The White Cat That Swore Vengeance Was Just Lazing on the Dragon King’s Lap - Volume 8 - Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Sango’s Work

Some time had passed since Ruri returned from the Imperial Nation. Although concerned about the direction that the Imperial Nation would take, there was nothing that Ruri could do as a Beloved. The rest was in the hands of the people of the Imperial Nation. She decided to keep an eye on the developments from afar and take it easy in the Nation of the Dragon King.

At the moment, Ruri was within Sango’s embrace, having transformed into her white cat form.

“Omigosh, so cute!” Sango exclaimed as she mercilessly hugged and took big, exaggerated whiffs of Ruri’s fur.

“Fgaaah!” Ruri screamed, thrashing about. Although she looked like a cat, she was still Ruri on the inside. She struggled to the best of her ability to remind Sango not to forget that fact.

Kotaro and Rin stood nearby, not sure whether they should intervene. If Sango had been hostile toward Ruri, they would have exterminated her without a second thought, but since this was a show of affection, they looked on, conflicted.

Perhaps unable to keep watching Ruri scream to no avail, Rutile awkwardly smiled and interjected from the sidelines. “Sango, please, that’s enough. I’m willing to turn a blind eye to you being intimate with Ruri to a certain extent since you’re both from the same world, but she is still a Beloved and the Dragon Queen.”

“Okay, as you wish, milady...” Sango replied with disappointment, at long last placing Ruri gently on the floor out of her loyalty to Rutile.

Ruri breathed a sigh of relief upon being released. The reason this had happened in the first place was that Sango had ended up finding out about the cat that had sat upon Jade’s lap when she’d first visited the castle. The existence of the bracelet that transformed the wearer into a cat had greatly intrigued Sango, which was natural since she had been born and raised in a world where magic was not integrated into society.

When Ruri had come to this world, met Chelsie, and learned that she could also use magic, she’d used it in excess. She had then been scolded by Chelsie, but that was a digression.

Sango’s eyes had lit up and she had begged to see the bracelet after learning about it. Ruri could understand her feelings and transformed into her cat form to appease her. While she didn’t mind that, she did mind getting compressed in Sango’s arms and petted all over. She had immediately regretted her decision.

“Come here, Ruri. I’ll remove your bracelet,” Rutile offered.

“I appreciate it, Rutile-san,” Ruri thanked her, holding out her hand to Rutile since she couldn’t remove the bracelet with her paw.

Sango looked at her with intense interest as Ruri reverted back to her human form the moment the bracelet was removed.

“A person transforming into a cat is so amazing. It really does give off the vibe of being in a different world,” Sango commented.

“Yeah, there is an element of wonder, isn’t there?” Ruri agreed, knowing how Sango felt.

However, Rutile offered a slight correction. “It’s amazing even to us to see a human transform into a cat by putting on a bracelet.” She was likely used to seeing demi-humans like the dragonkin with human and dragon forms, but it was said that a human with transformation abilities was simply unheard of. For Ruri and Sango, however, there was not much of a difference. In their home world, they never saw magic, let alone life-forms like spirits. Yet in this castle, magic was used as an expected part of everyday life.

While the list of demi-humans who possessed mana was long, the list of regular humans was overwhelmingly short. In the Nation of the Dragon King, the ratio of demi-humans to humans was about fifty-fifty, so they went about their lives while striking a balance, but in countries such as the Imperial Nation, with a human majority, they were forced to lead lives that were considerably more inconvenient than in nations with those capable of using magic. Perhaps that was inevitable, seeing as science had not advanced to the degree it had in Ruri’s home world.

That said, those with no mana could apparently still utilize magic by using magic tools—one of those tools being the cat-transforming bracelet owned by Ruri. It was something that Weidt the First Dragon King had received from the First Queen of Yadacain.

“Want to try it?” asked Ruri.

“Can I?!” Sango replied excitedly.

“You have to give it back, though.”

“Why, of course!” Sango replied, taking the bracelet she was offered in glee and putting it on without a moment’s hesitation. She transformed into a cat form in the blink of an eye. Unlike Ruri, who turned into a white cat, she was a black-and-white tuxedo.

“Mreow!” Sango yelped, extremely excited upon seeing her front paw pads.

Finding Sango’s reaction adorable, Ruri giggled, pulled a large mirror from her pocket space, and put it in front of her. Sango’s eyes were glued to the sight of herself as a cat. However, Ruri, now in an awkward spot since Sango showed no sign of leaving the mirror anytime soon, reluctantly pulled off the bracelet from her excited friend.

Sango turned back into a human, much to her disappointment, and stared with wistful eyes at the bracelet. “That’s so cool. I want one too.”

“It was made by the first queen of Yadacain and is said to be thousands of years old, so this is the only one,” Ruri replied.

“You can’t make one?” asked Sango.

“Unfortunately, it’s a very advanced magic tool, and not even Seraphie, a witch herself, can make the exact same thing. She was able to make one you can use a limited number of times, but Euclase-san confiscated it because they said it’d be dangerous if it was ever misused,” explained Ruri. She didn’t mind selling it to the dragonkins, but she had no choice but to give up if Euclase said no.

“Ugh, that sucks,” Sango remarked, easily backing down, showing huge growth from when she had first come to the castle. “But Ruri-sama is the Beloved child, so why don’t you take it back by force? A Beloved is allowed to be selfish, aren’t they?”

“Euclase-san is scary when you make them mad. If you don’t listen to their directions as much as possible, you’ll come to regret it. In a way, they have more pull than Jade-sama, and he’s the king,” Ruri explained, noting that Euclase was such a glib talker that they could even defeat Jade in an argument.

It wasn’t that she thought that the Dragon King should be like that, but unlike the Dragon King, who was chosen through a contest of strength, the Chancellor established themselves by showing their ability as a civil official. It was no wonder Jade was no match for Euclase, who occasionally dabbled in diplomacy.

“Yes, Ruri-sama, you have a point. They scolded me viciously after the bad things I did to you before, and they were very scary doing it,” said Sango, her face turning pale, as she had already been subject to Euclase’s wrath in the past. Once you experienced that, it was common to never try to disobey them ever again. “But thanks to Lady Euclase, I’ve been able to live in this world without worrying about food or a place to sleep, so I am nothing but grateful.”

Sango really was leaps and bounds more humble than when she’d first arrived. Maybe she had always been a docile girl, and her mind couldn’t catch up to the bizarre experience of being transported to another world. It was enough to bring a smile to Ruri’s face.

“I heard you’re working very hard too. Honestly, I don’t feel comfortable eating for free all the time and want to work myself, but no one will allow me to,” Ruri said with a sour expression, shooting a quick glance at Rutile to gauge her reaction.

“Of course we wouldn’t,” Rutile replied with an awkward grin. “What nation would make their Beloved work? Beloveds make nations prosper just by being around, so there is no need for them to work.”

“Even you’re against it, Rutile-san?” Ruri slumped her shoulders in disappointment. She’d thought that Rutile would be a little bit more accommodating than the others, but it seemed to be a lost cause. “Still, I’m pretty confident in my abilities, since I did a lot of chores when I lived at Chelsie-san’s house—cooking, cleaning, laundry, and so on,” Ruri said. Chelsie had taught her enough to confidently cut and fillet the game caught during hunts efficiently.

“Making sweets for His Majesty and the spirits is the most we’re willing to compromise on,” Rutile stated.

“Yes, right...” Ruri said in resignation. She knew that but was testing the waters just in case.

“Being a Beloved is more constricting than I thought. While I do envy you for being able to live in the lap of luxury, I might be glad that I’m not a Beloved because it seems like a pretty boring lifestyle,” Sango stated. Seeing as Sango had arrived at the castle stating that she was a Beloved, she had a completely different mindset nowadays.

“Sango, what kind of work do you do?” Ruri asked, not knowing what her work actually entailed.

“Thanks to milady and Lady Euclase vouching for me, I’ve been assigned work that isn’t too difficult. Most of it is chores, but since I have Chibi around, they ask me to do work that involves water magic,” she explained. The squirrel that had been riding on her shoulder for a while now was actually an upper-level spirit that Sango had named and subjugated after arriving in this world.

There were a few of those who were beloved by the spirits, but even fewer who were beloved by the spirits enough to subjugate them. Subjugation was something that bound the spirits, preventing them from disobeying the orders of the subjugator. However, it was said that which orders they prioritized between a supreme-level spirit and a contract-bearer depended on that spirit and contract-bearer’s relationship.

Having been named by Sango, Chibi seemed to very much like her. If push came to shove, they might even disobey the orders of Rin, the supreme-level spirit of water. But even if they were to disobey, Rin had said that since she was much stronger, she would suppress Chibi if they ever showed problematic behavior. That being said, Sango worshipped Rutile, so she would likely never give an order that would inconvenience Rutile. After all, she was the founder and president of the Rutile fan club. She was steadily gaining like-minded members even now.

It was hard to tell which was more amazing, Sango’s power to propagate a following or Rutile’s popularity. Then again, Ruri was pretty sure the latter was greater. By the time Rutile had returned after her stay in the Imperial Nation, all of the girls in the castle were excited beyond belief. Even now, they came up with any reason they could concoct to stop by Ruri’s room and were delighted to see Rutile. In the castle, her popularity among the women was so overwhelming that she was probably more popular than Ruri, a Beloved.

“Oh, I need to get back to work. My break is almost over. Let’s chat again some other time, milady!” Sango said.

“Sure, do your best.”

“Aah, what a pity I have to leave...” Sango lamented, not wanting to leave Rutile but giving a big wave goodbye before heading back to work.

However, before she could leave, Ruri flagged her down. “Oh, wait a second. Can I come with you?”

“You, Ruri-sama? Why?”

“I’m genuinely curious about what kind of jobs people who use magic are entrusted with. Also, I really have nothing else better to do...” Ruri replied with an awkward grin.

“Why not go to the king? You’re newlyweds, aren’t you?”

“Jade-sama is too busy with work and doesn’t have the time to entertain me. Since we took that trip to the Imperial Nation, his desk has been covered with paperwork that he has to sign off on,” Ruri said, explaining that their long stay in the Imperial Nation had resulted in Jade’s work getting backed up. Jade had given Euclase, the chancellor, a certain degree of discretionary authority, but there were apparently many tasks that required the king’s personal input. “I wish I could help him, but Beloveds are not supposed to participate in political affairs.”

A Beloved involving themselves in politics would reflect the will of that Beloved, no matter what, potentially giving rise to dictatorships and chaos. Therefore, it had been decided by the Four Great Nations that no country would involve a Beloved in politics. And others had followed in suit, respecting the Four Great Nations’ decision. Then again, the only other country outside of the Four Great Nations that had a Beloved was Yadacain.

“I’ve been told by Euclase that I distract Jade-sama in the office, so I should go elsewhere. But Jade-sama won’t allow me to go into town, so I have nothing but time on my hands...” Ruri explained.

“Being a Beloved sure is rough, isn’t it? Okay. You can come along with me,” Sango replied.

“Thank you,” said Ruri.

Sango was basically allowed access to Sector 5 and lower. Having discovered that she possessed mana ever since coming to this world, she opened up a pocket space and started tossing the laundry of the training soldiers inside. Ruri just stood and observed, as she would be stealing work from Sango if she joined in. She was impressed by how Sango was working so effortlessly, like an old pro, despite the fact that not much time had passed since she’d first arrived at the castle.

“So, did you learn about mana after coming here?” asked Ruri.

“Yes, that’s right.”

“You never saw spirits in our world before, then?”

“Not at all. The first time I saw Chibi was when I came to this world.”

“Ah, I see. I was only able to see spirits once I came here too. But my grandpa and mom have been able to see them for a long time, and there were a lot of spirits in our world.”

Apparently, spirits sometimes traveled back and forth between the two worlds and had even learned about tools that only existed in Ruri’s world. Cell phones and batteries, like the one in the digital camera that Riccia brought with her, were their forte.

“In a way, it’s a good thing that we weren’t able to see them, right? If we said we could see things other people couldn’t, we would have been labelled freaks immediately,” Sango stated.

“Good point,” Ruri agreed, not being able to deny that.

Neither Beryl nor Riccia had ever uttered anything about the existence of spirits in their home world, most likely because they’d known exactly how others would judge them. However, after coming to this world and recognizing their existence, Ruri had become able to see the spirits. Sango must have gone through the same change as Ruri since she also carried mana. There was also Asahi, who was using the power of Bewitchment without even knowing it. There might have been more people with mana in Ruri’s home world than she thought. It was likely that some people could even see spirits. However, pondering the possibilities was pointless, since she had no way of confirming them anymore.

Once out of the building, Sango took out the laundry she had collected and called for Chibi. “Take it away, Chibi.”

The squirrel jumped off Sango’s shoulder. In the next moment, a large body of water appeared, swallowing the laundry and lifting it into the air. The water then began to swirl around and around.

“It’s like a big washing machine,” Ruri noted, impressed.

“Chibi’s water has purifying effects, so no matter the stain, the clothes come out squeaky-clean,” Sango explained.

“I can’t believe they can do such a large load of laundry all at once. The power of upper-level spirits is simply incredible,” Rutile remarked.

Sango blushed. “If you need your laundry washed, feel free to call me at any time, milady. I will make sure there isn’t a single spot.”

“Thank you very much for the offer,” Rutile replied with a sweet smile.

That beautiful smile was enough to deal a blow to Sango’ heart that nearly sent her down for the count. However, when it came to the dragonkin, as long as you didn’t have mana quality hated by the spirits like Ewan, it was quicker to just use purification magic yourself. Sango was currently washing the dirty clothes of those who couldn’t use magic.

As she was skillfully using her upper-level spirit’s power, Ruri asked her, “Have you gotten used to life here, Sango?”

Unlike Ruri, not even a few years had passed since Sango had arrived. She also hadn’t been living in the castle for very long, so it was possible there were many things she wasn’t yet accustomed to. Ruri was worried precisely because she had experienced what it was like when she was transported here. Sango was a teenage girl young enough that she would still need her parents’ supervision in their world.

“Well, to be honest, there’s a lot I’m still not used to. I mean, I did just find myself in this strange new world. It would be weirder if I wasn’t lost, wouldn’t it? I heard you had it the same way, Ruri. Plus, you initially wound up in a nation far more dangerous than the one I did.”

Ruri wondered where she’d heard that. If she had to guess, she could probably point the finger at Euclase or someone close. “It certainly was dangerous. I was abandoned alone in a forest full of magic beasts,” Ruri clarified. She had basically been told to die. However, she’d been lucky since she was actually a Beloved.

“A person by the name of Chelsie-san saved me, and I lived in the forest from that point on, but the rules here were so different and none of my logic applied, so if Chelsie-san hadn’t been around, I’m sure that I would have died in the wild.” Ruri chuckled awkwardly. She could laugh about it now, but at the time, she had been in so much turmoil, so much anguish, and bore so much resentment that she couldn’t control her emotions.

Sango hesitantly murmured somberly, “I was also told that me showing up in that village was lucky. They said I could very well have been enslaved or eaten by beasts otherwise. I was sad about the fact that only I was going through all of this, but you must have had just as much trouble as I did, Ruri-sama.”

Ruri felt sorry for Sango’s struggles, replying, “I didn’t have as much trouble as you, Sango. In my case, my parents and grandpa came to this world. I never thought I would see them again. I think that alone makes me blessed. So much so that I’d get struck down if I said I was dissatisfied.” Ruri could no longer return to her home world, but she had her family with her. That alone made a huge difference.

“I wonder if they’re worried...” Sango whispered under her breath with a dour expression.

Despite it being very, very quiet, Ruri could hear her utterance clearly, and her heart ached just considering who she might have been thinking of.

“I can...never go back, right?” Sango asked.

“Right...” Ruri answered, presenting her with the cruel reality of the situation despite it filling her with sadness to do so. The wish that Ruri herself had made a million times would never come true.

“I asked milady and Chibi if there was any way to return, but they said it’s impossible,” Sango said, looking up with both hands covering her eyes. “Ha ha... Now that I hear it again, it’s sad... Never being able to see my mom and dad again...”

Her laughter was listless, and her words made it seem as though she was ready to cry at any moment. The spirit named Chibi looked up at her with concern. Not even Rutile had words to offer as she stared at Sango pensively. What could they do for her? That was the question on Ruri’s mind.

That was when she suddenly had a spark of inspiration and exclaimed, “Oh!”

“What is it, Ruri?” Rutile asked, puzzled.

“I came to this world from my world. But apparently, you can’t go to my world with your physical body. So it’s not like no one can go back, since the spirits, who don’t have physical bodies to begin with, can come and go between worlds as they please.”

“Yes, so I’ve been told,” Rutile agreed, having been given details about Ruri to a certain extent as her guard.

“Right, so when I heard about this from Kotaro and Rin, I asked if they could both go to my home world to tell my mom and the others that I was safe. As a result, my family all came here...” Ruri elaborated, but neither Sango nor Rutile seemed to understand what she was getting at. “My point is why don’t you ask the spirits to tell your family that you’re safe? Being able to go back might be a lost cause, but it would help cheer you up a little, wouldn’t it?”

“Oh...” Sango’s eyes widened in an instant. She leaned forward and latched onto Ruri’s offer. “I’d want to, if possible! I want to tell them I’m okay, at least.”

“In that case, I’ll have the spirits help out,” Ruri said, but just as she was about to proceed, Rin cut into the conversation.

“Wait just a minute.”

“Huh? What’s wrong, Rin?”

“You’re forgetting something important. In your case, Beryl and Riccia were capable of telepathic communication, so it was possible for us to deliver your message. But as far as I know, there were no humans other than your family who could see spirits in your world. How do we tell Sango’s family? Would a human who’s never seen a spirit before believe talk of other worlds and whatnot?”

“Oh...” Ruri stopped moving as if she’d just remembered that fact.

“In that case, it’s hopeless!” Sango yelled, clutching her head as her joy instantly turned into despair.

“No, wait... There should be a way,” Ruri interjected, the gears in her head spinning as fast as possible. She stammered in panic, not a single good idea coming to mind. “Erm... Erm...”

Rutile, her hand on her chin, said, “That ‘cellular telephone’ thing that you showed me once before—does everyone in your world have one?”

“Yes. They’re pretty widespread, so I think the majority of people have one, but...” Ruri trailed off, looking over at Sango.

“Yes, both of my parents do,” Sango replied.

“In that case, why don’t you have a spirit on the other side enter a physical body and have them type out a note using that ‘text message’ feature?” Rutile suggested.

Ruri gasped in realization. “That might be a great idea, Rutile-san!”

It was an idea that was only possible because Ruri had described every single feature of the cell phone to Rutile, who had a great interest in items from her world.

“B-But what would they enter? If they don’t choose wisely, they might actually scare them instead...” Sango replied timidly.

She had a point. Depending on what body they were in, it could be a horror show. “Rin and Kotaro are using the corpses of living beings, but I can’t believe they’ll be able to conveniently find something like that...”

“Oh my, it doesn’t have to be a living being. We can enter inorganic things too. Like a stuffed animal or something like that.”

“Really?” Ruri asked. That was news to her.

“For a powerful spirit, upper-level or higher, that is.”

“Upper-level or higher...” Ruri, Sango, and Rutile uttered as their eyes all moved to Chibi.

“Would a stuffed animal be borderline okay? They might not be that afraid if it’s something cute. How about it?” asked Ruri. “I have a stuffed teddy bear in my room. It’s a cute teddy bear, so it might be good enough. Though it might still be scary, regardless...”

Regardless of how cute the stuffed animal was, it would definitely be creepy if one suddenly started moving on its own, but they had no other choice.

“Want to try it?” Ruri asked.

Sango nodded hesitantly and had Chibi stand in her palm.

“Chibi, can I ask you for a favor?”

Chibi fervently nodded their head.

“Thank you, Chibi!”

“Looks like they’ve agreed, so let’s start by teaching them how to type a message,” said Ruri.

“Okay, let’s do it!” said Sango.

At a later date, Chibi returned home after hearing the message from Sango’s parents.

“How did it go?” Sango asked.

Chibi gestured and explained the situation to her. At first, they had frightened Sango’s parents, and her mother had screamed so loudly that the neighbors had probably heard it, while her father had gone weak in the knees. But as Chibi had proceeded to type into the cell phone in the awkward stuffed animal’s body, typos and all, their curiosity started to triumph over their fear and they had drawn closer to the visitor.

Looking at the message from Sango typed out on the screen, her parents had found themselves in disbelief, but after witnessing a feat as unbelievable as a stuffed animal moving on its own, they’d had to believe the utterly far-fetched story of there being another world, whether they liked it or not.

Her parents had never stopped worrying and looking for Sango, so upon hearing that she was safe, they had breathed sighs of relief. However, they couldn’t hide their shock over not being able to see her again. The option for them to come to this world like Ruri’s family was technically on the table, but Sango had told Chibi in advance not to tell them that—a decision she had made out of consideration for her parents, since they didn’t need to go out of their way to place themselves in an unfamiliar world for her sake. The fact that she was acting tough despite her urge to see them was proof that she had matured.

After telling Sango’s parents that she was safe, Chibi had been given a letter to take back to her. The letter must have detailed their concern, because as Sango read it, she started to bawl. Ruri watched over her warmly, hoping that it would at least help to relieve her depression, even slightly.

The next day, Sango’s eyes were puffy, but her face was somewhat chipper. “Thank you so much, Ruri-sama. I think I can do my best in this world without any regrets now,” she said. It looked like her face had grown a little sharper than usual—a face so confident that it would make you believe that Sango might have a heart stronger than Ruri’s.