Chapter 120

But the little boy answered completely off-topic.

“I’m annoyed.”

“…?”

“You… who do you think you are, touching me whenever you feel like—!”

Thirteen-year-old Lycian, fuming and huffing in outrage… wasn’t intimidating in the slightest.

If anything, he was overwhelmingly adorable—like a snappy little fox cub baring its teeth.

“So cute~!”

“…!”

The moment I pulled him into another hug, he froze stiff all over, just like before.

It couldn’t possibly be his first time being hugged, so why was he this awkward about it?

Maybe little Lycian was the shy type, deep down.

He was so ridiculously cute it made laughter bubble up out of me.

Trembling, Lycian tried to threaten me.

“You… I’m really not going to let this slide.”

“Yes, yes~ I’m so scared~”

I planted another quick kiss on his round cheek.

He jerked violently and flared up at once.

“Stop treating me like a child! I’m thirteen!”

“Oh really? I’m twenty-one! Want to call me noona?”

“Y-You…!”

The indignant little prince sputtered as I ruffled his hair at will. It was so soft it felt like cotton candy beneath my fingers.

“You’re only twenty-one and you’re already acting all high and mighty! I can live for a thousand years, you know!”

“Wow~ really? That’s amazing~”

He didn’t know yet. That half of those thousand years would be given to me, cutting it down to five hundred.

“And I’m royalty! Your attitude is outrageously disrespectful! Show proper courtesy at once!”

“Oh my, is that so? How dare I be so insolent before Your Noble Imperial Highness…! Please forgive me~ Your Highness~!”

“You— you…!!”

No matter what he said, I didn’t so much as flinch. The arrogant little boy looked ready to lose his mind, stamping his feet in frustration.

I was probably the first person to treat Lycian—who had clearly grown up without ever being contradicted—like this.

Snickering, I pulled out some bread from my inventory. Soft ciabatta, generously spread with my special strawberry jam.

“Your Hiiiighness, are you not hungry? Pray accept this humble offering of strawberry jam bread! I assure you, it contains no poison~”

“I-I said I don’t need it! I’m not hungry—!”

Grrrrr—

“….”

That thunderous growl had unmistakably come from Lycian’s stomach.

‘Pfft—hahaha!’

I burst out laughing inside and casually held the strawberry jam bread out to him.

“It’s seriously good. Just one bite, okay? If it tastes bad, you can cut off my wrist.”

“W-What kind of horrific thing are you saying?!”

The little brat shouted at me, then snatched the bread right out of my hand.

He must have been hungry after all, because after sneaking a glance at me, he took a bite.

“…!”

His eyes went wide.

I smiled to myself and asked, “Good, right?”

“…….”

It clearly was—but he couldn’t bring himself to admit it, only glaring at me instead.

I burst into laughter.

“You’ll choke if you eat just bread. Have some milk too.”

When I pulled out a bottle of milk from my inventory and handed it to him, he grabbed it without a word this time.

Even his sulky expression looked unbearably cute to me.

“Wow, you finished everything. You must’ve been starving.”

“…….”

Thirty minutes later, Lycian had neatly polished off two pieces of bread and a whole bottle of milk.

Both of his cheeks were faintly flushed.

I couldn’t tell whether it was from embarrassment—or simply because he’d regained some energy after eating.

“…Did you make the bread too?”

“Hm? I bought the bread. I made the strawberry jam.”

“…You can do a lot.”

Oh… was that just a compliment?

Our little tyrant complimented someone? He must’ve liked the strawberry jam bread that much.

“Shall we head out soon? Ah, just me for now. You stay here and rest. I’ll go back alone and try escaping from the witch’s castle.”

“…? What are you talking about?”

Right. He didn’t know about the subspace.

I briefly explained my ability and this place to him.

Lycian’s expression turned oddly complicated, like he’d just heard something absurd.

“You… you really do have all kinds of strange abilities. Are you actually someone sent by a god?”

“I told you, didn’t I? I’m a saintess, you know!”

Saying that about myself made my whole body shrivel with embarrassment, but if I wanted to earn the trust of this wary little fox, it was the fastest way.

Yet Lycian’s reaction was nothing like I expected.

“Even if you really were a saintess sent by a god, I don’t believe any of that nonsense about gods loving humans or watching over them.”

…Huh?

“Logically speaking, there’s no way beings superior to humans would be that benevolent. To them, humans probably look like animals that can’t even live a hundred years. The way humans look at cows, pigs, or chickens.”

What is this?

Lycian isn’t a fanatic?!

“Well, maybe gods might find humans cute. Like pets. But they’d never love them as equals.”

The boy folded his arms with a scoff. He looked unbearably arrogant.

‘Good grief….’

Looking at this insolent little prince who even dared to belittle the gods, I became certain.

Maybe not other gods—but the three goddesses of the Parakai Church truly must love humanity.

After all, they sent me back to the past to save this outrageously defiant child!

‘If thirteen-year-old Lycian was this rebellious, when on earth did he turn into such a devout fanatic? That’s bizarre.’

In any case, I needed to head outside. It seemed the ⟨First Mission⟩ quest would only be completed once I safely escorted Lycian somewhere secure.

‘Which means I have to escape the witch’s castle first.’

After firmly warning Lycian, I opened the secret door.

“Don’t wander around. Stay inside this house, got it?”

“Stop treating me like a child. It’s irritating.”

“Oh, of course~ As you command, Your Imperial Highness~”

“You…! I swear—!”

I winked at the furious little brat and activated Morpheus’s sacred relic.

‘Transform!’

In an instant, my body shrank rapidly until I became a tiny, snow-white hamster no bigger than a palm.

“Squeak! Squee!”

‘I’ll be back soon, so behave!’

Waving my little paw at Lycian, who was staring at me in shock, I darted out beyond the white door.

……And when I returned to the underground prison—

‘Eeeek!’

There were over thirty of the witch’s minions swarming the place!

As expected, they weren’t human.

They resembled purple ghosts, draped in thin, fluttering robes. Their faces were hidden beneath deep hoods.

Skeletal arms extended from their sleeves, and instead of feet, they floated eerily above the ground.

When I used the system to perform something like an appraisal, this is what appeared:

‘Ugh, this is terrifying….’

It didn’t seem like they could perceive the secret door. The white door had appeared in midair, yet they showed no reaction.

And luckily, they hadn’t noticed me either—a tiny hamster!

Before I could catch their attention, I scurried out of the stone chamber at top speed.

The corridor was just as crowded with minions. But who was I?

A small and nimble hamster!

‘A hamster! Never! Fails to escape!’

Hyaah—!

Boing!

I ran and ran up the stairs leading to the surface.

‘A-Arrived!’

At last, I saw light in the distance.

‘Just a little farther!’

Ah, I should’ve eaten some bread too.

Suppressing my hunger, I marched forward bravely and with dignity.

And finally—

‘I made it!’

I was out of the underground!

Good. Now all that’s left is to escape this castle.

‘Let’s go, hamster. You can do this.’

As I scampered down the dark corridor, I stole a glance at the floating map in the air.

But then—

‘…? Huh? Wait.’

The purple dot that had been unmoving on the top floor… had disappeared.

The purple dot marked the witch’s location.

‘W-Where is it? Where did she go?’

I hurriedly hid behind a pile of clutter and examined the map more carefully.

The purple dot—

‘Gasp…!’

—was blinking as it moved, coming straight toward me.