After the dinner party, Martin Smith arranged the most comfortable guest room in the castle for the two adventurers. Although it was a double room, Barrett specifically requested that two beds be set up. The lord was slightly surprised but agreed without hesitation.
The guest room was furnished with intricate and beautifully designed furniture, and the walls were decorated with pink wood-carved little bear patterns. On the wardrobe shelves, several soft-cover books were displayed. EeDeChi casually picked one up and glanced through it; they were all romance novels about knights and princesses, or knights and princes.
"Could the lord be giving us his daughter's room?" EeDeChi stuffed the book back onto the shelf.
"Who cares, just sleep," Barrett said, fresh from a relaxing hot bath. He threw himself onto the large bed and lazily stretched out.
EeDeChi's gaze drifted across the bookshelf, and her eyes were suddenly drawn to a book with a cover featuring a burning skull. By instinct, she figured this book had something to do with Ainz Ooal Gown.
Carefully, EeDeChi pulled the book out and took a look. The red leather cover had gold-embossed cursive text that read:
"The Extraordinary Demon Lord's Exclusive Love for the Proud Princess"
The title page had an illustration of an undead figure, engulfed in blue magical flames, holding a pure white bridal-gowned girl who was blushing fiercely. The image somehow felt oddly harmonious.
It was hard to believe that someone was actually writing stories based on Ainz Ooal Gown these days. EeDeChi opened the book with an air of dismissiveness. She skimmed through ten chapters in just a few minutes before realizing that this book had nothing to do with Ainz Ooal Gown.
The book was written a hundred years ago, and its content mainly told the story of a girl breaking free from the constraints of society and falling in love with a demon lord whose body was made of skeleton bones.
A certain unknown minstrel, tired of the usual clichés about knights, princesses, princes, and adventurers, decided to write a story that went against the grain.
EeDeChi flipped through the pages of the book with a rustling sound, reading at a speed of fifty lines per glance. Soon, she had finished the entire story.
A novel that started with an unusual twist ultimately ended with a clichéd conclusion to cater to the idealistic fantasies of young boys and girls.
The male protagonist in the book, the white skull demon king, receives the blessing of the Tree of Life and grows a massive cock, ultimately living happily ever after with the female lead. The author deliberately details the sexual intimacy between the male and female protagonists on their wedding night, with such vivid descriptions that would leave ordinary readers breathless and flushed.
"This is such a trashy novel. How could a book like this be published? Doesn't this world have any censorship?" EeDeChi shook her head and placed the book back on the shelf.
Barrett, curious, picked up the book and flipped through a few pages, eagerly reading the climactic final chapters. He countered, "The people love it. If you don't like it, what does it matter?"
Under the fluffy cotton quilt, there was a jacquard fabric with a lily flower pattern. EeDeChi, dressed in a silk satin nightgown, crawled into bed, while Barrett blew out the long-necked oil lamp by the bedside. The two of them, resting their heads on soft velvet pillows, were ready to drift into a rare, peaceful sleep.
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However, the sounds of chatter and the clashing of metal from the castle below disturbed the vast silence of the night. Barrett's sharp instincts made him toss and turn in bed. He quietly got up, pushed open the shutters, and peered outside.
"What are they making so much noise about in the middle of the night?" EeDeChi muttered from under the blankets, irritated.
In the castle, knights, dressed in disheveled clothes, wielded torches and short swords, patrolling back and forth. The castle's lord, Martin Smith, seemed to be directing something.
Barrett listened carefully and caught several phrases being repeated by the crowd. He speculated, "It seems they're looking for a cat, a cat named 'Cheeko'. They want to find it and kill it."
"A cat? Is it really necessary to make such a big fuss over it?" EeDeChi yawned long and loud.
She rolled over in bed and covered her ears with the blanket. Suddenly, a slight rustling sound stirred her sharp hearing.
"There's something in the room!" EeDeChi sat up straight, quickly reaching for the brass oil lamp on the bedside table. She pinched the wick with her thumb and index finger, and the rapid friction of her fingers instantly ignited the lamp.
Seeing EeDeChi's rare display of alertness, Barrett gently closed the shutters. He drew the short sword from under his pillow, then pulled a glowing crystal lantern from his spatial ring and cautiously swept the room with it.
The magical light from the crystal lantern lit up the room like daylight, pushing all the shadows into the corners. This guest room, likely rarely used, was simply furnished. As the two of them scanned the room, they found no signs of an intruder.
"Could it be that someone from the Sorcerer Kingdom caught up with us?" Barrett tensed, his nerves on edge. Was their leisurely traveling life finally coming to an end? He gripped his short sword, staying in a ready stance, not daring to lower his guard.
"There's something in the backpack!" EeDeChi pointed at the bag carelessly lying on the floor. To avoid revealing the fact that they owned spatial rings, they each carried a large cloth bag, making it appear as if they were just "ordinary travelers."
Barrett stared at the backpack but saw nothing unusual. EeDeChi jumped out of bed, took a quick step forward, grabbed the bag with her left hand, and began to search through it with her right. She raised her arm high and pulled out a soft, squishy object.
A sky-blue, semi-transparent, smooth, ball-like… cat?
EeDeChi grabbed the cat by the scruff of its neck and held it up in the air, carefully examining it. Barrett also sheathed his sword, staring at the cat in astonishment.
The "cat" was a bit chubby, round and plump in shape, with a smooth, hairless surface. It was completely transparent, a murky, semi-transparent sky-blue color. Instead of being a cat, it looked more like a blue crystal cat statue.
But this statue was soft and squishy, and it moved, almost exactly like a real cat.
The "cat's" four short legs kicked a few times. It had a unique pair of beautiful, round eyes like black obsidian. The two black pupils curiously looked at EeDeChi and Barrett, and when it opened its small mouth, there were no sharp teeth inside.
It squinted its eyes and mewed softly, "Meow~," in a cute, clumsy way.
"Wow, this cat is so cute!" EeDeChi exclaimed in excitement. This was her first impression of the cat.
"Technically, this isn't a cat." Barrett pinched one of the cat's soft little paws but didn't feel any sharp claws hidden in the pads.
He pressed a few times on the cat's translucent, crystal belly and concluded, "It's a slime that has taken on the shape of a cat."
The cat actually nodded its round little head, as if acknowledging that.
"It can understand you," EeDeChi said, cradling the cat's front limbs and holding it close to her chest.
"Creatures like this possess self-awareness and advanced intelligence." Barrett rubbed the cat's head, and the little creature squinted, lowering its head, clearly enjoying the affection. Barrett had to admit, this "cat" was undeniably adorable.
"If it has self-awareness..." EeDeChi activated her Innate Talent to check if the cat had something called Justice Value.
She didn't expect much, but when she checked, EeDeChi was absolutely stunned. She raised the cat high and exclaimed:
"It has a Justice Value of... 368!!!"
EeDeChi hugged the cat tightly, joyfully saying, "That's it! I'm keeping it! From now on, it's the third member of our adventurer team!"
"With a Justice Value this high and looking this cute, it's basically the perfect creature!" EeDeChi petted the plump cat in her arms. "I've always thought that if I had a cat, I'd end up rubbing all its fur off. But now, this one has no fur, so I can rub it all I want."
"Wait a minute," Barrett said, looking puzzled. "Is this the cat that the lord and knights are hunting?"