Chapter 393 – Meow

000

Iona and Cleon looked around as they left the intelligence agency’s bookstore.

There was still time before the march began, but as the time drew closer, impatient assassins could attack the two men.

Fortunately, there didn’t seem to be any hasty killers trying to target Cleon yet.

“… Regarding the Knights, how about consulting the Tromeia family directly? Aruru-sama or… Aurelia-sama.”

As if Io was worried about what was said under her, she gives Cleon that advice.

However, Cleon shook his head.

“No. If the two of them had been able to do something, Lavita wouldn’t have told me this. The structure the Noble Union wants is for me to have ties with the Tromeia family, and something to happen during this march.. ..If Aurelia-sama stands by me, that’s the target of the Noble Union.”

It may sound a bit harsh, but the fact that an adventurer visiting the mansion of a noble duke could itself cause bad rumors to flow among the nobles.

Until now, it had been as invisible as possible, but yesterday’s incident must have spread information about Cleon all at once within the palace.

“…Anyway. Neither Aruru nor Aurelia-sama. It’s not a good idea to get politically involved in this right now. ─Well. Amelia’s safety is the most important thing. If chaos arises, those who want to take advantage of the chaos- Puff!?”

Thump!

While Cleon was talking with such a serious face.

Something warm and mushy falls on Cleon’s head and blocks his vision of her.

“Kyaaak!?”

As for Iona, when something suddenly fell from the sky and attacked Cleon, she let out a surprised voice, but-

Seeing the figure of Cleon standing frozen and falling on his head her, he widens his eyes.

“…An enemy attack?”

“Ah, ha ha!”

In a situation where he feels no pain, Cleon wonders why only Iona’s laughter returns.

And when Iona comes up to Cleon and removes what’s stuck to his head his-

Nya-Ong.

And a cat’s cry is heard.

As Cleon looked at the cat, he had a puzzled look on his face.

“…What are the odds of getting a cat falling from the sky on your head?”

“It looks like it fell while moving from rooftop to rooftop in the alley.”

While Iona said that, she looked up at the sky. The rooftop of the bookstore and the rooftop of the building right next to it were certainly close enough that even a cat could jump over it if it worked.

Even though this guy failed.

“Is it a stray cat?”

As Cleon says so, he looks at the cat.

He was a cat with black fur, and his eyes were shining amber.

He was looking straight at Cleon, sticking out his tongue her.

“Ah- Huh? No? It’s like someone’s cat.”

Iona examines the body of such a cat, and finds a small metal pendant hanging from her neck.

It must have been buried under the fur, so it was hard to see.

“Is the owner’s name written on it?”

When Iona carefully looked at the back of the pendant in response to Cleon’s question, there was something vaguely written there.

Touching it with his fingers her, he tried to read it somehow by the touch, but even Iona, who could read and write several languages, seemed to have a hard time figuring out the meaning or identity of these characters.

“Shaat!”

And, as if he did n’t like the feeling of her body her being pulled her as he touched the pendant, he jumped out of Iona’s arms her and went to Cleon’s feet her with a disgusted voice .

“Ah… I’m hated.”

Iona opened and closed her hand as if regretting it, but Cleon also glanced at the cat that came under his feet her.

“Did he run away from his owner? Or did he fall…”

“The hair is well taken care of… And the body looks healthy, so I don’t think it ran away.”

Cleon also remembers that when the cat covered his face his, it did not smell unpleasant, but smelled fragrant from soap, and deduced that this cat was loved by the owner.

“What should I do? I think it might be possible for me to find the owner and take him there.”

While Iona says that, she tries to approach the cat, but the cat hides behind Cleon’s paws her.

“…Anyway, Iona seems to be having a hard time alone.”

“…Yes. Black.”

Iona letting out her sad voice her somewhere, Cleon picks up the cat clinging to her own paws her, and carefully looks at the pendant around her guy’s neck her, just as Iona did.

“…?”

Then, Cleon felt something uncomfortable about the material of the pendant and put his hand her in his pocket her.

What was caught there was the ‘Adamantite Coin’ that was handed over in the name of last mercy from Adamant, the house of assassins last night.

And at the same time, what passed through Cleon’s head her.

A woman who walked out of the curtain before they could talk to the head of Adamant.

And, it was the black cat who walked in front of her as if she was leading her.

“…Are you that guy from yesterday…”

Feeling strange that it was coincidence again, Cleon picked up the cat and faced him.

The cat couldn’t understand what people were saying, but the cry of ‘Nya-‘ felt like an answer.

“Is Cleon acquainted with that cat?”

“Should we say we know each other… It looks like the cat I saw yesterday. The pendant he’s wearing around his neck is made of a material called ‘adamantite.'”

At Cleon’s words her, Iona replied with a surprised face.

“Ah, adamandite?! It’s a very rare metal! …It’s not something that could be used as an ornament on a cat’s neck even by mistake…”

“Well. That means that this cat is a precious one. …If that’s the case, the owner who is separated from this cat must be quite sad by now.”

At Cleon’s words her, Iona nodded her head.

“…But considering the time left until march time, can you find the owner in it?”

“Don’t worry about that part. When I saw this guy yesterday, I also saw the owner.”

At Cleon’s words her, Iona nodded her head as if she was glad.

“That’s a relief! It’ll be a great hint for finding it. I’ll ask about your impression-“

“Ah… No. I think you’d better stop doing that.”

‘Adamant… It’s also a strange story to find a person who can have a conversation with the owner directly, by asking questions…’

Cleon couldn’t bear to say that the cat’s owner was an assassin – even if he wasn’t an assassin, he had a deep connection with them.

Just before that, there was something like that with an assassin.

“Then how else?”

“Well. Even if it’s a method, it’s to ask for help from the eyes of the sky.”

While Cleon said that, he quietly closed his eyes, and among the companions that led to the passage of magic—

Give your voice to the ‘Eye of the Sky’ that is the highest up in the sky.

[Lyla. I have a request.]

[Huh- I guess it’s the story of the cat holding it in your hand? I haven’t heard your voice until now. Are you trying to find the owner?]

Cleon nodded quietly at Layla’s voice her, who spoke as if she had been watching from beginning to end.

[Well, good. There is a certain amount of leeway. Because you don’t know what kind of result good deeds will return. Who is the owner?]

[It’s not clear since we only met for a short time, but… He had brown hair and was dressed like he wasn’t from this area.]

When Cleon said such an ambiguous word, Layla let out a big sigh.

[Another feature? No matter how much I look down at the royal capital from the sky, it’s hard to find it with something like that.]

[Ah-]

Cleon thought for a moment as if struggling.

[…His chest is as big as Quon’s.]

[…Uhhhhh.]

At Cleon’s words, Lila gives a voice like boiling in hell.

For a moment, Cleon, as well as the cat being held by him, felt their fur stand on end.

[Is that so? If the characteristics are clear enough, I can find them right away.]

At the sound of her long voice her, Cleon breaks into a cold sweat on her back her. First of all, she sends Lyla the image of her memories of her she saw yesterday.

Then Ryla was also silent for a moment, then-

[… Big! No, what happened! She’s short, but she’s that tall… That everything she ate went to her breasts her!?]

[…Calm down Lila.]

Cleon responds softly to her almost luminous voice her, but Layla continues to mumble … And ponders something about her her …

[He is from the East. This person.]

[Eastern country…?]

Cleon feels a moment of doubt about Layla’s words in her, but she nods her head as if she understands.

[Is it the country of Riomes and the Beauty Painter?]

[Perhaps it could be their relative. The people who purposely come to this capital from the east are people with political goals or traders.]

Cleon nodded at her words her.

[Any way. Let me know when you find it.]

[Of course. However, if you have a cat, there must be someone more suitable than me.]

Cleon thinks for a moment about Lila’s words of her, and then she realizes who she is talking about.

[Because this side is also busy monitoring whether there are guys approaching you. Well, I’ll find it once.]

[Okay. First of all, please.]

When Cleon finishes talking to Lyla like that, she quietly opens her eyes-

In front of Cleon, Iona and another girl standing next to Iona.

A girl with hair the color of the sunset, looking up at Cleon with a spirited expression on top of her head, with her canine ears twitching.

Sasha was standing.

“Mr. Cleon! I’ll help you!”

“Please, Sasha.”

“Miss Sasha’s hunter’s imprint, I was able to visualize the traces…! Then, I’m sure you’ll find the cat’s owner right away!”

To Iona’s words, Sasha nodded her head as she answered loudly, “Yes!”

When Cleon holds up the cat to Sasha, Sasha looks at her cat with her eyes lit up – literally glowing eyes thanks to the hunter’s imprint.

In Sasha’s eyes, she must be trying to see traces of the cat’s owner, which was invisible to Cleon and Iona.

Meanwhile, Iona talks to Cleon.

“Since Miss Sasha has arrived, I will continue to watch over the capital as before. It seems that she hated me.”

Iona smiles and looks at her cat.

The cat still seems to be wary of Iona.

“Thank you, Iona. Then, again later.”

“Yes. Cleon. Please be safe.”

Iona walked out of her alleyway, waving her hand at Cleon, while Sasha straightened her back, clearly imprinting her cat’s mark on her eyes.

“I can see the trail, it’s a pretty thick trail… If you follow this trail, you’ll definitely be able to meet this cat’s family!”

“I’ll ask for guidance, Sasha.”

“Yes!”

As Sasha said so, she took a step, the moment she stepped out.

Her ears her twitch loudly, then she stops and turns to look at Cleon again.

Cleon feels something uncomfortable with Sasha’s behavior of her, but she soon realizes that it is not Sasha.

Thanks to that, even the cat in Cleon’s arms gets scared and digs into Cleon’s arms her.

“Whoa-“

“…Ruben.”

Cleon lowers her voice as he abruptly takes over Sasha’s body as her and looks at Ruben, who has sprung out of her.

“Eight! What a cat! This body is much cuter than that cat!”

And-to Ruben’s sudden jump on Cleon’s waist her, Cleon quickly responds by raising the cat he was holding onto his head her.

“… Ruben. I’m not really trying to raise this guy. I’m just trying to find her owner of her.”

“I know! But Mr. Cleon. That cat smells a bit unpleasant.”

“…All it smells like is milk and soap.”

At Cleon’s answer, Ruben raised his voice.

“That’s not what I’m talking about! … It’s the smell of natural magical power that’s much thicker than the body of a beast spirit deity. There’s no way a normal cat would have such a smell.”

Cleon thought about something for a moment at her words.

“But from this guy, I can only feel normal level magic power.”

“Then the cause must be its owner her. You’d better be careful. Whether the owner is hostile to Cleon-sama or not-“

Ruben falls for Cleon and points her finger at Cleon.

“It must be something beyond human common sense.”

“…”

Soon, Ruben blinked her eyes.

“Huh? I…”

Again, back to her Sasha, Cleon talks to her.

“Ruben has something to tell you, so she borrowed herself for a while. Don’t worry.”

“I-I see! Really, Ruben-sama too. I told you to ask for something beforehand when you borrow her body her…”

Sasha lets out a sigh and puts her spirits back together and turns her body around.

“…This way, Mr. Cleon!”

Then, as if leading Cleon, he took a step forward and guided him to the cat’s owner.

‘Something that transcends human common sense…?’

Cleon kept Ruben’s words in his head for a while, but-

Maybe it’s because I’ve met too many of them anyway.

Shaking his head at the blunted sensation, he followed Sasha.