<Chapter 14>
Theo and Deon were trying not to laugh, clearly finding my situation hilarious.
Philip told me to hold on, then picked a whole bunch of strawberries and put them in a little basket woven from twigs, handing it over to me.
"You're such a sweetie. You can have all of these, go ahead."
"Oh, really?"
"Of course. It makes me so happy to hear you say the strawberries are delicious!"
I giggled, took the basket of strawberries, and thanked him. The strawberries glistened like he'd washed them in the stream.
"Thank you, Philip!"
"Come back and visit anytime!"
"Yes!"
The three of us kept walking, munching on the strawberries. Looking at the beautifully ripened strawberries, I said,
"Being a gardener is such a cool job. I wish I could do something that awesome at the Gridwolf place, too."
"If you were running around with a duster looking that cute, the staff would be too busy staring at you to get any work done."
Theo said. I replied in a sulky voice,
"But isn't my job to be cute?"
"Exactly! That'd be a disaster. If being cute was a job, Kitty would be working overtime every single day."
Deon said with a smirk, joking,
"Right now, you just need to eat lots, sleep well, and get nice and plump. When you grow up, you'll be amazing, too."
"Of course. Kitty is a Gridwolf, after all."
I knew it was just a temporary adoption, but it made me feel good to hear my brothers say that. I perked right up and said I hoped so too, grabbing another strawberry.
We got to the edge of the east and west gardens. There was a big memorial stone there, set on top of a stone altar.
Theo and Deon's eyes, which had been joking around before, turned serious, so I knew this place was important.
"This is a memorial, Kitty."
"Is it the grave of someone?"
"The graves are somewhere else. This was put up to remember the wolves who died. It has the names of all the wolves who were killed by panthers that went crazy because of the Blue Moon."
Like Theo said, the surface of the big memorial stone was covered in tiny writing.
I couldn't read yet, but I could tell there were a lot of victims. It was really sad.
I clasped my soft paws together and prayed for a moment.
'May you be happy in a place where salmon float around.'
I was starting to feel down, thinking about the family's funeral I went to, when Deon suddenly scooped me up. Before I could even ask, he took off running.
"Look, kiddo. You can see the village from here."
"Wow—!"
The Gridwolf mansion was way up high, and from Deon's arms, I could see everything down below.
It was a small village where mostly wolf and dog beastmen lived. Squinting, I could see beastmen shopping and kids playing.
Theo pointed at the market and said,
"Let's sneak out later when we get our allowance. Mom and Dad give us allowance in envelopes after the New Year's festival."
"Can I get it too?"
"Of course. Kitty is a Gridwolf, isn't she?"
Allowance! I'd never gotten one before, so I was kinda excited.
There's plenty of delicious food in the mansion, so I hope I get enough to buy a big ball of yarn. Then I can play yarn ball chase with my brothers!
While I was wondering whether to buy a red ball of yarn or a yellow ball of yarn, Deon shaded his eyes with his hand and looked somewhere far away.
He squinted, like he'd spotted something. I couldn't see anything with my eyes, but Theo, being a wolf, probably could.
"Oh, no, this is bad."
They both said it at the same time. I couldn't see anything, but I played along, crossing my arms and saying,
"Right? It's really bad!"
I found out what they were surprised to see a little later. A large carriage was passing through the main gate of the Gridwolf mansion.
Theo checked his pocket watch and mumbled that he didn't know how it got so late.
"Looks like the people from the dress shop are here."
"We've seen the east garden, so let's go back now. Sweetie, do your feet hurt?"
My foot was already throbbing because of the broken claw. It would take a long time to walk back to the mansion across the wide garden.
But I didn't want to act like a child and whine, so I shook my head.
"Don't lie to your brothers. Does it hurt?"
"A little. But I can walk."
"No. You need to save your energy because fitting cute dresses will be tiring."
Theo smiled wickedly and looked at Deon. Deon glared at him, then soon sighed.
"Okay. But don't be surprised."
Deon closed his eyes tightly, and gray wind swirled.
A moment later, with a poof sound, a wolf as big as a carriage burst out of the gray whirlwind.
"Hic!"
Theo caught me as I almost fell on my butt in surprise.
"I told you not to be surprised, kiddo."
"Is that Deon, Brother?"
"Yeah. Get on quickly."
Looking closely, his eyes were slightly slanted upwards, just like Deon's. His fur color was also the same gray as his hair.
But he was really big. Even when I transform into a cat, I'm the size of a kitten, but Deon had become several times bigger than his original size.
"Theo, Brother. How is Brother Deon's wolf form so big?"
"Once you reach a certain magic power, you can increase your size in proportion to your strength. It's useful in combat or for transportation like now. For reference, Father has great magic power, so he can transform much bigger."
While Theo was explaining, Deon plopped down on the ground. He was getting low so I could climb on his back easier, so I knew it was really him.
"Yay! I'm getting on, then!"
"It's ticklish, so hurry up and get on."
Theo quickly picked me up and sat me on Deon's back, and Deon stood up and started walking. Being so big, even walking quickly was several times faster than me running.
"Brothers, if I study hard, can I become this big too?"
"I guess so? A big Soft Paws…"
"When my Soft Paws gets big, I'll let you play on top of it."
"!"
My brothers were quiet for a bit, probably daydreaming. Theo held me steady from behind, so I felt safe and leaned against Deon, grabbing his fur.
Everyone who passed by waved at us, which made me feel really good.
"Deon, Brother, can I eat the cookies Lena gave me earlier? I'll be careful not to drop crumbs on your fur."
"Crumbs are okay, we can just shower them off. Chew them well so you don't get indigestion."
I shared the almond and chocolate chip cookies with Theo. I threw strawberries with the stems removed into Deon's mouth one by one, but since his mouth had become so big, he didn't seem to taste much.
It was so amazing to ride on my brother's soft fur, get a hug from him, and eat snacks all at the same time!
After finishing all the snacks, I felt the speed gradually slowing down and whispered softly,
"Brothers are the best."
The two of them couldn't hide their very proud smiles.
"I'm glad you had fun on your walk."
Lena, as if she had been waiting, took me to my room, fed me, and washed me thoroughly. Her hands were so quick that I felt like I had become laundry.
While drying my hair and putting me in easy-to-change clothes, Lena was very worried.
"It would have been nice if Madam was here. After all, Madam knows women's clothing well…"
"Isn't Lena coming with me?"
"Of course, I'm going with you to help. I can help you pick out clothes, but I don't know much about expensive jewelry, so that'll be tricky."
"Brothers said they can't come because they have homework to do…"
Lena hurried me along, saying that the people from the dress shop were waiting in my dressing room. On the way down the stairs, I was able to meet Sir Elliott.
"Sir Elliott! Is Sir Jackal very busy?"
"Good morning, Miss Kitty. I'm on my way to see Sir Jackal too, so I'm not sure, but he's probably busy."
Indeed. He said he would be in his office all day today. Could he be researching the 'Blue Moon counterfeit' that Sir Elliott mentioned this morning?
Sir Elliott asked me why I was looking for Sir Jackal.
"I'm on my way to get a dress fitted. Sir Jackal is also fashionable, so if he came, it would definitely be helpful."
"Puhut. That's right. Sir Jackal would look good even if he wore a flour sack. I will be sure to convey your compliment to him."
Sir Elliott greeted me and hurried on his way again. I also followed Lena and scurried down the stairs.
While I was getting washed up, the dress shop staff, who had set up all kinds of fabric samples, mannequins, and pins, all bowed.
The designer standing at the very front greeted me politely.
"Greetings, Lady Caris. We are the Weilas. We're both designers."
"It is an honor to make clothes for Lady Caris Gridwolf."
Huh? I'm so small next to her that they can't see me.
I grabbed Lena's skirt tightly, and Lena looked down at me with a worried smile.
"I think there was a misunderstanding in the guidance. We didn't call people today for Madam's clothes."
"But didn't you say that a lady of Gridwolf was getting clothes made?"
The whole group of dress shop staff looked confused. They were all wolf beastmen, and from their fur color, I guessed they were mixed-bloods, so they probably couldn't smell very well.
That's a relief. They won't find out I'm a cat.
'Even though I washed, I still smell like my brothers.'
Lena, confirming that there were several Gridwolf knights around, cautiously suggested to me.
"Kitty, dear. Why don't you introduce yourself?"
I stepped forward, curtsied, and greeted them. They were all wolves and super tall, so they had to bend way down to see me.
"Hello? I'm the young but brave baby wolf, Kitty. I've been adopted into the wonderful Gridwolf family until I become an adult."
"......"
The dress shop staff didn't show any reaction for a while.
'Huh?'
I tilted my head slightly.
