Perhaps devoted to recovering, the cat didn’t wake up that night.
Since it’s still breathing, it seemed to be alive, but Kuuga was worried because it didn’t wake up at all. When he looked at the basket many times, he suddenly heard Gadillas laugh a little from seeing him like that.
“Are you worried about the cat?”
[Well, of course...]
“…that, it’s a female.”
[…oi?]
With strange intuition, he strangely looked at Gadillas. He couldn’t understand why he’s saying that so seriously, but then thought of something.
[I don’t have such a hobby! I won’t be fooled!]
He suddenly got angry at that ridiculous notion and set up a paw attack on Gadillas’ face. Kuuga’s large paw rushed at Gadillas’ nose.
“Buh, wai-, it smells earth-, my bad, it’s my bad…”
[What earthy smell! I just took a bath!]
He rushed forward and pressed his paws as hard as he could. He couldn’t use anything but the meat pad on the paws.
His claws and fangs were too deadly, while the other fur-covered parts were too fluffy that it wouldn’t harass the other person. The paws were the only suitable ones for a little punishment. Of course, it’s safe since the nails were fully retracted.
When he repeated the attack while half-riding on Gadillas, who was sitting on the bed, he heard a small voice as if responding to the ruckus they raised.
[…here…where…?]
[!?]
In response to that voice, Kuuga looked at the basket and hurriedly jumped off Gadillas to approach the basket. Gadillas noticed that the cat seemed to have woken up and followed him.
[Are you okay? Does you body hurt?]
The eyes of the white cat, who looked up at Kuuga, who called out, moved slowly. It had beautiful blue eyes like jewels. The cat stared at him without fear, checked him out once and nodded as if it was satisfied.
[Beast King. Are you the one who helped me?]
[That’s right. When I found you, you were dying and covered in blood. You’ve been treated so you should be cured in a few days. Ah, medicine is applied so don’t lick your body.]
True to the dragons’ information, Kuuga was impressed that he could have a decent conversation with the cat but he’s also worried since it seemed unable to get up yet.
Gadillas crouched next to Kuuga and silently looked at the cat. He might have noticed that Kuuga was having a conversation.
[…who is that person?]
[This is my king. Don’t worry. No one here will hurt you.]
[I see… thank you.]
The cat muttered so weakly that it should have spent all its remaining strength as its eyes closed. It’s most likely tired.
[Sleep. I’ll apply the medicine again tomorrow.]
[Hn…]
Perhaps its body was craving sleep that the cat fell asleep immediately and its belly began to go up and down regularly. Perhaps Gadillas had also seen it as he made a gesture. He also seemed careful not to wake it up.
Nodding, Kuuga and Gadillas gently left the basket and went up the bed. They laid down in their usual position and Kuuga gently rubbed against Gadillas’ cheek while the other man put his head on his abdomen, signaling his desire to sleep.
The cat also woke up, albeit temporarily. If they sleep quietly, it’d surely get well soon.
Relieved, Kuuga closed his eyes and determined to make various confirmations tomorrow.
◇ ◇ ◇ ◇
The next day, Uros also brought food for the cat and managed to feed it with a wooden spoon. The cat was a little wary of Uros, but Kuuga said it’s okay.
After finishing the meal, Kuuga immediately called out to the cat.
[Is your body okay?]
[Yup. Human medicine is amazing… I was dying yesterday…]
Kuuga could see the cat shake its body to check its condition, seemingly amazed that it didn’t feel any strong pain anymore. It’s true that the medicine was powerful to cure so much in one day. He misunderstood it as a magic that cured patients in an instant, but aside from that, it’s far faster than natural healing.
[Can you explain why you got injured like that? Do you know who did it?]
That’s what he wanted to know the most. The knife wounds meant a human did it. The animal protection group Edallion’s part of wouldn’t keep silent for someone hurting a cat with a knife!
It showed a momentary thinking gesture at Kuuga’s question, then made a melancholy look.
[I don’t know why I was attacked… He was a human male child. The color of his hair was deep blue.]
[...a child, huh...]
Because children are cruel… resulting in Kuuga also looking distantly.
[At first, he came with food. Humans seem to like feeding me, and I depended on it, so I wasn’t very cautious.]
[…]
[While I was eating, I was suddenly attacked with a human weapon. I avoided it in a hurry… but it hit my legs and I couldn’t move well after that…]
So that’s it. That’s when the child injured it. Thinking about it normally, if it’s a child vs a cat, who’s on alert, it should be possible to escape in an instant.
Looking at the wounds on its body, it should have avoided a direct hit. However, it seemed like the first blow slowed its movements which caused a number of wounds on its body.
[The child was laughing while saying something. I also tried to avoid it… he looked like he’s having fun.]
[...I see.]
It would have been very scary to be attacked while the other party was laughing. The cat trembled a little while talking.
Just how bad was the parents’ discipline when a child could abuse a cat while laughing? He suddenly felt a rush of anger.