Chapter 008
Chapter 8. Trivia Bites
I was on full alert the moment the villain reached into his coat and produced another loaf of bread.
‘Is it already mealtime again?’
While desperately trying to ignore the saliva pooling in my mouth, a low voice vibrated against my eardrums.
“Mouse.”
“…”
I deliberately ignored the summons.
This was my petty protest—a silent declaration that I utterly loathed the name.
However, as one would expect from the ultimate mastermind, he was both persistent and relentless.
“Mouse.”
“…”
“Mouse.”
“…”
“Mouse.”
He sounded like a broken record—same breath, same pitch, same rhythmic pace.
There wasn’t even a hint that he would tire or give up, leaving me with no choice but to respond.
“…Sque.” (…What.)
Simultaneously, his large, pale hand appeared before me. Resting upon the tip of those long, elegant fingers was a tiny morsel of bread.
“Good.”
“…”
Only then did the realization hit me, and I trembled with pure indignation.
‘This bastard is actually trying to clicker-train me with breadcrumbs?!’
Yet, betraying my rational mind, my instinct-driven body snatched the crumb instantly.
Sob. Where on earth has my dignity gone?
I swallowed my tears along with the bread, nibbling obediently. Once I had finished, he called again.
“Mouse.”
“…Sque.”
“Good.”
“Sque.”
Two squeaks earned me another crumb. After about ten rounds of this “training,” he gave a satisfied nod.
“Good. That should suffice for name recognition.”
He muttered to himself with a hint of pleasure, then added casually,
“Tomorrow, I shall teach you ‘come’ and ‘sit’ if possible. It is an owner’s duty to provide their pet with basic discipline.”
…Is this man genuinely insane?
In the meantime, he brushed the remaining crumbs from his hands, sat upon the earth, and leaned against the gnarled, massive trunk of the giant tree.
He gazed out at the scenery below the hill. The vast meadow appeared peaceful and serene—a view entirely discordant with a world standing on the precipice of ruin.
After a long period of blankly staring into the distance, a faint voice slipped from his lips.
“…Mouse.”
This wasn’t a call with a purpose; it was as if he were simply letting the name roll around his tongue.
I knew answering wouldn’t yield any more crumbs. Yet, for some reason, that voice sounded so profoundly lonely that I felt a pang of guilt letting it fade into the wind.
“Sque.”
I let out a short sound, just a small echo.
…I shouldn’t have.
The vicious villain gave a subtle nod and murmured,
“As expected. You are alive.”
Anyone would find such phrasing ominous. My instincts flared, and I glanced down.
The patch of grass where he had shaken off the crumbs had turned pitch-black, as if scorched by fire.
‘Poison…?’
I reflexively clutched my tiny throat. If that bread had been laced with poison, I needed to induce vomiting immediately.
Then, a random snippet of trivia I’d encountered somewhere flashed through my mind.
☆ Trivia Bite ★
Did you know~?
Mice cannot vomit~~!!
They lack the ability to burp, and they never suffer from heartburn >_<
As for the reason~~~ even I am curious~^^
“Squeeeeeeee────!” (Mouse helllll!)
I screamed internally, convinced my end was nigh—until I noticed something peculiar.
Normally, if one ingested poison, they would be coughing blood, convulsing, or at least feeling a burning sensation in their throat. But I felt perfectly fine.
“Sque…?” (Huh…?)
As I tilted my head in confusion, the villain’s voice rang out.
“It is as I suspected. To be certain, it is now confirmed—you are immune to curses.”
“…Sque?” (…Curses?)
I widened my eyes and looked at the ground again. A faint black haze shimmered weakly around the blackened spot. It was that same ominous aura that constantly swirled around Calix Neferto.
“And judging by how the curse vanished without a trace, it isn’t mere resistance or deflection—it is being converted by some other force…”
The wicked man paused, then lifted me off his head. Those violet eyes gleamed inches from my face.
“Which means you possess an ability akin to detoxification or purification.”
…Shit. I’m dead.
To the Apostle of Ruin, detoxification and purification were grounds for instant execution.
‘What do I do?!’
While my peanut-sized brain spun at maximum velocity to navigate this life-or-death crisis, the mastermind placed me on his knee. He pulled a small vial from his coat and spoke.
“Then, are you also immune to mundane poison?”
“…?”
I could only blink, completely lost.
“You don’t know that either?”
Interpreting my silence as he pleased, he pulled the cork with a sharp pop.
“Then we shall conduct an experiment.”
What?
“Do not worry. I have the antidote prepared.”
“Squeeeeeak! Squeak!” (That isn’t the point, you lunatic!)
First, he tries to train me like a dog, and now I’m a lab rat?!
But as always, the power dynamic was absolute: he was the overpowered final boss, and I was just a round, chubby mouse with no special traits. Before I could resist, the vial was shoved into my mouth.
Glug.
Bitter, salty, sour, astringent… a liquid with a flavor beyond description slid down my throat.
‘Ahh, this time I’m truly finished’—except, once again, I felt perfectly fine.
“…”
“…”
After observing me with those haunting violet eyes for ten full minutes, Calix Neferto finally smiled and nodded.
“As expected. You are resistant to poison as well.”
“…”
I was so incensed I considered rolling my eyes back and faking a faint, but I held back. I refused to show this human even a glimpse of my soft belly, even as a ruse.
‘But why the hell is this psycho experimenting on me?’
I glared at him warily. Was he planning to turn me into a literal “living poison” to hasten the world’s end?
Catching my gaze, he smiled brightly and scooped me up.
“Good. Shall we go?”
…Huh? Go where?
Before I could even squeak, the ground began to tremble violently.
Ruuuumble──
The lush green hill split in two, and from the fissure rose a jet-black obelisk.
A dungeon entrance.
‘What the hell is going on?!’
My eyes nearly bulged out of my head. Back when I inhabited the Saintess’s body, I had cleared all 66 dungeons in this world.
The oracle had stated that at the time of the apocalypse, dungeon breaks would destroy everything. Wayne had proposed a simple solution: if there were no dungeons left to break, the world would be safe.
Because I had the misfortune of being under his escort, I was forcibly conscripted into that nine-month hell march. I thought I was done with dungeons for life.
Yet here was a brand-new one, appearing out of thin air!!
‘A hidden dungeon?!’
While I was spiraling, Calix Neferto reached toward the obelisk as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
The pillar, which had been spewing malevolent black energy, rippled at his touch and pulled him in. He didn’t resist, and I—still clutched in his hand—was dragged helplessly into the dungeon with him.
* * *
The entrance corridor was impossibly tall, narrow, and choked with acrid smoke. I quickly scanned our surroundings, trying to gauge the danger level of this “dungeon.”
Dungeons were typically ranked from 1 (most dangerous) to 5 (easiest). One could discern the rank by the color of the decorative stones inside.
Purple denoted Rank 1, followed by red, orange, yellow, and white.
‘Please be white! White! White!’
I frantically searched the walls while praying—and then I spotted the decoration on the nearest pillar.
Black.
A color I had never encountered before, and an extremely ill omen.
