"You're back... what happened? You look like your soul has been drained from your body."
"Ignorance truly is bliss."
How will I face Anna's Support Group from now on? Will it be enough to just smile when the time comes?
Sigrdrífa doesn't understand what I'm talking about, and I don't have the energy to explain it to her. I feel like if I obsess over this too much, I'll eventually become a shut-in type maid. I should just treat this memory as garbage and dispose of it.
Speaking of which, what kind of garbage would this be classified as? Hazardous waste?
"It's nothing. I think... Adventurer Carol Cat can be trusted."
"Since it's your judgment, I won't say more."
I take Lily's small hand and lead her away from the bedroom toward the living room.
I ask Carol Cat to wait in the living room for a moment. When Lily and I come down the stairs, Carol Cat's cat ears twitch twice. Without waiting for me to make introductions, she notices Lily first.
"Is she... Miss Anna's daughter nya?"
Of course not! Why does everyone think Lily is my daughter? Do I really look that old?
At the same time, Carol Cat's constantly swishing cat tail also catches Lily's attention. Lily's eyes are practically turning into stars.
Coming in front of Carol Cat, Lily places both hands at her skirt hem, hesitates for a long time, then nervously steals glances at me.
I immediately realize what Lily wants to do and demonstrate a perfect curtsy for her.
Although Lily tries hard to imitate me, unfortunately the movement of bending the knee and then bringing one foot inward to lightly touch the ground seems quite difficult for a small child. Lily clumsily trips over her own feet.
I catch Lily smoothly and give Carol Cat an apologetic smile. Fortunately, Carol Cat doesn't seem to find this rude—her cat tail is swishing even faster, probably a sign of joy.
"Ama... ryllis..."
Lily shyly gives her name.
"Carol meow... no, Carol Cat. Nice to meet you, meow~"
Although Lily's attempt at a curtsy failed, she still managed to make a good first impression on Carol Cat.
The evidence is that Carol Cat is trying very hard to act cute in front of Lily, or rather, she's putting all her effort into playing the role of a feline, even making her mouth into a =ω= shape.
Lily and Carol Cat are having a friendly conversation, while I stand by like a guardian, concentrating on observing Carol Cat.
She's absorbed in chatting with Lily, and from beginning to end there are no sudden emotional fluctuations—no shock or delight from a [Quest] notification suddenly appearing. I can't read any such changes at all.
I'm fairly confident in my ability to read people's expressions. Moreover—and I apologize to Miss Carol Cat in advance—her acting skills are really... to put it objectively, they're at the level of "how to drive your actor friends to death." You can tell at a glance that she's deliberately acting cute. The reason it works well actually has nothing to do with her acting skills; it's simply because Carol Cat herself is genuinely very cute.
Hmm... Carol Cat meeting Lily shows no signs of triggering a [Quest]?
If that's the case, maybe my speculation was wrong, and Lily doesn't possess the conditions to trigger hidden quests.
While I'm thinking, the naturally sociable Carol Cat has already gotten along very well with Lily.
"Cat sister, Lily has something very, very, very important that she wants to ask cat sister about."
"Of course, meow~ I'd even pluck the stars from the sky for Lily, meow~"
Carol Cat agrees to Lily's request before she even states it. Since Arcadia is relatively close to the Kingdom of Michel, encountering beastkin in the Kingdom of Michel isn't strange, but this is probably Lily's first time interacting so intimately with a cat girl.
She's probably interested in Carol Cat's ears and tail. Carol Cat thinks the same thing—I can see she's prepared to let Lily pet her.
"Lily wants to know..." Lily gathers her courage, "How many ears does cat sister have?"
".....................Nya?"
Eh? Oh right.
I can't help but freeze. Unlike the pointed ears of elves, Carol Cat's cat ears are on top of her head, positioned much higher than human ears, similar to wearing a cat ear headband. Although Carol Cat has short hair, it still conceals the position where human ears would be quite well.
What Lily is curious about is whether Carol Cat actually has human ears under her chestnut-colored short hair.
"N-no! That question is taboo for beastkin, meow!"
Carol Cat hurriedly covers her ears and retreats while crying.
It seems Lily's innocent question has hit Carol Cat's sore spot. Actually, I'm quite curious about how many ears Carol Cat has too.
"Tell Lily please."
"I already said no! Help, nya!"
Lily and Carol Cat begin a game of chase, but since Carol Cat is a cat person with extremely high agility, and Lily is wearing a little dress that slows her running, if Carol Cat weren't holding back, Lily would never be able to catch her.
"Be careful, Lily."
"I know~"
Has she recovered to the point where she can run around? I know it's my Lv. Max [Medicine] and flawless care that maximized Lily's recovery speed, but seeing such miraculous healing, it's hard to imagine that just a few days ago when I found Lily, she was once critically injured and on the verge of death.
Knock knock knock...
Someone's knocking at the door from outside.
Today's adventurer visits are earlier than usual.
I remind Lily once more to be careful and hope I can find a suitable master to hire me today.
But when I open the door, today's first visitor is the long-unseen guard captain, Uncle François.