Chương 54: Catastrophe

Adolin woke with a pounding headache. It wasn't as bad as when he had gone to bed, but it still hurt enough to make him grimace. He still wasn't sure why he hadn't cast a spell to get rid of the pain before falling asleep. Well, he had a few ideas, but they all sounded dumb, so he ignored them. Pain Relief. The ache faded almost instantly, along with the pressure behind his eyes. Adolin exhaled slowly and stretched on the bed before finally getting up. Blaise was still asleep in the bed next to his.

Adolin was glad for it; he wasn't in the mood for a conversation, and the boy talked far more than he preferred. He glanced toward the window. It was already dark outside, and Clay's bed was empty. They would probably return tomorrow, a few hours after sunrise, if he had to guess. Or maybe they were already back, and he had simply slept through it. It had already been a few days since his last proper bath, so taking one now sounded like a good idea. He also needed a new set of clothes.

The ones he currently wore were from the Count's estate, and they were already starting to tear after everything in the forest and the dungeon. At least they would last a few more days. He needed to buy a few spare sets of clothes. With the inventory, he could simply store them away and keep them for whenever he needed them. Well… maybe he could also start changing his clothes regularly. And showering more often. That probably sounded like something a normal person should already be doing.

Adolin left the village and entered the forest. He walked for a while until he was far enough away that nobody would stumble across him, then stopped. The cold night air refreshed his mind, while the scent of damp earth helped him relax. The only sounds reaching him were the quiet chirping of insects and the soft rustling of the forest around him. With Mana Control, he formed a shallow hole in the ground and filled it with water before heating it with a fire spell.

Still, he didn't want to dirty the water immediately, so he first took a quick shower using the soap the innkeeper had given him. Afterward, he washed his clothes and left them hanging nearby. He was too eager for the soak to dry them, so he left the clothes hanging there and stepped next to the hot water. Steam slowly rose from its surface into the cold night air. Perfect. He stepped inside with a relieved sigh as the heat wrapped around his legs, reaching all the way to his knees.

Slowly, he lowered himself deeper into the water until his whole body was submerged, his head resting against the cold ground at the edge of the pool. A quiet groan escaped him.

"Hot baths are the best," he muttered. The tension slowly left his body as the heat wrapped around him. Before he even realized it, his eyes had closed and he drifted off to sleep. Adolin woke to something screaming directly into his ear. His Mana Sense had remained active even after he entered the pool, yet it hadn't warned him about anything approaching, which meant one of two things.

Either whatever had gotten close to him was far above his level, or it was so weak that his instincts hadn't even considered it a threat. Adolin's eyes snapped open, and he turned his head. The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

"Meow." A small kitten stood beside his head, screaming directly into his ear without the slightest bit of restraint. Adolin shook his head and leaned back again, trying to return to relaxing in the bath that was no longer hot. Just warm.

"Meooow." The kitten screamed at him again, somehow even louder than before. How had his relaxing bath turned into this? The kitten kept meowing while Adolin tried his best to ignore it, but it was painfully obvious that his peaceful bath time was over. Frowning, he stood up and walked toward the branch where he had left his clothes hanging. They were still damp. With a quick spell, he dried himself first, then the clothes, before putting them back on.

The kitten had followed him and now stood beside his leg, staring up at him while continuing to meow.

"What do you want?" Adolin asked. The only answer he received was an even louder meow. He let out a quiet sigh and pulled his bag from the inventory before opening it. There were still some leftover travel rations inside that he hadn't gotten around to eating. A hard piece of dry tack. Adolin stared at it for a moment before looking back at the tiny kitten.

"There is no way you can eat this." The kitten meowed again. Adolin grumbled under his breath. With a combination of water and fire magic, he softened the dry tack into something at least edible instead of rock hard. A small rock rested nearby, so he cleaned it with water magic before tearing off a piece of the softened ration and placing it on top.

"Go eat." The kitten immediately started eating, letting out tiny growls between bites. By now, the sun had already risen, brightening the forest around him. The kitten was mostly white, though parts of its fur darkened into a soft cream color. The tip of its tail was black, matching the ends of its ears. Three of its paws were black as well, the color gradually fading lighter toward the legs, while the remaining paw was completely white. The fur around its nose had a similar pattern.

The center was black, but it gradually lightened toward the edges. Its eyes were a clear blue that stood out sharply against the lighter fur. The food was gone in moments, and it ran up to him meowing again.

"You're a hungry little one, aren't you?" Adolin broke off another piece and placed it on the stone. He didn't give the kitten too much food since it was far too small to eat more than that.

"Bye," he said before turning and walking toward the village.

"Go back to your mom." A few minutes later, he heard a meow behind him. Then the bushes rustled.

"Meow." Adolin frowned again and continued walking. The kitten suddenly ran in front of him before stopping in his path. He walked past it. A few seconds later, it ran ahead of him again. After repeating that a few times, the kitten finally gave up and settled for following behind him instead, occasionally letting out soft meows.

"Shoo." The kitten stared back at him, then continued its focused little strut. It seemed he wasn't getting rid of the kitten that easily. What was he even supposed to do with it? It wasn't like his life in this world was stable enough to take care of a pet. He didn't even have a home to bring it to. At best, he would probably spend the next few months traveling before finally settling down somewhere and buying a house. And taking a kitten on the road hardly sounded like a good idea. Especially one this small.

A few minutes later, Adolin noticed the sounds behind him slowing down before disappearing entirely. He stopped and turned around. The kitten was slowly making its way toward him, each step looking like an effort. It looked exhausted, but it still stubbornly continued following him. Adolin grumbled under his breath and waited. After some time, the kitten finally caught up and let out a displeased little meow. Then it moved toward his leg and started climbing it.

"What are you doing?" Its tiny claws felt like little needles stabbing into his leg. Its climb was slow and clumsy, but the kitten refused to give up. Nearly a minute later, it finally settled itself onto his shoulder. He clicked his tongue and continued toward the village. The kitten purred happily on his shoulder. His relaxing bath had somehow turned into a catastrophe.