Chapter 62 The food was completely licked clean; peace came from the elder brother…

"This sounds like acute stress. The first step is to identify and isolate the stressor... Wait, you're saying the stressor is Lord Vilette??"

"Impossible, really? Him?"

Leosley raises three questions:

"Although his face does look quite imposing at first glance, once Cat God gets used to it, he should only find it handsome now."

"Hey, the important part, the important part! The important part now is saving Cat God, Head Nurse, and the Duke!"

*

"No, I didn't bring any veterinary medicine, and there's none in Mello Petersburg either. We must get to Fontaine as soon as possible."

[vomit--]

Intermittent groans could be heard coming from inside the bundle.

"Oh dear—it won't be fast, the last patrol boat just set off."

Funina empathized deeply, recalling countless anxious nights:

“And my private yacht won’t arrive for some time, Head Nurse. Isn’t there anything we can do to alleviate his pain right now?”

"Even if it were possible, it's impossible to achieve right now."

Having little veterinary experience, Siegfried could only anxiously recall the contents of her book at this moment:

"A quiet, dimly lit room, a secluded corner to hide in, hmm..."

She glanced at the judge's coat wrapped around the cat.

"The approach was correct, but it wasn't enough."

"The only building nearby is the Opiclie Opera House, but it's anything but quiet."

Clarinde frowned:

"His shaking is getting worse, what should we do? Is there any other way?"

“Let me think, some uncommon approaches... comforting and feeding by someone you trust? But we have to be very careful, and there has to be a lot of trust between us.”

Hitchcock hesitated before speaking, then immediately issued a warning.

"Otherwise, the stress will worsen!"

"......"

Soothing and feeding?

Funina reached into her pocket and pulled out a cat treat.

The souvenirs I smuggled from Cat God's secret base—are we going to use them so soon?

"Oh, that's truly being prepared for any eventuality; it's like having divine intervention."

Leosley, who had been watching silently, finally let out a barely perceptible sigh of relief.

"It seems our poor Mr. Cat can finally have some relief from his pain?"

The cats of Mo Mang Palace certainly trust the master of Mo Mang Palace the most, and the three people present naturally urged the god to act with their eyes.

"Right, Ms. Funina?"

"......"

But the white-haired girl suddenly gripped the cat treat tightly in her hand and fell silent.

"...Ms. Furnessa? Why aren't you making a move?"

Leosley's heart tightened, and the breath he had just relaxed returned.

"What's wrong?"

Hisewen tilted her head to analyze her expression, using Melusin's peculiar vision—unease, worry, and a lot of...guilt?

"Don't worry, sir."

Claude, standing behind her, seemed to understand but not quite, offering her advice:

“You are Cat God’s friend, he will definitely trust you, so he won’t worry that your condition will worsen as a result.”

"I... Oh, of course I know about that—"

—Yeah, right!

Funina stared at the cat treat in her hand, her pupils trembling with guilt.

I almost strangled him to death on the rooftop, and I've been trying to find ways to shut him up—God, should I go and appease him? Wouldn't that just be adding fuel to the fire?

"Meow—"

Oh dear, this is getting worse! Who else could the Cat God trust besides Violet?!

"vomit--"

"......"

After a brief silence, Leosley suddenly stood up and calmly looked at the bewildered god.

“I’ll go get the cat and take it to Navi. No, judging from his current state, it’s safer to bring Navilet over to comfort him.”

"!"

Furnessa suddenly looked up, giving the new duke a strange look.

"Of course, I know that Vilette is a responsible person, and there must be a reason why she is not with her pets now."

Leosley assumed that Frynn disagreed with his suggestion, so he turned and walked directly towards the opera house.

"But small animals are just as fragile as children; they can disappear from life completely if you're not careful."

"So, rather than letting Villette have the possibility of regretting it later, it's better to have him stop what he's doing now..."

"etc."

Leosley ignored the god's objections and continued to move his knees.

"It's been a long time since I've run a long distance; there's no venue like this in Melo Petersburg..."

Whoosh!

"I told you to wait! You idiot minister!"

Something long and soft slapped the Duke on the back of the head.

Snap!

Leosley caught it nimbly, held it in his hand, and examined it closely—

Pet treats? Cat treats?

What are you going to do with me?

"Leosley, my good people."

Funina held her head high, hands on her hips, eyes wide open:

"You, yes, you, go and appease the Cat God!"

She gave the order:

"Immediately! Right now! Now!"

"......"

"ah?"

*

Comforting small animals, me?

"Stop joking..."

Leosley was still in a daze when Villette's coat was forcibly stuffed into his arms.

"......"

The deep blue fabric trembled incessantly around his thighs.

Like a butterfly that has folded its wings and is shivering inside a snail's shell.

Although he remained calm and composed on the surface, only the Duke knew that his back was stiff with tension.

"I can't do it."

Leosley unconsciously cast a pleading look at Hitchcock:

“He doesn’t know me at all, and he’ll definitely be scared by me and things will get worse.”

"!"

When have I ever seen Leo so helpless? Even the young man who had just entered prison had a calm indifference on his face.

"I..."

Hisewen instinctively lifted her foot, wanting to help this human she had watched grow up out of trouble.

"no."

The white-haired god, unusually, turned cold and reached out to press down on Melusin's shoulder.

"vomit--"

"Leosley, quickly calm him down!"

"But,"

"This is a divine decree! Leosley!"

As the half-demon's condition showed no signs of improvement, Funina began to feel anxious.

"Are you going to disobey the command of the God of Justice?!"

"Meow—"

"Move faster!!"

The god was so anxious he wanted to stomp his feet, "Be careful, or I'll banish you to Mero Petersburg!"

...So this is the kind of difficult goddess Frynn is!

Under repeated pressure, Leosley finally slowly took off his half-finger glove, throwing the metal ring and the clattering hard accessory onto the bench.

"Why don't you wear it? It'll provide extra protection in case he bites you..."

"Oh well, let him bite then."

He sighed and reached his bare hand directly into the judge's coat.

"As long as the stress isn't too severe, it's fine."

*

[I feel so bad—]

The half-demon buried his entire body in the gorgeous fabric, like a clam lying in the sand.

[what to do--]

The scent of Villette filled the air, and Mainkuen felt a strong sense of security as he inhaled it.

[This is my teacher, my guide. He is noble and kind, leading me towards the light and proclaiming the laws of justice to me.]

......

But upon closer inspection, the gentle moisture was clearly mixed with many other scents that would unsettle wild animals.

[The teacher is good, everything about the teacher is good!]

[But I'm bad, I'm wicked, I've killed people, and I'll kill more people in the future—]

[Navilet is too strong. One day I'll be caught by the teacher and face his disappointed eyes. Since there's no death penalty, I'll be locked up at the bottom of the sea—what will my brother do to me? Will he hate me and disown me? Because I'm already a complete criminal!]

[I don't want this! I don't want this!]

Fear boils over, clashing with trust and reassurance. The half-demon's soul is torn in two by a love-fear of Navelette.

[What to do, what to do!]

But what tormented him most was not just the fear of his identity being exposed.

[Teacher, I'm sorry—]

The cat puts its paws into its mouth and uses its incisors and canines to poke and pierce the soft pads of its paws until blood flows onto its thin tongue.

What tormented the half-demon the most was...

[I knew perfectly well that this was against the rules, and I knew that my actions were causing trouble for the teacher—]

[But I still really want to bite those bad people, those nobles, that father, one by one, to tear them to pieces, scatter them, devour them, leave not a single one alive!]

[What should I do! I just want to kill, I can't control myself!]

The cat wept for its stubbornness.

[Teacher, I'm a bad seed who knowingly commits crimes! A stupid student who can't be taught no matter what—I, I deserve to die—]

It was at this moment that Leosley's hand reached into the thick fabric.

"!"

The big cat trembled and opened its mouth as if to bite.

"That long, stiff hair that moves back and forth in the palm of my hand... oh, it's the tip of my ear, isn't it?"

A familiar voice suddenly entered her ears, which were buzzing with trembling.

"!!"

Mainkuhn immediately closed his mouth, nearly injuring his oral cavity with his teeth.

"I ran into him."

The human's large hand stretched out within the dark, cramped fabric, and the half-demon felt an overwhelming sense of being controlled.

The cat stared blankly as the large hand, which could completely cover its head, closed, and the four strong fingers explored, tentatively, and hesitantly pressed gently on its furry forehead.

"ah."

The steady male voice seemed to have a touch of softness because of the fabric behind it.

"It's still shaking."

...elder brother.

When did you arrive?

"Huh? Coax him? This is really difficult for me... It's been more than ten years since I've coaxed any living being."

Brother, you're talking to someone and seem troubled. Who should you comfort?

The cat was left standing there, bewildered, its vertical pupils shining in the darkness.

I'm not good at comforting people, but to help, I can let the person the older brother needs to comfort pet my fur...

"Okay, okay, I'll try my best, I'll try my best."

The knuckles on her head were gently curved, the movement as tender as a mother stroking her beloved son's head.

"Don't be afraid, don't be scared."

The distant comfort, both strange and familiar, returned to the ears of the half-demon orphan after several years.

"Nothing will happen."

"Because I will protect you."

"Your brother will protect you, Mainkuen!"

"Because you are my one and only brother, I redeemed you from the world long ago for two hundred Mora!"

*

"...Oh my."

"W-What's wrong, Duke?"

Funina became nervous:

"Did he bite you?"

"Oh, no, that's not it."

Leosley felt the texture on his fingertips.

Moist, cool, and nimbly moving across the skin.

"She's smelling my hands."

Was the attempt to appease them successful?

After thinking for a moment, Leosley picked up the cat treat with his other hand, put it to his mouth, and bit into it.

At the same time, the cat's view suddenly disappeared as the human's hand swiftly withdrew from its sight, and bright sunlight streamed through the tear in the clothing.

"Meow!?"

"Hold on."

The cat cried out in surprise, and the hand quickly returned, carrying a strange fragrance that obscured the light.

"!"

The cat lay on his lap, trembling as it stared intently.

On the elder brother's fingertip, a little bit of minced meat was clearly squeezed.

"Eat up, don't be afraid."

Mainkuhn is very obedient.

He gently peeked out and licked his fingers clean in the darkness.

-----------------------

Author's note: Haha, I deleted and rewrote this chapter, which took me almost six hours to write.

Thank goodness it's Saturday! Mainkun is so hard to write about!

By the way, I've already written a rough synopsis for the next book. It's called "Beng Tie," and the protagonist is the Titan of the Necrotic World, the legendary creator of Onphalos, a sickly old father with an extremely strong protective instinct. His wish is for everyone to call him "Dad" affectionately. You can check it out if you're interested.

Why is the protagonist of this next book different from my previous ones? He seems crazy and eccentric.

Yes, my friend, it's because I, the author, was traumatized by this damn plot.

My darling! I haven't been able to get a full night's sleep since we finished the story! I feel so awful right now!