Kays Translations

Chapter 98:  Dreaming of Yotaro

　In the evening, Mr. Dion came to pick up Sophia-chan.

　He said he had been contacted by the Guards and thanked me repeatedly. I felt so bad that I couldn’t look him in the face properly.

“Dion, Victor told you that I am a wizard, right?”

“Yes.”

“I have decided not to hide it anymore. If anyone asks me about my magic, I can just tell them what I know.”

“But Miss Mai, we hide the fact that we are beastmen to protect ourselves, and weren’t you hiding it for the same reason?”

“Yeah, but I can protect myself. I chose not to hide it.”

　Dion looked confused but didn’t ask any further questions and left with Sophia. Sophia was dejected. She had seen Karin in such a state. It must have been a shock for her.

　Henry is concerned about me and keeps telling me, “What happened to Karin is not your fault,” but it’s not true.

　I had a grandmother who gave me so much strength, but I had my priorities wrong.

　Every time I remember Karin-san lying on the ground, I feel an awful sense of guilt towards her and my chest feels like it’s being squeezed.

　After repeating vague replies to Henry’s calls, he came to the store in the evening. It was just about time for Sandor and Albert to head home, and seeing Henry’s stiff demeanor, they seemed to have realized something and quickly left.

“I’ll be fine.”

“You’re not okay, that’s why I’m here. How can I do my job knowing that you’re so depressed?”

“I see… Then please join me for a dinner. Yes, I have rock oyster confit.”

　Illustration (By Mitemin)

“What is confit?”

“It’s a dish that’s cooked slowly in low-temperature oil. It has a fairly good shelf life.”

　I couldn’t bring myself to eat anything, but I felt bad about only drinking white wine with Henry, who had come to see me out of concern.

　I poured myself a glass of barley spirit and started to drink. The oysters, cooked at low temperature, were juicy when I tasted them.

　I need to tell Henry how I feel before I get too drunk.

“I won’t hide the fact that I can do magic anymore. I had declared so before, but I still felt like I had to hide it. From now on, I will be more conscious of it and make better use of my magical powers.”

“I see. If you are prepared to go that far, then I will respect your wishes. If any trouble come about, I’ll take care of it. You’ll be surprised at just how skilled and devious I am.”

　Mr. Henry, who said such a rare thing, was probably trying to encourage me.

　When I remained silent, he poured himself another glass of wine and smiled at me.

“You have saved so many people by making potions. Even today, the potion worked, and the swelling in Mrs. Karin’s face went down considerably.  She was able to get up and eat despite having two broken ribs. She may be able to be discharged from the hospital tomorrow. The doctors were amazed at how quickly she recovered.”

“Did you go to the hospital again?”

“Yes. No matter what I said, you were retreating into your shell. I thought if I told you how Karin was doing, you might feel a little better. Your potion had properly healed her. You don’t have to blame yourself and retreat into your shell.”

　I know it’s helping, but I bit my lip because I just couldn’t forgive myself.

“When you jerk your chin, you make a funny face.”

“Yes?”

“Ah, when you got angry, your jaw clenched. You looked very weird. But even so, the oyster confit is delicious.”*

　This is the first time Henry has ever teased me. Is this his way of cheering me up? Henry is gobbling down oysters and gulping down wine.

“If you drink so fast, you’ll get drunk.”

“I’ll get drunk and let you take care of me.”

“What’s exactly going on tonight?”

“finally, a laugh. I’m going to take this opportunity to say that I was thinking, ‘Is this person going to be paying attention to everyone for the rest of her life?’”*

“I wasn’t trying to be particularly considerate…”

“She’s very considerate. She’s always reserved around me. She’s not honest about important things, and she tries to solve everything on her own without relying on me.”

　I can think of some things. I have never lived my life relying on someone else. Since that day when I was ten years old, I have been conscious of being a “strong and cheerful person.” Although I have now come to believe that I am who I am.

　As we talked, there was only one oyster left.

“Ah!　There is only one oyster left.”

“I’ll give you the last one. May I have another bottle of wine?”

“That’s fine, but it’s unusual for you to drink that much.”

　I brought out a new bottle of white wine and vegetable sticks, accompanied by a mixture of mayonnaise and gochujang-style miso.

　Illustration (By Mitemin)

　Henry munches down on vegetable sticks and gulped down the wine, saying, “This spicy sauce makes me want to drink wine.” He doesn’t usually drink this much.

　Henry had almost finished the second bottle of white wine by himself and had become silent.

“Are you drunk?　You must be tired from walking a lot today. Shall we call it a night?”

“I want to stay here tonight. No, I’ll definitely stay here.”

“That would be bad, wouldn’t it? Isn’t that why you have to wait a year between engagement and marriage?”

“Now that I think about it, I haven’t used the cloud shower even once since then. I want to use it now. Please bring out those clouds.”

　He is not listening to me. No, maybe he’s ignoring me on purpose. I’m in trouble. I wonder what’s going on.

　Henry kept repeating, “I want to take a shower,” so I sent a cloud into the bathroom and made it rain at 40 degrees. Mr. Henry went to the bathroom in a good mood and took a shower.

　After taking a long shower, Henry came out saying, “Ah, that felt good.” As a cat.

“Why?　Why did you turn into a cat?”

“I’m staying over tonight. I want to be with you, just on the floor. I took my bath before turning into a cat, so my fur isn’t wet. Don’t worry.”

“That’s not what I’m worried about. What’s really going on?　Why are you cat?　It’s cute, but…”

　Without answering, the Cat Henry briskly walks up the stairs. I rush after him. Mr. Henry is struggling to turn the doorknob with his two front paws.

　I had no choice but to open the door, and he slips into the room.

“I’ll sleep on the floor. I won’t do anything. But I won’t leave. If I go home, you’ll probably start blaming yourself again, saying, “It’s my fault, Karin-san,” and whine.　I can see that, so I won’t leave. I can’t sleep if I imagine you whining.”

“Then please come to bed. Cats like soft places to sleep, right? I’m going to take a shower too, so please go to bed first.”

　On a small table by the entrance, there was a glass candle of my own making. I lit it as a nightlight.

　When I returned upstairs after taking a shower, my cat Henry was still sleeping on the floor. I quickly climbed into bed, patted next to me and said, “Come on in,” but he shook his head.

“I thought I would be able to sleep smelling a cat’s scent for the first time in a while.”

“oh, so that’s what you mean ……”  

　Henry the cat mumbled, slowly getting up and climbing onto the bed.

“Wow, it reeks of liquor. It doesn’t smell like a cat.”

“I’ve had a lot to drink.”

“Good nigh, then. I’m exhausted today.”

　When I laid down, I felt exhausted. It had been a day of great mental upheaval. It’s true what they say, anger torments you.

　In my heart, I wanted to smash all their legs to pieces. But that would mean dishonoring the power my grandma had given me. Those guys aren’t worth sullying Grandma’s parting gift.

　Now I have a big black cat by my side. Thank goodness. I won’t have to wake up in the morning hating them and hating myself. Mr. Henry always knows the right answer.

　Henry the cat has his chin resting on his folded paws and his eyes closed. I remember when Yotaro slept with me like this too.

　I fell asleep with my face buried in the fluffy cat Henry. I dreamed about Yotaro for the first time in a long time. In my dream, Yotaro said to me in Mr. Henry’s voice, “Don’t try too hard.”

　I’m not sure how long I slept, but I woke up to Mr. Henry’s sigh, “Haaaaah.”

　Henry was next to me, snuggled up to me. He was looking at me with his beautiful emerald green eyes. I was happy that I could see the beautiful big black cat thanks to the glass candle.

As I gazed at him, thinking, (What a beautiful cat), Henry the cat turned his face away and said angrily, “It’s fine. Stop looking at me and go to sleep.”

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