I was now cradled in Sophia's arms as we walked through the bustling merchant guild. Beside us, a butler guided our way.

  The guild was enormous, reminiscent of a grand mall from my previous world.

  However, its interior exuded a captivating medieval charm, with intricate carvings adorning the walls, painted floors, and windows reminiscent of those in an old church.

  As Sophia expined her needs to the butler, he promptly guided us to various sections of the guild. Once she inspected the items, she decided what to buy, and the butler carried everything for her.

  Aside from the building’s magnificence, another thing caught my attention.

  "So, Lucas, how did you become a butler here?" Sophia asked.

  "Well," Lucas began, "I saw a job posting and decided to apply. There was an audition, and I worked hard to study and train for it. Even after passing, that was just the start. There was so much more to learn. Being a butler is really challenging, I must say."

  Sophia was anything but socially awkward.

  Even though I still didn’t fully understand the nguage, her way of initiating conversation, keeping it flowing naturally, and maintaining a professional distance was impressive. From observing the butler, I could tell he was gradually becoming more at ease in her presence.

  'Wait... was that intentional?'

  I gnced up at Sophia, who was happily chatting with the butler. A thought crossed my mind.

  'Is she... an expert at this?'

  After finishing our errands, we took a break on a nearby bench on the 3rd floor of the guild. The bench overlooked the central atrium, allowing us to see the floors above and below.

  Above us, a gss dome bathed the interior in a soft, colorful glow. The light highlighted the garden at the center of the atrium, creating a serene atmosphere.

  Sophia held a bck ice cream cone, while I snacked on dried squid, perched comfortably on her p. The butler, having set down our massive luggage, enjoyed a vanil ice cream.

  We sat leisurely, watching the bustling crowd and admiring the guild's beauty.

  "Miss Sophia, thank you for the ice cream," the butler said gently.

  "It's nothing. It was a nice tour," Sophia replied with a smile.

  The butler hesitated for a moment before asking, "Miss Sophia, may I ask what kind of breed your pet is?"

  "Pet? Oh no, not at all," Sophia quickly corrected him. "He's my ni... well, my tamed beast."

  "Oh! You're a beast tamer? That’s incredible. I never thought I’d meet one."

  "Is it that rare?" Sophia asked curiously.

  "Hmm, I’m not sure," the butler said thoughtfully. "But when you see someone with an animal, it’s hard to tell if it’s a beast or just a regur pet."

  "Oh, I see," Sophia murmured, watching Seraphix devour the squid relentlessly, much like an actual pet.

  "Yes, and looking at the... unique pattern on his face, I almost thought he was a rare crossbreed cat."

  "Ugh," Sophia choked on her ice cream at the mere mention of Seraphix's face.

  "Miss, are you alright?" the butler asked, concerned.

  Sophia tapped her chest a few times before managing a response. "I-I’m fine," she said, her voice tinged with suppressed ughter.

  ***

  After finishing her shopping, Sophia stood outside the merchant guild, waiting as the butler arranged for a driver to take her home.

  Her gaze drifted to the side, where neatly stacked piles of fabrics and wood caught her eye.

  'I guess I went overboard with the shopping,' she thought wryly.

  Her eyes then drifted downward to Seraphix, cradled in her arms, happily munching on a mana stone as though it were his favorite treat in the world.

  'Are mana stones really that delicious? Now I’m curious,' she mused.

  While they were shopping, Seraphix had been unusually fixated on the mana stone embedded in her ring.

  Sophia then realized she was running low on mana stones herself, so she decided to head to the magical items section.

  As soon as they arrived, Seraphix leaped out of her arms, trotted over to a dispy of mana stones, and began pointing at them insistently, clearly demanding that she buy as many as possible.

  The sight of Seraphix's serious expression, still bearing faint marker lines on his face, forced Sophia to stifle her ughter as much as possible. Beside her, even Lucas appeared to struggle to maintain a straight face.

  After a few more minutes of waiting, a vehicle arrived, guided by Lucas. He efficiently loaded all of Sophia’s purchases into it, handling the heavy bundles with ease.

  Once the st item was secured, Sophia retrieved a silver coin and a small cat-shaped pin from her pouch. She handed both the pin and the silver coin to Lucas.

  "Here’s a tip," she said with a smile, "and a bonus."

  Lucas studied the pin for a moment, then gnced at Seraphix before turning back to Sophia.

  "Thank you, Miss Sophia," he said with a smile and a slight bow.

  "Thank you as well. I had a lot of fun today," Sophia replied with a smile.

  With that, Sophia climbed into the vehicle with Seraphix in her arms, ready to return to the mansion.

  ***

  Sophia cradled me in her arms as we walked through the grand halls of the Kovalevska Mansion. Behind us, a butler from the Kovalevska Household followed, carrying her luggage with practiced efficiency.

  As we moved deeper into the mansion, I couldn’t help but notice something unusual.

  'Sophia doesn’t interact much with the staff here.'

  It wasn’t just her aloofness that stood out. The household staff didn’t seem to view her favorably either. Their gnces were brief, almost curt, as though they were silently dismissive of her presence.

  'Is Sophia considered a problematic child?'

  I wasn’t sure, but the atmosphere inside the mansion felt distinctly different from what it was outside.

  Still, there was something else I was curious about.

  “Hey, Sophia,” I said, breaking the silence.

  “Yes, Sir Seraphix?”

  “Are bck cats rare in this world?”

  “Not particurly. Why do you ask?”

  “Well, people keep gncing at me. It’s been happening a lot.”

  Sophia hesitated, her composure wavering. “Ah, no, it’s… it’s because… you’re cute?” she stammered, her words clumsily strung together.

  “I see. That makes sense.”

  I wasn’t about to deny it—in my feline form, I was undeniably adorable. Just like in my human form, my skill 'Transmogrified Essence' seemed to enhance my appearance.

  'A passive perk, I suppose.'

  We finally arrived at the door to Sophia’s room. The butler set her luggage down in the hallway, offered a curt bow, and left without a word.

  'What the hell? He didn’t even bring it inside the room.'

  “Sophia, the butler—” I started, frowning at the neglected luggage.

  “S-Sir Seraphix, let’s go in!” she interrupted, her voice suddenly brimming with forced excitement. “I can’t wait to continue our cat backpack project!”

  I studied her for a moment before deciding not to press the issue.

  "Alright, let’s go."

  ***

  On the top floor of the Physicians' Guild, Agafon sat with his back against the chair, deep in thought.

  After completing his preliminary examination, Naphael left quickly, leaving behind his written description.

  "I suppose he really is busy," Agafon muttered, his eyes drifting to the papers left behind.

  Agafon gnced at Naphael’s description of his venture into the unconscious realm. Beside it y another report—his own results. He pced the papers side by side, carefully comparing them.

  For psychologists, delving into a patient’s unconscious realm to uncover the memories that trigger trauma was a well-practiced skill.

  This process involved lowering the patient's level of consciousness to allow the unconscious to surface.

  In this state, the patient and the psychologists could access memories stored in the unconscious mind. Typically, during this phase, psychologists would instruct patients to describe what they see and identify the emotions they feel.

  However, a peculiar issue arose: Naphael’s description consisted solely of the word 'darkness', paired with the emotion 'fear'.

  For Agafon, this was a significant challenge. Identifying the source of trauma requires a clear connection between memory and emotion—one that, in this case, seemed elusive.

  Agafon shifted his focus to his own observations.

  Unlike Naphael's vague description, Agafon’s perspective was filled with vivid, detailed imagery. When delving into someone’s unconscious realm, he could observe their memories from a third-person perspective.

  This ability allowed him to extract crucial elements from the memory—such as a specific object or person—that might hold the key to understanding the source of their trauma.

  However, what he observed was unlike anything he had encountered before—a world shrouded entirely in darkness. The ndscape, the trees, even the animal-like creatures were all rendered in shadow, as if formed entirely from bckness.

  "This is definitely unlike any of the known realms ever recorded," he murmured.