Chapter 04
Weasel and Teddy Bear (2)
Thud-thud… clatter…
Fragments of stone kept falling onto my hand. A coarse sensation spread across my skin. It felt like being caught in a rain of sand.
But… nothing unusual happened.
After digging a little into the soil beneath the wall, I created a space and pushed my hand, then my arm, then my shoulder into the hole.
Nothing.
I immediately lay down and shoved my head and upper body in as well.
Still fine.
‘As expected…!’
A sharp thrill and relief surged up to the top of my head.
I recalled what I had seen when I first poked my head into the cathedral entrance a few days ago, and the cutscene from the game.
A vast ceiling overhead, a twisted sacred statue gazing down—an eerie yet grand place.
When I had entered the threshold hoping to maybe loot some items nearby, my body had been pushed back and a message appeared.
Remembering that, I immediately reached upward through the wall.
And then—
map #???. ??? ??
It would be better to explore elsewhere first.
A message appeared.
I understood why.
‘They’re telling me to explore the village first and follow the intended story path.’
That was common in games like this.
After my first failed entry, I had tried wall-climbing and backdoor entries multiple times, but nothing worked.
Eventually, after repeated probing, instead of no message or a blurred one, a distorted mechanical sound would ring out and the world in front of me would warp ominously.
I had backed off in fear, worried I might trigger some monster encounter if I pushed further.
But now…
‘If I enter from here… the message doesn’t appear!’
That meant I could do something.
‘I can circle the cathedral edges and stock up more items. I can enter and exit without triggering story progression!’
Of course, I could also gather items in the village of Letum.
But that was extremely difficult.
In its original structure, Mirabilis begins by meeting NPCs categorized as “villagers.”
A somewhat nostalgic yet unsettling place. His hometown—and the place he must save as a holy knight.
After arriving there, Davide meets one of the NPCs, hears about the situation in the village, and only then properly enters the cathedral.
In other words, if I, now inside Davide’s body, spoke to NPCs, the story progression would trigger.
And most of the game takes place inside that cathedral…
‘Once the story starts, I’ll likely get dragged straight into the center of that horrific place.’
No matter which way I entered, monsters were still inside the cathedral anyway, so someone might ask what difference it made.
But that assumption was wrong.
‘If you follow the story, there are bosses.’
Creatures like a reptile the size of ten humans, arthropods with 66 legs, demons wearing human skin.
Surviving that—was not easy.
Of course, it was ironic to be doing survival gameplay inside a cathedral while trying to avoid bosses… but still.
That was why I had been avoiding villagers all this time.
I wandered forest paths during the day where people were sparse, and at night I explored while avoiding monsters.
How did I get food or supplies?
‘Obviously—I stole them.’
I even stole apples recently, picking them from near someone’s house at night.
My conscience wrestled with itself, and I hesitated to avoid patrol monsters, so everything took forever.
Anyway, the point was simple.
The village was a restricted zone where I had to avoid people.
But item acquisition inside the cathedral was important.
So today, I would enter through this hole, conduct a preliminary sweep, and collect supplies.
Especially healing items other than dried meat. Those could only be obtained inside the cathedral.
But if that was the case…
“…That damn weasel really did help me.”
Of course it probably wasn’t intentional. It was likely just coincidence… but still, I was grateful.
Once this was over, I decided I would clear up whatever lingering resentment I had toward that tiny creature.
I leaned back, grabbed the shield-table I had propped against the tree, and gauged the height of the wall.
Fortunately, it was only slightly taller than Davide.
I nodded and raised the shield above my head.
It was a large shield, roughly the size of a desk, but Davide’s knight-trained body handled it without issue.
‘My body really is something.’
Even if I couldn’t catch a tiny four-legged animal.
A complaint flickered through my mind, but I shook it off.
‘No point complaining.’
It was probably true that my real office-worker body, dulled by overtime, was weaker.
And more importantly… my brain simply couldn’t keep up with this body’s physical abilities.
With that thought pushed aside, I tightened my grip and raised my arms high.
And then—
Crreeeak—
Thud!
I threw the desk over the wall.
Clang!
I followed by tossing the sword I had brought.
Then I immediately started digging.
By the time the dirt formed a small mound, I lay flat and crawled into the hole.
I pushed past rough stones, then damp soil. The smell of earth filled my nose.
And then, not long after—
‘Made it.’
Tap-tap.
I stood up, brushed off my hands, and straightened my clothes.
Probably because he had been a knight, Davide’s clothes were cheap and worn, so a quick dusting made them look fine.
I straightened my posture and scanned the surroundings.
Scattered leaves beneath the grand structure gave the place a cold, eerie atmosphere.
‘No ghosts or monsters wandering outside in daylight… no tutorial warning message… good.’
No issues.
Then there was somewhere I needed to go.
‘The main mass hall, the monastery building, storage, prayer room… roughly these are visible.’
Easy enough.
I picked a direction and started walking.
And then—
“…!”
“Kiwu.”
From the side of the massive building, perched on a rough statue holding something like an acorn, was the weasel.
Its face like a brown pencil, its small body, its agile tail, and bead-like black eyes—it was unmistakably the same one that had stolen one of my extra lives.
“You… you… you!”
My voice rose instantly and my finger shot out.
The loss of that extra life, the hollow frustration, the inexplicable emotions from back then surged back into my head.
My face flushed red and pale in turns.
I pointed at it, trembling for a long time.
And then—
“…Haaah.”
A deep sigh escaped me.
‘The resentment is still there… but…’
It also helped me. Seriously.
The boiling emotions kept trying to resurface, but I forced them down.
I scratched my hair roughly and dug into my bag.
The weasel watched cautiously, but what I pulled out was not a trap or a knife.
It was a white egg, roughly the size of a fist.
‘…I was going to eat this tomorrow.’
With a faint sense of regret, I threw it.
The weasel leapt up quickly and caught it in its mouth. Somehow it didn’t break.
Thud.
It landed and sniffed it, then pawed at it repeatedly, tilting its head left and right.
It wasn’t like a carnivore didn’t know how to eat eggs… so it seemed confused about why I gave it this.
‘A surprisingly thoughtful weasel.’
Normally animals just decide to eat or not eat things… right?
I found it odd, but let it be.
‘Maybe it’s a smart weasel.’
This was a world mixed with occult and fantasy.
Ghosts and hallucinations existed every night.
Monsters rose from graves, beings pretending to be human walked among society, and even headless demons prayed.
In such a world, a weasel with an IQ of 180 from Mensa might as well exist.
“Ki-yu? Kkyu…”
“From now on, don’t eat my meat. Just ask for something else. Let’s live peacefully. I’m really exhausted…”
“Kkng.”
“Good, good. Let’s not fight with neighbors.”
Of course, I knew it couldn’t understand me.
It had ignored me yesterday too.
Still, talking doesn’t cost anything, does it?
With a small laugh, I picked up my equipment from over the wall and turned away.
Night made everything more dangerous. If I wanted even a brief reconnaissance, I had to hurry.
And on my back—
……
The weasel stared at me for a long time.
Something I only realized much later.
A little later, while scouting the surroundings and searching for a way to survive…
TRASH!
A loud noise made me flinch.
Gripping my kitchen knife tightly, I rolled my eyes nervously.
A pot sat on a table, steam rising with a savory smell.
And in front of it—
AH AH AH!
A creature writhing like a squeezed wet rag, screaming in agony.
I awkwardly glanced at it and sent a pleading look.
I was getting hungry. And tired.
Since entering the cathedral, I hadn’t eaten anything.
But the creature was not generous enough to understand my situation.
Its black eyes locked onto me, and it spoke in a firm voice.
TRASH!
AGAIN!
‘This is too much…’
Even my high school part-time boss during winter break wasn’t this strict.
…Well, I mostly just did dishes and counter work, but still.
Frustration welled up, but I was too afraid of it to argue, so I moved the pot with a gloomy expression.
The smell made my stomach twist violently.
I was hungry.
Hungry and miserable.
Exhausted.
I tried to sneak a bite from the pot, but the creature’s glare stopped me.
SPLASH.
I threw the food onto the floor and thought:
‘How did it even end up like this…’
