The Devil’s Cage

The morning in Alkender City had no sunlight, dark clouds hanging in the sky, so depressing that one could hardly breath. There was no wind blowing either, making the air stuffy and depressing.

“Good morning citizens of Alkender, this is Good Morning Alkender. Yesterday, Alkender City was once again attacked by super criminals but our local Fist of Justice and Glutton Emperor destroyed their plans again and without a doubt, both of them have become a symbol of our city…”

“Lastly, here is the weather forecast for the day: the highest temperature can go up to 30℃ and lowest can go down to 19℃. According to experts, a storm is coming to Alkender today, so remember to bring your raincoats and umbrella when going outside. I am Selina, signing off. We will see you again tomorrow.”

The sweet voice from the broadcast room finally stopped, Selina stretched her body.

Meow~

So tired.

So sleepy.

I want some fish!

Selina curled up on the chair and closed her eyes.

She needed more sleep but her beauty lens made her nap an unpleasant one, but she couldn’t take them off because it would reveal her cat eyes.

After all, no one in the station knew her secret identity: Kat Lady.

The public knew her as a slightly well-known morning news anchor, living alone and loving cats.

The job was arranged for her by Drexton, after asking for her particulars.

She wasn’t really fond of the job at first, and still couldn’t find any likable points until now.

She preferred to lie down on her bed full of money, munching on her little fishes, watching the newest idol drama and pass the perfect day.

But… She needed to make a living and that required money.

Despite getting financial aid from the Hero Alliance, that little bit of money could not satisfy her empty heart.

Besides that, she was forbidden to steal and pickpocket anymore, hence the job.

Fortunately, with Drexton’s arrangements, her pay was quite handsome, basically filling the void in her heart.

Once she thought about the holy item that could fill her empty heart, Kat Lady jumped up from her chair. The tiredness flew away as she headed outside.

“Selina? Selina?”

“You did great today!”

“We’ll see you tomorrow!”

“See you tomorrow!”

Selina smiled warmly and greeted the people around her as she strode out of the station. She called a cab and headed to the most busy pedestrian street in Alkender City.

As the cab arrived at the entrance of the pedestrian street, she paid the fee, got off the cab, and strode to her destination: a specialist shop.

The shop specialised in selling all sorts of women’s bags.

In the display window, all kinds of bags were shining in their respective color under the spotlight, similar to how Kat Lady’s eyes shone.

However, the shop wasn’t open yet, stopping her from shopping.

She leaned on the pillar beside the entrance, waiting patiently.

Karoom!

Thunder roared in the sky, strong wind starting to blow the still Alkender City, and a few minutes later, it was raining cats and dogs.

Similar to how a cat disliked water, Kat Lady hated water outside of drinking and bathing.

Pea sized raindrops fell on her, causing her to shake her body in discomfort.

Before the bag shop could even open, she would be soaked wet if she continued standing outside, so she ran.

Kat Lady was very familiar with the pedestrian street, to the point that she knew every single shop like it was her heirloom treasure.

Therefore she did not run to the coffee shop which most would prefer—the coffee shop was nice but the coffee tasted bad and the food was mediocre. Instead, she chose the restaurant in the back alley of the pedestrian street.

It wasn’t easy locating the restaurant though, one would need a guide to get there.

Kat Lady felt happy once she thought about eating her favourite unagi rice in the restaurant while waiting for the rain to stop and the opening of her beloved treasure vault. She smiled.

Ring!

The wind chime rang as the door was opened, Kat Lady then entered the nameless restaurant.

“Owner, unagi rice… Huh? Why are you here?!”

Kat Lady ordered out of habit but before she finished, she saw the only customer in the shop: Kieran.

In front of him were three stacks of plates, tall enough to reach the ceiling.

Kat Lady instantly remembered what happened yesterday.

She was thrown away! Twice! While she was trying to win him over!

Insult! A great insult!

Her beautiful mood crumbled immediately, looking less than friendly after she saw Kieran and it became worse after she heard what the owner said.

“Sorry Selina, we are all cleared out today, this sir here bought all our stuff,” the middle-aged owner looked at Kat Lady with an apologetic gaze.

Kat Lady endured the hunger and frustration with a nod, walking to Kieran and sitting opposite him.

Kieran, who was busy eating, didn’t care about her, still tasting the unagi rice.

The unagi was tender, especially the part near the skin. The oiliness of the fish combined together with the owner’s special sauce was perfect. It didn’t just erase the fishiness, it brought out the sweetness, yet as the unagi’s umami was retained, one would easily be satisfied.

Besides that, the rice was also mention-worthy. High quality rice was laid under the unagi and when the sauce was poured on, the oiliness of the unagi and the sauce converged and was infused into the rice. Each grain of rice was delicious on itself and one’s appetite would be enlarged subconsciously.

Even a common man would appreciate the unagi rice, let alone Kieran, who purposely came to her for the delicacy.

Kieran ate all the unagi rice in the restaurant, holding the complementary barley tea in his hand, taking sip after sip as he looked at Kat Lady.

“You know this place as well?” Kieran asked.

“I should be asking you that. How did you know about this restaurant?” Kat Lady asked in an unpleasant tone.

“Willis told me,” Kieran didn’t hide.

Kat Lady immediately put Willis’ name on the list in her heart.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

Revenge for Kat Lady is a dish best served the whole day!

“The food here is really good, even the barley tea the lady owner treated me to is nice.”

Kieran lifted up his tea and looked at the heavy rain outside the window.

The rain slid down the roof, flowing down the cornice and forming water beads all over the window, plus the humid air glass. It added a sense of blurriness to the view, and because of the blurriness, it presented a peaceful and casual atmosphere to the people inside.

When Kat Lady saw how pleasant Kieran was looking, she couldn’t hold back her claws anymore.

She knew she wasn’t a match for Kieran and Kieran would never show her mercy should she attack him, otherwise she would have taught Kieran a lesson.

The helplessness made her lie down and stick her forehead on the table.

This morning sucked so bad for her! Why did she run into the Glutton Emperor casually eating in the restaurant?

Huh?

Casual? No!

After that battle yesterday, how could the Glutton Emperor eat so casually in the restaurant?

Because of unagi rice?

Impossible! There must be something else!

Kat Lady suddenly sat straight up as the thought hit.

She carefully sized up the surroundings and heightened her guard.

Although the battle yesterday was sudden, the danger was self-explanatory, one misstep and they would suffer a team wipe. Nothing would save her, not even her trusted agility.

No one understood what they were facing yesterday and the best way to deal with the unknown was to expose the threat earlier.

However, Kat Lady was very familiar with the restaurant. After a glance around, she did not notice anything out of the blue.

Or…

‘I’ve entered an illusory realm? If it is, the Glutton Emperor before me must be a fake, so it would be okay if I touch him?’

When the thought came into her mind, Kat Lady was overflowing with eagerness, eager to carry out her thought.

She squinted her eyes at Kieran, raising her hand suddenly in an attempt to grab Kieran.

Pak! Bang!

Her hand was smacked off and she was grabbed by the back of her neck again before getting thrown away. She fell on her bum at the entrance.

“Selina, are you alright?”

The lady owner heard the little commotion and came out from her washing duty, seeing Kat Lady sitting at the entrance and voicing her concerns.

“I-I’m fine,” Kat Lady forced a smile for the lady owner while she rubbed her red palm.

Deep in her heart, she almost cried. She was now certain she wasn’t in an illusory realm, because the way and the strength Kieran slammed her was exactly the same as she remembered.

No matter how real an illusory realm, it wasn’t possible to mimic that.

Rubbing her palm, Kat Lady sat back down at her seat, welcomed by Kieran’s unusual gaze, as though he was looking at a crazy person.

Kat Lady thought she had to explain herself.

“I thought this was an illusory realm, so I tested it. I didn’t think you were that kind of casual person who would come all the way here to have unagi rice, especially in the morning. So… Hold on! Are you waiting for me here?!”

Kat Lady suddenly realized something as she spoke, looking at Kieran with a dubious gaze and giving her own deduction.

“You had some decent gains yesterday during the battle. Despite those two items being broken, they still have some value. You are finding a suitable buyer and among your comrades, Ferris is the one best suited for the job but he is searching for the books on the papal era, so he has no time to finish the task. Among those you know, it is I who has the most contact with the secret market place that would be the most suited for the job. So, are you here to ask me to find a buyer for you?”

Although it was a question, Kat Lady sounded very sure.

She crossed her arms, looked up proudly, as if she knew the truth, and in her heart, she wanted to use this chance to make things difficult for Kieran as revenge.

Cats are narrow-minded animals.

‘Come on! Come on now! Beg me! I’ll do my best to reject you! But if you beg really hard…

I’d still reject you!’

Kat Lady almost laughed out loud when she pictured the begging face on Kieran.

“Bill please.”

While Kat Lady was swimming in her own fantasy, Kieran asked for the bill.

Kat Lady was in shock, watching Kieran pay the bill, taking his cup of tea and switching to another table.

‘What is this?

I am wrong?

And… Is he ditching me now?’

Kat Lady widened her eyes in disbelief before Kieran’s action.

Kieran didn’t care. He grabbed his teeth as he watched the heavy rain, his face looking slightly blank as his mind was filling in all the possible holes in his plan, trying his best in perfecting it.

He would never spend his thoughts guessing what a cat would do, since they were always unpredictable.

Similarly, he came to the restaurant because he heard about how good the unagi rice was and a queue was expected around afternoon, so he decided to have his breakfast.

The other reason was Ferris was busy with the search, so unable to provide breakfast.

Why not takeaway?

If he had a choice, Kieran would like to taste food fresh out the kitchen, meaning he preferred to taste food at their best condition.

Seconds turned into minutes.

Kat Lady laid down on the table, looked at Kieran with dull eyes, as though her energy had slipped away.

The rain outside got heavier, showing no sign of stopping anytime soon.

Half an hour later, Kieran stood up. He didn’t have much time, so he couldn’t afford to wait any longer.

Kat Lady’s eyes shined when she saw Kieran stood up.

‘Can’t hold it anymore right?

You have to go settle the troublesome matters, right?

How can you sit here and drink tea so casually?’

Kat Lady showed a fake smile and stood up while her heart was enjoying the moment like a true free soul.

“There’s so much rain, are you sure you want to leave? You’ll get wet! Look at the puddle on the ground, your shoes will be goners!” Kat Lady walked over and spoke to Kieran as if she cared about him.

“No it won’t,” Kieran said dully.

“What won’t? The rain is so big…”

Gulum Gulum!

Before she finished, the noise of wooden wheels traveling on asphalt road entered her ears and Kat Lady opened her mouth in astonishment when she saw the black wagon in front of the restaurant.

With two strong horses together with a wagon with minimalistic design, a single glance at it could tell how elegant it looked, turning eyes as it traveled along the road, including Kat Lady’s.

“A w-wagon? What the hell? What year is this? How is there still a wagon moving around?” Kat Lady stuttered.

The wagoner with a raincoat wasn’t bothered by her words, opening up an umbrella and coming down the wagon to open the door to the restaurant.

“My lord, White Jack at your service.”

The skeleton in the raincoat bowed slightly while holding an umbrella.

“Nice color,” Kieran said.

“It’s great that you like it.”

The soul fire in White Jack’s eyes jumped joyfully.

‘I was right, the lord likes black! All my efforts are worthwhile now!’

White Jack didn’t just spend his efforts in changing the wagon and the horse’s color.

The skeleton waved its hand and a pure black carpet rolled down from the wagon, connecting the little path in between the wagon and the restaurant. The little puddles of water were covered up, Kieran’s shoes weren’t tainted by water and dirt as he stepped on to it.

When the wagon door was opened, warm air came out.

Inside the carriage was a small clay warmer with a black claypot spraying out steam on top. The rich aroma of tea instantly expelled the rainy stench.

Kieran stepped in and sat down.

Kat Lady finally reacted to the scene.

“C-Can you give me a ride?”

Kat Lady put her hands in front of her chest, trying to make herself look pitiful and her chest bigger.

Kieran shook his head without a single thought.

“No.”

Bang!

His words faded, the door closing, White Jack shaking the reins and the wagon quickly vanishing into the rain, leaving Kat Lady—bedazzled—at the spot.

The wind blew and the rain drenched her, making her look very pitiful.

“I’m a strong meow! I’m fine meow! I can still buy bags meow! Bags can cure all illnesses! Bags can solve all depression!”

Kat Lady clenched her fist. She wanted to borrow an umbrella from the lady owner so that she could go to the bag shop but before she could, the loudspeaker on the street buzzed.

“Dear customers, we are sorry to inform you that because of the storm, the pedestrian street will be temporarily closed. We are sorry for the inconvenience and thank you for your understanding. We wish you a good day ahead.”

The voice echoed and entered Kat Lady’s ears.

Pak!

She fell down on her knees as if her soul just flew out.