Kays Translations

Chapter 40: Cats are creatures that don’t like to give up easily.

　In the morning, Sophia-chan came in holding hands with Mr. Dion.

“Good morning. I’ll be relying on you again from today. I’m sorry I’m calling on you on your day off.”

“Rather, it's a day off, You’re more than welcome to stay the day.”

　I held Sophia in my arms and kissed her on the cheek. Sophia-chan giggles, "kyakyakya." I put my face close to her neck and inhaled the sweet toddler scent into my lungs. Haah, sweet. (Teheehe)

“I’m sure you can spend plenty of time with Sophia-chan since it’s your day off. Please don’t be shy.”

　We both saw Mr. Dion off to work, who was feeling dreadfully sorry. 

　There was really no need to be shy. I will never hate such a cute child.

　As long as I live a healthy life., that’s all that matters. It wasn't long ago that I didn't know how many days I had left to live. I still dream about those days when I was too weak to get up. I had that dream again this morning.

　Whenever I have that dream, I wake up covered in cold sweat. I frantically touch my body and feel relieved, thinking, "Oh, thank goodness. I'm healthy." But even after I feel relieved, my heart continues to race for a long time, as if I had just sprinted. Even though I think I’ve forgotten, my body hasn’t forgotten the time when my life was about to end.

　The sadness and pain of leaving a loved one behind, the fear and despair of suddenly losing a beloved family member. I never want to experience anything like that again.  I can’t bear the loneliness.

　Whenever I prepare myself to do so, Mr. Henry’s face comes to mind these days.

　I am aware of my own feelings. I am also aware of Mr. Henry’s feelings. Knowing Mr. Henry’s fondness for me, I am too selfish to want to remain tea-drinking friends with him forever.

　Sophia was staring at me as I was lost in thought.

“Sophia-chan, do you like bread pudding?”

“I don’t know anything about  bread pudding.”

“Well, if I make it, will you eat it with me?”

“Yes!”

　To make the pudding mixture, use half a cup of milk and one tablespoon of sugar per egg.

　I made the pudding mixture using three eggs according to the proportions my grandmother had taught me, and dipped some leftover dry bread into it.

　In addition to her cookbooks, Grandma also copied recipes from newspapers, television, and magazines into her college notebooks. She had dozens of notebooks. I remember I was also indebted to her a lot.

　The bread was thoroughly soaked in the pudding liquid. I placed the deep dish on a tray filled with hot water and put it in the kiln to bake it in hot water. After about 30 minutes, I checked the bread and found it looked good. I sprinkled some raisins that had been slightly soaked in milk over the bread and it was ready to serve.

　Illustration (By Mitemin)

“Smells great!”

“Let’s eat when it cools down a bit.”

“Yeah!”

　We were about to play with dolls while waiting for the bread pudding to cool when I heard a knock. The tall silhouette was Henry.

“Good morning, Mr. Henry. Thank you for bringing that customer yesterday. Come on in, come on in. The bread pudding is just about ready.”

"I'm sorry for coming by so suddenly. I didn’t know you had company. Sorry, I'll just hurry up and get my business done."

　Mr. Henry’s mood was stiff.

“Sofia-chan, would you prefer to eat alone first, or wait a little while and then eat with everyone?”

“Fee-chan, let’s all eat together.”

“Okay then, just wait a bit.”

“Okay.”

　I handed Sophia a stuffed rabbit and cat, and we sat down at a table away from each other.

“What business?”

“That man from last night was a wizard, and an acquaintance of your grandmother."

　A wizard and an acquaintance of my grandmother?　If so, I would have liked to talk with him more. why I was left with a strange feeling?

　

“ He said he really wanted to see you, so I brought him here without asking you. I’m sorry, I was in a bit of a hurry.”

“That’s perfectly all right. It is normal for a customer business to welcome anyone who comes to the store. But considering that he's an acquaintance of my grandmother’s, he left pretty quickly.”

“About that, Mai, if that person said they wanted to talk to you, would you be willing to meet them? They say they want to hear about your grandmother since they were separated.”

　My heart is stirring. Lately, when I can’t sleep at night, I find myself thinking about my grandma a lot.

“I don’t mind talking about how my grandmother lived happily. But I’m hesitant to ask what it was like for her in this world.”

“Why?”

"My grandmother never told me anything about this world, including her parents. The only knowledge I received was about magic. I didn't know anything about how to spend the end of the year, or about the Spring Festival. Maybe my grandmother didn't have any happy memories that she wanted to share with me... or even a single one."

　Mr. Henry did not reply.

“The grandmother I knew loved to talk and go out, and she cherished her friends. Every day at dinner she would tell me about what had happened that day. After I became ill, she shared her memories of my childhood with me every day. She couldn’t talk about the future, so she told me about the past.”

　This is bad. I’m going to cry.

"Knowing the past that my grandmother, who loves to talk, never told me about... would be trampling on her consideration. If it's something she hid from me, I don't want to hear about it. But having said that, it would be strange for me to meet with that person and just talk about it."

“He just wants to know what happened to your grandmother after he lost her.”

“Really?”

“Yeah.”

“Henry, I’m always smiling and laughing, but I’m actually a coward. I’ve experienced enough sadness in my lifetime, so I’m just a coward who doesn’t want to feel sad again.”

　Mr. Henry shakes his head.

“You are not weak. You are very strong. But if you’re worried, Mai, I’ll be right there with you. We won't talk about anything you don't want to hear."

“I see... In that case, I don't mind. I'll just tell him what he wants to hear."

　Mr. Henry offered me a white handkerchief. With it, I wiped away my tears.

“More importantly, on the way out, he said, ‘It seems like both cats and dogs like you.’ Are you going to be alright, Henry? Won’t you get into trouble if people find out about your situation?”

“I heard what he said, too. I don’t think he would tell anyone about me. He likes me a lot. Kyrias did not hear it. At that moment, a barrier was placed around him.”

“Oh, really?”

“Besides, I intend to rise so high in the ranks where I can’t be fired so easily even if my secret is discovered.”

　Henry uses his half-beast status as fuel. He plans to overcome his handicap by moving up in the world. As I listened to him, wiping away tears with a handkerchief...

“Don’t tease Mai-tan!”

　Sophia-chan was next to me before I knew it. She was staring at Mr. Henry with a scary look on her face. Moreover, she was also growling  “grrrrr”!

“He's not picking on me, Sophia. This brother is a kind man. He was worried about me. Come on, let’s all eat some bread pudding together.”

　I ate the bread pudding while smiling at Sophia, who glared at Mr. Henry while eating. The bread pudding has a gentle taste of milk and eggs. It is warm, sweet, and fills me up, so it’s my favorite food.

“It's delicious.”

“This is also my grandmother’s recipe. And it’s also my mother’s favorite, as she used to make it for me often.”

　Sophia was devouring it with enthusiasm. She seemed to like it. I thought she would, but when she finished eating, she sat down in front of the fireplace and started sleeping. I brought a blanket and wrapped her in it to let her sleep. Sophia’s cheeks became even plumper when she slept. Her half-open mouth was also cute. She’s a real angel.

　Suddenly, I thought that now would be the perfect time to have that conversation, while Sophia was asleep.

“You know what, Henry-san? Why don’t you stop being my assistant?”

　Mr. Henry looked surprised for a moment, but then peered at me with concern.

“What happened all of a sudden?”

“I feel bad for always relying on them. I don’t think I’m in a good place right now.”

“I want to stay by your side and protect you. Is that a nuisance?”

“It is not a nuisance. I am happy and relieved to have you near me, … but it feels like I’m taking advantage of your kindness and getting the best of both worlds. It makes me sad.”

　Mr. Henry began to speak after a short pause.

“I like you, Mai. I just want to be by your side. I’m not asking for much. I’m happy with that.”

　As I searched for the right words to respond to this sudden confession, Henry repeated it again.

“I’ll be happy if I can be by your side”

“I’ve decided that if I can live in this world, being kind to everyone, broadly and shallowly, and laughing, then that would be enough.”

“Then, please continue to do so. But, I want you to keep me close to you. I am sensitive to the feelings directed toward me. Ever since I can remember, I have never misread the good or bad emotions directed toward me.”

　Does that mean he knows my feelings for him? I had been trying to turn away and not think about it for so long.

“I had always mistakenly thought that you had a lover, so I was prepared to give up if you didn’t like me, but that wasn’t the case, so I couldn’t give up. If you don’t have a boyfriend, I won’t hesitate. And you don’t need to worry about losing me. I am much stronger than most people. I won’t die prematurely and make you sad.”

“But even if you get involved with me, things might stay like this forever. I might just end up wasting your precious time, Henry.”

　Mr. Henry smiled radiantly.

“I’ll take that as an acknowledgment, okay?　The time I spend with you is not a waste. It is a very happy time. However, …… cats are creatures that don’t give up easily, so even if Mai-san gets tired of me, I have no intention of letting you go.”

“Eh?”

　I didn’t have the courage to get hurt so I tried to keep my distance, but he handed me some heavy love.

Author note:

This is the end of Volume 1. volume 2 is about Grandma. If you take this opportunity to rate it with ★★★★★, it will really motivate me to write volume 2.

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