IPBD CHAPTER 10

Kirr urged Emilina impatiently.

Emilina cautiously continued speaking.

“You… can you turn back into a cat?”

“I’m not a cat, though…”

“Huh? What did you say?”

“Nothing. Never mind. But why?”

“I was just thinking… You can’t go out of the room like this. My parents would be shocked.”

Emilina rested her chin on her hand with a troubled expression.

Right now, Kirr was in human form.

A strange child, whom her parents had never met, suddenly walking out of her room wearing her clothes?

Her parents would be absolutely dumbfounded. Without a doubt.

She needed a plan to handle the situation.

Telling them the truth—that a cat had turned into a human—was one option.

But they’d probably think I was crazy if I said that.

A well-intentioned lie seemed like the better choice.

Her parents weren’t the type to overreact, but… no.

Shaking her head, Emilina recalled what had happened earlier that morning.

Her parents hadn’t exactly been fond of the cat—no, Kirr—to begin with.

If she told them the truth, they might just throw Kirr out, calling it an ill omen.

For Kirr’s sake, it was best to keep this a secret.

Kirr seemed to agree, giving a small nod.

“Can you do it?”

“No, sorry. I still can’t control it at will.”

“Still? So that means one day you will?”

Emilina’s curiosity was piqued by Kirr’s words.

Given that this world was like something out of a fantasy novel, it wasn’t all that surprising… But seeing it in real life was still fascinating.

Under Emilina’s sparkling gaze, Kirr shrank back slightly and muttered,

“Uh, yeah, since I’m a beastkin.”

“Aha. Beastkin. So that’s what it’s called.”

“Does it sound weird?”

“Not at all.”

“Oh, uh, okay.”

Kirr felt awkward in response to Emilina’s sharp reply.

“Anyway, this is a problem.”

Emilina let out a deep sigh, her face filled with frustration.

If she wanted to make it seem like she had naturally brought Kirr home, she would have to leave the room and come back with him.

But if she just walked out now, she would definitely get caught.

As she was trying to think of a solution, Kirr’s cautious voice broke the silence.

“Um… If it’s just me, I think I can do it.”

“Emilina.”

“Huh?”

“My name. It’s not ‘Hey’ or ‘Um’—it’s Emilina. You know that, don’t you?”

Annoyed, she corrected him.

Kirr wasn’t sure why this was important at the moment, but after a moment’s hesitation, he mumbled,

“…Then I’ll call you ‘big sis.’”

Well, that wasn’t bad.

Emilina, as if rewarding him, ruffled his hair.

“So, how exactly are you planning to get out?”

“Like this.”

Kirr suddenly stood up and walked over to the window.

Wondering what he was about to do, Emilina watched in silence.

And then—

“Kirr?”

After glancing outside, Kirr suddenly opened the window.

“I’ll wait for you outside.”

And before she could react—he jumped.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me—!”

It all happened in an instant.

Kirr vanished before her eyes in the blink of an eye.

Emilina dumbly blinked.

W-Was Kirr always this kind of character?

Hadn’t he been the quiet type?

How could he jump so boldly without a moment’s hesitation?!

“Not to mention, this is the second floor!”

Sure, it wasn’t that high—

But for an ordinary person, a fall from this height would definitely result in injury.

Let alone if that person was just a child…!

The shocking sight snapped Emilina back to her senses.

She quickly rushed to the window and peered outside.

But Kirr was nowhere to be seen.

***

Kirr was breaking into a sweat, desperately trying to soothe Emilina’s anger.

“Big sis, I won’t do it again, okay?”

“Forget it. I won’t worry about you anymore.”

“I’m sorry! I just thought I had no other choice. See? I’m totally fine…”

“Is that the problem here?”

It had been days since Kirr had jumped out of the window.

Yet Emilina still hadn’t calmed down.

To be precise, she wasn’t just angry—

She was… shaken.

Yeah, that was it. She was in shock.

And for good reason.

That day, she had felt her heart drop into the pit of her stomach.

When she looked outside and saw no trace of Kirr, she panicked and rushed out in a frenzy.

But there was nothing.

Not Kirr. Not even a strand of his hair.

That was when her desperation began.

She had searched everywhere, growing more and more anxious.

Their home was on the outskirts of the capital, close to the slums—an area with terrible security.

Every now and then, slave traders from the slums would sneak in and kidnap children.

The more she thought about it, the more terrible possibilities filled her mind.

What if Kirr had been taken?

What if she never saw him again?

By the time two hours had passed, she could barely breathe.

Her nerves were frayed, her mind spinning with fear.

How could he have disappeared without a trace in such a short time?

The only explanation was that someone had taken him.

Regret weighed heavily on her.

I should’ve just told the truth.

If she had convinced her parents, none of this would have happened.

She tortured herself with endless “what-ifs.”

And just as she was drowning in guilt—

Kirr appeared before her, perfectly unharmed.

“Meow!”

And of all things, he had the nerve to show up in cat form—making it impossible for her to even yell at him properly.

Ever since then, things had been like this.

“I-I’m really sorry…”

Kirr lowered his gaze, his ears drooping.

But after days of being ignored, he was starting to feel a little hurt, too.

Then again, Emilina felt the same way.

Kirr didn’t seem to understand at all why she was truly upset.

If he thought she was only mad about him jumping out of the window—

He was gravely mistaken.