Chapter 467: Cat Fairies and Props

"Cat fairies?!" x2

Even though he had long since braced himself for it.

But when Kalius and Lily entered the forest of the labyrinth and saw with their own eyes an entire troop of adorable cat fairies walking toward them, they were still greatly startled.

Cat fairies possess the heaven-defying ability of 【Materialization】, and in earlier years were captured in great numbers by mages.

Even some recent research reports claim that the existing number of cat fairies may be less than three hundred.

Just the 【Royal Knights】 led by the cat fairy Pudding before their eyes alone numbered at least fifty.

"Rod, you knowing them is one thing, but is it really fine to bring us in?"

Lily couldn't help but worry:

"Back when the tree spirits were hunted and studied for the birth of spirit seeds, they were extremely hostile to outsiders. Even now there are some extreme tree spirits who, upon seeing outsiders enter the forest, will attack indiscriminately."

"Don't worry, they trust me, and I trust you, so naturally there's no problem."

Rod was quite pleased with their reaction and smugly patted his chest.

Just as they were speaking.

The cat fairy Pudding looked at the girls, then looked at Rod.

Being quite sharp, he immediately raised his two white-gloved hands and loudly shouted, "We respectfully welcome the Dragon God's Envoy!"

The fifty-odd cat fairies of the Royal Knights behind him shouted in unison as well.

Which startled the girls once more.

Kalius asked in confusion, "Dragon God's Envoy... what is that?"

"Just a trivial little title, that's all."

Seeing that he was unwilling to explain, the elf young lady gave a cold snort and lazily dropped the matter, turning her attention to the forest around them.

Rod, meanwhile, looked at Pudding and handed over the white dragon-horn seal.

Long Hun Nao Lin was the labyrinth consciousness occupying this place, and he had notified them beforehand, saving Rod a lot of explaining.

Pudding hugged the white dragon horn, taller than he was, and examined it for a moment.

"Reporting to the Dragon God's Envoy, polishing it into material will take some time. Allow me to lead everyone to rest first."

"No need, we'll be able to head back once we plant a tree."

Once the Emerald Tree was planted.

【Spatial Tree Form】 allowed them to come and go freely, so naturally there was no need to wait around here.

"Plant a tree?"

Pudding's adorable cat face went blank, utterly confused.

Rod bent down, patted his shoulder, and smiled: "Don't mind us, go on with your work. I'll go find Witch Cat with them."

"Understood."

Pudding handed the white dragon-horn seal to the guard beside him to hold, and saluted respectfully.

Only then did he direct the troops to leave.

Suddenly he turned back and handed over a translucent crystal stone.

"This is?"

Rod was puzzled.

"Some time ago, Lady Witch Cat learned that the Dragon God's Envoy would be coming, so she commissioned us to urgently craft this magic item. Once used, it produces a long, hollow, elastic sleeve, mainly used to isolate liquid. Lady Witch Cat lives in seclusion, and we still haven't been able to find her, so please, my lord Dragon God's Envoy, help deliver it."

".?"

Having said that, Pudding didn't wait for a response, turned around, and led the Royal Knights back.

Rod sighed and looked back.

Sure enough.

He saw Kalius's gaze once more, as if looking at garbage.

And Lily, her eyes full of shock.

She looked at Rod, then at the cat fairy, seemingly comparing their builds.

After looking back and forth several times, she said in disbelief, "Rod... you, even with cat fairies too...?"

Rod refused to respond to such a question.

Not long after entering Witch Peak.

The group encountered Witch Cat's two headless knights, Mimi and Tata.

The two women's entrance was as flashy as ever.

Green flames and eerie winds, fierce and domineering full-body black armor, one wielding a longsword, the other gripping a massive warhammer in both hands, neither had a head upon their shoulders.

The two girls had once been captured by Rod, so they were presumably somewhat displeased.

During the time they led the way, the elder sister Mimi, the one with a head, shot Rod several covert glares.

Very soon.

Rod and the others climbed the mountain path and saw Witch Cat spacing out in front of a certain cave.

The calico-colored Witch Cat was still wearing that black mage robe, and upon spotting Rod, immediately broke into an adorable kitty smile.

"Lord Rod!"

She also politely greeted the girls behind him.

They exchanged a few casual pleasantries, marking their meeting.

Rod then handed the Emerald Tree cutting to Kalius, asking her to help choose a site and perform the spell-cutting.

Lily felt they had hit it off too late, her enthusiasm not yet spent, so she followed along as well.

Watching the retreating backs of Lily, Kalius, and Number Thirteen as they left.

The Witch Cat then turned toward Rod with a hint of grievance:

"Other cat spirits are somewhat dim-witted and wouldn't mind you bringing people into the 【Cat Spirit Paradise】; I alone must play the villain and say these unkind things. Are these Young Ladies alright?"

"They are alright; they are all trustworthy."

Rod reached out and rubbed the Witch Cat's head, suddenly realizing the texture was excellent.

He couldn't help but squat down, cupping her face with both hands and petting her fiercely.

"Ah-woo ah-woo ah-woo pet-woo pet-woo—"

She actually emitted a cute feline purr.

But the Witch Cat was clearly unaccustomed to anyone treating her this way; frowning in displeasure, she scratched him away with her paws, pads and all.

Rod added, "That elf, Lady Kali, already knows a cat spirit named Little Orange, and the halfling Lily possesses the same 【Open-Air Dungeon High-Grade Pass】 as me, basically counting as another Dragon God Envoy."

"Actually, it's not that I don't trust you."

The Witch Cat remained worried. "It's just that the continent hasn't been peaceful lately; I heard a new race called Mind Flayers has appeared. They are most skilled at reading thoughts; I'm afraid."

"Hmm? Don't you never leave the house? How do you even know about current affairs on the continent?"

"Cat spirits naturally need to show themselves less on the continent, but Mimi can."

She blinked her large eyes.

Her hands clumsily smoothed the fur Rod had messed up.

"The Headless Knight... really won't be treated as a necromantic creature and driven out?"

Rod was slightly stunned.

The Headless Knight's reputation on the continent is not good, especially now when Aethelorn and the Heavenly Court Flower Kingdom are locked in continuous battle, with countless beheaded battlefield corpses rising again.

"Mimi has a head, so it's fine; she can put it on for a while, add some concealment spells, and go out. Tata, however, cannot; she is a Headless Knight who cannot find her head, and she is timid. If she goes out, she'll likely be eliminated by passing adventurers before long."

Speaking of this, she recalled Tata's timid demeanor and couldn't help but laugh.

"There's still the 【Memory Wish Stone】, isn't there? You fixed it, right? I've agreed with them that we can modify the memories regarding this part—though they only agree to let me operate it personally."

"Only agreeing to let my lord Rod operate it personally feels a bit ambiguous."

Rod saw she looked unhappy.

So he went over again to pet her face, messing up the fur he had just smoothed.

"Ya-ya ah-ya—"

The Witch Cat angrily pushed him away, then hurriedly smoothed her fur again.

"You only know how to bully me, yet I specially made something good for you!"

(End of this chapter)