Enough, already!
Well, it was just a simple task of repeating the same explanation I’d given twice already—actually, counting the old days, it was way more than that.
This was my first time dealing with cats, but they were so soft and fluffy. Just picturing one diving headfirst into the bed, spinning around under the blankets, then poking its head out and staring up at me with those sparkling eyes... What could be better?!
Huff, huff...
Anyway, cats could double as indoor alarms and auto-defense systems. Apparently, most humans couldn’t beat an adult cat in a serious fight. In public places like Kyoko’s shop, any blatant techy gadgets like alarms couldn’t be used, so I thought cats could bridge the roles of dogs and birds.
Plus, those little tsundere fluff balls were just too cute!
And so, Reiko, Falsetto, and I left the inn and moved to the rented house. It was rented under Kyoko’s name, but who cared about the details? We could say a merchant had rented it for when they stayed in the capital but hadn’t needed it yet, and we were subletting from them...though it wasn’t as if anyone would care or ask anyway. Only the real estate agent would ever know the renter’s name.
“Here we are, our new place!” I announced. Reiko already knew about the house, so I was explaining for Falsetto’s sake.
The animal teams were to arrive gradually over the next few days. We couldn’t just bring them all in one after another, and drawing that much attention would’ve been bad for us.
“This is just a residence and not Kyoko’s shop, so we’ve got plenty of rooms. All four of us will have one to ourselves.”
There, that resolves the issue of me and Reiko sharing a room while Falsetto is alone. Problem solved.
Though, Falsetto had come to serve me thinking I was the Goddess Kaoru... I wondered what she thought when she learned there were two other goddesses from another world here? Would she treat them as my equals or differently? Francette, the Eyes of the Goddess, Mariel, and other members of the Order of the Goddess Kaoru weren’t fanatics just because they thought I was the goddess, at least according to what everyone had told me long ago and based on the records in their scriptures.
If being a goddess was what made people fanatics, they’d have been rabid Celes worshippers before I arrived, but they were completely normal devotees of hers. The reason they were so fervent about me was probably because they felt like I’d saved them.
So, how did they feel about me and my two goddess friends? I asked Falsetto straight up.
“I pledge my all to serve you, Lady Kaoru,” she answered. “As your dear friends and goddesses from another world, I’d serve Ladies Reiko and Kyoko with my life...after you.”
And that was that.
I had been pretty direct about a sensitive topic, but it was something we had to make clear. If we didn’t establish the dynamic between the four of us, there could be trouble caused by mix-ups in priorities when it came to giving orders or instructions. In the end, we decided we’d all live as equals, like workplace colleagues, but in emergencies, orders would be given as between goddesses and their guardian knight.
I thought Falsetto might push back, saying it would be too presumptuous of her, but she didn’t. I asked why she’d agreed so easily.
“How many times do you think we’ve heard the True Ancestor recount the Days of Glory?” she asked. “We’ve heard each episode dozens of times, over and over and over again... She repeated the same stories so often that I thought she’d gone senile! I’ve practically memorized them. So, we Einherjar all know you prefer to talk casually, and that you get carried away if someone doesn’t scold you from time to time!”
What the heck?!
From then on, Falsetto started talking to us on more casual terms. I mean, she didn’t act like we were school friends or anything, but more like how Francette acted back in the day. Of course, she spoke like a hired guard to her employer in front of others, but a bit of informality between young women was nothing too unusual.
A few days had passed since we started living in the new place. The house didn’t come with any furniture, but there was a bunch of stuff in my Item Box, so that wasn’t a problem. I even still had the bed that I had confiscated from that baron’s house when I’d first arrived in this world. Furniture I’d gotten later and the stuff I no longer needed after replacing it were also all stored in the Item Box instead of being thrown out. That included the beds left behind when we’d bought the orphanage that became Little Silver, since we’d renewed them with nice, fluffy beds for the kids. Yeah, I spent money to support the local economy... I just kept old stuff instead of throwing it out. We were only using the old furniture temporarily, since I planned to buy new stuff once Kyoko arrived, but I thought buying a bunch of furniture without the owner present might’ve drawn attention. Plus, I wanted to pick out the furniture with everyone, including Kyoko.
Today was the day the first group was going to arrive. Of what? Fluffy, cuddly animals, obviously! The first shift of guard dogs, spy cats, and surveillance birds was on its way! Most of them I’d only met once, at the bosses’ briefing, with a few I’d seen again to treat their injuries or illnesses. I let the boss of each species handle the shift schedules, so I didn’t know who was coming today. But I’d given them all flea, tick, and lice repellent potions at the briefing, and Reiko had cleaned them with purification magic, so they were all soft, fluffy, and cuddly!
Except they showed up dirty again. Guess that’s what happened when you lived outside, sitting and rolling around on the ground. So, I decided to have Reiko clean them with magic every time they came in for their shift. They probably had fleas again too... Actually, the flea-repellent potion was made to be long-lasting. Japan’s filaria medicine consisted of dewormers that needed to be ingested regularly, but my potions from the Goddess Workshop were in a class of their own! Fleas, ticks, lice, and parasites were prevented and eliminated, with lasting effects—because I’d willed it so when I made them!
All right, one dog, one cat, and one bird were to be today’s therapy crew. Into the house they go!
“Whew... That was great.”
Reiko, Falsetto, and I looked content, while the dog, cat, and bird looked exhausted. They were the unfortunate trio chosen as today’s sacrificial offerings. What were we supposed to do? Some temptations in this world were impossible to resist! It wasn’t as if the three animals had resisted...though they had this martyr-like look in their eyes, as if they were thinking, “If the Goddess wishes it...” Then they fell under the spell of my magical fingers.