes met again. Held by Calix’s index finger, floating in the air, was a very small snake.
With a body mixed with light orange and white colors, it stared at Melty with round, black eyes.
“You get along fine with the others, so why are you so scared?”
“…Do you often hear that you lack consideration?”
“You’re a beast-person, after all?”
“Is there a law that says beast-people can’t dislike snakes?”
At Calix’s retort, Melty pushed out his lower lip and quickly withdrew his hand. Afraid that Calix might place the snake on his hand again, he even raised his knees on the chair and hugged them tightly. Seeing his obviously defensive posture, Calix lightly clicked his tongue.
“This one is clever and gentle, so it won’t harm you. That’s why I said it’s a ‘gift.'”
Despite Calix’s soothing words, Melty maintained his posture. All beast-people could handle the animals they were associated with. Just as Calix could handle snakes now, Melty could also easily communicate with hamsters. That’s why he couldn’t comfortably deal with snakes that swallowed hamsters in one gulp.
“I brought it specially, but now this one is going to feel bad.”
Clicking his tongue, Calix placed the snake he had been holding onto an empty space on the table. Placed closest to Melty, the snake raised its head and looked at him. Melty stared, entranced, at the round, black eyes and the ‘ㅅ’-shaped mouth between them.
“I-I’m sorry but… it’s still too much to keep it with me all the time.”
At Melty’s hesitant yet firm boundary-setting, the snake’s head, which had risen up, dropped down dejectedly. It looked like a child with a drooping head, crestfallen. Fidgeting uncomfortably with his fingers due to a twinge of conscience, Melty carefully added:
“…N-no, it’s absolutely not because I dislike you.”
After offering an apology in a shrinking voice, Melty glared at Calix, who was smiling contentedly after causing the situation. Meeting that resentful gaze calmly, Calix asked:
“Why not take this opportunity to get used to snakes by carrying it around? You’ll need to get accustomed to them while working in my mansion anyway.”
“…I’ll save up the penalty fee and leave.”
“Oh dear.”
At Melty’s principled declaration, the corners of Calix’s mouth turned upward. He wondered what expression Melty would make when he discovered that he couldn’t quit even if he paid the penalty fee. Of course, as someone with a twisted personality, he had no intention of telling him straightforwardly.
Unaware of Calix’s malicious thoughts, Melty fixed his gaze on the snake that was still staring at him intently. His head lowered more and more until it was almost buried in his knees, but the snake still didn’t move an inch.
The snake was the first to move, seemingly aware of Melty’s feelings. Standing upright and looking around the table, the snake spotted something and moved its body diligently. Then it opened its mouth wide and bit into a chestnut-flavored yokan candy wrapped in a bite-size package. It approached Melty, put down the yokan it was carrying in its mouth, and pushed it with its nose.
“Huh…?”
A shallow exclamation flowed from Melty’s mouth as he blinked, watching the snake’s actions.
“Are you giving this to me?”
At his cautious question, the snake nodded its head up and down. Melty’s wariness rapidly melted away at those bright black eyes. Slowly extending his hand, Melty tapped the wrapper of the yokan the snake had offered.
“…How did you know I like this…?”
As he asked the question, Melty’s previously hunched body relaxed slightly. Keenly noticing this, the snake pushed the yokan firmly toward him once more. With a faint smile, Melty accepted the yokan and carefully unwrapped it before bringing it to his mouth. The sweet taste spreading on the tip of his tongue improved his sharp mood considerably.
The snake, flicking its red tongue briefly, seemed satisfied and stretched its body out where the chestnut yokan had been. Melty, his heart softened by the sweet snack, carefully placed his index finger in front of the snake’s nose. The snake, staring at the finger cautiously approaching, slowly climbed up his hand as soon as it touched its nose.
“Eek. It’s cold.”
Melty, who had flinched at the cool sensation, stared at the snake that had wound itself around his wrist and settled there. Seeing Melty’s wariness crumble so quickly over food, Calix said in an amused voice:
“That one’s name is ‘Naru.’ As you saw earlier, it won’t bother you. Even if it’s uncomfortable, please carry it around, at least for a while.”
At the name Calix gave, Melty greeted in a murmuring voice, “Hello, Naru.” As if enjoying Melty’s voice, Naru rubbed its face against his arm. Unlike the shock of their first meeting, seeing this cute, affectionate behavior brought a small smile to Melty’s face.
“Yet you were terrified just a moment ago…”
“Th-that’s! Anyone would be startled if a snake suddenly appeared on their hand!”
Melty retorted in a sulky voice and glared at Calix, who still looked pleased.
“I wouldn’t be startled.”
“…I’m going to see if you’d still be unafraid if a ghost was placed on your palm.”
After reciting his vow of revenge against Calix’s teasing voice, Melty’s attention was completely taken by Naru, who had settled on his wrist and was acting cutely. Carefully stroking Naru’s body, Melty glanced sideways at Calix, who was watching him with satisfaction.
“But why the sudden gift?”
“The exchange meeting will be held soon anyway, so it’s serving dual purposes.”
“Exchange meeting…?”
Melty blinked with a puzzled expression at this unfamiliar content. Naru moved its triangular head sideways and quietly looked at Calix. Reaching out to gently rub Naru’s head, which had settled on Melty’s wrist, Calix continued in a nonchalant tone:
“It’s nothing special, just a banquet-like gathering to strengthen relationships. Since it will be held at our mansion this time, it’s going to be a bit noisy for a while.”
“…Will many people come?”
At the careful question, Calix nodded roughly. His face was filled with a bored expression. Seeing him act as if mentioning something very trivial, Melty also took it as an unimportant matter. Calix took in the sight of Melty quietly murmuring “I see” and held a deep smile on his lips.
The regularly held exchange meeting was a venue for strengthening relationships between families and activating trade. Generally, relationships were built through these exchange meetings, and many even led to marriages, but for Calix, it was just a bothersome occasion.
“So did you buy me these clothes because of the exchange meeting?”
“No. That has nothing to do with the exchange meeting. Wasn’t there a clause in the contract stating that the employer would be responsible for food, clothing, and shelter?”
“Now that you mention it, I think there was…”
Although he prided himself on having examined the contract carefully before signing, the specific details weren’t coming to mind clearly. Since he seemed to vaguely remember seeing such a statement, Melty nodded his head up and down.
“There were so many people working there… Do you go out and buy things personally for other employees too?”
