Chapter 30: The Black Cat

Chapter 30: The Black Cat

Incense smoke curled through the air, candlelight glowing bright and steady. Inside the room—mysteriously and intricately decorated—the black cat perched on a tall stool stared intently at the girl who was slowly awakening in the armchair, and continued speaking in a serious tone.

“Saria, tell me honestly—did you encounter some kind of danger in the Dreamscape?”

Hearing the black cat’s words, Saria steadied herself. Shaking off the haze of just having awakened, she spoke.

“Y-yes, Grandpa. I did. I ran into people from the Black Dream Hunter group. They chased me… I almost didn’t make it out.”

“The Black Dream Hunters?” The black cat snorted coldly. “Those lowly pieces of trash again—shameless traitors. They don’t have much skill, yet they swarm everywhere like flies…”

After speaking with disdain, he turned his gaze back to Saria and continued sternly.

“You ran into those traitors, yet your reaction doesn’t look like your mimicry was destroyed. How did you escape? By all logic, your current mimicry shouldn’t have been able to get away from them.”

“Uh… well…” Saria hesitated, then grew a little excited. “Grandpa, listen to this—everything I’m about to say is absolutely true! You have to believe me, okay?”

Seeing her like this, the black cat showed a hint of confusion. Then Saria recounted everything she had experienced in the Dreamscape. As he listened, the black cat’s eyes gradually widened.

“What? A dragon? You’re saying you saw a dragon-shaped mimicry in the Dreamscape!? You didn’t run into an image construct, did you?”

The black cat exclaimed in disbelief. Saria nodded firmly, clenching her fists as she continued.

“I’m sure of it, Grandpa! That was absolutely not an image construct! That dragon wiped out the hunters in just two or three moves—it couldn’t possibly have been an illusion! And he even admitted himself that he was a mimicry!”

After hearing this, the black cat fell silent. His expression grew grave as he sat motionless on the tall stool, saying nothing, as if lost in thought.

“A dragon… a dragon-type mimicry… That shouldn’t be possible… How could a dragon mimicry appear in the woodland… It doesn’t make sense…”

He muttered to himself quietly. Saria, curious, spoke up.

“Grandpa, isn’t mimicking lions or tigers already considered incredibly powerful? Now that a dragon has appeared… could this be one of the higher-ups of those great secret societies?”

“Those so-called higher-ups?” The black cat snorted with a cold laugh. “Though many of them have already become twisted beyond recognition in essence, they are still, fundamentally, mortals.”

He continued slowly.

“And among mortals today, there are almost none who can mimic ancient mythological beings—those ‘higher-ups’ included. To wield a mimicry spell of a mythological creature means inevitably bearing myth-level toxic corruption. Any being capable of that can no longer be called mortal. Do you understand, Saria?”

The black cat spoke sharply. Saria was left completely stunned. Her mouth hung open for a moment before she murmured to herself,

“No longer mortal… Th-that scary? Th-thank goodness I didn’t provoke him… I might have even pleased him! I—I gave him a tiny secret manuscript I’d worked so hard to find tonight. Grandpa, do you think He’ll be happy because of that?”

Saria grew more and more excited as she spoke, but upon hearing her words, the black cat froze for a moment—then his fur exploded on end.

“What!? You’re saying you voluntarily gave him the mystic knowledge you had collected? Are you insane, meow?!”

The black cat stood up on the stool, his entire body bristling, fury written all over his face.

“I haven’t even taught you the proper way to transfer mystic knowledge in the Dreamscape yet! Giving them to others so casually—do you have any idea that leaves mental traces?! For an existence like that, even the tiniest trace can be used directly as a medium! You might already be completely under his control now! He could kill you just by twitching a finger, do you understand?!”

The black cat berated Saria mercilessly. Being scolded so suddenly and harshly, Saria’s heart jolted with shock and hurt. Her lips puckered as tears welled up in her eyes.

“B-but… I thought that dragon didn’t seem like a bad person? He looked very friendly. He probably wouldn’t hurt me, right? And I was just following your teachings, Grandpa—about knowing how to repay kindness…”

“Friendly? Friendly my ass! The moral values I taught you apply to mundane life. Who told you to carry them over into the hidden world?! Don’t bring any concepts of good and evil into the occult world! Always stay cautious! Never trust anyone! Did you not remember that?!”

The black cat continued scolding her harshly. As she listened, Saria’s voice began to tremble with sobs, tears spinning in her eyes.

“I… I remember now… Grandpa… It’s my fault… Am I going to be killed right away…?”

Seeing Saria like this, the black cat couldn’t help but soften. He paused, then spoke in a calmer tone.

“Forget it. I exaggerated the danger a bit. If that being has truly reached such a level, how could he possibly care about a small fry like you? Since you’re still perfectly fine right now, he probably didn’t take that tiny trace of yours seriously. I was just taking the opportunity to scare some sense into you. Just be more careful in the future…”

“Really? That’s great, Grandpa!”

Hearing this, Saria immediately beamed with joy. She happily scooped up the black cat from the stool and lifted him high, spinning around.

“P-put me down, you little brat! Don’t lift me like that! Stop spinning, meow~!”

Hearing the black cat’s slightly panicked cries, Saria quickly set him down. The black cat then immediately issued a stern order.

“Go to sleep, now! Tomorrow, keep studying diligently. You need to quickly accumulate spirituality and advance again—only then will you have the capital to resist stronger cognitive toxicity. Only then can I teach you more powerful mimicry spells. If you don’t want to be chased by those traitors again next time, take this seriously!”

“Y-yes, Grandpa!”

……

Daytime in Igwynt. The sun was already high in the sky.

Around noon, Dorothy—having slept in terribly late—slowly woke up in bed. Squinting her eyes, still half-asleep, she groggily climbed out of bed.

Because of the mental energy she had expended the night before, she had gone to sleep very late. Even now, she still hasn't fully recovered. The only reason she woke up at all was because she was hungry.

‘I’ll just grab something to eat and then go back to sleep… Mimicry-diving into the Dreamscape really takes a ridiculous amount of energy. I’ll rest for a few days before going back in…’

Thinking this, Dorothy—wearing a white nightgown—slipped on her slippers, unlocked the door, and opened it. Then she froze in surprise when she saw Gregor sitting on the living room sofa, holding several documents in his hands.

“Good afternoon, Dorothy. Sleeping in isn’t a very good habit—you’ll need to fix that in the future.”

Looking at Dorothy with her messy hair and dazed expression, Gregor said with a smile. Dorothy, staring at the scene before her, asked in confusion,

“Gregor? Aren’t you going to work today?”

“No. I took a short leave—today and tomorrow morning. Today I’m preparing some materials and supplies for you, and tomorrow I’ll take you to register at school. I told you about this before—did you forget?”

“Huh? School?”

Having spent the entire night researching forbidden knowledge, Dorothy felt a strange sense of temporal dislocation when she heard this familiar yet distant word come from her brother’s mouth.

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