Chapter 100
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 100
Chapter Title: Was What I Saw a Cat?
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Was what I saw a cat?
Our reunion was the worst.
The one who'd taught me what the red revolution truly meant had ended up like this.
"Nyang nyang...."
For the bearer of that red heart to change so utterly.
How could anyone make a person mimic an animal's cry?
"Caw...."
What the hell had Gretel done?
"She's a maid here to help with the housework. Isn't that right?"
"...Meow-id, nyang."
Whatever the case, we couldn't turn Gretel into an enemy.
I might end up sweeping the yard in frilly clothes like that myself.
"Anyway, did you hear that? We need to prepare a meal for our guests."
"Aah! Leave it to me, nyang!"
The Red Cape dashed into the kitchen in a hurry.
Gretel stared blankly at where she'd disappeared, her eyes half-lidded, then turned to me.
"Normally, she would've headed straight for the fireplace instead of the kitchen."
Her gaze had shifted to the hearth at some point.
"You can't show even a shred of mercy when dealing with a Night Witch. But this time, the circumstances are a bit different, so I'm putting her to use like this."
The Red Cape had been in such bad shape that without becoming a cat maid, she'd have been firewood for sure.
"Her magic circuits are all tangled up, and that strange red power is completely gone. At this rate, she clearly couldn't wield any witch powers."
That strange red power must be the trait I'd stolen.
The unquenchable flame of revolution.
With that trait stripped away, Gretel must have judged the Red Cape harmless.
"I lent her just enough of my magic to keep her from completely losing her abilities as a witch, and in exchange, she's working here."
No wonder she'd been so compliant. So that's what happened.
"Not enough for her to pool power and try anything funny—just enough for simple chores."
The moment she betrayed us, the magic supply would cut off.
And they wouldn't give her enough to make betrayal worthwhile anyway.
"This should put your mind at ease. For Night Witches, betrayal means summary execution. No matter the reason, if her current state got exposed, she'd be discarded for sure. So like it or not, she'll have to stick around here."
She couldn't go back to her old haunt either.
Since she was surviving on magic from the Day Witch Gretel now, returning to the Night Witches wouldn't end well.
"Be delicious, nyang.... Be delicious, nyang...."
The Red Cape muttering weakly from the kitchen.
She looked a bit pitiful, but this beat dying.
"It also occurred to me that we might need an extra pair of hands to serve you, Sir Moona, Lady Rebecca, and Sir Crow. You're all busy with your tasks now, but you can always return here anytime."
"Caw."
Gretel was saying some pretty touching things.
As we enjoyed our pre-meal appetizers while waiting, the Red Cape brought out some mouthwatering meat dishes.
"Nyang! Here's the Chacha-style venison steak set, nyang!"
Chacha?
So that was her name.
"Hweh.... So delicious...."
"Perfect doneness.... Perfect sweetness...."
Cherry and Kiki's faces melted away.
The Red Cape's cooking really was pretty good.
I had no idea if she always had this skill or if desperation brought it out.
"Here, Sir Moona. Ahh."
"Mm.... I have hands, you know."
Do you even have anything worth calling hands?
Gretel naturally fed Moona the meat, while Black Wolf reverted to her wolf form and crunched on the bone-attached pieces.
"Shuwaaaang...."
Swungswung was devouring his share too.
"...Nyang."
The Red Cape sidled up to me naturally.
"Um... I overheard while cooking, nyang. It's true you met the Plague Witch? Even went to the deep sea?"
Her eyes sparkled brightly.
She must've eavesdropped while prepping in the kitchen.
"Caw caw."
I nodded lightly.
"Wh-what happened, nyang? You came back fine, so... n-no way... did you take them all down, nyang?"
She hadn't heard that far.
I'd teamed up with the Executioner and nearly beaten the Plague Witch, and the Deep Sea Witch had backed off on her own.
Not exactly taken down, but we won.
So I nodded a couple more times.
"Beating me wasn't just luck, nyang.... Yeah, that's right! The enemy was too strong, nyang. So even I could handle the deep sea...?"
As if.
Two tentacles from her and you'd be bawling.
"A-anyway, nyang.... I've got some intriguing info. Wanna hear it, nyang?"
Intriguing info?
Glancing around slyly and lowering her voice—she was scheming like old times.
"Y-you were asking about the Lion Heart King earlier, right, nyang? Trying to get info on him?"
Yeah.
I'd been probing Gretel for Lion Heart King intel during our talk.
She'd offered book knowledge but prioritized filling our bellies first, leading to this meal.
"Nyang.... I know a bit about that, nyang...."
She glanced at Gretel, saw her focused on feeding Moona, and scooted even closer to me.
"How about a deal, nyang?"
A deal?
Was she asking for her stolen trait back?
No way.
She might be a cat maid now, but regain that flame and she'd revert to berserker mode.
"Improve my situation, nyang.... Adding 'nyang' everywhere is torture, nyang.... And this headband— who knows when it'll turn into real ears, nyang...."
...Had her spirit broken completely?
Not demanding her power back, but better treatment?
"Caw."
I could pull some strings for that much.
"G-great! Then I'll spill what I know, nyang!"
The Red Witch poured out her info freely.
"The Lion Heart King is called the Tyrant and the Conqueror King, nyang. You probably know he's connected to the witches somehow, nyang."
Yeah.
He was tied to the Eternal Night too.
A brutal monster, fitting his tyrant moniker.
Maybe the worst personality imaginable.
"But they're not on good terms, nyang. If anything, bad blood. Night Witches don't linger near his territory, nyang. He attacks indiscriminately, nyang...."
Sudden affinity.
We're allies then?
"...Thing is, nyang, it's not specifically because they're Night Witches. Anything nearby gets attacked, nyang."
Hm, got it now.
Doesn't matter if good or bad—he strikes first, asks questions never.
Hence Conqueror King and Tyrant.
"Sees every opponent as an enemy, nyang. That's why us witches avoid his area too, nyang."
Roughly understood.
What kind of guy the Lion Heart King was.
How the Cowardly Lion changed after gaining courage.
"Caw."
But this info wasn't enough.
Knowing his type vaguely wouldn't cut it.
Gretel could handle that anyway.
What we needed was a way into Lion Heart King's Castle or his weaknesses.
I gestured and scratched drawings on the floor to convey it, and the Red Cape looked flustered.
"I... I don't have info that detailed...?"
"Caw."
Then that was it?
"Uh... yeah, nyang...?"
Our chat's over then.
"Caw."
As I turned back to my meal, the Red Cape hurriedly added,
"W-wait! Not me, but I know someone who knows the details, nyang!"
Someone detailed?
With Gretel and a Sage here, why introduce anyone else?
"R-really, nyang! Hear me out, nyang!"
She was this insistent—last chance.
"How about tracking down the Tabby Cat? A tabby cat might know, nyang!"
I stared at Chacha.
The cat was right here.
"Not that one, nyang!"
She realized her volume and glanced at Gretel, then continued softly.
"...There's an intel network called the Tabby Cats, nyang. Ever heard of 'em, nyang?"
Intel network.
That jogged a memory from the Tin Ruins.
I'd wondered why so many gathered—turns out leaked info from the Tabby Cats group.
With the cat name and timely witch appearances, definitely witch-related.
"Ahem.... This is top secret, nyang? Wasn't gonna say since it's not confirmed, but still, listen, nyang."
What was she about to drop?
"Tabby Cat intel is spot-on, nyang. Never wrong. People say it's a thieves' info guild or prophets with divine revelations. Even we witches haven't figured them out, nyang."
Public perception gave Tabby Cats perfect credibility.
All those adventurers moved on it, and here she was vouching.
"But actually... Tabby Cats aren't an intel network, nyang."
"Caw?"
Not a network?
"...I found out, nyang. Tabby Cat isn't a group—it's a single person. The Cheshire Cat!"
Chacha puffed out her chest proudly.
Anyone else would've smacked her head and called bullshit.
How could something with that rep be one person?
But I was different.
The moment I heard "Cheshire Cat," I had no choice but to believe her.
Alice's Adventures in Wonderland.
The cat from that story was named the Cheshire Cat.