The cage was to be kept in the underground of the Great Tower. The small room, about five meters across, was dim and chilly. Next door lay the chamber of the Frost Orb and cold seeped through the walls and floor. My breath drifted in white clouds.
At the far end, a desk held the cage. Inside, a single mouse sat with its eyes closed. The room held only the three of us: Pauline-san, Safi, and myself.
Even Rata sensed that someone had arrived.
“…What is it you want?”
At last, the mouse opened its eyes. And a man’s voice came from its mouth.
Pauline-san stepped back a few paces, her eyes widening.
“This… this mouse… is speaking?”
I nodded and gestured toward the cage.
“This is Ratbone Rata, a monster. Safi set a trap—well, technically a mousetrap—inside the Flocia Temple, and he got caught there. We brought him here.”
I had sent a letter beforehand, but Pauline-san stood frozen, pinching a lock of her silver hair between her fingers.
Well… that was understandable.
After all, who would expect a monster that had tormented us so fiercely to be caught in a temple’s mousetrap? Even I hadn’t imagined it. When I last saw him, he had the sharp eyes of a sly merchant… and now he was a tiny mouse.
The gold coin trembled, and Solana’s voice echoed in my mind.
『 A strategist undone by his own schemes, Ratbone Rata.』
The goddess’s tone carried a hint of mischief. For efficiency, all the gods had returned to the gold coin and the horn, conserving their magic.
“You tried to stop Rion as he headed for the tower during Flocia’s final battle. Though defeated, you escaped and now aimed for the Odis Temple in Flocia. Using your transformation ability, you snuck in as a small creature, hoping to sow further chaos. But—”
“Kkik!”
The mouse clicked its tongue in annoyance.
Solana continued.
“What you didn’t expect, however, was that thanks to Rion’s sister, Luisia, the Frost Orb which Ymir should have destroyed, had already been restored. Because of that, you were right beneath the temple… directly under the seal’s cold aura, and you grew disoriented. And when you fled into the underground chamber… you walked straight into a trap.”
The mouse, Rata, rolled his golden eyes toward us.
“…To be caught in a trap this simple.”
He muttered, shaking his small body in self-mockery. Perhaps he even shrugged.
Pauline-san stepped forward, questioning.
“Even though I’d heard the report, I never imagined… this is the monster?”
The mouse’s fur was a dull gray, about the size of a cat. Its golden eyes were sharp and venomous.
Pauline-san planted her staff on the floor, steadying herself.
“Little one, Safi… is it truly safe to keep him in this cage? If I’m not wrong, he’s a troublesome monster, able to change his form at will, right?”
Safi pouted, her green hair bouncing as she crossed her arms.
“Of course it’s safe! Ever since we discovered what this mouse really is, it was—well, a huge ordeal! I used every bit of my skill and all the gods’ magic to make this cage so sturdy that even a hundred giants couldn’t break it! And as for his transformation ability? It’s sealed with divine magic and my runes!”
The dwarf blacksmith’s pride practically steamed from her. I remembered the nights on our journey, the ringing of hammer on metal deep into the night. I smiled at her with gratitude.
“Thank you. After all, this mousetrap was your creation to begin with. I’m sure it’s more than sturdy enough.”
“Y-yes, of course.”
Safi said, puffing out her chest.
Pauline-san blinked, eyes wide as she looked between Safi and me.
“Ah… I see.”
The princess murmured, as if coming to some realization.
…? I wasn’t sure what she meant.
Meanwhile, Rata opened and closed his tiny mouth in irritation. For such a small body, his oversized fangs were a little intimidating.
“So?”
His golden eyes glinted sharply. Rata continued.
“What do you want? I am the slave trader known as ‘The Merchant’ and I’d like to welcome you to my house. Though… it is a bit cramped. Still, the plain, rugged cage is not my responsibility.”
A fierce, almost intimidating presence radiated from him. I stepped forward, positioning myself in front of Safi and Pauline-san.
“I’ll ask again. Ymir said in Flocia, ‘From now on, it’s competition.’”
Rata remained silent.
“I think he’s planning to attack us soon. I want to know when and where he’ll strike.”
The mouse let out a mocking chuckle.
“You think I’d tell you?”
…Well, of course not.
After all, the real reason we brought Rata to this room was to show him to Pauline-san. The questions were just an afterthought.
During our journey from Flocia, we’d asked him the same questions over and over. According to Loki, it didn’t seem like Rata was hiding anything. It is most likely that he simply didn’t know.
For a monster, Ymir—their creator—was absolute. There was no discussion, no negotiation; only Ymir could know his own plans.
The mouse snorted.
“…Oh? A new divine presence, is it? If you’ve awakened Freyja, have you also learned of Odin’s betrayal?”
I forced myself to remain expressionless.
Rata erupted into laughter.
“Kkik! Just like a thousand years ago. You will fail, driven by distrust and greed.”
His voice carried so strongly that the guards peered through the doorway.
“Slaves… the very essence of them… I made a fortune! Watching them ripped from their families, screaming and crying… so weak, so foolish… it was glorious!”
Pauline-san’s grip on her rod tightened until her knuckles whitened, anger radiating from her.
Safi’s face had turned pale.
This monster—the so-called slave trader, their de facto manager—was before us.
I drew a steadying breath.
“Rata.”
The laughter stopped instantly.
“I’ve wanted to ask for some time. Why… why do monsters attack us? Ever since the age of myths?”
“You displease us. But… kuk… from the perspective of a titan like Ymir, this world itself was born of stolen creative power. If we don’t tear it apart, carve our anger into it, we are not satisfied. And those of us created by Ymir… we follow the same path…”
I recalled the scenes of the myth. Odin had taken Ymir’s heart—his power of creation—and begun to shape the world. For Ymir, it was vengeance. What had been taken should be reclaimed. Odin, too, had his reasons. If Ymir hadn’t been stopped, the gods themselves would have been destroyed. He was a terrifying creator who devoured his own creations.
The monster’s grin shifted, becoming wistful and self-mocking.
“…The primordial titan, huh.”
The mouse rose on his hind legs and stared at the ceiling.
“Rion, was it? My senses as a monster are… unusually unsettled.”
“…Huh?”
“A monster’s intuition. Soon, creatures will emerge from the dungeons. Not just in the Royal Capital… but from every dungeon across the land.”
The unexpected words left me momentarily stunned. Not just the capital, not just a single city… It will be a movement on a much larger scale?
From the gold coin, Solana’s voice rang out, demanding an explanation.
『Why the sudden confession? What’s your intention? 』
“The secret to being a shrewd merchant… is repaying debts. The debt for sparing my life will be settled this way… the rest is revenge.”
Rata narrowed his golden eyes.
“I never liked Ymir to begin with. The slave organization I built… it’s finished now. ‘To devour everything,’ they said—how fitting.”
And with that, Rata fell silent.
We left the underground chamber, and returning to the light above brought a small sense of relief.
Pauline-san broke the silence first.
“Through the Frost Orb, we should also contact the Odis temples across the land. Ymir’s offensive may have reached them sooner than expected.”We nodded to each other and moved quickly, aware that time was already against us.
This is translated by Yume Neiji. Kindly read at yumeineijiworks.wordpress.com.
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