<Chapter 4>
#1. This Contract Is Somehow Wrong (4)
Calix couldn’t understand why Melty, who had been so clear-headed earlier, suddenly became terrified. He hadn’t released any killing intent, and he thought he’d been quite respectful. Until right before their hands touched, he’d seemed completely fine.
“Are you thinking about some strange food? Like hamster liver, or some animal’s eyeballs…”
If that were the case, it would make sense for the gentle hamster to turn pale. Calix swept back his hair as he glared at Angel, who was nodding and elaborating. With a gaze full of annoyance, he opened his mouth to speak to Angel.
“Angel. Who pays your salary?”
“Oh! I wonder what really caused that reaction? Maybe there’s something wrong with his Gift.”
Angel quickly changed the subject, putting on a serious expression, which made Calix let out a hollow laugh. He turned his gaze to Melty, who was lying quietly on the bed.
“There’s no way something could be wrong with the Gift. By the way, this one is definitely an adult, right?”
“Of course. Hamster clan members are naturally small.”
“No, it’s not just about that…”
Calix slightly furrowed his brow. There was no place in the world that didn’t need herbs, which meant there was no species that didn’t trade with his family. He had met hamster clan members several times before. But the hamster clan members in his memory had sharper eyes, nastier personalities, and bodies filled with tightly packed muscles. Unable to shake his suspicion, Calix carefully pressed Melty’s arms and abdomen.
The sensation left on his fingertips was soft and fluffy like cream puffs. There wasn’t even a hint of muscle in his body. He was completely different from the hamster clan members he’d seen before.
“Where would you find such a soft hamster clan member? Plus, he’s too small.”
“…Hmm. Indeed.”
“It would be troublesome if he were a minor. The hamster clan has the strongest protection for minors.”
Since the Gift is bestowed along with a blessing, if he used it, he must be an adult. But Calix wasn’t entirely convinced that Melty, who had fainted before showing his Gift, was truly an adult who had received the blessing and Gift.
“He said he’s an adult, so wouldn’t that be correct? Besides, if he were a minor, how could he have opened a shop on his own?”
Angel preemptively countered, somehow sensing that if they remained idle, the workload would increase. Calix smirked at him and continued.
“Does nothing come to mind about ‘Crosel’?”
“Pardon?”
“You don’t know about those crazy brothers. It seems I’ve made a serious mistake in choosing my aide…”
“C-Crosel, you say?”
This time, Angel’s face turned pale at Calix’s words, which he emphasized again in a languid tone. The Beast God’s blessing bestowed upon hamster clan members during their coming-of-age ceremony always related to physical attributes. And most received blessings related to swift legs or great strength. The hamster clan always used their blessings in the most efficient way possible.
“Yes. Don’t you think they could slit your throat without anyone knowing?”
Angel felt a chill run down his spine at Calix’s words. He shuddered and looked at Melty, who was sleeping on the bed with an innocent face. Looking at Melty’s face, it was hard to imagine the Crosel family who allegedly wouldn’t hesitate to slit someone’s throat. But if it were true, and if they found out he had made a minor sign such a contract…
“…I’ll find out for certain by tomorrow…”
“Good. You may leave.”
“Uh… Are you going to sleep here with him?”
In the same bed?
Calix changed into comfortable clothing without saying a word as he noticed Angel’s incomprehensive expression.
“If I put him in a guest room, I think he’ll try to escape as soon as he wakes up.”
“…This isn’t a place where one can come and go as they please, is it?”
“Angel. He’s from the hamster clan.”
“Yes. Then I’ll be going now~”
After bowing with an exaggerated gesture, Angel left with quick steps. If it were any other species, it might not matter, but the hamster clan was known for their talent in infiltrating and escaping without a trace. The aftermath would be terrible if he were to get away. Angel, who shuddered at the thought of such a terrifying development, disappeared from sight, and Calix turned his gaze to Melty on the bed.
“Hmm.”
He had seen various furry ears of beast-people before, but Melty’s were particularly small. When he tapped them lightly with his fingertip, the soft texture tickled his hand. Even the way they twitched slightly was cute.
“I’ll ask him tomorrow why he tried to run away today.”
Settling down next to him on the bed, Calix’s eyes slowly closed as he fiddled with Melty’s soft hair and ears.
***
The ripe red strawberry looked so delicious. It was so tempting that saliva naturally gathered in his mouth. Gulping down his drool, Melty looked around. These beautiful strawberries were dangling there, begging to be eaten, but there was no one guarding them.
His conscience pricked him at the thought of sneakily eating them. With his hands clasped together and eyes tightly shut, Melty apologized to the unknown strawberry owner.
‘I’ll just eat one. Sorry for eating it secretly.’
And then he looked around once more. Still, no one was there.
Melty stood on his tiptoes and opened his mouth wide toward the strawberry hanging above. The strawberry hovered near his lips, just out of reach. At that moment, something tickled his toes. Melty lowered his heels without eating the strawberry and pouted his lips. His shoulders trembled greatly as he looked down to inspect what had prevented him from eating the strawberry.
A tiny thread snake was tickling his toes. The snake, which was rubbing its face against his big toe affectionately, was tiny and cute. Thanks to that, he wasn’t very scared.
“You startled me.”
Although he said this with a sidelong glance, he didn’t chase the snake away. As if encouraged by this, the snake, its eyes sparkling, climbed up his leg. Melty giggled at the ticklish sensation and turned his gaze back to the strawberry hanging above. It was then that he felt something was wrong with the snake climbing up his leg.
It had definitely been a tiny thread snake, but the snake climbing up his body was gradually getting thicker. With just two coils, the snake had made it impossible for him to move his entire body. Melty, who had turned pale, twisted his body with all his might to escape. The snake, which had been making a cute expression until just a moment ago, had now completely bound his body. As Melty struggled against the tightening grip, he raised his head and found the snake staring into his eyes. The snake, which had been flicking its tongue repeatedly, opened its mouth wide.
It was at that moment that Melty’s eyes flew open, accompanied by a silent scream. Waking up from sleep, drenched in cold sweat, he exhaled a rough “sshwaaek, shwek-” breath. His entire body was still trembling from fear.
He had definitely woken up from the dream, but strangely, his body felt heavy. Slowly lowering his gaze, Melty finally discovered the arm resting on top of his body. Following the arm that was holding him tightly, he slowly turned his head to the side and couldn’t help but swallow another silent scream.
The person breathing evenly with his eyes closed was undoubtedly “Calix Kuse Padrian.”
‘Snake!!’
This person was surely the reason for his nightmare. With a silent panic, Melty threw off Calix’s arm from his body and pulled himself back as far as possible. His only thought was to escape from here. The very spacious bed seemed large enough for three grown men to sleep in. Melty crawled on all fours, worried that Calix might wake up. However, just as he was about to reach the edge of the bed, a large hand grabbed his ankle.
“Where do you think you’re escaping to…”
“AAAAAAHHH!”
Melty’s body fell straight down as he frantically moved his legs, trying to shake off the hand that had seized his ankle. He slid down the side of the bed sheet and landed on the floor. With a “thud,” his face made contact with the carpet on the floor.
Calix released the leg he’d been holding as he watched Melty, who had flapped like a bird despite not being one, fall to the ground. The sound of the fall was by no means small. He moved to the edge of the bed to check Melty’s condition.
“Hey.”
“……”
Melty, who had planted his face directly on the ground, covered his face with both hands. He pulled in his legs, which had regained their freedom, and curled up. Staring at the prominently arched back, Calix couldn’t decide whether to laugh or ask if he was alright.
It wasn’t that Melty had made a loud noise, but thanks to his commotion, Calix had been awake for a while. He had been pretending to sleep to see what Melty would do, and the spectacle was quite a sight. Throwing someone else’s hand, screaming and falling to the ground.
At this point, Calix put more weight on the thought that Melty might be a minor. All beast-people received a blessing from the Beast God during their coming-of-age ceremony. And most of the blessings bestowed upon the hamster clan were related to physical enhancement. But for someone who supposedly received such a blessing, this hamster was neither agile nor did he appear strong. If he was a minor who hadn’t received a blessing, it would be a perfectly understandable situation.
Even Melty’s Gift, which Angel claimed to have seen directly, had many suspicious aspects. Whether it was a real Gift in the first place, or if Angel had just recognized that he was a new beast-person and explained a special dish they often ate, was unclear.
At that moment, Melty’s curled-up back wriggled and moved. Calix couldn’t help but laugh at the sight of him clearly trying to crawl away. He extended his foot. His long leg easily landed on top of Melty’s rounded back.
“Where are you trying to sneak away to, like a thief in the night?”
“……”
Melty looked up at Calix with a tearful expression, his cheek pressed against the carpet. His plan to escape secretly had instantly fallen apart. Calix chuckled as Melty buried his face back into the carpet, and removed his foot from Melty’s back.
“Melty Crosel. I think we need to have a talk.”
Wriggle, wriggle.
As soon as the weight pressing on his back disappeared, Melty moved forward, forward. With a sigh at the subtle movement, Calix bent his waist, leaned his upper body, and grabbed both of Melty’s ankles. As soon as he pulled, Melty was dragged along helplessly.
“Are we not going to talk?”
“Yes, yes! I will, so…!”
Calix released both ankles without hesitation at the voice that shouted while struggling and shaking off his legs. Melty, whose feet touched the carpet as soon as they were released, quickly moved both his legs and arms to escape, and pressed his body tightly against the wall on the opposite side. Calix rested his chin on his hand with his legs crossed, watching Melty as he bristled like a cornered cat, and threw out a question.
“So, what’s your reason for running away?”
“What about you! What, what are you planning! This, this way of confining someone is a very, very bad thing… It’s a bad thing!”
Melty, who was trembling but still said everything he wanted to say, continued to glare at Calix with eyes full of wariness. Calix let out a deflated sound, finding the situation absurd.
“Confine? Who? Me?”
“Y-y-yes! Why else would I be in the same bed as you?!”
Melty shot back at Calix’s incredulous question. Examining Melty, who was pressed so tightly against the wall as if he wanted to become one with it, Calix continued in a calm tone.
“Is it wrong that I kindly brought you to the bed when you suddenly fainted after saying you would show your Gift? I couldn’t leave an unconscious person alone in an unfamiliar room.”
In reality, it was to prevent the possibility of him running away, but Calix had no intention of honestly telling Melty everything. Delivering somewhat packaged words, Calix continued.
“If something were to go wrong or a problem arose, wouldn’t there need to be someone nearby to take action?”
“Th-that… But still…”
Calix’s explanation was highly convincing. Melty’s voice gradually became smaller as he mumbled his lips at the plausible explanation. He concluded that the thick arm that had been placed on top of his body was just due to the other’s bad sleeping habit, and bowed his head.
Watching him with an apparent look of gauging the situation, Calix raised the corner of his mouth and grinned. Since he had responded to Melty’s question, it was now his turn to ask a question.
“So, as it was yesterday, why do you keep getting so scared? I don’t particularly recall making any big mistakes toward you.”
“I-I know everything!”
Calix hardened his expression at Melty’s voice, which was delivered with a strong tone, and his gaze full of wariness. In his mind, a list of things that others shouldn’t know about among the things he had done so far quickly surfaced. Unaware of this, Melty closed his eyes tightly, clenched his fists, and raised his voice.
“Y-you’re planning to eat me, aren’t you!”
