Chapter 71 Sobbing and weeping, the Duke's attempt to soothe the cat backfires...

Shame gripped the young magician's heart, causing him to mutter uncontrollably to himself.

"Honestly, why am I crying? I'm not a child anymore... A stranger I've only known for a few days, strange and dangerous, there's absolutely no need to be sad for him... Waaaaaah! Mr. En??"

Amidst Linnie's scream, the three children were astonished to see water overflowing from the round cat's eyes, dripping down and disappearing into the scarf covering their faces.

This wasn't the first time Linni had seen a half-demon cry. In the villa filled with human blood, the boy cried even more sorrowfully and loudly, sending chills down one's spine.

But Linni inexplicably felt that Mr. En was in even more pain now than before.

"W-What's wrong, brother? Are you feeling unwell?"

Little Femini ran forward in a panic, arms outstretched, looking like she wanted to hug him but was too afraid to:

"Wow—you're soaked to the bone! It's so cold outside, you're sure to catch a fever!"

Even the usually composed Lynette panicked for no apparent reason, rushing back to her bedroom to grab her own blanket and hand it to the half-demon she barely knew:

"Quick, take it off, cover yourself up, keep warm..."

"Mr. En? So something must have happened last night."

The boy, who had almost been terrified, forgot his fear and his inner turmoil. Suddenly, Linnie became angry:

"If anyone bullies you, I'll shoot them in the head with my little bow!"

While still angry, Linni suddenly remembered the other person's skills; it was clear they wouldn't be bullied by ordinary bad guys. Instead, they were more likely to have committed a crime and been caught. She quickly changed her story:

"Uh...don't worry! I'll be an eyewitness! I'll stand at the opera house entrance, and I'll grab one of the legs of every person who comes, and I'll make sure all the adults and judges know that you killed, cough, beat up only bad guys! I'll make them ashamed to judge you!"

"Brother Linni, what are you saying? You can't be performing a play at this time!"

"Mr. En, raise your hand and take off your trench coat."

"......"

The more the children comforted him, the harder Mainkuhn cried, his eyes brimming with tears as he looked at his newly built home, unwilling to let go of even a single moment.

Damn gods, damn fate.

You're bullying me again.

This time they even bullied my child!

*

At the Hearth House, the half-demon arrived at an inopportune time, just in time to see his father and the whole family quietly having breakfast in the dining room.

"Wow! Father! We have a guest!"

As soon as Mainkuhn appeared, the children immediately started clamoring and vying to see him, and the serious atmosphere vanished completely.

"I remember you. You killed the headmistress, you smashed her head open—"

sorry!

The cat darted under the dining table in terror.

I didn't intend for it to be so bloody!

"Are you going to play a game?"

Many of the children, seeing this, followed suit and crawled onto the floor, heads up, into the tablecloth.

Mainkuhn glanced under the table; enemies were everywhere, and people filled his vision.

"Could we wait until we've thanked you before we play? We'd like to make it more formal..."

!! Ahhh, don't come any closer—Bang!

The cat head smashed through the solid wood table, which weighed over 100 pounds, scattering bowls, plates, knives, and forks all over the floor. Arecino took deep breaths desperately.

"Wow, sir, your head is really hard!" the children exclaimed in admiration.

"The meal time has been extended, and I have some things to discuss with this gentleman."

The servant, with a cold face, reached out and rescued his droopy-eared brother from the scraps of food and wood, all the while trying to maintain his composure.

"Mr. Mainkuhn."

"What's wrong with you?" I couldn't hold back.

"......"

Mainkuhn didn't answer, but just looked at her with teary eyes.

Pepe, waaaaah—

"You're crying again."

Her questioning tone softened, and her anger subsided. With utter resignation, Arecino placed him in the empty room next door.

“It was one thing for you to cry when you were little, but now your face is hardly cute anymore. Even if Clementine were here, she wouldn’t be willing to spend four hours comforting you... So, tell me, what happened?”

"......"

Mainkuhn couldn't speak, he could only wipe away his tears and gesture.

"You're asking me if I'm from Fontainebleau? Why are you asking that? No, really, I'm sure I'm not... Fine, I swear to the Goddess of Winter I have no Fontainebleau blood at all. If you make another move, I'll tie you up and take you to a restaurant to dine with me."

"!"

Mainkuen was much happier and continued gesturing while shaking his ears.

"Crevie? It's hard to say. Her biological father is unknown, and Kujavina has never revealed her nationality, but she spends most of her working time in Fontaine."

“......” Ugh.

The ear immediately pressed down.

"Children? Of course, all children are Fontainebleau people."

Arecino looked closely into his eyes, interpreting them with her rich experience:

"I don't want to grow old alone with Peipei."

The more he tried to understand, the more confused he became. The servant didn't know if he was being disliked, but he rationally offered the following words of comfort:

"Don't worry, Maine, I'm cursed. I definitely won't live a long life, let alone grow old."

"...Waaaaah!"

*

Navia, Clorind, Miles... needless to say, they all look like native Fontaines!

"Aww—"

A long, slender Maine barked and stood up, furiously scratching at the door of the Mo Mang Palace in a fit of rage.

"Mr. Cat God? Don't scratch me!"

Melusine Sedna quickly ran over to stop him:

"If you need help, I can open the door for you... Hmm? I feel like the way you're looking at me today is a little strange?"

"Meow—"

Melusin, are Melusin considered Fontainebleau people? No, no, no, they're not even human.

The cat thought sadly.

Perfect timing! They're all good swimmers, so when the time comes, they can live freely in the water that's dissolved with the corpses of a lot of Fontaines—oohhh, how terrifying!

"Strange? What's strange about it?"

Human employees, who were just there for the spectacle, came to see him.

"Is anything more bizarre than the new proposal from the Tribunal for the former? They're actually trying to require criminals to pay half of their stolen money as taxes, or else they have to return it all to the original owner! Damn it! I really want to smash that brilliant brain of theirs!"

"...No need to show it to Mr. Navelette, just reject it directly."

"No, that's against the rules..."

Oh my god, forget about taxes, everyone's going to die soon anyway.

Do you have to pay taxes even after you die? Being human is so miserable.

With tears welling in her eyes, the cat walked into the familiar office, where the earnest, white-haired gentleman had already begun his day's work.

Good morning, Mr. Cat God.

He saw his teacher look up from the document and give him a gentle smile.

"Please wait a moment, I will prepare your food right away... Oh."

Villette's fingers froze on the cat food bag. He turned around, looking at the large cat in front of him with some panic:

"I...I don't think I've asked you yet if you like this pet food. If you don't mind, you can come earlier and have some of the free breakfast at Mo Mang Palace with me..."

Leosley probably doesn't know that I feed his brother cat food every day, right?

"Meow—"

The cat didn't answer, but let out a long, mournful cry. The cannonball leaped from the ground and crashed into the Water Dragon King's arms.

"This is, this is—"

Villette's hand was several beats slow to rise before she hurriedly caught the pouncing cat:

"Does this mean you want to continue feeding them cat food? I... I think changing the flavor would be nice, like meat broth, clam chowder, cream soup, or something?"

“.

The fluffy head rested on his cramped shoulder, like an overly tight hug. Mainkun noticed his teacher's unusual behavior, but he was in no mood to think about it.

"...Perhaps we should maintain some basic social distancing, after all, you always have to change and transform into a human being, you can't always be like this."

"Meow!"

Ugh, so annoying!

The cat wrapped its paw around his stiff neck.

I'm so sad and heartbroken.

A few tears welled up in his golden beast eyes.

You still won't hug me, touch me, or rub my head!

I'm not even human anymore, don't I deserve some real comfort?

"Mimi..."

The water accumulated more and more, running down the fine hairs around the eyes, shattering like glass beads in the soft crook of the water dragon's neck.

"What?"

Navelette was startled and quickly turned her head to look at the cat's face:

"You cried again?"

"Aww—"

Why did you say "again"?! It's one thing for Peipei to say that... Although I cried when I first saw you, I didn't cry that many times!

"Why this time?"

Her hands were no longer stiff, and her back was no longer trembling. Violet's face turned serious, and she quickly pried open the cat's mouth.

"No blood, no signs of illness, and the nose is moist."

He stroked the torso and squeezed the four paws: "Not injured."

Looking both outside and inside, she thought, "Lai... isn't here yet."

Having tested all possibilities, Navelette began to panic. He sat down, placed the cat on his lap, and sat upright, trying to soothe it.

"Have you encountered any difficulties in your life? I'd like to help you."

"Mimi".

The cat tilted its head back and fell down, exposing its belly, looking at him with tears streaming down its face.

"Don't look at me like that."

The Water Dragon King's voice was both helpless and gentle:

"It's as if I made you so sad, even though I didn't do anything."

"Meow!"

You did it, you did everything!

You helped me! You arrested me! You taught me! You took me in as a friend and student!

That sounds like a good thing, right?

The cat opened its mouth, tears streaming down its face, and hissed, revealing a mouthful of sharp teeth.

But if you hadn't done these things, why would I be so heartbroken just by imagining you disappearing?

"Cat God? Cat God?"

Navelette was inexperienced and couldn't win people over.

Or perhaps the more he tried to comfort the cat, the more it cried.

"What should we do..."

Leosley arrived, stepping on his sigh:

"Oh, what kind of problem could possibly trouble our Supreme Judge so early in the morning?"

"You've come at the perfect time."

Navelette's worry turned to joy, and she looked at the Duke with great anticipation.

"Come quick, you might be the only one who can help me now."

"What?"

Leosley peeked out and saw his good cat brother lying silently on someone's lap, tears streaming down his face.

"!...Oh my god, what happened?"

He quickly reached out to save the dragon, pulling the soft cat into his arms.

"Let me see, Mei, Cat God? Will you acknowledge me?"

"Is everything alright, Leosley?"

Navette relaxed her body, but not her mind:

"Neither of us is particularly good at comforting others, so perhaps I should go and call a Melissa..."

"rest assured."

Leosley recalled his previous experience and immediately and confidently refused:

"No matter how bad his mood is, I reckon he'll feel much better after looking at me a few times."

This is no exaggeration; even the Water God can attest to it! The cat god, who was in shock, recovered considerably after being held by the Duke for a while!

"Come on, good sir, open your eyes and look at me."

With a mixture of worry and confidence, Leosley carefully lifted the cat and looked gently into his eyes.

"I'm right here, what are you still sad about?"

The golden vertical pupils did indeed move, their gaze landing on the Duke's face in a daze.

"......"

Mainkuhn saw a face that was unmistakably Fontainebleau.

"Aww—"

"Why...why did you start crying? Does my face make you that upset???"

Leosley was devastated.

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

Author's note: Friend: You have to pay taxes on stolen goods? What are you thinking? That's hilarious!

Me: It's true, not made up, it's American law.

Thank goodness this is Fontainebleau! ...After saying that, she smiled even more broadly.

Mainkun had a vague feeling that Navelette was not quite right, but he wasn't sure; he was just overthinking things.

No updates on Friday, I want to see what's going on with Zone Zero 2.0.