10. Return of the cat

The last part of the route to Testroria was much shorter than distance between each of their previous stops, therefore they were no longer rushing the early leave when departing from Passcalle.

Mattheia and Kashia were quite disappointed about not having more time to lurk around the city, but Nine and Junie assured them that they will have a plenty to see once they reach capital

In the end, they left just after eating a breakfast.

The weather was nice - sunny with barely no clouds in the sky, and with a weak wind bringing a slight cooling effect exactly when one would need it.

Given they had only a small distance to pass, and the route in front of them being well-guarded, they could just relax and enjoy the views.

Contrary to the landscape they were observing before, buildings and settlements could be found everywhere from this point with actual wilderness visible only in the distance, and the vicinity of the route being overtaken by numerous fields.

Near one of such fields, a person ran in front of their carriage, forcing the driver to make a sudden stop.

"Are you crazy!? Don't run into the route like that! You could've been trampled!"

"Meow sorry! Meow wanted to catch a ride!"

Meow? The sound made the people inside the carriage quite curious. For Mattheia and Kashia it was the first time seeing a catgirl, so they were interested in the looks, even though the boy was a bit reluctant in relation to cat features which were making him uneasy - this catgirl was around Kashia's height, so a bit shorter than Mattheia, slender yet muscular, and had long black hair. All of her cat features were also black, including the eyes. Moreover, her skin had a really dark tan.

While the young ones were looking specifically at the looks, Nine was focused on something completely else, and instructed Junie to also pay attention to energy coming from the catgirl.

"So you are saying that you are looking to catch a ride?" Nine started conversation with a question "Why would we agree to do that? We don't know you, so what guarantee do we have that you won't lead us into a trap?"

Catgirl looked at her, keeping the same smile all the time.

"That's a good question. Let meow start with introduction. Meow name is Catleia Darkia, pleasure to meet you" she extended her hand to Nine.

Nine hesitated for a moment as she was feeling mysterious air around Catleia, but decided to go with a handshake. However, as she did that, Nine got disconnected from the current realm - she only experienced this kind of phenomenon a few times through her life, and it was always happening with high ranking mages, so this meant the catgirl had more to her than she was saying.

"Apologies for that" Nine heard Catleia's voice, and the catgirl appeared in front of her "Meow wanted to talk with you in private, away from Mattheia specifically."

"Why would you do that?" Nine had a weird feeling about the catgirl "Are you perhaps that cat from yesterday?"

"Meow am" Catleia confirmed "Let meow explain, though it meow be hard to believe. Meow will try to speak fast."

"Better do. Based on the feeling of this place, one second there is around one minute here."

"Yes, Meow was sent here by a supreme being, by one of Eternal Kings from Dimensional Architecture" catgirl started explaining "Meow master sent meow here to provide support to Mattheia, who was reincarnated to this word for a chance to improve his soul. Some other supreme beings started fighting against the original order, and meowht want to attack reincarnated ones to interfer."

Nine looked at the catgirl, confused.

"So, in short, you are saying you were sent here by some kind of god to keep an eye on my student" she started smiling "Sorry, but that's one of the craziest..."

Catleia snapped her fingers and scenery around them completely changed.

"It's just an illusion. Many mages can do that." Nine said that after seeing the catgirls magic "It proves nothing."

"Then, try to pick any of the objects around you."

Nine did that - she picked up a pitcher and poured the liquid from inside into a goblet. It was a regular wine. Then, a moment after, Catleia changed the environment again and told Nine to pick another object. They repeated the action three times.

"Ok, I got it. It's an ability to create." Nine concluded "It's truly something unlikely in my world as you cannot create objects like that. However, if you are saying the truth, shouldn't those supreme beings stay away from regular beings? I mean, isn't that a rule?"

"Meow don't know everything." the catgirl said this straight "Meow master is busy and it's meow who goes on errands. Master didn't explain all the details, but he said Mattheia may be in danger, and he cannot be harmed."

Nine was honestly caring about her student, therefore a mention of him being in danger completely changed her approach - even if this catgirl was making up some supreme beings, she just could not disregard such a warning.

"Okay, but how can I trust you that you won't be a threat to him?'

Catleia sighed.

"Meow promised to Mattheia's son in the other world that meow will look into his father's penance" she told Nine "But since you don't believe in meow story, here is something you can use as safety" she passed her a collar with a key "Once you put this collar on meow, my powers will be restricted and only your approval will release them. Go ahead and try."

Nine took this opportunity, and her skill revealed that Catleia's powers were indeed suppressed now. If this was not some kind of elaborate scheme, it meant the rest of the story was highly likely.

"That explains peculiar traits Mattheia has" now some of her observations about the boy started making sense. If he got support from a powerful being, some rules might have been either bent or avoided "What did he do in his previous life to deserve penance?"

"Meow cannot say. If you know the reason and help him intentionally, it's going to be meaningless." she explained.

"And what about you?"

"Meow will observe and see to him being out of harm's way. Our private time is nearly at limit. So what say you?"

"Mattheia has nekophobia, but I will figure out the way."

Catleia called off the temporary dimension - only thing others saw was them exchanging a handshake.

"My name is Aukkleia of the Nine Magics" Nine made an official introduction as others could not hear their previous talks "What's yours?"

"Catleia Darkia. I'm heading to the capital for work."

"We have a bigger group so we need to talk whether you can tag along or not."

Following that, Nine went back to the carriage.

"You cannot possibly consider taking her with us" Mattheia was the first one to make a comment "I get she is a beast-kin with cat features, but even that much makes me feel uneasy."

"You sure complain a lot" Kashia made a remark "Cat's are cute. I have no idea why do you hate them do much."

"It's not about hating." the boy disagreed "I would like to get along with them, but these creatures somehow make me uneasy. I just cannot help it."

Nine sighed and smiled.

"So maybe it's about time you tried to overcome your fear? What could be a better chance to fight your fears than someone who only has a portion of traits that scare you?"

"I'm not scared! I just feel uneasy."

"So, it means you can tolerate that girl, right?" Junie made a valid point "Let's give it a try then."

Before Mattheia managed to decline, Junie already went and brought the catgirl with her.

This time, Catleia did an official introduction to everyone, without opening a separate dimension as it was in case of Nine.

Moments later, the catgirl was already sitting comfortably in the carriage, not that far from the boy, who was able to handle situation for now, even though each meowing sound she made would cause the lad to nearly jump.

They were having just a casual chitchat with her, asking about Catleia's life and recent events. She told them that the reason for her travel was looking for a new job, a change in life, but she knew only a little about recent news.

However, it turned out that the catgirl had a magical aptitude, and both Nine and Junie suggested to her to join an academy to learn. Obviously, it was just playing along as Nine knew about the real identity of Catleia and shared that information with Junie, so they could make sure their new companion does not try to anything suspicious or dangerous to Mattheia.

Throughout their travel together, the catgirl did not end up creating any threats. More than that - she helped them great deal with some monsters that ambushed them on the route. It was a real sight to see - despite acting humble and stating she was just average in terma of energy levels, she managed to obliterate the full park before others managed to move.

"Do more stunts like that and no one is going to find you suspicious for sure" Nine thought to herself.

"Instead of looking for some main it servant work, you should a im for something combat-related" Junie suggested "You sure pack a lunch."

"Meow don't like fighting though" Catleia replied "Meow fight only if forced. Meow prefer to take it easy and enjoy the life."

"You know, among Sky People approach like that is equal to being a delinquent." Kasia joined in the conversation "My kin believes it's all about efforts and gaining achievements."

"So when do you ever find time to have fun?" the catgirl asked.

"Well, we live for thousands of years. We have plenty of chances to experience fun moments."

"You could always spend most of your time having fun instead of gathering small moments." Mattheia suggested.

Angel girl nodded.

"You may be right. If I'm to be honest, I've been thinking about trying something different for some time and it got me here."

"Wait, you falling wasn't an accident?" the lad looked at her as he asked "I thought something happened..."

Kashia shook her head.

"I planned that but it didn't go as I wanted."

They continued with the conversation ale the way until reaching the capital.

The mood they have reached made Mattheia completely forget about his fear of cat traits in Catleia, though he still had ways to to before curing his nekophobia.