Here I am... oh, is it considered trespassing if I didn't enter through the castle gate? Definitely yes, but I'm still angry, so I'll take my chances, I'll force whoever attacked me to take responsibility.
After interrogating the idiots for a few minutes, I got a name, a Gehrman, a member of the Dark Brotherhood, apparently he wanted to test me after seeing what I did during the Xenos attack.
That's it? You would hurt children for such a stupid reason? I'm not even your employee. And you sent old men to do it? Couldn't they have been pretty girls? My complaints have no sense, I'm already mentally tired, and the sun is still in the middle of the sky. I'll beat him up when I see him too.
With my mind clouded with anger, I made the mistake of letting my impulses take over.
"You, bring him here," I order one of them and let him go, to hell with being polite to elders and whatever, these people are garbage. He wastes no time in running as fast as he can.
"In the meantime, I guess I can practice on you like Nicole asked"
Let's start. Gag them, no problem. Lifting them in the air, I don't feel any weight, it doesn't matter if I do it with my own darkness or the natural one. Juggle them, no problem. Moving them only from one part of the body, like the arms, easy. Dig them...
This is too easy, no use. At least I have the certainty that I don't have to practice small things.
How about hitting them? Without using any magic, I punch one of them in the stomach as hard as I can.
He lets out a loud snort through the nose as its mouth is covered with darkness, doubles over and falls to the ground... It was a good hit, but I can't remember hitting anyone before, so I don't know what I was expecting when I did it. This is not good.
Let's see... what if I do the first thing that comes to mind again? Go for it! A cool attack!
"Joor Zah Frul!"
A strange wave of darkness magic came out of my mouth and hit one of the men... and did nothing else. It glowed for a moment and disappeared.
That was pointless. I guess too much aimless experimentation is bad, too.
Fortunately, before I could fool around more, out of the depths of the garden appears... a huge cat. A... I don't remember its breed, one of those felines, or are they pantherines? His face is more cute than scary. Uh... a cat. About three feet tall and four feet long, with what looked like big sideburns on his face. Yellow to gray fur, with black spots and lines, and a short tail with a black tip.
And a pretty black sweater that covers part of his torso and front paws....
What was I doing? That doesn't matter anymore.
He doesn't look hostile, so hopefully he'll let me pet him, which is exactly what I need right now.
He's getting closer, I'll slowly do the same.
One step... two steps... he stopped, me too, I've never seen animals like this before, but hopefully he'll still be a cat inside. Okay, I'll try the old reliable.
"Pspsps~"
It works, though not much, he takes a few more steps closer, but suddenly his ears press against his head a little, his whiskers move back and his fur bristles slightly...
Oh. Right.
"I'm sorry, but please go away"
I forget that I was just playing with them and politely ask the group of naked men to leave. I'll talk to Ilona about them later, there's something more important right now.
I don't have to ask twice, they run off somewhere, leaving us alone.
A cat gets nervous in unfamiliar surroundings, a large group of people definitely falls into that category.
The next step in giving a cat confidence, is to make him feel safe.
I don't know how clean the grass is, so I clean it with magic, as I learned a while ago, very cunningly, so as not to make unnecessary movements. I slowly sit down on the grass with my legs crossed. If he can see me and the surroundings from above, he'll feel safer.
"psps..."
No, that got his attention the first time, but even though I make that noise out of habit to call a cat, I doubt that an unfamiliar cat would feel comfortable with just that... As if to confirm my theory, the cat in front of me stays in place, at least looking more relaxed.
Visual language then.
I slowly wag my tail from side to side while reaching out with my hands and gently patting the grass in front of me.
Works wonders! He approaches again after a moment. The most important step is to be patient.
Should I stop looking him in the eye...? Nah, I want to inspire confidence in him, not submit to him, or her? I'll soon find out.
I don't have any food with me either, does catnip work for big cats? Well, I've never bought catnip, so I'm not sure, I've heard that it doesn't work on beast folk, even if it does work on its animal counterpart, like cats or foxes. But my nose is especially sensitive, so I don't want to confirm.
Let's talk a little. My voice is not too feminine, but still very soft.
"Hi... Could you come over here?"
... I can't see his short tail very well from here, so I'm not sure how he's feeling, but at least he hasn't stopped approaching, and he doesn't look scared, at first glance.
"My name is Seina, what's your name, J'zargo or something?"
What am I saying? Oh well, as long as he comes closer.
Unlike that sour orange cat from the other day, he doesn't leave me waiting long, he comes closer to sniff one of my hands, I don't miss the chance to stroke his nose gently with my other hand...
He's a bit stiff, not as soft as I'd like, but the fur is nice in its own way. I guess he's tame enough to put on a sweater. Will he get mad if I stroke his sideburns? I'll try later.
A few moments later, I know I've accomplished my mission when he circles around me and presses his side against mine several times, letting me pet him and, after a quick glance, realizing that... he's male. Totally domesticated!
"Hehe~"
"Good for you." I hear from behind me.
"..."
"Didn't you notice we were here?" My cousin asks.
... Of course not, since when are they here!? did they see me talking one-sided and making stupid noises!!!? UGH... AAAHHH!!! why am I ignoring my surroundings again!?
"That was a quick change of your skin color," says Ilona, who smells a bit like... let's ignore that and change the subject as soon as possible.
"H-hello, um, he seems to know you, do you know what this kitten's name is?" I say, pointing at the boy who ignores them as he searches for a comfortable position.
"Kitten, huh? He's Maureen, some kind of Lynx." Ilona says.
"Yes, he belongs to the princess"
"Maureen, Maureen... I like the name. Oh... speaking of the princess, a-am I in trouble?"
"..."
"..."
They look at each other in silence... finally Nicole sits down next to me and answers.
"The royal family is reasonable, you won't be executed or anything, so don't worry"
"Oh... that's good, but doesn't that count as a terrorist act?"
“You caused terror certainly, but it clearly wasn't directed towards anyone important, it will be problematic, but I'm sure we can label the incident as a certain idiot upsetting the wrong person”
"Oh... oh, that Gehrman guy I heard about?"
“... Yeah, let's just say he's not someone well liked in the country, we can use this incident to our advantage, so don't worry too much about consequences”
“I-I'm glad...”
"Consequences on the part of the kingdom, I meant. I'm still going to punish you”
"..."
Why does that sound so much scarier?
"The kingdom's troops are moving like crazy, there's panic and even some riots in various places. Your outburst didn't last long, but we just came out of an emergency, there are a lot of people still tense"
"Yeah, um, sorry"
At that moment we are interrupted by... a woman.
She's wearing armor, mostly tough looking cloth, with pieces of some metal in various places, I can't see much detail as her equipment and clothing are thick, and she's wearing some kind of helmet mask that hides her head and face.
Most eye-catching so far, she is armed to the teeth.
A large spear is strapped diagonally across her back, the tip of which is made of what appears to be some sort of crystal. Also on her back, some kind of very long, black bow, with three tips on each side, of different sizes, where three strings are attached, I guess each one is for shooting further? It's very cool... it also looks very elegant, I want one.
A long sword tied to her waist, plus a short one on the other side. Both with dark red handles and completely black blades.
And across her lower back... an axe? With strings, no, a guitar? A white guitar, thin and without a hole, and one of its sides covered with the same crystal as her spear, really sharp, 'electric guitar'... huh. Where does that is connecte-? Oh, paying more attention, the guitar has a lot of magic inside, it's a weapon after all.
Is she a knight musician? Even though she's got the strings of her guitar pressing against her back, so I can see them, I doubt that's good for the musical instrument, so maybe she's just using it as a weapon.
“Good morning to you ladies,” she says with her voice somewhat distorted by the helmet.
"Duchess, greetings," Ilona says with a small bow. Nicole just nods her head without caring... Duchess? Oh, right, we're in the castle, there are a lot of nobles here, she must be used to it.
Wait, an armed and armored duchess?
'Oh, OOHH!'
Maureen lay on my legs, while pushing his head against my hand seeking caresses~. Accomplishing this noble task distracts me from the unknown person who suddenly appears.
"I saw a group of naked men running desperately from here, I had to see what's going on"
“We have no relation with them”
She snorts slightly. "Anyway, who is this adorable being?" She says... looking at me. Eh.
Ilona replies smoothly. "She's Seina, oh, and the lynx is Maureen."
... Did she call me adorable? Or did she mean the kitten? But she's looking at me... Hearing compliments from random people on the street is one thing, but having it said to my face always leaves me with mixed feelings.
Anyway, there's a cat on my lap, I don't have time to think about other things right now, I must pet.
"You must be Nicole..."
I stop paying attention to their conversation to focus on something more important, the fur. His tips are mostly yellowish, but the roots are gray, it looks like he is changing the color of his coat, oh, will it turn completely gray in the cold?
Makes sense, Mom's hair and fur somehow impossibly gets even whiter in the winter.
Without going against the grain, I stroke his head, chin, sideburns, lower back, his thick paws... what bliss.
I feel some stares at me all of a sudden, but unexpectedly I don't mind, cats are great medicine... although this one needs a bath, his sweater is very dirty, he smells a little musty, and has bad breath, the kind of bad breath that is clearly from tooth decay.
Mmm... yes, I can help him, cavities are technically just dirt in the teeth, let's get rid of it.
First, I show him a little ball of darkness that I conjure up in the palm of my hand, like a tiny little black sun.
... He looks at it for a moment and keeps rubbing himself on me, uh, I hope it's just to spread your scent and feel safe, and not that you're marking me or something.
Good, I stroke his head, gently holding it in place, as I let the darkness magic into his mouth, I don't want to feel the details of how it is there, so I just concentrate on removing any decay, dirt and some bacteria, if they are harmful.
He doesn't get aggressive, but he stops moving, his tail alternating between being bristly and down, to sticking to his body.
... He seems nervous, but I think he mostly trusts me, okay.
“I'm helping you, don't be afraid.” I say, stroking his sideburns.
Ready, but... I should see, there are different kinds of cavities, removing them is the first step. Let's see... oh, he has small gaps in many of his teeth, there must have been decay, most of it is just down to the dentin, but one of his molars has the root exposed... ouch.
"Good job hanging in there, kitten"
Let's get this fixed as soon as possible, teeth don't regenerate naturally, but they're just different types of tissue, and I remember regenerating tissue before, it'll work.
I've already removed what shouldn't be there, then I mentally recreate the image of his teeth, tissues, gums, nerves, ligaments... everything as it should be, the magic will do the rest.
I feel the ball of darkness disappear on its own, as if indicating it has done its duty.
"There it is~, please open wide"
I hold his jaws gently, but he turns his head away, huh, I'm sure he's not in pain anymore, maybe it's a bad habit of his not to let anyone touch his mouth.
"I understand you- huh?"
A gloved hand appears in front of my face, uh, I look up and the woman from before is offering me some dried meat, of... it smells like beef.
"He should like this"
"O-oh, yes, thank you"
I completely forgot about her again, I need to be more aware of my surroundings... What if I get attacked again?
For now, I offer the meat to the kitten, who eats it without a second thought, huh, isn't this cat a little too trusting? Though I doubt anyone would dare to hurt the son of a princess, so it should be fine.
He chews it slowly... and a moment later, he chews it voraciously.
"It doesn't hurt anymore, does it? Good boy hehe~"
You earned more pats, oh, I might as well take the opportunity to clean him, I hadn't thought of that. Before he swallows, I cover him and myself with darkness, thinking to get rid of all the dirt.
He doesn't seem to notice, still eating with his tail up, wagging it~, there's nothing better than seeing a happy kitty.
The darkness quickly disappears, taking all the bad smells with it and cleaning my dress too! That dirt stain of his paws was a bit depressing. Newly acquired skills, shower and portable laundry!
The three women start chatting again, but I can't bring myself to care about that or anything else when Maureen rubs up against me again, this time with a very loud purr.
"Oooh~ hehe"
I feel my tail swaying from a while ago, and maybe I'm making a very stupid expression that I would normally never show to someone I just met.
But who cares.
But.
It was a relaxing moment, very relaxing and unusually happy... so I started overthinking again.
I remembered my attackers. Even though they deserve it, I feel bad for treating them like that...
I need to be stronger, mentally. I can't let my impulses get the better of me again. They deserved it, yes, but that doesn't mean I have to go against what I think is right to punish them.
Sorry mom... I think you would be disappointed in me if you saw how much fun I was having torturing a bunch of people...
Sorry Nicole, I know you want me to practice, but I'll do it with some mindless monsters later, although, uh, maybe that's what she wanted, she never told me to practice on people.
Best to leave the punishments to the authorities, I'm sure Ilona and Nicole will know what to do with them. I'll keep this in mind in case something like this happens again.
It's just... I mean, what the hell was I thinking!? Who thinks that stripping people naked is a good punishment?
Mmm... on second thought, maybe it is a good punishment, as long as you don't scare them so much that they want to die afterwards, and as long as it doesn't bother you to see naked men.
Which, come to think of it, I felt nothing but disgust at the sight of their limbs, quite the opposite of the first time I saw one... uh, bittersweet memory, perhaps the most embarrassing thing I've ever experienced. Oh, that's probably where my exhibitionist tendencies were born...? A story for another day. I don't feel like remembering it now.
'You should never do anything when you're angry, you'll just do stupid things.'
Just like the other day, I feel unusually calm, maybe Nicole was right, it is not as easy to get depressed as it used to be. I even managed to relax even though there is an unknown person nearby, I guess it helps that she is not talking to me.
But I didn't have much time to enjoy the quiet, because suddenly Maureen stands up, hissing and grunting.
I follow his gaze to an... elf? Short white hair, very long pointy ears. Wearing some kind of white robe with gold trim, huh, what bad taste. No, no, since when am I so critical of people? That's not good, he can wear whatever he wants... But in this case, it's in bad taste, no matter how you look at it.
The elf approaches, sees Maureen and makes him flee deep into the garden... ah? did you scare the cat? Stupid son of a... No! ugh, should I go to a temple and ask if they can suppress these annoying thoughts after all? I'll ask Nicole, they're making me tired. Calm down Seina.
I don't notice how Nicole stands up, Ilona leaves her relaxed posture and even the Duchess pays full attention to the newcomer.
Because then, I saw his eyes and.. and....
I can't calm down, I'll kill him.
Something inside of me is screaming that that thing in front of me is a pest that needs to be exterminated as soon as possible.
'Get a hold of yourself!' My instincts have improved lately, I could be imagining things…
“Greetings, ladies, I hope you are having a wonderful day, would you be so kind as to-”, I interrupt the elf.
"Get lost or I'll kill you, disgusting creature"