I became a hamster.
No, what kind of nonsense is this in the middle of the night? But still, here I was.
—”Squeak! (Damn it! Again!)”
I touched my head. But what I felt was the soft, golden fur covering my entire scalp. My panic spiked.
‘How long has it been since I finally turned back into a human, and now this crap again?!’
I couldn’t even hear my own voice. Instead, the small, powerless paws of a hamster flailed soundlessly in the still air of the city. It meant there was no ambient noise.
As I was about to freak out and rush to a decision, the familiar system window flickered before me.
The moment the bluish light enveloped me, my vision shifted in an instant. The cityscape of just a moment ago disappeared, replaced by a mansion I hadn’t seen in a long time.
—”Squeak! (System? Is this the system?)”
But, fair enough, I had some unfinished business here. Temporarily forgetting my crisis, I urgently searched for the system window.
Leaving without so much as a proper farewell had been weighing on my mind. Even though it had always been an annoying presence, it had still worked hard to keep me alive. I wanted to at least say thanks. That no matter what it was, I appreciated it looking out for me.
As I hesitated, unable to find the right words, I opened my mouth.
—”Squeak. Tsk. (System, so what happened while I was gone…?)”
—”……”
‘……Huh?’
Doesn’t something feel different? Was it always… this ugly?
I hesitated, then cautiously checked my reflection.
But the system window was still glitching out, flashing distorted, grotesque faces at me. Even though the program was malfunctioning, its hideous face somehow looked even worse than before.
‘Yeah. Looks like you’ve been through a lot too.’
I sent it a fleeting look of sympathy before turning to check another window.
[Miracle Restoration in Progress…]
[Restoration Progress: 11%]
There was no need to dwell on sorrow or sentimentality.
The foundation of my current being was completely different from before. Half-hamster, half-human—that was precisely what the “Miracle Restoration” had fixed me into.
Of course, once I chose to live in this form, the system no longer bothered to intervene with me. That’s why I had assumed the miracle restoration process had wrapped up without issue.
But for some unknown reason, I was now sweating profusely, even tearing up, as the miracle restoration process had suddenly stalled at a mere 11% instead of the expected 50%.
In other words, from now on, the amount of time I could stay in human form was going to be strictly limited.
—”Tsk. (Hey.)”
It had been a long time since I last shed tears.
I clenched my little paws and shot a forceful energy blast toward the sky. The grotesque face of the system dodged my attack by flickering in and out of existence, warping and vanishing only to reappear elsewhere.
Then, at that moment, I felt a familiar presence. A large hand approached and gently touched my side.
“……Is this a dream?”
—”Tsk. (I wish it were just a dream.)”
I took a deep breath and activated the Messenger of Love.
Since Kyle’s hamster-language comprehension was basically limited to only understanding what he wanted to hear, I had no choice but to rely on the messenger’s power to explain my current situation.
But then—
—”……Huh?”
No, what was going on?
The messenger’s text was all garbled, like corrupted data torn apart into fragments. I glanced back and forth between the zeros and ones flashing across the pitch-black screen before shaking my head.
—”Squeak, squeak! (I can’t afford to be stuck like this, not now!)”
“Shu, Shu. Calm down.”
—”Tsk! Tsk tsk! (Look who’s telling me to calm down, with a face like that!)”
He carefully lifted my tiny body with both hands, being mindful of any possible injuries.
And just like that, for the first time in a long while, I found myself sitting in Kyle’s cupped palms. Yet, despite the frustration still simmering inside me, I couldn’t help but stare at him in stunned silence.
Oddly enough, despite the gravity of the situation, there was a faint smile on his face.
—”Tsk! (Wipe that smirk off your face!)”
Without hesitation, I balled up my little hamster fist and punched him square on the nose.
Kyle, being Kyle, barely flinched and instead leaned in even closer, brushing his lips against my forehead.
At that moment, he looked genuinely, unmistakably happy.
Damn it. What a tragic comedy—an utterly doomed hamster disaster…
“I don’t know what happened, but you’re ridiculously cute.”
—”Tsk. (Ugh, I hate how much I love that face.)”
“Alright. Want to head home for now? I think your stuff’s still in the storage room… But first, let’s stop by the bookstore. Tell them to bring the books to the house.”
Kyle left the room without waiting for my reply, moving with the same natural ease as if this kind of absurdity was an everyday occurrence.
Honestly, at this point, it was easier to just roll with reality rather than resist it.
Sitting in his hands, I let out a quiet chuckle.
At the very least, it seemed I still had some remnants of human laughter left in me.
***
I blinked as I gazed at the glistening beast meat, the fresh tomato salad, the golden-brown gratin, and the fish dish topped with lemon slices.
A true feast. It was as if every delicacy the North had to offer had been gathered on this table.
But…
……
I lowered my gaze to the small bowl set before me. On the elegantly decorated plate lay exactly three walnuts, two almonds, and five macadamia nuts, neatly arranged.
—”Tsk. (What is this?)”
I shot up and delivered a protest kick in Kyle’s direction. But he merely looked at me with deeply sympathetic eyes before lowering his head to nuzzle me gently.
“I’m sorry, Shu. Today’s dishes are heavily seasoned and high in fat—apparently, they’re not suitable for pet beasts.”
—”Tsk tsk. (Excuse me? Pet beast?)”
“But I scoured every shop and brought back the best quality nuts I could find, so please make do with these for now. I’ll prepare something more fitting for dinner.”
—”Tsk tsk tsk! Tsk tsk! (I’m going to turn back into a human anyway, so what does it matter?!)”
Regardless of how much I struggled, Kyle calmly picked up a macadamia nut and held it to my mouth. Instead of eating it, I sank my teeth into his finger and glared at him.
“You remind me of when we first met. You bit me just like this back then, too.”
Kyle, lost in his nostalgic trip down memory lane, was completely unfazed.
‘Life is really not easy…’
Feeling drained, I wriggled out of his hands, plopped down in front of my bowl, and hugged an almond, gnawing at its edge.
Judging by the taste, he hadn’t been lying about searching through the shops. It was top-quality.
‘The North really is a foodie’s paradise!’
And at that moment—
A flash of blue light crackled like a spark, and a blurry system window flickered into view.
[.·´¯(>_<)´¯·.]
‘Oh. Your face is back?’
—”Tsk tsk. (Hey, System. You okay?)”
[ㅁi아&ㅎrl요$]
Narrowing my eyes, I stared hard at the distorted, glitching text.
It was garbled, but I could roughly make out that it was trying to say sorry.
‘Forget the apology. When am I turning back?’
[정ㅅr$L진*ro중]
Alright. Restoration in progress.
‘So how long will it take?’
[……]
The connection cut off just like that.
I let out a sigh and kicked at the floor in frustration. This wasn’t some trivial matter like having my ice cream stolen—it was my entire body being taken and given back at will!
—”Tsk! Ugh! (My human rights are being trampled!)”
Kyle, who had been watching me struggle with a pitiful gaze, placed a thinly sliced piece of meat into my bowl.
“Don’t get too upset, Shu.”
Looking at the neatly trimmed, juicy piece of meat, I couldn’t help but crack a smile. Feeling slightly embarrassed, I puffed up my cheeks, exhaled a deep breath, and sat back down.
—”Tsk. (Well, at least the meat is good.)”
“Eat plenty.”
Kyle gently stroked my ear with his fingertip. It was a kind and affectionate touch.
Yeah. As long as you’re by my side, it’s not like every obstacle or unsolved problem magically disappears, but at least I don’t have to be on edge all the time.
At the very least, the happiness of this moment wasn’t just some meaningless data—it was undeniably mine.
—”Tsk. (That too.)”
“This?”
—”Tsk! (No, not that!)”
“Alright, alright. So you like this one.”
Fine, whatever. At least on a day when I was stressed enough to die, he didn’t push me away.
***
“Then, I’ll assume today’s meeting is canceled.”
“Yes.”
The first thing Kyle did after finishing his meal was cancel all the scheduled meetings for the day.
No one questioned why. Maybe it was because they’d seen me twitching earlier and decided not to ask, or maybe it was just that Kyle was so authoritative that no one dared. Either way, he called James over and had him reorganize the schedule.
The reason given was that I had been sick the night before.
Now almost fully recovered, James acknowledged Kyle’s orders with an exhale and a subtle furrow of his brow.
“……Understood. I’ll take my leave now. But…”
Just as he was about to leave after organizing his documents, he hesitated for a moment and stole a glance at me.
“Is Lord Shu feeling unwell?” James asked.
Kyle answered on my behalf, “Just some discomfort in the joints. Shu will probably be stuck in bed for a while. If anything urgent comes up, relay it through me.”
The moment I turned to look at their faces, I caught sight of James’s expression and saw him press his lips together tightly.
At a glance, his face said, “Well… if that’s how you choose to handle it, then so be it.”
……Wait. I felt like there was some major misunderstanding here.
“Shu.”
After James left, Kyle lifted me into his arms again. Looking up at him, I let out a small sigh and smiled faintly.
“I only handled the urgent matters. The rest can wait until later. I can’t leave you alone like this.”
—”Tsk. (Kyle…)”
To be honest, I was a little touched. Though, really, there wasn’t any need for him to be so worried. It wasn’t like I hadn’t spent a day or two living as a hamster before.
—”Tsk. (I’m fine, so don’t worry and go do your work.)”
I lightly tapped his thumb twice in reassurance and let out a soft chuckle. A well-raised Northern Great Duke shouldn’t be afraid of a little hamster trouble, right?
“First, let’s head to the storage room.”
—”Tsk? (Huh?)”
Without another word, Kyle immediately began walking with a determined stride.
Perhaps his pace was a bit too commanding because a passing servant hesitated before cautiously asking, “Lord, where are you headed?”
Kyle simply responded that he had business in the storage room while securely cradling me in his arms. The servant’s expression remained completely unreadable.
“Please don’t go yourself! Let us handle it instead!”
One particularly bold servant blurted out in alarm, but Kyle, in his usual firm voice, shut him down immediately.
“I have important matters to handle. Do not interfere.”
Bang.
With that, the door to the storage room shut behind us.
As I let out a deep sigh, I curled up inside Kyle’s arms.
A human…
No. A hamster’s life.
