Wanted: Purrfect Cat Guy 35 Eat The Evidence

With the door finally open, she doesn't have to rely on the general feed her. She should not be begging him! It would be beneath her.

As she headed for the door, she heard some shifting in the sheets.

'So this human finally decided it's time to get up.'

Spiteful, Mina strolled towards the door ignoring both humans as she pa.s.sed by. She could hear Barca teasing the general as she left the room.

"You should have invited the cat for a morning meal. That animal looks pretty desperate to wake you up."

"I feel worn out," Jadon replied, ignoring Barca who seems to be in the mood to continue poking fun at him.

"At least you received a good morning kiss." As if remembering his purpose, Barca's tone changed abruptly. "Get up, there's urgent news from Serket."

Jadon didn't have to be told twice when he heard who sent the message. He gave Barca a concerned look as his sight traveled to the raven on the man's hand.

"Let's head over to grandfather."

***

Mina made her way up to the old man to voice her complaints. She was expecting to find the door closed but the man was standing in the doorway as if he was expecting a visitor.

'Do old people just wake up early? Or is this grandpa a mind reader?'

"Hungry?" the old man asked before she could say anything. He quickly fed her a few pieces of bread.

'This grandpa is better than anyone.' She admitted as she gobbled up the food he offered. While the bread was not entirely satisfying, it a.s.suaged her hunger.

"You should really tell the general to treat me better," she couldn't help but quip in between bites.

Shortly after, two pairs of footsteps made their way up the stairs. Amused, the old man looked at her and muttered.

"Speaking of the devil."

"A message from Serket?" The old man asked while looking at the raven on Barca's shoulder.

Jadon closed the door and the old man checked the area before shutting the window. He walked across the room as if checking for a sign of an intruder. Satisfied he lit up a candle and placed the bird on the table.

Mina couldn't help but be curious. Finding the best vantage point, she looked at the bird who released the worm caught on its beak. The worm wriggled around violently. Mina couldn't make sense of what was happening at first but after a while, it seemed like the worm's movement revealed a series of characters illuminated by the light from the candle. She looked at the old man who had a serious look on his face. Focusing solely on the movements of the worm illuminated on the table, Mina began to grasp the message as the worm continued to convey more information by wriggling around.

"I am a slayer. I manage errant souls who escape from the Network! Why am I handling the nursery!"

"The soul of an old man has been coming back every few days begging me to help him pa.s.s on! I have to turn him away every time and tell him to go back to his body and deal with life! That man is 150 years old!"

"How are you doing your job? Why are there still so many people dying? The land is as fertile as it can get. The harvest is abundant. I have held up my end of the bargain."

"Jadon should do a better job as a general! I better not see another hundred souls knocking on my rock because they died from battle. And you old man, produce the cure to the contagious disease or we will be overrun by the dead."

"We are running out of soul pods. Everyone around here is complaining about housing human souls. Why am I deciding who gets reincarnated right away? I am the G.o.ddess of the battlefield, you incompetent imbeciles!"

The worm stopped wriggling as if to signal the end of the message. Just when the raven was about to pluck it off the table, it started transmitting signals again.

"I know Devin is back. Tell him to fix the mess he left!"

When the worm stopped moving, the raven ate the worm and flew out after the old man opened the window shutters.

Mina could only gulp. What did the message mean?

Mina stared at the old man who seems to have understood everything. Jadon and Barca had blank looks on their faces although they seem to know the gravity of the situation.

'If these two didn't understand that worm, why could I?' The series of events has been too suspicious to MIna but she continued to listen and observe the people around her.

"Serket is furious about the increase in orphaned souls," the old man spoke. "We can't blame her. She is a formidable sweeper, she could sting decayed souls without hesitation. Now, she has no choice but to take over Rebirths and Soul Placements."

"Why did she send the worm to send a message this time? She always used the doves before," Barca asked with furrowed eyebrows.

"Birds travel the fastest but they tend to sing their tales. We cannot afford any mishaps now because we are cut off from the Network and she has confidential information. It would be dangerous," the old man replied. This made Mina even more confused.

'Network? This era seems to be too ancient to have any network. Having a grapevine would make more sense than a network.' Mina thought while observing the men in the room.

"I believe Serket had a line for me," Jadon probed.

"How would you know that? Are you into divining meanings behind worm movements now?" an astonished Barca asked.

"Serket always has a line about how incompetent he is. They go way back," the old man answered as he turned to Jadon to relay the message.

"She wants you to prevent ma.s.sive deaths. The situation from her end is not ideal. There has been an increase in the number of human souls requesting pa.s.sage. She could only approve a limited number of rebirths. You know what this means, right?"

The general nodded.

"We have to resolve problems in the empire through peaceful means no matter what," the old man continued.

"I understand grandfather."

After concluding the short discussion, it was as if nothing unusual happened. The windows were opened and the cool morning breeze entered the room bringing in the scent of the sumptuous meals being prepared in the kitchen below. However, the cryptic message bothered Mina too much that she forgot her hunger.

Mysterious things have been happening around her. It was as if turning into a cat was just the tip of the iceberg. She couldn't ignore this. She needs to enlist Tarou's help.

After making up her mind, Mina looked at the old man thoughtfully. When she turned to leave, the old man simply threw her a meaningful look as if he knew that she knows something but he was waiting for her to ask him about it.

Despite her curiosity, she kept mum. She had to think things over before discussing things with this old man.

'Never trust strangers.'

Mina could hear her mother's voice at the back of her head, cautioning her against the evils of the world.

She needs to keep her guards up. After all, this old man and everyone in this world was a stranger from the start.