The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 5 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Return to the Nation of the Dragon King

He loved her more than anyone else.

He was always by her side. She was in a position of immense responsibility, but he would always support her and keep by her side even when she could feel the weight almost crush her. She thought he would remain by her side forever, acting as her support in both public and private. However, after being stricken with illness, he was taken before her very eyes all too easily.

She couldn’t bear it. She couldn’t possibly accept the fact that he was dead—that he was gone—even if she had no other choice but to accept it.

However, she had the power; she had the knowledge. She could make things work out if she used it. She could get back her time with him. Those thoughts stirred in her mind. They stirred and continued to stir.

Regardless if it meant harming others, if it allowed her to get him back, then so be it...

◆ ◆ ◆ ◆

“It’s the Nation of the Dragon King. We’re back!” Ruri declared. The vast ocean lay before their eyes, the water glittering from the sun shining above. The sea breeze trailed over Ruri’s skin, carrying the smell of salty water with it. The weather was excellent, and many boats were entering the harbor. It was certainly a sight for sore eyes. Ruri’s excitement started to rise just seeing it.

“Ruri, don’t lean over. It’s dangerous.”

“Yes, sir.” Even though Ruri could fly with magic in the event she fell, she listened to Jade’s instructions and re-seated herself on his back.

Ruri and her party had flown back from the Nation of the Beast King. They were heading straight for the castle without taking any detours outside of their lake stop. Once they arrived, they descended toward the terrace on the castle’s highest point, Sector One. The terrace was so wide that Jade and the others could easily line up in a row while still in their dragon forms.

“Whew, we’re finally here,” Ruri said as she hopped off of Jade. Even though she hadn’t been flying herself, she sighed and stretched in exhaustion. Jade and the other dragonkin reverted back to their human forms one by one, signaling that their long journey was over. It brought a smile to Ruri’s face.

“Ruri, I need to get to the office, but what about you?” Jade asked.

“I’m going to go tell Euclase that I’m back. I want to introduce Heat-sama as well.”

“I see. You should take a look around the castle while you’re at it. It’s been fixed up quite nicely.”

“I will.”

Jade took Finn and walked toward the royal office.

“Come on, Heat-sama, let’s go see Euclase.”

“And who is that, pray tell?” Heat asked.

“They’re the chancellor of this nation. We need to get you introduced if you’re going to be living in this castle. After all, we don’t know what you’re liable to do moving forward.”

Heat being who he was, it was inevitable that he would raise some sort of stink sooner or later. The hassle and cleanup of it all would inevitably fall on Euclase’s shoulders. Introducing him was probably the best option. He would need Euclase to remember his face if he was going to be walking around the castle, and he would need to have Euclase prepare a room for him in the castle if he intended on living here.

Heat grumbled with a sulky look on his face, possibly finding the whole thing annoying, but he obediently followed. With Kotaro and the other spirits in tow, they all headed to Euclase’s office.

“Oh, wow, it really is all fixed up!”

True to Jade’s words, the once half-destroyed castle interior was repaired. It was even more beautiful than before. Ruri was very impressed they managed to do this given the dreadful state it was in when she left.

As Ruri admired the renovated surroundings, they reached Euclase’s office. She raised her hand to knock on the door, but as soon as she did, she heard a furious yell from inside.

“What in blazes are you doing?! How did every single one of you let it slip past you?!”

“A thousand apologies!”

The one screaming their head off was Euclase; they seemed to be in the middle of reprimanding someone. Euclase’s irritation was palpable from the other side of the door. With the unwelcoming aura permeating her skin, Ruri timidly knocked on the door.

“What?!” answered Euclase, sounding irritated.

Ruri softly opened the door and poked her head in.

“Oh, if it isn’t you, Ruri. You’re back home?”

“Yes. Is now a good time?”

“Yes, certainly,” Euclase said, greeting Ruri with a smile—before immediately turning that smile upside down and glaring at the soldier standing nearby. “Send out our available ships and catch them on the double. You’ll besmirch the name of the navy otherwise!”

“Y-Yes! Right away!” replied the poor soldier as he scrambled out of the room.

Ruri watched as he exited and then turned back to Euclase only to find...

“How beautiful!” Heat exclaimed. His eyes were sparkling and he was holding Euclase’s hand. “I have rarely laid eyes on an individual with such immense beauty as yourself.”

“Oh, is that so?” Euclase replied. Heat’s compliment seemed to catch them off guard, but their cheeks soon flushed in a somewhat satisfied manner.

“I knew coming to the Nation of the Dragon King was the right idea. To think I would run into someone so beautiful. You are exquisite and to my liking.”

Although Heat was ecstatic over the beautiful Euclase before him, Ruri had an unfortunate announcement.

“Heat-sama, I hate to break it to you, but despite appearances, Euclase-san is a man...”

“How rude! I have the heart of a noble maiden!” Euclase quickly corrected, but the fact still remained.

Since Heat was a lover of beautiful women, Euclase was outside of his demographic—or, at least, they should have been. However...

“Hah, don’t make me laugh, brat. Be they man or woman, it is but a trifle for a spirit such as myself. Their beauty is all I care about.”

“Huh? So, it’s fine?” Euclase was prettier and more feminine than any woman, so much so that some men ended up in tears after they learned the situation. However, seeing how Heat would hit on any woman that suited his fancy, regardless of age—a fact that Ruri found a tad too unscrupulous—he was probably well past the point of caring.

“Your name is Euclase, is it, O beautiful one? Your name is just as beautiful as you are.”

“Oh my, such flattery.”

“Heat-sama, didn’t you say the same thing to Celestine-san?” Ruri asked. It seemed that anyone was fair game to this womanizing spirit.

Euclase seemed to be in such a good mood that it was hard to imagine they were the same person chewing out that soldier just a second ago. But it seemed as though Euclase was getting curious as to who this mystery man was—albeit a touch late.

Euclase looked at him from head to toe. “By the way, Ruri, who might this gentleman be?”

“Ah, right. This is the woman-loving supreme-level Spirit of Fire,” Ruri explained.

With their hand still in Heat’s tender grasp, Euclase’s eyes bulged. “Supreme-level spirit?! You gained another one?! How many do you intend on collecting? Do you just add a new one every time you go anywhere?”

“I wish I knew that myself,” Ruri said, just as clueless. Out of the twelve spirits, she already had five of them, which was nearly half. She never planned for any of it, so she wondered how it even turned out like this. This many supreme-level spirits in one nation was probably unprecedented as well.

“Plus, they’re in a person’s body this time around, I see,” Euclase noted. Considering that Kotaro, Rin, and Chi were all in animal forms, it was probably no wonder Euclase felt something was out of place.

“He can technically turn into a penguin since he’s inhabiting a demi-human’s body,” explained Ruri.

“I am not a fan of that form,” added Heat.

“But I think the dragonkin would like it,” said Ruri. “Why not transform into a penguin later? I’m sure you’ll garner some interest—man, woman, young and old alike.”

“Yes, I suppose the dragonkin would be fond of you,” Euclase said. The dragonkin always craved the touch of small animals, so they would probably treat Heat like an idol. Euclase couldn’t refute that either.

“All of that aside, did something happen? I could hear your voice all the way from outside, Euclase-san.”

“Ah, that. There’s a bit of a problem. There have been many eyewitness reports of suspicious ships for the past few days. I mobilized the navy, but they narrowly managed to escape apprehension. If you happen to go look, Ruri, keep on your guard. Though, I doubt anyone could do anything to you with the supreme-level Spirit of Water by your side.”

“That’s true. Picking a fight with Rin on the open seas is practically a death wish. I don’t have any plans to go out to sea at the moment, but I will be careful, nonetheless.” She wasn’t seabound, and the Nation of the Dragon King’s navy was excellent even in comparison to other nations. The suspicious ship would likely be caught in due time.

Ruri then added, “Apparently, Heat-sama will be living here in the castle from now on, so would you mind preparing a room for him?”

“No, not at all. I’ll send out the orders. It will be in Sector One if that’s all right.”

The royal guest rooms were in Sector Two, but since it wasn’t clear what Heat might do, putting him within eyeshot was for the best. Ruri couldn’t stand to see a repeat of what happened in the Nation of the Beast King, where an entire sector became his personal harem.

Ruri nodded, agreeing. “Okay, I would appreciate that. Heat-sama, let’s go.”

“I’m staying here,” Heat said. He was apparently very much into Euclase and was eager to get to know them better.

Ruri worried that Heat would interrupt Euclase’s work, but Euclase agreed and said they wanted to talk a little more. The chance to speak to a supreme-level spirit was rare, after all. Ruri wasn’t completely sure, but it also seemed as though Euclase wanted to speak to him about something as chancellor of the nation. Heat knew the most about the Church of God’s Light’s activities, so maybe Euclase wanted to talk about the incident involving the organization.

“There is something I want to ask you about as well, Ruri,” Euclase added.

“What might that be?”

“About you and His Majesty. That necklace of yours.”

The necklace—Ruri had only learned it was a dragonheart not too long ago. Although, being a dragonkin themselves, Euclase naturally knew what it was from the start.

Seeing the alarmed look on Ruri’s face, Euclase heaved a long sigh. “From your reaction, I assume nothing has progressed. I’ll ask you about it later, then. You may go.”

Knowing she wouldn’t stand a chance if Euclase were to question her more thoroughly, Ruri left Heat behind and rushed out of the room with the other spirits in tow.

As she walked the halls down to Jade’s office, she passed by the dragonkin who worked in the castle.

“Lady Beloved, welcome back.”

“Yes, welcome back.”

“Thanks. Glad to be back.”

Being greeted by each person she met made her feel back at home and in her element. She had missed this casualness in the Nation of the Beast King. Over there, people would treat her with reverence, and no one would simply talk to her. The ones who did were so nervous about showing the slightest bit of disrespect that it made Ruri just as nervous around them. On the other hand, in the castle of the Nation of the Dragon King, there was none of that. The casual demeanor of the dragonkin gave her peace of mind.

Ruri definitely thought the Nation of the Dragon King suited her better. Not to say that the overly polite treatment she’d received was bad, but she liked living in a more carefree way, which was why she gladly welcomed the casual attitudes of the dragonkin. However...

“Lady Beloved, please give us your healing!”

“Excuse me?”

Several dragonkin stood in Ruri’s way—male and female alike—as they all appealed to her.

“Because you were away, we’ve started to show withdrawal symptoms.”

“We need to gaze upon that soft and fluffy form of yours once every day.”

“We tried petting strays in the meantime, but they would run away from us.”

These people were apparently Ruri’s cat-form admirers. She took a good look around to see the hopeful eyes of many focused squarely on her.

Smaller animals innately disliked dragonkin, but the majority of dragonkin loved anything small and cuddly, most notably Jade. They would usually find healing in watching cat-Ruri on her walks around the castle. But with Ruri gone on her trip, it seemed they’d all come down with a cuddle deficiency.

They pleaded with her.

“Please, turn into the cat! Turn into your cat form, please!”

“There’s no small animal around that won’t run away from us, milady!”

“I want to see the cuteness up close, not from afar!”

“Well, I suppose that’s fine.” All of them were so desperate. She worried about any work they should be doing right now, but since they were practically begging her, she decided to oblige. She took out the bracelet, put it on, and transformed into a white cat.

“M-May I pet you?”

“Oh, sure. But not too rough, okay?”

Ruri agreed to let them touch her, bringing a delighted smile to the dragonkin’s face. The dragonkin controlled the strength of their grip, delicately stroking Ruri’s head in utter joy.

“Aah, this soft and cuddly sensation can’t be beat.”

“Hey, I’m next. Me!”

“And I’m next after the both of you.”

Before long, a line had formed in order to admire Ruri. She preferred things being more casual, but an extreme lack of restraint might be an issue. Every last one of them viewed Ruri not as a Beloved, but as a house cat. However, they were all so thrilled that she gave in and allowed them to rub their hands all over her head. She had to wonder why they were so shy if they liked fluffy creatures this much. Then again, maybe it was their shyness spurring them on to get closer.

Once they finished petting Ruri, all of the dragonkin went back to work with satisfied smiles on their faces, leaving a very exhausted Ruri behind. The spirits around her petted her tired head and consoled her.

“You sure are popular, Ruri.”

“Pet, pet~”

“Good job~”

“Whew, it’s finally over...” Ruri said, pawing her way to Jade’s office still in cat form. Like normal, she went in by herself, while Kotaro remained outside.

Ever since the Church of God’s Light had been apprehended, Kotaro had loosened his guard a few degrees. Before, he was so on edge that he wouldn’t even let an ant come close to Ruri, but now he had mellowed out. Not enough to take away the barrier that was still affixed around her, but mellow all the same.

Ruri jumped up in Jade’s lap. Despite returning to the kingdom just today, he was scanning over documents that had apparently piled up in his absence. Jade accepted it like it was the norm and petted Ruri’s tiny head as she curled up on his lap. This once ordinary part of her daily life felt much more special after her stint away, making her realize that she was finally back to her peaceful existence. Whenever she thought about the business with the dragonheart, she had the urge to roll around on the floor in distress, but for now, she simply closed her eyes and put it out of her mind.