Chapter 125 The truth will come out; it was bound to happen...

"Why are you asking so many questions? I'm a god, I can do whatever I want, bring me the cat!"

"Meow?"

Mainkun was very unwilling when he was forcibly taken away. He desperately turned around to look at the inscrutable Water Dragon King.

"Mimi—"

[It's been so long since I've spent time with my teacher, what are you going to do with me by taking me away?]

"Meow!"

[Even if you're happy, you can't keep hugging me like that, Furina!]

"Quiet down, shh..."

Her sensitive nerves kept twitching and throbbing. Funina ran all the way, covering the cat's meowing mouth, feeling a chill run down her spine.

"Something's definitely wrong...something bad has happened..."

The sixth sense, honed through centuries of fear and trepidation, is frantically warning both humans and gods.

Although she sensed something was wrong, Funina didn't know where this inexplicable panic came from, and could only hold the cat tightly in a low voice:

"Cat God, you haven't offended Vilette in any way lately, have you..."

"?"

The cat looked confused, its fur looking completely bewildered.

Offended the teacher? Me?

“That’s right. You’ve been missing from Mo Mang Palace for a long time. You couldn’t possibly offend Vilette.”

Furness shook her head, trying to dispel the ominous premonition, but it clung to her like a persistent, intractable disease.

"Could it be my imagination? No, that can't be..."

"Meow!"

Okay, friend!

With a nonchalant lift of its paw, it lightly patted the short white hair, as Mainkun comforted the god:

[I didn't sense any malice, murderous intent, or other sharp emotions. And Vilette is a perfectly good human being, so there won't be any problems!]

"Hey, how come you have no sense of crisis at all? Quickly show your vigilance!"

Funina was almost amused by the cat's carefree appearance, so she could only helplessly pinch the cat's smiling face and carry him into the god's study.

"alright!"

Trying to forget her earlier fear and putting on a cheerful smile again, Funina smoothed out the water level report and carefully placed it on the table.

"Where's my typewriter? Come on, Cat God, tell me what happened? How did you do this? This is the best news I've heard in a long time! I was worried about the Sky City project... Cat God?"

[Want to know how I did it?]

The cat pushed the typewriter aside and winked at her.

"It's cute... but you're not just trying to brush me off, are you?"

Funina had a bad feeling.

"Meow~"

How can you say that?

Under the increasingly incredulous gaze of the gods, the giant cat-man used its paw pads to pry open the window.

One, two, three, jump!

Jump into the world.

[It's because I don't want that hateful water to taint your rare joy, you person I often worry about.]

Wow! It's so tall!

Fulina pounced on the windowsill, but failed to catch a single hair on the cat's head. She could only watch as he smoothly flipped over in the air and landed neatly on the ground.

"If you don't want to talk, then don't. Why are you jumping around like that? It's really scary."

After letting out a long sigh, Funina complained with relief, "I haven't even had a chance to open the can..."

...

Although the cat god is very lively.

But I still feel a little uneasy.

*

Meow~ Meow~ Meow, meow~

Mainkun, his face covered by armor and dressed in white, moved forward at a cheerful pace.

[Speaking of which, where is my brother? Even though I can't tell him what happened, I really want to turn into a cat, rub against his shoulder, and let out a few hearty meows... Hmm?]

He couldn't find his brother, but he found three little ones on the street.

As Mainkun's free-range parenting style deepened, Linnie, Linette, and Fimini became increasingly daring, spending almost every day running around outside and playing with many of Fontaine's children.

Just like now, many little heads are crowded together outside the cake shop window, secretly watching how the chef applies beautiful piping decorations to the cream.

"I like this blue one, I'll buy this one when the time comes!"

"No, brother, you actually prefer the red one, don't give in to me."

"It seems like you can't use two characters..."

[Wow, so many people...]

Mainkuhn immediately hesitated. Although they were fragile human cubs, they were, in some ways, far more terrifying than adults.

[Withdraw!]

He turned to run, but a wave of childish malice caught Mainkun's footsteps.

“Speaking of birthdays… Lynette, Lynette.”

Why do you have cat ears, but your older and younger brothers don't?

Human children are always like this; sometimes they play very well, but sometimes they suddenly go crazy like calves, deliberately poking people in the heart with their tender horns.

"Are you really related by blood? You weren't adopted later, were you?"

The truly unrelated Fimini: ...

Linnie, who was later found in a new home: ...

Lynette, the only one singled out: ...

Very efficient.

Lynette remained silent to herself.

One sentence offended an entire family.

"Huh? You bullied my sister in front of me?"

Linni reacted first, and angrily raised his little fist as a warning:

"Want to get beaten up?"

The chubby kid with the sharp tongue shrank back:

"You...you're just talking, you actually dare to hit someone?"

"Why wouldn't I dare! Do you think you're some audience member I have to greet with a smile...!?"

Linni's voice paused, suddenly dropping from its high-spirited tone to a low one, and then fell completely silent, even awkwardly lowering his fist.

"Uh, that..."

"Haha, you just don't dare! My dad is..."

The chubby boy laughed arrogantly twice, but soon he couldn't laugh anymore. He turned his head and stared blankly at the curved nails that were lightly tapping his shoulder.

Are they finger sleeves for performances?

It looks so real...

"Uh, well... Mr. En, I'm not causing any trouble..."

He saw Linni, who had always acted like a little kid, scratching his head guiltily:

"Not yet, at least not yet..."

Oh, so they're just parents.

The chubby boy relaxed instantly.

Upon closer inspection, he was wearing a very cute mask, so he probably wasn't a dangerous person!

"Hey, can you let go? My clothes are going to get torn..."

The boy with cat ears didn't speak, but instead flung open the hem of his coat, completely stealing the light from the child's eyes.

"you--"

In the darkness, Mainkun's beastly eyes reflected light as he removed half of his mask.

ha.

In the shadows, the boy's mouth was torn open towards his ears at a distance no human could possibly make, revealing not smooth teeth, but a ferocious and terrifying tongue, and a row of fangs that gleamed coldly and were as sharp as daggers.

"..."

"...Waaaaah!"

A heart-wrenching wail suddenly erupted, and the little tyrant tumbled and scrambled out of his coat, using his last shred of sanity to grab at Lynette's skirt:

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I was lying! You're my biological child! You're my biological child!"

Lynette: ...

After a moment of silence, she tried to correct:

"Stop, it's all wrong..."

"Ahhh!"

The corrections were interrupted by even more heart-wrenching cries, and the chubby boy was in tears.

"Linette, please accept my apology, otherwise, otherwise—"

My dad and I will be eaten by monsters!

"Hurry up, hurry up."

Seeing that passersby's attention was drawn to the crying, Lynette quickly shooed them away. She watched with a hint of exasperation as Mainkuen instantly relaxed his shoulders, recovering from his tension.

[Luckily, this trick worked, otherwise I really wouldn't know how to punish him.]

"What's wrong? Why is he crying and yelling?"

The other children were confused. After glancing warily at Mainkuhn a few times, they also ran off.

Did I disturb you...?

The droopy cat ears drooped even more.

No!

The three children grabbed him together, and Fimini muttered something under his breath.

“…Brother En is more important than all of them combined.”

"Yes, and also."

Lynette nodded quietly beside her, then added in a low voice.

"Mr. En is not scary at all."

She looked at the half-demon who had just frightened her peers to tears and emphasized earnestly:

"Really, I'm not lying."

[Okay...]

Uncomfortably wagging its short tail to avoid the serious gaze, Mainkun pressed the mask on its face tighter.

[Linette too... her ears and tail are so cute, it's not surprising at all... By the way, what were you guys watching before?]

Linnie noticed his gaze was drifting towards the closet and quickly explained:

"I'm looking at cakes. This place has really nice birthday cakes. Lynette and I are discussing which one to buy with our allowance for our birthdays."

"It's just that the two of us like very different colors and patterns, so we can never choose the right one."

Why only buy one cake?

Mainkuhn discovered the blind spot.

"two……"

[Aren't there two of you?]

"But we're twins."

Linni said instinctively.

"?"

[Twins... are still two people.]

“Two cakes are too many, and we’re too small. We definitely won’t be able to finish them,” Lynette explained.

"To avoid waste, it's best to buy one; it will also save you money."

[But there are two of you, so there should be two cakes. Kids shouldn't worry about such things.]

Mainkuhn was an unreasonable person. He stopped and took out some Mora, put it in the children's hands, and made a gesture.

[Go buy, buy two... no, buy three.]

"Three...wait??"

Fimi was completely bewildered.

"My birthday is still more than half a year away!"

"Our birthdays aren't coming yet, we're just imagining it in advance!"

Gemini was also shocked.

[It's okay, today is a day worth celebrating, and besides, do you have to wait until your birthday to eat the things you like?]

Mainkuhn's eyebrows relaxed slightly, revealing a rare smile in his usual human form:

So go ahead and buy, buy whatever you like.

"Really? I bought it! I really bought it! It'll be a really, really big one!"

Being just a child, he couldn't hide his desire to be unrestrained. Mainkuhn waved to Linni.

go.

"Wow!"

The three children happily squeezed into the store, but they would occasionally huddle together and whisper to each other, because they were such good children.

"We can't finish it, we definitely can't finish it."

"Brother Ke'en said that..."

[It's alright, go ahead and buy it. In your childhood, you should enjoy yourself to the fullest, without a care in the world.]

[Because in one's short life, there will never again be such carefree days.]

...

If you really can't finish it, just take it to Mount Sumeru and 'reward' it to your subjects. Anyway, it won't go to waste.

Mainkuen stood waiting, feeling relaxed and happy, until the one-eyed Carres quietly approached and shouted sharply.

"Kid!"

Woohoo!

The cat shuddered.

[W-What happened?!]

Having finally caught him, Cares showed no mercy, cornering him against the wall despite his resistance and demanding an explanation:

"Aren't Edwin and Raymond tied up by you... lynxes?!"

[Yes, yes?]

Carles understood everything at a glance, and his anger flared up, causing him to yell:

"Foolish!"

[？？]

The cat was so frightened that it shrank into the corner.

[Why such a strong reaction?]

"Foolish! Foolish! Foolish!! What are you doing this for?!"

The roar shook the rocks, and blood gushed from Kares's veins, making him look like a terrifying red demon.

"You can break a fraudster's leg and no guards will bother you; you can kill a few Les sellers and people will quietly praise you. But can a researcher be the same? Can a top researcher at Fontainebleau be the same? Answer me! How can they be the same!"

A world of difference! The court must investigate this thoroughly!

Kares had no doubt that if Fontaine hadn't had the Grand Inquisitor overseeing things, Edwin could have killed someone in the morning and been exonerated by his supporters by the afternoon. Top-tier, number one in Fontaine! With those two titles alone, he could rule the world!

"And, kid."

Kares suppressed his anger, lit a cigarette, and took a deep drag.

"Let's not even talk about Edwin. That Raymondo is an absolutely good person. The Rose Society dug up the ground but couldn't find a single bad thing about him."

"Lynx, a lynx that punishes evil and promotes good, a righteous beast that helps the weak and punishes the strong."

With a wry smile, Kares really didn't want to burden the terrified boy with these labels.

"Why are you tying them up? Don't you know a good reputation is easily ruined and hard to build? If they're still alive, release them immediately; if they're dead..."

He paused, then finally resigned himself to closing his eyes.

"Then run, no one can protect you."

"..."

No wonder the recent plans have been going so smoothly, even though I've spent most of my time on the road.

Unbeknownst to them, a subtle malice, almost imperceptible, had already filled the Land of Water.

Mainkuhn belatedly realized what was happening.

I think I touched something I shouldn't have.

It was like the fierce resistance from the scholars when the first exam was held.

In a world of clockwork and machinery, perhaps the weight of a top scientist is no less than that of a reform.

"Finally realizing your mistake?"

Kares sighed as he looked at his pale face.

"It's no use regretting it now. Pack your bags and run, then find a good place to get your dual personality disorder treated..."

"No, even if time were to go back to the past, and the moon and sun were to return to their original positions, I would still do it this way, without ever changing."

Clear words and tears suddenly fell together. A strong premonition and the panic of loss overwhelmed everything, forcing the beast to utter human words.

"Unrepentant!"

Carles cursed instinctively, then quickly realized something was wrong.

"How...how can you talk? And it's like you haven't switched personalities?"

"..."

Mainkuhn did not answer the question, but silently shed tears. He felt that his soul was ready with a hammer and nail, waiting for the saint to come and hang him upside down on the cross.

“There is no precedent for the death penalty in Fontaine; even if someone is caught, the sentence is life imprisonment.”

Feeling sorry for him, Carles took out a handkerchief.

"Wipe it off, there's no need to cry so much."

How can a spring be blocked by cloth? And why hold an umbrella for someone who is getting wet? Mainkuhn simply turned to look at the kind-hearted father.

"My three children are in the shop. Please don't tell them anything and just take them away."

"What? You want to abandon them and run away without saying goodbye?"

How could this be, Kares, how could this be?

I see them as I used to see them, and I treat them as I used to see them.

Food, shelter, safety, freedom, friends—I borrow their laughter to mend my past wounds, how could I dare to be a madman without medicine?

But, but...

"Lord Navelette."

Mainkuhn hadn't walked more than a few blocks when he heard heavy footsteps behind him, a mixture of human scents, like a hunting herd.

“Here I point out to you.”

As expected, the second-in-command is the red-haired wolf, Ruge, who is driven by madness, upholding his own sense of justice and blindly trusting his own eyes.

"Mainkuhn is the lynx—he has fallen into injustice, and his actions can be called treason!"

headed by…

...

Leading the group was a white-haired saint.

Mainkuen loved him.

She also loved his merciless vertical pupils.

"Mr. Mainkuhn."

Navelette closed her eyes slightly.

"Please defend yourself."