Mystery: Who has seen my brother?

Chapter 208 Your Family
Klein remained silent and did not respond. The topic ended in the dim night.

The crimson moon hung in the sky, and the setting sun was still hanging in the air. The figures of both parties were a little blurry and dim behind the clouds.

Eve brought Klein back home, lifted the grilled fish in her hand twice, and then casually placed it on the dining table.

"Ray."

There was no sign of the black cat in the living room. Eve called out but received no response.

"Is Rarity not home?" Klein took off his coat and placed it on the hanger by the door. Although it was common for Rarity to ignore Eve, she would always be waiting for them in the living room or bedroom if they were home when they returned from outings.

"Yeah." Eve said nonchalantly, "I don't know where she ran off to. We just need to put dinner on the table and she'll eat it herself."

"Leaving grilled fish for too long really affects its taste," He continued, "I hope she can come back soon."

But unfortunately, it was not until Eve and Klein said good night to each other and prepared to rest that Ruirui jumped into the house through the window with a chill.

"Hey," Eve said, crossing her arms and frowning, "Why don't you come back later so I'm asleep and don't have to help you re-prepare your dinner."

After saying this, he seemed to be very reluctant to pick up the grilled fish on the table and walked into the kitchen.

"Don't pay attention to Him, meow," Rarity raised her paw and placed it on Klein's arm. "If He really doesn't want to, He will use His extraordinary abilities. In fact, sometimes He is willing to cause Himself a little trouble, even though He really hates trouble. This seems contradictory, doesn't it?"

Klein tilted his head slightly, then paused, as if thinking about something. Two seconds later, he pursed his lips and nodded, asking, "Where did you go?"

As he spoke, Klein reached out and held Rarity in his arms, rhythmically stroking the black cat's soft, chilly fur and occasionally tickling her chin. Rarity cooperated, tucking her limbs under him and lazily lying on Klein's lap, enjoying the caress.

"The stray animals in Backlund told me they found a scary guy."

"A scary guy?" Klein, an official Beyonder, subconsciously thought of Qilingos in the past and immediately became alert.

"Yes, according to the description it should be a huge dog, meow."

Ruirui shook her ears and wanted to purr, but she held back. Although she was just a cat, she was still a sister.

It turned out to be just a dog... Klein breathed a sigh of relief. But when he thought about it carefully, it was reasonable that the scary creature mentioned by the stray animals was actually a huge dog.

Klein felt that if he changed his story, it could be included in the "Loen Joke Collection". Although it wasn't that funny, it was good enough to be considered a Loen joke.

"A huge dog is indeed quite dangerous, whether it's for stray animals or humans," Klein said with a light cough. "Did you find it?"

"Not yet," Ruirui shook her head and said, "That guy has appeared in Backlund for a while. At first, only a few stray animals saw it, but then more and more animals noticed it, and finally it was reported to me. None of the animals in Backlund recognize it. It must be an outsider dog, meow. And it hasn't appeared in the several gathering places for stray animals in Backlund, so it may have an owner."

"The animals in Backlund are all terrified of its appearance. They find it terrifying."

A dog with an owner would be much safer... Klein thought to himself. At least with an owner watching over it, it wouldn't hurt anyone at random.

"Is this the reason you've been away from home so often lately?" Klein continued, "Does my sister know about this?"

"Hmm..." Ruirui shook herself, jumped off Klein's lap, and lay down on the sofa, musing, "Even if this incident hadn't happened, I'd still be wandering around outside often. I'm a free cat with a job. As for Eve, I don't think He knows. After all, it's not something worthy of His attention, and I haven't told Him about it."

At this point, the black cat's mood seemed to darken. She glanced at Klein, then slowly turned around, leaving him with a dark, furry silhouette. She said, "He hasn't even come to ask me, so there's no need for me to tell Him."

Klein looked at the black cat curled up on the sofa. His dark brown eyes blinked cunningly, a few glints flashing across them. He lowered the corners of his mouth, leaned down slightly, and asked, "Did Eve pay much attention to you in the past?"

Although the bird's-eye view prevented Klein from seeing Ruirui's face, he could clearly catch the slight trembling of her triangular ears.

"Meow, he always loved holding me. Before I hated the sun, he'd often take me out to bask in the sun. He'd lie on the lounge chair, and I'd lie on his belly. After about half an hour, he'd move me up, occasionally lowering his head to smell me." Rarity turned around, facing Klein with her right half, and recalled, "He said he really liked the smell of me after I was sprinkled with sunshine." Rarity's expression didn't change noticeably as she talked about the past, but her tone was noticeably relaxed. Then, as if she'd thought of something, her tone suddenly dropped. "But I like darkness."

"Even if you like darkness, I definitely like you." Klein immediately defended Eve.

"You like it enough to pet other cats in front of me, don't you, meow?"

"Ah? No, although..." Klein felt like this conversation was heading in a strange direction.

"Are you trying to say that even though He has petted other cats, I'm still His favorite?" Rarity watched Klein nod hesitantly and sneered, "I'll sleep with her but I'll marry you, right?"

Klein didn't react for a moment and stared blankly at the black cat in front of him.

"Surprised, meow? I've lived with Eve for over a thousand years." Rui Rui used her forelimbs to prop herself up, shifting from a prone position to a sitting position. She faced Klein again and said, "I know more than just this sentence. There's more. Do you want to know?"

Klein didn't answer. He subconsciously moved his body back twice.

"Although I don't understand it, I don't think that the millennia of interaction between Medici, Ouroboros, and Him can compare to the special bond between you and Him."

Klein's heart skipped a beat as an inexplicable sense of panic and absurdity overwhelmed him. His hands hanging by his sides unconsciously clenched, his nails digging deep into his palms, as if blood would flow out at any moment.

Ruirui kept her eyes on Klein. She slowly raised her paw and gently placed it on his clenched hand. She said, "Klein, Zhou Mingrui, treat us as family, your family."

"Your name is really hard to pronounce and write, but we learned it before we even met you."

Klein still looked a bit dazed, as if unable to react. After a long while, his eyes regained some clarity. He lowered his head, looking around uncomfortably, and said softly, "I... still don't want to call you sister."

"It's nothing, meow. You often don't call Eve sister, and Medici has never called her sister."

"Sorry, I need a moment," Klein raised his head, looked directly into Ruirui's eyes, and said, "After all, this isn't something that can be changed in an instant."

Ruirui nodded. "We need time too, but Eve had already given us this time before we met you."

The black cat paused, then added, "You're prepared to get along with us, but you don't seem to be planning to treat us as family. Actually, I can't be sure. After all, it's just a subtle feeling. But the panic you felt when I said, 'I don't think the thousand years of getting along between Medici, Ouroboros, and Him can compare to the special bond you share with Him,' made me realize I was right."

Indeed… Klein smiled bitterly silently, a fact he didn’t even notice.

Ruirui stared at Crane and stopped talking. A quiet silence suddenly fell between the man and the cat.

After a long pause, Klein finally asked, "Who is Medici?"

Judging from his condition, he seems to have recovered... Ruirui observed silently in her heart and said, "Your brother."

Klein stroked his chin with a predictable answer, a hint of mischief in his eyes. "Do you really care if Eve touches other cats in front of you?"

"Am I such a mean cat?"

"Then Eve shouldn't pay as much attention to you as before..."

"If He ever dies, I will definitely be among His last words, if He can leave any last words."

"Did Eve tell you what happened to us in Rhodes?"

"no, what happened?"

(End of this chapter)