"If it's that hard to get by here, then just leave. Why not come with me to Schicksal? Whenever I've got nothing better to do, I can fire a couple of shots beside you for fun... What are you, a shooting target?"
Eden sounded a little exasperated.
"Aww... I was just joking!"
Pardofelis gave her an awkward grin. Now that she'd fully recovered, she quickened her pace, and three minutes later, she finally brought Eden back to her little home.
From the outside, it was only a simple, slightly run-down red-brick house with a tiled roof.
Compared with the homes Eden was used to seeing, it wasn't much, but next to the bare prefabricated shacks they'd passed at the entrance to the alley, it was practically luxurious.
Once Pardofelis opened the door, Eden found the inside perfectly matched the saying, "Small, but with everything you need."
All the usual appliances were there, and from the interior alone, anyone might've thought this belonged to a comfortable middle-class family. It was hard to imagine that this house stood in the middle of a slum.
Just as Eden had expected, Pardofelis also kept the place spotless. There was even a sense of deliberate design to the layout, and as a designer herself, Eden found it pleasant to look at.
Some homes were filled with expensive furniture and lavish decorations, yet somehow still made her frown the moment she stepped inside. This place didn't.
"Eden, sit over here. What would you like to drink?"
After setting down the reusable shopping bag, Pardofelis ushered Eden toward a small sofa in the living room. She then hurried over to the refrigerator, pulled it open, and peered inside. "Hmm, let's see... I've still got some cola and juice."
"What kind of juice?"
"Orange and grape."
Pardofelis shifted aside so Eden could see inside the refrigerator.
"I'll have the grape juice, then."
Given a choice, Eden would've preferred red wine. But Pardofelis was only fifteen, so asking for that would've been unreasonable.
Even if Pardofelis ran out to buy some right now, no shopkeeper would've dared sell alcohol to a minor. Red wine wasn't an exception.
"Got it!"
Pardofelis took two bottles from the refrigerator, a cola for herself and a bottle of grape juice for Eden.
She dropped onto the sofa opposite Eden and took a huge gulp. As the cold drink and fizz spread through her mouth, she let out a long, satisfied sigh.
"Ahh... I'm alive again."
Watching Pardofelis stretch out in complete comfort, Eden couldn't help imagining a tiny kitten that had just finished nursing and was now wearing a blissful little expression.
She sipped her grape juice and watched the girl with a smile.
All at once, Eden felt she understood Durandal's fondness for cats a little better.
A few months ago, before construction on Schicksal Headquarters had even begun, Vill-V had asked everyone what facilities they wanted included. Durandal had suggested building a room devoted to keeping pets.
Durandal had later withdrawn the idea because she was too busy to care for them, but then Elysia came along and told Vill-V to add it back to the plans anyway.
When Vill-V told Eden and Connie about it, Connie had gotten so excited that she'd passed out again.
Schicksal Headquarters had been finished for several days now, and the pet room was ready as well. But just as Durandal had originally feared, she didn't have any free time to raise a cat, so the room had remained empty.
Of course, even though Pardofelis really did act rather catlike, Eden hadn't suddenly decided she should move into the pet room.
She'd simply thought of something.
"Felis, you know quite a lot about cats, don't you?"
Pardofelis froze for a moment, then nodded. A trace of sadness crept into her expression.
"What's wrong? Did you used to have cats?"
Seeing her reaction, Eden assumed Pardofelis had once raised some and couldn't help asking.
Pardofelis shook her head. When she spoke, her voice had grown subdued.
"Rather than saying I raised cats, it'd be more accurate to say cats raised me. Sounds unbelievable, right? But it's true. If those strays hadn't been there, I probably would've starved or frozen to death on the streets of Sundown Alley when I was little."
She gave a faint smile.
"The sanatorium back then didn't have kind people like Big Sis Aponia working there. Nobody would've taken in children who were alone and had nowhere to go in Sundown Alley."
Eden fell quiet.
She found it difficult to truly understand what Pardofelis had gone through.
A life like that was something she couldn't even picture.
"Then... what happened to those cats? Where are they now?"
Pardofelis shook her head in confusion, and the sadness in her voice deepened.
"I don't know. Once I could support myself, they left me. I think I understood what they were trying to say, though... In the end, we weren't the same kind of creature."
Pardofelis said they weren't the same kind, but Eden had a feeling the girl believed the exact opposite deep down.
"Actually, Schicksal could help you find them. We've got the resources."
As long as Pardofelis could provide enough details about the cats, Connie would surely be able to come up with a way to track them down.
"You really could?"
After so many years, Pardofelis had nearly given up on ever finding those stray cats again. Sometimes she'd even wondered whether they'd deliberately been avoiding her.
Cats didn't live very long, either. There was a good chance that many of the cats she remembered had already passed away.
Even so, if there was the slightest hope, she wanted to try.
"Of course."
Eden smiled and nodded.
When she saw Pardofelis hesitate, she added, "Don't worry. I won't use this as an excuse to force you into Schicksal. Think of it as a small favor between friends."
Pardofelis's cheeks immediately turned a little red.
She really had been worried that Eden might use this opportunity to pressure her into joining Schicksal. Hearing Eden's promise made her relax, but it also left her feeling embarrassed for suspecting her in the first place.
More importantly, Eden had called it a favor between friends.
The moment Pardofelis realized she'd somehow become friends with someone like Eden, excitement bubbled up inside her. She lived alone and rarely had much contact with other people, so the thought meant more to her than she could say.
She tipped her head back and finished the last of her cola, then sprang to her feet.
"All right! I've rested enough, and it's almost dinner time anyway. Eden, just sit back and watch me show off my skills!"
With that, Pardofelis pulled the ingredients from the reusable bag and headed toward the kitchen.
"I'll help."
Eden set her barely touched grape juice on the coffee table and followed her.
When Pardofelis gave her a doubtful look, Eden explained, "It's true that I used to be the kind of person who'd never lifted a finger in the kitchen. But after joining Schicksal, we've had a few barbecues together. I can't promise much else, but I've at least learned how to prep ingredients."
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T/N: If you want advance chapters, you can find it at [email protected]/AspenTL