/
I asked, trying to stay calm.
“I heard that a cat shapeshifter has nine lives. Does that mean giving one of them to the devil when you die or something like that?”
So when the eight lives ran out, the last one would disappear along with the eighth. If that was the case, it wasn’t bad. After all, other creatures started with one life, and eight was still a lot compared to one.
However, to my naive question, Dimitri replied with a look of disbelief.
“Demons can’t be so kind. They’re demons, aren’t they? Hedonistic, selfish, manipulative, cruel and vicious.”
‘…Didn’t he kindly sign a contract in exchange for his life and for them to obey his orders?’
Realizing that I might set off Dimitri’s tantrum if I said this, I decided to keep my mouth shut instead. But at the moment when I kept my mouth shut, Dimitri seemed to have roughly read my naive thoughts.
He asked, narrowing his eyes.
“You probably don’t think that saying that we have nine lives means that we get a new body every time we die and be fully resurrected.”
If not that, then what could it be?
As I blinked my eyes quietly, Dimitri let out a blank laugh as if he was in disbelief.
“I’ve always wondered why you were so worried about their health when they have a healing ability, but now I’m really curious. If you thought we were such immortals, why did you try so hard to keep Sasha alive yesterday?”
“You never know what’s going to happen in life. Whether it’s one life or nine lives, each one is precious. You can’t waste a single one.”
“Should I say that you’re frugal…”
What I knew from reading the original story was actually information acquired through the perspective of the heroine of this world.
Since the original male lead, Cadis, was a dog shapeshifter, the female lead was more familiar with dogs than cats. In other words, I wasn’t very bright when it came to information related to cat shapeshifters so the story related to the cat shapeshifters, which I heard directly from Dimitri’s mouth, was quite unfamiliar.
“When they say a cat has nine lives, they’re talking about cats surviving a crisis tenaciously.”
“You don’t actually have nine lives?”
Since the genre was fantasy, I thought they’d be magically resurrected nine times, but it didn’t seem to be the case. It was a bit disappointing as it felt as if the strong insurance I had put in place for the children had disappeared in an instant.
“Moreover, cats and shapeshifters have a higher chance of surviving contracts with demons than other races because we can see the true nature of demons and easily see through their weaknesses.”
“Does that mean you have to fight the demon and win to make a contract?”
“The fight isn’t just hand-to-hand combat. Depending on the nature of the summoned demon, you may have to guess a riddle or win a bet. They are pretty belligerent, so there are many cases where it often gets into fights.”
Risking one’s life must have meant that one had to win a life-and-death fight. Meanwhile, Coco, who had been listening quietly until then, interrupted.
“All we have to do is win the fight with the demon and we’ll get the contract, brother?”
“Most of the time, yes. If your heart can handle it.”
“Ah…”
Neither Dimitri nor Sasha seemed to notice, but I saw Coco’s eyes glaze over at that moment.
‘Why is he like that…?’
Soon enough, Coco showed a resolute attitude as if nothing had happened, so I pretended not to know and probed for more details instead of questioning Coco.
“What do you mean, if your heart holds out?”
“When you sign a contract with the demon, you imprison it in your heart. The heart acts as a shackle.”
“I see…”
“Even after signing a contract, the demons always try to escape. If the heart is weak, it’ll gnaw at it and run away. Only those with healthy bodies can control demons without being consumed by them.”
Since making a contract with the devil was really not an ordinary thing, perhaps that was why they said that only ‘strong cats’ could make contracts with the demons.
Dimitri, who went through all of this, looked amazing.
“Dimitri did that hard thing. You’re really amazing.”
“It’s basic.”
As he shrugged with a smug look on his face at my words, I gave him a round of applause and smiled.
“But… are you going to make Coco and Sasha do that difficult thing, too?”
“They will be able to save their own lives.”
I clenched my fists.
This wasn’t a laughing matter—!
“Your belly button is bigger than your stomach!*”
[ T/N: It’s an idiom which means, ‘For something secondary to take more money or effort than something primary.’ ]
How many times would they risk their lives to make a contract with the devil to protect their life from external threats day and night?
“Besides, if Coco or Sasha make a pact with the devil, they might be able to protect Rowaine.”
“My cats don’t need to protect me, they just need to be cute! And they’ve fulfilled their calling by being cute!”
All of a sudden, Sasha stopped me with a face like the world was about to collapse.
“No! Sasha isn’t satisfied with being cute, I want to be a strong cat!”
“Sasha, let’s talk about it again when you’re a little older.”
Dimitri protested as if he couldn’t understand.
“I also made a pact with the devil when I was that age. Sasha has qualities…”
I leaned my face close to his ear and whispered softly.
“Don’t encourage the child. If something goes wrong, I’m not going to let you get away with it.”
“….”
I wasn’t going to let the demons play with my cat’s life.
‘…This is ridiculous.’
At my adamant objections, Sasha let out an annoyed scream before turning around and running off. Nonetheless, I turned away from Sasha and narrowed my eyes to Dimitri with the thought, ‘What can’t be done, can’t be done.’ It was an expression of strong disapproval.
˚･: * ✧ * :･˚
While Sasha got angry and ran away, Coco disappeared quietly at some point.
Since I was bothered by Coco’s reaction earlier, I decided to search for him. Though contrary to what I expected for him to be running around indiscriminately somewhere, Coco was sitting on the wall in a human form.
“Coco, I’ve been looking for you for a while.”
Coco, who had been staring blankly into space and lost in thought, glanced at me and asked slowly.
“Why?”
Even though his face was calm, the tension was definitely off.
“Are you mad at me for not letting you make a deal with the demons?”
“It’s Sasha who’s upset.”
“Are you okay?”
“Rowaine is worried about us. I’m grateful.”
It was definitely weird. Coco was so polite and mature, which wasn’t his usual behavior. Thinking that, I asked again.
“I appreciate your understanding of my feelings, but what about yours?”
Coco paused.
Although I tried to approach him with kind words, his response was caught again so I decided to repeat my question again.
“Are you okay?”
“I…”
After hesitating for a while, Coco smiled awkwardly.
“I can’t do that anyway, so it doesn’t matter.”
“You can’t do it anyway?”
He let out a deep sigh. A look of disappointment came out as if he couldn’t smile any longer.
“Because my heart won’t be able to stand it.”
Wasn’t that something you wouldn’t know unless you tried it?
I climbed the wall and sat down next to him, looking at his side. His curly wheat-colored hair fluttered in the wind, and his clear sky-blue eyes, half-hidden by long lashes, stared helplessly at the floor. Coco, who had a short mouth and was a picky eater, was very skinny though today he felt smaller.
The boy’s profile looked unusually lonely.
After choosing his words for a long time, Coco confessed.
“When I was a slave trader, my brothers were with me. There were four of them, including me.”
“Where are they?”
“They all died before I was ten years old. I’m the only one who survived.”
I berated myself for my carelessness and wondered what comforting words I could offer to Coco. However, he smiled bitterly as if he understood and continued the story.
“The young cats and dogs there die easily… that’s to be expected because there are not many children who were born normally.”
“….!”
“I know. I was born there, too, and my siblings died of a genetic disease that caused their hearts to grow abnormally large. It was a very common disease there.”
Coco dropped his head.
“I found out later that it was due to reckless inbreeding.”
The boy chewed his lip as his shoulders slumped.
“I knew because the shapeshifters caught outside told me about it. I couldn’t make a contract with a demon. Even if I survived this long, my heart would never be strong enough to contain a demon.”
“Coco.”
When I reached out my hand to him, Coco, who usually enjoyed my touch, pushed my hand ferociously for the first time.
“I’m ashamed… I’m so ashamed of myself. I’m disgusted that I was born that way.”
It was only then that I realized why Coco had asked me to keep what was happening at the slave trader a secret. Inbreeding frequently occurred at the slave trader he was born and raised in, so he probably didn’t want to reveal that he was born that way, too.
There was a big difference between what others assumed and what turned out to be true.
Many thoughts floated through my head. I wondered what I should say to Coco, but what could I say that would comfort him?