The Northern Grand Duke’s Hamster - Chapter 2

Hamster Sounds in the Middle of the Night (2) Cashew.

After reincarnating, my name became Cashew.

…Who the hell picked it?

Out of the many names in the world, what was the reason for it and why was it Cashew?

It would be no different from giving people names like kimchi stew, fried rice, omurice, seaweed rice noodles, chopped steak, stir-fried crab curry…

‘…I should stop.’

After all, since I became a damn hamster, my human rights were renounced.

I grew up like a cactus in a wasteland, I released a game, and now I’m a hamster. I couldn’t even mention wealth and fame. The regrets which I forgot for a while began to creep in once again.

Right. There was a saying that life is better even if you roll in a field full of dog poop because at least you’re lucky to be alive. Even if it’s in the form of a novel that I read while I was half asleep and dropped halfway through.

But why!

Out of all those characters!

A rodent!

A rodent!!!

I had to become a damn rodent!

[Synchronisation complete!]

Alright. Say something. Let’s leave the hundreds of characters behind and explain why I became a hamster.

[That was the only vacancy! ~(˘▾˘~)]

Are you teasing me?

As I was grinding my teeth, Kyle carefully sat me back down in my new cage.

“Cashew? Why don’t you have any energy? Do you want to rest?”

‘That’s right. There’s a mountain of things to think about right now, so don’t even bother.’

I kicked Kyle’s palm with my little foot. I need to talk to that damn system, get lost!

But he tilted his head and looked at me with a serious expression, then carefully put me into the new house he had prepared in advance.

“It’s not enough, but I have prepared a room for you. Rest here.”

Kyle smiled. It was a smile that didn’t fit his cold face, a very friendly smile.

‘What’s wrong? That doesn’t suit you.’

Let’s just act normally.

I grunted and looked around the hamster house that he had prepared for me in advance.

‘This is too much…’

It was way too much.

The three-story hamster cage was higher than the table.

The frame was made of solid wood, and the roof was arched. It was even decorated with a gorgeous red jewel in the centre.

Inside, there were meticulously decorated cushions, a fodder bowl that sparkled bright enough to be mistaken for an ornament from a distance, sawdust that looked soft, all kinds of toys, slides, and wheels…

It was luxurious.

I’d never seen a hamster house so extravagant in my life. In addition, the decorations engraved on each frame were too shiny.

‘…You put gold in a hamster’s house?’

I used to live in a narrow studio apartment, where the window on the opposite side seemed to break every time I opened the door. Seeing such a three-story house, I was so lost. Of course, by hamster standards.

[The Grand Duke is the third wealthiest nobleman in the Empire.]

So it seems. To make such a house for only one hamster, one must’ve been quite wealthy or crazy about rodents… He must be a rich nutcase.

“Anyway, you should rest. I’ll come to greet you tomorrow.”

I took a deep breath. I didn’t nod or look at him. Hamsters who could understand a person’s words would be suspicious. It was a no-go.

I crouched in a corner and curled up. Leave, go. Go to sleep.

“Cashew.”

— …

“Sweet dreams.”

‘Sweet dreams my ass.’

For me, this was just a nightmare.

*

Peace finally came after that damn hamster lover went back to his bedroom.

Now, let’s have a thorough interview.

Hey, you.

[〣(ºΔº)〣]

Am I in the <Heart of Winter>?

[Yes, that’s right! (*>▽<)ﾉｼ]

And that man is the Grand Duke of Blake, who dies before reaching the halfway point in the novel.

[Kyle Jane Meinhardt. He has about one month left before his estimated time of death.]

Wasn’t it a trick? The female lead…

[Her name is Serena.]

Serena’s full name and face popped up in the system window.

She was a woman with green eyes and warm brown hair. Her face looked like she was about the same age as me, and her outfit was quite scruffy.

Come to think of it, Serena from the original story said that after reincarnating, she escaped the slums with her intelligence and manners.

She had no name until then. Serena was a name that was passed down to the empress from generation to generation. However, she wasn’t an empress right now; she was just an unknown woman.

Wait a minute. But I was the one who did the reincarnating this time, right?

Can two people reincarnate into one work?

[Serena hasn’t reincarnated!]

[The identity of the reincarnated has changed.]

[Miracle Value is now 1%]

I sat in my rocking chair and looked at the system window with a serious look on my face. Of course, I couldn’t cross my short legs, so I just rubbed my chin with my tiny hands.

‘It’s been bothering me for a while. What is a ‘miracle’?’

[You’re destined to die.]

The ugly emoticons were missing, and only a single sentence shone in a creepy shade of blue.

‘…Destined to die.’

It reminded me of the pale light of the headlights that were rushing towards me, the screech of the wheels against the ground, my body floating…

[But before you died, I intervened!]

The system spoke to me diligently.

[Your original body is in a coma. Your death cannot be avoided unless we change the destiny of your soul. It collects information from your brain and searches for the best data to keep you alive. If you set a goal, a custom quest will be acquired.]

So that’s what it meant.

[Increase the Miracle Value, and you will survive!]

I mean, you’re going to save me.

What are you? Are you a God?

[Not enough to cause a miracle!]

I guess… not. Even if the system window is twisted, let’s be serious. Miracle Value is something that I could collect while running on my own two feet, but I guess that in the system’s eyes, hamsters are more talented and rich. Do you have a conscience?

[อิ_อี;]

Are you telling me to make miracles happen because I couldn’t make money? Am I Moses? Huh? Do you think I’m Moses? Would you like me to part the sea?

My settlement money. A bright future. Now, I have to take back my life and human rights. I don’t want to die of old age as a hamster.

I clenched my little fist. There was no other way, since I‘d already become a hamster.

[Do you wish to set a goal?]

Miracles and goals.

So, the gist of the system was to change the fate of the world from <Heart of Winter> and gather its power to change my destiny.

When I, instead of Serena, reincarnated as a hamster, the miracle value went up. Wouldn’t the number rise again if I caused an event that otherwise wouldn’t have happened?

But there was a problem. That is, I dropped this novel halfway through. I closed the book as soon as the character whom I sympathised with had died.

Therefore, I don’t know the end of the story. I don’t know who lives or who dies, so how could I change that fate… Wait a minute.

‘Kyle!’

Yes, Kyle Jane Meinhardt. The man who would die a month from now.

‘What if Kyle was saved?’

There was no miracle greater than overcoming death.

Alright. Whether I liked it or not, Kyle became my owner, and even when I was a reader, I didn’t want him to die so miserably.

That’s what caused me to drop it. A man who cared for her well-being until he died at the hands of the woman he loved.

‘Hey, how about saving Kyle? That’s a miracle on its own.’

[Goal decision completed: Save Kyle Jane Mainhardt.]

[Selecting quest…]

I had a strange feeling.

If I saved a guy who was going to die, would I go back? I wanted to ask if it was even possible, but it was meaningless, because from the moment I became a hamster, everything was so absurd.

There will be a long road ahead, but let’s survive. Both you, and me.

First, give me a quest that matches the difficulty level, Mr. System. I can’t do anything with my current body. At most, I wouldn’t be able to live more than five years after if I aroused the interest of the Northern Grand Duke, and I won’t ride this wheel because my body is aching.

After a few minutes of silence, the system presented the first quest.

[Let’s become a human hamster! (ง˙∇˙)ว]

As I waved my tiny hand in the air, it kept going.

[Try to become a good friend as a man, and not as a warm hamster companion!]

[Reward: A small miracle, a chance to save humanity.]

‘Why would becoming a human hamster be a miracle? It would seem like the hamster he was raising was the bad guy, wouldn’t it?’

[´•̥︿•̥`)⁾⁾]

Are you serious?

There was no other way.

[Kyle looked down at his blood stained hands. Although it was still a young beast, it lived a barren northern life. No wonder it couldn’t be tamed easily. Faint disappointment flashed across his cold, stoic face.]

Sentences which I presumed to be the content of the original novel crossed my mind.

‘…Did anything like that happen?’

Rather, did you originally try to raise a beast?

After all, the north was not a habitable land. Even if you kicked out some beasts and built a home, you wouldn’t be able to kill all of the beasts you could get your hands on.

There must’ve been some demonic beasts that were friendly towards humans, and he must’ve wanted to raise a cute one. Even if it wasn’t a beast companion, it wouldn’t have been strange to hope for two wins.

[“Yeah, why don’t you just leave it behind?”

Kyle responded to the knight’s words.

“You mean let it die?”]

‘Kyle was the first to reach out his hand.’

…Okay, well, I’ll let it slide. I’m doing this to make ends meet. I don’t even need to bite him unless he’s holding me upside down and shaking me.

Above all, I am a human being, not a hamster. I won’t do anything barbaric.

[(ʃƪ˘³˘)(´ε｀ʃƪ) ?]

No, I want him to refrain from kissing me.

As I lay down, I kept thinking about the friendly smile that Kyle had shown me earlier.

‘Did you like animals that much?’

It didn’t fit the personality of the cold Northern Grand Duke, who had neither blood nor tears. If the knights saw it, they’d be surprised. They might think he’s a demonic beast wearing Kyle’s skin…

As I let my thoughts wander, I fell asleep without realising it. There was so much going on, so it was unavoidable that I fell asleep as if I passed out.

*

— …

For how long had I been sleeping? When I woke up, it was already lunch the next day… Wait, lunch? Afternoon?

[A hamster sleeps an average of 13-14 hours!]

I opened my pea-sized eyes and looked at the system window as if I had been waiting for it. I slept for 13 hours, and one side of my fur was flattened.

When I tried to fix it, a large door that was several dozen times bigger than my body swung open. Of course, if there was anyone who could enter this room without knocking…

“Cashew.”

It was that man.