It’S A Cat, Adopted By A Wolf Family? [EN]: Chapter 79

<79>

Kitty stared wide-eyed at the fallen woman. She had heard that Delta Leopid was slightly older than her brothers.

‘Did he use transformation magic on the captured foxkin?’

Before she could finish the thought, Cleed swung his sword.

Swish—

The spectators gasped, horrified by the blade heading towards the woman without hesitation. Kitty froze, unable to speak.

But the woman was unharmed.

Cleed’s sword had only cut through the magic circle embedded in her body.

“My lady, this magic is set to explode. Judging by the scent of Delta emanating from the circle, he must be nearby.”

In other words, the woman had a bomb strapped to her and had thrown herself in front of Kitty. Not of her own free will, of course.

“Hngh…….”

The woman clutched her stomach, tears streaming down her face, as if checking on her children.

Only then did Kitty realize that the wolf lady had been threatened by Delta and forced to collapse before her.

“Cleed…….”

She didn’t know much about mana cores, but she could feel that his magic had become sharper. This wasn’t the same boy who used to provoke her and get his hand bitten.

“Ben, alert the square that Delta has infiltrated and have the surroundings investigated. Since this is the heart of the wolf territory, he won’t be able to do anything too rash.”

The way he instantly recognized and cut through the magic cast by another made her think of the title ‘Ruler of Mages’.

The spectators, who had feared the Gridwolf heiress’s escort knight would cut down the weak without hesitation, sighed in relief and cheered.

“The Fox Clan leader has become amazing, hasn’t he?”

“Just a few years ago, all he was good at was being sensitive to magic.”

“Now that I see it, his handsome looks and the cat lady make quite a pair.”

Cleed raised an eyebrow as if asking if she had heard. His mischievousness was the same as when he was young, but he had matured.

His broad shoulders, the large hand holding the sword, and the veins popping out on it were striking. A strange feeling tickled her stomach.

Cleed looked at her with a radiant face, giving her a playful smile.

“Was I cool just now?”

“…….”

Kitty tried to ignore her pounding heart and reached out to the fallen woman. Her slender fingers made her feel sympathy for her.

“Are you alright?”

“My lady……. I’m sorry.”

Kitty smiled brightly, recalling the words Caris had once said to her.

“It’s okay. You were being threatened, weren’t you? I would have done anything to protect my precious children, too.”

Just like my mom, and like Caris did.

The woman was speechless at the warm, sunny reply. Kitty called two guards and ordered them to take her to the mansion and provide her with a meal.

She would also need to investigate how she came to possess Delta’s magic circle, so she could at least provide her with a warm bed and plenty of food for a few days.

‘I should pack her some food supplies when the investigation is over.’

The wolf lady repeatedly expressed her gratitude and followed the guards. Kitty gradually hardened her expression.

‘Does he know I’m weak to women with children and did this on purpose?’

Even if that wasn’t the case, threatening and manipulating the weak was terrible. She had never met Delta in person, but she was as disgusted by him as she was by Jerian.

“I guess terrible things stick together.”

Clear contempt flashed across Kitty’s face. Her hand gripping the bow tightened.

The group quickened their pace towards the square.

* * *

“It’s Kittyia!”

“That’s the Gridwolf Bow…….”

When Kitty appeared, the beastkins [humanoids with animal features] filling the square buzzed with excitement. Cleed made sure to guard her so they couldn’t touch her as he strode forward.

While she was on the platform greeting everyone, Cleed exchanged opinions with Elliot, who was in charge of guarding the square.

“Have you found Delta?”

Cleed’s face as he asked contained more than just concern as a guard. He was genuinely anxious that Kitty might get hurt.

Elliot put aside the various thoughts that were rising up for a moment and replied.

“There isn’t even a leopard cub around. It seems he used magic, so you’ll have to step up.”

Cleed nodded and began searching the area with the fox squad.

If Kitty was on the platform, it was a perfect opportunity to attempt a long-range attack.

He cast several invisible defensive magic circles around Kitty before taking his leave.

While Cleed poured his magic into searching the surroundings, Kitty quickly looked around the platform in the square.

Katrina and Hashuka, along with guests and members of the Gridwolf mansion, were seated in the VIP seats on the platform.

In front of Kitty, two white-furred rabbit beastkins, including Toby, were asleep in a large iron cage.

Grandpa, sitting in the VIP seat, was watching over his kin with a pitiful face.

‘Toby probably didn’t want to show himself locked in a cage to others…….’

When they decided to showcase the Gridwolf Bow at the New Year’s festival, there was a long discussion about how best to show ‘purifying the madness of the Blue Moon’.

Simply showing the purification of a mock Blue Moon would certainly not remain in the memories of the beastkins for long.

It was also impossible to know whether they were removing the madness of a real mock Blue Moon, or pretending to have the ability by using items made to look that way.

As their worries deepened, some of the rabbits who were detained in the Gridwolf mansion suggested it first.

“According to the wolf knights, we lose our minds to madness at night.”

“How about you purify us?”

Their voices were earnest. They seemed sick and tired of their situation, losing their minds every night and waiting for Jerian’s orders.

No matter how kindly the Gridwolf knights who were investigating their behavior patterns treated them, they were still subjects of research.

‘They must have thought it was better to be purified in front of others than to lose their minds every night without knowing why.’

She wanted to purify them all if she could, but it was impossible until she found out what Jerian had done to them.

So only three rabbit beastkins were on the platform today.

The clouds that had been covering the moonlight slowly cleared. The rabbit beastkins in the cage, sensing the blue moonlight, slowly rose to their feet.

Red light flowed in their eyes, and their movements were strange, as if they were marionettes moving not of their own will but by someone else’s.

“Something’s wrong.”

“Is that what happens when you’re consumed by madness?”

“Come to think of it, the leopards also moved as if their bodies weren’t their own.”

The beastkins in the square recalled old memories and watched the state of the rabbit beastkins.

Soon they grabbed the cage and began to reveal their murderous intent towards Kitty. If there hadn’t been a cage, they would have pounced on her long ago.

Some people were reminded of the leopards who had mercilessly torn the wolves apart and turned pale.

“If you can make weak and small rabbit beastkins fall into that level of murderous intent…….”

It was the moment when it was revealed once again that the Blue Moon was a gem with unlimited potential for abuse.

Kitty raised her bow before the crowd became frightened. The bow was emitting a warm magic power as usual.

It was still a light that reminded her of her mother.

Thud—

When Kitty slammed the end of the bow on the floor, a warm magic power spread out in concentric circles.

Not only the fox beastkins searching the surroundings, but also the wolf beastkins who were not sensitive to magic could feel the flow.

It was a kind and gentle power that brought tears to one’s eyes. The children riding on their parents’ shoulders exclaimed, ‘Kyaa—!’ and rubbed their cheeks against their parents.

If there was someone who would save us from the Blue Moon’s madness, this must be what it would feel like. All the beastkins in the square were thinking the same thing.

“Ah…….”

The rabbit beastkins in the cage groaned and staggered. The red energy slowly disappeared from their eyes.

The purification ceremony was over.

The crowd and the guests on the platform, who had witnessed the wondrous sight, were silent for a while.

Katrina, who had been scrutinizing Kitty’s every move with a critical eye, also stopped breathing in surprise.

For that small cat beastkin to be able to fully use the goddess’s relic.

The exclamation came out only after a while.

“Look, the rabbit beastkins have already come to their senses!”

“Long live the Gridwolf heiress!”

The howling of the wolves and the barking of the dog beastkins were mixed together. The rabbit beastkins sighed in relief.

Listening to all the cheers, Kitty finally felt the tension ease. A peach-colored blush rose on her proud, fair cheeks.

Kitty waved her bow gently and expressed her gratitude to everyone who had watched. The cat tail that popped out without her knowing was moving in the same direction as her arm.

* * *

Delta was leisurely looking out the window of an inn near the square.

It wasn’t difficult to look like a wolf beastkin after grinding up a few fox beastkins. Thanks to that, he was able to leisurely enjoy Kitty’s demonstration from inside the inn.

‘Her magic power is more stable than I thought.’

He could see why Sigma refused to compare Jerian and Kitty. Jerian might be better at scheming and inciting people, but when it came to magic power alone, Kitty was superior.

She was indeed a tempting cat.

He was glad he had sent the wolf lady with the explosive magic as a prank. Kitty would remember his name too.

But today’s target was not Kitty, but Katrina, who had ventured out for the first time in a long time.

If he could get his hands on the only daughter whom the rulers of Polli cherished so much, he would be able to steal the relic possessed by the bears, so it was only natural.

Because Gridwolf was concentrating his guards on Kittyia, Katrina was relatively exposed to danger.

Delta simply wore a bitter smile, hoping that Sigma would do his job well.

At that moment, a red magic circle appeared before his eyes.

“I almost couldn’t find you because you were hiding like a rat, Delta.”

The murderous intent in Cleed’s eyes, who appeared next, was so intense that Delta involuntarily laughed savagely.

“How dare a fox cub stick his face out here without fear. Should I tear off your face skin?”

Cleed gritted his teeth as he drew his sword.

“Absolutely not. I’m going to use that face tonight.”