Chapter 35 Born with Compassion, Adoption with Informed Agreement…
"Lord Cat God, how did you find this place?"
As soon as Navelette opened the window, a dripping wet cat jumped right into his lap.
"Your Mightiness!?"
Ignoring his astonishment, the water slime-like cat rolled around in his dry arms, stretched out its still dripping furry paws, and eagerly grabbed the Water Dragon King's arm—the arm that the half-demon had attacked during the day.
My human form is far more dangerous than my cat form!
The half-demon felt remorseful and pressed his wet nose against the Water Dragon King's tattered sleeve, sniffing repeatedly.
Claws that can tear a human body apart, and fangs that can crush steel... God, Violet! Let me see how badly I've hurt you!
Huh?
But the cat looked and looked, and still couldn't find the familiar scratches on the man's slender, strong forearm.
If you smell it carefully, there is no bloody smell on the palm where you were bitten.
What happened?
The cat's fur was dripping wet, and its mouth was agape, frozen like a brainless, wet sponge.
With my strength in human form, even without malicious intent, even if Vilette is the possessor of the Eye of God, shouldn't she have four holes in her hands?
"Your Excellency Cat God."
Maine looked up at the sound and saw the white-haired man looking down at her in confusion.
His chest and arms, once neat and elegantly covered in fabric, were now soaked through in large patches. Villette wiped the raindrops from his forehead, looking utterly disheveled.
"Why have you come in the rain? What brings you here?"
"......"
Oh ho!
How do I feel?
Whether it was when I accidentally ingested desiccant last time, or when I kept saying I looked like a human...
I always make you look really bad...
The wet cat, nestled in the Water Dragon King's arms, dared not move again, feeling guilty.
"Your Excellency Cat God, please answer my question. I know you understand."
"......"
After a long while, the cat finally patted its damp fur collar, revealing the cloth bag inside.
"Meow?"
If I said I came to pay back the money, would you believe me?
"...Just to pay back the money, you got soaked in sweat?"
Navelette's face darkened, and she looked at him seriously.
"Meow?"
Mainkuhn returned a sincere and innocent look.
"well."
Without remaining silent for long, Violet stretched out his palm, supporting the cat's body with one hand and pressing down on its head with the other, then slowly slid down, stripping away the moisture from its body, making the areas that had been soaked by the rain fluffy again.
Mainkuhn: "!?"
It feels amazing to physically dry the plush stuff.
It's like taking a deflated balloon and inflating it back into a round shape.
But as Violet pinched the cat's head, which had become round again, he couldn't feel truly happy.
"You look like an artichoke, but you have a lot of hair and little flesh, making you inedible."
"Meow?"
"Behavior also."
The Water Dragon King was subtly... no, blatantly belittling the cat.
"It's a pointless and harmful act, only asking for trouble."
"Meow??"
Maine looked up in shock.
Were you just insulting me?
That's too euphemistic! I don't understand.
*
"I am glad that you are an honest gentleman who is willing to repay your debts in a timely manner."
After putting the cat down, Navelette immediately tried to find some food in the office.
“But I must remind you, Lord Cat God.”
He failed; the water dragon never had the habit of eating while working.
"Unlike humans and many marine animals with smooth skin, you have a thicker and more multi-layered fur than the average cat. This is your pride, but at times it can also be a burden."
Navelette began rummaging through another beautifully packaged gift box—
It was a cat treat that Funina bought, which she carelessly left in the Supreme Judge's office.
'This afternoon tea is for my divine colleagues, and no one is allowed to touch it,'—Furina once declared.
Navelette took one without hesitation.
"Once your fur gets wet, it won't dry quickly, and the cold autumn wind will rapidly steal your body heat..."
Turning back, she quickly squeezed the cat treats into the food dish and slapped them in front of the large silver-gray cat.
"You're trying to kill yourself over a debt I never asked you to repay, sir."
He began to curse in a veiled way:
"I once analyzed your emotions based on your tears and judged that your intelligence level was comparable to some Meloscens, but now it seems that I was completely wrong. After all, even the lowest-level seaweed in the sea knows not to expose its body to the scorching sun and damage itself..."
“.
Mainkuen shrank back nervously, not daring to look up at all.
Although I don't know why—
He secretly peered at Villette's face.
Serious, silent, with a hint of condemnation and anger.
Why?! This face overlaps with my brother's and Peipei's, it's like I've accidentally done something wrong again!
"Please eat immediately."
The white-haired man sat upright opposite me, his voice low and terrifying.
"Replenish the calories you burned."
Yes! That's exactly the feeling!
Mainkun stepped on the edge of the porcelain plate with one paw and licked the cat treat twice in a panic.
I was so angry, but I was trying my best to suppress my rage and restrain myself from slapping me across the face!
Why?
"Smack."
After quickly licking a few times, Maine jumped onto the opposite sofa and rubbed her head against Villette's arm.
"Mimi~"
The cat's meow was melodious and gentle, and the birds chirped.
Dude! I heard you're a 400-year-old man! Try to take things easy; getting angry can easily raise your blood pressure.
"Meow~~"
The cat's meows were melodious and sweet, pitiful yet endearing.
Hey bro! By the way, aren't you the Heavy Armor Crab Master? Why can't I break through your defenses?
"Meow~~~"
One sound after another, the cat, its eyes wide, stomped on his thigh with its paws.
"Gurgle~"
Still angry? Seriously, you can't even handle this?
Who can withstand this?!
"...Do you know you were wrong?"
The Water Dragon King's pointed ears slowly turned red from being called.
"Mimi—"
I can't understand cat language, but the meows are so melodious, it must be a sincere apology.
The Water Dragon King, judging others by his own standards, uttered indifferent words, but his hand had already unconsciously taken off his glove and reached towards Maine's chin.
"I should have taught you to maintain basic social distancing."
"Mimi~"
"......"
Navelette, with a serious expression, pulled him into her arms and ran her fingers through the silvery-gray downy fur.
What should we do?
The Water Dragon King looked at the big cat on his lap as if he were looking at a spoiled child.
How can there be creatures that, despite possessing advanced intelligence, be content with the status quo and choose to live like wild beasts?
Like you... the fairies of Liyue, the demons of Inazuma, which one of them didn't first cultivate human form and strive towards a higher goal?
"A creature that can only catch fat seagulls all day, is so hungry it can swallow desiccants, can barely understand human language, and doesn't even seek shelter from the rain..."
Navelette held the large, silver-grey cat up in front of her, looking at its innocent, golden, vertical pupils and furrowed brow:
"Unheard of."
"Mimi".
The cat turned its head and patted Villette's bare hand with its paw, stroking it playfully.
I'm really not injured.
Mainkuhn thought to himself with delight.
I came to see this despite the rain; it was worth getting scolded.
*
The rain came down hard and left just as suddenly.
Mainkuhn heard the rain stop, but he didn't really want to leave.
This is because...
Maine, with her short tail held high, moved with the gait of a cat, quietly approaching the files that filled several bookshelves in the office.
My brother's information must be inside!
Since Navelette knew the name Mainkuhn, he must have investigated his adoptive parents and 'family'!
He raised his front paws and stood upright to pry open the bookshelf.
The path to enlightenment lies within it—ah!
However, Violet forcibly grabbed its two front paws and led it away like a child.
"Sorry, you do not have the right to access the files."
hateful--
Why are you the Supreme Judge?!
Maine walked on its two paws, opened its mouth and breathed lightly at the Water Dragon King, but it was helpless.
Upon discovering that the water god was an ordinary human, Mainkun immediately and boldly infiltrated the Momang Palace.
However, when faced with the dragon guarding the treasure, he found himself unable to make a move.
But this time it wasn't out of fear of force.
Rather, he developed feelings for the dragon.
Navisette, why you of all people, Navisette?
If it were someone else, I would simply transform into human form, knock them unconscious, and then carry away the files from these bookshelves.
But how could I bear to lie to you, steal from you, or rob you of your things when you are such a good person?
No, no, no! My brother is the most important!
A large, silver-gray cat leaped onto the desk, glaring menacingly at the white-haired man in the chair.
If you just gently knock them unconscious, there shouldn't be any problems.
Why are you looking at me like that? Are you hungry again?
But the future victim wore an expression of pure worry:
"There are no extra plates, I'll just feed you directly."
...Why are you doing this so well!
With the help of the Water Dragon King's fingers, Mainkuen licked the cat treat that was offered to him in a fit of grief and indignation.
If you harbored even a shred of malice, I wouldn't be so conflicted.
It smells so good... No, no, no, Mainkuen, think of your brother!
The big cat licked its mouth clean, then glared fiercely at the back of the water dragon king's neck.
Although Vilette was fair-skinned and beautiful, and looked like a pampered and delicate human, she shouldn't have been unable to withstand even a chop to the neck in her cat form.
Mainkuhn selectively forgot that when he lost control of his emotions, he didn't even manage to bite through Villette's skin.
"Here's some water. Oh, this used to be my cup, but I've already washed it. I'll prepare a special one for you next time."
"..."
You're so thoughtful.
The big cat silently lowered its head, its thin tongue stirring the tranquil surface of the water.
Waaah!
Even if, even if that's the case!
Mainkuen forced himself to recall White, the nobles, Les, the traffickers, his foster parents—all the terrible things that made him stronger.
"......"
The big cat stretched out its paw and placed it on the dragon's unsuspecting, snow-white neck.
"Stop for a moment, I'm writing, please don't whine."
Make your move, Mainkuhn.
Blood surged beneath the pink flesh, and the demon used its golden vertical pupils to pinpoint its target.
This is a necessary sacrifice.
"alright."
Suddenly, the snow-white neck twitched and slid off the half-demon's claws.
Navelette put down her pen, picked up the completed document, and a satisfied smile appeared on her face.
"This is the perfect solution to all my current troubles."
"?"
"Listen carefully, Lord Cat God."
With his hand embracing the silver-gray cat's head, Violet held the paper up in front of the half-demon's eyes.
Although she thought that this clumsy little creature might not understand human writing, Navelette did it anyway.
"According to the Fontainebleau Stray Animal Management Law and the Urban Bird Protection Law, allowing you to roam freely in the city is an outright illegal act. You should be captured, rewilded, released, or even euthanized, but..."
The Water Dragon King's eyes were calm, but his mind was filled with thoughts of his severed tail, the scar beneath his fur, and those small but real bags of Mora.
How much courage does it take for a life that has suffered so much harm from others to dare to open its heart to people again?
“You are such a strong and kind gentleman that I do not wish to treat you roughly.”
The cat looked up in confusion, then, after seeing the words on the paper clearly, its pupils instantly shrank to vertical slits.
"!"
A gentle yet solemn voice came from among the lynx's fur, which stood erect in shock:
"The laws of Fontaine were created for humans, and it is unreasonable to expect them to restrain wild beasts. But you and I... cough, you and the Melusin, although not human, live in human cities and participate in human life."
"Only by respecting and understanding human rules can we live happier and longer in human cities."
"???"
Rules? Happiness?
The words spoken by Villette were ones that Mainkuhn had never heard before in his life.
Rules...rules, the half-demon has only ever encountered the rules of the Hearth House.
Rules are the mother, the sword, and the lonely crown.
Rules are pain, coercion, and the cries of a child.
Half-demon despises the rules, half-demon tramples on the rules, half-demon suffers because of the rules—never once a day is obeyed.
But the judge's vertical pupils were cold, while the fingertips that stroked the cat's spine carried the warmth of spring water.
"Since I have sealed your claws and teeth and taken away your right to hunt seagulls, I should propose corresponding compensation measures; otherwise, it is tantamount to sentencing you to death."
Mainkun opened his mouth slightly, staring in disbelief as he slapped his paw onto the newly drafted document—
Informed Adoption Agreement
Basic Information
Party A: "Cat God," a rudimentary feline intelligent being
Party B: Navelette, Supreme Judge of Fontainebleau
......
Rights and obligations of both parties
Party A's obligation: To abide by and follow Party B's teachings regarding the rules of human society.
Party B's obligations: To bear all expenses related to daily meals and medical care; to provide Party A with a safe and healthy living environment; and not to abuse, abandon, or use Party B for...
An extremely unequal treaty, made by the most just Water Dragon King in the world.
Mainkuhn had very few requirements to follow, while the requirements for Navelette were several pages long.
"I apologize, I combined the templates of pet adoption and orphan adoption because there had never been a similar situation in Fontaine before, and there were no legal precedents to look for."
Driven by a kind heart and a desire to protect innocent souls.
"Would you be willing to let me... become your guide in human society, Lord Cat God?"
Gentle, meticulous, patient, and with godlike compassion.
Following the calm, still demonic power, Mainkun sensed it all.
"......!"
-----------------------
A note from the author: My dear readers! I hereby solemnly declare;
I know absolutely nothing about the law! I've only ever signed one contract in my entire life!
The contract in this story is entirely fictional, so please ignore any bugs. Just keep telling yourself that you are in Teyvat and anything is possible — a humble request from a female fan of yaoi.
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