Chapter 18: Future Goals
Ewan had exited the royal office. Ruri was concerned for him because of the expression he wore before he left, but she was more concerned about Finn at the moment. She jumped off of Jade’s desk and stood in front of Finn as he was about to stand up from kneeling.
“Finn-san, I am so sorry. You didn’t even do anything wrong.” Ruri actually wanted to ask Jade not to punish Finn, but since she wasn’t from this land nor did she know much of how it functioned, she couldn’t find it in her to meddle in affairs.
“His Majesty just explained it a second ago, did he not? It is my fault for not being able to completely stop Ewan,” said Finn.
Although Ruri understood his reasoning, to her it seemed as though he was simply caught in the crossfire.
Perhaps unable to overlook how down Ruri seemed, Joshua spoke up, devoid of his previous rage and back to his regular self. “Hey, no need to be so torn up over this, Ruri. This ‘punishment’ is practically no punishment at all.”
“What do you mean?”
“We’re about to go to war with Nadasha real soon, right?”
“As far as I know, yes.”
“Well, as far as I know, His Majesty is going to entrust commanding the front line to his most dependable soldier, which is Finn. But in order to do so, he needs to step away from guarding His Majesty. Since he is being sent from the royal guard to the front line, the most dangerous and critical place on the battlefield, it’s technically a demotion of sorts, but it’s not like it counts as ‘dangerous’ considering we’re up against regular humans,” he said with a smile, his tone conveying no real sense of danger.
That alone helped Ruri relax, considering the word “war” by itself made her tense.
“But he was banned from entry to sector one.”
“Once war preparations start, he won’t have time to come to sector one anyway. So, His Majesty is doing this because once the war ends, his achievements will bump him back up to his old rank. I’m betting that everyone else knows that Finn dropping in rank is just a measure for him to participate, too. The only one who thinks otherwise is Ewan, who thinks Finn is being punished because of him. It’s just the right punishment for Ewan and his huge brother complex. Probably hurts way more than if he got punished himself.”
“Oooh, I see.”
Ruri looked at Jade, who had planned that far ahead, and Joshua, who had immediately understood his plan, with reverence. However, she felt a little dejected for apparently being the only one there who didn’t realize that.
“So, yeah, don’t beat yourself up over it.”
“Okay, I won’t,” Ruri replied.
Joshua rustled the top of Ruri’s head before saying, “Plus, under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Ewan received an even stricter punishment. He’s only been getting away with slaps on the wrist so far because you’ve stopped it from escalating. Despite that, he goes ahead and...”
“But...”
It wasn’t Ruri herself that got angry at what Ewan said; it was her spirit entourage. In fact, she didn’t feel an iota of anger toward Ewan. After all, she had been on the receiving end of hate and verbal abuse because of Asahi for so long that a matter as minor as this didn’t affect her. She had confidence in her ability to tune things out. To her, it was no more than background noises in a crowded city. As a matter of fact, she couldn’t help but admire how well Ewan and Finn got along as brothers.
Punishing someone despite the victim being unconcerned was doing a number on her conscience. It wasn’t as if Ewan really did anything to her either. But when she explained that, Euclase quipped in a combination of exasperation and pity, “My word, just what kind of life did you lead in your world?”
From there, the topic shifted to Ruri. Joshua handled explaining her situation thus far, giving a detailed account of the events from when Ruri was summoned to their world to when she was exiled to the forest and first met Chelsie. Aside from occasionally filling in the blanks where necessary, Ruri listened as she heard what happened behind the scenes—things she herself didn’t even know. She grimaced in similar fashion to Jade and the others, remembering her rage back then. It was an emotional cacophony of depression, shock, and other bewildering feelings.
Joshua then added that Euclase so happened to hear his conversation with Ruri and knew her situation too. Although, neither ever thought their conversation would be overheard by not only Euclase but Ewan as well.
“...I see. I more or less understand now. So Ruri was never from this world to begin with, then?” Jade summarized.
“Meaning she wasn’t ignorant in the ways of the world because she was a cat,” Agate commented, nodding his head in affirmation.
“You have gone through quite the tumultuous ordeal. If you hadn’t been a Beloved, then you would have been killed by a forest-dwelling beast by now,” Claus said with a furrowed brow, apparently enraged at this news.
Jade seemed to share a similar sentiment as he said, “Seems the King and High Priest of Nadasha will need to be punished.” He then looked over to Finn, who nodded firmly as a sign of confirmation.
Ruri could feel something dark coming from Jade, but she pretended she didn’t see it.
“Tell me, that Priestess Princess girl who caused all that ruckus? Was she close with you?”
“I’ve known her since childhood. Though, if you ask if we’re ‘close,’ I could only answer that if we are, she is the only one to think so,” Ruri said, as she went on to explain all the damage Asahi had caused her back in her world. Everyone gradually started to look at Ruri with pity, but she continued to speak. “...And there you have it. As much as I’m upset that I was framed for a crime I didn’t commit, it was thanks to that happening that I could leave Asahi’s side—a fact I have mixed feelings on, in retrospect.”
“Nevertheless, that doesn’t change the fact that she is someone you know quite well,” Jade said, pausing to think for a bit. “So did you want to go to Idocrase like her and the others? I can’t bring them back to the capital, but if you were to say you felt more at ease with your fellow other-worlders, I could arrange...”
“W-Wait just a second. I know them, but I don’t have any desire to live with them, so I am fine as is.” Ruri definitely didn’t want to be sent back to Asahi after she finally managed to get away from her.
For a moment, relief flashed across Jade’s face, but then it went right back to being serious. “Ruri,” he started, “change of subject, but I’d like you to assist us in the war with Nadasha.”
“Uh, but I can’t fight...?”
“I wouldn’t let you go out into battle. I want you to assist Joshua in some background work.”
“Oh. Well, in that case...” Ruri consented, thinking that even she could handle it as long as it was in the background—though she was still slightly concerned.
“Do you have any requests in regard to Nadasha? You’re a victim here as well. I’ll do anything within my power for you,” Jade invited.
Ruri pondered for a moment and replied, “If my belongings are still in the castle, I’d like them returned to me. Also, I recall the King and his people mentioning summoning the next batch of other-worlders if need be. I don’t want any more people victimized like we were. So I’d like to wipe their summoning method clean off the face of this world.”
Stuff like her smartphone was most likely out of power and useless by now. She didn’t have much of importance on her at the time since she was on her way to campus, but they were the few memories she had of her world, so she wanted to reclaim them, if at all possible.
The spirits had told her that the path to her world would open at fixed intervals, but they also said that a hole big enough for a human to fall through rarely opened—most likely very rarely considering spirits had a very loose perception of time to begin with.
Even so, while she wasn’t able to do anything about people accidentally falling into this world, she could eliminate the methods used to intentionally bring them over so that they could never be used ever again.
“Also, please allow me to punch both the King and Head Priest,” Ruri requested with a stern look in her eyes, paw clenched.
Jade’s lips curled into a smile. “Why stop at one punch? I’ll let you hit them until you’re satisfied. You can even claw at their bare skin, if you feel so inclined.”
(Oh, wow, that’s a great idea!) Ruri thought as she decided to sharpen her claws as much as she physically could before the battle commenced.
“...By the way, how does a person go about turning into a cat anyway?” asked Jade, abruptly changing the topic again.
The explanations he’d heard from Joshua were broad, general details centered around Nadasha, so they had skipped over the various odds and ends of Ruri being a cat. However, that was probably the detail Jade cared about the most. He wondered about it as he scanned Ruri’s body, finding her to be no different from a regular cat.
Ruri held up her arm adorned with the bracelet for him to see. “Anyone who puts on this slightly shady bracelet ends up transforming into a cat.”
“Even a dragonkin?”
“Yes, anyone,” Ruri affirmed, remembering the time Chelsie put on the bracelet as a test and turned into a cat with grumpy-looking eyes. That mental image almost made Ruri burst into laughter, but she pounded her tail against the desk to stifle it and regain her composure.
“I’m in awe that something like that exists,” Jade murmured in adoration. “Ruri, let me see your human form.”
That was the moment all eyes in the room fell squarely on Ruri. Neither Joshua nor Euclase had any objections since they knew what Ruri really looked like, but the other four present were brimming with curiosity...
“...I’ll be remaining in cat form for a while longer.”
“Why?” Jade asked.
“It’s hard to turn back to normal with so many people staring at me.”
“I see. Then I’ll make them not look.”
“Still no.” Ruri proceeded to decline Jade’s insistent demands, ultimately bolting out of the royal office.
Ruri had managed to run away... or so she thought. When night fell, she somehow ended up in Jade’s room.
Now that it was known she was a human, she tried to go to her own room without any intention of sleeping in the same room as Jade like she had done in the past. But Jade seized her and brought her to his room like it was second nature.
“Um, so, Jade-sama? Why, pray tell, am I in your room...?”
“Why? You’re sleeping in here like usual,” replied Jade with a confused tone. He said it as if he still didn’t know that Ruri was a human.
But now that he did know, things were different.
“That was because it was assumed I was a cat, but now that you know I’m a human, I’m not too sure about a man and a woman sharing the same bed.”
“Cat or not, we’ve already slept together plenty of times, so I’d say it’s too late to care about that. Besides, you’re in feline form right now, not human.”
“I mean, but that’s not really...”
“Ruri, do you dislike being with me that much?”
“Urk...”
(Don’t be deceived. Don’t be deceived), Ruri thought to herself, but she faltered. Sometimes when she was being blunt or when she tried to leave Jade’s side, he would look at her with sad eyes and slightly slanted brows—a look Ruri found hard to fend off. Jade had recently become aware of that and couldn’t help but break it out when the chips were down.
Despite knowing he was using it to his advantage, seeing Jade, who was normally filled with confidence and an unwavering personality, showing his vulnerable side, Ruri could only say, “...I don’t dislike it.”
His lips curled into a smile; he had effectively hoodwinked Ruri.
Ruri sighed, her suspicions of him putting on an act confirmed. “I’ll go to my own room once you get married, Jade-sama.”
“That won’t be for quite some time,” said Jade with a satisfied smile, reaching out for Ruri’s small head.
She thought he was going to pet her head, but he naturally slipped his hand over to her arm that wore the bracelet...
Instinctively reacting to danger, Ruri quickly jerked her paw back. Jade clicked his tongue in disappointment.
“I see I can’t let my guard down for a second.”
“Since I’m going to see you in human form eventually, don’t you think you should just get it over with already?”
“Yes, and if you keep being so pushy, it’s going to make it even harder for me to show you!”
Although disappointed, Jade seemed to concede, deciding not to touch on the subject any longer as he retired for the night.
◆ ◆ ◆ ◆
It was the dead of night. As Ruri lay asleep, comfortably and silently snoring by Jade’s side, he slowly started to get up. Since the spirits, out of consideration for Ruri, would go away when she slept, the only two beings occupying this room at the moment were Ruri and Jade. In other words, there was no one to interrupt him.
Silencing his breathing, Jade approached Ruri as she slept on the opposite side of him and poked on her cheek to confirm that she was actually asleep. She flinched slightly, but she was indeed sound asleep.
Once he confirmed that she wouldn’t wake easily, Jade softly reached over to Ruri’s side. Then he slowly and carefully plucked the bracelet from her slender cat arm. No longer wearing the piece of jewelry, Ruri reverted back to her human form. She slept curled in a ball, a holdover from being in cat form just a moment ago. The sight naturally brought a smile to Jade’s face.
The room was pitch-black, but dragonkin had great nocturnal vision, so Jade could make out Ruri’s form easily. She seemed much younger than he expected. He breathed a sigh of relief, grateful that she didn’t resemble someone like Chelsie.
Next, he brushed aside the long hair concealing her face to better inspect her features. However, when he saw her exposed features, he gasped in surprise. Though he couldn’t see the color of her smooth, silky hair or the color of her closed eyes, Jade already knew what they were. Her hair was a shiny platinum blonde and her eyes were a purplish-blue. The same as the girl he met only once. He had lost all interest in that girl once Ruri showed up, but he could never forget her face and her uncommon features.
But to think that Ruri and she were one and the same was inconceivable...
He was utterly stunned, but it all made sense now. Ruri visited Claus’s house on the day following his run-in with the mystery girl. It was no wonder no one could find her. She had been a cat this entire time.
Jade suddenly remembered what Agate had said. He said the fact that he was so attracted despite exchanging only a few words was because he felt something in her. He said that was how dragonkin operated.
Jade now knew he was exactly right. He could clearly feel his emotions toward Ruri change once he found out she was a human. No, maybe he was only controlling his emotions because she was a cat. The feeling of loss that came from Ruri being away from his side and the uncharacteristic sense of unrest he felt when she ran away from the castle made it all clear.
“Agate is bound to be pleased,” remarked Jade, confident that this would stop his incessant bride talk once and for all.
Jade took a tuft of her hair and placed his lips upon it. Then he returned the bracelet and took his place back in bed next to Ruri as if nothing had happened.
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