The Northern Grand Duke’s Hamster - Chapter 3

Hamster Sounds in the Middle of the Night (3)

God, please do something about this damn hamster otaku, hm?

“One side of your hair is dented?”

For a man who slept all day on his back… Is this your first time seeing a hamster?

“It’s shockingly cute…”

Hey, move your mouth.

Your snout.

Snout is a bit…

What’s wrong with your mouth?!

The cold-blooded and strict Lord of the North, the strongest in the Meinhardt Empire, the Grand Duke of Blake… There were silly comments about him being able to kill people with a single gaze.

You’ve done it ten times already, stop it. I’m going to wipe my face!

“I thought you were sick, Cashew. You slept for so long.”

Unfortunately, I’m fine. They said hamsters sleep for a long time. I didn’t know I’d sleep for so long.

When I think of Kyle as my objective, I think I shouldn’t get sick in the future. Even one mistake with coughing and it’ll be like lighting a fire in the fireplace with all the windows in the Blake Castle locked, trapping the hot air inside.

When Kyle saw that I was awake, he grabbed me and started kissing me like a maniac. Thanks to that, I was dying.

— Squeak! (Let me go!)

Let go of me! Why aren’t you putting me down? Hamsters can be scary when they bite…!

[The quest! The quest! (⊙﹏⊙)!]

The system appeared in a hurry and deterred me.

I clenched his index finger with both hands with the intention of biting him, but I paused halfway and stared at nothing.

‘…I forgot. I was supposed to be a friend of the humans.’

It was so annoying that I almost forgot my duty as a pet hamster and bit him.

Either way, I didn’t bite Kyle.

I’m a smart, intelligent person.

“Now…”

Kyle looked at me with a slightly shocked expression. By any chance, did he catch on that I tried to bite him? I was a little embarrassed so I looked at him sideways.

‘Huh, why, what?’

It was an attempt. I didn’t bite. I just brought it to my mouth. Also, how did he know? Was it some sort of ghostly sixth sense? Of course, it would be suitable for the Grand Duke of the North…

“Did you kiss me? That’s so cute.”

Ah, he’s more oblivious than a bear… You’re now the Northern Grand Bear, not the Northern Grand Duke. Anyway, the quest must be completed safely, so I‘ll have to endure this great temptation.

[Current Miracle Value: 1.3%]

‘…What’s with this number?’

It said it was a small miracle, but isn’t this too small? If this is how long it’ll take to go back, I’d rather die than suffer here.

[(ง°̀ω°́)ง A chance to save humanity!]

Kyle’s gibberish went through one ear and out on the other as I looked at the reward.

[A human hamster… No, maybe even a real human!]

‘Yes, that’s it! Well done!’

Are you trying to make me change into a real human being?

Yeah, you should’ve done this from the start. I don’t like being a hamster. I’m not saying I won’t be saving Kyle, so let’s start by taking care of this damn hamster…

[Start with the first lap on the wheel!]

What?

[Run 1,000 laps.]

[Reward: ‘Summon’.]

‘A thousand laps?’

Are you kidding me? What do you mean ‘summon’? Summon a hawk? Just a random summon?

tl/n: i noticed that the manhwa promo translated ‘불러오기’ as ‘transform’, but it actually means ‘call in’ or ‘import’, which basically makes ‘summon’ more accurate to the translation. also the sentence above makes more sense if the word used is ‘summon’ since it’s a world play. ‘transform’ makes sense, but ‘summon’ is more accurate so i will be choosing the accuracy.

I clenched my fists in the air and looked up. Dude, let’s start with one hit. Just one. Give me your chin.

[(˃̣̣̥᷄⌓˂̣̣̥᷅);;;]

Don’t cry. I don’t want to be weakened by your tears. Besides, do you know what ‘summon’ is and why I should run a thousand laps on the wheel? I don’t think I will become a person right away.

‘Okay, let’s hear it.’

Let me hear what it means, and if I don’t like it, give me another quest.

[It’s a good thing!]

I raised my fist again.

Don’t try to get away with it. I’m the type of person who checks the required terms and conditions when I sign up for a website membership. You can’t fool me.

[(́ඉ⌓ඉ);;;]

Kyle was stroking my forehead, back, and behind my ears while I was wrestling with the system.

Fine… as long as you’re happy.

It’s much better than being kissed. It’s healthier too.

[It’ll be best if I give you a hint.]

The system flickered a few times, as if to say sorry.

[The more detailed the story, the more complicated the conditions for receiving rewards would be.]

That didn’t sound like a lie. Well, was there any need for a lie? There were a lot of suspicious things, but the system did say it’d try to save me, and it gave me information as well.

It had been using strange emoticons to look friendly. There was no other way but to trust it.

‘But why do I have to suffer for this miracle? Would it be a miracle if I parted the sea like Moses?’

[I’d give you 10%! (✧•⌄•)]

The sea was parted, but it’s salty…

I looked up at Kyle, who was rubbing my front paws.

Anyway, saving this guy will be something. Even though I gave up halfway through the novel, while Kyle was still alive, I read <Heart of Winter> quite diligently.

Kyle Jane Meinhardt had a bad relationship with Belial, the male protagonist as well as the second prince of the Meinhardt Empire. They liked the same woman, and Belial, who kept him in check, often insulted him. After confirming that Kyle had feelings for Serena, Belial began to be blatantly hostile towards him.

Come to think of it, did Kyle, who was said to be the Grand Duke with neither blood nor tears, really love Serena? It was hard to imagine Kyle obsessing over Serena, the main character of the original story.

“Pink toes and this little nose. Fantastic…”

No, on second thought, I think I can imagine it.

Grand Duke, don’t do this anywhere else. All men and women, young or old, would run away to the southernmost corner of the land. Your face is scarier when you smile.

Anyway, I really hope this hamster otaku releases me as soon as possible.

Okay. So from now on, I’ll have to run on the wheel. Not more, nor less than a thousand laps… God, why are you giving such a hard time to a warm hamster like me?

“Your Highness, are you inside?”

Then, someone knocked on the door of the study. The faint sound of the knock seemed to belong to a knight from the Blake estate.

Kyle carefully dropped me into my house, then straightened his back. His face hardened slowly as he leaned against the window. He was usually cold, but this was colder than usual. He became as sharp as a blade forged only by the coldest winds of the North.

“Come in.”

“Your Highness. Before going on a mission tomorrow, I think you should take a look around the territory. The time has come for merchants to arrive too.”

“Alright.”

A low, serious voice rang. His lacklustre appearance was nowhere to be seen, and only coldness remained.

Kyle talked to his men, handing over the documents he had left on his desk. The conversation ended so quickly that if I had relaxed even a little bit, I would’ve missed three topics.

Of course, there was no need for a hamster to know the matters of the Grand Duke, but…

‘You’re normally this kind of person.’

The entire time I was looking at the scene somehow felt unfamiliar, making me feel a new emotion altogether.

His pursed lips, clam eyes, and relaxed yet weighty gestures made Kyle look like a completely different person.

‘No, that’s normal. How you’ve been treating me…’

He was human, afterall.

“I have to go.”

A shadow cast over my head. Kyle looked at me and spoke affectionately.

“It may be boring, but wait a little longer. I’ll be right back.”

No, it’s orders from the imperial family, don’t treat it lightly. It means you have to check it thoroughly.

tl/n: cashew said ‘영지’ which just means documents with orders from the queen/crown prince, but idk which one he’s referring to so i left it as ‘orders from the imperial family’.

Kyle looked at me with regret, but he didn’t hesitate for long before leaving the study. After all, it was at his peak. It was when the Blake estate was noisy on the inside as well as the outside.

The land was barren, and in the north, half of the year was like winter. Beasts would invade from time to time, and the imperial family was looking for an opportunity to eliminate Kyle, who had become the Grand Duke.

Therefore, there were a lot of people who tried to assassinate him and also cut off his contact with society. And I was ten bodies too short.

‘I can help him not fight with Belial, but there is no way to prevent him from overworking…’

Well, it was a bit funny to worry over someone who was still so full of energy. Who am I to worry about him when I should worry about myself?

I groaned and got on the wheel.

‘It’s so big.’

Is this even a wheel? Huh? Can I even call this a hamster wheel?

In terms of size, it was comparable to a Ferris wheel. As a hamster, if I run on such a huge wheel, my joints will pop out.

Even plating the frame… Grand Duke of Blake, is your money going to rot? In fact, it was said that people in the North put powdered gold toppings instead of cheese on their pasta…

Even if it was a small wheel, it would be hard to do a thousand laps, so I already felt my knees hurt when I ran on it once.

[Fighting! (૭˙∇˙)૭]

Hey. I didn’t quit the gym because I hated running on treadmills. If I couldn’t eat snacks, then I didn’t eat at all, and I never exercised.

If I were to make an excuse, it would be that all developers are like that. Exercises could also be done by making a game. Like, when would I even have time to exercise? I was so busy that I even forgot the faces of my family members. But now, I guess I’ll voluntarily hurt my feet.

‘God, I’m going to die…’

Sure enough, before I could run a few laps, I was already out of breath.

Even then, I had poor physical strength, and combined with a hamster’s insignificant endurance, it felt like the worst weakness on the planet.

I did exactly three laps and then stretched. Even though I tripped, I was still laying flat on the wheel as it spun around, and then I fell off. Oh, I can’t do this.

But hear me out. Developers are a fragile race by nature. If I had strong limbs and board shoulders, why would I be a developer? I would’ve walked the path of fitness training, drinking protein shakes every morning and evening. In my job, I succeeded, even if I didn’t get a thick neck.

‘I don’t know. I can’t do it, I can’t! Kill me!’

[☞☜☞Summon☜☜☜]

The system even made a typo because of how rushed it was.

I don’t know. Whether you’re in a hurry or not, Kyle still has a long way to go, so let me take a nap.

There is only one good thing about transmigrating.

Taking a nap without having to go to work was really… delicious.

If only one side of my fur is flattened, it would look ridiculous, so I shall sleep on the other side this time. I curled up, using sawdust as a cushion. Since the disturbance left, the room was silent.

‘It has been a while since I felt so relaxed.’

It was a kind of peace that I had never felt when I was a human being.