Reader’S Regeneration Life [EN]: Chapter 86

86―――――

Catnip POWEEEEEEERRRRRR!

Winnie woke up just as Sion and his party were finishing their preparations to leave, the carriage lurching with a jolt.

“Nyaa?”

Startled, Winnie frantically looked around and began to hiss, ‘Haaak!’

It seemed the sudden events from the previous night had made her quite sensitive.

Even so, she clutched the coat Sion had covered her with, as if afraid of losing it, which was quite striking.

“Oh my.”

At a woman’s voice, Winnie perked up her ears, unsheathed her claws, and turned her head.

There sat Lucia, quietly reading a notebook filled with notes.

“Ah.”

Perhaps it was because they had spent several days together, but Winnie knew Lucia wasn’t a threat.

The small cat, which had been growling fiercely, immediately hid her claws, lowered her bristling fur, and looked at Lucia with slightly wary eyes.

“Hello?”

Lucia greeted her cheerfully, and Winnie shot her a sharp look for a moment, but soon calmed down, lightly wagging her tail and opening her mouth.

“…Hello.”

“It feels like this is the first time we’ve talked face-to-face like this, even though we’ve been traveling together for days.”

“…Yeah.”

Winnie instinctively avoided others, preferring to keep to herself, except for Sion.

Since leaving the Konean Territory, she had been in the same carriage as Sion or sitting on top of it, avoiding even eye contact with others, let alone having conversations, except during meals. So, for Lucia, just being in the same space together was quite surprising.

“…You’re the mage who healed my injured kin, right?”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“I didn’t get a chance to thank you. It’s late, but I’ll express my gratitude.”

“It’s okay, I didn’t do it to hear those words.”

A brief silence fell.

Then, Lucia opened her mouth very carefully.

“Um, as a thank you, could I touch your ears just once?”

“Huh? Ears?”

As Winnie asked, Lucia nodded eagerly, her eyes sparkling.

It seemed she really wanted to touch those fluffy cat ears.

“…”

Myo-eun [cat-like beastkin] were not ones to easily allow others to touch them.

However, Winnie hesitated for a moment before leaning her head slightly, saying it would be just once.

She had a feeling that it would be okay to build a little relationship with her, as she was another benefactor who had healed her kin and others, and seemed to have a close relationship with Sion.

“Hiya! Th, then!”

Lucia, with her strong curiosity as a mage, seemed excited at the thought of satisfying her curiosity, her face flushed as she reached out her hands and gently began to touch Winnie’s ears.

“Ugh…”

Winnie’s face turned bright red with embarrassment.

Being touched like this vaguely reminded her of what had happened with Sion last night.

Hugging a man in a semi-nude state, letting out a sticky cry.

And the man who, despite his troubled expression, eventually allowed her into his embrace.

‘…Ugh. What should I do? Instead of repaying the favor, I keep accumulating debt.’

In fact, she had been thinking of leaving them without regret and returning to her hometown as soon as she felt she had repaid the favor.

Lilith was on her mind, but there was nothing she could do about it, so she would inform her kin by way of a warning.

However, being by Sion’s side, her desire to repay the favor was turning into curiosity, and that curiosity had turned into affection. With what happened last night, all her emotions were now jumbled up, to the point where she couldn’t sort them out at all.

“Um.”

As Winnie spoke, Lucia looked at her, quite surprised that this cat had spoken to her first, and exclaimed, “Hee!”

She looked at her as if asking if she had something to say, and Winnie shrank back slightly but opened her mouth.

“Um, that. Human woman.”

“Lucia. My name is Lucia.”

“…Lucia. I’m Winnie Portable. If you don’t mind, can I ask you something?”

“Anything?”

“…What is your relationship with Sion?”

At the rather direct question, Lucia was momentarily taken aback and looked at Winnie.

She thought about what the intention of the question was, what purpose she was asking it for, and then let out a light sigh and answered.

“A loved one?”

“…Love? Are you two married?”

“That’s not it. Let’s just say we like each other.”

“Then, doesn’t Lucia mind?”

“Mind what?”

“The woman who’s sticking by Sion’s side. Do you know she’s a demon? Do you know she’s the terrifying Succubus Queen, Lilith?”

To that, Lucia nonchalantly replied, ‘Of course I know,’ plunging Winnie into shock and horror.

Winnie thought that simply dismissing Lilith as a succubus was the most terrible thing one could do.

Lilith, who came like a nightmare in the time of ‘sleep’ that all creatures must have when night came, was like a god of death.

Even the strongest males, if they wavered even a little, would allow her into their dreams, and eventually become her slaves.

The highest-ranking demon, the queen of succubi, the Succubus Queen, Lilith.

That terrifying being was now sticking by Sion’s side and didn’t even seem to want to leave.

“Don’t worry.”

“Don’t worry?”

“I don’t know exactly, but Lilith is on our side. Should I say she’s Sion’s lover? Anyway, she has no choice but to be on our side, even if it’s just to be by Sion’s side.”

“…What are you talking about? Lover? Just now, you said that Sion and Lucia like each other…”

“Ahaha. Well, it just happened that way…”

The next answer didn’t come from Lucia’s mouth, but from a silver-haired beauty who burst into the room.

“What else could it be? Other women barged in while I was distracted for a moment. Geez! Let’s go! Let’s go!”

The woman who closed the carriage door while saying that was Lilith.

It was the appearance of the being Winnie was so wary of.

“Y, you!”

“Are you going to hiss again? If you do that, you might really get scolded by your sister, you know?”

Lilith raised her hand slightly, as if reminding her of what had happened a little while ago.

Then, Winnie hurriedly retreated to the corner, realizing that she was still half-naked and only wearing Sion’s coat.

“Lilith-nim [formal suffix]. Winnie seems too scared, don’t you think?”

“Hmph. I just sorted out the hierarchy a little. It’ll make life easier in the future if you know who’s on top and who’s on the bottom.”

Winnie, who had retreated to the corner and was wary of Lilith, felt that something was wrong.

The Succubus Queen, who should be extremely hostile to women, was talking to a human woman without hesitation.

Lilith didn’t seem to look down on humans, and Lucia didn’t seem to be afraid of that scary woman.

‘Wh, what is this?’

As Winnie muttered to herself in confusion, Lilith crossed her arms, as if she had roughly grasped her thoughts, and elegantly crossed her legs, opening her mouth.

“Hey, stray cat.”

“Winnie! Don’t call her a stray cat!”

“Shut up, don’t you like Sion?”

In that moment, she felt her heart drop again.

In shock, as if she had been caught with the worst weakness that was directly connected to her life, Winnie reflexively shook her head.

“N, no I don’t?”

“Hmm? You don’t?”

“I, I’m just trying to repay the favor I received from my benefactor.”

“Are you sure? Are you sure you won’t regret those words?”

Winnie hesitated for a moment at Lilith’s words, but eventually replied, ‘Yes!’

Then, Lilith sighed, thinking that she was just a cat with a lot of unnecessary pride.

“Lucia. It seems we don’t have to worry about her.”

“Right?”

“Wh, what are you talking about? Don’t worry about me? Meow?”

“Call Lisia. We should continue the story about Sion we were talking about last time.”

“Are you sure? We just left, so it’s a bit much to call Lisia again.”

“Tell me! What are you talking about! What do you mean, don’t worry about me, and what’s the story about Sion! Nyaooong!”

She was a cat who, when she said she wasn’t interested, immediately ran over and clung to the butler’s pants, begging to be told.

Lilith chuckled inwardly, but with an expression and voice that said, ‘Why are you curious?’, she opened her mouth.

“You said you weren’t interested in Sion? Then there’s no reason for you to be curious, is there?”

“Nyaong! U, in order to repay the favor, I need to know more about Sion! Th, that’s right! To repay the favor!”

“…”

It was definitely a bit of a silly excuse.

Lilith, as well as Lucia, had a slightly dumbfounded reaction, but Winnie pretended to be nonchalant and came out of the corner, sat next to Lilith, and began to stare at her with the most intense eyes she could muster.

“Well, fine. If you want to hear it that much.”

“Winnie? Just now, you said you had to repay Sion, right?”

“Huh? Uh-huh. I said that?”

“In order to repay the favor, you’ll have to get along with Sion first.”

“That’s right.”

“Then, it would be better to stop being wary of Lilith-nim. Sion and Lilith-nim are the closest thing to a ‘married couple’ you can get.”

At the bombshell Lucia dropped, not only Winnie but even Lilith took splash damage.

“Ugh?”

“Lucia! You, you can’t just say things like that…”

“I thought you wanted that position since you kept emphasizing ‘first’?”

“That was just me saying we shouldn’t argue about who was first anymore! Of, of course, my relationship with Sion is that strong. Yes, of course!”

“That’s what she says. Did you hear that, Winnie?”

“…Naooong?”

What on earth is going on?

It was shocking enough that the Succubus Queen was quietly sticking by a human man, but they were like a married couple?

And there’s another human woman who likes him?

‘Wh, what the heck is going on!’

Winnie thought that the best way to repay the favor she had received was to protect the man from Lilith’s clutches, or at least warn him.

That’s why she avoided contact with Lilith as much as possible and stayed by Sion’s side, watching to prevent her from harming or devouring her benefactor.

But they like each other?

Lovers?

Married?

This was shocking in its own way.

And on top of that, when she heard directly that Lilith and Sion were in that kind of relationship.

Winnie felt an indescribable sense of disappointment wash over her like a tsunami.

“Nya, nyaoong…”

Her ears drooped and her tail lost its strength and fell.

The fierce reaction from just now was gone, and she was completely drained.

Looking at Winnie, Lilith was able to confirm.

‘Two humans, and one beastkin. I’m going crazy. Crazy.’

How many more women does he have to keep by his side to be satisfied?

Lilith sincerely wanted to crack open Sion’s head and look inside.

―

“Were you talking about the ingredients that went into yesterday’s meal?”

Before the departure, the soldiers were embarrassed by Sion, who suddenly appeared and asked strange questions.

He asked them to tell him exactly what went into the dinner the soldiers had prepared yesterday.

They asked him the reason in a worried voice, wondering if he didn’t like something or if it didn’t suit his body, but Sion replied that it wasn’t that big of a deal.

“I’m just curious. Just curious. I felt something a little different, you could say?”

“Y, you did? But as you know, Young Master, all the ingredients are used from what we had in advance, so there’s nothing new that went in.”

“Are you saying it was the same as when Lucia cooks?”

“Yes. Nothing other than the ingredients we have went in.”

Hmm, then what is it? Why did Winnie suddenly have her heat and cause such a ruckus yesterday?

“Hey, Tom. Come to think of it, didn’t you sprinkle something on yesterday’s dinner?”

“I’ve told you several times that it’s salt, you idiot.”

“No, no! Not the meat dish, but the soup. That strange weed you picked up while resting near the Konean Territory, saying it smelled good.”

“…Ah. That?”

That? As Sion looked at the soldier, meaning what was it, he scratched his head and opened his mouth.

“It’s called ‘Baka’ [a fictional herb], and it’s just one of the wild grasses, but it smells good. It smells even stronger when dried. But it doesn’t have any effect on people, it just makes the smell better…”

“How much did you put in?”

“W, well, I don’t know exactly, but it’s not that strong, so I poured in all the dried stuff. I think I put in more than a spoonful.”

“…”

As Sion closed his mouth and thought hard, Thompson said in an uneasy tone.

“Young Master. Did I do something wrong…?”

“What’s your name?”

“Yes? I, it’s Thompson.”

“Okay, Thompson. It’s just that your cooking was too good, so don’t worry. You are the best soldier who always prepares good meals for the soldiers, so please continue to improve in the future. Understood?”

“Yes, sir! I understand! Thank you!”

After patting the soldier on the shoulder as if to cheer him on and saying a few more nice words, Sion moved to the carriage, constantly shouting ‘Eureka!’

A Myo-eun who went crazy after eating some soup with a spoonful of dried powder.

Sion suddenly wondered what would happen if she took in even less than that.

‘Oh, are you having strange thoughts? Your head is full of demons! This is just a scientific curiosity and an experimental spirit from a passion for exploration. Yes, of course!’

―――――――Author’s Note―――――――

Catnip WILL RETURN―

I was going to try to do another consecutive chapter even if it was a bit much, but as expected, the cooldown is…

I’ll do another consecutive chapter when the cooldown is recovered!

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