Chapter 19 _ The Vessel of a Cat, or the Sunset of Two Hundred Years
“…R–Rio.”
“…Mario.”
After the fierce battle, I had fallen asleep without even realizing it—
and someone was waking me.
There was a cat sitting on my stomach.
I assumed I was still dreaming
and closed my eyes again.
“Good night.”
“This is not ‘good night,’ you fool! It’s me—Frey!”
…Huh?
I felt like something like this had happened before,
but I couldn’t quite remember.
“Frey… you turned into a cat.”
“You still don’t get it, do you!? There’s something before that! Look! Look!”
The cat—Frey—stepped lightly across my stomach,
purring proudly, tail swaying with elegance.
“So… you turned into a cat.”
That did it.
“I told you that is NOT the point! Have you no restraint at all!?”
She puffed out her chest and posed dramatically,
her fur gleaming in the morning sun.
“Can’t you see this magnificent coat!?
These intelligent, upright whiskers!?
Praise me! Admire me!
Sing hymns to my adorable brilliance, you hopeless virgin!”
…Okay. I give up.
I opened my eyes.
“Good morning, Frey. You’re cute. Very cute.”
“That praise is far too lazy!”
“Sorry, sorry.
But seriously—why a cat?
Did you get bored of being a squirrel?”
“Oh! That question, yes! I was waiting for that!”
She nodded proudly.
“When I materialized at the Holy Church, my squirrel body naturally became an empty shell.”
“Uh-huh.”
“And it seems I overlooked… a flaw, shall we say,
in the application of resurrection magic.”
After the commotion at the church,
I attempted to return to the squirrel body.
“I couldn’t.”
“What happened?”
“Well… by the time I tried, the body had already rotted away. Entirely.”
“…Explain that in a way I can understand.”
“Simply put, I believed that as long as I inhabited the body,
even a weak resurrection spell would halt decay.”
“I assumed time itself was stopped.”
“But time was passing.”
She grew serious.
“And when I left the body, all that stored time rushed back at once.”
“Only for the squirrel body, of course.”
“In other words—over half a year passed in an instant.”
“At that point, there was nothing left to preserve.”
“…That’s terrifying.”
“Oh, it’s fascinating. I plan to study it further.”
“…Why?”
“Because it concerns me as well.”
“…Don’t tell me.”
“Indeed.
When I sealed the Demon King,
I cast the ultimate spell of time stoppage—on myself as well.”
“I planned to release it once the true hero appeared
and erased the Demon King completely.”
“But the moment I do…”
Her voice softened.
“I may vanish as well.”
“Two hundred years of time would pass in an instant.”
“I’d skip being an old woman entirely and go straight to bones! Hahaha!”
“That’s not funny.”
“Mario… living for a very long time is exhausting.”
“Death can be a form of salvation.”
“No more thinking. No more knowing.”
“That peace… is not insignificant.”
“…I understand.”
“I was weak in both worlds.
There were times I wanted everything to just end.”
“But you’ve learned that isn’t enough anymore, haven’t you?”
Frey spoke gently.
“You struggled. You endured.
You know the joy that comes from that.”
“I guess… even if I don’t really see it myself.”
“Everyone else does.
They all say you’ve changed.”
She tapped my cheek with a soft paw.
“Now then—today is a waste collection day, yes?
A man who protected his pride should not be late.”
“Right! I’ve gotta hurry—!”
I scrambled to get dressed, grabbed my tools, and dashed out the door.
The fear that Frey might someday disappear never truly left me.
But for now, all I could do
was live through today—
clumsily, honestly, with everything I had.
Bathed in the morning light,
I ran through the city of Inanna
with all my strength.
