Chapter 50………………………………
“You’re an idiot, you know.”
Just as Kaidan was about to step in, Rin shook her head gently to stop him.
“Just like me. You’re smiling, thinking you’ll see them again… without even realizing it might all be a lie…”
Drip, drip.
Rin wiped away the tears rolling down the boy’s pale cheeks with her small hands.
“Were you worried I’d end up even sadder, like you did?”
“…Sniff.”
Nod.
The cat boy, who had cried his heart out, answered not with his trembling voice but with a nod.
She had been the one girl who looked even remotely interesting, the one he’d found up on the shelf he’d climbed to escape the annoying kids at that boring banquet.
Seeing a girl he’d felt a faint fondness for smiling while talking about such foolish beliefs—he couldn’t just let that pass.
That she’d meet her family again.
That bright, beaming smile.
He hated it.
It felt too much like himself.
Like the idiot he’d been, fooled by adults’ lies.
That was why he’d snapped at her.
“Thank you. You must’ve been really sad because of Tutu.”
“…No. Tutu was a good cat.”
“Yeah. Since he was a cat you loved so much, I’m sure he was.”
When his most beloved little brother, Tutu, died, he’d truly hated the adults who tried to comfort him with words that didn’t even make sense.
Still, being able to talk about Tutu like this was sad—but also nice, and it made him cry all over again.
As Tutu’s face surfaced in his mind and tears poured down again, the boy followed the girl tugging at his hand and sat on the bench by the tree.
Sitting beside the crying boy, Rin spoke in a soft, calm voice.
“Listening to the story about Tutu chasing a rainbow reminded me of something.”
“What? Are you going to lie too?”
At the boy’s sharp response, Rin shook her head. Still patting the crying boy’s hand, she continued.
“No. It’s a different story. I once heard people from a faraway land talk about cats and rainbows.”
“…What kind of story?”
“It’s the story of the Rainbow Bridge.”
The cat boy tilted his head, clearly unfamiliar with it, and Rin told him the story of the Rainbow Bridge she’d heard in her dreams of Earth.
“When animals like cats and dogs die, they cross the Rainbow Bridge and go to heaven.”
“Animals go to heaven too?”
“Yeah. I guess they do. They say that animals who were sick become completely healthy in heaven. Their weak bodies grow strong again, and they’re full of energy, able to run as much as they want.”
“…That doesn’t sound so bad.”
Thinking of Tutu, who loved to dash around, running again as fast as he had when he was young, the boy’s tears eased a little.
One of his cat ears, which had been drooping, perked up as his interest grew.
“They also say there’s tons of their favorite treats there, and that they eat delicious food while watching over us.”
“Tutu…”
Murmuring his cat’s name, wrinkles like walnut shells formed on the boy’s brow.
“And later, when we die, they cross the Rainbow Bridge again to come greet us.”
“……”
“It’ll be really, really far in the future. But you’ll see him again.”
“…I want to see him now.”
Once again, tears fell from his jewel-like eyes, but the tightly furrowed crease between his brows had finally relaxed.
“It’s okay. It’s okay.”
As the boy trembled, his white cat ears quivering while tears streamed down, Rin wrapped him tightly in her arms.
Just like Uncle Theo had done on nights when Rin herself was sad and whining that she missed her mom.
Holding him close so his sorrow wouldn’t pool and fester, Rin shared her small warmth with him.
Some time later.
The boy, having finally stopped crying, rubbed at his reddened eyes like a cat washing its face, then glanced sideways with a shy expression.
“Don’t your eyes hurt? Want me to bring you some ice?”
“I’m fine.”
Thump, thump.
Flicking his cat tail for no reason, the boy turned toward Rin.
“Turris Catta. That’s my name.”
“Oh. I’m Rin Pegasus.”
“I know. Yesterday was your banquet.”
“Ah, right.”
“…I also saw you use your power yesterday. It was all sparkly and pretty.”
“Heh. Really? Thanks.”
She’d been showered with praise by Uncle Theo and the people at the lord’s castle, but hearing it from someone outside her family felt different.
Feeling pleased, Rin beamed.
“Rin Pegasus.”
“Yeah?”
“Do you want to be friends with me?”
As he asked, blinking his long eyelashes, the boy’s tail swayed and wrapped lightly around Rin’s arm.
After that, Turris kept trailing after Rin, pretending not to.
Kaidan, who watched with displeasure as they even held hands, finally spoke up.
“Can you let go of her hand?”
“What business is it of yours if I hold my friend’s hand?”
“Friend? You’re pretty shameless for someone who picked a fight with a random kid.”
When Kaidan pointed that out, Turris—who had a guilty conscience about that—had his pupils narrow like a cat’s.
Stiffening like a startled cat, Turris glanced at Rin and then spoke in a small voice.
“I’m sorry for calling you an idiot back then.”
He apologized for speaking harshly and scaring her, then asked cautiously, head bowed, eyes peeking up.
“…Were you really mad?”
Seeing those beautiful cat eyes looking so pitiful, Rin shook her head vigorously.
“No, no. It’s okay!”
“You’re accepting my apology?”
“Yeah! Don’t cry, Turris.”
“…I’m not usually this teary.”
Muttering softly as if trying to fix his bad first impression, Turris smiled back as Rin grinned at him, eyes crinkling.
‘That little act…’
Putting on a pitiful face in front of such an innocent kid—wasn’t that how he forced Rin Pegasus to accept him as a friend?
Sensing the sharp stare, Turris turned his head, and Rin, wondering what was going on, turned as well.
Bleh.
The moment Rin turned away, Kaidan saw the cat brat drop the pitiful act and stick his tongue out at him.
One of Kaidan’s eyebrows shot up.
After that, the annoying brat’s antics continued.
“Turris, your hair is super soft.”
“Is it?”
“Yeah! It’s perfect for braiding.”
“Hm… Well, if you like it that much. Should I grow it out?”
Was he really so shameless, a male beastman volunteering to be a doll in childish games just to hog all of Rin’s attention?
“You said you were going to look at the herb garden—”
“It’s snack time. I’ve got really good chocolate in my room. Want to try some?”
Interrupting what a kid should be doing with sweets that weren’t even good for her—
“We get along really well, don’t you think?”
“Mm? This is tasty.”
“Here, there’s more.”
Watching that thieving cat stick to Rin’s side all afternoon made Kaidan’s insides boil.
But fortunately—or unfortunately for someone—the time with her new friend didn’t last long.
“Young master, it’s time to leave.”
“….”
“The main house already sent attendants asking when you’d return.”
From the start, Turris had only been delayed because of a temporary issue with his carriage. As a banquet guest, he was scheduled to leave today.
Ignoring the attendants’ repeated urging, Turris finally relented only when the household servant mentioned the head of the family.
Because he kept holding onto Rin’s hand as if glued to it, she ended up walking him all the way to the carriage.
Even at the carriage, instead of climbing in, Turris drooped his pretty eyebrows and asked Rin,
“If I leave now, when will we see each other again?”
“Uh… I don’t know?”
“You won’t miss me?”
The way he asked, feigning indifference, didn’t come off as bragging to Rin thanks to his sparkling expression.
When no immediate answer came, Turris clicked his tongue and put on a disappointed look before asking again.
“Are you going to the Elepha family tea party?”
“Elepha? The elephant family?”
“Yeah. They hold tea parties for people our age, kind of like the adults’ gatherings.”
“I’ve never been before.”
“That’s because you were too young. But now that you’ve had your power ceremony, you’ll get an invitation too.”
