| Author: SS Samurai | Original Source: Syosetu |
| Translator: rm31439 | English Source: Re:Library |
Fair warning, this side story is WEIRD. The fact that our protagonists are suddenly ants, and a squirrel is based on wordplay: 蟻ム (“ant” + the mu-syllable in katakana) is pronounced as Arimu = Alim. 曲木リス is 曲木(“bend/curve/music + tree/wood”) + リス (“Squirrel”). 曲木 is Mika’s surname written in Kanji.
This is a story from a different world than Anazumu.
It was on a certain day in summer…
“Yup, that’s right!”
“The game of patience… the game of endurance…”
“Yeah, it’s heavy~.”
The worker ants (also called Alims) had mined Mithril, Ultimetal, and Orichalcum from the mountains to create magic items, and were in the middle of transporting it to their nest. Furthermore, all the worker ants were female.
“…Hey! Ants, what are you carrying, that you’re sweating that much?” A tree squirrel called out to the worker ants.
Though the squirrel itself disliked that moniker from the bottom of its heart and usually referred to itself as Mika. Note that the squirrel was also female.
“Wow!? It’s the squirrel of the bent tree!”
“Wow, Miss Tree Squirrel is here! She’s so cute!”
“Gah… don’t call me that… you know, my name is Mika, I hate that boorish name.”
“Wah, don’t cry! I’m sorry, Mika!”
“I’m super sorry… Mika.”
“You’re adorable, even if you’re crying, Miss Squ-… I mean Mika!”
As usual, the tree squirrel was holding a flower for her bridal training to marry into the ants’ house. All tree squirrels had this trait.
“Be that as it may… what are you currently doing, ants?”
“We’re making magic items in preparation for winter, so we’re gathering materials for that, you see!”
“It’s the game of patience and collection!”
“We’re out collecting! A-hem!”
The Alims put their hands to their waists and puffed up with pride.
Maybe as a result of the sweat, all of their clothes had turned transparent, and their unmentionables1 could be seen. If someone told them, they’d descend into an embarrassed panic, create large numbers of legendary swords on the spot and flourish them with divine swordsmanship.
“I… I see, that’s tough, isn’t it?” (I can see through them… They’re all wearing black today…)
“Yep, it’s hard… What are you up to, Mika?”
“Me? I’m picking flowers.”
“Gotcha~.”
“Still, Mika. Are you sure you shouldn’t prepare for winter while you still have time?” one of the worker ants asked the tree squirrel, since she’d noticed something.
Because of those words, the other ants also started worrying about Mika.
“That’s right! If you don’t start preparing now… you’ll…”
“You might die? I don’t want you to die, Mika…”
“If you don’t start preparing real soon, you’ll need to do it in a rush, Mika!”
“Is that so… There definitely is a lot of food currently. But when winter comes, it will all disappear, won’t it?” the tree squirrel pondered, trying to calm down the panicked ants. “Erm… I wonder… maybe it would be best… once winter comes… if I… marry into your place, ants…?”
The ants reacted to those words.
“Please do, you certainly should!”
“Wow~!”
“Woo-hoo!”
One ant was so happy she cried, while another jumped for joy. The last already rubbed her cheeks against Mika’s.
“I’m… terribly happy…! Once winter arrives, I’ll absolutely do it!” the squirrel reaffirmed.
“Yep! It’s a promise.”
“We’ll prepare warm food and wait for you!”
“Jeez… That’s my job, you know?” the squirrel complained.
“That’s right.”
“Eh-heh-heh, I love you, ants!”
“””Ah-ha-ha, we love you, too!”””
_____
___
__
Time flowed and winter arrived.
“Uh… it’s so cold… I’ll die… I don’t want to… please help me, ants…”
The squirrel of the bent tree, who hadn’t asked where the ants’ nest was, was about to freeze to death in the snowy winter’s cold. Her skin, that used to be beautiful, looked unhealthy, frostbitten, and with numerous chaps, she hadn’t eaten anything for some time, and her body was skinny and ragged.
The squirrel recognized her own form in a puddle of water she had discovered by chance.
“Hiuh… “sniffle*… I can’t let the ants see me like this… I’m a no-good bride…”
Finally, she collapsed on the spot and stopped moving. Several minutes after she had collapsed, something came from another direction.
“Eek… it’s cold!”
“Really… why do we need natural ice in the dead of winter to create a true mirror…”
“Let’s go home quickly, I want to play video games…”
It was the ants.
They noticed the collapsed tree squirrel.
“Hm? Someone has collapsed.”
“Wah!? It’s Miss Squ-… Mika!?”
“Uh… A-Ants…? Am I in hea… ven…?” the squirrel mumbled, as she became aware of the voices.
Finally, she lost consciousness.
“Wah~~!?”
“We must help her!”
Then, the ants showed the tree squirrel to their nest.
“…Where am I?” the squirrel opened her eyes on top of a bed.
Unnoticed, her clothes had been exchanged for new ones, her skin, that had been covered in wounds, turned as glossy as it used to be, and her formerly emaciated body had been completely restored.
“Woo-hoo! You’re awake, Mika?” an ant, who’d noticed Mika opening her eyes, rushed to her side.
“A… Alim? Then this is…”
“It’s our nest, you know?”
“Mika! You’re awake!”
The other ants also noticed that the squirrel was awake and rushed over. They took the squirrel’s hands and rubbed her head.
“You… saved me? Is it alright, if I am here as your bride?”
“Yep… as we promised in summer, Miss Squ-… Mika, right? That’s fine.”
“Th-Thank you!”
The squirrel was so happy, she started crying.
“Wah… please don’t cry!”
“In that case… will you console me?” the squirrel asked the ants.
“Yep.”
“Sure thing.”
“Leave it to us!”
“Yeah~.”
“Woo~.”
“Games…”
A large number of ants closed in on the squirrel all at once.
“Wah… hang on… no more than two at a time…” the squirrel panicked. “I’ll be crushed~…”
___________
________
_____
“Ah~!?”
Mika woke up in surprise inside the room where she slept next to Alim.
“What was that… a dream…?”
Mika, who looked at her surroundings and realized, that she was in her own home, breathed a profound sigh.
“Having lots of Alims wouldn’t be a bad thing, but… that many of them at once was tough… Though they were cute.”
She hugged the sleeping Alim and closed her eyes once more.
An illustration from the author:
