Chapter 224 About life, I once longed for it too…

Funina's carefully hidden memories were gently revealed by Fukalos.

Unaware of the complexities involved, Mainkuhn remained silent as he witnessed his encounter with Funina.

An impure cat, a false god.

In this complex world, we play our own roles.

Do you still remember that first encounter?

"She really criticized your nickname 'Cat God' back then," Fukalos whispered in Mainkuen's ear.

"...Such a thing is true?"

But no matter how much Mainkuhn tried to recall it, all he could remember was the bitter taste of anxiety on the girl's fingertips.

“It’s been too long, Fucarus, so long that I can only recall the most vivid memories.”

"Hmm, it seems like it wasn't a very good first impression. What a pity."

"Blame it on my sensitive nose; it can spot false pretenses better than the human eye."

"Good cat, good cat."

Fukalos laughed and, taking advantage of Mainkuen's inability to resist, rubbed his ear.

"You did something that only you could do!"

Mainkuhn shook his head, but couldn't shake it off, so he let himself lie back down in the same spot. "...I just helped her deal with the child who asked for help, and let her pet my fur."

"That's enough. That's enough for her to consider you a 'colleague'."

With his view blocked by the velvet cloth, Mainkuhn was unable to get up and thus could not see the pity and joy in the eyes of the gods.

"Because, this is the first time someone has ever comforted my little Funina."

*

Frynn and the lynx in their cat forms have an unexpectedly good relationship, and she even played a role in fostering the teacher-student relationship between Navelette and Mainkuen.

This fact shocked the audience.

"So, the thousands of adoption regulations you wrote back then are not as valuable as the 'I care about you' that Funina casually guided you to say?"

Leosley raised an eyebrow, watching the cat curl up in embarrassment under the gaze of the god and the dragon.

"I'm telling you, my friend, you really should thank her."

"cough……"

Navelette felt a little embarrassed by the teasing, but also thought that Leosley was right.

"At that time, Mainkuhn had just escaped from the Fireplace House. Perhaps for him, no amount of laws could be as touching as a simple 'I love you'."

Leosley's smile froze instantly, and he remained silent for a moment.

"I also need to thank Funina."

There are so many memories that were forcibly skipped, and when they are retrieved, they are all long and tender.

Leosley ripped open the cat's belly, then Violet tried to rip open the cat's belly, and oh, Lady Funina did it too.

Navelette defended a duke who was ostracized by the nobles, the cat defended a duke who was ostracized by the nobles, and oh, Lady Funina did it too.

"Yes, we're friends!"

Seeing that Funina was starting to pull Navelette along and point at Leosley, who was overly popular with cats, Paimon suddenly flew up.

"Although we're still hiding many things from each other, we're definitely friends!"

"Friends?"

Klorind watched as Frynn nervously snatched the cat back from her hands, as if afraid he would be killed by the cold-faced guard at any moment, and felt both amused and helpless.

"The psychologists are right, having a pet can indeed improve social relationships between people."

"Mimi".

Wasn't Mainkuhn also nurturing himself in this relationship? The lynx, rife with bloodshed, only revealed his cat-like talent before the gods, growing larger to carry a girl on his back, just to prove the existence of miracles.

"It's so big, just like the lions in legends!" Dixia's eyes lit up. "I want to ride one too!"

"Hey, what are you saying?!" Kavi turned around in horror. "That's the Wise King!"

“I know, but he’s really handsome.” Dixia loved everything about lions. She asked, “Don’t you want to ride him, Kavi? Look how majestic he is!”

"...No matter how powerful you are, you can't—"

Sino suddenly spoke up, "I want to ride one too, preferably one to teach the trainee disciplinary officers."

"? How come you're here too—"

"Because with the 'lion,' I have 'teachers,' and my teaching will definitely be twice as effective with half the effort."

"..."

His excitement instantly turned to ice, and Kavi clutched his forehead in anguish.

"You people really don't leave the wise prince any dignity at all."

"Don't you want to ride?" Elhesen glanced at him. "Has your taste declined?"

"How could you say that?! Even if I wanted to, I couldn't—never mind, never mind, I don't care anymore! Anyway, Mainkun won't be angry about this..."

Kavi gave up resisting and helplessly turned his head toward the direction of his memories, only to see the half-demon who was carrying the girl and soaring through the sky above Fontaine a second ago being grabbed by the neck and pressed to the ground by Funina the next second.

"Now you know who I am."

Her grip tightened, and for the first time in her life, she attempted to take another person's life.

"For Fontaine, you must die."

"…this?!"

The room erupted in uproar, the incredulous voices barely rising before being abruptly silenced by Funina's despairing gaze.

"Ah, I forgot again."

The audience murmured, "Fontaine is destined for destruction, the prophecy is true, and Frynn is destined to bear this burden..."

It didn't feel real at all. The people of Fontaine were so well protected that even though Fukaros was standing right in front of him warning him, he still couldn't quite believe it.

"Mainkuhn!"

Even though he knew the killing had failed, Leosley couldn't help but let out a soft cry.

Fucarus's mental world cannot play Maine's past thoughts, and Leo cannot know what the motionless cat, letting Funina strangle it, was thinking, or why it didn't resist, as if it didn't want to live at all.

"Struggle! Bite me!! How can I possibly hurt you like this!"

The goddess's devastating cries suddenly rang out. She cried and laughed, hugging the cat, cursing him and petting him, loving him and resenting him. A twisted yet sincere friendship blossomed in the bitter water.

"...At least Frynn doesn't have to carry the secret of her identity alone anymore." That was the only way the audience could console themselves.

No one blamed Funina for this, after all, anyone with eyes could see that she was on the verge of collapse. The gods' predicament seemed unsolvable, so people could only turn their attention to the cat, which seemed easier to deal with.

"He really didn't resist at all, and even comforted Funina after being released... How should I put it, isn't that abnormal?"

Was he normal during his teenage years?

"...Sumi Liyue is really good at raising cats."

After a rather helpless analysis, the group could only barely discern that the time should be after Mainkun adopted the Linni twins and before the time of gathering evil to save the world.

"That's not right."

The audience watched as Funina, after the incident, desperately fought with Navelette for adoption rights and tried to imprison the cat.

"How did Mainkun know about the prophecy? There's no way Fryna could have told him that the prophecy was true?"

"As expected, they were fooled into believing it. It's ironic, but only fools believed this prophecy back then..."

But who was the culprit who led Mainkuhn down a path of no return?

"The culprit? Oh my, how strange, I'm experiencing what it feels like to be wronged now."

Fukaros adjusted the image in surprise, and in her memory, a gloomy young man sneaked into the opera house and punched the cardinal who issued the decree.

"What is he smashing—??"

The divine creation that supplied the power of the law and compensation was akin to a national treasure, yet it was nearly destroyed by the reckless Mainkun. And that wasn't the end of it; after being startled by Fucaros's sudden appearance, Mainkun, upon regaining his composure, directly demanded:

"Let this machine sentence me to death, true god."

"..."

Mainkuhn heard his younger self excitedly making a wish, and it felt completely foreign to him.

"Do you remember, little kitten?"

Fukalos stayed by his side.

"You made two wishes to me back then: one was a death sentence, and the other was Furina's freedom. More than ten years have passed. Have your wishes changed?"

"..." Mainkun opened his mouth, spitting out a weak but firm voice through his sharp teeth:

“I still believe that for some irredeemable criminals, only death can completely end the harm they have caused… and as for Furina, I still hope she can be free.”

“Hey, you skipped over the point I most wanted to know. You know perfectly well that I wanted to ask more than just your attitude toward the death penalty.” Fukaros fiddled with the cat’s ear tips, playing with them by twirling them around his fingertips.

"What I want to know is, Xiao En, do you still want to die?"

"..."

To prevent a life from dying, they frighten him with prophetic misfortune so that he dares not die.

There is no worse form of psychotherapy in the world.

On the other side, unseen by Mainkuhn, everyone was shocked by the revelation of the truth.

After a long while, Kaiya finally took a deep breath.

“I don’t know how to put it, Ms. Fukaros, but your frankness is extremely terrifying to him, no less dangerous than a second destruction of his soul.”

Indeed, that was the case. Viewers remember that Mainkuhn went through a period of inexplicable crying after that. He cried to the children, clung to the judge, and clung to the Duke. He cried for no reason, cried as if his heart was breaking, and cried as if he were dying.

"but."

Diluc's crimson eyes swept across the surrounding stands, which were packed with representatives from various countries, all gathered here for one person.

"Your plan seems to have succeeded."

"Xiao En."

Just then, Fucarus asked the weakened cat again.

Do you still want to die now?

"..."

Mainkuhn was no longer as healthy as he was in his youth. He was missing a forearm, his whole body was pale and weak, and his sclera was tinged with a light yellow, a sign of his internal organ decay.

"I……"

But he also looked much more energetic than when he was young. The fear that used to linger in his eyes had mostly disappeared, and his words carried the kindness that only comes from being treated well. Violence and gloom seemed to have been gone from him for too long, and his clear and gentle nature could no longer be hidden.

After a long while, the cat slowly shuffled over from the cushion, rubbing against the seated deity, and snuggled against her leg, crying softly.

“I want to live, Fucarus…”

"I don't know if this is possible, but I want to live..."

"I...can't bear to part with it...sob..."