Chapter 63: Is the Cat God That Gossipy Too?

The moon outside the window was still the same moon.

When Phyllis leaned over, she hadn’t really thought much about it.

She just felt she should do something.

And then she did it.

The moment her lips touched, Phyllis’s mind went blank.

‘What am I doing?’

The thought had just surfaced when Phyllis herself pushed it back down.

‘Forget it.’

This wasn’t their first kiss.

But it was the first time Phyllis had initiated one.

Well… the last time at the castle hall when they danced doesn’t count!

Because that time it was on the forehead!

Carola didn’t move.

Phyllis didn’t move either.

Even though her hands were propped on the sheets, her posture awkward and her neck strained and sore, she didn’t dare move.

About half a minute passed.

Or maybe it felt like a long time.

Phyllis felt Carola’s eyelashes lightly brush her cheek.

‘Ah~ so ticklish!’

Phyllis held her breath.

Then she felt Carola’s hand lift and gently rest on the back of her head.

Carola’s fingers sank into Phyllis’s hair, tightening slightly.

Pulling the distance between them closer.

Then…

“Carola is a jerk!”

When the kiss ended, Phyllis threw herself back onto the pillow.

Just now, Carola even…

“Mm.”

“You’re bullying me, meow!”

“Mm.”

“Conceited…”

“Mm.”

“But…” Phyllis’s voice was very soft. “I like it.”

“Mm.”

“…”

Phyllis was stuck.

What does a constant ‘Mm’ mean?

Phyllis snuck a glance at Carola’s face.

Moonlight fell from the side, casting Carola’s profile in a soft light, the ends of her white hair hanging at her shoulders, her red eyes cast downward, expression unreadable.

But Phyllis noticed the tips of Carola’s ears.

Were those ears actually tinged with a very faint pink?

Phyllis was stunned.

Then she blinked, and blinked again.

“Carola?”

“…”

“Are you blushing, meow?”

“No.”

“You are, meow!”

“No.”

“You clearly are, meow! I can see your ears are red… mmph~”

Phyllis was cut off mid-sentence as Carola covered her mouth.

“Mmmph!”

When the second kiss ended, Phyllis buried her face in the pillow.

After a moment, she heard Carola get up, the rustle of fabric.

“Tonight’s moon,” Carola said, “is quite nice indeed.”

Phyllis quietly turned her head and peeked through a gap in the pillow.

Carola had already sat back down by the window.

The moonlight spilled over her white hair, like a thin layer of frost.

Phyllis watched for a while, then buried her face in the pillow again.

Those two rounds of intense activity had worn her out.

Besides, she had to get up early for class tomorrow!

Time to sleep!

Just as her consciousness began to blur, Phyllis heard a very soft voice.

“…Phyllis.”

“Mm…”

She answered vaguely.

A long silence, so long that she thought it might just be a half-awake hallucination.

“Good night.”

The moon outside the window quietly shifted an inch.

Phyllis’s breathing gradually became longer and steadier.

Carola’s gaze fell on the curled black shadow on the bed.

Phyllis’s tail was still draped over the edge of the bed, gently rising and falling with her breath.

Carola watched for a long time.

Phyllis, her lover.

“…”

Three days later, the second group meditation.

This time, almost all the candidate saintesses successfully established brief contact with the Cat God.

When Mia woke from meditation, there were still tear tracks on her face—she said the Cat God had gently encouraged her.

When it was Phyllis’s turn, she had barely sat down when her consciousness quickly sank into that familiar space.

‘Here we go.’

The Cat God’s voice sounded languid.

‘Lord Cat God! I—’

Phyllis had just started to speak when the Cat God interrupted.

‘Huh? Let me see.’

Phyllis felt something lightly brush over her consciousness.

A moment of silence.

‘…I see. She actually tore off a small piece of her soul to help you recover?’

The Cat God’s voice was unreadable.

‘Is… is there a problem with that?’

Phyllis was a little worried.

‘Problem? No. It’s just…’ The Cat God paused. ‘…pretty foolish.’

‘Meow?’

Phyllis didn’t understand why the Cat God would say that about Carola.

‘Tearing a piece of the soul is like cutting off your tail. You won’t die, but it hurts. And all for a faster recovery.’

The Cat God explained.

Phyllis clenched her fists.

‘Alright, onto the real matter.’

She wanted to argue, but the Cat God had already changed the subject.

‘…Were you just changing the subject?’

‘This god never changes the subject.’

‘You are changing the subject.’

‘…How dare you!’

The Cat God’s voice carried a hint of annoyance at being caught.

Phyllis blinked, then burst out laughing.

It was the kind of smile you can’t help when you catch someone being stubborn.

‘What are you laughing at?’

‘Nothing, Lord Cat God,’ Phyllis tried to suppress her smile.

‘I just remembered something happy!’

‘What happy thing?’

The Cat God asked.

‘A friend’s wife is about to give birth!’

‘Huh?’

‘Hahahaha…’

Phyllis finally couldn’t hold it in and burst into laughter.

‘…’

Silence fell in the void.

The massive Cat God shifted position, its tail slapping heavily twice behind it.

‘…Are candidate saintesses these days all so disrespectful?’

‘I’m the only one, meow.’

Phyllis admitted frankly.

The Cat God was silent again.

After a moment, it let out a sound that was almost a sigh.

‘You seem quite proud of yourself?’

‘Not at all, meow.’

‘Alright, let’s talk business!’

Phyllis suppressed her smile and looked at the Cat God, asking.

‘What business is it?’

‘The business is that you tell me your experiences over the past few months from start to finish.’

The Cat God raised its head with a gossipy expression.

‘Meow?’

Phyllis was stunned.

So this was the real business?

Phyllis felt the Cat God’s grandeur crumbling in her heart.

Although, it seemed she had never felt much reverence for the Cat God even at their first meeting?

‘Last time we agreed, next time we meet you’d tell me your story!’

The Cat God’s tail swayed leisurely.

‘What, trying to weasel out of it?’

Phyllis remembered.

When she left here three days ago, the Cat God had indeed said that.

‘…Are you serious?’

‘When has this god ever joked?’

Phyllis opened her mouth, then closed it.

Wasn’t that just now a joke?

‘…Does that count as business?’

Phyllis was a little speechless.

‘A believer reporting their life to their deity certainly counts as business.’

The Cat God’s tone was righteous, and Phyllis felt it was like retribution for her laughter just now.

‘Then… where should I start, meow?’

Phyllis tried to recall.

‘Start from when that Blood Tribe member kidnapped you from the Sacred Ground to the castle.’

‘Okay… I… wait, how do you know I was kidnapped? Did you see it then?’

Phyllis suddenly realized something was wrong.

How did the Cat God know she was taken by Carola?

It couldn’t have just watched her get taken, could it?

That would be too…

‘Of course Iona told me! Just start telling it!’

The Cat God’s voice carried a note of impatience.

‘Alright,’ Phyllis took a deep breath and began. ‘When I woke up, I found that…’

Kidnapped, forced into a contract, then after it was nullified, Phyllis became Carola’s lover… until she fell in love with Carola.

Phyllis recounted all these stories to the Cat God in detail.