Caius held a cat teaser stick, flicking it left and right. Kiki's gaze followed every movement, her eyes locked onto the feathered toy. The moment she thought she had an opening, she lunged forward, her tiny hands reaching out to grab it.
But each time Caius gave a slight twist of his wrist, the toy slipped right past her grasp.
Immediately, chaos erupted inside the beast-drawn carriage.
The other mercenaries watched in shock as Kiki leaped up and down, completely entranced by the toy. They knew that catfolk were naturally curious, but they hadn't expected this particular trait to be so... pronounced.
Clearly, this world wasn't big on playing with cats.
Finally, Kiki managed to snatch the cat teaser stick. Her face was flushed with excitement, and her wide eyes sparkled as she looked up at Caius.
"Fun, right?" Caius chuckled.
"It's so fun, meow!" Kiki nodded enthusiastically, but her expression quickly fell as she looked at the broken stick in her hands. "I broke it, meow…"
She had been too excited. The simple toy, made of grass and feathers, hadn't stood a chance against her eager grip.
"It's fine. If you like it, I can make you a sturdier one." Caius waved it off casually.
"Really? You're a good big guy, meow!" Kiki beamed.
Caius blinked.
Did he just get hit with a 'nice guy' card?
After that, the dynamic between Caius and Kiki had clearly shifted. The distance between them had lessened.
Caius leaned against the carriage, lazily chewing on a blade of sweetgrass. The herb tasted like a mix of mint and honey, refreshing and mildly sweet. It was commonly found along the roadside, and he had long since made a habit of chewing on it to stay alert.
Back in the forge, when the old man had him working through the night, sweetgrass had helped him stay awake. It had become a ritual of sorts.
More importantly, the lower leaves of the plant could be used to roll cigarettes. The old man had been fond of making his own smokes with it. Caius had taken a puff once—it was strong, stronger than the cigarettes found in the wasteland.
Then the old man had beaten him and sternly warned him not to touch the stuff until he was of age.
Caius hadn't minded. In his past life, where survival meant living on the edge, cigarettes and alcohol had been constant companions. But since the old man had set a rule, Caius had simply waited.
Now, with the old man gone, there was no one left to stop him. He had already figured out how to roll the cigarettes himself.
And yet, he hadn't lit a single one.
Somewhere deep down, he felt a sense of ceremony was needed. The first one should be ignited amidst the glow of sword clashes and the scent of blood.
Perhaps that was the romance of a mercenary's life.
Meanwhile, Kiki was perched on top of the cargo, chattering away right above his head. The little catgirl was a talkative one, always fidgeting. Through her, Caius learned a few things.
For example, despite her petite size, Kiki was already seventeen—an adult by catfolk standards. She insisted she wasn't a child and didn't want to be underestimated.
She also mentioned that their leader, Geoffrey, had a daughter—a cute little girl who had just turned three.
And then there was a force in Ocean City she absolutely despised: the Seth Chamber of Commerce. Unlike human traffickers, they didn't trade in humans—they dealt in beastfolk. When Kiki had first set out on her journey, she had nearly been captured and sold. That experience had left her with a deep hatred for them.
Caius agreed wholeheartedly.
Back in the wasteland, human trafficking and organ harvesting were rampant. He had personally wiped out more than one of those operations.
Unlike the Diesel Gang, who simply robbed people and usually spared their victims if they paid up, slavers were monsters. They didn't just rob you—they killed you, skinned you, and harvested your organs. Some even ground the remains into synthetic meat to sell to unsuspecting fools.
That kind of short-sighted cruelty was the worst kind of evil.
And for Caius, it was personal. One of his old teammates had died that way.
So, whenever he encountered slavers, he never left any of them alive.
It was a way for a bloodstained mercenary to give something back to the world.
"By the way, what rank are you, meow?" Kiki suddenly asked.
This world had a strict system for measuring power. Unlike the wasteland, where reputation and kill count defined strength, here everything was categorized neatly.
There were ten known ranks. The first five were named after the most well-known metals:
Brass, Silver, Gold, Platinum, and Mithril.
The latter five had more poetic names, rooted in sword and sorcery:
Ballad, Title, Epic, Legend, and Sacred.
The first five were easy to understand. They were ranked according to the value of their respective metals.
But the latter five? They carried deeper meanings.
A "Ballad" meant one's strength was worthy of being sung by traveling bards, spreading their name far and wide.
A "Title" signified that one had carved a lasting mark in history, earning a personal moniker that people would remember.
An "Epic" was a being so powerful that their deeds would be recorded in grand stories, passed down for thousands of years.
A "Legend" was one of the strongest beings in existence, whose every action shaped the present and influenced the future.
As for "Sacred," Caius had no clue. The old man hadn't explained it either. Maybe it was the domain of gods.
Who knew?
"I'm Silver, five-star," Caius replied.
Each rank was divided into ten smaller tiers, represented by stars.
Rumor had it that this ranking system originated from mages. Whenever they advanced, a new "starlight" would circle their bodies, making the promotion visually striking.
Warriors, on the other hand, manifested their progress through patterns of vital energy on their bodies.
Mages were simply flashier.
Caius had always wanted to be a cool, awe-inspiring mage. He had trained tirelessly toward that goal.
But no matter how hard he worked, his muscles only grew bigger. The starlight never appeared.
"Silver five-star, huh? That means I'm stronger than you, meow~" Kiki smirked, her furry ears twitching as her fluffy tail swayed.
Caius found it amusing. He had seen other catfolk before, but their tails were usually thick like rope. Kiki's was different—soft and bushy, like a feather duster.
Definitely cuter than those rope-tail types.
"Well then, you better protect me," Caius teased shamelessly.
To his surprise, Kiki took it seriously. She blinked her big eyes and declared, "Don't worry! As your senior, I'll take good care of you, meow!"
"Kiki, scout ahead," Geoffrey finally interjected, unable to listen to their nonsense any longer.
If they kept talking, she'd forget about her actual job.
"Oh! I almost forgot, meow~" Kiki stuck out her tongue playfully before leaping off the carriage. "I'll be back soon, meow!"
"Go ahead, I'm gonna get some shut-eye." Caius waved her off, closed his eyes, and was snoring within minutes.
Beside him, Oggfort rubbed his forehead in exasperation.
A newbie, huh? No sense of vigilance whatsoever.
The mission might not be particularly dangerous, but dozing off so soon after leaving the city?
That was the kind of mistake that could cost lives.
Geoffrey didn't bother waking Caius up. He wasn't his friend. If he wanted to act careless, let reality teach him the hard way.