Chapter 196 Entering the Human World for the First Time, Freedom Seems Impossible...
"He's looking for his brother. I remember his brother is..."
More and more eyes began to turn to the dock, landing on the Duke of Fontaine.
"Wait, isn't he a human trafficker's commodity before? How did he suddenly become a noble duke?"
"Oh, right!" Paimon exclaimed in surprise. "The identity transformation is too drastic! How did you do that? Are you some nobleman's illegitimate son who ended up among the common people? After Maine disappeared, you were searched for by his family and then turned the tables, slapping those bad guys in the face and putting them all in jail!"
"Haha, that sounds like such an awesome life experience, I can reminisce about it for days."
Few people knew about the Duke's past. Who would have thought that the thin, gloomy little murderer could become the overlord of the isolated castle underwater? Leosley had no intention of publicizing his past, so he just smiled and gave a perfunctory answer.
"Gentlemen, let's focus on Mainkuhn. My deeds can be investigated when I'm on trial."
Paimon was startled by this and immediately lost interest in knowing. "Then forget it! It's best to avoid being in the defendant's dock if possible."
'...'
Although the device was updated, the cat remained silent most of the time.
"elder brother…"
Only a few scattered calls could be heard amidst the bustling streets of Fontainebleau.
That was his strongest feeling.
Cats did not have direct contact with humans from the beginning.
Hidden among the bushes lining the streets are eerie, vertically oriented eyes, and silver-grey-furred creatures crouch within, their muscles taut, ready to flee or attack at any moment.
She was very nervous, but in order to find her brother, she couldn't run away, so she hid and sniffed the air, trying to find the familiar scent.
"ah!"
The little girl passing by the bushes was frightened by the reflective vertical pupils and ran away, crying and wailing as she rushed into her mother's arms.
"A monster!"
The cat lying on the ground starts licking its fur, which is a sign of anxiety.
"Monsters? Don't be afraid, don't be afraid. This is Mo Mang Palace. How could there be monsters under the feet of the Water God?"
Adults are much bolder; they might even raise an umbrella to poke through the bushes and investigate.
"Let me see..."
"ha!!"
The big cat slapped the ground with its front paws, arched its back, and bared its teeth and bristled its fur to intimidate her.
The umbrella was quickly snatched away, replaced by terrified murmurs.
"Ah! What is that!?"
"Mom! I told you there was a monster!"
The cat retreated deeper into the bushes and continued licking its lips.
"Am I trying to explain the behavior? But it's obvious at a glance," invited animal expert Qi Liangliang scratched her head. "They're trying to shoo people away. It's clear they don't want to come near us in this situation!"
"No, it's not a monster, it's..."
The mother clearly lacked such common sense; after a moment, she gently parted the bushes with her umbrella to look at the small animal curled up inside.
"...It's a cat, a Maine Coon, a Maine Coon, a gentle breed."
"Warm, gentle? Mom, I can't tell."
"hiss!!!"
Indeed, the cat bared its canine teeth, its four paws hunched back, looking completely wild and untamed, lacking any of the gentle charm of a pet. Children didn't like it.
“I called the guards to chase it away with sticks! It’s so fierce, so annoying, so unlovable.”
"...No, child, don't do that."
The mother, who always doted on her child, did not comply with her wishes. After a moment of silence, she opened her handbag, took out something, and threw it into the bushes.
"Mom!" the child exclaimed in disbelief, "You gave it my snacks!"
"I'm sorry, honey, I'll make it up to you, but how about we give some to Mr. Cat first? He looks very tired..."
The mother and son left hand in hand. Mainkun listened to their footsteps as they left, and it took him a long time to close his mouth in a daze and hide his teeth.
'...'
The cat lowered its head and sniffed at the snacks that had been thrown on the grass; they were all small things like cheese cubes.
"...There is no danger."
"...That's true, after all, I'm not human anymore."
The conclusion seemed to leave Mainkuhn somewhat bewildered. He pricked up his cat ears, hesitated, and flicked his tail, unsure of how to react.
The stragglers burst into laughter, "Ha, look at him, so pathetic! He seems to have no idea how to enjoy a 'good life'!"
"He doesn't seem to be used to days without pain."
Tinari expressed his true sigh.
The cat nudged the cheese block with its nose, didn't eat it, turned around, took off, snatched a golden gull from the sky, bit it to death, and swallowed it.
The opera house fell silent for a long time, filled with memories, except for Qi Liangliang drooling.
"He really is... a good cat."
They all knew this wasn't a compliment.
The video begins to speed up, and the next day, the mother brings her reluctant child again.
"Mom! If you like cats, we can go pet Grandma's. They're clean and well-behaved. Come on, come on! Why do we have to go there and get yelled at, Mom? Besides, we might not even be able to find one!"
But no matter how unwilling she was, she couldn't go against the adults' wishes, and could only helplessly watch her mother use an umbrella to push aside the bushes, waiting for the familiar screams to come from within.
...didn't you call out?
The result was unexpected.
The little girl looked at the cat, which was curled up, with some surprise and wary eyes.
But it didn't bark or get angry.
"Did you feel my kindness, little one?"
The woman gently tossed the dried fish in her hand to the cat, saying, "Have some. You don't look like you have a home."
'...'
The cat turned its head away, seemingly disliking what they were saying, and didn't eat anything. Golden Eyes looked at them coldly.
"It's a little more sensible, but not much." The little girl shook her head unhappily. "Mommy, don't feed it anymore. It doesn't react at all. Even a puppy wags its tail when you feed it."
"Oh, you silly child."
The mother looked helplessly at her immature child, "I'm helping it, not for any reward."
"Then what's the point of feeding it?"
As the bushes closed in, the mother and daughter's voices faded into the distance. Mainkuhn, hidden by the grass, squinted slightly.
"……Safety? "
Is it safe?
"It doesn't hurt, so it must be safe."
"I seem much more relaxed than last time."
Liu Yun guessed at the cat's body language, "This child...sigh, it's a bit stressed."
Rather than lamenting, Xiao cares more about things that are very important to him.
"He didn't seem to care at all that he was being compared to a dog... Ugh, that's really annoying."
Zhongli knew what was bothering him. The Peng bird, who had once been oppressed by the evil god, had a proud and unyielding spirit and disliked seeing living beings fall into the dust.
"But repairing broken dignity takes a long time and is no less difficult than turning an iron rod into a needle."
Fortunately, time is the one thing we have plenty of.
Mainkuhn, that little cat, clearly hadn't thought about dignity. As usual, he lay in ambush in the bushes, collecting the scents of passersby, hoping to catch a familiar one.
"Idiot, you're wasting your energy."
Leosley frowned, unable to suppress a hint of pity and sadness in his expression.
You won't find me like this.
Because I was still underwater at the time and hadn't come up yet.
Mainkuhn knew nothing; he continued to futilely tilt his head back and sniff around, and was disturbed by the mother and daughter every day.
"It feels like if we leave him alone, he can hide there forever. Ah, here 'cat' means to hide."
"Mommy! Mommy! You've fed a coward!"
The little girl noticed this too and was disgusted.
"It probably will never dare to come out of the bushes and meow to thank you!"
"But I didn't do it for that purpose, did I?"
The cat still didn't eat any of the food she brought; it just lay there and slowly blinked its eyes.
"Winking is a sign of friendliness!" Qi Liangliang explained responsibly.
But the movement was so slight that both adults and children overlooked it.
Goodbye, Mr. Cat. Hope you'll be more energetic next time we meet.
"I hope you won't try to take Mom away from me next time!"
They left hand in hand as usual, and as on every day before, Mainkuen would close his eyes and rest as usual.
No.
"Woof!"
"Mom, save me!"
!
The fierce barking of dogs, the cries of children, and the mother's pleas for help rang in my ears. Before I could think, the big cat leaped out of the dark bushes!
"The Wise King has gone out!! Wait, is that the reason?... Well, it's not too surprising."
The midday sun was dazzling, making his silvery-gray fur shine like satin. The big cat waved its front paw, swatting away the vicious dog that was chasing and biting the child, while simultaneously lowering its ears.
"ha!"
The crisis is over; it's not worth mentioning.
The dog tucked its tail between its legs and whimpered as it ran away. Catching it was the guard's job. Mainkuhn retracted its claws, glanced back at the mother and daughter, and prepared to disappear back into the bushes.
"…What's wrong. "
It would have been better if I hadn't looked, because once I did, I noticed that the expressions on the two humans' faces were all strange.
"Scared? Doesn't seem like it."
"So big, amazing... no, wait, it's the tail!!"
The little girl was shocked to discover that the big cat her mother fed every day had a short tail that had been clearly cut off. The cat had been hiding in the bushes and hadn't moved at all, so she hadn't noticed it at all!
"Tail……"
She began to feel an instinctive sadness, like seeing a fairy tale with missing pages or a doll with a broken arm. When imperfection is imprinted on a living being, it is even more heartbreaking.
“I told you, Maine Coons are a gentle and friendly breed that don’t easily show signs of aggression.”
Her mother calmed down considerably. After confirming that the danger had left, she knelt down in front of Mainkuen, her eyes gentle and peaceful.
“Some bad people hurt you, didn’t they, little one?”
'...'
The little girl timidly tugged at her mother's sleeve, "So, the reason you were yelling before was because you were afraid of us, not because you disliked us?"
'...'
Mainkuhn had no thoughts in his mind; he looked at the human before him with almost calm composure.
Honestly, he still doesn't quite understand what's happening in front of him, nor can he comprehend the emotions in their eyes.
"It's a good cat."
The mother softened her gaze at him and called to her child.
"Sweetheart, are you feeling a little touched?"
"...Oh dear, next time I see someone behaving strangely, I'll be more patient and ask them questions instead of directly blaming them. I'm sorry."
The little girl blushed with embarrassment, apologized awkwardly, and then looked away from Maine.
"So, may I pet you, Mr. Cat?"
The cat didn't answer, so she carefully stretched out her finger and poked a hole in the silvery leather coat.
"It's hot!"
She cheered, while the cat's pupils dilated.
"...I saved people, but I didn't feel any pain."
"Do as you please, and there will be no punishment."
"They felt no responsibility whatsoever; they were even surprised by my help."
"...Gods, I think I'm really safe now."
"No, that's not specific enough."
"I am free."
He realized this much too late.
"Mr. Cat, come home with me and Mommy! ...Wait, are you crying?"
Barbatos, why am I still in so much pain? I am already free...
Large tears fell softly to the ground. Mainkun couldn't understand why he, who had turned into a beast, would still cry.
"Brother...we need to find brother...hurry..."
With that one and only wish, that one last will to live, Mainkuhn emerged from the bushes and officially came into the world.
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Author's Note: Before posting, I checked the comments section of the previous chapter. I was originally planning to choose a good title from the top-rated comments, but I found that the top-rated comment was actually... asking me not to change the name, because it could lure people in to kill me? ? ? ? ? ?
Really? I'm so guilty... But the copywriting should give you some warning, right?
I'll think about the name some more. It can't be left unchanged at all. Or maybe I should just change Fontaine to Teyvat based on the suggestion? Hmm... I feel like I'm some kind of cunning assassin.
Thank you everyone for your feedback, although the result was completely unexpected...
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