Chapter 86
Chapter 86
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Translator: uly
Chapter: 86
Chapter Title: Catnip POWEEEEEEERRRRRRR!
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Wiini woke up the moment the carriage jolted with a rumble as Sion's group finished preparing to depart.
"Nyaang?"
Startled, Wiini frantically scanned her surroundings and began hissing fiercely with a 'Haaak!'
It seemed the sudden events from last night had left her quite on edge.
Even so, the way she clutched Sion's outer coat tightly, as if afraid of losing it, was quite endearing.
"Oh my."
At the sound of a woman's voice, Wiini perked up her ears, extended her claws, and whipped her head toward it.
There sat Lucia, quietly reading a notebook filled with writing.
"Ah."
Perhaps because they'd traveled together for days and she'd learned through experience that this wasn't a threat.
The little cat, who had been growling savagely, quickly retracted her claws, flattened her raised fur, and gazed at Lucia with faintly wary eyes.
"Hello?"
Lucia greeted her warmly, and Wiini shot her a sharp look for a moment before softening it and lightly swishing her tail as she replied.
"...Hello."
"We've been traveling together for days, but this is the first time we've actually faced each other and talked like this."
"...Yeah."
Wiini had always insisted on her own way, instinctively rejecting approaches from anyone but Sion—whether riding in the carriage with him or perched on top—and avoiding even eye contact with others, except during meals.
So for Lucia, just sharing the same space like this felt pretty novel.
"...You're the mage who healed my injured kin, right?"
"Yeah.
That's me."
"I never got to thank you.
Better late than never—thank you."
"I didn't do it expecting thanks, so no need."
A brief silence settled in.
Then, very cautiously, Lucia spoke up.
"Um, as thanks, could I maybe touch your ears? Just once?"
"Huh?
My ears?"
When Wiini echoed her in surprise, Lucia nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling.
It seemed the mage's curiosity was getting the better of her—the fluffy cat ears were just too tempting.
"..."
The feline beastkin rarely allowed anyone to touch her body.
But after a moment's hesitation, Wiini agreed to just once and leaned her head forward slightly.
She had a hunch it wouldn't hurt to build a little rapport; after all, this was another benefactor who'd healed her kin, and she seemed close to Sion.
"Eee!
O-okay then!"
Lucia's innate scholarly thirst for knowledge kicked in at the prospect of satisfying her curiosity, and her face flushed with excitement as she reached out and gently stroked Wiini's ears.
"Nnngh..."
Wiini's face turned beet red with embarrassment.
Having someone touch her like this brought back hazy memories of last night with Sion.
Nyaang!
The sticky mewl as she clung to the man in a state of near undress.
And the troubled expression on his face, even as he eventually gave in to her.
'...Ugh.
What do I do?
I'm not repaying any favors—I'm just piling on more debts.'
Truth be told, the moment she felt she'd repaid her debts, she planned to leave without a second thought and head straight back home.
Lily worried her, but there was nothing she could do alone, so she'd at least warn her kin.
But staying by Sion's side with the intent to repay favors had turned into curiosity, which had blossomed into fondness—and after last night, all those feelings were jumbled into an utter mess she couldn't sort out.
"Um."
When Wiini spoke up, Lucia looked startled that the cat had initiated—letting out a "Hee!" of admiration as she turned to her.
Wiini shrank back a little under the expectant gaze but pressed on.
"Th-that is.
Human woman."
"Lucia.
My name's Lucia."
"...Lucia.
I'm Wiini Portable.
If it's not rude, can I ask you something?"
"Anything."
"...What's your relationship with Sion?"
The blunt question left Lucia momentarily flustered as she stared at Wiini.
Pondering the intent and purpose behind it, she let out a light sigh before answering.
"The man I love?"
"...Love?
Are you two married?"
"No, not that.
Just say we like each other."
"Then it doesn't bother you?"
"What?"
"That woman sticking to Sion's side.
You know she's a demon, right?
The terrifying Succubus Queen, Lily—do you know that?"
Lucia replied casually, "Of course I do," plunging Wiini into shock and horror.
There were fools who dismissed Lily just because she was a dream demon, but Wiini thought that was more foolish than any bravado.
When night fell and all creatures surrendered to inevitable sleep, Lily came like a nightmare—a reaper in her own right.
Even the strongest males wavered just a little, letting her into their dreams, and before long, they became her slaves.
The highest demon, queen of the dream demons, Succubus Queen Lily.
That terrifying being was glued to Sion's side, showing no sign of leaving.
"Don't worry."
"Don't worry?
How can I not?"
"I'm not entirely sure, but Lady Lily is on our side.
More precisely, she's Sion's lover, I suppose?
Anyway, for the sake of staying by Sion, she has no choice but to be with us."
"...What are you talking about?
Lover?
You just said you and Sion like each other..."
"Ahaha.
It's... complicated..."
Lucia's next answer didn't come from her mouth but burst from the stunning silver-haired beauty who flung open the door and strode in.
"What else?
I took my eyes off him for one second, and other women slipped right in.
Sheesh!
Let's go!
We're off!"
The woman slamming the carriage door shut was Lily herself.
The very being Wiini had been so wary of.
"Y-you!"
"Gonna hiss again?
Keep that up, and you'll really get it from big sis, you know?"
Lily waggled her hand teasingly, as if reminding her of what happened earlier.
Wiini suddenly realized she was still half-naked, draped only in Sion's coat, and hastily retreated to the corner.
"Lady Lily.
Wiini looks terrified."
"Hmph.
I just sorted out the pecking order.
She needs to know who's above and who's below if she wants an easy life ahead."
As Wiini huddled in the corner, eyeing Lily warily, something felt off.
A Succubus Queen, who should be fiercely hostile to females, was chatting casually with a human woman.
Lily showed no disdain for humans, and Lucia didn't seem all that afraid of the fearsome woman.
'What... what is this?'
As Wiini muttered inwardly in confusion, Lily seemed to read her thoughts, crossing her arms and elegantly crossing her legs before speaking.
"Hey, stray cat."
"I'm Wiini!
Don't call me stray cat!"
"Quiet. You like Sion, don't you?"
Her heart plummeted once more with a thud.
The shock of having her deepest, life-or-death weakness exposed made Wiini reflexively shake her head.
"N-no, I don't?"
"Hm?
You don't?"
"I-I'm just trying to repay the favors from my benefactor."
"You sure?
No regrets about that?"
Wiini hesitated at Lily's words but finally blurted, "Yeah!"
Lily sighed. *What a prideful cat with no sense.*
"Lucia.
Looks like we can ignore this one."
"Right?"
"Wh-what?
Ignore me?
Nyaong?"
"Call Rishina.
We can pick up where we left off on that Sion talk."
"Is that okay?
We just started moving, so calling Rish now might be..."
"Tell me!
What do you mean ignore me?
What's this about Sion?
Nyaooong!"
One moment she's acting indifferent, the next she's scampering over, clinging to her master's pant leg, begging to be let in on it.
Lily chuckled inwardly but feigned a "Why are you so curious?" expression and tone.
"Didn't you say you're not interested in Sion?
Then why should you care?"
"Nyaong!
W-well, to repay favors, I need to know all about Sion!
Y-yeah!
That's it, to repay the favors!"
"..."
It was definitely a pretty dumb excuse.
Lily and even Lucia looked mildly dumbfounded, but Wiini played it cool and shot back from the corner, "Now you have a reason, right?
Spill it!" before sidling out and plopping down beside Lily, staring at her with the most intense gaze she could muster.
"Fine, whatever.
If you wanna hear it that bad."
"Wiini?
Didn't you just say you have to repay Sion's favors?"
"Yeah?
Y-yeah, I did."
"To do that, you need to get along with him first."
"Right."
"Then you'd better stop being so wary of Lady Lily.
She's the closest thing to the 'wife' you mentioned with Sion."
Lucia's bombshell made not just Wiini but Lily take splash damage too.
"Urk?"
"Lucia!
Wh-what kind of talk is that..."
"You kept stressing you're first, so I thought that's what you wanted."
"That was just me saying we shouldn't argue about who's first anymore!
Of course, Sion and I are that close.
Y-yeah!"
"See?
Hear that, Wiini?"
"...Nyaaooong?"
What in the world was going on?
A Succubus Queen meekly by a human man's side was shocking enough, but husband and wife?
And a human woman who liked him too?
*'Wh-what the hell is happening here, nya!'*
Wiini had thought the best way to repay her debt was to protect the man from Lily's clutches or at least warn him.
That's why she'd avoided Lily as much as possible, sticking to Sion to prevent her from harming or devouring her benefactor.
But lovers?
Lovers?
Wife?
That was shocking in its own right.
And on top of that, hearing directly that Lily and Sion were that close.
An indescribable wave of massive disappointment crashed over Wiini like a tsunami.
"N-nyaong..."
Her ears drooped limply, her tail lost its strength and sagged.
The fiery spitfire from moments ago was gone, replaced by a utterly deflated woman.
Watching Wiini, Lily was certain.
*'Two humans and one beastkin.
I'm going insane.
Insane.'*
How many more women did he need before he'd be satisfied?
Lily genuinely wanted to crack open Sion's skull and peek inside.
―
"You're asking about the ingredients from last night's dinner?"
Before departure, the soldiers were thrown off by Sion's sudden odd question.
He wanted them to list exactly what went into the dinner they'd prepared.
Worried something hadn't suited him or made him ill, they asked why in concerned tones, but Sion said it wasn't a big deal.
"Just curious.
Curious.
It had a slightly different vibe, you know?"
"I-is that so?
But Young Lord, as you know, we used what we already had on hand, so nothing new was added."
"So it was exactly the same as when Miss Lucia cooks?"
"Yes.
Nothing but our usual ingredients."
Hm, then what the hell?
Why did Wiini suddenly go into heat and cause all that chaos last night?
"Hey, Tom.
Didn't you guys sprinkle something weird on last night's dinner?"
"I've told you a million times, it was salt, you idiot."
"No, no!
Not the meat—the soup.
That weird herb you picked near Conean Barony during the break, said it smelled nice."
"...Oh.
That?"
That?
Sion eyed the soldier, who scratched his head and explained.
"It's called bacara—a wild herb with a nice scent.
Dries stronger too.
But it has zero effect on people, really just makes things smell good..."
"How much did you put in?"
"N-not sure exactly, but it wasn't super potent, so we dumped in all the dried stuff.
Probably more than a spoonful."
"..."
Sion fell silent, deep in thought, and Thompson spoke anxiously.
"Young Lord.
Did I do something wrong...?"
"What's your name?"
"Pardon?
Th-Thompson, sir."
"Good, Thompson.
Your cooking was just that good, so no worries.
You're the best soldier for always preparing great meals for the men—keep it up.
Got it?"
"Yes, sir!
Got it!
Thank you!"
After patting the soldier's shoulder encouragingly and tossing in a couple more cool lines.
Sion headed to the carriage, repeatedly muttering 'Eureka!'
A feline beastkin goes completely loopy from a spoonful of dried herb powder in soup.
He suddenly wondered what would happen with even less in her system.
*'Whoa, what kind of perverted thoughts are these?
My head's full of harem delusions!
No, this is pure biological curiosity and scientific experimentation.
Yeah, that's it!'*
―――――――Author's Note―――――――
Catnip WILL RETURN―
Thought I'd push for another double post despite the strain, but cooldown's kicking in...
Once cooldown recovers, I'll drop another double post!
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