At noon on the second day after escaping from the "White Wing Lord", the wounded and exhausted Shinji finally couldn't hold on and could only sleep while drifting with his face up and his back against the water. Of course, before going to bed, he didn't forget to set up the magic of concealment and alertness in advance.
He slept soundly from noon to evening. When the sun was about to set, just when Shinji opened his eyes and prepared to stretch his muscles, he found a black cat on his body, biting his right hand.
Shinji was stunned, and all kinds of thoughts popped up in his mind.
Where did this guy come from? And how did he get through the protection and onto me
No, that's not what we should be concerned about. First, we need to confirm whether it is Ottenroche's familiar. An ordinary black cat would not run to the center of the Po River and bite my right hand.
Right hand...right hand!
curse!!!
Damn, if the curse gets worse—
Uh... Uh...
It doesn't seem to have gotten worse, and it's even gotten a little better. Is this an illusion
No, it was not an illusion, it was indeed relieved, could it be that something had happened to the relic while I was asleep? Or was it eaten by the black cat
Thinking of this, Shinji himself laughed.
As the inheritor of Scathach, I am well-informed, but I have never heard of a cat that can eat curses. Besides, even if there is one, it shouldn't be such a coincidence for me to encounter it, especially the day after I was cursed.
But soon, he overturned his original idea - this black cat that suddenly appeared did have the ability to swallow the curse. Every once in a while, it would bite Shinji's right hand and swallow some of the curse.
This action also dispelled the doubts that it was a familiar of Oteng Luoche. Oteng Luoche would not be so bored as to curse you first and then send a familiar that could devour the curse to your door.
So, what exactly is this black cat and why is it here
With such doubts in mind, Shinji began to interact with the black cat.
"Come on, tell me, where are you from and how did you find me?"
"... ... "The black cat glanced at Shinji without any response.
"Are you hungry? I'll catch you a fish."
"... ... "The black cat lay down.
"Well, at least make some noise."
"... ... "The black cat closed his eyes.
"So cold." Shinji felt helpless.
But he didn't give up. Whether it was a coincidence or someone sent the black cat to him on purpose, he planned to keep the black cat by his side. He didn't have a familiar yet, and this extraordinary black cat was so much to his liking.
So a protracted war began.
He slept and played with the cat during the day, and was extremely alert at night, half of which was spent on escaping and the other half on fighting the curse.
The curse of Ottenrose is very strange. It becomes extremely active every night and will erupt from time to time, causing Shinji great suffering.
In this state, Shinji could only hide in the Po River like a savage, eating raw fish when hungry and drinking Po River water when thirsty, which lasted for more than half a month. It was because of his strong physique and the protection of the relic that anyone else would have been unable to bear it and become a floating corpse in the Po River.
Until one day, the curse on his right arm was swallowed by a quarter of the black cat, and Shinji was able to devote some of his energy and magic power to do other things. Only then did the man and the cat end their life in the water.
Shinji's hair and eyebrows also fell off during this period of time. Although Oteng Luoche's curse was suppressed by the Buddha's light, the suppression was not complete. During the struggle, small amounts of the curse would occasionally break through the blockade and spread throughout the body.
Because it was only a small part, it did not cause any substantial damage to Shinji's strong body, and was quickly excreted by the body's immune system and anti-magic power - through the pores.
When the curse was expelled, the neglected and relatively fragile hair was affected, and began to necrotize and fall off. The result was a shiny bald head, as Lorelaia and Sakura saw.
"—So you still don't know what it is?"
After listening to Shinji's narration, Loreleija said this.
"As you said." Shinji nodded, then shook his head, "But it doesn't matter what. What matters is that it helped me, so I want to keep it. As long as it is willing to follow me, I will keep it for life."
"Aren't you worried that there might be some danger hidden behind it?" Loreleija reminded.
"I've survived the most dangerous ten days, so there's nothing to worry about." Shinji smiled confidently, "If there's any danger, just let it come."
"You seem - a little different?" There was a strange light flashing in Lorelaia's eyes.
"People always change, especially after going through something like this."
In the past, Shinji always thought that he was not strong enough and had to be cautious, even if it was better to be a coward than to lose his life. But after escaping from the hands of "White Wing Lord", Shinji found that his strength did not seem to be that weak, and he became more confident when facing danger.
Of course, his confidence is one thing, and his family's worry is another.
"You are not worried, but your mother and I are." Father Heye was the first to speak, "You have not been heard from for a month, your mother and I are almost worried to death, can you please consider us?"
"Yes, yes." Kariya was the second to speak, "Although the Matou family is not a famous family, it is still a small force, and we are already very satisfied. Compared with the development of the family, we, as elders, hope that you can live in peace and stability. You don't want Sakura to worry about you, right?"
"Brother—" Sakura took Shinji's hand and launched an eye attack.
"I really can't do anything about you." Shinji showed a trace of helplessness on his face, a happy helplessness, "I will be careful in the future and won't let you worry anymore. But after all, Lian saved me, so I must take care of her. You don't want me to be ungrateful, do you?"
"That's true." He Ye said after thinking about it.
"Is its name Lian?" Ying lowered her head and carefully moved her face closer. "It's a really cute name. I'll go prepare some cat food for it."
"No need." Shinji waved his hand at his sister. "It doesn't need food in the conventional sense. I fed it fish before, and it would only eat a few bites when it was in a good mood."
"Oh, that's strange." Sakura blinked at Lian.
Behind her, Kariya seemed to be thinking: "It seems that we should really investigate its origin."
Just as Kariya was considering whether to go into the underground library to look for information, a cold voice came from above, and a woman with long silver hair walked down the stairs.
"Don't bother looking it up. I know what it is."
Shinji raised his head and saw a face that was too delicate to be human: "Justisa, you're here."
"Welcome back, Shinji." A noticeable softening appeared on his cold face.
"Ah, I'm back." Shinji's mouth curled up gently, "By the way, you said you know what it is?"
"Yes, I know. It's a nightmare."
As soon as the word "nightmare" came out, the black cat suddenly opened its eyes and bared its teeth at Justisa.
Shinji gently patted the black cat's back, and the curve of his mouth became wider and wider.
"It seems that the name 'Lian' is indeed correct."