The pink nose twitched lightly. After carefully sniffing Souya's scent, Fou suddenly opened its mouth and bit one of his fingers.
This sudden action momentarily stunned Souya, but he didn't pull his hand away. Instead, he waited to see what Fou would do next.
Fou didn't bite hard. It only used the tips of its teeth to slightly pierce his finger, squeezing out a tiny bit of blood, then used its soft, small tongue to lap the drop of blood into its mouth.
"Fou~"
Upon tasting Souya's blood, the little white animal's eyes narrowed slightly, revealing an expression of bliss.
However, Fou had no intention of tearing a large wound to continue sucking blood. It just affectionately licked Souya's fingertip with its wet, soft little tongue a few more times before slowly releasing its grip.
"Fou-kyu~"
Fou let out another cry toward Souya, this time much softer, sounding almost like a greeting.
Seeing this, Souya's smile grew even wider. He reached out to scratch Fou's soft chin.
Fou made no move to stop him. It voluntarily nuzzled its head against his hand, emitting a purring sound like a kitten.
Without further hesitation, Souya boldy picked Fou up and gave it a good, long cuddle.
Setting everything else aside, before being isekai'd to the Type-Moon universe by the great Truck-kun, Souya was an absolute cat lover. And this was Fou, no less.
Who could resist such a fluffy creature like Fou?
Furthermore, judging from Fou's willingness to be close to him, Souya figured it probably didn't view him as food, right?
After all, why would anyone intentionally get close to their food?
After indulging his cat addiction for a bit, Souya held Fou by its two front paws, lifting it up to eye level so they could look at each other.
"Hmm, although your name right now should be Cath Palug, you wouldn't mind if I gave you a nickname, would you?"
"Fou?"
The little white monster cat tilted its head, looking at Souya in confusion.
"Right, let's call you Fou. It sounds nice and it's cute."
Souya smiled and gently shook Fou.
Fou had no objections to this. To it, a name was merely a designation.
"So, Fou, are you the one who made these people act like this? Can they be changed back?"
Souya asked again.
"Fou, Fou, Fou-kyu?"
Fou nodded its small head, giving a response. Souya also understood the meaning behind its subsequent cries.
"Oh, you're asking if I want to undo their state right now?"
Souya cradled Fou in his arms, thought for a moment, and then confirmed with it.
"Will it cause them any harm if they stay in this state?"
"Fou-kyu."
Fou shook its head, indicating it wouldn't cause any harm.
"Then let's hold off on undoing their state for now."
Having received a satisfactory answer, the corners of Souya's mouth curled up. He lowered his head, wearing a creepy smile akin to a weird uncle trying to lure a little girl to look at goldfish.
"Fou, my friend, how about helping Big Brother put on a play? After it's done, I'll treat you to some blood~"
"Fou?"
Fou tilted its head, looking at Souya, not understanding what he meant.
...
Meanwhile, on a forest path not far from the town, Artoria, dressed as a boy, was hurrying toward the town with Merlin and Kay.
"Merlin, do you know what that three-eyed monster cat Brother Kay mentioned looks like?"
Walking on the dappled path, the handsome blonde 'boy' asked Merlin, who was dressed in a white robe beside her.
Currently, because Artoria had already established the Arthurian army, her presence had significantly increased, which also affected Merlin's Magecraft.
Thus, to avoid drawing attention, she could no longer walk the earth under the identity of Lily. She had to change into a male persona, more fitting of the King people envisioned: Arthur Artoris Pendragon.
It was just that, because she had pulled the Sword in the Stone, her body was subjected to magic, freezing her physical age at fifteen. So, she currently still looked like a handsome, delicate young boy.
As for Merlin, he was still wearing his white robe, holding his staff, sporting fluffy white hair with a pinkish hue—dressed as an understanding, older-brother-figure magus, with that same scummy smile playing on his lips as always.
"About that. Judging from Kay's description, I have a rough idea of what it is. But theoretically, it shouldn't be appearing here."
Merlin waved his robe, then turned his head to look at Kay beside him with an exceptionally punchable face.
"Say, idiot Kay, are you really sure that thing appeared in the town and is harming the entire town's populace? Don't tell me this is just a rumor you heard from some woman in bed."
"What the hell are you barking about, you trash incubus? Shouldn't you be the one constantly crawling into strange women's beds?"
Kay didn't coddle Merlin in the slightest. Crossing his arms, he fired back with a mocking expression.
"Don't play dumb with me! Just take the youngest daughter of that lord from last time. She wasn't much older than Lily, and you actually laid hands on her!"
"And to make it worse, you pulled up your pants and refused to acknowledge her afterward! You caused that lord, who found out a pig had gotten to his cabbage, to storm into the inn in the middle of the night, making Lily and me flee with you!"
At this point, Kay grew even angrier, cursing at Merlin with a contorted face.
"Don't you ever claim to be the court magus of Britain again! Otherwise, people will definitely think Britain is doomed!"
"Ahem, ahem, that wasn't intentional!"
Merlin rubbed his nose awkwardly, his tone sounding incredibly innocent.
"Besides, didn't that girl agree to my request at the time? Can you blame me when it was consensual?"
"Yeah, right. Go tell that to the lord and see if he believes you."
Kay mockingly gave Merlin the middle finger.
"You should know that after that, he put up a sign in his territory saying 'No white-hairs and dogs allowed'!"
"Tch!"
Seeing Kay's smug look, Merlin felt a little unhappy.
I bet if I told you the name I left with that lord's daughter was yours, you'd explode.
However, considering that Kay might risk his life to kill him if he did, Merlin silently suppressed the thought of using that to counterattack Kay.
Fortunately, Artoria spoke up and interrupted their argument.
"Alright, Merlin, Brother Kay. You two should settle down a bit. We're probably close to the town now. Let's try not to attract too much attention."
Artoria rubbed her forehead helplessly.
Her foster brother and teacher were actually quite reliable under normal circumstances, but in private, neither of them was a proper person. Merlin was scummy and loved asking for a beating, while Kay had a toxic tongue and a bad temper. The two of them were naturally incompatible, like fire and water.
If only Lamorak could be by my side...
For some reason, Artoria's thoughts drifted back to her friend, who had once been an invisible 'Mr. Fairy' and later became the noble Knight of Radiance.
After all these years, she couldn't clearly remember whether her first encounter with him was a dream or a real experience.
But the knowledge he taught her, the world outside Britain he described to her, along with countless landscapes and delicious foods, remained fresh in little Artoria's memory.
During those days when everyone urged her not to slack off, not to stop, to relentlessly march toward the goal of becoming the Perfect King, it was that Mr. Fairy who encouraged her and accompanied her.
He had told her, Artoris, if you're tired, you need to rest well. Before accomplishing great goals, you should first ensure you are happy and content.
Later, when he was chased away by Merlin, Artoria was incredibly heartbroken.
She didn't blame Merlin; she only felt she was too weak, unable to even protect her friend.
But how come, now that I have the power to protect him, he no longer belongs to me...
Thinking of what Kay had told her not long ago—that Lamorak had sworn allegiance to her older sister, the Witch Morgan—Artoria felt a surge of depression.
"He promised to take me to eat lots of good things... he's a liar too..."
Artoria muttered softly, her deep blue eyes dimming.
She really wanted to find Lamorak, to ask him why he swore allegiance to her sister who had such a bad reputation, to tell him: Come, Lamorak. Fight with me for the future of Britain.
Then, we can fulfill our childhood promise and bond.
But Merlin kept saying she wasn't capable enough to stand on her own yet, that her trials had to continue. He also told her not to worry, that destiny would bring him to her side.
But Artoria felt that if she didn't fight for it, if she didn't try her best, how could destiny possibly listen to her wishes?
After all, in her heart, Lamorak was as beautiful as the white moonlight, something you could only encounter by chance, not seek out.
"Don't worry, Lily. The people there will be fine, and we'll take care of that magical beast."
Seemingly noticing Artoria's depressed mood and mistaking it for worry about the magical beast, Kay quickly consoled her.
As he spoke, he poked Merlin beside him.
"You started this conversation, so say something."
"Oh my, it's fine, it's fine, Lily."
Merlin smiled and patted Artoria's small head, pressing down the tuft of blonde ahoge, which immediately bounced back up.
"Although that thing is indeed not simple, based on the timeline, it's only in its infant stage. You guys can easily handle it. Just leave the aftermath to me."
"Don't touch my symbol of kingship..."
Hearing Merlin's and Kay's words of concern, Artoria's heart warmed, and her face flushed slightly.
She gently patted her cheeks, silently telling herself to work harder. In the future, she would find him as an even more outstanding version of herself and invite him to join her.
"Let's go, Brother Kay, Merlin."
"Let's quickly take care of the three-eyed monster cat, and then continue doing our best."
A smile bloomed on the 'boy's' face once again. Seeing this smile, Merlin and Kay couldn't help but exchange a smiling glance.