The stablehands brought out more rats captured in traps. Some rat lay immobile inside what appears to be a large cage. The rats who were barely conscious looked at Tarou. It appears like a rat purge was happening inside the stables.
'Could this be the result of what happened last night?'
'So, that human believed that I wouldn't gnaw off horse hooves!'
The thought made Tarou glow. Barca was the best human in the world but he wouldn't reveal it to anyone, not even to Boss.
Just when his mood brightened up, the rat who looked more energetic than the rest of its gang continued to struggle inside its cage.
'This rat must be their leader,' Tarou thought as he studied the creature whose fierce red eyes were full of loathing. He wanted to get closer to the rat to gloat about his victory but the animal's piercing gaze deterred him from doing so.
The hissing and chattering started again and Tarou could make out some curse words directed at him. Soon after, the weakened rats in the larger cage joined in. The sound made Tarou cringe but he didn't back down.
Unable to continue holding the rat's gaze while listening to the haunting sounds, Tarou covered his eyes with his paws. The noise made by the captured animals was starting to get to him and he crouched down to muffle the noise, willing the voices to go away.
"Rats!" a low and hoarse squeak called out in disgust. The sound silenced the voices and made Tarou look up to see the formidable force that conquered the rat.
Tarou detected the parade of small paws headed towards him. As the figures came closer, Tarou realized two of the three rodents were familiar — they were the mice who gave him directions to the stables. The one heading the parade was a mouse with a cane. Kaia and Aure trailed after him. The older mouse stopped in front of the energetic rat caught in the trap who was about to start another violent round of chattering. Without any hesitation, the old mouse lifted his cane and poked the rat's eye, silencing him before squeaking one word.
"Newcomer."
Tarou heard the words clearly but he was unsure who the old mouse was referring to so he looked to the right and then to the left. Tarou looked at the mouse as if he needed some sort of confirmation.
"Yes, you," the old mouse reiterated. Tarou simply stared at him. What did this old mouse want him to do? He felt confused and he didn't know how to act.
"Tarou, you should show the elder into your home," Aure squeaked in her high pitch voice which she was clearly trying to tone down. Relieved at finally knowing what to do, Tarou motioned the party to follow him into the tree hollow.
'How did these mice know I made my nest here?' he wondered but kept mum. He was a stranger to this place after all. There are always systems in place for mouse communities to know what's going on.
After entering Tarou's home, the older mouse circled and smelled him. His elder's whiskers wiggled and his ears perked up as he continued circling Tarou who stood up on two paws as a sign of respect.
"Elder?" a tentative squeak asked in a high pitch tone.
The older mouse did not acknowledge the statement but he looked Tarou in the eye while saying in a gentle voice.
"You should take cover inside the manor. That space is always rat-free."
Out of the blue, the old mouse pushed Tarou's tail aside using his cane and was about to continue sniffing him.
"What are you doing you old mouse!" an alarmed Tarou squeaked as he backed into a wall. The old mouse just looked at him like his existence was a surprise. As if nothing happened, the Elder fired another question.
"Why would you prefer living outdoors?"
Still cautious, Tarou did not leave his position but he answered the older mouse after thinking things through. "I have easy access to food here."
Seeing the blank look on all three rodents, he explained his reasons. "I am not fond of stuffy manors. When humans starve and there is nothing to eat, they tend to divert their focus on mice."
Before he could speak another word, Kaia interjected. "Mouse meat? That is unheard of!" Waving her paws with disdain, she continued.
"Beef! Lamb! Chicken! Pork! Even servants eat these kinds of meat! How could you accuse humans of eating mice!" the female mouse continued as if Tarou was speaking nonsense. Tarou tried to maintain his cool. He knew Kaia had the talent for testing anyone's nerves.
"It's the drought. Hunger makes people lose their minds."
"What is this buffoon talking about elder? No one in the capital would eat a mouse. They would barely touch meat from an undernourished cow." Kaia insisted while talking to the older mouse.
"You have been living inside a bubble. People do vile stuff when they become desperate. People would even fight over fresh dead bodies if they want to survive!
"That is unheard of!" Kaia retorted with revulsion. "You must have come from a barbaric place if you observe such practices!"
"You are the ignorant mouse!" Tarou retorted before looking at the older mouse. "Elder, you should school the young ones!"
The old mouse tapped his cane thoughtfully while looking at Tarou. "My dear fellow, you can't blame Kaia from thinking that way. My father and his father before him have lived a life of abundance. We have never experienced starvation or drought."
"How could you not?" Tarou reasoned.
The capital was one of the places hit the hardest during the drought. Even the village where he lived struggled and there was a forest close by where people could forage.
"Grandfather, you must be mistaken. The drought made life hard even for the polished folks at the capital."
This caught the attention of the old man who gave Tarou an unusual look.
"Child, my family has been in the capital for 10 summers. The last drought happened 10 years ago. Only my great grandfather would know about it."
Ten years ago.
The words echoed in Tarou's mind.
It couldn't be 10 years ago. For a mouse like him, 10 years is almost as long as four centuries, 400 years.
Tarou tried to dig deep into his memories, trying to find clues. Lost in thought, he ignored his visitors. Feeling the need to give Tarou some space, Aure called out to the older mouse who stared at Tarou with concern.
Tarou was lost in thought and he was clearly uninterested in striking a conversation. The older motioned his young charges to leave Tarou's home and they filed out silently. However, Aure noticed that the older mouse lingered outside the tree nook and she couldn't help but be curious.
"Elder, is something wrong?"
"That mouse smells peculiar," the older mouse replied. Hearing those words, Kaia reacted almost immediately.
"That's what I've been telling Aure. That Tarou mouse is weird."