Chapter 2155: Two Cats
The blonde maid, familiar with her master’s temperament, immediately wanted to tip off the silver cat, but Shard certainly wouldn’t make a mistake.
The cat lightly jumped from the coffee table onto the witch’s lap again, then looked up at her:
"If I leave now, I can come back tomorrow morning; I don’t like interacting with the girls around me in my cat form. Tomorrow, can I have breakfast here? Then, I’ll answer your questions."
After speaking, the cat nodded firmly again:
"Tonight, you’ve rescued me; otherwise, I might still be drifting on the sea."
After the cat jumped back onto her lap, the Countess blushed slightly. Upon hearing his words, the slight anger and disappointment she felt earlier also faded:
"I didn’t rescue you; you saved yourself. And also, it wasn’t me who brought you back. It was your friend who ensured our safe return to Moon Bay Harbor. You know, now the Church is close to madness; they’re probably trying to inspect every drop of water and every grain of sand outside the harbor. But your friend is quite formidable."
"Friend?"
Shard’s first reaction was Mr. Benhart, but then he realized that the Vampire Viscount didn’t have such abilities.
"Yes, the one you talked to at the museum of ships; she said she is Miss Les... At the time, you told me she was just a stranger."
The witch pinched the cat’s little paw, then her eyes brightened and she went on to pinch other cat paws. To prevent Shard from opposing, she distracted him with her words:
"She appeared suddenly, bringing us back on a large cruise ship. She also asked me to gather the ritual information on the Dragon Feast Cult’s summoning of the Evil of the Deep Sea - Seven-Tailed Player, saying it’ll be quite useful for you."
The silver cat instantly became spirited:
"Yes, it certainly would be useful."
Her tail swung as the witch sitting on the sofa smiled at him.
"It seems my guess was right; indeed Miss Les is... But this means I still need to meet her to confirm some things."
The girl didn’t say anything about meeting you next time; she just left after dropping us on the shore. She’s really beautiful, almost comparable to us witches."
She deliberately said so.
"Miss Eles is likely not human, but I’m not sure what she is exactly, since I’ve never heard of ships coming to life before."
"What?"
"Nothing."
The silver cat immediately shook its head, and the witch seized the chance to pet its little head again. Shard then jumped back onto the coffee table from her lap. The blonde Countess was not angry but looked at him with a smile:
"Your cat-like appearance is nearly as good as your true form."
The cat understood her meaning:
"Tonight you seem exhausted as well; this kind of cursed weather is indeed unsuitable for going out. Have a cup of hot tea, then head to the bedroom for rest. We’ll meet again tomorrow. Thanks once more for not leaving, Miss Belindel. Goodnight."
The witch half stood up, reached out, pinched the cat’s waist, and managed to lift it up:
"Don’t bother with thanks; we’ll meet in the morning. Remember? You still owe me a lot of unanswered questions."
"Hmm... I understand. Then we’ll see each other tomorrow."
The cat merely said this, and the Countess tenderly smiled, placing Shard back on the coffee table.
Then, from the little paw of the cat extended a thin black chain that locked onto the perfume vial, and the cat itself, using its head, nudged the crystal shoe off the edge of the table. There was no sound of the shoe hitting the ground, for before the crystal shoe landed on the carpet, the cat, the perfume bottle, and that shoe altogether disappeared.
Nearby, Miss Matilda wasn’t too concerned about this magical scene but cautiously questioned her master:
"Miss, so tonight the matters at the dock, was it truly caused by you?"
The blonde witch sighed, leaned against the sofa back, and looked up at the crystal chandelier:
"What did you see from the city?"
Since she returned, she hadn’t had the chance to discuss this matter with her apprentice.
"At first, there was just a vague dragon roar, then black thunder. Later, a dragon roar so clear that it could be heard in the estate, silver moonlight appeared in the direction of the docks, and then it quieted down again."
Bella Belindel nodded gently, choosing not to discuss the dragon and thunder but instead whispered:
"Tonight, I kissed the moon on the ship, just once."
She raised her hand to touch her lips, and the maid beside her smiled at her mistress, happy for her boldness and progress.
Outside, the snow was falling heavily, and indoors, under the light, the witch’s golden hair seemed to glow. Today must have been a magical day for Bella Belindel; life appeared to be becoming more and more unusual with the man’s arrival at Moon Bay.
(Iluna praying...)
Although Shard wasn’t home, a gas lamp was still lit in the second-floor living room at No. 6, Saint Delan Square because Shard didn’t want to leave the cat alone in the dark house.
Compared to the gale and snowstorm of Moon Bay City, the weather in Tobesk City tonight was relatively good. Although the streets were still filled with night fog, this was just the city’s usual appearance. The patrolling police officers passed through the night fog by Saint Delan Square, glanced up to see the light on the second floor of No. 6, but couldn’t possibly see the cat napping atop the living room sofa.
This spot was quite suitable for her; a slight tilt of the head allowed her to see the room’s door, with her peripheral vision capturing the bedroom and window. However, since the house was quiet at this moment, Mia didn’t need to check anything.
Suddenly, accompanied by the clang of two heavy objects hitting the ground, the cat raised her head alertly. Her amber eyes looked upstairs, her furry little ears twitching twice, and then she excitedly leaped off the sofa and raced out of the room, quickly bounding up the stairs.
Before long, two chasing cats came down from the dark third floor:
"Oh, Mia, I know you’re excited, but don’t lick me. Once again, Mia, don’t lick me."
The silver cat was the first to rush into the second floor, with Shard using his paws to stop the orange cat’s affectionate behavior, though the latter still eagerly tried to get closer to him.
Returning home, Shard still hadn’t transformed back into a human, but he had specifically returned to seek someone’s help:
"I’m going out now, wait for me obediently at home. Oh, stop rubbing against me, Mia, listen!"
He spoke to the pet cat, quickly leaping and bounding from the second floor to the first. But unsurprisingly, Mia followed him, even though Shard used the "Move Object" spell to open the door a crack, the cat unusually decisively followed him out into the street.
The orange and white cat sat spiritedly on the doorstep, her amber eyes excitedly watching the silver cat, but Shard didn’t want her to follow him out.
"Mia, don’t come out; if you run off and get lost, I won’t be able to find you like this."
"She" chuckled softly in Shard’s ear, as if mocking his thought. Shard knew why "she" was laughing. Looking at how Mia was acting at the moment, even if Shard got lost, she could find him.
Since he couldn’t keep Mia at home, Shard had no choice but to take her with him. After confirming the door was locked, the silver cat jogged forward into the night fog, without needing to turn around to see Mia closely following him, finally feeling at ease as they ran into the depths of the fog.
It’s worth mentioning that although Shard, due to some peculiar reasons, could only shift between cat-dragon-butterfly forms temporarily, this didn’t mean he was helpless against danger. His physical form was weakened due to being in cat shape, but his spellcasting abilities were still intact, which was why Shard didn’t rest at the Belindel Estate and instead wanted to solve the trouble tonight.
In fact, Tobesk tonight indeed didn’t have too many problems, even running around the streets in cat form, no police would pay attention to them. And on the path forward, Shard and Mia’s only issue was that street cats seemed to consider them as intruders on their territory.
Groups of stray cats emerged from the dark alleys, blocking their way with aggressive posturing, only to be scared off by Mia, who never feared her kind and would even dare to chase tigers.
The cats were fast, and when they reached Feather Quill Street, where Dorothy lived in the University District, Shard Cat didn’t feel tired at all. Despite Mia likely never having engaged in such intense exercise, she followed Shard all the way, still looking excited at this moment.
"So when I leave you to guard the house alone, you’re secretly training your body, right?"
Mia didn’t understand what Shard was talking about; when Shard looked up, she squinted to rub against him.
"Dorothy lives on the third floor of the apartment..."
Sure enough, the lights were out in that window; it seemed Dorothy wasn’t staying up late to write tonight. So Shard tapped Mia’s little head with his paw and said to her:
"Wait for me here and don’t wander off, I’ll be back soon."
Then he scattered into a swarm of red butterflies, flying high into the sky, and after dispelling the spell at the third-floor window, unfortunately, he didn’t transform back into a human but instead returned to his silver cat form:
"If this issue can’t be resolved, I’ll be in big trouble."
Complaining in his heart, the silver cat squatted on the windowsill, looking down again worried that Mia might get lost without anyone there to watch over her. But unexpectedly, she saw the orange cat retreat a few steps under the streetlight, then charge forward with acceleration, reaching the wall and climbing up the steam pipes, arriving at the third-floor window with Shard in just a few breaths, sitting beside him on the windowsill.
The entire process was executed smoothly and seamlessly.
Outside on the windowsill, there were two flower pots, and between them, Shard looked at the cat he had raised for more than a year, discovering for the first time that despite being quite lazy and greedy, Mia had maintained the agility inherent to a cat.