It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 25

‘That was definitely a wolf’s voice just now….’ Jackal-nim [term of respect] was striding towards me with two wolf knights.

I quickly turned back into a cat to avoid being seen, curling up as small as possible. But Jackal-nim found me instantly and picked me up.

My body dangled in the air. I glanced up at Jackal-nim. Was he angry that I had followed him without permission? His expression was unreadable.

“Kitty. A fluffy cotton ball like you stands out even more in the bushes.”

“Cotton ball, huh….”

My tail and ears drooped.

Theo and Deon, having spotted me, rushed over, grinning mischievously.

“Kitty, were you trying to secretly watch your older brothers train and got caught?”

“Tsk, tsk, our adorable Soft Paw.”

Deon stroked me excessively. I pouted, feeling like a child.

“Please turn me back into a human.”

“Alright. Father, can I borrow your jacket?”

Deon held me, and Theo draped the jacket over my head.

As I exerted all my strength, Deon, feeling me grow larger, whisked away the jacket and said cheerfully.

“Ta-da! Soft Paw Enlargement Magic.”

To play along with Deon, I popped out from under the jacket, spreading my arms wide.

I love magic!

The hem of my dress fluttered.

“Ahem….”

Sir Elliot and the wolf knights, who had approached unnoticed, covered their mouths, smiling.

Jackal-nim, also receiving and wearing a jacket, wore a strange expression, but it wasn’t the face of someone about to scold me.

In that case!

I looked at Jackal-nim, sending him ‘please don’t scold me’ eyes. Jackal-nim muttered quietly, avoiding my gaze.

“…This is driving me crazy.”

I couldn’t tell exactly what he was thinking, but I knew Jackal-nim wouldn’t scold me.

We moved to the training grounds. The fox squad, including Cleed, whom I had met before, stared at me.

No, it wasn’t just the fox squad members looking at me. Everyone in the training grounds was looking my way.

“Wow, she’s really tiny and fluffy.”

“I see why the young masters said they needed to look impressive to their little sister and have been training since early dawn.”

“Everyone, get back to what you were doing.”

Jackal-nim dispersed the people crowding around us, then lowered himself to my level and asked.

“What brings you to the training grounds?”

“Ah, I wanted to watch my older brothers train!”

“Was that all you intended to do?”

“……”

“You… no, it sounded like you were trying to imitate the wolf howling.”

I couldn’t deceive Jackal-nim’s sharp eyes. I hesitated, then confessed the truth.

“I wanna learn how to fight in advance….”

“But you’re still a baby wolf.”

“I know that, but I think I need to prepare in advance so I can leave the mansion as soon as I become an adult.”

“……”

For some reason, there was no reply. Theo and Deon, who always added something when the silence stretched, just stared at me blankly.

Carefully observing, Jackal-nim also seemed to be deep in thought, his brow slightly furrowed.

“Um, did I do something wrong…?”

“No, it’s not that.”

Then why?

Tilting my head slightly, Theo asked in a trembling voice.

“Kitty. You’re already thinking about leaving, even though you have so much time left until you become an adult?”

“Well… time flies, you know?”

“Soft Paw sometimes says things like an old person without understanding her older brothers’ feelings.”

For some reason, Deon sulked. Jackal-nim’s expression also darkened. Sir Elliot chuckled.

“I thought only Karis-nim could make Jackal-nim freeze up like this.”

“Quiet, Elliot.”

Jackal-nim stared into the distance for a long time before asking me.

“You want to learn how to fight?”

“Yes. I wanna be able to protect myself at least.”

It would be nice if I could cut off Jerian’s beard too, but I decided to keep that to myself.

“But you’re so small….”

“Even if I’m small, I have everything I need.”

I stretched out my hands towards Jackal-nim. Showing off my sharp claws, Jackal-nim became even more silent.

“My fangs are sharp too! Ah—”

“……”

He didn’t say it, but his thoughts were clear: ‘You’re going to fight with that?’ I felt a little dejected.

“But Theo and Deon are training every morning too….”

Somehow, it sounded like I was demanding a martial arts teacher for myself, the temporary adopted daughter.

But for some reason, the three wolves’ faces brightened a little.

“Well, Father. Kitty is right. We should treat her the same; discrimination is bad.”

“Since Soft Paw is a Gridwolf, it would be good to teach her martial arts little by little, not just have her study with Iden.”

“Now that I hear it, that’s true.”

The three of them began to discuss something with Sir Elliot. It seemed they were discussing when and what I should learn.

After a while.

“Then, Miss. Can you wake up early starting tomorrow?”

Sir Elliot asked me with a gentle smile.

This is strange, are they really giving me a teacher this easily?

Judging by their earlier reaction, I thought they would object more, but things were surprisingly easy.

“Are you really going to teach me martial arts starting tomorrow?”

“Yes. Starting tomorrow, Elliot will begin teaching you the basics.”

I love martial arts!

I clasped my hands together and asked Jackal-nim.

“Then in a few days, will I be able to fly up and do a flying side kick!”

Excited while speaking, my cat ears perked up.

Jackal-nim shifted his gaze elsewhere for a moment before answering.

“…That might take a little time.”

“Ah.”

“But Elliot will guide you to master the basic martial arts perfectly. Then you can learn how to use magic too.”

Jackal-nim stroked my ears and smiled bitterly.

“While you stay in Gridwolf, the leopards will invade at least once. They could attack at any time. They might bring Blue Moon to drive the beastmen crazy.”

His voice was heavy.

I had always thought that if the wolves lost their minds, they might attack me.

Wolves, sensitive to hierarchy, wouldn’t harm me, a member of Gridwolf, even as beasts, but in a real battle, you never know.

Even if the wolves didn’t touch me, the leopards might target me, the weakest one here.

“I’ll teach you enough so you can protect yourself then, so study hard.”

I tightened my eyes and answered bravely.

“Yes, Jackal-nim!”

* * *

Before long, dawn broke. Karis stared anxiously at the sun rising over the horizon.

“Jackal, I’m still not sure if it’s okay for Kitty to start learning martial arts.”

Jackal, who was putting on his shirt next to Karis, took in the pile of gift boxes on the floor.

“You’ve prepared quite a lot for someone who’s not sure.”

“Well… I always want to support her when she starts something.”

“She wants to learn herself, so we can’t stop her. She needs to know how to protect herself too.”

“……”

Karis and Jackal recalled the employee who had tried to sell Kitty fake jewels when they called the Weila couple to tailor clothes, and was caught on the spot.

She had committed suicide in Gridwolf’s underground prison not long ago. She bit off her own tongue to avoid confessing.

‘To think someone connected to the leopards would boldly come to the mansion.’

At first, they thought she was simply trying to scam Gridwolf’s adopted child for a quick buck, but after investigating, there were many suspicious points.

When a gold coin issued in the leopard territory was found while examining her belongings, the employee was shocked and bit off her tongue.

‘Is dying better than revealing the leopards’ movements?’

The leopards were meticulous and cunning, so they likely held the employee’s family hostage.

Investigation revealed that the jewelry the employee tried to sell to Kitty was enchanted with location tracking and eavesdropping magic.

The magic was so subtle that even the wolves had difficulty distinguishing it, so they had to call Cleed, a fox beastman sensitive to magic, to confirm it repeatedly.

“If Kitty had bought the hat without suspicion, someone would have been watching and listening to her daily life by now.”

“Annoying leopards.”

Karis rubbed his throbbing head with his fingertips.

The moment they secured enough strength and a high probability of winning, they would tear the leopards apart and occupy their territory. And bury their daughter in the cold ground….

“Haa.”

Just thinking about it made his head spin.

“Are they simply targeting Kitty because she became our daughter, thinking she’s a weakness of the wolf family?”

“We’ll look into that further.”

Jackal pressed his lips firmly on the back of Karis’s hand. It was something he had done every day since they got married.

Karis accepted his kiss with satisfaction, but couldn’t shake off his worries.

“I hope Kitty doesn’t get hurt during martial arts lessons. After all, cats are weaker than wolves….”

Kitty seemed to feel more secure when treated like a wolf, so he had told all the wolves in the territory to treat Kitty as a wolf, but the difference in strength between species couldn’t be overcome with treatment.

But he couldn’t tell Kitty, ‘We know you’re a cat.’

“If we told her we knew her identity, Kitty would feel heavily guilty for lying to us.”

“We’d be lucky if she didn’t leave out of guilt.”

“I wish there would be a good opportunity to tell her it’s okay even if she’s a cat….”

Just as Karis was lamenting, a cute sound came from the door.

Tap, tap, tap—

“Um, Karis-nim. I heard you were looking for me.”

It seemed that knocking on the door with soft hands made such adorable sounds. Karis smiled contentedly and opened the door.

“Come in, Kitty. You woke up much earlier than Theo and Deon?”

“It’s my first lesson today! Did you two sleep well?”

Kitty, greeting them, was more energetic than usual. Her emerald eyes sparkled brightly with anticipation for the martial arts lesson.

Karis curled up the corners of his lips and led Kitty into the room.

“I prepared a small gift because you’re starting martial arts lessons today.”

“Small…?”

Kitty wondered if she misunderstood the meaning of ‘small.’ There were more than ten gift boxes piled up at the end of Karis’s gaze.

“Open them quickly. You can pull one side of the ribbon to untie it.”

Moreover, Karis had an even more expectant look than she did, who was about to start her first lesson.

“Thank you, Karis-nim!”

Kitty carefully walked over and untied the ribbons. Each box contained items that would be useful for martial arts lessons.

“Wow, this is a really pretty wooden sword!”

Karis didn’t bother to mention that six Gridwolf carving artisans had stayed up all night to make that wooden sword.

“These are very sturdy-looking boots!”

Jackal kept secret the fact that ten Gridwolf leather craftsmen had put their heads together to make combat boots with soft soles.

Kitty tried on each of the gifts. As she took on the appearance of a dignified little soldier, Jackal and Karis couldn’t help but wear proud smiles.

“Um, I didn’t prepare anything….”

Karis was about to say that she didn’t have to feel pressured. But Kitty asked softly first.

“Can I give you a kiss?”

“……!”

In that instant, wolf ears appeared between Karis’s calm hair.