We’re outside the city lord’s mansion.

Next stop: the cat base.

I still need to clean up the curses from everyone.

But I don’t really need Ignis and Cana to come with me…

I guess that’s why they excused themselves and went to the guild to do a short quest…

Hah…

Well, sure!

Let me handle all the dirty work while you two have fun!

Argh…

Well, whatever.

Not like their presence would speed up anything.

And thus, equipped with a cat on my head, I walked back to the cat base’s entrance.

Ah, what a pain…

I wonder what horrible variants I’ll get from the curses.

So far, they were all named after a cat of sorts.

Panther, tiger, cheetah and lion.

What other cats are there?

I guess jaguar… leopard… puma…?

Hmm…

But it’s a bit strange.

All of those are animals from earth.

But do they even exist here?

It’s supposed to be a fantasy world, so…

Rather than a tiger or lion, why not a saber tooth tiger or a manticore?

Huh…

Can I get variants based on this world’s felines…?

I think I’m onto something…

As I thought about such things, I made it to the entrance.

Naturally, there is still the guard-shaped gate in front of it.

“Meow.”

Oooh, nice!

This gate is voice-activated!

A simple meow and it opens!

Thank you, Kuro.

I walked downstairs and quickly made it to the prison area, ignoring the random people around.

And it seems like I came in the middle of a lunch break.

The blue cat is devouring a bowl of some bread and fruits.

And over at the curse guy’s cage…

There’s a scene straight from some Japanese romcom.

“Say ‘aah’.”

“A-ah…”

Spectre brings the spoon into his mouth and he swallows it.

There’s no hiding his red face.

…

Well, alright.

I get that it’s difficult for him to eat if both of his arms are crippled…

But wasn’t he cursing the entire world before I left?!

Now he seems like the happiest guy in the world instead!

Grrr, I’m so jeal- I mean, this feels wrong!

“Oh… you’re back already… did those two not come with you this time?”

“They went on a quest.”

“Ohoh! The cutie is back to cuddle us till the curses are gone?!”

This blue cat…

…

Actually, what’s her name even?

I kept calling her ‘blue cat’ just because that’s what Veras called her at first.

But she has a name, right…?

…

On the other hand, I’m terrible at memorizing names.

And blue cat is just easier to remember.

So… whatever!

“Hmm…? What are you say-?”

“Shhhhh…”

Huh?

What’s up with that?

Why are you shhing Veras?

Moreover, didn’t you have a grand reveal about how NOT cursed you are?

Why would I need to remove a curse from you if you don’t have one?

“You know… well, whatever.”

Veras was about to say something, but decided not to.

“That’s right. Now come and cuddle me!”

“You said you aren’t cursed…”

…

…

…

Oh man.

Her expression went from excitement to absolute despair in just three steps.

It almost looked like a slideshow.

“I thought you used to be a scientist… aren’t you supposed to be smart?”

“Shut up!”

Well, whatever.

I’m not here for her, anyway.

Onto the main topic.

I walk over to the cage with Matoto inside and lock eyes with him.

“Your curse… I already absorbed it.”

Well, I’m not 100% sure, but since you say you can’t see it in your status, there isn’t a good way to confirm it anyway.

“What-gRUGHUGH?!”

…

Spectre.

I would appreciate it if you didn’t shove bread into his mouth when I’m trying to talk to him.

“Eh? S-sorry, master!”

The guy gulps it down and faces me again, as if nothing happened.

“What do you mean?”

“I… know how it works now… and I can tell when I absorb a curse…”

Well, no need to tell him the details.

I’m not like some crappy villain, who tells the hero every detail of her grand plan once she has him trapped.

…

Not that I’m the villain here!

“… and you think I’ll believe you?”

Huh?

Oh, come on now!

Can’t you just say ‘Oh, is that so? Ok, I understand.’?

Why does everything have to be so difficult?!

“You made Ignis and Cana betray me, broke both my arms and threw me into a cage to rot! Why should I believe someone who ruined my second chance at life!”

No, hold on…

You uncursed Cana yourself!

…

And still, it’s your own fault for being a supreme jerk!

“M-master…”

Seeing her loved one explode in rage, Spectre held his shoulder to calm him down.

He briefly looked at her and let out a sigh.

“You know, maybe if you didn’t curse your companions, they wouldn’t turn on you.”

Oh?

The cat recovered.

“What else could I do?! Everyone hated me! The only one who talked with me was Cana… and I… I couldn’t risk losing her!”

Oi.

What’s with those tears?

Are you gonna go into some very deep and tear-jerking backstory?

Please don’t!

“Hah, you really are an idiot… the reason why nobody trusts you is because you don’t trust anyone either.”

“Grh… Whatever… it’s all over now. Not like I’ll get another chance now.”

“Hahaha, what are you talking about? This is a criminal rehab center, you know?”

“”Huh?””

Both me and him had the exact same reaction.

“You think these cats just stockpile criminals in here…?”

“W… what are you…”

“Of course not, you idiot! You are here to better yourself! Ain’t that right guys?!”

“Yeah!”

“Eh, sure…”

“Shut the F*CK UP ALREADY!”

“…”

“You’re just embarrassing.”

“Mmm… I like this bread…”

…

I don’t think they all share your feelings.

And this just became even weirder…

Are you saying that some of you aren’t evil criminals anymore?

Or rather…

Are you saying YOU aren’t a malicious criminal anymore?!

Even though you admitted the curse charm didn’t work on you and you STILL attacked us?!

I’m not buying it!

“Meow…”

“… well, that WAS the intent after I swore loyalty to boss… But most of them still refuse to cooperate.”

In other words, this whole ‘criminal rehab center’ is just hopes and dreams?

That’s a shame…

…

Also, why do I feel like these people aren’t charmed by him anymore?

Nobody is even defending him, getting angry for him or sucking up to him… except for Spectre, of course.

“Oh, by the way… we removed the curses from the rest…”

…

You what?!

How?!

Why?!

“Well… since she wasn’t cursed… I just transferred them over to her and she nullified it…”

…

You could do that?!

All this time?!

Why didn’t you do it sooner?!

“Ahahaha… well, I didn’t know curses are so similar to skills, you know? I only recently found out I can nullify curses as well.”

So that’s it…

…

Now, the question is…

Does ‘recently’ mean BEFORE or AFTER you attacked us?!

“Well… that’s that, I guess. Thanks for your help. And don’t worry… we’ll take good care of those two.”

Ah, back with your creepy smile, huh?

You really like having your skills sealed, don’t you?

Well, good for you, I guess?

“No no no! We aren’t done yet! I want some cuddles!”

…

On the other hand, this person is clearly dangerous.

There’s saliva dripping from her mouth.

She must be feral.

We should sedate her.

…

And the curse guy.

Even though he has been given another chance, he’s still staring daggers at me.

He must really hate me, huh?

…

Well, that’s his problem!

None of my business!

Let’s bail out of here!

If I’m lucky, I’ll catch the girls in the guild before they leave for their quest!

“Okay. Bye.”

I wave my hand and dash out before anyone can stop me.

In a matter of several seconds, I’m back at the surface jumping over the guard-shaped gate.

And I notice that at some point, Kuro jumped off of my head and went back to the base.

Well, that’s alright.

I’m sure he has a lot of stuff to do, being a boss of an underground organization and all.

Next stop: Adventurer’s guild…!

… is what I would like to say.

But as soon as I entered the main street, I could sense a certain presence approaching me again.

A rematch so soon?

Well, I won’t give up my winning streak of one!

Come at me!

Cat soul, activate!

“Nina!”

A cat VS. a gorilla!

Round 2!

Fight!

…

“… what’s with that pose?”

…

Nothing.

Please forget it.

So, what was it that you wanted to discuss?

“Well anyway, where are you headed now? Or, are you free?”

“The guild.”

I want to catch the girls before they go, but it’s not super urgent.

“Oh… well, can I accompany you there? I want to talk about something.”

“Sure.”

And so, I braced myself for more mindblowing plottwists about this whole reincarnator business and perked up my ears.

But the words that took me by surprise.

“Actually, while you were out, I got a letter from my parents.”

Huh?

Parents…?

Umm, right…

You have parents…

That’s completely normal…

But why does that notion seem so impossible to me…?

And…

What kind of parents do you have…?

Do they know the truth about you?

Or do they simply think of you as this oddball tomboy?

…

I digress.

What was it about the letter?

“They said they would be returning to Nieze in about two months you see…”

Nieze?

What’s that again…?

It sounds familiar…

Oh yeah!

Wasn’t that the name of this kingdom?

Right, right…

So her parents were abroad and are gonna return soon?

“Well, it’s still a bit far off, but just wanted to ask you this.”

Yes yes, what is it?

“I want to surprise them and meet up with them directly at the port! So, I wanted to ask you girls to be my escorts for my journey there.”

Huh?

That’s…

Pretty sweet of you.

But, do you really need escorts?

“Don’t give me that ‘do you really need escorts’ face!”

Oi, we got another mindreader in our midst!

“It’s not very realistic for a feeble merchant’s daughter to venture out that far on her own and be completely fine, you know?”

Well, I guess…

If you wanna keep going with the whole hiding your abilities nonsense, then it’s not as simple.

“And I would rather have you girls then some random adventurers I don’t know.”

Good point…

But with that personality of yours, I expected you to be friends with countless adventurers already.

“So? What do you say?”

“… sure.”

But why are you asking just me?

Are we a 1+1 package?

With Ignis being the +1?

Or actually…

Cana would be joining us now, right?

Well, I guess it should be alright…

“Alright! Thanks! I’ll tell you the exact date later!”

Aaaand, there she goes again.

Well…

I mean, we are going to a port city, right?

I said I would buy some fish for Kuro and the cheetah-like cat as a reward for helping me back then.

Two months is pretty long, but hey.

Why not use this opportunity?

And since it’s near a sea, it might even be a good spot for relaxing!

Lying on the beach and sunbathing while listening to the ocean waves?

Mmm, sounds nice…

Yep yep, it was definitely a good idea to agree to that!

Nodding to myself, I make my way to the adventurer’s guild.

And as soon as I enter, some people confront me.

Fully armed and wearing a nervous expression.

Hello there.

I recognize you bunch.

You were the adventurers who attacked me before I fell into coma.

Right, this guy…

I remember now.

You’re the somersault professional!

And there are the mage triplets!

So, what’s this?

You want a rematch?

Alright then!

Come get some!

I’m just in the right mood for some excercise!

…

Hmm?

Why is your leader stepping forward?

You don’t need to do one versus one, you know?

Just attack me all at once, like back then!

“H-hey, umm… we heard you woke up, so we… we wanted to apologize.”

…

Well, that’s unexpected…

Last time, you attacked me on sight without even bothering to talk.

Since I’m kind of town hero, I expected for you to say things like ‘Calling this vile monster a hero is a disgrace!’ or ‘Show your true colors, beast!’

“We acted too rashly… we didn’t even talk to you… so, er…”

Well, yeah.

Shoot first, ask questions later.

That’s what you did.

Except, it never got to the ‘later’ part.

“If there’s something we could do to make up for that…”

Hmm…

What does one do to apologize for trying to kill someone?

Maybe I should make them do everything I say for one day?

Or have them give me some of their priced possessions?

…

What?

I should just wave my hand and forgive them?

No way!

I wouldn’t dare trample down on their sincerity and forbid them from apologizing!

These cliché goodie two shoes protagonists are all idiots!

“Oh hey Nina! You’re already done? Hmm…? Who are these people?”

Oh, hello Ignis… hi Cana.

Do you have a suggestion for how they should apologize?

I’m liking the one day slave idea.

“Oh, aren’t you Ignis?”

Huh?

They recognized her?

Even though she isn’t tall and stuff as the rumor goes?

…

Oh man, your face is beaming right now.

Are you really that happy to finally be recognized?

“That’s right! It’s me! The great Ignis!”

There you go with the self-praise again…

“So what were you talking about with my partner?”

“Well… we just…”

“We wanted to say sorry to her…”

Just as the leader started losing his words, one of his party members helped him out.

“Huh? What for?”

“W-well… back during the incident, we selfishly attacked her just as she dealt with the criminals.”

“And we didn’t even try to talk to her…”

“Oh! You mean when she was in that horrifying form?”

What…?

Horrifying form?

You’re making it sound worse and worse!

“Eh? W-well…”

“I know what you mean! When you see that, your instincts just scream to kill it or to run away! Talking to her seems like suicide!”

Wait!

What’s up with that?!

Why are you suddenly bashing me now?!

I thought you are my ally!

“W-well… that’s…”

“I don’t think you need to apologize at all! Or rather, it should be Nina who should apologize!”

What?!

No!

I don’t want to be their slave for a day!

“Erm, no… I… uhh…”

“Come on, Nina! Say sorry!”

…

This girl…

I forgot she’s the pushy and annoying type.

Why did I accept her as my teammate again?

“Say ‘IIII-aaam-sooo-ryyy!'”

Stop touching my jaw.

I’m not a hand puppet.

…

I put my hand on her shoulder and look her into the eye.

“Eh? N-nina?”

You know…

You are exactly the type of person I always hated dealing with.

Back then, I simply went with the flow and partied up with you.

But thinking about it…

We have a terrible compatibility, don’t we?

I should just-

“W-wait, wait, wait! I’m sorry! I went too far okay?!”

…

Oh?

Did cat soul activate?

I see…

I think it turned into some sort of defense mechanism.

It naturally turns on when I’m pressured now.

…

Ah, you know what?

Whatever…

I wanted to just disband this party and return to doing everything solo.

But rather than that…

“Guha!”

A light punch into her stomach.

And over my shoulder you go.

“Eh? Wha-”

… it’s it better if I simply fix your habits?

That’s right…

I don’t know what kind of parents you had, but they did a terrible job of raising you!

Let this adult show you how to properly behave!

“Bye.”

Don’t be so surprised Mr. adventurer leader.

Although her personality is lacking, this girl has some amazing amount of long ranged firepower!

It’s exactly what I need from a teammate since I’m all about melee combat.

There’s no way I’m letting her slip away!

…

Oh yeah.

About that apology…

Eh, whatever!

Just forget it!

“All forgiven.”

Thumbs up and a smile!

“Eh? Er… umm… o-okay?”

Hahaha…

Me?

A goodie two shoes protagonist?

Oh, please!

I just have better things to do right now!

Such as reeducating this insolent loli!

“W-waaait! Stop!”

Come along Cana!

We have a lot of work to do!

Before we do Mable’s request, we’ll become a proper party!

I’ll let you witness the birth of a new Ignis!

ARC 1 – The cursed maidens: END