Chapter 14: A Bolt from the Blue! This Damn “Meow” Is Actually Permanent!

The key to the Restricted Book Section!

Lilia’s heart skipped a beat.

There must be more detailed records about the “Cat Whisperer Whisker” in there.

Maybe even the formula for the antidote!

This was her only hope of getting rid of the “meow” tic!

“I’ll learn! Meow!”

Lilia immediately sat up straight from Lucia’s lap.

Her golden and blue eyes sparkled brilliantly.

“I promise to study hard, meow!”

What is dignity?

What is pride?

In the face of hope for returning to normal, they all took a back seat!

“Very good.”

Lucia set Lilia down from her lap.

“That’s it for today’s lesson. You’re free to move around now.”

“Then the key…meow?”

Lilia looked at her eagerly.

“Depends on your performance tomorrow.”

Lucia finished speaking, stood up, and left the room.

Lilia watched her back, clenching her small fists.

It’s just studying! I’ll do it!

Once I find the antidote and return to normal, see how I deal with you!

Then I’ll make you meow like a cat every day too, meow!

Over the next few days, Lilia practically threw herself into it for the sake of that key.

The “Cat Mimicry Course” Lucia taught her became more and more outrageous.

From “how to elegantly use the Litter Box” (even though it was filled with the finest Magical Fragrant Sand).

To “how to properly respond to your owner’s call.”

And then to “how to express emotions with your tail” (though she didn’t have a tail and had to use body language instead).

Every lesson made Lilia want to die of embarrassment on the spot.

But whenever she thought of the key to the Restricted Book Section, she grit her teeth and endured.

Her attitude changed from fierce resistance at first,

to passive sluggishness, and finally to total resignation—

Whatever Lucia told her to do, she did.

Anyway, as long as I’m not embarrassed, the one embarrassed is someone else!

Lucia seemed very satisfied with this “well-behaved” attitude.

Finally, on the morning a week later, Lucia tossed her the brass key.

“The Restricted Book Section is open to you for three days.”

“Thank you, meow!”

Lilia grabbed the key and dashed toward the Library.

She couldn’t even bother with breakfast.

She didn’t want to wait another second!

The Library was as quiet and majestic as last time.

Lilia skillfully passed through the ordinary bookshelves.

And reached the deepest part of the Library.

A massive door made of dark wood blocked the way.

Intricate sealing arrays were carved onto the door.

This was the Restricted Book Section.

Lilia took a deep breath and inserted the brass key into the keyhole.

“Click.”

A soft sound.

The glow of the arrays on the door faded, and the door slowly opened inward.

A rush of old paper and intense magic hit her face.

Lilia walked in.

The door closed automatically behind her.

The lighting inside the Restricted Book Section was much dimmer than outside.

The shelves were made of some unknown black metal.

The books placed on them,

each one radiated strong or weak waves of magic.

The atmosphere here was oppressive and dangerous.

Lilia didn’t dare waste time.

She immediately began searching for the book she wanted.

She followed the classification tags on the spines.

Soon she found the section related to “Ancient Potionology” and “Forbidden Materials Studies”.

The books here were much older than those outside.

Many were written on beast hide or special magical parchment.

…not this one.

…Too terrifying, also not this one.

…Here!

Lilia’s eyes lit up, and she pulled out a thick book bound in dragonhide from the shelf.

The book was heavy.

She struggled to move it to a nearby reading table.

She opened the pages, and according to the index, quickly found the entry about the “Cat Whisperer Whisker”.

The illustration on this page was exquisitely detailed, the golden, whisker-like object lifelike.

The text below was written in an ancient Elven Script.

Fortunately, there were Demonic Tongue translation notes beside it.

Lilia eagerly began to read.

“Cat Whisperer Whisker, origin of the ancient Cat Whisperer clan.”

“Possesses the mystical ability to soothe the soul and purify the mind.”

“Within it resides the purest Essence of Life Magic.”

“Depending on the processing method, it exhibits completely different properties.”

“Standard processing: Immerse with mental power, chop and add to potion, can be used to create the ‘Mind-Surrender Potion.'”

“Makes the drinker docile and trustful toward the creator.”

“This is ‘Taming Mode.'”

Seeing this, Lilia nodded.

This matched what she’d read before.

She kept reading.

“Special processing: If soaked in a constant-temperature liquid above forty degrees, the Essence of Life Magic within undergoes structural transformation.”

“It shifts from gold to pink, and the effect reverses from ‘taming’ to ‘enchantment.'”

“This is ‘Enchantment Mode.'”

Lilia’s heart tightened.

“In ‘Enchantment Mode,’ the Cat Whisperer Whisker no longer affects the drinker.”

“Instead, through magic resonance, it acts back upon the creator.”

“It forcibly stimulates in the creator an intense sense of dependence and affection toward the first target to trigger strong emotional fluctuations…”

Lilia’s hands began to tremble.

“…And permanently grants the creator certain feline behavioral traits.”

Permanent.

She refused to give up and read on.

“This process is irreversible.”

“For this is not a simple potion effect, but a deep Soul Binding between the Essence of Life Magic of the Cat Whisperer Whisker and the creator’s soul…”

“It rewrites the creator’s existence at the level of universal law.”

“No subsequent method, including De-cursing, Purification, or even Divine Magic, can break this binding.”

Lilia’s breath stopped.

She stared at the next line.

“The only alleviation is…to receive continuous comfort and affection from the bound target.”

“When the creator’s inner dependence is satisfied, the feline traits temporarily weaken.”

The page slipped from her fingers.

“Thud.”

The loud sound echoed through the empty Restricted Book Section.

Lilia collapsed into the chair, her mind blank.

Permanent.

Irreversible.

The only alleviation…was to receive Lucia’s… affection?

What kind of fate is this?!

Didn’t this mean she would have to be raised as a cat by Lucia for the rest of her life?

She’d even have to actively beg for petting and hugs for that cursed “meow” tic to go away, even temporarily?

“No…”

Her voice trembled.

Her grand plan to “reverse-conquer the Demon King”—

Hadn’t even started, yet was already doomed by a wrongly brewed potion.

Lilia sat in a daze for a long time.

Her mind was blank.

She didn’t know how much time had passed before she picked up the book from the floor.

She flipped to that page again.

And carefully read every line.

Every word was crystal clear.

Permanent.

Irreversible.

Tears welled up in her eyes.

But she stubbornly held them back.

“What’s the use of crying?”

Lilia closed her eyes, her voice hoarse.

“What’s the use of despair?”

What had happened, had happened. Regret was meaningless now.

She was Hero Link!

Even if her body turned into a loli, even if she spoke with a “meow,” even if she was collared—

Her soul would never yield!

Wait.

Lilia’s eyes suddenly snapped open.

She stared at that line again–

“The only alleviation is…to receive continuous comfort and affection from the bound target.”

Comfort and affection.

Continuous.

A bolt of lightning flashed through her mind.

That’s right!

Didn’t this mean that as long as Lucia kept “pampering” her, she could suppress the symptoms?

And it had to be “continuous”?

So didn’t that mean she’d have to stay by Lucia’s side, always?

To make Lucia care about her more and more, until she couldn’t leave her?

Lilia’s breathing quickened.

A crazy idea began to form in her mind.

So what if it’s permanent? So what if it’s irreversible?

The book mentioned an “alleviation,” not a “solution.”

But who said “alleviation” had to be passive?

She could totally turn this “alleviation” into an “attack”!

You have to pamper me to relieve my symptoms, right?

Fine!

I’ll let you pamper me!

Pamper me until you can’t live without me! Pamper me until you obey my every word!

Turn “passive seeking affection” into “active conquest”!

Isn’t this just another form of “reverse-conquest”?!

Lilia’s eyes shone even brighter.

Yes! That’s it!

Instead of being defeated by this despairing truth,

She had found a new, even more outrageous path of struggle.

She would use her “feline” traits to counterattack and conquer Lucia!

She would become the most beloved “pet” in the Evernight Palace.

Then, step by step, she would steal that woman’s heart.

And finally, make her willingly surrender at her feet!

At this thought, Lilia’s desire to conquer flared up once more.

She picked up the  again, her gaze changed.

She needed to thoroughly study what exactly this “Enchantment Mode” had granted her.

The book said it granted “certain feline behavioral traits” to the creator.

Besides the “meow” in her speech, enjoying head pats, and chasing red lines, were there others?

For example…the strong territorial sense of felines?

Or the possessiveness toward shiny objects?

If she could use those traits too…

Lilia’s lips curled up uncontrollably.