The next morning, at the Tanuki House.
Everything was calm and peaceful.
"Time to get up, Zane!"
"Hm? No response?"
"Then take this—Tiger Pounce, meow!"
With a cry, Nekomata sprang onto the bed, all four limbs landing at once. But as she sank onto the soft blankets, she froze in confusion.
Where's the person?
"Nekomata, what are you doing?"
"Wah!"
A hand patted her shoulder lightly, and a calm voice brushed past her ear. Completely unprepared, Nekomata jumped in fright.
Before she could recover, a warm breath tickled her ear, sending a strange, tingling feeling through her body. Feeling uncomfortable, she whipped around to see Zane standing there.
"I was trying to wake you up, and you scared me!"
Nekomata furrowed her brows, cheeks faintly flushed, and glared in protest.
"Huh? You come barging in here first thing in the morning, and I didn't even get mad. How could that scare you?"
Zane clicked his tongue and shook his head. He hadn't meant to startle her, but he hadn't expected a cat to be so skittish...
Stretching lazily, he felt much lighter. Last night's business had already been handed over to Shin, and the twins' matter wasn't until the afternoon. He'd been planning to sleep in—it wasn't often that Qingyi was too busy to watch over him.
"What do you mean, messing around, meow..."
Nekomata puffed her cheeks, ears drooping slightly, clearly sulking.
"Well, thanks for the wake-up call, Nekomata..."
Zane noticed her shift in mood and spoke with a small sigh.
Ever since the Tanuki House had been established, his relationship with Nekomata had grown increasingly casual and easygoing.
Her little quirks kept surfacing, and it gave him the feeling she was no different from the other cats in the Tanuki House.
In truth, it felt a bit like looking after a daughter.
Raising a cat, raising a daughter... strange connection.
But he couldn't help it. Zane had always liked cats, and with Nekomata's antics, the longer they spent together, the more he felt like some weary "old father."
He shook his head, let the thought go, and flopped back onto the bed with a soft thud, clearly intending to catch a bit more sleep.
Of course, Nekomata wasn't about to let him. Her mood had just improved after his earlier words, but now seeing him sprawled out again, it sounded more like he was trying to coax her.
Hands on hips, she frowned down at him. After a moment's thought, she sighed.
Forget it. A great cat like her wouldn't fuss over something so small. Besides, come to think of it, it was about time to change the litter...
With that, Nekomata turned away to busy herself with the chores of the Tanuki House, while Zane, undisturbed, drifted back to sleep.
Time, after all, slips away in the blink of an eye...
...
The sun rose high, then began its descent.
"Um... is this really okay..."
Corin stood outside the Tanuki House, looking a little uneasy. Sunlight spilled warmly through the doorway, where cats lay basking in comfort.
"What's the problem? The guy's been sleeping till now. We're practically doing him a favor with a wake-up service..."
Ellen waved dismissively, unconcerned by Corin's hesitation. Lifting the megaphone in her hand, she was just about to press the button when Corin spoke again.
"Miss Ellen, maybe... we should wait a little longer?"
She pursed her lips, eyeing the megaphone warily. She had heard what Ellen planned to shout through it—and this kind of "wake-up service" was definitely a first for her.
"If we wait, we'll be late..."
And with that, Ellen pressed the switch.
The next instant, her voice blared from the megaphone. A few pedestrians turned to stare, their attention caught immediately—not at the two of them, but at the ridiculous sound echoing from the horn.
A few breaths later—
With a sharp whoosh, a flash of blue light streaked past. In the next moment, the megaphone in Ellen's hand was completely frozen, the noise cut short.
The door to the Tanuki House swung open, and Zane stepped out.
"Where did you learn that?"
Thinking about what had just blasted from the megaphone, his expression darkened as he asked in irritation.
Sarcasm upon sarcasm—it seemed Ellen had completely discarded any sense of shame.
And the target of it all had been him!
"Self-taught~"
Ellen gave a small smile and casually flicked her wrist, shattering the ice crystals clinging to the megaphone. Clearly, her little stunt had the intended effect.
"Self-taught, huh? You're so clever, Ellen..."
"Wow, if you're that clever, your grades at school must've been excellent. I bet you were the kind of kid whose parents were always praised on stage during parent-teacher conferences..."
"Oh, right—I remember Lycaon probably had to attend your conferences. He must've been so proud. I'm jealous..."
Zane chuckled lightly, but the casual tone made Ellen's face darken.
Corin, standing quietly beside them, stole a glance at Ellen's expression and wisely kept her mouth shut.
Better not get involved—her words would only get her torn apart. Best to treat Zane with caution from now on.
"You little..."
Ellen clenched her fists, teeth grinding slightly as her thoughts spun in confusion.
How did he know so much about her?
Had she ever told him anything about school?
How could he even know about Lycaon attending her parent-teacher meetings?
Wait—was he secretly investigating her?
Her gaze sharpened suspiciously as she thought back to their first meeting.
This guy had never been a good person...
Even if he had saved Ruby, that didn't make him one.
Zane, unaware of Ellen's suspicions, assumed her silence meant surrender. Deciding she'd already waved the white flag, he let the matter drop.
"The Proxy should be ready by now, right? When are we heading out? Where are the others?"
He turned to Corin, asking directly.
Ellen was in no state to answer—probably still brooding—so the questions fell to Corin, making her tense up instantly.
"Y-yes, sir. The Proxy has already been waiting for us—about twelve minutes now. We can head for the Hollow and start the ascent. If we hurry, we can still catch the subway in five minutes and reach the site within half an hour..."