The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 3 - Chapter 11

Chapter 11: Gloom

After returning to the castle, Ruri made her way to Jade’s office with Kotaro and the others in tow. She figured she would need to introduce Chi while she was at it, seeing as how if a mean-looking capybara were to just up and strut around the castle one day, they would probably kick it out.

Ruri knocked on the office door and waited, but there was no response. Reluctantly, she opened the door and went inside. There was no one there.

“Huh? No one’s here.” Usually if Jade was absent, then at least Claus would be present, but even he was missing. “Hmm, what now? Kotaro, do you know where Jade-sama is?”

“Right, give me a second... He isn’t around here. He’s in sector two.”

“Sector two, huh? Maybe we should just wait until he comes back, then.”

Sector two was where all of the royal guests were placed. Normally, Jade would have no reason to go down there, but she guessed it had something to do with the Beloved from Cerulanda. Remembering that she wasn’t supposed to meet that specific Beloved, she gave up on her idea to follow after him.

Deciding to leave Jade for later, Ruri set her sights on introducing Chi to the others and headed to Euclase’s room next. There, Euclase was at their desk, their head buried in work.

“I’ve come back, Euclase-san.”

“So, you’re finally back home,” Euclase greeted, looking and sounding somewhat exhausted.

“Erm, are you tired, Euclase-san?”

Seething with anger, Euclase said, “Yes, and it’s that girl’s fault.”

“That girl?” Ruri asked, cocking her head.

“That matter aside, I see you’ve got yourself yet another pet,” Euclase commented, their eyes falling upon Chi who had entered the room with her. “Don’t tell me we’re graced with yet another supreme-level spirit?”

“Ahaha, you’re right on the money,” Ruri said, lifting Chi and thrusting him out in front of Euclase. “He is the supreme-level spirit of the earth and his name is ‘Chi.’”

“Yo!” Chi greeted with a raise of his front paw.

Euclase’s eyes went wide. They had predicted it was no ordinary animal, but upon hearing it was actually a supreme-level spirit, they couldn’t contain their surprise.

“Hold on, ‘supreme-level spirit of the earth’? That’s the spirit that made a contract with the First Dragon King, then!”

“That’d be right. This time he’s made a contract with me,” said Ruri.

Euclase breathed a tiny sigh. Their utter surprise had turned into downright exasperation. “How are you able to make contracts with so many high-level spirits? No Beloved in any other nation has as many contracts with high-level spirits as you. Why, they wouldn’t be able to be on such intimate terms in the first place.”

“Isn’t it because I had a run of good first encounters, though? Rin met me through Kotaro, and Chi came to see me because I was contracted to Lydia.” Once she gave it some consideration, almost everything was partially luck. It also made Ruri a tad uneasy over the prospect of even more spirits coming to see her in the future.

Just then, Euclase lifted their head, as if they came to some sort of realization. “I beg your pardon, O Spirit of Earth. There is something I wish to confirm, if you wouldn’t mind?”

“Sure. Shoot.”

“When the First Dragon King was still among us, there was a mineral used for our currency, but it dried up ever since His Majesty shuffled off this mortal coil. The Spirit of Time informed us that it was because you left the Nation of the Dragon King, but is that true?”

“Yeah, probably.”

“If you have made a contract with Ruri here, might this become a mineable mineral once more?” Euclase asked, looking at Chi with baited breath.

“Oh, you want that old thing?”

“Yes, ever so much!” Euclase exclaimed, their eyes sparkling—no, positively beaming. Their eyes were like a hunter stalking their prey, and they were determined not to let it slip away.

“Well then, I’ll make it mineable for ya.”

“Oh, I thank you so much!” Euclase clenched their fist tightly under their desk. “A fine job, Ruri!” they said, praising Ruri for bringing the Spirit of Earth back to the kingdom.

“Euclase-san, your eyes are taking on quite the different color now,” Ruri commented. Their eyes were now the color of money.

It was an inevitable reaction considering they were told that a long-lost precious mineral would become available once again. The profits birthed from that would be immeasurable, so as the Chancellor of the Nation of the Dragon King, there was no way they wouldn’t be pleased.

Ruri thought that none of this really concerned her, but then she suddenly realized something. “If that mineral becomes readily available, then that means all the old money in my pocket space will become worthless, doesn’t it?! This isn’t good, then. I should sell it all off quick...” She had managed to sell off her old money at a high price due to the scarcity, but now that the mineral was going to be available again, it would naturally drive down the price.

“Have no fear. If this mineral ran dry once again, it would cause issues, so it will no longer be used for currency. Its value as a material will indeed drop, but the coins will still have value as cultural artifacts. Their selling price won’t undergo any drastic changes either.”

Ruri was relieved to hear the news. It may have sounded greedy of her, but it was a big deal. There was nothing she necessarily needed a large amount of money for at the moment, but there was no harm in securing her savings for a rainy day.

With one matter out of the way, Ruri moved on to the next. “Oh, right. So, Euclase-san? The Beloved from that ‘Cerulanda’ place is still here, right? Was it safe for me to come back to the castle? I remember you all telling me that I shouldn’t meet her.”

“Ah yes. That.” Euclase then filled Ruri in about the Church of God’s Light and how someone suspected of being affiliated with them attacked the Beloved of Cerulanda and the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King.

“Beloveds are being targeted? Then, I will be, too...”

“Which is exactly why we asked you to come back to the castle. With consideration for your safety since Ms. Chelsie’s house lacks the proper security, of course. Then again, with your grand lineup of supreme-level spirits, no one thought anything would happen to you, but better safe than sorry. The Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King is here as well, so we also wanted you and your present company around.”

“Oh, the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King is here?” Ruri asked, her interest piqued. Unlike the Beloved of Cerulanda, she should be safe to pay a visit.

“Indeed. With the raider assault, it was a toss up between her temporarily staying in the Nation of the Spirit King, where a supreme-level spirit resides, or the Nation of the Dragon King, for her safety. Ultimately, they chose the Nation of the Dragon King.”

“And it’s safe for me to meet with the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King, right?”

“It is. You’re allowed to meet with the Beloved of an allied nation such as hers. However, you mustn’t interact with the Beloved of Cerulanda. Well... I say that, but the Nation of the Beast King and Cerulanda’s Beloved wound up seeing each other,” Euclase admitted with a heavy sigh.

“And... that is okay?”

“It’s most certainly not okay. However, it was an accident outside of our control, so far be it from me to dwell. It’s not like there’s any punitive measures in place even if they do meet anyway.”

“Is that so?” Ruri was convinced that, since everyone so persistently dissuaded her from meeting this Beloved and insisted she keep her distance, she’d suffer some sort of punishment if she were to ever meet her. That didn’t seem to be the case, however.

“It’s simply a gentleman’s agreement between nations designed to avoid any mayhem caused by two Beloveds meeting. Even if a Beloved didn’t abide by the agreement, there’s no one who could punish them in the first place. So, while it is a rule between the nations, it’s not really a binding one. If a Beloved said they wanted to see another Beloved, no one could oppose them no matter what rule was in place.”

“I’ve been thinking this for a good while now, but Beloveds can really do whatever they please in this world, can’t they? They’re more powerful than the government.” It made Ruri feel even weirder considering that she was a Beloved herself.

“I’d say less the Beloveds and more the spirits. We flatter the Beloveds because we fear the wrath of the spirits. And since spirits can be fickle, we handle them with the utmost delicacy.”

“It might be my imagination, but I feel I get handled with a little less delicacy, all things considered...” Ruri said, thinking back on all the times she was grabbed by the scruff of her neck, scolded, and petted on the head. She personally wouldn’t want them to start standing on ceremony around her now, but it did make her think about the treatment she’s been receiving as a Beloved.

“Ruri, since you know better, you get treated more casually. It’s proof that people think fondly of you. But that Beloved of Cerulanda is a different story, the selfish little brat...” Euclase spat out with a hint of disgust.

Ruri didn’t know about Euclase’s conversation with Azelda, so their behavior only confused Ruri, but she understood that it must have stemmed from something that had happened.

“Ruri, can’t you do something?!” Euclase asked, sounding a little desperate.

“Um, well, that’s a pretty sudden request, but I can’t really say if I can or can’t considering I haven’t even met this Beloved yet...” She didn’t know what made Euclase this angry, but there wasn’t really much that could be done to help it.

Euclase clicked their tongue, pointed their face down, and clutched their head, lamenting, “Ugh, why did they have to come to our nation, of all places~!” It seemed that they had worked up a lot of stress, among other things. But then Euclase suddenly raised their head. “Oh, yes. By the way, Ruri, you need to watch out for the Beloved of the Nation of the Beast King.”

Ruri stared blankly. “And why is that?”

“The Nation of the Beast King’s Beloved has been hounding His Majesty with attempts at courtship for quite some time. But there was a slight misunderstanding and she seems to think you’re His Majesty’s mate. Not even I know how she would handle you if she suddenly snatched you from the sidelines, so be on your toes.”

“What kind of unsettling info is this? Do you mean she’s painting me as a man-stealer and trying to pick a fight with me?! I’m not even Jade-sama’s mate, though.”

“But it is true that His Majesty dotes on you, isn’t it? It’s practically common knowledge to the other dragonkin as well. That’s why she’s so hostile toward even the idea of you.”

“To clarify, he dotes on me as a pet,” Ruri asserted.

Ruri wasn’t ignorant enough to think that no one would fall for Jade given his attributes, but it was surprising that it was a Beloved, of all people. Even though he only viewed her as a pet, this person likely didn’t know that. Petting her on the head, cradling her in his arms, sleeping in the same room at night—all these regular instances of cuddling happened regardless of whether she was in cat or human form. From the outside looking in, though, that was more than enough ammunition to fuel someone’s jealousy. Ruri wondered if she would even listen if she explained that those were all just signs of affection toward her as a pet.

While Ruri wanted to clear up the misunderstanding, the idea of being involved in an unjust fight left her frightened. A fight between Beloveds probably sent shivers up everyone else’s spines, as well.

“So long as you don’t go busting up the castle, then do whatever. Try to hang in there, will you? She’s quite intense when it comes to His Majesty, after all.”

“‘Hang in there’? That’s not reassuring...” Ruri uttered, slightly disheartened by Euclase’s flippant phrasing. She left Euclase’s room, doom and gloom taking root in her mind.