I sensed an unusual magical fluctuation nearby. I raised my eyes and followed my senses, only to see the shadow in front of me suddenly darken, sway, and then half a head emerged from it.
Correction: Rather than describing it as emerging from the shadows, it feels more like the dark shadow contracted and condensed, detaching from the plane and transforming into a three-dimensional object—the life form born from the painting drawn by Miss [Aisha], the black cat with a chaotic, mottled head that Hikari called Fokin.
If a cat is here, it means the other one can't be too far away, right?
I waited a few more seconds and noticed that Miyuki was protecting Ai An with one hand to keep the child away, while keeping her vigilant with the other hand on the hilt of her knife. Suddenly, I felt that "she must be having a tough time."
Pushing the curious cat aside, the space beside them quickly rippled out again, and the hunting dog, barking happily, materialized from the void, leaping out of the air and skimming a distance on the ground before finally coming to a stop.
The tail of the black smoke billowed out, creating overlapping phantoms, before suddenly freezing in place. After turning and handing the letter in its mouth to the unapproaching Fukatsuki, it emitted a warning and a mournful wail.
I quickly jumped off the gray wolf.
Its tail wagged twice more, then drooped down along with its ears.
Honestly, I'm not your master, why are you being so sensitive?
I had no skill in calming dogs, and when I tried to get closer, the hunting dog dodged me from a meter away, as if it would flee to the spirit world if I got any closer. So I could only stand there frozen in place.
Is this some kind of melodramatic and bizarre love triangle story? Why should I care about the emotional problems of these two kids?
I stood there, lost in doubt, too lazy to even push away the cat that was leaning against me and nuzzling me.
No, I really need to find my real body soon.
Although I have studied the internal structure of animal bodies, I still cannot fully understand the animal world.
"It's clearly because Mr. Yumi is so popular."
Hikari came over and hugged me back into her arms.
Her cuffs were stained with some loose fur, probably from when she was petting the wolf. The carnivorous scent clung to her, making me sneeze twice in a row.
Suddenly I realized that cats and hounds are easy to care for. They can be a bit mischievous at times, but at least they don't shed.
Incidentally, my cat body under the Transfiguration spell doesn't shed fur either.
“Grey Wolf… let’s call it Little Grey!” Annie suddenly spoke up, drawing our attention. “I think it could come with us. What do you think?”
“I disagree,” Miyuki replied predictably. “Leaving aside whether it can keep up with our pace, its very existence is a threat to us. You can’t be sure it will always appear as harmless as it does now.”
“Then you should at least trust me,” Annie retorted. “Although my abilities are sometimes effective and sometimes not, my intuition is always on point, otherwise I wouldn’t have been able to tame Little Grey so easily!”
Shen Xue stared silently at Gray Wolf: "Your card-playing record is one win to date."
"Ah—I already told you it was just an accident! I'll definitely beat you next time, the next time!"
Honestly, if you can't win even by relying entirely on luck to draw the Joker, I think you should just give up.
"It's one to one now!" With her hands on her hips, Annie looked at us. "What do you guys think?"
Looking up from the book, Ai An checked the situation from all sides and shook her head: "Abstaining is not something I should decide."
“I think it’s fine. At least judging from Little Grey’s current behavior, it’s quite gentle,” Hikari offered a different opinion. “The only thing I’m a little worried about is whether it will attack the Pegasus. Everyone seems a bit scared.”
"What does Mr. Yumi think?"
"Meow."
Me? What can I see? I'm just a cat right now.
Even if it can use a little magic, it is still just a cat. It cannot cast any powerful spells and has no ability to protect itself.
"Tsk. Anyway, the score is now two to one! Little Grey stays!"
“Then you’ll have to learn to take care of it yourself, be responsible for its food, and be careful not to attack us.” Miyuki turned around abruptly. “Otherwise, my sword will arrive faster than a warning.”
The hound growled in agreement, as if to show its approval.
After a brief moment of tension, the group set off again.
Leaving the main area affected by the magical turbulence to the south, and avoiding the influence of monsters that might infiltrate the Abyss Mountains, is the top priority right now; everything else can wait. At that time, I will also have the opportunity to try and revert to my original body, escaping this awkward situation and filling some of the unsettling gap in my combat strength.
However, after discussing it with Miyuki for a while, she also agreed to temporarily shift the route and head towards the legendary place where the team members had last lived in seclusion.
"From this perspective, perhaps there are some problems with the composition of our team itself."
Riding on the back of the Pegasus, Hikari whispered to me, "That legendary team is really well-organized. There's a swordsman, an archer, a saintess, a swordsman, and a mage. Everyone has their own unique prefix. It feels like there's nowhere in the world they can't go."
"They sound much more formidable than our squad!"
"That's why they do troublesome things like saving the world."
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