Chapter Fifty-Eight: Catherine's Cat-Eared Maiden Form

Andy's hand trembled, yet he resolutely began to open the box that had imprisoned Catherine...

But before he could unlock it, the box exploded with a loud bang, shattering into fragments.

From within, a beautiful girl with twin ponytails leapt out, restored to her original form—Catherine. As soon as she emerged, she locked eyes with Andy, then silently embraced him, sobbing softly.

She whispered into Andy's ear, "Catherine doesn't care about life or death. Catherine only wants someone to take her away. Catherine is so clever and adorable—how could anyone not want her..."

Inside the hall, the thousand spectators stood dumbstruck at the sight. Someone started, and then others followed, pulling out their phones to take pictures.

But in the next moment, their actions froze. Everything in the hall, everyone except Catherine and Andy, began to dissolve and shatter like bubbles, melting away.

Back in the Bill family's home, Andy and Catherine both opened their eyes.

Andy recalled, as he awoke, a detail he had glimpsed just before the illusion faded. On the transformed Catherine's head, near her ears, two playful cat ears grew, like little horns that even her golden hair couldn't hide.

And when Catherine cried, the ears quivered along with her. Andy had wanted to reach out and touch them, but the vision broke before he could.

Shortly after awakening, Andy heard Catherine's voice beside him: "Only one minute of transformation—what good is that!"

Hearing her speak, Andy's worries finally eased.

Bill and Gerald, seeing Andy and Catherine wake safely, breathed a sigh of relief. In tacit agreement, no one broached the question of whether Catherine was still the same Catherine as before.

Neither Gerald nor the others asked Andy and Catherine what they had experienced in the soul illusion; after all, such visions often involved deeply private psychological states.

Instead, they shifted the conversation toward whether Catherine had truly advanced to the rank of Bronze Witch.

On this subject, Catherine excitedly confirmed she was now a full Bronze Witch. She gave Andy a subtle sidelong glance.

That look left Andy, who had been watching her, feeling rather glum. Since crossing over, Andy considered himself quite diligent, yet Catherine seemed to do nothing but eat, drink, and play—he had never seen her meditate seriously.

Though the gap in their talents left Andy mentally prepared for this outcome, he couldn't help feeling a pang of envy.

They didn't linger over the matter. After a night of tumult, everyone went off to rest.

This time, Catherine, who usually clung to Andy, followed him to his room but was unusually shy.

She tossed and turned, trying several different positions. Seeing Andy was also kept awake by her, she finally climbed down from the bed, jumped onto a chair, and used the excuse of studying to pretend to meditate.

Andy, having worried, fretted, and searched for doctors all night, was exhausted. But seeing Catherine, gifted as she was, begin to work hard, he felt the pressure mounting.

So he forced himself to meditate for another two hours before his head tipped and he drifted into a groggy sleep.

The next morning, everyone woke late, postponing their departure another day due to yesterday’s events.

It was only when someone knocked at the door that they were roused.

Outside stood members of the Stormwind Knights. Bill tensed immediately; he had spent a sleepless night pondering how to tell Gerald he wouldn’t be going to the capital but instead planned to join the Stormwind Knights.

Seeing one of their members at the door, Bill instinctively assumed they had come to summon him back to the ranks.

He hadn’t expected the moment to arrive so soon. Faced with it, Bill took a deep breath and steeled himself.

But the visitor’s first words robbed him of his resolve.

They weren’t seeking him for the Knights. Rather, they mentioned someone had brought Edward Collin’s corpse to claim the bounty, and Captain Barton had summoned them to identify it.

The group went to the Stormwind Knights’ headquarters, where they met Captain Barton and the adventuring party claiming the reward.

To Andy’s surprise, the leader of the adventurers was a tall, beautiful young woman.

She introduced herself as Christian, vice-captain of the "Farming Adventurers."

A few days prior, their party had been attacked at their base by a violent intruder. In the course of their self-defense, the assailant was killed.

Upon inspecting the corpse, they found the attacker bore a striking resemblance to Edward Collin, now wanted in Dallas City.

So they brought the corpse to claim the bounty.

Captain Barton was astonished that someone had come for the reward so quickly. After all, the warrant for the Collin father and son had only been issued yesterday, once the decision was made to charge them with treason.

Yet here, early the next morning, adventurers arrived to collect. Since when had these ragtag parties become so efficient?

He therefore asked Stein’s apprentice, who knew Edward reasonably well, to identify the body.

Despite Andy’s inward ridicule of the "Farming Adventurers" name, he carefully examined Edward's corpse and concluded it was indeed him.

Bill also retrieved some of Edward's old belongings and activated the "Tracking Spell," following the scent to confirm the same trace emanated from the corpse.

Hearing Andy and Bill’s confirmation, Captain Barton instructed Allen to escort the adventurers to collect their reward.

At this point, Allen, soon to be a baron and senior knight, began scrutinizing Christian.

He eyed her attractive face and figure, and his old habits surfaced.

"Hey, beautiful lady, I am Allen Barr of the Barr family. How did you manage to take down this fellow? From what I know, he was quite a handful," Allen said as he moved closer to Christian, drawing nearer and nearer...

"Hmph!" Christian snorted coldly, and the entire hall seemed plunged into the depths of winter. Everyone shivered involuntarily.

Magical energy surged around her, her powerful aura radiating—at least a Silver pinnacle’s magical fluctuation...

Allen was drenched in cold sweat, his clothes soaked. He forced a smile, struggling to remain composed. "Ah, so you’re a Witch, madam. All right, I’ll take you to collect your reward."

Christian declined to follow him, indicating the matter could wait.

Because yesterday, after eliminating the younger Collin, they followed the trail and investigated further, discovering the elder Collin as well. Thus, she proposed they settle both bounties together.

Christian withdrew a coffin from her spatial pouch, opened the lid, revealing a corpse identical to the wanted "Viscount Collin."

...

Witnessing this, Gerald and Bill, who had seen Viscount Collin drained dry by the "Joseph Mask," were utterly distraught.

Andy and Catherine, who knew the truth, were equally stunned.

Their minds screamed, "This is absolutely a fake!"