Chapter 132 One day in Fengdan, at the Hearth House…

After gathering some emotions from the desert, Mainkun quickly retreated as the potion was about to expire, leaving the figures of gods and men behind in the desert.

"Hey! Where are you going? Aren't you coming back with us?"

"[Going back together? Why can this blond student say something like that so naturally?]"

Mainkuhn almost believed that there had never been any misunderstanding between him and Cavie.

"Well…"

After struggling through the discomfort of the medication wearing off, Mainkuhn had no time to ponder these questions.

"Ugh..."

Fontaine, with its clear and beautiful sea, was enough to steal his entire attention.

*

"I want to eat fresh fruit!"

When Raymondo saw the young kidnapper enter, he angrily threw a piece of metal at him.

"Bullshit! Candied mandarins have no soul at all!"

*Smack*

He watched in shock as the sheet metal smashed into the boy's head and bounced away.

Why didn't you dodge this time?

"..."

The kidnapper behaved extremely strangely. He seemed so distracted that he didn't even notice Raymondo's attack. He didn't react after being hit, but just tilted his head and blinked rapidly in place, as if trying to evaporate the moisture on his irises.

Who is this? Where is that arrogant, cold-faced brat?

"What? You've already gotten over your rebellious phase after just one month?"

Before the scientists could get any answers, their good colleague Edwin burst out, shaking the boy's shoulders wildly.

"Give me black water! Give me black water! Give me black water!!"

"Aww!!"

Raymondo watched helplessly as the kidnappers awoke, took off, leaped several feet high, and pressed their ears against the device, looking down at them.

"Hiss—"

"Give me the black water!"

Edwin was jumping and yelling below.

"I need to conduct experiments; the samples you gave me before are all used up!"

"You octopus whose mind is full of experiments... do you even remember what our most important demands are right now?!"

Raymondo isn't a research fanatic; all he wants right now is a good meal.

Although the investigation revealed that a Mr. Vasher had filled the place with various supplies, Raymondo always felt inexplicably uneasy when taking them, and they didn't taste good. He glared unhappily at the cat-eared boy on top of the device:

"We've optimized the equipment for you, and the instruction manual is right here. How long do you intend to keep us here?"

"What??"

Edwin didn't feel anything like that; the seabed felt as warm as home.

"Why are you leaving so early? I haven't even come to a conclusion yet!"

"You idiot!"

Unable to hold back, Raymondo cursed at him:

"Are you willing to experiment rather than risk your life?"

"You're the idiot! Who are we supposed to get this magical black water from when we go back to the Academy of Sciences?"

[Optimized, all done?]

The two of them were arguing and shouting at each other, and neither of them noticed that Mainkuhn on top of the device quietly wiped away his tears, paused for a moment, and then pressed his face against the cold steel.

[elder brother…]

Rub your chin on the metal sheet to leave a scent mark.

[My...hope...]

Wow.

Mainkun held onto the device tightly, while gentle black water gushed out and enveloped the scientists.

"careful!"

Raymond grabbed Edwin's hand warily:

"He can't just abandon us after we've served our purpose, can he?"

"Haha! That's enough! Where's my volumetric flask?"

"..."

Vigilance was slowly replaced by silence. Raymondo let the darkness envelop them, cocooning them with the air, moving, rising...

"Glug."

It shattered, and when I opened my eyes, I saw a golden sandy beach.

"...I just asked casually, and they actually let us go like that?"

Raimondo stood in the shallow water, looking back in disbelief.

"Strange, this is not the treatment a top scientist should receive."

Shouldn't I make good use of my brilliant mind and research a red mech that can fire palm-sized cannons...?

Just as he was worrying, he heard his good colleague shout again.

"Ah! Blackwater, don't run away! Leave some for me, waaaaah—"

Raymondo: ...

Insane! He'd be better off researching Sky City!

*

[Brother...I'm so sad...but so happy...]

At the abandoned Vashj base, Mainkun swam for hours in the water, finding a hidden ruin to conceal the precious device.

The energy crystals produced this time were numerous, and when pieced together, they could be synthesized into a complete sphere.

[How much did I lower the water level?]

It's probably still negligible, less than a centimeter.

But Maine Coon didn't want to give up.

Where are Fimi and the others now?

Floating ashore, Mainkuen skillfully avoided humans and returned to his home.

[The smell is very faint; it seems Cares has had them with him for a long time.]

[...No!]

He sniffed twice, his pupils contracted, and he quickly opened the window and jumped out.

[The room smells like someone else!]

"who!"

Meilushin rushed out of the house, but it was too late.

"Be careful, Sedna!"

Her companion nervously reminded her.

"His Excellency the Duke instructed us to keep the indoor environment as unchanged as possible during the sampling!"

"Just now, there seemed to be someone here, really!"

[...]

Mainkuhn stared blankly at her from the rooftop, tilting his head.

[The territory is no longer safe.]

[It's alright. Territorial shifts and changes are common for wild animals, especially for male felines, so there's no need to be sad about it.]

[...]

[Sigh.]

Quietly burrowing into the grey river and leaping onto the roof of the Rose Society, Mainkuen searched for a familiar voice.

"Dad!"

The young lady, as beautiful as a yellow rose, was complaining loudly:

"Didn't you tell me before that you wanted to tame a lynx as an adopted son? Why have you changed your mind now and want to adopt three kittens instead?"

[Here!]

Mainkuhn immediately stopped in his tracks. [Wait! What did she say??]

Why do you care so much?

Carles tried to evade the question.

"You disagreed with my idea of ​​adopting that kid, and now you disagree with adopting Linni and the others? Weren't you happy eating cake with them?"

[Adopt...me? Kares wants to be my dad?]

Mainkuhn was startled; he never expected Cares to have such thoughts.

Isn't this just asking for trouble?

"I disagreed before because you had ulterior motives!"

Navia's voice rang out again:

"Don't tell me you didn't make this decision because you wanted his power; you just want to legally bring the lynx into the Rose Society!"

[Hmm... even so, it's still a loss.]

"All roses grow in dark soil, so why demand that they be pure of heart and clean of hands? Beauty is enough."

Carles did not deny it; he openly admitted it.

"In my opinion, locking him up at the bottom of the sea as you wish would be a waste of talent... But no matter what we think, it's all in vain, since that kid has already disappeared somewhere."

[…Forehead. ]

"So, let's talk about Linni and the others. These three children are just ordinary orphans, so why do you disagree?"

[!]

Mainkuen listened attentively, paying more attention to them than to himself.

[Kares is definitely more suitable to be a guardian than I am. He has experience as a father and can teach Fimini and the others how to be normal human beings...]

"I didn't disagree; in fact, I quite like them."

[Hmm...it seems like it's going to work out.]

Unable to tell whether it was sadness or grief, Mainkuen slowly lowered his ears.

[Fine, it wouldn't be safe for me to take him to Sumeru anyway.]

Navia's next sentence was like a thunderclap.

"They've always been the ones who disagree."

[...?]

"By the way, I saw them packing their bags this morning, they probably want to leave."

[？？？？？]

Leave? Where to go? Where to abandon this peaceful life?

Mainkuhn abruptly jumped off the roof and rushed into the room following the familiar scent, only to be greeted by an empty bed and a crooked note on the table.

"Thank you everyone from the Rose Society! I've been very happy lately, but there are more important things to do than just be happy..."

It's a farewell letter.

ah.

[Aaaaaaah! They've already run away!]

[The smell and odor are still very strong—follow them!]

Mainkuhn travels through the chaos of the world, trying to guide children back to the right path in their hearts.

But after chasing for several kilometers, he found the road becoming more and more familiar.

The quaint apartment was filled with children's laughter, and gentle and stern admonitions rang out alternately.

[A house with a fireplace?]

Why did I come here?

Standing in front of the fireplace house, Linnie turned to her younger siblings and said, "I'm going to knock now, so be prepared."

[Wait, wait a minute!]

"Squeak—"

[Pepe! What's the rush? He hasn't knocked yet!]

Mainkuhn slammed on the brakes and ducked down the steps. He couldn't explain why he hid, or why he didn't dare to openly lead the children away, but instead eavesdropped from the side.

What are you doing here?

[Pepe, your tone is too cold. You could have just had Clementine answer the door!]

"I,"

Linni was startled and paused for a moment, but quickly put on a magician's smile and spoke fluently and naturally.

“Yesterday was my and Lynette’s birthday, but Mr. En didn’t show up.”

[Huh? Yesterday? Wait, what's today? How long have I been lying here?]

"Mainkuhn is so busy that he rarely celebrates his own birthday, so it's normal that he forgot yours."

Arecino explained calmly, her words were flawless, and her expression showed no weakness.

"If there are no other problems, let me take you back."

[Oh no... I missed it...]

They all believed that this was a child's impulsive question, stemming from the frustration of unmet expectations.

"wrong."

But the youngest one put on a serious face, his timid expression gone.

"Brother En, that's great! You make us smile even on ordinary days, so how could you miss the most important birthday, which was emphasized repeatedly not long ago!"

The executive officer's peculiar pupils slowly slid toward Fimini.

What do you want to say?

"I...I want to say..."

Fimi was a little scared of these eyes, which were even stranger than vertical pupils.

"..."

"I think he must have been in trouble!"

Hugging her arms to suppress her fear, Fimini hurriedly gestured with her fingers to explain.

"Everything here is so strange. Uncle Carles suddenly became very welcoming and invited us to stay the night. We'd do anything but go home. He even had a pretty lady ask us if we liked it here and if we wanted to stay..."

Peruvier listened quietly for a while, then patted his light blonde hair with her half-black fingers.

"He's alright, go back."

"Huh? Eh?...Aren't you going to explain...?"

What does a child's courage and wisdom amount to? Arecino didn't care much; her attention was entirely on the shadows below the steps.

Mainkuhn...

It wasn't until the calmest child spoke that her thoughts were brought back to normal.

"Oh, that's strange."

Lynette's tail stood erect as she stared intently at Arecino, like a hunting predator.

"So, in your line of work, if you're not successfully arrested, then you're not considered to be in trouble?"

"..."

[...]

[！！！]

Peruvée heard the breathing below the stairs quicken instantly.

Ha! Poor fellow, may you be scared to death along with your clumsy disguise.

With a hint of vengeful satisfaction, Peruvieri looked at the kitten with an almost gentle expression.

"You know something."

The children became even more nervous. Linni instinctively reached out to protect her younger siblings and called out softly.

“I know he is a lynx, my father’s sister.”

"Oh, ha, ha, I knew it. Let me guess, you must have been trapped and a mad beast destroyed the trap. Yes and no."

No answer was needed; Peruvieri had already decided on the answer in her heart. She coldly looked at the cat trembling in a ball at the bottom of the stairs.

"You see that I am close to him and visit him often, so you assume that I am the same kind of person as him. Is that true or not?"

"Okay, yes, all of them are right, little things that have walked right into our trap."

With a sinister laugh, Peruvier deliberately raised her voice and roughly ruffled Linni's hair; she had been in a bad mood lately.

"You've come here hand in hand, is it to make it easier for me to—silence you?"

Mainkuhn, you idiot, take a good look, if you don't come out on your own, I'm going to bully them.

"No."

The child's next words made her pause in her frivolous attitude.

"I'm here to join you."

Mainkuhn's heartbeat also stopped.

[？？？？]

[Why, little Linni!]

"Feel sorry."

The family at Fireplace has enough staff and currently has no plans to hire more, nor will they in the future.

Peruvéli had intended to refuse in this way.

Klinney actively stopped her:

“I know! People in your line of work must have very strict confidentiality measures; they don’t leak information to outsiders!”

"Yes, so if we want to know anything about Mr. En, we have to get involved."

Lynette analyzed the situation calmly.

"There are so many things I want to know: Brother En, why did you become a lynx? Why do you always disappear? What are you doing? Do you need help? Have you done anything wrong...?"

Fimini glared at her weakly.

"So, please let us join!"

[Wait! Is this why you refused to let Carles adopt him??]

[Idiots! Your normal lives are more important than anything else!]

"I disagree!"

Unable to hold back any longer, Mainkuhn leaped out of the shadows, speaking in a desperate manner.

"I disagree!!"

"Brother En!"

"It's too late."

Seeing how anxious he was, Peruvieri grabbed the three overjoyed children, led them into the house, and locked the door.

"From now on, remember to call me Father, and say goodbye to your beloved brother En."

Bang! The sound of the door being slammed.

Scratching sound! The sound of scratching at the door.

"I disagree—!!!"