What is the Chiikabu (Beetle) Arc? Synopsis and Famous Scenes Summary | When & Which Manga Volume [Chiikawa]

While eating fruit in the field, something hard hits Usagi's teeth, and from inside comes out an object like a red push-button with a stand. Hachiware presses it and they head towards a cave where the vibration sound is coming from. When they press the switch again at the entrance, the grates blocking the rock face move. As the three proceed inside the cave, a sound comes from the shadows and Usagi dashes out. Black shadows and hook-like claws pop out, but it is unclear what appeared. Chiikawa, who exits the cave, is carrying a small creature whose white face is surrounded by a brown shell.

Hachiware mentions that the creature's smell is like sweet rolled omelet, and observes what appears to be wings and a body as soft as mochi. Chiikawa drops their guard and holds it in both arms, and the creature jumps onto Usagi's face and they roll around together on the grass. When it eats some oden served to it, the three confirm that it has become a companion at their dining table. On the other hand, it also bites Hachiware's ear and is seen biting into an opponent defeated during a Subjugation.

Yoroi-san (Armor Knight) suggests the possibility of it being a Mimic-type, and Hachiware and the others take the creature back to the original cave. When Chiikawa suppresses the feeling of not wanting to let go and places it on the ground, the creature does not follow them, and its horn-like part begins to extend slenderly. Between its small, soft appearance and the fierce movements it showed during the Subjugation, it is still uncertain whether the creature is a dangerous opponent.