༺ Burglar Cat or House Cat? (2) ༻
The dagger Naru had found in the basement.
It was identical to the crescent moon dagger Hina had been holding.
Not just a similar item, but the very same one.
Could such a thing happen?
“What’s this?”
Naru, feeling puzzled, snatched the dagger from the statue’s grip.
Waaaaaave—
The dagger, as if resonating, gave off an odd feeling, but Naru didn’t care about that.
“Hina! Look at this! It’s the same!”
Naru approached Hina.
Hina too opened her eyes thinly, alternating her gaze between her own dagger and the one Naru held. The emotions reflected in her eyes were complex.
Pat—
“Ah! What’s this?! They seem to be attracting each other!”
Naru was surprised when the dagger in her hand tried to stick to Hina’s dagger.
The force was so strong that it couldn’t be stopped by a child’s strength, and the daggers eventually collided and amazingly became one.
Yes.
Two completely identical items had merged into one.
“Oh, holy shh…! Look at this! Sometimes 1 plus 1 can equal 1! The answer Naru wrote on yesterday’s quiz wasn’t wrong after all!”
Naru raised her hand in excitement.
1 plus 1 equals 1.
The strange dagger that caused this was now in Salome’s hand.
「Nocturne’s Dagger」.
A fitting name.
“This is a Demiurge’s artifact. I can feel an unfamiliar power bubbling up.”
A Demiurge’s artifact.
It was something so tremendous that it could buy a fortress.
The fact that the spear used by the god of light, Yahbach, when he was still a mortal was designated as a holy relic and was being treated as a treasure among treasures, was well known.
Perhaps this dagger was something similar, Salome thought.
As proof, power overflowed from Salome’s hand holding the dagger.
It felt like she had gained a “Skill” when she held it.
Of course, she didn’t want to say what that skill was.
It’s always better to keep your cards hidden.
As they had just discussed, this was a world where comrades and family could turn into enemies at any moment.
It was better to keep one’s aces hidden in one’s sleeves.
‘But this isn’t originally mine. It was that kid, Hina, who was holding the dagger. But now this very important kid has disappeared.’
If the owner doesn’t claim it, it becomes the finder’s possession, this was basic common sense among thieves.
Therefore, Salome intended to keep 「Nocturne’s Dagger」.
Even if the girl came back later asking for it, she didn’t plan to return it, but what concerned her were Naru’s words about ‘The Priestess of Gluttony’.
The Priestess of Gluttony.
Even in Tenebris, she was a person shrouded in various veils, and that person was the kid named Hina.
‘I need to investigate this. She had an item identical to this dagger. I’m curious where she got it from.’
Why had the two daggers merged into one?
It wasn’t odd for a Demiurge’s artifact to have queer and mysterious properties, but this was still concerning.
‘Maybe there are more daggers like this out there?’
* * *
The night was longer than expected.
Hungry, I took a lantern to the kitchen to snack on the leftovers from the party. I was slightly surprised to see someone already sitting at the table.
“Brigitte?”
“Want some strawberries?”
“Wouldn’t mind some.”
The fruits on the plate were refreshing.
Delicious indeed.
I asked Brigitte while basking in the afterglow of their taste.
“The mansion’s interior was a bit damaged. Especially the second-floor corridor. Brigitte, was it from your fight with another wizard? Elle Cladeco?”
“Right. Elle Cladeco. She’s involved in this mess. But I intentionally didn’t mention it earlier. I didn’t want to complicate things.”
I see.
So Brigitte had clashed with Elle Cladeco.
That meant that the fact that we were tracking her and digging for information on her was probably revealed.
Quite uncharacteristic of the careful Brigitte.
“So, what happened?”
I asked.
Brigitte, munching on a fresh salad, replied.
“She wants to join forces. She’s working on some research and needs my help. The reason she tried to kidnap Caesar was to fund it.”
“Really? What did you answer to her proposal?”
“I put off responding, of course. I can’t be sure what the right choice is. But if what Elle Cladeco says is true, it might be possible to save you, Judas.”
“I see. It does sound like a tough decision to make on the spot.”
Mara’s intrusion.
The betrayal of Warrior Queen.
And Elle Cladeco.
It was a very hectic day.
Not just for me, but likely for everyone.
Rustle—
As dawn arrived, someone appeared in the kitchen.
It was the black-haired Naru, rubbing her eyes.
“Ah…! Dad is eating all of Naru’s strawberries! I had a bad feeling and came to the kitchen. My intuition was right!”
“You’ve got good instincts.”
“Hiiik..! The strawberries I saved for tomorrow’s cereal are almost gone!”
“Hehe.”
Naru was shocked at the scarce strawberries.
Then, seeing a whole melon, she sighed in relief.
“At least there’s still melon!”
Naru brought the melon over and asked me to cut it.
As I cut the fruit for her with a sharp knife, I wondered how eating fruits at night would affect her princess power.
“Hehe, melon is delicious!”
But seeing Naru enjoy it made everything seem alright.
Despite the tiring events, seeing the kids smile was energizing.
I felt like I understood why adults bring home fried chicken for their kids after a long, tiring day.
With that feeling, morning came.
“Dad, I’m off to school!”
“This Sifnoi today will take special care of Naru’s commute to and from school…!”
Naru set off for school.
I wondered if the kids would be alright after yesterday’s incident.
Well, they should be fine.
They’re all bright kids, after all.
“The problem now is the garden.”
After sending off the children, I roughly tidied up the mansion.
The garden ravaged by the villains was beyond salvageable.
Seemed better to call people in to fix it.
“How’s the inside?”
The inside of the mansion was damaged by Brigitte and Elle Cladeco’s fight.
Fortunately, it seemed Brigitte controlled her power, ending with just some walls slightly getting cracked.
Had Brigitte unleashed her true power, the mansion itself could have blown up.
Lucky me.
Did Brigitte feel this mansion was her ‘home’ too?
“Tsk.”
That reminded me that I didn’t get a clear answer yesterday.
I had confessed to Brigitte with quite the resolve.
Daring to blur my plans.
Mara and Queen.
Scoundrels.
I won’t be satisfied until I’ve given them a good thrashing.
With that thought, I went down to the mansion’s basement.
A secret temple was revealed due to yesterday’s fight in the basement.
A beheaded statue stood holding a skull.
I heard it was supposed to be holding a dagger in the other hand.
“Never knew something like this was underground.”
Even for me, it was the first I had seen a statue depicting Nocturne.
What effect could it have?
Like the statue of Styx, if I flick a coin in front, would my chances of successful thievery increase?
Swoosh—
At that moment, I sensed a presence behind me.
There aren’t many who could approach me so silently.
“Cariote?”
“Yes.”
It was Cariote.
She must have been investigating the temple from last night till morning.
She said.
“Doesn’t seem to be any traps. Nor the repulsiveness of devil worship. Seems like this place lost its sacredness long ago.”
“That’s good to hear. I honestly hate having such heretical facilities under my house. Nocturne’s statue, of all things.”
“Isn’t that a bit rich coming from you, Judas? You are Nocturne’s vessel. If you transcend when you reach a higher level, wouldn’t you become the master of this statue?”
I pondered upon Cariote’s question.
If I reached level 50.
I was destined to turn into Nocturne whose statue was standing before me.
After killing the Demon King Sabernack, who tried to annihilate humanity to become Nocturne’s vessel, I stole his ‘vessel title’.
There had been no other way at the time.
Cariote added, looking at the beheaded statue.
“Will you disappear, Judas? Like the mortal Philemon transcending to light god Yahbach and becoming a Demiurge, forgetting his memories and emotions of his living days?”
“Honestly, I don’t know.”
I’ve never been level 50.
But I had a faint feeling.
If I transcend, it would be a disaster, that much I knew.
That’s why I tried not to engage in yesterday’s fight.
“Judas, is it impossible to transfer your vessel to someone else? Mara, the heretic monk we met yesterday, could be called quite the villain.”
“I wish I could. But only those with a heap of negative karma can receive it. Frankly, even if I gave it to you, it would just return to me.”
I also tried to pass it on.
This kind of bomb.
I just intended to give it to some evil thieves.
But the thief who received it couldn’t withstand it and… Boom, he exploded.
And then the vessel just returned to me.
In other words.
It meant that passing on the vessel was impossible unless it was to a villain of the same calibre as me.
That’s where the problem arose.
“Only someone like the Demon King could surpass me. So those Tenebris folks are probably trying to resurrect him.”
“But the resurrection of the Demon King means the world will be engulfed in war again. That’s the problem.”
“Nice to see you catch on quick.”
The emergence of a villain who surpasses me was a disaster in itself.
If Naru and the little kids lived in such a world, their princess power would definitely drop.
“The little kids…”
Then I remembered the story about Cecily and Cariote.
About how Cecily is my daughter and Cariote is likely my wife.
I haven’t seen Cariote and Cecily lately, so I was wondering how to convey this fact to them.
Maybe I should try now?
“Cariote, they say you’ve been hanging around with Cecily a lot lately.”
“Ah, right. That little kid offered me gold and jewels she got from somewhere. It was too much for a little girl to have.”
“Really? Did she steal it from somewhere? Why did she give it to you?”
“She asked me to find her mom and dad.”
“…Oh.”
“But since I’ve found traces of the demon I was chasing, it’s time to get back to my main job. I’ve almost found all the imp traces too. I might leave the Principality of Freesia soon. I haven’t found any trace of Cecily’s mom or dad though.”
“Cariote. About Cecily’s mom and dad─.”
━Kong Kong.
Just as I was about to speak, a squirrel with cool black stripes climbed from Cariote’s leg up to his shoulder.
━Kong Kong!
It was a squirrel that barked like a dog.
Was it some kind of dog squirrel?
Cariote frowned at the creature’s barking.
“What? You found traces of the imp? Got it. I’m on my way.”
With those words, Cariote quickly walked out of the mansion.
“I’ll be leaving the Principality of Freesia soon.”
I hadn’t expected this.
Is this truly okay?
“This is troublesome. Cariote can’t leave this city. Now that it’s come to this, do I have no choice but to tell the truth?”
I swept the garden with a broom, basking in the ambiguity of the situation.
It’s about time for lunch, so I thought about eating the leftover party food from yesterday.
Then I saw the bushes in the garden rustle.
“What’s that? Who goes there? This is private property, you can’t just come in.”
“……”
“I know someone is hiding there.”
Are they planning to deny it in front of me?
Even though I’m someone called the King of Thieves.
Could it be a thief?
Just when I thought I should show them a lesson, the bushes rustled again.
“Meow.”
I heard the cry of a cat.
Was it not a thief but a cat that had sneaked into the mansion’s garden?
When exactly?
Even if it’s a thief cat, infiltrating this mansion without my knowledge is absolutely impossible.
Maybe if it was a first-class thief.
Could it be a first-class thief cat?
A professional among thief cats?
“Hmm…”
But then.
On closer inspection, the hem of a skirt was sticking out of the bushes.
It was a rather familiar hem.
Seems good at sneaking around, but not at hiding.
Pretending to be oblivious, I said.
“You’re too well-behaved for a thief cat. Not even hissing.”
“…Hiss!”
“Do you understand me? Quite the marvelous cat. A very aristocratic one, at that.”
“Indeed it is.”
“……”
“…Ah…fuck…”
A cat that swears so vividly.
“Got you, you rascal.”
I reached into the bushes and pulled out the trespasser.
Like Naru, she was wearing the Graham Academy uniform, with long, flowing blonde hair and a sullen face with blue eyes.
“Let go of me!”
Cecily struggled as I had her by the scruff of her neck.
It’s like the feeling cat hunters must get when they find a kitten of an expensive breed roaming the streets.
The feeling that I should capture this one quickly, collect a reward, and sell it at a high price.
Despite the fact that she should be at school at this time, I could feel a similar emotion seeing Cecily playing hooky here.
A little lady with a Princess Power of B-.
The feeling that I should kidnap her quickly and demand a ransom from her parents.
Of course, her parents probably included me.
Since I can’t get a ransom from myself, I just asked out of curiosity.
“Cecily, what are you doing here when you should be in class?”
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