Hmm.
Hmmm.
Shekina stood with her mouth tightly shut.
It was good that she boldly set out with only the cat, leaving Yurian and Didi behind after teleporting to the ice wall.
She thought that the hard part was getting to the ice wall and that everything would be fine once she got there.
However…
“I don’t feel anything.”
She couldn’t sense any monsters or even any magic.
What was Sebastian talking about? Didn’t he say everything would be clear once they reached the ice wall?
Shekina was somewhat flustered by this unexpected situation.
“Hey. Cat. Do you feel anything?”
She asked the cat, who was playing with the snow from a distance.
– There’s nothing.
“Did you have to answer so bluntly?”
– What else would I say if there’s nothing?
“Haaa…”
Shekina let out a long sigh and squatted down.
Should she dig a tunnel or bring a shovel? She stared blankly at the soft snow.
‘Having a system would be nice.’
There was no one to grab by the collar and demand answers from, which was frustrating.
– Ah, the snow is so soft and nice.
Meanwhile, the cat was leisurely rolling around… hmm?
Shekina opened her eyes wide.
Subquest: <Earn Your Master’s Approval!>
Objective: Make the spirit beast willingly become your servant!
Time limit: None
Rewards:
1. Servant Binding
2. Information about ‘Another System’
There was a subquest.
Clearing this quest would surely reveal the system.
Shekina’s eyes sparkled.
“Cat. Come here.”
– Don’t wanna.
“……”
Fine, the one who needs it should go.
Shekina approached the cat and spoke in the gentlest and kindest voice possible.
“Don’t you want to become my servant?”
– Not interested.
Wow. Not even a second of hesitation. Isn’t that too harsh?
“Why!”
Shekina hugged the cat tightly and shouted.
“If it weren’t for me, you wouldn’t even be able to roam around like this! You’d just live as a mere spirit beast’s remnant! I’m your rightful master!”
– Technically, it’s not you but that Nisha or whatever homunculus that gave me this form. If you’re going to boast, do it correctly.
“Ah! So, I’m the one who entrusted you to Nisha! Without me, you’d be finished, done!”
– Let me go.
The cat pushed Shekina’s face away and slipped out of her arms. Then it expressed its displeasure by flicking its tail stiffly.
– Why are you doing this all of a sudden?
“Sudden? I’ve always wanted you to be my servant.”
– What a nonsense. You made me and then ignored me.
The cat narrowed its eyes and spoke.
– Didn’t you leave me to that Calvin and didn’t care about me?
“Um… well…”
– You didn’t even give me a name, just called me ‘cat’, and now this? Isn’t that shameless?
Seeing the cat still flicking its tail, Shekina covered her mouth.
“You…”
And then she said one word.
“Are you sulking right now?”
– No! How could a great being like me have feelings hurt by someone like you!
The cat vehemently denied it, but Shekina knew that too strong a denial is as good as an admission.
Shekina took a deep breath and scratched the back of her head.
The cat was right about everything.
When Shekina gathered the remnants to form a spirit beast, she wasn’t particularly pleased that it took the form of a cat. She realized that perhaps the cat didn’t like her from that moment on.
“I… never really liked animals.”
Shekina tried to offer some explanation.
“To be precise… I like them, but I couldn’t take care of them properly, so I felt bad and ended up not liking them.”
A long time ago, before she found herself in this game world…
As an elementary school student, she discovered an abandoned puppy on her way home from school. The puppy was so emaciated that its skin clung to its bones, and its fur was so dirty that it appeared completely black. The puppy, likely beaten by local kids, had blood oozing from its legs and around its eyes.
She wanted to help. She wanted to take it home, wash it with warm water, feed it, and take it to the vet.
But she couldn’t. Her parents would be furious, and she might even be thrown out, just like the puppy.
So, instead of taking the puppy home, she decided to at least feed it. From that day, she brought it food after school. Although she didn’t have enough money to buy proper dog food, the puppy gratefully ate the milk and bread she managed to bring from school and home.
As the puppy gained weight, it began to follow her home from school, and she enjoyed spending time with it for about a month.
Then, on a rainy weekend, she planned to sneak out to play with the puppy but was forced to attend a sudden family gathering. She thought it would be okay to miss just one day, and got into her parents’ car, pushing away the guilt.
As they drove down the familiar alley, she saw the puppy huddled in a corner. It saw her through the car window and started running towards her, wagging its tail, wanting to play and be petted.
But she couldn’t open the window or ask her parents to stop the car, fearing their anger if they found out she had been taking care of the dirty puppy.
So she pretended not to see it. Ignoring her father’s grumbling about the stray dog, she closed her eyes, trying to block out the puppy’s barking.
She thought she would go back after the family gathering and apologize, hug it, and everything would be fine.
But that moment never came. The puppy was hit by a car and died right where it had been waiting for her.
It was her fault.
The puppy died because she ignored it. Even a simple goodbye or telling it to go back could have saved it. If she had pretended not to know it from the start, it wouldn’t have died.
What was the point of reaching out to the puppy?
Was it to take care of it, or did she just use it to comfort herself?
Cheap sympathy does nothing. One should not reach out to someone they can’t take responsibility for.
Since then, she tried not to take responsibility for anyone. After all, she couldn’t do anything for them.
The same applies now.
When the cat appeared, Shekina thought she couldn’t take care of it and wouldn’t be able to take responsibility for it. That’s why she left it with Calvin, who liked cats, and pretended not to know.
Of course, it’s ironic and selfish to want to make it her familiar after all that… Shekina let out a bitter laugh.
“That’s why I’ve been distant with you. I thought I wouldn’t be able to take care of you properly and felt it would only make me feel guilty.”
– …….
“And here I am, trying to make you my familiar. I’m selfish.”
Shekina sighed and ruffled her hair.
“Sorry. I’ve been in a hurry and couldn’t think straight. Let’s forget about it.”
It seemed her mind wasn’t working properly due to all the dark magic stuff.
Thinking about using the innocent cat made her feel petty.
Blaming her own pettiness, Shekina stood up.
“I’ll continue searching around. You can just play.”
– … You.
The cat’s tail stood up straight, and its narrowed eyes turned to Shekina.
– I might overlook it just this once…
“Watch out!”
But the cat couldn’t finish its sentence. Shekina hugged the cat tightly and rolled in the snow.
The cat wanted to shout, ‘What are you doing?’ but saw the situation before it could.
– Screech!
A monster suddenly appeared. The cat’s tail trembled.
“What? It appeared without any sign. That scared me.”
– Screech!
“Ah, don’t come any closer!”
Shekina held the cat and ran wildly. The cat’s ears twitched in her arms. It was startled.
Blood was streaming down Shekina’s right shoulder.
She must have been hit by the monster’s attack while protecting the cat.
Shekina, still running, glanced at her bleeding shoulder and grimaced. But it was only for a moment. Forcing a smile, she asked the cat.
“Are you okay? You’re not hurt, right?”
The cat’s whiskers trembled.
