Chapter 39

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I wake up with a start.

I feel like I’ve had a good sleep.

When I move my drowsy head slightly, I feel a fluffy sensation.

It seems I had been using a large cat as a pillow.

Looking to my right, I see a large black cat snoring softly in its sleep.

Looking to my left, I see a large white cat purring in its sleep.

Looking at my feet, I see a large calico cat sleeping on its back.

“…What is this? Heaven?”

Surrounded by my beloved cats, sleeping on a fluffy bed, it must be heaven. I mutter this, and the cat that had been my pillow notices and looks at me.

“Meow?”

I wake up fully at the sound of the cat.

“Komei?”

Komei, who had been my pillow, licks the left side of my face with a worried look. The rough sensation tickles, and I chuckle. The other three cats also wake up and come to lick the left side of my face.

What is this? The cats are all being so affectionate. So cute.

I can pet them to my heart’s content, so maybe this really is heaven.

Click

I hear a noise and peek through the gap between the cats to see Martha trembling.

“Martha?”

Did she drop something? Is she hurt? I call out to her, but Martha turns and leaves the room with a loud thud, something she would never do.

“M-Master! Mistress! Emma! Emma!”

Martha is shouting. Did I do something to get scolded?

Looking out the window, the bright sunlight is blinding. Did I oversleep?

As I’m thinking this, my parents and brothers, who are usually calm, burst into the room with loud footsteps. Is this a trend now?

“Emma!!”

Father Leonardo gently holds my left hand.

What should I do, everyone is teary-eyed.

“…You finally woke up.”

Mother Mersa strokes my left cheek. My brother Georg and my younger brother William are on the right side of the bed, looking at me with tearful smiles.

“Huh? …Did I almost die?”

I vaguely remember defeating the slime, but I don’t know what happened after that.

“After that, you had a fever for three days, and even after it went down, you didn’t wake up. Do you know how worried we were!?”

According to William, I was out for quite a while.

I remember getting hit by a water gun while being too engrossed in observing the slime. It was a rather silly injury.

Looking at my right arm, I see it covered in sparkling purple Violet threads.

I move it slightly, and since it doesn’t hurt, I touch my right arm and right cheek, feeling a cool sensation that isn’t my own skin.

“What happened to the wound?”

As a girl, I’m naturally curious. How bad is the injury? Even though it’s my own fault, I can’t help but worry.

“Emma, actually…”

Leonardo wipes away his tears and tells me.

“No one knows.”

Huh? That’s an unexpected answer.

“After that, whenever we tried to remove the Violet threads to treat you, the cats would interfere, so we couldn’t do anything.”

Father says this apologetically, but it’s understandable that we couldn’t win against the cats. It seems that all the treatment was limited to emergency measures.

Komei, Ryu, Kan, and Cho had been with me the whole time.

“So… Komei, is it okay to remove this?”

I ask the cat that’s serving as my backrest.

“Meow”

“Not okay? Should I wait a bit longer?”

“Meow”

“I see. I should leave it for about a month, right?”

“Meow”

“Ah, I can take a normal bath?”

“Meow!”

“It seems I can’t check how it’s doing for another month.”

“…Why are you talking to Komei?”

William holds his head.

I was just pretending to have a conversation. Komei would say if it was wrong, right? …Or not.

“Well, will you let me know when it’s okay to remove it?”

I hope it doesn’t get all gooey.

I have a tendency to use lines like “My future husband will be even more terrifying…” as a running joke, but only Georg and William would understand in this world.

Is the lack of pain due to the Violet threads or because my nerves are shot? We won’t know until we remove them.

“By the way, where is Uncle Urban?”

I ask, not seeing him.

“Urban has returned to the capital’s university. He was very worried about you, but he was only planning to stay for two months.”

I caused Uncle worry. I couldn’t even see him off… huh?

“Uncle, didn’t he leave early? It’s only been a little over a month…”

The family looks at me with regretful faces. The cats seem a bit regretful too?

“Sister… Uncle stayed for two months. In fact, he extended his stay by a week because he was worried about you.”

So… that means…

“Emma, you’ve been asleep for over a month.”

Leonardo tightens his grip on my left hand.

Mersa is still crying quietly.

“…I thought you wouldn’t wake up… How worried we were!”

“I-I’m sorry”

It’s painful to see my mother, who usually scolds me, crying.

I didn’t realize people could sleep for so long. I might have been close to death.

Over a month… I see, I’m hungry. I wonder how I went to the bathroom while sleeping… I’ll stop thinking about that.

“Wait, does that mean… I missed my birthday?”

““““Happy birthday!””””

I turned 12 without realizing it. I missed the birthday cake too.

“Thank you! Um… the cake…?”

I lost a chance to eat cake in my life.

I try to negotiate, but…

“Emma, you’ll be having soup for a while. What are you trying to eat with your weak stomach!”

Mother cries as she scolds me. It’s the first time I’ve thought being scolded is a relief.

But soup won’t satisfy my current hunger.

“I want… some meat…?”

Mersa chuckles. Her smile is the best.

“It seems Emma’s appetite hasn’t changed. It’s good that you have an appetite. I’ll prepare something after the doctor’s examination. For now, you’ll have to make do with soup today.”

“…Okay”

My stomach is craving meat, especially beef, but I’ll obediently follow. I’ve caused everyone worry, and at 35 + 12 years old, I’m still a mess.

“Don’t be so down! I’ll bake you a birthday cake when you’re feeling better!”

I’m so happy at Mother’s words that I smile. When I chuckle, the whole family smiles in relief.

I can continue living with my family from now on.

The cats’ affection is a reward from God, I believe.