Juu Sai no Saikyou Madoushi

Chapter 17
The Secret of Two

On her way back from magic school library, Ferris thought about trying a little shortcut .

She  did have a gradual understanding of the magic school’s layout, so she thought, wouldn’t it be fine if she used different route than usual?

Leaving the main road, she entered a narrow alley between buildings.

The tall buildings were blocking her field of view, and on the road side,  nameless flowers were blooming here and there.

“Wow… what beautiful flowers.”

When Ferris sat down, she looked at the small star shaped flowers.

But she felt sorry for the flowers if she picked them up and brought some home so she just looked at it as she walked through alley.

At that time, someone jumped out from the corner of alley and crashed with Ferris.

“Kyaa!?” “Hyaa!?”

Both of them were looking at each other with surprise. Ferris’ heart was throbbing because she hadn’t expected b.u.mp into anyone.

“Yo-you… why are you here?”

The other party was Janet. Hiding a bottle like thing behind her.

“Umm… I was just trying to take shortcut… that, what is it?”

When Ferris tried to looked at what Janet hid, Janet stepped back and angrily looked at Ferris.

“It has nothing to do with you! What kind of authority you have to interrogate me? And will you torture me?”

“I-I won’t torture you!!”

“Then there is no need to ask right!? Can you leave this place quickly?”

“That, but, I want to go through here…”

“…Do as you like!”

Janet who keep in front of Ferris turned her body lightly and and went off quickly.

(What happened…)

Tilting her head, Ferris continued to walk through alley.

Then, a faint sound could be heard from a wooden box on the roadside. Ferris stopped and tried to looked at its content.

“Meow…”

The content was a small animal. Ferris had saw it on encyclopedia in the library.

A fluffy animal with rounded eyes and slender legs… it was a kitten.

“Uwaaaaa…”

At single glance, Ferris’ chest tightened from the heart-warming feeling and hold her hands.

“So cute!! Very very cuuuteee!!”

She spontaneously  picked up the kitten from wooden box and rubbed it to her cheek.

Fluffy. Rub rub. Fluffy. Rub rub.

Since Ferris brought the kitten close to her cheek to rub it, the kitten started licking her cheek.

“Ahahahaha…. So rough it feels weird!!”

While Ferris embrace the kitten in her chest, she looked at the wooden box. There was no parent cat. Perhaps, it was orphan?

Being alone is lonely. Ferris knew that better than anyone. Furthermore, a very small animal like this, it would be very hard to live on its own right?

“I must bring it to home…!”

Put the kitten in her pocket, Ferris started run through alley.

———————————————————————————–

“Pet are not allowed!”

When Ferris brought back the kitten to dormitory, dorm manager said that with both hands on her back.

The dorm manager was a middle aged woman with a large build. Since she was very helpful and felt like a good mother, the students called her ‘mama’ or ‘mom’.

“Why…?”

Ferris hugged kitten while looked up at dorm manager.

“Even if you ask why, it was decided. Animals are troublesome, they break the furniture and make rooms dirty. Who will clean up that?”

“Huuu~”

“Now, return that kitten to the original place. If it wooden box, then there is someone who secretly taking care of that kitten. I won’t scold you over such minor thing.”

The dorm manager put her large hand on Ferris’ head while telling her to return the kitten.

Then the girls rushed from around the lobby.

“Waaii~ so cute!” “Let me touch it before you return it!” “Me too!” “Nee… If it just milk then it’s fine to give right, mom?” “Ah, I also want to give ham~!” “So Fluffy~!”

“I-I will be crushed~!!”

Ferris left that place since since felt she will be crushed by the girls who gathered in a blink of an eye.

After separating from the kitten who was surrounded by the girls, she calmed her breath.

On her side, there was Alicia lined up to her while smiling. She was the only one who didn’t join the other girls.

“Umm, Alicia-san doesn’t want to pat the cat?”

“It’s not that I don’t want to pat it, it’s because I already have Ferris.”

“…Me?”

Alicia hugged Ferris who still in amazement from behind and slowly petted her head.

After the girls had play with the cat with all their heart, Ferris brought back the kitten to its former place.

With expanded pocket which gave soft feeling, Ferris headed to alley.

It was too bad since the kitten can’t be kept in dormitory, but if I brought some food again, the kitten won’t be lonely right? And let’s make some warm bed from clothes that I’ve no longer used.

Ferris felt excited when had such thought.

At that time, she saw Janet walked in fl.u.s.ter, clenched her fist, and desperately looked around.

“Uuuuu… where are you… where…?”

Put her two hands on the ground, Janet plunged her head into bushes, shaking it. Her usual elegance was no longer could be seen.

“Janet-san, what’s the matter?”

“Kyaaa!!”

Heard Ferris voice from behind, Janet pull out her heard from the thicket with surprise. There were a lot of leaves attached on her beautiful long hair.

“It-it’s nothing! It’s nothing because it’s nothing! I said it’s nothing~~!”

Janet got up like nothing happened, while sweating hard she left that place.

“Janet-san…”

Seeing her cla.s.smate wasn’t like her usual, Ferris could only tilted her head.

———————————————————————————

The next day, when Ferris headed to alley after got unused old blanket and some milk from dormitory manager, she heard voice from inside alley.

“There, there, you must be lonely right~! Look~, I’ve come to meet you! There, there, there~~! Waa~ so cute! You are the cutest~! Kyaaa~!”

That girl was hugged a kitten from wooden box and rubbed it against her cheek. Gave pa.s.sionate kiss to cat’s forehead, her cheek was reddened and her eyes mellowed. She was in ecstasy. Because of that, she didn’t realize Ferris who getting closer.

“So, Janet-san also likes cat huh?”

“Hyaaaaaaa!?!?”

Janet’s unladylike scream reverberated around the alley.

Attacked by loud voice, Ferris spontaneously entered defensive state.

On the contrary, Janet’s face was ghastly pale, trembled while hugged the kitten.

“Wa, wa, wa, Ferris!? Why are you here!?”

“I bring some food for the kitten!”

“Ju-just now, did you see it…?”

“Just now? What was it about?”

“I-I… anyway, about that…”

Janet frustrated and hesitated to said.

Ferris nodded her head with ah and clasp her both hands.

“So, Janet-san also make face like that too.”

“!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”

From her throat, Janet’s voiceless sound leaked. Shyness reddened her face.

“Is that a good thing? What you just saw, absolutely, do not talk about that to anyone!!”

“…why?”

“If there is rumor about the daughter of Rainzurich family was crazily ‘kyaa, kyaa’ with a cat, that would affect the honor of the whole family!”

“Meiyo…?” (TN: honor, Ferris use hiragana here while Janet use kanji, maybe Ferris didn’t know what its meaning?)(ed: yes this does not work in english but its a j.a.panese thing)

“At any rate, this is a secret! That I come to here, that I only think about the kitten while in cla.s.s, that I can’t calm down when I don’t see the kittens face within the day, everything’s a secrets! You understand right!?”

There was Janet who exposed all of her secret.

“Yes! Let’s protect the kitten together!”

“To-together!? Wha-what are you talking about?”

Janet face reddened furthermore.

“But…”

“If you talk about my secret to anyone, I won’t forgive you! You better remember that!”

Ferris could only watch Janet who left with sharp remark with gape.

————————————————————————————

Night after that.

In large bath in the dormitory, Janet was using bathtub alone.

Her face was hot. Thinking about what happened today, unintentionally she was grinning.

“Huhuhu… secrets… the secret of two people,a secret between Ferris and me…”

While bubbling inside hot water with her breath, Janet murmured happily.