SWNOVELXO Chapter 411
Before long, evening arrived, and Kurt’s group finished preparing their meal and gathered in one place.
“Why aren’t you sitting down?”
Kurt asked, noticing that Mari, who would usually be the first to sit and wait for the food, was standing and looking around instead.
“Well… I haven’t seen the cat since earlier.”
“The cat?”
“Yes. I thought it might be at another party’s tent, but they said they haven’t seen it either.”
“Now that you mention it, I haven’t seen Charl since earlier either…”
The possibility that the cat and Charl might have gone missing made Kurt’s expression turn serious.
“Then let’s start searching…”
“Meow~.”
Just then.
A meow came from the edge of the tent.
Kurt’s group turned their attention to the sound, and soon, a cat covered in spiderwebs and leaves emerged from the bushes.
“Meow~.”
“Ah! Cat! I was so worried!”
Mari immediately ran to the cat, removing the debris from its fur while scolding it.
But then, when Charl appeared beside the cat, the group was left speechless.
Charl’s appearance was so disheveled that even the cat looked pristine in comparison.
It seemed as if Charl had been rolled in honey, as his entire body was sticky, and the sticky substance was covered in dirt and twigs from the forest.
“Charl! What happened to you!”
Liche, startled, rushed to Charl.
“Were you playing in the mud? You’re not a cat!”
Charl, feeling utterly wronged, could only bow his head in shame.
‘The honor of a servant is the honor of the master. No matter the reason, my disheveled appearance has tarnished the master’s honor. Therefore, excuses are meaningless.’
Even if he had a mouth, Charl wouldn’t have made any excuses and would have simply asked for forgiveness.
Regardless, the two who knew what had happened today couldn’t speak, and the others had no idea what had transpired.
Liche, unaware of the day’s events, could only assume that Charl had been playing in the mud with the cat and was shocked by his filthy appearance.
“Meow~.”
“Huh? Cat, what’s that…?”
The cat then blocked Liche, who was about to scold Charl, and stretched out a vine to show what it had brought.
Items wrapped in vines like a bundle.
“Meow!”
They were plants created during Charl’s battle with a tree predator.
A chestnut with a shell as hard as steel.
Agar soaked with water.
A rose with sharp petals, though a few had fallen.
“What on earth…”
“Cat, did you get all dirty bringing these for us?”
Liche, unable to guess where the cat had found these, momentarily forgot about Charl’s messy state and looked at the plants. Mari, quick-witted, approached the cat and asked.
“Meow?”
“See! You got all dirty bringing these gifts for us!”
“…It seemed like the cat didn’t understand what you just said.”
“I don’t think so.”
“I agree.”
“Agreed.”
Thus, Kurt’s opinion was ignored like a strikeout, and the party quickly revised their assessment of the cat from a troublemaker rolling in dirt to a thoughtful cat who had brought them gifts.
“Maybe the cat was worried about us because the atmosphere has been so serious lately as we head to the Spine Empire!”
“Ahem…! To think the cat gathered such precious plants with fern-like roots out of concern for us…!”
“Cat! You’re the best cat ever!”
“Indeed. I feel remorseful too. No matter how serious things are, there’s no need to act so grave before anything happens.”
Naturally, Charl’s evaluation was also revised.
“Oh my. So Charl got dirty because… he was helping the cat gather these?”
‘That’s incorrect… If I lie here, I might not disappoint the master, but it would still be deceiving the master. So I…’
But it was a misunderstanding.
Trying to restore one’s honor with such a lie would be nothing but cowardice.
Thus, Charl…
Nodded.
“See! Charl! I’m sorry for misunderstanding earlier! You really worked hard taking care of the cat!”
‘This is all my fault. I did nothing wrong. The fault lies with the Lizardman who ruined me.’
And so, Charl told his first lie since gaining self-awareness, and as a result, the party’s peace was preserved.
.
.
.
The cat and Charl had returned, but since they had to clean the dirty cat and Charl, Kurt’s group ended up having their meal late.
By the time they finished eating, the stars were already shining brightly in the night sky.
“Meow…”
“The cat slept all day and is sleeping again.”
Having exhausted all the stamina it had charged during the day’s grand adventure, the cat had curled up and fallen asleep.
“Cats usually sleep 14 hours a day, right?”
“Ah… But does that apply to our cat?”
“Shouldn’t it? It’s still a cat.”
“Is that so?”
Mari, seeing the cat’s blissful state, reached out to play a prank but suddenly remembered the various fruits the cat had brought and instead gently patted the cat’s head.
Purr purr.
The cat, resting its head on Mari’s hand, purred contentedly and squirmed.
In front of them, the campfire crackled.
Above, the stars twinkled in the night sky.
The campsite was as quiet as if nothing had happened that day.
Then, suddenly, the cat, which had been squirming in sleep, opened its eyes wide and jumped up.
“Meow!”
“Ha. This guy’s quick.”
Kurt, who had been bringing dessert, had no choice but to give the cat its share.
“Ah! Dessert!”
And Mari, not to be outdone by the cat, quickly greeted Kurt.
“Among the plants the cat brought, there were some good chestnuts. There was also agar mixed in. So I made some chestnut jelly.”
“Wow! Sweet, sweet chestnut jelly!”
At the mention of chestnut jelly, Mari spread her arms and smiled broadly.
She had once eaten red bean jelly with fairies in the Fairy Kingdom, so just the name made her excited.
“It’s been a while since autumn ended, but where did you find such good chestnuts…? Anyway, thanks to that, we could make chestnut jelly.”
Kurt then distributed the golden, appetizing chestnut jelly to everyone, and the group enjoyed the snack with happy expressions.
“Mmm~! The smooth texture melts on the tongue! The sweetness of the sugar blends perfectly with the fragrant chestnuts, creating an irresistible luxury!”
“Hmm. When the chestnut jelly makes your mouth dry, a sip of this bitter tea softens the sweet aftertaste, and the tea washes away the dryness. Then, the aroma of the chestnuts and tea mix to create a unique flavor! It’s a special taste you can’t get from desserts using butter or cream!”
“If you take a bite of the jelly and a sip of tea, theoretically, you can eat the jelly infinitely!”
Kurt’s group cheered for his cooking as usual, and the quiet campsite soon became lively.
And amidst the noisy atmosphere, the cat, as if it wasn’t part of the commotion, was busily eating its share of chestnut jelly.
Charl quietly approached the cat, crouched down, and observed it.
‘It’s truly fascinating. Producing energy through photosynthesis while also consuming food for energy. No, how does it even digest food with that deer head, which is just a disguise?’
But no matter how much he thought, he couldn’t reach a conclusion.
After all, Charl wasn’t a golem created to study monsters, and it wasn’t something he necessarily needed to know.
‘Anyway, earlier, subject name Cat. No, thanks to the plants you brought, my honor was preserved. But even so, I helped you several times today, so I won’t thank you. In fact, I saved you more, so you should thank me. If you have any conscience, hurry up and thank me.’
But since Charl couldn’t speak, these thoughts remained just thoughts and didn’t leave his mouth.
“Meow?”
The cat tilted its head, puzzled by Charl, who was crouching and staring at it.
‘Hmph. You wouldn’t understand my thoughts. You’re too irrational and illogical to comprehend someone as rational and logical as me.’
Charl naturally smiled silently and patted the cat’s head a couple of times.
The cat, after watching for a moment, turned its gaze away and started eating the chestnut jelly again.
Seeing the cat like this, Charl realized that the worries filling his mind didn’t feel as serious as before.
Well, what could he do about the self-awareness that had already sprouted?
It wasn’t like he could go back to before it sprouted.
Charl felt that living as the only golem in the world with awakened self-awareness wasn’t so bad after all.
The cat was always happy, and Charl decided to accept himself.
And the cat and Charl grew a little closer.