Chapter 301
Chapter 301
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Translator: Ryuma
Chapter: 301
Chapter Title: Sky Mountain Range (7)
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"...What in the world is this?"
Ha-eun’s jaw dropped, her expression one of utter bewilderment.
A talking cat.
Of course, she had encountered many creatures with bizarre appearances that made a talking cat seem tame by comparison.
But the sight of a common cat, one you could see any day, speaking like a human felt strange in a way that went beyond mere appearance.
Especially when said talking cat appeared in the Sky Mountain Range, one of the three forbidden zones of the Demonic Realm.
"Hmm? Can't you hear me, nya?"
"No, I can hear you just fine."
Oh-jin replied calmly, observing the black cat.
He briefly debated whether to use formal language.
But he couldn't just start speaking casually when he didn't even know if the being before him was friend or foe.
"Who are you?"
"My name is Pellis, nya."
"...Pellis."
"Would you know me if I said I'm the Constellation of Felis, nya?"
Oh-jin stared at the black cat before him in disbelief.
'A Constellation?'
Had she manifested in a physical body like Vega?
He didn't sense the immense power or presence befitting a Constellation.
"Now it's your turn to answer my question, nya."
The black cat approached Oh-jin with a leisurely gait.
"Who are you, nya?"
"...My name is Kwon Oh-jin."
"A human, nya?"
"Yes."
"Hmm. It's been a very long time since I've seen a human in the Demonic Realm, nya."
Pellis circled Oh-jin, her eyes gleaming with interest.
Though Isabella and Ha-eun were also present, she seemed uniquely interested in Oh-jin.
"You smell nice, nya."
Pellis came right up to Oh-jin and leaped onto his thigh.
Perched on his lap, she began to knead his stomach in a motion commonly known as "making biscuits," bringing her nose close to the left side of his chest.
"What brings you here, Lady Constellation?"
"This mountain range is the domain governed by my Spirit, nya. Is it strange for me to be here, nya?"
As she said, it wasn't strange for a Constellation to be where their Spirit was.
But the core of the question wasn't *why are you here*, but *why did you approach me*.
Oh-jin rephrased his question.
"What I wanted to ask was your reason for seeking me out."
"Aha. So that's what you meant, nya."
Pellis nodded and pressed firmly against Oh-jin's chest.
"I saw the commotion at the entrance of the mountain range earlier, nya."
Was she talking about the fight with the spider monsters?
"I wasn't going to pay it any mind... but a very, very nice smell wafted over, so I came to check it out, nya."
A nice smell.
'The Black Heaven.'
The Heavenly Demon was said to have given power to the Constellations who were demoted to 'Satellites' and exiled from the Sanctuary, turning them into 'Black Stars'.
If the power given to the Constellations back then was related to the Black Heaven...
It was only natural for Pellis to be interested in Oh-jin.
'Come to think of it, it was the same when I first met Isabella.'
She, too, had followed him around when they first met, saying he had a 'nice smell'.
The problem now was that the one saying it wasn't an Awakened, but a Constellation.
Moreover, the master of Behemoth, the very creature he was most wary of when deciding to cross the Sky Mountain Range, was Pellis herself.
"Sniff, sniff. It really is a nice smell, nya~"
Pellis repeatedly sniffed Oh-jin with a languid voice.
"But why did a human come to the Sky Mountain Range, nya?"
Pellis asked, rolling around on Oh-jin's lap, thoroughly intoxicated by the scent.
"I'm trying to get to the Dragonian Kingdom."
"Hmm. The kingdom of the Dragon-kin, you mean, nya?"
"Yes."
"I don't know why you're going there... but you're not going to have a good time, nya."
"Why do you say that?"
He was about to ask if she knew something about the Dragonian Kingdom, but...
"I'm too lazy to explain, nya."
Like the free-spirited cat she was, she immediately dodged the question.
"More importantly, that nice smell made me hungry, nya. Prepare some food, nya."
"......"
She was just like a real cat.
A surge of irritation rose at her brazen behavior—showing up out of nowhere and demanding food—but he couldn't speak harshly to a Constellation.
"Then would you like to try this?"
After pondering what a cat might like, Oh-jin took a can of tuna from his backpack.
"What's this, nya?"
Seemingly seeing a can for the first time, her eyes widened as she sniffed it.
"It doesn't smell like anything, nya. Is it really food, nya?"
"You just have to open it like this."
Oh-jin opened the can and offered it to Pellis.
Pellis's tail stood on end, and her ears perked up.
"It smells delicious, nya!"
Pellis pounced on the can as if someone might steal it and began to devour the tuna.
While Pellis ate, Oh-jin's party exchanged glances.
-What's your plan?
Isabella's eyes seemed to ask.
It was a sudden situation, but it wasn't as if he hadn't thought of anything.
As Pellis greedily finished the tuna, Oh-jin opened another can for her and asked.
"Lady Pellis, are you familiar with the terrain of the Sky Mountain Range?"
"Hmm? Of course I am, nya."
Pellis answered while munching on the tuna.
She finished one can in an instant and started on the new one Oh-jin had opened.
Oh-jin narrowed his eyes, looking down at Pellis, who was eating the tuna with enough ferocity to chew through the aluminum can itself.
'I might be able to use her as a guide.'
Not only did she know the terrain of the Sky Mountain Range inside and out, but traveling with her would also eliminate the worry of being attacked by Behemoth.
'The problem is how to coax this capricious cat.'
It didn't seem like it would be too difficult.
"I like you, nya! Become my butler, nya!"
After finishing every last scrap of tuna, Pellis's eyes sparkled as she leaped back onto Oh-jin's lap.
Oh-jin put on the kind of trustworthy smile he often used back in his con artist days and gently stroked Pellis as she settled on his thigh.
"You have some oil on your mouth."
"Hmm? Do I, nya?"
"Yes. Please wait a moment."
He took out a handkerchief and carefully wiped Pellis's mouth.
Pellis purred with pleasure and curled up into a ball on Oh-jin's lap.
"My belly is full... and the smell is nice. I'm so happy, nya."
"Lady Pellis, have you always been here alone?"
"I was with Behi-ring, nya."
Was she referring to Behemoth as Behi-ring?
"Well, even though I say we were together, it hasn't been long since I actually started living in the Sky Mountain Range, nya."
"It hasn't been long?"
"Before, I couldn't even manifest in a physical body like this, nya."
Ah.
Come to think of it, before the restrictions of the Law weakened, only someone like Vega had been able to manifest in a physical body.
'Does that mean other Black Star Constellations can now manifest in physical bodies like Pellis?'
It was a rather troublesome situation.
The Black Star Constellations were likely to be following the Heavenly Demon who had granted them power.
'For now, it seems certain that, like Vega, they can't exert much power in their physical bodies.'
Still, he couldn't let his guard down.
Spirits were less bound by the Law's restrictions than Constellations.
"Ugh! That was a good rest, nya!"
After rolling around on Oh-jin's lap for another thirty minutes or so...
Pellis jumped down with a satisfied look.
"You said you were going to the Dragonian Kingdom, nya?"
"Yes, that's the plan."
"Then I'll guide you, nya."
She offered to guide them without even being asked.
He almost thought, *what a stroke of luck*, but...
"Hmm? Don't look at me like that, nya. I'm not lying, nya."
"...I wasn't doubting you, Lady Pellis."
Actually, he was.
He couldn't just nod along when a Constellation he'd just met suddenly offered to guide them.
"I swear on the name of Felis that I will guide you all out of the mountain range, nya."
Pellis said, looking at Ha-eun, Isabella, Riak, and finally, Bboppi.
Oh-jin was well aware of how important an oath made on a 'star's name' was to a Constellation.
The lingering, uncomfortable suspicion in his heart began to fade.
"Thank you."
"Hehe. For my butler, I can do at least this much, nya."
Pellis wagged her tail happily and led the way.
After watching her retreating back for a moment, Oh-jin's party slowly followed.
"Kid."
Riak cautiously moved up beside Oh-jin.
"You memorize the way back. I'll check for any ambushes along the way."
"Got it."
No matter how much she swore on her star's name, he couldn't completely trust Pellis's words.
Oh-jin nodded and left marks that only he could recognize along the path.
But was it all just needless worry?
Pellis led Oh-jin's party over the lowest peak in the mountain range, guiding them toward the Dragonian Kingdom.
"See that path beyond the fog over there, nya?"
"Ah, yes. I see it."
Even though it was a low peak, once they were high up, they could see a path below that wasn't shrouded in fog.
"If you go straight that way, you'll reach the Dragon-kin's kingdom, nya."
"...Thank you."
To think she would guide them so obediently.
He felt a pang of guilt for having doubted her all this time.
"Once you're gone, I can finally enjoy my happy time in peace, nya."
Was her time with Behemoth that blissful?
There were many things he wanted to ask, like information on the Dragonian Kingdom or the Heavenly Demon, but he didn't know when Pellis's whimsical mood might change again.
'For now, let's just quietly get out of the mountain range.'
Thanks to Pellis's help, they would be able to cross the Sky Mountain Range much faster than expected. It would be better to get the information he needed directly from the Dragonian Kingdom.
"Hurry up and go, nya."
"Well then, we'll be on our way."
Just as Oh-jin bowed and turned to leave.
"Hm?"
Pellis hooked her claws into Oh-jin's pants, stopping him.
"Where are you going, nya?"
Where was he going?
How could she, the one who guided him here, be asking that?
"...Didn't I say I was going to the Dragonian Kingdom?"
"You're my butler now, nya. Send the others on their way and let's go play, nya!"
"......"
Right.
He knew things were going too smoothly.
"Didn't you swear an oath on your star's name earlier?"
"Yup! I swore, nya! I swore to guide the ones who came with my butler out of the mountain range, nya!"
Pellis looked over at Ha-eun, Isabella, Riak, and Bboppi as if they were bothersome obstacles.
"...Ha."
A dry laugh escaped his lips.
'So, the reason she offered to guide us in the first place was to separate me from the others as quickly as possible.'
Now he understood why the capricious cat had so obediently guided them.
"You will now receive the Stigma of Felis and become my butler, nya!"
Pellis exclaimed, her voice brimming with anticipation.
Before Oh-jin could even offer a rebuttal.
[That will not do.]
Vega, who had been hiding in Oh-jin's pocket, flew up and glared sharply at Pellis.
[This child has already inherited the Stigma of Lyra. He is mine.]
Vega said, perching naturally on Oh-jin's shoulder.
And then.
"Lyra...?"
Pellis's face twisted viciously.
The black cat glared at Vega, baring her sharp teeth.
The emotion etched in the cat's wide eyes was...
"Why is a Constellation of Polaris here, nya?"
An incredibly thick, cloying jealousy.