Chapter 9
Settling into the shelf where the book was tucked, Ebi tapped the spine with her tiny paw and gave Olga a pleading look.
“Chyu-chyut. (Please take this one out.)”
“…!”
Olga, who had been quietly covering her mouth, hurried over and pulled out the book Ebi wanted, letting out a half-laugh, half-cooing sound.
“Oh~ our little squirrel likes this book? You’re saying, ‘please read it to me,’ right?”
“…Chyut.”
Ebi nodded reluctantly.
“Then of course I should read it for you. Let’s see…”
Olga pulled out the glossy book from the shelf.
“The title says ‘The Baby Bear Beastman’s Fatal Temptation.’”
The cover proudly read “Educational Book for Children.”
‘Why would a grand, dignified ducal library have something like this?’
Ebi settled into Olga’s arm and peered at the book.
“Once upon a time, there lived a small and insignificant baby bear beastman.”
Ebi glared at the bear in the picture. A bear complaining about being small? Really?
“The baby bear was so tiny and frail that no one ever noticed him. He was almost stepped on countless times.”
“…”
“Then one day, a witch found the baby bear.”
The illustration showed the witch reluctantly taking in the baby bear that was about to be kicked.
And so, with his deadly wobble, the baby bear charmed the witch and her daughters. Gradually, they all came to love him deeply.
“The baby bear, now part of the witch’s family, used his newly awakened blessing to swindle those who bullied the witch. He then used the leftover money to help others and earn praise. At first, he felt guilty, but in time, for his family’s sake, he stopped caring.”
“…”
You okay there, baby bear?
“The witch loved the baby bear dearly. He was so perfect that no man could ever compare.”
…Huh?
“So the witch handed a pouch to the baby bear’s boyfriend and said, ‘You sly thing. Take this money and break up with my daughter.’”
“…?!?!”
“What, not enough for you?”
Suddenly, the story went off the rails!
In the next picture, the baby bear’s boyfriend smirked and placed two more envelopes on top of the witch’s pouch.
“I’ll triple your offer as dowry—please accept me as your son-in-law.”
“Beep…!”
And… what did the witch say to that?!
“To be continued in the next volume…”
Olga sighed in disappointment.
“Oh my, they ended it right when it was getting interesting. Truly an educational book, don’t you think, Lady Squirrel?”
“…”
Ebi didn’t want to admit it, but… it was surprisingly educational.
“You know, in the northwest, there’s a folk belief that whatever book you read as a child decides your future. You picked a wonderful one, Lady Squirrel.”
“…”
Ebi stared down at her paw, wondering how she managed to choose this of all books from the entire library.
After flipping through the pages for a while, Olga pointed to a passage.
“Ah, look here. It explains what ‘blessings’ are. You might learn about your own blessing too.”
Ebi’s eyes dimmed.
‘It’s written in tiny, bean-sized footnotes…’
Still, the explanation went like this:
A beastman’s “blessing,” also called a special ability, was as natural to them as magic was to a wizard.
It usually manifested soon after awakening as a beastman—typically within a few months.
With proper guidance, it could appear even sooner.
But the book said nothing about what happened if a blessing never appeared—
as if such a mutation simply didn’t exist.
“…”
Noticing Ebi’s crestfallen look, Olga flipped another page and said gently,
“Should we perhaps go see the Duke later?”
“Chyu?”
“He might assign you a teacher to help you learn about your blessing. The Duke is kind to you, after all.”
Kind?
He was literally planning to turn me into gloves at first, you know. Hmph.
“Look here. It explains the types of blessings in more detail.”
“Chyu.”
Ebi focused on the illustration of the baby bear manifesting its blessing as Olga continued reading aloud.
“Blessings differ depending on one’s aura strength. The stronger the aura, the more it subdues others.”
Ebi immediately thought of Duke Noctis’s blessing—
the shadow wolves that turned even his enemies’ shadows into wolves.
It was terrifying.
With a single command, his pack could overwhelm entire battalions.
It was a fearsome power, yet befitting a wolf who led his pack.
“But beastmen with weaker auras tend to have more practical blessings.”
“…”
“These blessings take many forms, usually reflecting something familiar or natural to the person.”
“Chyuuu?”
Ebi tilted her head, confused. Olga tapped her chin in thought.
“For example, the ducal physician grew up surrounded by patients—his mother was a healer. Because he was so familiar with healing, he developed a blessing that lets him diagnose someone’s body just by looking.”
I see.
Then what kind of blessing would I get?
No matter how she thought about it, she didn’t have any memories suited to a “good” blessing.
Maybe… just a good sense of smell? Or better night vision than others?
Still, she wanted a real blessing—something meaningful.
But she refused to get her hopes up.
If you expect too much, the disappointment only grows—just like with Count Rusten.
So whatever blessing she got, she’d be happy with it.
Ebi lowered her head quietly, and Olga blinked, unsure what to say.
Then, as if making up her mind, Olga swallowed hard and called to her.
“Lady Squirrel.”
“Chyu?”
“Let’s go see the Duke right now.”
“Chyuu?”
“I’ll ask him to assign you a teacher for your blessing.”
“Chyu-chyut.”
As if he’d give a teacher to a mere freeloader.
But the suggestion of seeing the Duke again did appeal to her.
This could be my chance to make up for yesterday—time to get closer again!
Quickly hopping onto Olga’s palm, Ebi pointed toward the door.
“Chyu! (Let’s go!)”
* * *
The library was quite far from the Duke’s office, so they passed by plenty of servants and staff on the way.
But today, there seemed to be even more people than usual.
‘They look like outsiders… who could they be? …Ah.’
Among the crowd, Ebi spotted the maid who had almost stepped on her yesterday.
“Chyut-chyu? (That lady?)”
The maid noticed Ebi at the same time. Recognizing her, the maid straightened up with a look of solemn duty and nodded—as if to say, Don’t worry, I’ve got this.
Then she suddenly raised her voice for everyone to hear:
“Lady Squirrel coming through! If you don’t want to get hurt, move aside! She’s the Duke’s honored guest!”
“Oh, oh! Lady Squirrel’s coming through!”
“Everyone, halt!”
People immediately cleared the way with surprising discipline.
Even those about to step out from the adjoining corridor froze in place as if a red light had stopped them.
Ebi’s jaw dropped open.
“Chyu… chyut…?”
What’s happening?! Miss Knight, do something!
“Hmm…?”
Olga looked just as startled—but instead of stopping it, she raised her hand proudly, showing off Ebi perched atop her palm, and walked forward at a leisurely, graceful pace.
‘Gyaah! Olga, what are you doing?!’
With everyone staring, Ebi’s face grew hot enough to explode.
‘Stop! Please just hurry up and go!’
She shook Olga’s finger frantically, but Olga misunderstood it as fussing and gently patted Ebi’s back to calm her down.
‘No, that’s not what I meant!’
Ebi felt her face burning. Then she spotted the outsiders again—
whispering among themselves as they stared at her.
Her nose turned bright red.
‘Ughhh, this is so embarrassing…’
She hid her face in her tiny arms.
Olga whispered reassuringly,
“Don’t worry. They’re probably from the tea merchants. The Duke’s family is hosting a charity event soon, and tea is the centerpiece.”
Ebi’s ears twitched.
A tea charity event?
…Wait. Is that the same event that ruined the Duke’s reputation in my past life?
She remembered Count Rusten’s smug grin as he mocked that “infamous” historical fiasco.
“If those people are here, the Duke’s probably in the conference room, not his office. Let’s go, Lady Squirrel.”
Olga turned the corner.
* * *
After enduring humiliation and hardship, they finally arrived before the conference room.
Ebi sat atop Olga’s hand as the maid carefully knocked.
“Excuse me, my lord.”
“What is it?”
Inside were the Duke, Bayard, and several retainers already in discussion—
clearly about preparations for the charity event.
Realizing this, Olga hesitated.
It wasn’t a great time to interrupt, but since they’d already been granted entry, backing out awkwardly would look worse.
So she took a breath and spoke up despite the tension.
“M-my lord, forgive the interruption. It concerns Lady Squirrel’s education. Might I request someone be assigned to teach her about blessings…?”
“Hmph. You interrupted our meeting for that?”
The retainers looked displeased.
“The Duke is dealing with far more pressing matters. Do not disturb him over trifles.”
“…That’s fine.”
It was the Duke’s calm voice.
The retainers turned in surprise.
“She should at least understand the basics of being a beastman. I’ll consider an appropriate tutor.”
Ebi’s eyes widened.
He’s actually giving me a teacher? Maybe he’s not such a bad person after all…?
But the Duke frowned as her eyes sparkled.
“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m only doing this so no one can accuse me of neglecting you.”
That’s literally what bragging about your kindness is, though.
Still—this was huge!
She’d thought just being allowed to stay here was a miracle, but now she’d get a teacher too!
Ebi’s fluffy tail began to sway with delight.
The Duke’s expression, tense until a moment ago, softened slightly in satisfaction.
The subtle change didn’t go unnoticed.
The retainers, startled, turned their eyes toward Ebi.
“How fortunate you are, little squirrel. His Grace is truly generous.”
“Look, my lord, even the squirrel’s eyes sparkle with gratitude.”
“Such an intelligent creature indeed…”
“The squirrel is—”
Squirrel, squirrel, squirrel.
Ebi couldn’t take it anymore. She leapt from Olga’s hand onto the table.
‘I’m not just a squirrel—I’m a flying squirrel! And I have a name!’
She’d let it slide before, but not this time.
If she wanted her identity respected, she had to speak up.
Her gaze darted around the table until she spotted something that could help.
‘That’ll do nicely!’
