WCSVL 11

Chapter – 11

House Visit.

After taking down two thugs and escaping from a suspicious man, Ruri finally reached the inn. She collapsed onto the bed and fell into a restless sleep.

The next day, she set out to meet Chelsea’s son, Klaus.

However, she unexpectedly ran into the two men from the previous day.

This royal capital was nothing like the town where Ruri used to shop, where almost everyone knew each other. It was a completely different world.

Amidst the bustling crowds of the capital, running into them again the very next day was far too much of a coincidence.

Ruri froze, her face stiff with tension, and the two men noticed her as well.

“Gah!”

“Hehehe, what a coincidence, little lady.”

“You really did a number on us yesterday!”

With sinister grins spreading across their faces, the two men charged at Ruri, their expressions twisted into demonic glares as if to get revenge for the previous day.

Ruri bolted in the opposite direction as if she had been sprung loose.

She occasionally bumped into people, earning curses, and shouted apologies as she sprinted through the streets of the capital, which were crowded even in the early morning. She had fallen into a situation similar to yesterday’s, but unexpectedly, Ruri remained calm.

She deliberately ducked into a less busy alley.

The path ahead was a straight road with no branching side streets. Knowing this, the men chasing behind her grinned inwardly, thinking they had her cornered. But when Ruri turned a corner and they followed, they suddenly lost sight of her.

“Huh?! Where the hell did she go!?”

“She was right behind us! There’s no way we lost her—find her!”

The men ran straight down the alley at full speed.

Ruri’s azure eyes watched them fade from view from behind a small wooden crate.

*(Crap, crap, crap!)*

At the moment she turned the corner, Ruri had put on the cursed bracelet, transformed into a white cat, and made herself small behind cover. After confirming she could no longer hear their voices, she emerged from hiding, jumped onto the crate, and let out a relieved sigh.

It was said that there was a subtle overall difference in scent between demi-humans and humans, and that demi-humans could perceive it.

Therefore, the demi-human men should have been able to tell that Ruri was human from the moment they met. Taking that into account, Ruri had kept the bracelet tucked in her clothes, ready to use at a moment’s notice.

They would never suspect that the human girl had hidden as a cat behind a small wooden crate.

The bracelet was enchanted with concealment magic that even the wolf tribe—renowned for their keen sense of smell—couldn’t detect. It didn’t just change her appearance; it turned her into a genuine cat. The creator’s obsession was palpable, but thanks to that perverse level of feline devotion, which even altered her body odor, Ruri had managed to protect herself.

It had been a contingency plan for if she was chased again, but she never expected to use it so soon.

*(I might run into them again, so it’s probably best to stay as a cat as much as possible when I’m out in the capital.)*

With that thought, Ruri headed toward Klaus’s house while still in cat form. However, since she couldn’t hide the spirits under her robe while a cat, they had to follow at a slight distance.

Klaus’s residence was not the ordinary home she had imagined—it was a grand mansion. There was a massive gate, and far beyond it, she could see what looked like the entrance, but she couldn’t make out the full scale of the building from a quick glance. Just how vast was it…?

Ruri was stunned by the contrast between her son’s lifestyle and Chelsea’s quiet, self-sufficient life in the forest.

What surprised her even more was the tiger standing in front of the imposing gate.

…Yes, a tiger. From any angle, it was unmistakably a tiger.

Its massive frame, its coat of yellowish-brown fur, its fierce feline eyes, and its thick, powerful paws that looked like they could send someone to the afterlife with a single strike.

The only difference was that it was wearing clothes and standing upright like a human. If Ruri hadn’t known that beastfolk—except for certain tribes—were generally gentle, she would have turned right around and fled.

The tiger, standing guard at the gate, seemed to be acting as a sentinel.

Even knowing that, approaching such an intimidating creature took courage. But then Ruri remembered her current form and hesitated.

She had finally realized the obvious: she couldn’t change back.

Turning into a cat was all well and good, but to revert to human form, she needed to remove the tightly fitted bracelet—something her little cat paws with their soft pads couldn’t possibly manage.

Spirits could touch natural things and magical objects, so they could interact with people or items imbued with magic. But she couldn’t ask for help right in the middle of the street. If she called on the spirits—who would eagerly jump at any chance to help her—instead of just one, a whole crowd would swarm in.

She could ask the tiger to remove it for her, but Ruri absolutely didn’t want to do that. She didn’t have the courage to stick her tiny, frail cat arm—thinner than the tiger’s fingers—in front of those muscular, rock-crushing arms and paws.

She was certain he would crush both the bracelet and her along with it.

She could communicate via telepathy, so there was no issue with conveying her thoughts, and she could postpone turning back. But would the master of the house be willing to meet a suspicious cat?

*(I definitely wouldn’t meet me if I were him… A talking cat… Well, but there are cat demi-humans, so a talking cat isn’t that unusual, right?)*

While she was pondering this, one of the spirits, growing impatient with Ruri’s hesitation when her destination was right in front of her, approached her. Perhaps thinking a crowd would be a bad idea, only one came forward as a representative.

*’Ruri, aren’t you going in~?’*

*’I am, I was just thinking about something. Hey, about the bracelet—oh, someone’s coming out.’*

Just as she was thinking she could ask the spirit to remove the bracelet—since a single one had conveniently appeared—a well-dressed man emerged from inside the gate. Even the tiger guard bowed respectfully as the man passed.

Ruri wasn’t sure if he was the master of the house, but he was certainly a resident.

He had straight vermilion hair and tawny eyes. He appeared to be in his thirties and gave off an intellectual impression. However, since demi-humans aged differently from humans in appearance, he could be much younger or older than he looked.

The moment Ruri saw him, she felt certain—this was Chelsea’s son. Though he didn’t particularly resemble her…

Wondering why she felt that way, she kept her gaze fixed on him. The man noticed her stare and walked toward her.

Rather than at Ruri, however, his interest seemed to be piqued by the spirit beside her.

“A spirit and a cat—what an unusual combination. What are you doing here?”

He addressed the spirit, not Ruri, so she interjected.

*’Ah, it’s not the spirit—it’s me who needs to talk to you.’*

The man’s eyes widened slightly when the cat communicated telepathically, but he soon smiled and crouched down to bring himself closer to her level, speaking gently as if to a small child. As expected, while a talking cat might be unusual, it wasn’t shocking enough to cause a stir in this world.

“What can I do for you?”

*’Are you Klaus, Chelsea’s son? My name is Ruri. Chelsea asked me to deliver something and come see you.’*

“Ah, yes, I’m Klaus. But you? …I did hear from my mother that she’d be sending someone, but…”

Klaus stared at Ruri in disbelief.

To prove she was telling the truth, Ruri opened a small space above Klaus’s head. A letter fluttered down from it, and Klaus caught it. Upon seeing the handwriting on the envelope, he seemed convinced.

“Indeed, this is my mother’s handwriting. My apologies for the doubt. Welcome—please, come inside.”

Ruri had wanted to have the bracelet removed before anything else, but she had completely missed her chance. Resigned, she followed Klaus into the grand mansion, still in cat form.

Once shown into a room, Ruri hesitated about where to sit. Klaus urged her onto the sofa, so she hopped up and perched neatly in the center of the large seat.

Almost immediately, a servant entered and placed a flat dish filled to the brim with milk on the table in front of her. Ruri felt an indescribable mix of emotions.

She regretted not having turned back into a human sooner.

Meanwhile, Klaus read through Chelsea’s letter. As he progressed, a frown creased his brow—surely not Ruri’s imagination.

After taking his time to finish, Klaus massaged his temples, let out a deep sigh, and turned to face Ruri.

“I have a few questions, if you don’t mind?”

*’Yes, of course.’*

“How long have you known my mother?”

*’About two years now.’*

He asked several more questions, and Ruri answered each one. Most were about life in the forest and Chelsea’s well-being. During the conversation, Ruri handed over the medicinal herbs Chelsea had asked her to deliver.

“Lastly, my mother’s letter says you possess the magical ability to attract spirits. But I only see one here?”

*’I’ve asked the others to keep their distance for now. I thought they might cause a commotion in the city. Should I call them?’*

Aside from the one present, the rest were keeping away—but she could feel them waiting just beyond the window, eager for her call. Klaus seemed interested. With his permission, Ruri called the spirits to come.

In an instant, the room was flooded with them.

Startled by the sudden army of spirits occupying the room, Klaus recoiled, his face stiffening. Ruri, too, was caught off guard by the sheer number; the cat’s whiskers twitched nervously.

In addition to the spirits who had traveled from the forest, spirits already living in the capital had also shown up out of curiosity and sheer nosiness, turning the room into complete chaos.

*’Wow, so this is Ruri? Nice to meet you!’*

*’A white kitty!’*

*’Isn’t she smaller than the rumors said?’*

*’Her magic feels amazing.’*

And because they were all chattering at once, it was incredibly noisy. Even worse, since spirits communicated directly into the mind via telepathy, covering her ears did nothing to block the cacophony.

Ruri pressed her paws desperately over her ears, and Klaus across from her clutched his head in agony. Even knowing it was useless, neither could take their hands off their ears.

*’Everyone, stop—STOP!! My head is splitting!!’*

After several calls, the spirits finally quieted down. Afraid the chaos would repeat, Ruri sent away all but the ones who had traveled with her from the forest.

Catching their breath, both Ruri and Klaus slumped tiredly before resuming their conversation.

“Indeed, it seems you have a constitution that attracts spirits.”

Satisfied on that point, Klaus fell into thought. Then, with a serious expression, he delivered his verdict.

“In that case, I cannot take you in here.”

Taken aback by the rejection—since she had fully expected to stay—Ruri reflexively asked back.

*’Why not?!’*

She thought it might be because of the spirit-induced chaos, but Klaus’s concern lay elsewhere.

“Perhaps my mother mentioned it to you, but your existence is extremely valuable. Not just to the Dragon Kingdom, but to other nations as well. The security here is far too lax. You need a place with more protection—ideally, the castle.”

*’That’s hardly necessary…’*

Of all places, the castle where the Dragon King resides. Ruri thought this mansion was already overkill; how could she live freely in the royal palace?

“No, I’d say it’s not even enough. We cannot allow anything to happen to you.”

After that, Klaus said, “I’ll go to the castle and obtain the King’s permission. I’ll be back shortly. In the meantime, do not leave this room.” Before Ruri could respond, he hurried out, the door closing firmly behind him.

*’Wait, before that—the bracelet…!’*

Her words were swallowed by the sound of the heavy door slamming shut.

*(What am I going to do…?)*