Chapter Sixty-Five: Catherine's Parents

After learning about the magic mirror’s function, Andy had wanted to help Catherine investigate the secrets of her lineage, but to his surprise, Catherine stopped him. Seeing her low spirits, Andy wisely refrained from mentioning the subject again.

It wasn’t until dawn, when they were preparing to leave Dallas City, that Catherine suddenly called Andy back and asked him to accompany her somewhere. Andy, sensing there was more to this than met the eye, simply followed her in silence.

Soon, Catherine led Andy to the coach house, where Andy used gold coins to purchase a large, comfortable carriage. What happened next astonished him: Catherine somehow communicated with the horses, and they seemed to know their destination, pulling the carriage out of the city without guidance.

With a carriage boasting a “self-driving” feature, Andy was happy to relax, sitting by the window with Catherine and watching the scenery unfold. It was the first time he had left Dallas City since arriving in this world, and he found the sky outside so incredibly clear, the air so fresh and invigorating that every breath filled him with energy.

Fields of lush green crops lined the road, piquing Andy’s curiosity. He noticed that farmers around Dallas City mainly grew various grains—wheat, barley, oats—and peculiarly, every field was surrounded by tall, sturdy fences.

The reason became clear soon enough. A pack of wolves chasing a wild deer passed near their carriage. Two wolves, in particular, seemed interested in the carriage and began to approach, but at the sound of Catherine’s feline cry from within, they tucked their tails and ran.

As they journeyed on, Andy often spotted wild animals. He even got out of the carriage to deal with a wild boar that had broken through the fence and was wreaking havoc in the fields. After helping repair the fence for this ownerless field, Andy tried to make some smoked meat for Catherine with the survival skills he’d learned from the “Bear” himself. Unfortunately, after only a couple of bites, Catherine spat it out. Andy forced himself to swallow a bit, shook his head, and left the rest as a treat for the wild beasts.

He couldn’t help but remark to Catherine that, truly, it’s one thing to know something in theory and quite another to put it into practice.

Not long after, they reached their destination—a small village, also surrounded by high fences.

The sight of their luxurious carriage brought the village guard to respectful attention. He welcomed Andy into the village and hurried off to notify the village chief. The chief, a little old man, arrived and asked about Andy’s purpose. When he learned they were merely passing through and stopping to rest, he looked somewhat disappointed.

Nevertheless, he was a gracious host, inviting Andy and Catherine to dine at his home. After days of barely edible boar meat, Andy’s appetite was sharp, and he accepted without hesitation. The meal at the village chief’s house was simple, but after their previous fare, it tasted delightful. Andy and Catherine ate with gusto, though the chief and his wife looked both pained and hesitant as they watched Andy feed some of their food to his “cat.”

After Andy finished eating and left a few gleaming gold coins behind, smiles finally returned to their faces, though they only accepted one after much polite refusal.

Later, Andy requested to stroll around the village on his own, and the chief readily agreed.

Andy followed Catherine to a somewhat dilapidated courtyard. They did not need to enter: with their mental senses, they could feel a family of three inside—a couple in their thirties caring for their two- or three-year-old son. Their clothing and demeanor spoke of hardship.

With a soft thud, Catherine, now once again the golden-haired girl with cat ears, buried a bag of gold coins at the foot of a large tree by the door. Choking back tears, she whispered, “Let’s go.”

She lunged into Andy’s arms, but before he could comfort her, there was another soft pop, and all he held was a cat.

Soon afterward, Andy and Catherine took their leave of the chief and departed.

That night, the woman who lived in that humble home awoke from her dreams, distraught. She went outside and began digging at the base of the old tree, and when she unearthed a bag of gold coins, she clutched them to her chest and wept bitterly, “My child…”

“Were those your parents? They didn’t seem to be particularly good-looking. You’re so pretty—could it be they found you by the roadside?” Andy teased Catherine as they left the village, hoping to lift her spirits.

The result was two fresh scratches across his face. But Andy didn’t care; after all, any mark would vanish with one baptism of fire.

His teasing finally brought Catherine out of her melancholy, and she was about to guide the horses in a new direction when Andy stopped her. The landscape here seemed strangely familiar.

Searching his memory, Andy realized they weren’t far from where his former self, Andy Charles, had been born. Just over ten miles from this village lay a small town, and in that town stood an estate—the very place Andy Charles had come into the world.

Since they were so close, Andy decided to take Catherine there. Unless something unexpected had happened, his uncle Daniel and his family should still be living at the estate.

He soon found the Charles family estate from memory. When he knocked, the servant who answered the door took one look at him, screamed, and dashed off inside, his antics making Catherine laugh.

Andy was bemused. Ignoring the commotion, he walked through the open door.

He hadn’t been inside long when a chubby boy appeared. Andy recognized him as Daniel’s youngest son, though he’d forgotten the name and mentally dubbed him “Chunk.”

Chunk greeted him with exaggerated sarcasm. “Well, well, look who’s here! Isn’t this my dear cousin? Weren’t you off in Dallas City learning wizardry? Did you become a high and mighty wizard? I heard your mentor died recently—could it be you lost your teacher and now you’re back to freeload, huh? Hahaha…”

His laughter died abruptly as a ball of flame suddenly ignited atop his head, turning him into a rather spectacular human torch.

His bravado vanished. He trembled and stammered, “C-cousin… B-big brother…”

Andy had no interest in posturing or retaliating for the boy’s earlier jibes, unwilling to stoop to his level.

Instead, he took out one of the precious cigars he’d filched from Viscount Colin, and, using the flames dancing atop Chunk’s head, lit it. He took a deep drag, exhaled smoke in the boy’s face, and said slowly, “What was that you were saying? Say it again—I didn’t quite catch it.”

With Andy’s current mastery of fire, he could ensure the blaze atop the boy’s head burned brilliantly without harming him in the slightest. Not that Chunk would ever understand that; he stood frozen, obedient as a quail.

After saying this, Andy coughed twice—he hadn’t expected the cigar to be so harsh.