I am the Saviour that the Male Leads Abandoned

d. 

“Ah, how nice.” 

When buried in peace, immediate worries didn’t come to mind, neither did the curse of the demon king nor the way to escape from the temple. 

Just as peace was seeping into my heart, a beige-furred cat appeared on the pedestal where the statue was placed.
The cat strolled around, swaying its tail, in front of the statue. 

“A cat?” 

I asked, and the cat turned to look at me before leaping up gracefully onto the head of the statue. 

“No, kitty.
Get down from there.” 

The cat looked down at me and elegantly averted its gaze.
Its act of licking its fur on the statue seemed very natural.
Maybe it was a cat raised here in the temple. 

‘Maybe it’s okay to just leave it be?’

The cat seemed uninterested in me, so it continued with its business, while I quietly observed it.
At that moment, once again, the wings of the fairy inside the ring fluttered slightly. 

“It’s the fairy!” 

This time, the movement of the wings was more pronounced, and sparkling dust fell from the ring.
Even though it was a small gem the size of a fingernail, it was incredibly beautiful, and I couldn’t take my eyes off it. 

“…It’s pretty.” 

While staring blankly at it for a while, I felt a gaze from above.
When I raised my head, the cat sitting on the statue was silently looking down at me. 

‘Cats find fairies fascinating too, huh?’

I reached out my hand and showed the ring to the cat. 

“Look at this.
The fairy can fly.” 

As I did that, the cat jumped down with a strange voice. 

“Meow.” 

‘This cat is just as blunt as it sounds.’

Is it because it’s a cat raised in the temple? Then, I unintentionally became curious. 

‘But wait, Adandito, didn’t he have a cat allergy?’ 

I’m pretty sure he did.
Even small and cute cats would trigger a reaction from him, not to mention wildcats and big cats.

Thanks to that, Adandito and Prince Dianel would often fight with each other. 

‘Anyway, where did this cat come from?’ 

I calmly examined the cat.
It seemed quite comfortable in the temple.
It didn’t seem to be on guard against me either.
It seemed familiar with receiving care from humans. 

‘Well, it wouldn’t be strange to have one or two cats roaming around this spacious temple.’

Adandito might have allergies, but among the other priests, there could be people who liked cats.
So there might be someone who took in a cat that happened to enter. 

‘Anyway, it’s been a while since I’ve seen a cat.
It’s cute.’

During my time in the subjugation corps, I rarely had the opportunity to properly touch a cat because of Adandito, so I attracted a lot of attention when I did.
Even at that moment, the cat’s gaze was fixed on the ring.
Something was intriguing about the movement inside the gem.
I reached out my left hand and shook the ring in front of the cat’s eyes.

“Look, kitty.
Isn’t it fascinating?”

“…”

“Hmm, not impressed?”

Unlike before, there was no response.
As I glanced at the fleeting cat, I realized its gaze was directed at me, not the ring.
It seemed to be asking, “What are you doing?” Feeling a bit awkward, I hid my hand behind me and swallowed my confusion.

“Well, if you’re not impressed, forget about it.”

I withdrew my hand and looked at the ring again.
The fairy had fallen asleep, but sparkling dust floated around its wings.

“Sleeping again.”

In a sullen mood, the cat gradually distanced itself from me.
It seemed to have lost interest in the ring.
The cat strolled towards the opposite side of the shrine.
I silently watched where the cat was going.
Suddenly, the cat sensed my gaze and turned its head to look at me.

“Why are you staring?”

When our eyes met, the cat quickly turned its head away.

“Hmm?”

Without a chance to catch it, the cat swiftly walked towards a corner of the shrine.

‘Where is it going?’

Driven by curiosity, I followed in the direction the cat disappeared.
However, as I turned the corner, there was no cat, only a long curtain hanging elegantly.

Perhaps there was a secret passage that only the cat could access.

Carefully lifting the thin curtain, a very small passage revealed itself beneath my feet.
It didn’t seem to have been there originally; it appeared to be a deliberately constructed pathway.
Someone had created a path specifically for the cat.

‘It must be one of the temple cats.’

If that’s the case, then there’s no need to worry any further.

As I was about to leave the shrine, Adandito blocked my path.
He was unusually tall, so all I could see was his broad chest.

He appeared to be drenched in sweat, perhaps from training.
It could have been an embarrassing sight, but after three years of being together, it didn’t elicit any special feelings.

Rather, I was curious about why he suddenly sought me out.

I looked at his well-defined, glistening chest muscles that didn’t seem to rest for a moment and asked, 

“Why?”

Then Adandito hesitated, groping for words.

“Well, it’s just that…”

“Just that?”

“Hasn’t a cat come here?”

It was a slow but serious question.
As I raised my head, a chilling coldness permeated the dazzling golden ring.

There was an immediate sense of frigidity that made me feel like could kill a cat in an instant.
I unconsciously covered the secret passage with my body and spoke.

“Oh, no, I haven’t seen a cat…”