Boss Cat, Step Forward!

When the grandfather clock in Professor Landry's house struck three in the afternoon, the bells of the Grand Monastery in the Creti Empire's capital rang out at the same moment. The Moon God Festival had reached its height. "Time to head over to the Chief Hall." Lanqi rose from his study desk and looked out at the campus, where the snow had long since stopped falling, then stretched with a tired yawn. He screwed the cap back onto his fountain pen, gathered the papers on the desk, and sorted them. Today's work was finished. The next important event was, more or less, the decisive battle itself. The activity he would attend at the Chief Hall shortly was both a professor's duty and one of his rare stretches of leisure. He wondered where Toriardo had taken Boss Cat to play. Lanqi pondered. Just then, the only ones definitely still playing around Saint Creti Monastery were Toriardo and Boss Cat. Antanas and the others were probably off in the city center around the Brillda Opera House, and would not be back until later. Sigrid was probably at the Pantheon. Hyperion and the rest could be anywhere. Everyone would likely only gather tonight, when they released the moon lanterns together. Either way, Lanqi would probably have to devote himself to his own work today; whether he ran into friends was a matter of chance. He had no time to play with them anyway. Being alone was fine too. Right now there was a good deal of gossip about him circulating around campus, and it was troubling him to no end. "It'll collapse on its own." Lanqi's thoughts and gaze drifted far away along with the voices that occasionally boiled up outside the window. Since noon, countless devout citizens had flooded into Saint Creti Monastery, planning to worship at the altar of the Moon Goddess and pray for the goddess's protection. And of course, in the evening there would be the Moon God High Priestess's blessing dance. Squeeze in early and claim a good spot, and one could watch the prayer dance of the Sixth War God, Violet of the Water-Blue Jade. Meanwhile, elsewhere. Several kilometers from the residential district, at the heart of the Grand Monastery, Elliott Plaza was packed shoulder to shoulder. Brocade banners patterned with laurels hung from the open-air chalk-stone colonnade, snapping and fluttering in the wind. Sacred incense burned in five-meter-tall censers, and curling white smoke hung thick in the air, as if it meant to carry the wishes of the world up to heaven's ears. At the very center of Elliott Plaza stood a pure white obelisk dozens of feet tall, its four faces carved with the holy words of sages and prophets. Imperials stood piously before the obelisk, bowing to the proverbs of the Elsaya Holy Domain in the hope of receiving enlightenment. The bell of the Elliott Building rang, sending a ripple through the air and the mist. "I come to this building a lot, meow. It's like a maze inside, and Lan always tells Sid not to go in there alone." Boss Cat gazed at the building where Lanqi came to teach every day and described it to Toriardo. "But without a professor to lead us, we can't really go inside and look around, meow. We can only buy Moon God Festival souvenirs at the shops in the public area." Toriardo was taking Boss Cat around to see the sights. Not far from the plaza below the building, at the center of the Saint Creti Monastery campus, directly adjacent to the landmark Venard Library and the Grand Auditorium, stood this five-story colossus of a main building. Built of red brick and gray stone, its outer walls were accented with sacred-white trim, and the monastery's old crest was inlaid in the triangular pediment of its front facade. Below the pediment were three arched doorways, and above the central main entrance were carved the words SAINT CRETI · ELLIOTT BUILDING. From outside, one could see brass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling of the entrance hall, whose floor was paved in alternating black and white marble. The building was said to hold a hundred and twenty-one classrooms and seminar rooms, used mainly for undergraduate research in magic theory and magitek engineering courses. "Will Lan-Lan come by later, meow?" They reasoned that Lanqi would finish his work at home and then go to the Chief Hall for the event, and that coming from the distant residential district to the Chief Hall in the central area, he might well pass the Elliott Building and this plaza. If they played around here, they might run into him. "I really don't want to leave the guy behind after all. Everyone else gets to rest during the Moon God Festival, and he's stuck working overtime all day. That's rough." Toriardo stroked Boss Cat's head and sighed. He had already noticed that Boss Cat simply could not grasp the principles of spatial magic. Perhaps rubbing the top of its head had a better chance of making it grasp spatial magic. "Even if we do run into him, he won't have time to stay and play, meow, but we can stuff some snacks into his hands, meow." Boss Cat sniffed the barbecue smells drifting over from the temporary stalls on the plaza and delivered its verdict, swallowing a mouthful of saliva. They were highly skilled grill masters. Add Saint Creti Monastery's superb homegrown ingredients, seasoned with spices blended by ancient Imperial methods, and it was a dish sold at a loss—normally the students would snap it all up in no time, and only on today's festival was it served in unlimited quantities. And Boss Cat had also caught the smell of grilled fish. Its favorite grilled fish! "This line is really long." Even up on his toes, Toriardo could not see how much longer they would have to wait. Near the Elliott Building on the monastery's east side, a long queue had formed in front of the popular temporary stalls. These were the many stalls of Saint Creti's College of Alchemical Culinary Magic, devoted to Moon God Festival specialties. The barbecue stall Toriardo and Boss Cat were queued at had the most outrageous smell of all; the sizzling aroma from its grill had drawn customers into line. "Sido, meow, do you know the little city of Lilom, where we landed after the shipwreck on the Northern Continent? The dried fish there was so good. I've never eaten dried fish that good in my life." Boss Cat still pined for the food of the Northern Continent. Or perhaps it was because that was when it had just been rescued from the shipwreck with Lanqi and landed with no sense of security, so everything had tasted exceptionally wonderful, and the memory had been branded into it. "I've heard of it. Zestira, Rocky's student, is the daughter of the Viscount of Lilom, isn't she? Zestira even took my class." Toriardo recalled. It was Zestira who had sat in on his history lecture, come away impressed, and told Lanqi about this associate professor of history—which was why Lanqi had grown curious and audited his class too. As the two of them talked, they discovered they had met back on the Northern Continent and had plenty to talk about. It was only that Boss Cat had always stayed inside Lanqi's shadow and never come out to meet Associate Professor Sido. "Let me see how far away it is." Boss Cat's nose twitched, sniffing the oil-rich scent in the air. It floated up out of Toriardo's arms and hovered in midair, its big golden eyes fixed straight ahead, as though it could already see the crisp, charred grilled fish. "Hey, no rush. You'll be eating soon enough." Seeing this, Toriardo waved and quietly gestured for Boss Cat to come down. Boss Cat was drawing attention. Sure enough. "Look, that cat is flying!" "What a cute little kitty! How is it doing that?" "I think one of our college's professors has a contract with a powerful fifth-tier spirit cat." People around them murmured softly and turned to look at the very unusual little cat. Toriardo reached out and gathered the hovering cat back into his arms. "Keep a low profile, Little Black Loaf. I don't want to be mistaken for a cat thief, and I'm not a circus either." Toriardo warned Boss Cat. He could feel the strange looks around them. "Why would you be mistaken for a cat thief, meow..." Boss Cat asked, puzzled. But when it looked up and saw Toriardo's practiced manner—cat tucked against his chest, eyes warily scanning left and right—it understood. This guy really might have stolen one before. Man and cat kept queuing in the crowded throng. Whichever direction one looked, there were bobbing heads and a dizzying blur of color. The monastery's Holy Domain Garden to the south sent over gusts of herbal fragrance. At a glance the whole garden was thriving, green and lush even in winter. Priests in plain white robes, hoes in hand, moved busily among the flower beds. Many of the faithful who had come to pray stopped here, some picking spirit herbs, others asking for prescriptions, hoping to cure stubborn ailments and regain their health. The herb garden was also selling products of Saint Creti Monastery's College of Pharmacy. Beyond the plaza of the Elliott Building, the streets on both sides surged with people, and temporary shops clustered everywhere. The College of Materials' textiles were being bawled out by students waving their arms, claiming these were woven from a newly developed imitation sixth-tier thorn butterfly cocoon silk—light, soft, and the finest material for tailoring festival finery and cloth armor. The College of Magical Engineering's shops mostly sold mechanical plating for making plate armor, along with finished Imperial-style magitek jewelry. At the College of Culinary Magic's stalls stood a half-meter-tall metal urn, its lid stuck with pine branches dusted in fresh snow, white steam puffing from its spout. A beastfolk student cried out in a southern Imperial accent, "Camel milk tea to warm the body and the stomach," drawing curious passersby to stop and taste. A bard sat at the edge of Elliott Plaza too, a seven-stringed lyre in his arms, singing loudly of legends of the Holy Domain and the virtues of the sages. The lilting music drew a large crowd, and many listeners fell spellbound, tossing coins into the bowl at the singer's feet in appreciation. Children darted among the crowd, shouting excitedly, pure light shining in their eyes. Some clutched candy canes made by the confectioners and beamed all the way, while others wore laurel wreaths and copied the grown-ups, putting on the solemn look of Moon God priests. Knights of the Moon Temple escorted nobles through the crowd in full ceremonial array, every inch the guard, never smiling. For all their unfathomable expressions, they could not hide the delight in their eyes; they looked exactly like people enjoying a holiday. "I'm going to eat and eat, buy and buy, and be a fat little piggy-cat, meow!" Boss Cat was infected by the atmosphere and could hardly wait. Its eyes were still searching for Lanqi, who might appear at any moment, but the smell of grilled fish was growing stronger, and its tail began to wag excitedly from side to side. "Get ready to stuff yourself. I saw them grilling fresh trout earlier." Toriardo hitched the impatient little black cat up higher and spoke to it. Just as the two were chattering back and forth, the line crept slowly forward. "Meow meow, let me look." Boss Cat felt the queue was still very long. It floated lightly into the air and peered ahead to see exactly how long it was. "Sido, meow, I figure we've still got half an hour." This time, though, it planned to take two looks and come right back down. But when it finished speaking, Boss Cat got no response from Toriardo. "If they work fast, maybe ten minutes will do it, meow." Boss Cat applied a chef's professional judgment and estimated the time. But when it had taken its fill of the bustling scene in the distance and dropped back down to where it had been, it found that Toriardo had not merely gone quiet. It looked around in confusion, and only then realized that at some point the surging crowd had pushed it out of the line. Toriardo had truly vanished. No one had counted a single hovering little cat as a person in the queue. The crowd was far too dense; its view was completely blocked, and it could not tell one direction from another. "Meow?" The little black cat let out a puzzled cry and wove through the packed stream of people, trying to find Toriardo. There was no time to worry about the queue now. The problem was finding the companion who had vanished into thin air in the blink of an eye. It hurriedly produced its communication magic and began calling Toriardo. In less than two seconds, the call connected. "Meow meow, Sido, where did you go, meow!" Boss Cat asked anxiously. Getting through let it breathe a huge sigh of relief. "I'll come find you in a bit." Toriardo lowered his voice, answered, and hung up. "..." Boss Cat stared blankly at the communication magic card. Toriardo might have run into some urgent business and needed to step away. From the sound of it, it was not danger. Toriardo should have no trouble finding it, while it would have a hard time finding a mysterious fellow like Toriardo. So at a time like this, the best thing was not to wander off, but to wait for Toriardo to come back and find it. Boss Cat worked the problem out. What was worse, though, was that plenty of passersby had spotted it on its own and kept reaching out to try to pet it. "Meow meow, I'm not a stray cat!" Boss Cat dodged again and again, a nameless timid feeling rising in its heart. "Holy shit, the cat's talking?" "Must be a catfolk gift transformation, right?" "Maybe it's a student or a teacher from the school?" "Who cares? Right now it's a cat, and cats are born to be eaten up by mama!" After it shouted, everyone wanted to pet it even more. "Meow?!" Boss Cat turned and ran. It was a noble divine beast. How could it be treated as a pet? A moment later, the little black cat finally escaped the crowd and leaped up onto the stone steps at the far side of the plaza. "I wonder how long I'll have to wait for him, meow." It tilted its head and thought for a while. Its gaze drifted, unbidden, back toward the barbecue stalls. It probably did have to return to where it had been, so Toriardo could find it easily. It had no idea where Toriardo had suddenly gone. Waiting here doing nothing, smelling the barbecue, it felt miserably hungry. But if it went to queue on its own, it would surely be treated as a pet and draw unwanted harassment. "What am I supposed to do, meow?" The little black cat raised a paw in annoyance and scratched its ear. It somewhat regretted coming out with Toriardo. Lanqi had never once left it behind all this time, while Toriardo had vanished in the blink of an eye—faster than Hyper runs off. Then inspiration struck— If it were a person, no one would find it out of place, would they? That way it could queue openly, and would not be taken for a lost cat! And it happened to have a spare Polymorph: Human that Lanqi had once given it. It was the magic card from last time when it had gone out with Elsa and ended up not using it. Now it actually had a chance to be put to good use! "..." "Just one secret transformation, meow." With that thought, Boss Cat nimbly leaped down the steps and slipped around to a hidden corner near the far end of the plaza. It was a little resistant to taking a two-legged human form, but for grilled fish it decided to compromise this once. Boss Cat closed its eyes and patted the translucent purple magic card that appeared before it. In an instant, a soft glow spread over its fur, and its shape began slowly to blur. A few seconds later. The light faded, and in its place stood a slim, well-proportioned figure about a meter forty tall, looking barely past ten years old. A pair of clever cat ears twitched lightly atop its head, and a long black tail swayed contentedly behind it. "Meow meow meow, is this me?" Boss Cat opened its mouth and produced the same childish voice as ever, lowering its head to look at the marble tiles of the plaza and the reflection of itself upon them. Its build sat somewhere between boy and girl, with soft, glossy black hair cut short, bangs a little long and occasionally falling over its eyes, and a gentle facial outline still carrying childishness—the ambiguous sexlessness of a ten-year-old human child. It looked like a tomboy, and also like a pretty boy. It wore a white shirt with a brown vest and a pair of little leather shoes, like a children's version of the outfit Lanqi often wore. "Among humans, would I count as fairly pretty, meow?" Boss Cat examined its new appearance and touched its tender white cheek, and in its daze it could almost taste the fragrant grilled fish far away. Its only confusion was why, after turning human, it was not entirely human, but rather a race that ought to be called demi-human or beastfolk. Perhaps it was because Lanqi and Hyperion changed very little in volume when they used Polymorph: Human, while it had needed to change a great deal, and that had caused this problem. It did not matter, though. The Creti Empire really did have a great many beastfolk. Of the three great territories that had once made up the land of the Creti Empire, the Syros Empire had been an almost purely human empire, the Elsaya Holy Domain had held a small number of elven descendants and rare races, and the Vince Free Federation had included beastfolk lords among its human lords. Although humans still made up the vast majority after unification, one occasionally saw Creti citizens with beastfolk traits or pointed ears on the streets and among the nobility. Boss Cat had seen beastfolk students in Lanqi's classes. The more it thought, the more reassured Boss Cat became. The smell of barbecue made its stomach growl. As a human it could eat much more food, and would never again fill up after a few bites like a little bird! Boss Cat swallowed and silently vowed to have a proper feast and make this trip worthwhile. It got ready to stride boldly toward the end of the line. Grilled fish, here I come! Just as it was about to step away from the edge of the plaza. "Oh, what a cute catfolk child, meow! Did you get separated from your grown-up?" Boss Cat was caught from behind without warning. It felt itself being sniffed, and tried to struggle free only to find it completely useless. At last it understood the terror Tata felt every day when Sid hugged her from behind. "Meow meow, I'm not one, meow!" Boss Cat retorted on reflex. It was not catfolk; it was a cat. Even if many people had held it before, being suddenly seized by a stranger still frightened it badly. Its composure was crumbling. Being petted in cat form was one thing, but now it had turned human and was still being petted. "That speech quirk of yours is the same as my family's—even thicker than mine. Obviously you're catfolk too." The clear voice behind Boss Cat kept talking, still holding it the way one holds a child and refusing to let go. "Let go of me right now, meow!" Boss Cat stated firmly. Its strength was no match for the other's, but if it used telekinesis that would change entirely. It did not want to hurt her. "Bianca, this child can't be more than ten or so." Some distance behind Boss Cat, another voice sounded, deep and heavy, accompanied by footsteps that made the plaza tiles creak under their weight. "Even if you catfolk have no sense of personal distance by nature, hugging an underage catfolk like this is a little criminal." A magnetic female voice chimed in as well, apparently exasperated with her companion. "...Meow?" Boss Cat stopped struggling for a moment, and its brain opened up a whole universe of thought. A question had suddenly occurred to it. Why, when three whole people had come this close to it, had it not noticed a thing? It was a ninth-tier divine beast. That was hardly weak. And it seemed to have heard the others calling the name of this cat woman holding it— Bianca? Wasn't that the name of one of the Twelve War Gods?! Bianca of the Cat's Eye Seat, the Twelfth War God. Boss Cat had long ago heard Lanqi lay out all the information on the Twelve War Gods. There might be people who shared the name, but catfolk, and with the strength to pin it down so easily—that was unquestionably a War God. Cold sweat broke out on Boss Cat's forehead. It was surrounded by three War Gods. The same treatment as Loren. Was it going to meet its end here today? Cat that it was, never mind fighting three War Gods—one War God could squash it however it liked! After a bout of survival instinct and struggling, Boss Cat decided to make a decision that betrayed its ancestors. "Meow meow... Big sister of my own kin, would you let me go, meow?" Boss Cat put on a weak, helpless look and begged the War God holding it from behind. It surrendered. Question Toriardo, understand Toriardo, become Toriardo. What followed was a stretch of silence. Along with Boss Cat's drumming heartbeat. Life or death now depended on the War God's next choice. "All right, all right, all right." The figure behind Boss Cat sounded delighted at the answer, released Boss Cat, and stepped back two paces. "Thank you, meow." Boss Cat thanked her politely. It felt as if it had come back to life. Suppressing its fear, not daring to simply bolt, Boss Cat turned to look at the figures. Three of them were looking down at it. "How strange, meow. I was sure I sensed a very formidable expert here just now, and then it vanished in a blink, and there's a trace of spatial magic nearby too. Could it have been my imagination?" After releasing Boss Cat, Bianca of the Cat's Eye Seat, the Twelfth War God, looked around and said in puzzlement. The one standing closest to Boss Cat was a catfolk woman. Her youthful orange hair spilled loose to her waist, her tail was slender and long, and she wore a dark green cinched leather jacket. Her slit-pupiled eyes held a natural wildness along with a cultivated intelligence, and she had on sturdy, hard-wearing leather boots; it looked like her winter everyday outfit. "Maybe it's another War God. Isn't Ryan's little sister studying here? He'd probably come." Farther back, the burly figure who was blocking a large part of the winter noon sun from Boss Cat's view spoke. He was tall, broad-shouldered and narrow-waisted, and powerful muscle strained his white down jacket into a bulge. A cold metallic gleam showed at both wrists, where the marks of mechanical modification were plainly visible. Boss Cat did not dare make a sound, only listening stiffly as Conzel and Bianca talked. From what Boss Cat remembered, this was probably Conzel of the Radiant Gold Seat, the Eighth War God. He had once been a special forces soldier, and on one mission he had taken grave wounds and come close to death. The military had put him through a high-risk emergency mechanical modification to save him, and with astonishing willpower and compatibility he had survived, becoming the Empire's strongest cyborg, its finest Unit One. "Ryan, huh. That's certainly possible. I haven't seen him in ages." Bianca of the Cat's Eye Seat, the Twelfth War God, said, quickly letting the matter go. Apart from Marquis Ryan, it was hardly strange for other War Gods to be at Saint Creti Monastery today, and sensing the aura of a powerful person was perfectly normal. Beside Conzel, the Eighth War God, stood an imposing woman. She was about a meter eighty tall, though next to the two-meter Conzel she looked much smaller. Her long black hair was tied back briskly behind her head, and her exquisite features carried a sharpness. Her lips were pressed into a straight line, but what drew Boss Cat's attention were her eyes: the right had a brown pupil, while the left was a mechanical prosthetic of bright blue. Even on a rest day, streamlined metal vambraces covered the outer sides of both her arms, as though they had long since become one with her. "This little one isn't weak either. And he's spatial." She lowered her head slightly and fixed her gaze on Boss Cat. "Meow!" Boss Cat's instincts told it she was the strongest of the three War Gods. By her traits, she could only be Jasper of the Jasper Seat, the Fourth War God—Conzel's partner, and the Empire's mechanical doctor who had personally rebuilt him. The Fourth and Eighth War Gods also appeared to be a couple. Boss Cat racked its memory for what Barton had said on the second floor of the Brillda Opera House. Among the twelve War Gods, One, Two, Six, and Eleven belonged to the neutral faction. Three, Seven, and Ten belonged to the radical faction. Four, Five, Eight, Nine, and Twelve belonged to the conservative faction. The War Gods before it now all seemed to be of the original conservative faction. Which meant they might be the safest War Gods—or the most dangerous War Gods once they had been controlled! "Hm? You're this small already, and you have sixth-tier strength? And a spatial attribute on top of that!" Bianca of the Cat's Eye Seat, the Twelfth War God, crouched down again, stroked Boss Cat, and exclaimed in wonder. She had never seen a kin with such talent. In an instant she understood why this black catfolk child had drawn her. It was not only that he smelled good; he also had potential beyond all reason! "Keep at it. I think the two of us might be able to breed someday. I have high hopes for you, young man." Looking Boss Cat in the eye, Bianca earnestly voiced the thought her instincts had produced from the very start. "...?!" Boss Cat was nearly scared out of its wits by Bianca's outrageous words. It wanted to call the police. It seemed that when a cat used a demon-realm spell with such a huge step as Polymorph: Human, a few problems really did arise, so that the other party could not judge its basic situation at all. But Bianca looked utterly guileless, as though she truly meant to do it—not out of desire, but out of reason. "I'm going to call a lawyer." Jasper, the Fourth War God, pressed a hand to her forehead. If the child's parents had heard what she just said and went straight off to sue Bianca, they would win the case hands down. "Child, don't let her frighten you. She honestly doesn't mean it that way. It's just that she truly can't find a husband among the catfolk who's worthy of her." The towering Conzel caught Bianca by the back of her collar, making her let go of the black catfolk child so she could not act up. "Forget it, the more I explain the worse it gets. Just go, quickly, before she latches onto you." Conzel of the Radiant Gold Seat, the Eighth War God, looked at Boss Cat and said. "Meow meow meow, thank you all." Boss Cat nodded frantically in fright, so rattled it could barely speak, then hurried off at a run. Even grilled fish had lost its appeal! This time it had escaped death by a hair! It had actually gotten away from three War Gods! "Young man! We'll meet again if fate allows. I've memorized your scent, meow. I'm definitely your best choice." Bianca waved cheerfully. Give it a few more years, and the black cat boy ought to become very formidable indeed. His potential was simply limitless. Who knew, maybe those genes really could produce a ninth-tier catfolk! "Once you reach eighth tier, let's—!" Before she could finish, Jasper, the Fourth War God, clamped a hand over her mouth, and the couple began dragging her away. Boss Cat ran with its head down, a chill crawling up its spine. Why had it been taken for a boy after turning human? Was it because this card was originally made by Lanqi? And so, for something like it, which leaned toward sexlessness among humans, using it resulted in a human form that looked more like a boy? According to the background lore of the Blood Moon Ruined World era, Polymorph: Human was a transformation spell reverse-engineered by the Demon Realm from the demonkin modification surgeries at the Horning Empire's test site. It had transformation properties unlike this era's, and also a degree of incompatibility with other races. This problem would have to be fixed by hand, by Lanqi and Tata! Boss Cat ran all the way to the Chief Hall. It turned a corner where no one was around and instantly scattered like a blot of ink, becoming a small black cat. The moment it returned to cat form, all its sense of security came back. It floated in midair, feeling the freedom of a soft ball of fur and its small, compact size. Never again would it take human form, meow! "Boss Cat, sorry about that." A voice sounded behind it. It scared its soul nearly out of its body. "Meow meow!!" Boss Cat curled into a ball and clutched its head. There was no way a War God could still recognize it. It was never leaving Lanqi's side again. "Boss Cat, it's me." The voice continued, apologetic and a little flippant, with no intent to attack Boss Cat. Boss Cat lowered its paws, lifted its eyes, and looked carefully—only then did it see that it was Toriardo. "Where did you go, meow!" Boss Cat cried, eyes swimming with tears. Now it understood why Abigail had called this guy unreliable. Not a single thing about him was reliable! "The situation just now was special. One of those War Gods is a little too perceptive. I sensed danger and teleported away. Good thing you drew their attention for me." Toriardo explained sheepishly. Years of counter-surveillance instinct had made him flee on the spot. It was not as though the War Gods would attack him, the Cardinal of Dimensions, for no reason these days—the Resurrection Church and the Creti Empire were no longer hostile, and might even cooperate. But Toriardo did not want the Twelve War Gods to discover, before the battle for Blood Moon City began, that the Cardinal of Dimensions was active around Brillda. "I was bait, meow?" Boss Cat demanded tearfully. It had run into three War Gods and nearly been frightened out of its wits. It had almost paid tribute to High Priest Loren with its life! "You're Professor Landry's cat, registered as a contracted beast of Saint Creti Monastery's staff. They won't do anything to you, and besides, some things only a divine beast like you can pull off." Toriardo pressed his palms together in apology to Boss Cat. Normally, so long as a War God was not up close, suspicious, and interrogating him, Toriardo was confident he could disguise himself perfectly. Except for specialized scouts like the Twelfth War God, whose gift let them trigger premonitions from farther away. Fortunately it had only been the Twelfth War God, who was weaker than the Cardinal of Dimensions, and the Cardinal was better at slipping away, so he could win the cat-and-mouse game. And with Boss Cat, a spatial decoy, left there, the War Gods would not grow too suspicious over the bit of magic residue from his escape through spatial magic. "I'll trust you one more time, meow." Hearing Toriardo call it a divine beast, Boss Cat felt rather satisfied after all. Sure enough, with great power came great responsibility. This was the sort of thing only it could handle. "This is our spatial bond." Toriardo and the cat high-fived. Hearing someone acknowledge it as a noble spatial type made Boss Cat even happier. Lanqi only thought it was wind-type, and Tata thought it was telekinesis-type. In truth, it was one of only two attributes in the bottom row on the left of the attribute periodic table! "Let's go buy grilled fish later. The line's long now anyway, so it's actually nice to wander around the Chief Hall for a while." "No problem, meow." Demon and cat made up again and walked along the Chief Hall's cloister, chatting and laughing. Suddenly. As Toriardo rounded a corner, he braked and ducked behind the wall. "What did you find, meow?" Seeing Toriardo jump like that startled Boss Cat again. But Toriardo did not look so grave, which put it slightly at ease—it should not be a War God. Toriardo's furtive head poked out from the corner of the wall. Quickly, a black cat head poked out beside it. "Sido, why does everything you do feel like stealing, meow?" Boss Cat asked again. "Shh." Toriardo only made a gesture for silence. In the distance, at the entrance to the event hall. The temple's great doors stood open, and twelve silver candlesticks flanked the portico, their flames wavering, their light flickering, signifying the turning of the twelve months. Above the candlesticks hung blue silk draperies studded with stars. Young nobles in white robes trimmed with gold, silver-embroidered sashes at their waists, were passing through the event hall's entrance. The monastery's staff priest, draped in a sumptuous purplish-red vestment with a crescent-moon pendant of the Moon Temple at his breast, was checking the information of the students and faculty entering. The pipe organ struck up solemn, reverent sacred music, and hymns praising the Holy Domain echoed through the great hall from within. Saint Creti Monastery's Moon God Festival academic-year events opened in this devout and joyous atmosphere, and the air inside and outside the Chief Hall brimmed with holy delight. And the ones Toriardo and Boss Cat had just spotted were none other than three old acquaintances who had come here together. Hyperion, Talia, and Iphatia. The three of them seemed to have spent the morning eating, drinking, and shopping, then returned to the monastery in the afternoon, discovered they could attend the events at the Chief Hall and enjoy the buffet, and so had come. "I'm Professor Landry's fiancée." Talia presented her identification to the staff priest checking entrants. The priest inspected it with a magitek device, nodded, and then looked at Hyperion and Iphatia behind her. "So am I." Hyperion took Iphatia's hand, thought for a moment, and said the same. Ever since she had come to this household and reached an agreement with Miss Unity, Lanqi, and the others, she had become the third fiancée under the Allied Forces' prior arrangement, so she could live in Professor Landry's house and act together with them. In the Darkest Solar Eclipse Realm of the shadow world, she had already played Lanqi's betrothed once. This was simply picking up where they had left off; Hyperion was entirely used to it. The staff priest took Hyperion's papers with a hint of puzzlement, checked them, and found that she did indeed live at the monastery as well. "And her?" The staff member looked at Iphatia. This one surely was not Professor Landry's fiancée; a wedding ring was already visible on her ring finger. And this petite, rather cute silver-haired woman looked somewhat like the tall silver-haired woman with amber eyes. They were probably sisters. Professor Landry surely would not be such a beast as to marry both sisters. "She's my mother." "She's my sister." Hyperion and Talia answered on instinct. "..." The priest froze. His mind raced from the origin of the universe to the birth of the first life beneath the water, from universal gravitation to the mass-energy equation; every piece of knowledge in the world flashed through his head. He had more or less crashed.