Chapter 81: Burglar Cat or House Cat? (4)

Chapter 81: Burglar Cat or House Cat? (4)

༺ Burglar Cat or House Cat? (4) ༻

“Dad! Naru is back home now! Oh, holy shh...! The house is so spacious that Naru’s voice echoes like a cave...! Did Naru turn from the Princess of the Back Alleys to the Princess of the Junk Mansion?”

After school time.

Before I knew it, Naru had come home.

It looks like babysitter Sifnoi did her job well today.

Naru raised her hand abruptly upon seeing Cecily, who had been staying at the mansion.

“Cecily!”

“Naru!”

The children hugged each other whenever they met.

I’ve always felt that Naru and Cecily got along quite well.

...Was it because they were sisters?

No, the sisters I know tend to be on worse terms.

Not to the extent of killing and living like Brigitte’s sisters, but still.

Is it because they don’t know they are sisters yet?

Or is it that sisterly relationships are different from brotherly ones, with a kind of softness like a unicorn’s dreamland?

While I was following that train of thought, Naru spoke up.

“Cecily, why didn’t you come to school today?”

“I had to look for Dad and Mom.”

“I see! Thanks to that, Naru got to drink your share of chocolate milk! Are you not coming to school tomorrow? They’re serving banana milk for lunch tomorrow. Oh, holy shh...! Then I’ll have two banana milks!”

Naru, this kid.

Encouraging her friend to skip school so naturally just to get two banana milks.

Who did she inherit this slyness from?

I really don’t know, but it didn’t seem like me.

I am kind and good-natured after all.

She must have taken after Brigitte, her probable mother.

Makes a lot of sense to me.

“So, Cecily, did you find dad and mom?”

“No! Not at all! Maybe I’ll have to skip school tomorrow too! There’s something I absolutely must tell Mom and Dad before spring ends, what should I do? I only thought of this yesterday!”

It seems like Cecily remembered something from the commotion yesterday.

Naru too, often seemed to suddenly recall memories as if triggered by some events.

It seems Cecily was going through the same.

“Cecily needs to find Mom and Dad quickly. Otherwise...”

Cecily tightly clenched her fists.

Soon, her blue eyes began to fill with tears and she burst into tears.

“Ah, Cecily, why are you crying!”

“I don’t know! Tears just keep coming! I need to find Mom and Dad quickly!”

Naru was soothingly stroking Cecily’s back, perhaps trying to console her as she cried.

Watching this, Sifnoi spoke up.

“Judas, you shouldn’t make a child cry like that...!”

“Is it my fault they’re crying?”

“Seeing Judas’ face, filled with a snake-like aura, it’s natural for children to cry...! This Sifnoi knows a nymph who gets scared when looking at Judas’ face as well...!”

...This bastard.

Why is she talking about herself as if it was someone else?

That’s when it happened.

Naru, who had been comforting Cecily, suddenly burst into tears as well.

“Now that I think about it, I need to find Mom too...! Naru has been playing too much...! The world will be in danger if Naru doesn’t find Mom...!”

What a mess.

The children are crying their eyes out, what am I supposed to do?

Would the future me have handled this situation with ease?

I don’t know!

The children are crying nonstop, the nymph is being noisy, and I feel like I’m going to lose my mind!

“Hiiik...!”

I screamed in unbearable shock and horror, clinging to the ceiling!

Upside down!

At some point, whenever I felt agitated, I developed this habit of hanging upside down!

Cecily was startled to see this.

“Climbing the ceiling is a skill that can only be done when one has mastered the noble walk to perfection. Thief Judas, how can you do it?”

Somehow, she stopped crying.

I don’t see what nobility has to do with hanging from the ceiling, though.

But it seems that wasn’t the only case.

“She probably finds the mansion suffocating due to her experience living in the wilderness of Barbaria. If it were up to me, she would quit being a hunter and live here comfortably.”

It sounded good.

Viscount Von Ragdoll is rumored to be wealthy even by Fressia’s standards.

It would take several generations to spend all his wealth.

But Cariote seemed to have rejected such fortune.

“She says she must pursue a demon... The same demon that killed her mother and sister... She feels that she must avenge them.”

“I’ve heard of her story before.”

“But demons are terrifying beings, aren’t they? Judas, as the hero who defeated the Demon King, you should know this well. Honestly, I wish Cariote, the daughter of Leone, would no longer associate with such matters. I hear she will leave this city to chase after one....”

Indeed.

The prospect of his newly discovered granddaughter chasing after a fearsome demon and leaving the city must be frightening.

I would be worried too if Naru or Cecily were chasing demons.

* * *

「Judas, I think I’ll have to pull an all-nighter at school because of the midterms. I’ve thrown together some leftovers from the party for dinner, so just eat on your own.」

When I returned to the mansion, I found a note stuck on the table.

It seems Brigitte stopped by the mansion and then went back to school.

Such a busy member of society.

Midterms...

“...Midterms?”

Come to think of it, I’ve never seen Naru preparing for midterms?

As I was pondering this, I heard a thud.

Stepping out to the entrance, I saw Cariote scanning the area, having laid down her heavy-looking bags on the red carpet in the lobby.

“Mage... Where is Brigitte? I’ve gathered information about the imp. I’ve finished investigating where they are and how they’re living.”

“Oh, really? That’s impressive.”

“I just need to hand over the information, and my contract with Brigitte will finally be over.”

“I see. What’s with all the luggage?”

There were piles of heavy bags.

Cariote glanced over her bags nonchalantly and said,

“I’m leaving this city today. Once I finish helping with the imp hunt, my role is done. Someone in the city of hunters, Danehol, claims to have seen traces of the demon I’m after.”

Leaving the city?

How far was Danehol from here again?

More importantly, she’s leaving today?

“Isn’t that too hasty?”

“I’ve no choice. Danehol is at the far west end of Freesia. Even by airship, it’s at least a month away. If I miss today’s airship to Danehol, I’ll waste at least two months. The demon might move on by then.”

Her reasoning was sound.

But if Cariote leaves the Duchy of Freesia, she won’t be able to meet me or Cecily.

What would happen to Cecily then?

My head was full of question marks.

The important thing now was to keep Cariote here.

“Alright. Even if you go, how about getting some wine before you leave? The Duke’s grandson was among the guests yesterday and he gave me a rather precious vintage as a thank-you for my protection.”

“......”

Cariote looked at me with her slender eyes.

It was as if she was scrutinizing, ‘What is this guy plotting?’

Cariote is a sharp woman, she’d see through my roundabout speech quickly.

“Wine, huh? Judas, it’s unlike you to make such a noble suggestion. I never thought you’d have such a delicate touch.”

“...I’m a college-educated man, you know.”

“Good one. Fine. The airship from the Duchy of Freesia to Danehol departs at 9 PM. It’s 7 PM now. Two hours to spare. A glass of wine should be fine.”

I was a college-educated man.

Quite smart, that is.

And not to brag, but when it comes to sly and dirty work, my mind tends to be particularly sharp.

My grandfather, seeing me bow twice as a kid to get more New Year’s money, once said, “That boy, sly as his little uncle, has the makings of a politician.”.

It was because of my experiences at such a young age that I knew.

Today.

I have to do whatever it takes to keep Cariote from catching the 9 o’clock airship─.

Wanna read ahead? Buy coinsYou can unlock chapters with coins or rather “genesis orbs”

Wanna unlock all premium chapters? Check the MembershipChapters will seamlessly unlock no need to bother buying coins anymore.

You can also support us by becoming an exclusive memberhere

You can rate this serieshere

You can check our dɨşçöŕd for illustrationshere

『We are looking for more Korean Translators, for more details please join our discord server—』 44