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Alice frowned and nudged Burc, who was resting in a pouch on her waist. The two were inside of a building, but outside of it, there was a group of men armed with muskets blocking the entrance. None of them were pointing their weapons at her, but it was still an intimidating sight for a normal person. Too bad for them, Alice was far from normal, though she’d disagree if someone told her that. “Burc, what are they saying?”
Burc listened for a bit before nodding. “One of them just asked if you were a witch, and another one said you must be because only witches can talk to cats.”
“I’m not a witch,” Alice said and placed her hands on her hips. She glared at the men. “I’m a guardian.”
Burc blinked twice as the leader of the men said something. “He asked if you were a lost child.”
“Child? I’m a full-grown woman! I might not have grown much, but I’m all done with that!”
“…Why are you telling that to me?” Burc asked. “You should really figure out a way to talk with them.”
Someone placed their hand on Alice’s shoulder from behind. It was the owner of the restaurant, which Alice discovered was also an inn of sorts. The man pulled Alice back and stood in front of her. He gestured at the guards and spoke in an animated voice, gesturing towards Alice’s head multiple times. Alice furrowed her brow as the men with muskets looked at her with sympathetic expressions. “What’s he saying?”
“He said you’re his distant relative from a foreign land. He also said you’re developmentally challenged, and that’s why you’re talking to me.”
Two of the men in the back pointed at Alice, and the gestures from the man got more heated. Burc blinked and looked up, studying Alice’s face. “They said you used some dark magic to enlarge an object, and then you robbed one of them after hitting the over the head.”
Alice’s face flushed pink. “The man tripped and fell; I didn’t hit him.”
“And his money?”
Alice coughed. “Medical fees. I gave him first aid.” She couldn’t bring herself to look Burc in the eyes when she said that. She added in a small voice, “Because he tripped and fell and injured his head.”
Burc stared at Alice some more. After listening to the foreign words, he said, “They want to take you to the Padishah. The Padishah is wise and doesn’t persecute witches like other places do. He’s more interested in working together with you to learn how to do what you do.”
“Padishah?”
“You don’t know the Padishah? The sultan?”
Alice raised an eyebrow. “The sultan?”
“Yes, the sultan. You don’t know what a sultan is? How about monarch? Ruler of the empire? Leader?”
“Oh, so it’s a title,” Alice said and nodded. “Got it.”
Burc tilted his head. His ears swiveled right and left before he yawned. “They took your nod just now as a sign of agreement,” he said. The owner of the restaurant stepped aside, and the musket-wielding men peered at Alice with stiff smiles on their faces. “He’s saying he won’t hurt you. If you behave, he’ll even give you a piece of candy.”
Alice’s expression darkened. Did these men really think she was a child? She was just a little short for her age! She was also short compared to people of almost all ages, but she was still an adult! As for whether or not she’d go with them, it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Tafel told her to cause a ruckus. If the Padishah treated her like a child, then she’d cause such a huge ruckus that Tafel would hear about it the very same night. Alice snorted and took out a pouch. “How much did the meal cost, Burc?”
Burc’s claws poked around the pouch of coins that Alice had opened in front of him. “Three of these is enough.”
Alice took out three coins and handed them to the owner. After all, it wouldn’t be right if she didn’t pay for her meal.
“One of the men just said, ‘Hey, that’s my money!’”
Alice ignored Burc and tucked the pouch away into her belt. She walked out the door and faced the group of men. She adjusted her glasses by pushing them up with one finger before placing her hands on her hips. “Alright, take me to your Padishah.”
“They want you to demonstrate your magic,” Burc said after listening. “I’m curious about it too.”
Alice grabbed the shield off of her wrist strap and enlarged it to a buckler. The group of men gasped and took steps back while the owner cleared his throat and mumbled something. Luckily, Burc had good hearing. “He said you’re not actually his relative, and he doesn’t know you.” His ears swiveled towards the group of men. “And they want to know if you can do anything else.”
“Um, not really?” Alice raised an eyebrow. “I guess I can swing this really hard. Oh, I was imprinted too, but I don’t really want to show that off….” For some reason, whenever she used her imprint, she became more irritable and easily provoked. When she mentioned that side effect to Tafel, Tafel had responded with, “Eh? Isn’t that how you normally are?” Just thinking about it made Alice angry, so she expanded her shield and swung it down at the ground to vent a little. There was a miniature explosion as the ground shattered and coughed up bits of gravel and dust. A few men in the front lost their balance and fell backwards, landing on their butts.
Burc let out a yowl. “That was so loud! Warn me the next time you do something like that!”
“Huh?” Alice looked down. “Even if I warn you, what will you do? I’ve never seen a cat cover their ears before.”
“I can muffle the sound if I’m ready!” Burc snorted and smacked Alice’s stomach, but she didn’t even feel it. “If you do that again, I’m not translating for you anymore!”
“Alright, I’m sorry, okay?”
Burc harrumphed and looked away. His ears perked up again when the frightened men spoke. “They want you to put your weapon away. And if you do, they’ll give you a piece of candy.”
“I’m not a child who can be bribed with candy!”