Nicole snapped out of her thoughts and quickly said,
"Ah, I was just thinking about something else..."
After brushing it off with a simple excuse, she fell silent again, quietly eating her meal, her mind clearly elsewhere.
...
"So, you're planning a rebellion?"
Out in the courtyard, the little black cat was dangling helplessly as Zane held it by the scruff of its neck. Despite its struggles, it was going nowhere.
"A coup?"
"Treason?"
"Should I swap your headscarf for an imperial robe?"
Zane smiled kindly, which only made the little black cat bristle even more.
It shot him an amber-eyed glare, saying nothing—or perhaps unable to—then turned its fierce gaze toward the little white cat below.
Traitor!
It had abandoned feline pride and would be stripped of its status!
"Come on, kid. Stop glaring. You need to understand something—you can't erase the sky above your head, you know?"
As Zane finished speaking, the little black cat seemed to get it, let out a weak meow, and slumped.
Nearby, Nicole found the whole scene between man and cat hilarious and couldn't help but smile.
She remembered Nekomata telling her about all the fun things she and Zane had experienced lately at the tanuki house. With such unique cats around, it must have been a blast.
Thinking that, she leaned closer to Zane and asked, a little shyly,
"Zane, um..."
"Haha, the tanuki house welcomes all friends. Of course you're one of them, Nicole."
Zane smiled and gently set the little black cat down. But the poor thing, now completely demoralized, just flopped onto the ground while the little white cat looked on curiously.
Wow, that's one fragile ego!
"Hey! I hadn't even said it yet—how did you know what I was going to say?"
Nicole blinked, surprised and curious.
"It's simple. You're easy to read, Nicole. Or maybe I'm just good at it. It's all written on your face."
Zane waved casually and smiled.
"Ah?"
Nicole instinctively raised her hands to her cheeks. Was it that obvious?
"Haha, not literally. Just think of it as me being pretty good at reading people."
"Come on, let's go grab some cat food. We can't let these hardworking little guys go hungry."
Zane chuckled at Nicole's reaction, then motioned for her to join him at the car.
The toys they'd brought for the cats had long since been snatched up by the kids. There wasn't much left in the car—he spotted the cat food right away.
Just as he was about to say something to Nicole after pulling out the food, he caught a glimpse of two oddly dressed figures rushing past.
Zane's gaze followed them, something about their uniforms seemed off.
Definitely not something ordinary citizens would wear.
"What's wrong, Zane?"
"Nothing."
Shaking his head, Zane led Nicole back to the courtyard. A few kids ran over to help feed the cats.
After feeding time, a little boy came running up to invite them to join a game.
Naturally, Zane didn't refuse. He followed the boy toward the other kids, walking ahead.
Nicole stood still for a moment, thinking about what Zane had said earlier.
Easy to read people... so does that mean...?
Her eyes widened in surprise, but she quickly shook her head.
No, no. If that were really the case, Zane wouldn't be acting like this. I'm just overthinking it...
"Nicole, we just need one more!"
A child's voice called out. Snapping back to reality, Nicole quickly waved and headed over.
"Coming!"
...
The kids' games were simple and childish.
But Zane still joined in and had fun.
The joy wasn't in the game itself, but in the kids' innocent chatter—every so often, they'd say something that made everyone laugh.
Even when two of them got into a little spat, the way they resolved it was both funny and heartwarming.
The atmosphere in the orphanage stayed light, much more cheerful than Zane had expected.
After the game ended, Nicole brought out a small box from the storage room and opened it to reveal a pile of candy.
Calling Zane over to help, she started handing out the sweets.
"Do kids really love sweets that much?"
Standing beside her, Zane raised an eyebrow as he looked at the half-empty box and the kids playing contentedly with the cats.
"It's not so much that they love sweets. I think it's more that they're easy to satisfy."
Nicole smiled softly.
"These cheap candies don't cost much. A month's worth of small commissions from Hare's House can buy a ton. And just one piece of candy can make them happy for a long time."
"Sometimes I take them out for ramen. You know, that kind of food is irresistible for kids."
Zane nodded. After tasting the orphanage meals, he knew exactly how tempting even simple shop food would be for them.
Ordinary things in the outside world were treasures here.
Tch. Thinking about it, he suddenly felt a bit ashamed of how wasteful he'd been back when they had ramen in Mars District.
Soldier 11 wasn't wrong—wasting food was a bad habit.
Unaware of Zane's shifting expression, Nicole sighed again and said a little sheepishly,
"Too bad I'm always short on cash. To save up so more of them can have ramen, I often go 'snatch' ramen discount coupons."
"Hehe. Even though those coupons and freebies are usually limited and I know they've recognized me by now, they still give them to me!"
Nicole sounded rather pleased with herself.
"Hmph! Must be my charm that wins them over!"
Zane forced a smile. Nicole's charm, huh... well, maybe she had a point.
Nicole gazed out at the courtyard and said softly,
"These kids are honestly wonderful."
"No matter what I bring—or don't bring—they never complain. Even when we go for ramen, I'm always the one to bring it up."
"Otherwise, even if they really wanted to go, they'd never say so."
Listening to her, Zane thought of something and asked curiously,
"By the way, Nicole, why haven't I seen any older kids around the orphanage?"
At that, Nicole gave a bitter smile.