The Squirrel Will Raise the Baby Tiger — Chapter 11

DON'T GO, SISTER~!

STAY WITH ME~!

CH-CHIRPIE...!

WHAT SHOULD I DO? HE WAS SO EXCITED, I CAN'T JUST BREAK OUR PROMISE.

CHIRPIE, I'M SORRY. WON'T YOU GIVE ME JUST A FEW DAYS?

I'LL DEFINITELY KEEP OUR PROMISE TO PLAY TOGETHER.

AND I'LL BUY LOTS OF DELICIOUS THINGS WHEN I COME BACK! OKAY?

NOOO~! I DON'T WANT DELICIOUS THINGS, I WANT SISTER LULU TO STAY WITH ME~!

AS EXPECTED, THAT DIDN'T WORK.

...LADY DURHAMS.

OOPS.

I'M SORRY, DUKE.

I'LL LEAVE CHIRPIE WITH MY FAMILY AND COME RIGHT BACK, SO IF YOU COULD WAIT JUST A MOMENT...

NEVER MIND.

BRING HIM ALONG.

PARDON?

WE'RE SHORT ON TIME.

BESIDES, IT WOULD BE EVEN MORE TROUBLESOME IF HESECRETLY FOLLOWED YOU LIKE LAST TIME.

JUST BRING THE CHILD ALONG WITH YOU.

OH, IS THAT REALLY OKAY?!

HUH? CHIRPIE GETS TO GO WITH SISTER LULU TOO?

BRINGING ONE SMALL CHILD ALONG IS NOTHING.

SO DON'T WASTE TIME AND GET READY TO LEAVE QUICKLY.

Yes, thank you, Duke!

Thank you!

Then I'll quickly pack light! I'll be right back, so please wait a moment!

That's a relief. Chirpie~!

...THEY HAVE THE EXACT SAME SMILE.

WHAT AN UNSTOPPABLE PAIR OF SQUIRREL SIBLINGS...

WELCOME. I AM JAEL, I'LL BE IN CHARGE OF YOUR ESCORT.

LADY DURHAMS, PLEASE ENTER THE CARRIAGE WITH YOUR BROTHER.

IS THAT THE AIDE I SAW BEFORE?

We run into each other more often than I thought...

THANK YOU. PLEASE TAKE GOOD CARE OF US.

Thank you!

I WILL CARRY YOUR LUGGAGE...

WHY ARE YOU LOOKING AT ME LIKE THAT? Is there a problém...?

AH, WELL, YOUR HAT IS A BIT...

WEIRD... NO, UNUSUAL... NO, UNIQUE.

EXCUSE ME?

IS IT THAT WEIRD?

Are you saying that it doesn't suit me?

IT'S NOT THAT, I JUST THOUGHT IT MIGHT BE A BIT MUCH FOR THE SEASON.

DO YOU NOT HAVE ANOTHER HAT?

I DO, BUT... I STILL LIKE THIS HAT THE BEST.

BECAUSE MY MOTHER MADE IT BY HAND, SO IT'S THE ONLY ONE LIKE IT IN THE WORLD...

MOMMY MADE CHIRPIE'S TOO!

BUT IF YOU SAY SO... I'LL GO BACK AND PICK ANOTHER HAT.

WAIT, MY LADY!

I, WHAT I MEANT

THAT IT HAS A CLASSIC BEAUTY THAT ISN'T SWAYED BY TRENDS!

PLUS, YOU CAN EVEN FEEL THE WARMTH OF A MOTHER! ISN’T THAT RIGHT, DUKE?!

R-RIGHT.

SO I THINK IT'S PERFECTLY FINE AND BEAUTIFUL JUST AS IT IS!

IT'S ALREADY TOO LATE FOR EXCUSES...

IS THAT SO? THANK YOU FOR THE COMPLIMENT.

HEARING YOU SAY THAT PUTS MY MIND AT EASE.

HAA, IT CAN'T BE HELPED.

THIS KIND- HEARTED SQUIRREL WILL JUST HAVE TO LET IT SLIDE THIS ONCE.

WHAT TOOK YOU SO LONG?

THE SUN'S GOING TO SET AT THIS RATE!

THEY SAID SQUIRRELS ARE SWIFT, WAS THAT A COMPLETE LIE?

HOKAN! YOU WERE ALREADY INSIDE!

OF COURSE, I'M THE ONE GOING TO THE NORTH.

BUT... WHAT'S GOING ON?

I THOUGHT ONLY THE TEACHER WAS GOING WITH US.

WHY IS THAT RUDE GUY COMING WITH US TOO?

OH! THE TIGER FROM LAST TIME!

HE REALLY WAS HURT BY WHAT CHIRPIE SAID BEFORE.

That little tiger!

THANKS TO THE DUKE'S CONSIDERATION, MY BROTHER GETS TO COME ALONG WITH US.

Here, sit down.

WHAAAT?!

MY BROTHER'S NAME IS CHIRPIE.

CHIRPIE, CAN YOU KEEP THE PROMISE YOU MADE WITH ME BEFORE?

HM?

YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY TO HOKAN, RIGHT?

AH!

WE SHOULD APOLOGIZE PROPERLY IF WE MEET HOKAN AGAIN.

CHIRPIE IS A GOOD BOY, SO YOU CAN DO IT, RIGHT?

...YEAH, I CAN.

CHIRPIE WILL SAY 'I'M SORRY~' LATER.

I PROMISED SISTER LULU! TO APOLOGIZE TO THE LITTLE TIGER LATER!

NOW IS THAT TIME...!!

I'M SORRY!

?!

CHIRPIE DIDN’T MEAN TO HURT YOUR FEELINGS LAST TIME...

BOTH SQUIRREL AND TIGER BABIES ARE CHUBBY AND LITTLE, RIGHT?

OUR FAMILY TOLD CHIRPIE ON PURPOSE THAT HE’S LITTLE... SO I JUST SAID THAT TOO.

...YOU’RE SAYING YOU DIDN’T SAY MEAN THINGS ON PURPOSE TO TEASE ME?

YEAH, YEAH!

WHY WOULD I TEASE YOU! YOU'RE COOL!

...COOL?

OF COURSE! YOUR TAIL IS LONG AND COOL!

YOUR FUR LOOKS SO SLEEK AND SOFT!

YOUR EYES ARE SO SPARKLY!

EEVERYTHING IS COOL! I'VE NEVER SEEN SUCH A COOL TIGER!

LITTLE TIGER, YOU'LL BE EVEN COOLER WHEN YOU GET BIGGER, RIGHT?

I'M SO EXCITED AND JEALOUS!

CHIRPIE WANTS TO BE LIKE THAT TOO!

...IS THAT SO? THIS MUCH IS A GIVEN FOR A TIGER.

Really?! Tigers are amazing!

THAT'S GREAT. IT SEEMS HOKAN'S MOOD HAS IMPROVED.

IT CAN'T BE HELPED. AS COOL AS I AM, I'LL ALLOW YOU TO GO TO THE NORTH WITH US TOO.

REALLY?! THANK YOU, TIGER!

MY NAME ISN’T TIGER, IT’S HOKAN.

YOU SAID YOUR NAME IS CHIRPIE. HOW OLD ARE YOU?

JUST BY LOOKING, I SEEM LIKE THE OLDER BROTHER, SO ADDRESS ME PROPERLY.

GOT IT, BROTHER HOKAN!

CHIRPIE’S AGE IS...

Tree years old!

TREE?

NOT TREE YEARS OLD, THREE YEARS OLD!

AHAHA, OUR CHIRPIE IS STILL YOUNG SO IT'S HARD TO PRONOUNCE, RIGHT~?

YOU CAN'T USE DIALECT, CHIRPIE...!

WHAT, ARE YOU A BABY WHO CAN’T EVEN PRONOUNCE THINGS PROPERLY?

HERE, REPEAT AFTER ME. THREE YEARS OLD.

TREE YEARS OLD.

REPEAT SLOWLY. THREE.

THREE.

YEARS.

(Honestly, it's so cute I kind of don't want his pronunciation to be fixed...)

NOW, PUT IT TOGETHER-

THREE YEARS!

Tree years!

AHAHA, WHY DO YOU SAY IT LIKE THAT? YOU'RE REALLY FUNNY!!

HUH? CHIRPIE SAID IT RIGHT?

GREAT! THE DIALECT WASN'T CAUGHT! (Even though he seems to have failed...)

IT'S A RELIEF THE MISUNDERSTANDING WAS RESOLVED.

I HOPE THEY BECOME GOOD FRIENDS WITH EACH OTHER LIKE THIS.

WE'LL STOP FOR A MOMENT.

THE MOUNTAIN PATH IS GETTING ROUGHER, SO IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO TRAVEL BY CARRIAGE ANY FURTHER.

THEREFORE, WE WILL CHANGE OUR TRAVEL PLAN.

MOUNTAIN PATH? WERE WE GOING THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN INSTEAD OF GOING AROUND THE VILLAGES?

IT TAKES TWO MORE DAYS IF WE GO THAT WAY. IF WE GO THROUGH THE MOUNTAIN, WE'LL ARRIVE BY EVENING.

TO SAVE TIME, THIS WAS THE ONLY CHOICE, BUT

I DIDN'T EXPECT THAT A CARRIAGE WOULDN'T BE ABLE TO PASS.

ANYWAY, FROM NOW ON, WE'LL ABANDON THE CARRIAGE AND TRAVEL BY HORSE.

JAEL WILL TAKE THE CHILDREN. I'LL TAKE THE LADY.

YES, UNDERSTOOD.

TRAVEL BY HORSE... WHAT DO YOU MEAN?

THE LADY DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO RIDE A HORSE EITHER, SHE'S JUST LIKE THE CHILDREN.

YES, THAT'S RIGHT. ...BUT SO WHAT?

MEANING,

YOU

AND I.

WE'RE GOING TO RIDE ON A HORSE TOGETHER.

UNDERSTOOD? LADY DURHAMS.