Chapter 01
I could say with certainty that I had been a model citizen. In my life, I might have told small, cute lies or crossed the street illegally once or twice, but I had never committed a crime serious enough to end up in handcuffs.
ā¦And yet, here I was, robbing the emperorās palace. This was the imperial palace, and I was an uninvited guest in the night.
Tap. Tap.
My small claws scratched against the marble floor, making a distracting noise.
āOver there! I heard something!ā
Damn it! Why are the corridors here so complicated!
I was currently being chased by the palace guards. I had heard the rumor that the legendary jewel, āCleiaās Tear,ā would be displayed in the imperial palace, so I had come here like a madman to steal it.
If you ask whether I did it because I wanted money, the answer was absolutely not. This was purely a choice made for my survival.
I had to eat jewels to maintain my human form, and because I didnāt want people to discover that I was a beastman.
At this rate, Iām going to get caught.
Because my body was so small, I thought I could sneak into the exhibition hall, grab the jewel, and slip out unnoticed. But of course, things in the world rarely go as smoothly as I imagine.
āThis way!ā
The guardsā voices grew closer. My small body made it easy to hide, but when it came to running away, my short legs put me at a serious disadvantage.
No matter how hard I pumped my little legs, the distance between me and the guards kept shrinking.
Left? Right? Letās just go down the stairs first!
Afraid I might drop it, I clenched the jewel tightly in my mouth and dashed toward the staircase. Ah, if youāre wondering why I was holding the jewel in my mouth instead of in my handā¦
What the hell! Why are these stairs so ridiculously steep!
That was because I was currently in the form of a weasel.
āBy the stairs!ā
Honestly, the guardsā hearing seemed almost as good as mine. They followed me with uncanny accuracy.
The staircase I had to descend stretched out before me, looking as dizzyingly steep as the edge of a cliff.
But I didnāt have the confidence to climb down the wall like I had when I came in. One wrong move and I could easily fall to my death.
I wanted to move swiftly like a real animal, but my ability fell short. It was probably because I had lived in a human form for far too long.
In the end, after steeling myself, I rushed down the spiral staircase.
Tap. Tap.
Why were these claws making so much noise against the floor? Panic rose in my chest as the guardsā footsteps drew closer, and I hurried down the stairs in a fluster.
It was hard to tell whether I was running or tumbling.
Hurry! Hurry!
While frantically racing down the stairs, I glanced back to see whether the guards had spotted me.
I turned aroundāand thenā¦
āEek!ā
My body lurched sideways.
My foot had slipped at the worst possible moment. I flailed my limbs trying to regain my balance, but perhaps because I wasnāt used to moving on four legsā
Waaaah!
My body tipped over and slipped straight through the gap in the stair railing.
The rushing sound of wind roared past my ears, and in shock I opened my mouth wide in a silent scream.
Plop.
Oh no.
The jewel fell from my mouth.
No!
I barely had time to panic about dropping the jewelā
Crash! Bang!
A powerful impact slammed into my body, and I ended up sprawled on the floor after falling from a staircase two stories high.
Rollā¦ rollā¦
My whole body hurt as if I had been beaten with a club. Through my blurry vision, I saw the sparkling jewel lying on the floor.
Unaware of my desperate feelings, the jewel rolled away between the gap in the stairs and the wall.
Damn itā¦ I have toā¦ take the jewelā¦ the jewelā¦
I had to pick it upā¦
But I didnāt have the strength to move even a finger.
My vision dimmed.
Iām screwed.
āThat was the thought that crossed my mind.
And in the next moment, darkness swallowed my sight. I lost consciousness just like that.
