Chapter 17
That black lump of iron ore was the iron ore that Della Tura, the owner of the intelligence office, had personally commissioned for appraisal.
When it was put away, it had definitely been covered with a long, round glass lid, but now the lid had been removed.
There was even a chair by the desk that hadn’t been there before.
Mazia, realizing the situation, looked back at Nibelia.
“Did you touch it?”
“……”
“I’m not angry, but you’d better answer.”
“N-Nini isn’t scared of the tower master!”
Nibelia put on a bit of a bluff.
But soon, she confessed obediently.
“I only touched it this much…”
Nibelia showed her fingers.
“My fingernail just barely touched here. I didn’t really touch it, just a little bit. Just a tiny bit.”
“You’re in big trouble now, cat.”
Mazia’s expression turned serious.
“You touched a cursed stone, so your finger will rot and decay. Then it will spread through your whole body…”
“Lies! That’s a lie!”
“Look at your fingernails. Aren’t they black?”
Nibelia hurriedly examined her nails. As Mazia said, the tips had turned pitch black.
“…Eeeeeek!”
Frightened, Nibelia ran to Mazia.
“It hurts! It huuurts!”
“I knew you’d cause trouble like this someday.”
“Waaah! Waaah!”
“What did you do to cry about? Stop crying and come here.”
Mazia took out a nail-trimming knife from the drawer and sat Nibelia on her lap as she sobbed.
“Stop.”
“Nooo!”
“Yeah, cry. Cry all you want.”
Suppressing the ear-splitting pain, Mazia gently scraped under Nibelia’s nail with the knife.
The black part of the nail came off cleanly.
“Treatment finished.”
At those words, Nibelia stopped crying.
Actually, it was iron powder that came off the stone. Nibelia had touched it out of curiosity, and it got stuck under her fingernail.
“……”
Nibelia looked in wonder at her now clean nails.
Her long eyelashes, wet with tears, blinked slowly.
“If you sneak into someone else’s room and touch things again without permission, don’t expect me to treat you.”
“The tower master is Nini’s subordinate, so it’s okay if you do it for me.”
“No, it’s not okay, kid.”
Nibelia jumped down from Mazia’s lap, sniffed once, and bowed politely.
“Thanks for saving me.”
“It’s good you know manners. But how did you get here?”
“I came before, so I know!”
“Oh, was that when you came to sell mushrooms with your brother?”
The tower master’s lab was off-limits to anyone without permission.
Apparently, they hadn’t revoked the permission granted when they heard she’d come to sell poisonous mushrooms before.
‘Still, she found her way here well on her own.’
Her memory was good.
Mazia reached out to pat Nibelia’s head in approval, but Nibelia desperately dodged, so Mazia gave up.
“Alright, I’ll take you back to kindergarten.”
Mazia stood up, signaling it was time to go.
But Nibelia pouted and didn’t move an inch.
“Why? Don’t want to go?”
“There are too many strangers…”
“What’s this, cat? Since when did you get so weak?”
“But I can’t hit them. If I hit them, it’s against the law…”
“Oh, so you ran away to uphold justice.”
Mazia crouched down.
“But what about the wolves? You’re their leader. Isn’t it wrong for a leader to abandon their subordinates and run away?”
“……”
Nibelia’s lips stuck out in a pout.
‘…Ah.’
It was because of Aref.
“Nini plays well even without me. I hate him. A playboy, a useless guy…”
Like a sulky cat, Nibelia grumbled under her breath.
When Ardores explained she’d be going to kindergarten to study, Aref was very excited.
At first, Nibelia was happy too.
But there were too many strangers in the kindergarten.
Nibelia was uncomfortable with the children who approached her freely.
Still, she endured it for Aref’s sake, but Aref was so absorbed in studying that he barely paid her any attention.
So she ran away from kindergarten.
Because she was sulking.
“I didn’t do that, but you changed…”
“Don’t talk like a married couple of four years.”
Understanding her situation, Mazia clicked her tongue.
“Anyway, you ran away sulking like a child.”
“Nini’s not a child. She’s a cat.”
“A cat, but also a child. And a person.”
Mazia made eye contact with Nibelia.
“Nini.”
He said.
“Aref remembers nothing.”
“……”
“So, Nini, you’ll often be sad. Because he doesn’t remember when he was a wolf like you.”
“Nini knows too…”
“And Aref has had a hard time. Unlike you, who lives in a warm home, eating delicious food happily, he hasn’t.”
For Aref, every moment was a new opportunity, a first feeling of warmth and happiness.
“People have to endure sometimes. You can’t always live however you want. Even if you’re a very strong cat.”
“Nini has to endure too?”
“Yes, even you, Nini.”
“……”
“People are different from cats. They live together, care for each other, and sometimes give in. That’s how they live.”
“……”
“In other words, just because Aref forgot you for a while, you shouldn’t run away sulking.”
“…Okay.”
Nibelia slowly nodded.
But then she asked in a trembling voice, revealing her deepest fear.
“But what if he forgets me again because he only studies…?”
“Tell him not to forget.”
“Will that work?”
“The Aref I know, even if he’s a wolf from 40 years ago, always came back to you.”
“……”
“Even if he doesn’t remember, he’s still looking for you now.”
Mazia reached out his hand.
Seeing that, Nibelia placed her hand on top.
“Cat, now let’s go to kindergarten.”
“Okay.”
“And from now on, be more respectful to adults.”
“Nini’s older than you. She’s lived longer.”
“Well, that’s true.”
Ding dong—.
As they went down to the floor where the kindergarten was, sure enough, teachers’ voices calling for Nibelia could be heard.
Teachers rushed over as they spotted Nibelia with the tower master.
Nibelia quietly hid behind Mazia’s legs.
“Nini!”
“Oh my, tower master! How did Nini…”
The teachers all looked like they were about to cry. As if they had seen something scary.
“……”
Nibelia couldn’t look away from that expression.
“Looks like she took the wrong elevator. Luckily, I found her passing by and brought her back. You must have been worried. Thank you for your hard work.”
“We’re sorry. We weren’t paying close enough attention…”
The teachers bowed apologetically to the tower master.
At that moment, the classroom door slowly opened.
A blond head peeked out. It was Aref.
Looking around nervously like a worried child, he soon spotted Nibelia and quickly ran outside.
Standing in front of Nibelia, Aref’s lips moved as if to shout something, but then he closed them tightly.
“Uh…”
“……”
“Where were you…?”
“……”
“I looked everywhere for you…”
“……”
Nibelia lifted her head slightly.
The tower master, meeting Aref’s eyes, subtly shrugged his shoulders.
As if saying, “See? Cat, wasn’t I right?”
“Nini lacks ‘consideration.’”
Muniel muttered, chin in hand.
“She’s young, but she hardly recognizes herself as human. So she tends to act and speak thoughtlessly.”
“Because she lived longer as a cat, her memories of that life are stronger.”
Ardores said as he moved a white chess piece.
Muniel, having lost a black piece, puckered his wrinkled eyes.
Ardores smiled in response.
The old couple’s chess game was reaching its final stages.
“Anyway, that arrogant personality of hers needs fixing. You can’t live recklessly forever. She needs to grow up.”
“To be honest, I was surprised.”
“Why?”
“Don’t you like personalities like Nini’s?”
“I do. I still like it.”
Nibelia was so cheerful she could refresh anyone’s mood.
But if she kept blurting out whatever she pleased, she could harm others.
Muniel wasn’t soft enough to let that slide.
“Life isn’t lived alone; you have to learn manners.”
“That’s right.”
“Only protagonists in novels can live however they want and still be loved.”
“……”
Muniel’s black rook took a white bishop.
“This isn’t a story from a novel anymore.”
On the board, the white king stood two squares away.
“Huhuhu, I won.”
“You never win against me.”
“I let you win because you love me.”
“Such an excuse leaves me speechless.”
Ardores admitted defeat and stood up, stretching his stiff shoulders.
“…That story from the novel.”
“Yes.”
“To be honest, I still don’t believe it.”
“You believe Nini was a cat, but do you think Aref’s reincarnation is just a dream?”
Muniel teased.
Ardores tried to admit how selfish his standard was, but Muniel said it was okay, blinking wide eyes.
“Not believing is normal. You only try to believe because you love me.”
“Doesn’t that upset you? Even when we have wrinkles, I still can’t believe you.”
“Because you try to believe my words until you have wrinkles, it doesn’t upset me.”
Leaning on each other, the old couple enjoyed the spring garden.
“But this is just the beginning, right?”
“Yes.”
The warm afternoon sunlight illuminated Muniel’s face through the window.
In Ardores’ eyes, Muniel for a moment looked like she did 40 years ago.
The saint who saved the world said,
“It has begun.”
“Come on in!”
Kaleo welcomed Nibelia and Aref as they returned from kindergarten.
“……”
“……”
But the two kids looked strange as they got off the carriage.
Aref was usually quiet and cautious, so that was expected.
“…Nini?”
“……”
Nibelia looked like a drenched cat, her shoulders slumped.
It was unexpected.
Whatever had happened at kindergarten, Nibelia’s eyes told a story of a woman with a tragic fate.
“Honey? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
“Father…”
“Yes, Daddy’s here…”
Huh?
Kaleo’s eyes widened as if they might pop out.
