It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 131

“Haha, Malrangson! It’s been a while.”

“Hogwood-nim! I’m glad you remembered my nickname. Have you been well?”

Malrang—

I grabbed Hogwood-nim’s large hands with both of mine and shook them lightly. Hogwood-nim looked very pleased.

Ethan pulled out a chair for me, and the Weavis knights prepared warm milk tea and refreshments in front of me.

The Gridwolf wolves were very displeased with the Weavis father and son.

Having finished a simple dinner, we were gathered in a large tent for a strategy meeting.

If it were a social gathering, we would be dancing the Meow Dance to the music, but now was not the time for that.

‘I wonder if Karis-nim is okay.’

Karis-nim’s expression had been poor since we entered the leopard territory. It was a natural reaction, considering how much he detested leopards even in normal times.

‘He said he buried Diel near here…….’

Right now, the Gridwolf wolves’ minds must be filled with the image of their beloved one, whom they can no longer see because of the leopards.

I also felt bad thinking about my mom and the little ones I buried with my own hands. I had the illusion that the end of my tail, which had been torn by leopards when I was young, was throbbing.

‘This time, I must take Karis-nim to the place where Diel is buried.’

The Gridwolf couple had been feeling even more guilty because they had never been able to reach the place where Diel was buried.

This time, I have my strength, and Clide, who has opened his mana core, will help, so the situation is different from before.

I asked Barniel to check if the items I had specially packed were safe in my pocket. Thanks to the careful packaging, the items were intact.

I hope I can use the prepared items safely.

“Gloomy and depressing, it’s the perfect atmosphere for a meeting.”

Clide, who had changed into a white jacket for me, joked as he stood up. Thanks to him, the icy atmosphere eased a little.

At Jackal-nim’s signal, a knight from Gridwolf stood up and handed over research materials and mana crystals.

Originally, it was Sir Elliot’s role to assist Jackal-nim most closely, but my teacher was guarding the mansion right now, so it couldn’t be helped.

“Clide, what is it that you need to check in the research data?”

“As I mentioned in my letter, I think we need to check the method of misusing the Mock Blue Moon.”

Before we departed, Clide molded a small baby fox with wings out of mana and sent it to my window.

The letter in the fox’s hand contained a reply that he had received my letter well, along with a few requests.

[Bring the mana crystals secured from Jerian’s food storage. There’s something I need to check.]

Before Clide led everyone away, the Gridwolf knights who received the research data had uncovered the manufacturing method of the Mock Blue Moon.

They also calculated how much Mock Blue Moon Jerian had created with the kidnapped foxes and the genuine Blue Moon.

Based on that data and the various information secured so far, they could estimate how much Mock Blue Moon was stockpiled within the leopard castle.

‘We were discouraged for several days because we concluded that Delta had an enormous amount of Mock Blue Moon.’

They were also able to find out what Jerian had done to the rabbits’ minds using the Blue Moon.

‘The mana of the Blue Moon is said to have the power to control the minds of the Beastmen [humanoid creatures with animal features].’

However, judging from Clide’s expression now, it seemed that the power was not only in the genuine Blue Moon.

“I compared the magic formula secured from the food storage with the magic formula of the Mock Blue Moon that Delta uses, and it seems that even with the Mock Blue Moon, they can control the minds of the leopards.”

“Is it different from driving them crazy?”

“Yes. When they are consumed by madness, they act according to the individual instincts of the leopards, but when their minds are controlled, they follow Delta’s orders.”

“…….”

It was the story of how they could make Toby-ssi loyal to Jerian every night.

‘It’s too much to make Beastmen who don’t even know why follow him.’

I still remember the face Granpa made when he was worried about the rabbits who had been kidnapped by Jerian.

So, I definitely wanted to prevent similar things from happening.

We discussed how to respond if Delta tried to control the minds of other Beastmen using the Mock Blue Moon.

The leopards were in a corner, so they might drag other Beastmen into the fight to make it bigger.

‘We must prevent other Beastmen from being harmed.’

Jackal-nim and Ethan moved the wolf models with small flags here and there to devise a strategy.

How much mana I could use was also a very important factor in devising the strategy.

“I can purify the power of the Blue Moon, whether it’s mind control or being driven mad.”

Jackal-nim looked at me for a moment.

When I, as a child, first peeked around the training ground, he was suspicious even after hearing my loud ‘Nyawoo!’

Now, he was trusting in the power I had.

“I will try to disperse it as much as possible so that you don’t have to solve everything, but please take care of it in case of an emergency.”

“Yes, Jackal-nim.”

“Then go back and rest. The night unit will move at night.”

I knew it meant to conserve strength for the daytime, but I felt a little sorry.

“I can also carry out night operations, so please include me anytime.”

“…….”

For some reason, Jackal-nim slightly avoided my gaze. Theo and Deon told me the truth in small voices.

“Kitty, your eyes shine too much at night, so you can’t do night operations. Even if you squint, they shine much brighter than the wolves.”

“Ah.”

“Sorry. I should have told you when we were playing ghosts, but it was so cute that you thought you were invisible…….”

I see. My eyes shine and give away my location…….

‘It’s sad to be a cat with big eyes at times like this.’

I looked at a corner of the map that Karis-nim was silently staring at and left the tent.

I heard Clide suggesting to form a night search team centered on foxes who could respond with magic in case of an emergency.

‘My job is to replenish my strength for tomorrow.’

I munched on a piece of salmon jerky that I had put in my pocket and walked briskly.

“I’ll take you there.”

Ethan, who had been guarding my side, started walking with me, having slipped out unnoticed. Like Clide, he seemed to have changed into white clothes in the meantime.

Of course, the Gridwolf family didn’t seem to know that Ethan had broken through the ironclad defense and hugged me slightly.

“Ethan, is the jacket with my fur on it okay?”

“No matter how much I shake it, the fur doesn’t come off, so I packed it back in my bag.”

“Ah…….”

“Don’t worry about it. All the carpets and bedding in the Weavis mansion have been changed to white.”

I always thought the Weavis mansion would be gloomy because he only wore black clothes, but Ethan seemed to like white unexpectedly.

It was soon time to reach the tent where I was supposed to stay. Ethan reconfirmed the identities of the knights guarding the front of the tent and then called me.

“Kitty.”

“Yes, Ethan.”

“I said I would get an answer when we meet again.”

“…….”

I felt like I knew what he was asking about without having to ask. I still vividly remembered the confession Ethan had made to me in the bear territory.

When I didn’t say anything and only blinked, Ethan added in a somewhat prickly voice.

“I’m waiting, Meow.”

“L-Later. I’m tired now…….”

I didn’t dislike Ethan, but answering his confession was a slightly more complicated issue.

He was the head of Weavis, the leader of the wolves. I was someone who might roam around Hashuka and all over the world when the temporary adoption ended.

When I glossed over it appropriately, a slight crack appeared on Ethan’s relaxed face.

“I don’t think I taught you how to play hard to get on purpose, but you’re good at it.”

Ethan lowered his head and kissed me lightly on the cheek.

“We didn’t say hello earlier.”

A low voice tickled my ears like a feather. I felt like my cheeks were heating up, so I quickly avoided his gaze.

Ethan didn’t hold me back from going into the tent and added more words from that spot.

“Call me if anything happens. My tent is right next door.”

“Okay, Ethan.”

“Call me even if you can’t sleep, and call me if a fox tries to disturb your sleep. Even if the bedding is uncomfortable, or if you suddenly need something. And…….”

Ethan listed about twenty more situations in which I had to call him. He didn’t even stutter, as if he had been thinking about this long sentence for a long time.

‘This…… feels like wolf obsession?’

I stuck my tongue out at the head of the Weavis family’s obsession and slipped into the tent.

* * *

Inside the besieged Leopid family’s mansion.

Delta glared at the subordinate in front of her, emitting a cold aura.

“Sigma is dead.”

“N-No, that’s not true. We haven’t confirmed if he’s dead. However, I heard that he was detained in the Gridwolf mansion’s prison…….”

“Any signs of escape?”

“I heard that he was seriously injured in the bear territory. For some reason, we can’t reach the elite leopards.”

“…….”

Delta could sense the elite leopards’ change of heart without seeing it.

The elite leopards must have heard the information that Hogwood Weavis and Clide Foxstein had been leaking every day.

‘They’re being petty about old things.’

It was true that she had helped Jerian gain power by driving the leopards crazy. But Delta didn’t particularly feel guilty.

The leopards she used at that time were all useless trash without anything special.

They didn’t have outstanding academic skills, and their physical abilities were also mediocre. Keeping them in the territory would only waste food.

‘They should be grateful that they contributed to the future of the race in that way, but instead.’

“You may leave.”

Delta, who was left alone in the office, stood up and lightly touched a book on the bookshelf. In an instant, the bookshelf slid open, revealing a secret space.

Inside, the Mock Blue Moon, Katrina’s mana, and Kittyia’s mana were emitting a full aura.

‘……The wolves wouldn’t even think that there’s a method like this.’

Delta chuckled and elegantly rummaged through the research data.