"Where should I begin with all this?"
In the slightly cramped kitchen, Hercule sat next to the cupboard. He was even more restrained than before, after all, he was tied to a chair with ropes. Opposite him, Lorenzo was holding the chinchilla named Poirot, and not far from his hands were several soup spoons and forks.
"It's alright. I have plenty of time to listen to you, Rat King, Hercule... Never mind, I don't care what you are."
At this point, everything was crystal clear, and Hercule no longer had any chance to play any tricks in front of Lorenzo.
The big rat in his arms lay down comfortably. Looking at Hercule who didn't know where to start, Lorenzo asked curiously.
"Why don't I ask you, why do you regard it as the Rat King?"
Lorenzo was rubbing the big rat in his arms as he spoke. Its fur was extremely soft and the whole thing looked like a ball of fur. According to the history Lorenzo knew, this little thing was once hunted to the point of extinction because of its fur. In Invervigry, it was considered a rare creature. I remember it had some alternative nicknames, like chinchilla or something like that.
"Because this big rat saved my life. To be more precise, it was the first generation Poirot who saved my life."
Hercule responded to Lorenzo's questions and slowly told him his past.
"I'm not from Yngveg. I'm from Lish. I was a police officer for a while, but then I got shipwrecked and ended up in Yngveg."
"shipwreck?"
"Yes, I encountered that damn Viking pirate group. I took advantage of the chaos and escaped in a small boat. They didn't chase me. After all, I was on the vast ocean without food or fresh water. I was doomed."
Hercule said, looking towards Poirot.
"But they didn't expect that there was not only me on the boat, but also a chinchilla. This little thing is kept as a pet in some rich families, and because it is rare and expensive, a merchant on the boat took several of them and planned to sell them to Inglvig. Maybe the cage was opened during the chaos, and it escaped onto the boat with me."
"You... ate it?"
Lorenzo thought about it and realized that it might be because he was exposed to evil and bloody things every day, so the consequences he imagined would be equally bloody.
"How is it possible? This little thing is so cute, how could you bear to eat it? And there are only a few pieces of meat on it... The most difficult part at that time was my mind. In that desperate situation, I talked to Poirot all day long." Hercule raised his eyebrows. "Human will is fragile. At first, I was just talking to myself, but one day Poirot talked back."
Lorenzo was stunned when he heard this.
"Wait! The rat spoke?"
"Yes! It spoke and talked to me about everything."
Hercule spoke faster, as if to convince Lorenzo.
"Poirot chatted with me... I was too bored in the desperate situation, so I reviewed my life. Since then, I have had a strange feeling that I can remember everything in my life. Those vague stories are not clear before death."
Hercule laughed like a psychopath. "Poirot said he remembered it too. He had three brothers, but he was the only unlucky one to be caught by humans. The rest of his compatriots are still living happily in the woods."