Chapter 67
Chapter 67
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 67
Chapter Title: The Fateful Staring Contest
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No helping it!
Throw the protagonist at her!
“...”
“...”
A long, drawn-out standoff began.
Once all her bindings were completely removed, Winnie leaped straight onto the bed and squeezed into the narrow gap between it and the wall. She glared at Sion with eyes full of wariness.
From where he stood, it felt to Sion just like that time he’d visited a friend’s house and watched their cat cautiously eyeing the stranger.
‘At least dogs were way easier.
The friendly ones would wag their tails and come right over, and even the standoffish ones would start wagging if you dangled some food in front of them.’
But cats were different.
So wary, so hard to win over. Even after visiting a few more times, that cat never really warmed up.
And now, that exact scene was playing out again in this inn room.
A battle of pride between human and cat—the ultimate duel: a staring contest!
“What the hell are they even doing?”
Lily let out a disbelieving chuckle.
She’d half-expected him to drag the girl in here for some shady deed, but no—he just untied her and sat there watching. And the cat beastkin girl responded by hissing like she’d slash him with those razor claws any second, then bolted to the corner and went,
“Eeeeek!”
Weird yowls and nothing more.
‘And at first, I thought she was just your average beastkin.
But that scar... no matter how you look at it, it’s the mark only one beastkin chosen by lightning can bear.’
To some Conean human or whatever, it might just look like a weird scar.
But those who’d existed in this world since ancient times, like her, knew exactly what it was.
A remnant from those so-called gods who’d all vanished. Among beastkin, only cat beastkin could bear that mark, or so she’d heard.
It didn’t appear from birth. It emerged during growth, when they were deemed ready. Once it did, they had to rigorously train in wielding that power.
At first, just bearing the mark was overwhelming, leaving them struggling. But with time, age, and experience, they could master it.
‘She’s probably still too young to control it properly, so the humans caught her.
That’s how they nabbed her alive even with those full-grown guards.’
Lily glanced at Sion, still locked in a staring contest with the cat girl.
‘He’s weird too.’
It was like he knew exactly what that scar on the girl’s forehead meant.
Just moments ago, the guy saying, “Hand over the cash and there’ll be no bloodshed,” had flipped and taken the girl instead.
From her perspective, that left two possibilities.
One: Sion knew the scar’s meaning.
Two...
‘No way!
Ridiculous!
That jerk!
He said he was into older women!
Busty big-sis types like me!
Don’t tell me that was all bullshit?
You bastard!
Liar!’
...She seemed convinced Sion hadn’t saved Winnie because he knew the scar’s significance, but because some hidden lolita fetish had stirred his heart.
Lily eyed Sion and the cat beastkin girl Winnie alternately, her face tense.
‘Where’d this stray alley cat come from!’
Assuming Sion was interested in Winnie, Lily bit her lip slightly.
Her contractor had said, “I only have eyes for big sis types anyway,” which had eased her mind a bit.
Same with Lucia, same with Reshida—even when they subtly approached Sion, she figured she was always number one in his heart.
That’s why she could afford to be laid-back, free of jealousy.
But lately, it felt like rivals were popping up everywhere.
The succubus queen’s instincts were screaming it.
Zone out like this, and you’re done for.
You’ll end up as Forgotten Woman No. 1!
‘No way!
I’ve got succubus queen pride.
How dare he cheat on me with some other girl!’
Sion had no such intentions, of course.
He just wanted to patch things up with Winnie somehow, build a connection to the cat beastkin, and exploit it later.
Unfortunately, Lily had no way of knowing that.
The misunderstanding deepened, the kind that would only lead to awkward laughter if they knew.
“Master.
Lucia and her guard have arrived downstairs.”
Reshida peeked her head through the door and said that.
Sion nodded as if he’d expected it, told her to go ahead and wait, then glanced at Winnie huddled in the corner.
“I don’t know how long you plan to stay like that, but once your friends are here, let’s talk properly.”
“...”
“I already know from our little chat earlier that you understand everything I say and can speak.
So drop the ‘I don’t understand’ act and the ‘I can’t talk’ routine.
I’m pretty damn tired.”
“Kyaaak!”
Winnie countered Sion’s words with an instant hiss.
From her side, some weird noble from the slave market buys her, shows zero interest in the creepy stuff she’d heard about, and just leaves her be no matter what she does. Of course he seemed suspicious as hell.
If he’d gone, “Uhihihihi!” with a sleazy grin and dragged her to the bed, she wouldn’t be this tense or confused.
But Sion blatantly ignored her hiss and turned to Lily beside him.
“I’m heading downstairs for a bit.”
“Go ahead.
I don’t know about the rest, but that Kim Yu-hyun guy really grates on me.”
“...Then watch the cat for me.”
Why the hell do I have to babysit the cat?
The words rose to the tip of her tongue, but Lily swallowed them with superhuman patience.
She’d said she wasn’t the jealous type—showing it now would bruise her pride just as bad.
“Kitty, you listen to big sis here, got it?”
With that, Sion left the room.
He’d dragged her all the way here just to untie her and leave her in the room alone.
The story unfolding differently from what she’d heard only deepened Winnie’s confusion.
‘Humans are all freaks anyway!
Freaks!’
Yaow!
Nyaaaooow!
“Ugh, shut up already.”
Lily muttered irritably, and Winnie clamped her mouth shut, glaring straight at her from the corner.
“Don’t play dumb with me.
With that fancy mark of yours, you can sense pretty much anything, right?”
“...”
Winnie stared at Lily with eyes brimming with caution.
Soon, a low, wary cat growl rumbled from her throat: “Wrrrr...”
The kind that made humans flinch instinctively, like a baby’s cry.
To Lily, though, it was just some brat throwing a tantrum—nothing more.
“I said shut it?”
“Kyaaak!
Filthy demon!
What are you doing here!”
“Living with that human guy, as you can see?”
“Why’s a demon hanging with a human?
Smells like lies!”
“What, you got mud plugged in your nose?
No lies here, you little shit.
Oh, right.
Smelling’s the wolfkin specialty.
You cat beastkin a notch below might screw it up.”
“W-what?
Kyaaak!
Kyaaaak!”
Top three things cat beastkin hated: belly rubs, paw tickles, and comparisons to wolfkin!
Especially wolfkin—they’d sooner die than tolerate that.
“You done talking?
Kyak!
You sleazy, filthy dream demon!”
“Oh ho?
You see right through my true nature, huh?
That fancy mark’s power is the real deal.”
“Shut up!
Demon!
D-don’t tell me you’re threatening that human guy?”
“...What?”
What nonsense is this now?
Lily wondered.
It’d make more sense if she accused Sion of threatening her.
In bed, he’d kept teasing between her legs without touching the important spot, until she teared up begging him to!
“What’re you even saying?
Who’s threatening who?”
“Hmph!
Don’t need to hear it from demons to know!
Kyong!”
“What?
Hey, you cat bitch!
Hey!”
No matter what Lily yelled, Winnie turned away like, ‘Don’t care! Pfft!’
Lily fumed and demanded she come out for a face-to-face, but our defiant kitty just groomed herself like, ‘Who’s barking now?’
Of course, Winnie’s mind was racing too.
‘...That human guy seemed totally average.
No mana scent.
Not even that muscular.
So why’s a demon with insane power hanging with him?
Does he even know she’s a demon?’
If Sion and Lily heard that, one would crack up, the other grimace and snap:
I know damn well she’s a demon—and she’s the one getting dominated by me!
‘He said he’d save my sisters... so I’ll wait.
If he really does, that’s two debts I owe him.’
Blood for grudges, greater repayment for favors.
That was the cat beastkin code, etched in their blood.
‘If he doesn’t know she’s a demon and trusting her gets him hurt...’
Grrr—
While grooming, Winnie snuck glances at the succubus yelling, ‘Ugh! You damn stray! Pissing me off!’
Maybe the chance to repay that favor wasn’t far off.
—
“Young Lord Sion!”
Spotting him, Lucia rushed over frantically and started checking him for injuries.
Reshida must’ve told her about the sudden attack.
‘She didn’t mention the attacker was a celestial, did she?’
Unlike Reshida, who only cared about Sion’s safety, Lucia had a pretty positive view of celestials.
She’d been devastated later when she realized they weren’t so saintly, moping for days.
“Who dares target the heir of Klauzen Margrave Territory!
Have you reported to the palace?”
Thankfully, Reshida wasn’t that clueless.
Sion nodded slightly at her lady knight behind Lucia, smiling approval.
Reshida blushed beet red, grinning like an idiot.
“Not yet to the palace, Lucia.”
“What?
Why not?
This is serious.
An attempt on Klauzen’s heir—the one guarding Hispania’s border, the war hero who led us to victory!”
Lucia, far from her usual calm, was overly agitated.
Sion watched her a moment, then took her hand and stood still, letting her calm herself.
Sure enough, minutes later, she regained composure—then flushed at him holding her hand.
“...Ahem.
Lucia.
Didn’t you say you had a gift for Master?”
Reshida cut in coldly, clearly hating the pink atmosphere.
“Oh, right.
Young Lord!
Here, take this.”
“This is...?”
Lucia proudly offered a jet-black coat embroidered with golden thread.
A palace souvenir?
Sion blinked at her curiously, and she muttered, “Oh, sorry,” then infused mana.
It hummed, and the embroidery glowed.
Mysterious patterns flashed, leaving Sion staring questioningly.
“This?”
“A grand magic defense garment I made myself.
Won’t block everything, but it handles most spells.”
“Ooh...”
“And I treated the fabric so flames won’t harm you.”
She was still guilty over nearly roasting him in the Nudia battle.
Mid-admiration, Sion recalled her messy state and late departure.
“Ah, was this why you started late?”
“Getting the fabric was a hassle.
Processing, cutting... and embedding the magic barrier needed help from palace friends.”
Ooh?
Ooooh?
Her “friends” meant Raido’s circle too.
As court mage, his contacts were magic pros.
Their help plus her handiwork? Performance guaranteed.
‘Lucia stock was the right call.
Skyrocketing on her own—utterly grateful.’
Lily and Reshida stocks soaring too? Sion was in bliss.
“Thanks so much, Lucia.
This’ll be incredibly useful.”
“O-oh, it’s nothing...
Really...”
His sincere thanks made her squirm bashfully.
Reshida’s expression soured further.
“Oh, Lucia.
Mind if I chat with Kim Yu-hyun a bit?
You go rest upstairs first?”
Lucia nodded agreeably.
Reshida grabbed her bags and bolted up the stairs like, ‘Stop yapping and scram!’
“...”
Watching a moment, Kim Yu-hyun turned.
Sion stood there, smiling uncomfortably.
“You said you had something to discuss.
What is it?”
“Ah, not here.
Somewhere quieter.”
It’d be fine here, but for dramatic flair, heavy lines like that were polite.
Time to snitch this monster out to Shabasha.