282 Dekan’s Longest Day
All of it was already too late.
For everyone present, it was the same.
“Meow… Meow…”
Dekan emitted a pleading meow.
In this situation,
he had already given up his dignity.
He had actually pretended to be a truly pitiful kitten.
He didn’t know if Cornelia could understand him.
But he could only try.
He was now gambling.
Doubling down on the road to complete embarrassment.
The weak, kitten-like sounds he emitted in Cornelia’s arms had already caught the attention of the nearby group of younger sisters.
If someone were to discover that this Little Gray cat was actually Dekan, the gray demon who struck fear into others, it might turn into a joke.
Bishop of Pain?
Cat Bishop!
“Little Gray…”
However,
Cornelia didn’t understand.
Or maybe she understood but chose to pretend not to.
She picked up Little Gray, unable to control her inner craving anymore, and gently rubbed its face against hers.
“Little Gray, my Little Gray…”
Dekan: “(Ｔ▽Ｔ)”
At this point,
The Ice Snow Princess’s singing abruptly stopped.
Immediately after, her helpless sobs began.
The emotions she had built up for so long in her heart seemed to finally be released.
And she still didn’t know that the soundproofing barrier had been shut off by Flora.
Now, everyone could hear her heartbroken sobs.
All eyes were drawn to the second floor.
Hearing the Ice Snow Princess’s cries from upstairs, Claire’s crying stopped.
She stared blankly toward the second floor.
She immediately understood that there was another person, just like her, whose heart was broken.
The sound made her even more heartbroken; she couldn’t help but cry even harder.
Judith, although she didn’t quite grasp what was happening in front of her,
had felt that her close friend, the Ice Snow Princess, had been acting strange for some time.
She had wanted to go check on her.
Now that the Ice Snow Princess had started crying, Judith could no longer just sit there; she ran toward the second floor without hesitation.
However,
the moment she reached the second floor, she abruptly stopped her hurried steps.
She froze in place.
Just from one glance,
She saw the hellish scene on the second floor.
There was Cornelia, cradling a gray cat to her cheek,
and behind them, in the room, the Ice Snow Princess was sobbing with her hands covering her face.
Even though Judith was relatively slow in matters of the heart,
she roughly understood why the Ice Snow Princess was crying.
Judith had probably realized, from her daily interactions with the Ice Snow Princess,
that the Ice Snow Princess had some feelings for Dekan.
Judith’s gaze swept around the room and finally rested on the gray little cat in Cornelia’s hands.
“You… you…”
She pointed at the gray cat, shocked, with her mouth wide open but unable to speak.
A terrifying realization dawned on her.
Dekan trembled nervously.
Although he was very tempted to use a gag spell on Judith,
the Spirit Cat’s use of these distinct Dekan signature magic cards would be akin to complete self-destruction.
All would be lost; he would feel as if sitting on needles.
Thus, he could only painfully close his eyes and pray.
Oh Goddess, if you still deem me worthy of salvation, please save me…
I’ll surely do good deeds and accumulate virtue…
This was the first time Dekan had prayed to the Goddess revered by the Church of Light.
Even though he himself wasn’t certain whether there truly were any deities in this world, or whether anyone had ever truly seen a deity,
he felt that only the legendary Goddess could save him now.
Wait a moment.
If the Goddess could really see this,
didn’t he trick her Holy Knight Commander into being an idol?
Hey!! Can I take back my prayer?!
Just as Dekan felt like every second was a torment,
he realized something odd.
Judith hadn’t spoken for a long time.
Except for the crying of the Ice Snow Princess,
it was unusually quiet.
It seemed, had he been saved?
Wait, why had Claire stopped crying?!
Dekan noticed something was off and cautiously opened one eye to sneak a peek downstairs.
At that moment, due to Judith heading upstairs,
Claire had rushed forward and clung tightly to Chloix!
Chloix was confused and wanted to push Claire away,
but an inexplicable sense of guilt swallowed his strength, leaving him momentarily unable to push the girl away roughly.
Sensing the gaze from above,
Chloix looked up and met Judith’s gaze which was fixed on him.
The once radiant Judith instantly lost color in her eyes.
Although she didn’t know what happened, seeing the scene downstairs made her heart ache.
Then, without them knowing whether she had cried or not, she lowered her head and ran upstairs,
heading toward her room.
Dekan: “…?”
Was I saved?
Dekan opened his eyes nervously.
“Everyone, what’s going on…” Tarta asked, lost in thought.
She didn’t understand but was deeply shocked.
Flora shook her head and remarked with a sigh,
“This is what love is all about~”
Despite the scene still being chaotic,
Dekan’s expression had already relaxed.
Only now did he truly understand the happiness of surviving a crisis.
Although his comrade had fallen,
he vowed he would no longer mock Chloix’s misfortunes but would earnestly help him achieve his romance.
As he thought about it, the gray cat in Cornelia’s hands gradually showed a contented expression, mimicking a truly relaxed house cat.
It even purred comfortably toward Cornelia.
However,
the next moment,
“Isn’t that right, Dekan?”
Flora cunningly smiled and directed her attention toward the gray cat.
Dekan: “???”
The gray cat, upon hearing Flora’s words, reacted like a frightened bird and almost jumped out of Cornelia’s hands.
Fortunately, Cornelia held it firmly.
“Meow! Meow! Meow!”
Despite the profuse cold sweat, with his rapidly deteriorating mindset, the gray cat found itself with no choice but to feign ignorance.
“Could it… be my brother?”
Tarta looked at the gray cat in disbelief.
However, observing its color and remembering its eyes, she quickly connected the dots!
The intelligent Tarta quickly came to believe!
“Save me, meow…”
The gray cat covered its face with both paws.
It seemed to be trying hard to calm down.
After tens of seconds, it seemed to have accepted its fate.
It felt numb, surrendering to be held by Cornelia.
It didn’t matter anymore…
There was no longer a need to hide; it was a sort of relief to finally come clean…
But Dekan still wanted to be an enlightened spirit.
He asked Flora with a listless gaze,
“When did you figure it out, meow?”
“I figured it out right from the start. You’re definitely Dekan, but I saw you having so much fun with Cornelia that I didn’t have the heart to expose you!”
Flora pressed a finger against her cheek, smiling innocently as she explained.
Dekan widened his cat eyes, stunned for a moment, then chuckled bitterly.
“I’m truly defeated by the two of you, meow, I must have owed you something from my last life…”
He could already foresee.
From now on, he might lose all the dignity of a big brother in front of Tarta.
And it seemed that their upcoming Hero Sacrifice Festival excursion
would have a very bizarre atmosphere…
