Ears drooping, one small hand extended, holding out a piece of bread—looking up with those pitiful eyes, as if afraid Beatrice would complain it wasn't enough again.
Beatrice could feel something in her chest stir, guilt brushing against something she didn't quite name. But then the mood—specific and fragile as it was—got cut through by an intruder who had absolutely no read on the situation.
Since the area they were wandering was close to where Emilia had gone, running into another candidate's camp wasn't unusual.
"That's enough! And you too—where did you even come from, little cat?!" Beatrice had looped her arms around Yimi's waist from behind and was doing her best to haul her backward.
Strange—a child that small, and when she started thrashing, Beatrice could barely drag her. Maybe because Beatrice herself also looked like a small girl from the outside?
"You! I finally found you again! Die, Mimi God-Fist!"
Facing Yimi was none other than Mimi Pearlbaton, throwing cat-paw punches at the air between them—the two of them slapping and batting at each other with their small hands.
"You're the—bad cat! You were the one—who started it."
A purple-haired knight came over looking a little uncomfortable. "Pardon the intrusion. I didn't expect to encounter a Spirit of your caliber here."
Julius Juukulius—a knight of considerable ability and fine appearance who had contracts with six elementally distinct quasi-spirits, making him a Spirit Arts User—and more relevantly, Anastasia Hoshin's first knight during the Royal Selection period.
Beatrice kept tugging at Yimi but addressed him coolly: "No amount of pretty words will get Betty to sign a contract with you."
"I assure you that was not my intention." Julius smiled with patient resignation, then glanced at Mimi. "The issue is that this girl is something like my traveling companion…"
One of the small cats who had followed Anastasia since she was still just a merchant, and Julius, her first knight since she became a Dragon Priestess candidate—they were in the same camp. Standing by while Mimi picked a fight with another child was a bit difficult to justify.
"Then pull her away!"
"My sincere apologies—she doesn't normally lose her composure like this." Julius caught Mimi by the collar.
Beatrice's eyebrow twitched. "Is what you're saying that Mimi being like this is somehow Yimi's fault and the responsibility lies with us?"
"You put me in a difficult position suggesting that." Julius raised a hand in denial.
"It's her—she kicked me twice, she called me names, and she drew black circles under my eyes!" Mimi rattled off Yimi's offenses, dangling from Julius's grip.
"She said I was ugly. She tried to grab me. She kicked me once too." Yimi tugged on Beatrice's sleeve, filing her own complaint.
"You're lying! I never kicked you!" Mimi, naturally, had no memory of anything from the previous timeline.
In a moment's inattention, the two cats had lunged back toward each other and were pressing palms against each other's cheeks.
"Pull her back, will you!"
Beatrice hauling Yimi, Julius dragging Mimi—they moved in opposite directions.
Even as they were pulled apart, they were still making faces at each other. Their mouths wouldn't stop either.
"Black-and-white cat!"
"Smelly small-fry!"
"Smelly ferret!"
"Weird accent!"
Beatrice manhandled Yimi out of range.
"Honestly."
They were both little cats. But this one somehow didn't get along well with her own kind.
Beatrice looked down at Yimi—cheeks puffed with air, deeply unhappy, her footsteps deliberately heavy so everyone would know she was in a bad mood.
Beatrice reached over and poked Yimi's cheek, letting the air out.
"What?" Yimi rubbed her cheek irritably.
"Nothing. Just letting you know the bread was quite good." Beatrice looked away and placed a hand on top of her head.
"Mm?"
The hand on Yimi's head went slightly still. Beatrice's brow furrowed again. "Betty never noticed before—but you already have a contract on you?"
It was different from the contracts she was familiar with, but a contract was a contract—the essence of it didn't vary that much.
"Contract?"
Yimi instinctively edged a step back. "You want me to become—a magical girl?"
Beatrice had grown accustomed to the occasional strange turn of phrase. She didn't find it surprising.
She bit her lower lip gently. "It's nothing."
It wasn't the kind of petty jealousy a small child might feel. She was an artificial spirit created by her mother—and contracts with her came with all manner of restrictions, including that the contracting party couldn't enter another spirit contract afterward.
To break an existing contract in order to make one with her—the spirit being abandoned would be too pitiable.
Beatrice loosened her fist. Then released it.
Betty was free. What Betty chose to do was also free. She was no longer waiting for the person her mother had described—someone with no distinguishing features at all—no longer bound to that purpose. Whether she formed a contract or not was entirely beside the point.
Beatrice rubbed at her eye, then took Yimi's small hand in hers. "It's getting late. We should head back—if you're still sleeping in tomorrow morning, Betty will have no choice but to blame the catnip."
Even when she did sleep in, Beatrice had never once dragged her out of bed by force. In this world, Yimi had never felt the burden of having to show up to school on time like she had in that magical-girl world.
"Congratulations, Host, for unlocking the achievement 『The One Time I Finally Opened My Heart, You Crushed Me This Thoroughly』. Reward: portal energy +5%."
"Mm?"
That made ten achievements. The main objective for this world was complete—Yimi could leave whenever she chose.
But the problem with Diego wasn't resolved yet, and Yimi had no particular desire to leave right now. Besides, she'd made a promise to protect the person keeping the mouse-cat.
Yimi, hand held by Beatrice, turned to look at her without quite understanding.
Because the little cat could feel it—Betty was sad right now.
She lifted her free hand and patted Beatrice on top of the head.
"Hmph. A little brat like you patting Betty's head—you've got another hundred years of practice to do first."
——————
Their walk had only gotten partway through before Emilia was called away for actual business, leaving Subaru to wait outside alone. He'd been hoping to use the time to properly close the gap between them.
"Royal Selection Candidates?"
"Mm—I just saw Crusch-sama's Dragon Carriage. And Anastasia Hoshin's as well. Something must have come up that required all the Dragon Priestesses to gather."
Two strangers walked past Subaru.
"Wasn't there a half-devil in the candidate pool too? Would she show?"
"She might be the one who ends up ruling us someday—calling her 'half-devil' right where she could overhear you and have it reported back is risky."
"Letting her be our ruler would already be a disaster."
Half-devil?
That wouldn't be referring to Emilia, would it?
"Hey!" Subaru stood up.