Three Kittens

PS: Other authors don't ask for monthly votes, there's a certain beauty in quietly working on their drafts. If I don't ask for monthly votes, it feels like a sign I'm about to slack off, so... I'll ask for monthly votes! (It will probably be released in May, April is still the public version month)

They didn't have to wait long before there was a knock at the door. Charlotte went to open it, and outside was a calico fat cat, carrying a large basket in its mouth. The fat calico cat put down the basket, meowed a couple of times, looking quite proud.

Charlotte had also raised cats on Earth. With skilled hands, he gently stroked it a few times. It purred contentedly, then leaped onto a nearby carriage, curled up, and took a nap.

There were two carriages parked in the small square outside the gate of 58 Champs-Élysées Avenue, one belonging to Anne and the other to Vinnie Arsenault. It was the first time it had been this lively since he moved into number 58.

That visit by the two Evil Gods together didn't count...

While surprised by the practicality of Cat Spirit Magic, he carried the basket into the room and delivered it to the three young ladies.

Charlotte had seen Anne's Mechanical Beetle, but a Mechanical Beetle obviously couldn't buy things; it could only be used to notify servants outside, who would then go and make purchases.

Vinnie Arsenault's Cat Spirit Magic could directly command cats, which was indeed much more convenient than a Mechanical Beetle.

Charlotte even felt the urge to ask Vinnie Arsenault to teach him this magic.

Miss Vinnie Arsenault's conversational skills were quite advanced. By now, the three girls had already started discussing a recent strange case.

Charlotte listened for a while, getting a slight understanding of the situation.

Recently, there had been a series of disappearance cases in the Alcatraz District, and they weren't just cases of individuals disappearing; entire families were vanishing. Seven families, totaling over sixty people, had disappeared.

The circumstances in each household appeared completely normal, as if the family members had just temporarily left. The homes were also completely undisturbed, with no signs of a break-in by thieves. But the disappeared people never reappeared, leaving no trace.

In this era of the Empire of Fars, the City Patrol served the function of police on Earth, but their methods were crude and lacked professionalism. The case-solving rate was even less than three percent.

This also led residents near the disappearance sites to completely lose hope in the City Patrol and instead offer high rewards to private detective agencies.

They were all worried that one day the disappearances would happen to them, so the rewards were very high.

Vinnie Arsenault was eager to claim this reward. She introduced the topic of this case, hoping to borrow the wisdom of the two young ladies. Whether it was Sylvie or Anne, they were both rare highly educated women for this era. But clearly, she was met with disappointment this time.

With such a mysterious case, the two young ladies had absolutely no leads.

Charlotte had been listening for a while, and he didn't have any ideas either.

Before transmigrating, he was a high school math teacher, not a seasoned detective. He had no desire to comment on this kind of disappearance case.

Anne Brittany suddenly let out a cry of surprise, exclaiming, "Oh no! I got so caught up in talking, it's time for me to go home."

Vinnie Arsenault also smiled slightly and said, "I came to pick up Sylvie and move her to the detective agency's dormitory. I didn't expect to talk for so long. I've really bothered Mr. Mecklen."

Charlotte quickly said, "Not at all. Spending a wonderful afternoon with the three young ladies only brings me happiness and joy."

Anne got up from her seat, took Charlotte's hand, and walked to the side, saying, "I came over today to tell you some inside information."

Charlotte was slightly surprised and asked, "What news?"

Anne whispered, "Menilman has recently been implicated in a case. This case is very widespread, so you need to be extra careful."

After saying this, she hastily said goodbye to him.

It was indeed getting a bit late. Miss Anne was a good girl in many ways, except... for occasionally scaring people in their dreams late at night.

Sylvie went upstairs, brought down the things she had bought a few days ago, which surprisingly filled two large suitcases. With Miss Vinnie's help, his former fiancée got into the carriage and also waved goodbye to Charlotte.

Watching the two carriages leave one after another, Charlotte returned to 58 Champs-Élysées Avenue. Although he had always worried about trouble when Sylvie was there, suddenly being alone again felt quite empty.

58 Champs-Élysées Avenue was simply too large. Living alone there felt inexplicably empty. Charlotte couldn't help but think, Should I hire a cook? A few servants? Or maybe get a pet?

Although he had eaten some pastries with the young ladies, he wasn't full. So, after a slight hesitation, he went to the nearest restaurant near his home and ordered a set meal. After dinner, he remembered the Cat and Clover Coffee Shop he had visited last time. Although the coffee in this era was slightly acidic, it had a rich flavor and was a decent drink. It was much better than the strong-tasting black tea that tasted a bit like pepper water mixed with chili, and also more suitable for staying up late than the herbal tea from the Dongli Nation. He decided to buy a batch of coffee, not only for himself as a daily drink but also to entertain guests.

When Charlotte walked to the Cat and Clover Coffee Shop, he heard meowing sounds. The sounds were very young. He then saw the half-grown clever cat watching him warily, protecting three kittens that had only been born recently.

Charlotte remembered seeing it last time and thinking the cat was just fat. He couldn't help but smile slightly and said, "These kittens are very cute."

The owner of the coffee shop was an older lady. Hearing the customer's praise, she smiled and said, "If you like them, sir, you can adopt one. There's no charge at all, just treat these little things well."

Charlotte hesitated for a moment, then squatted down to look at the three little ones. The half-grown clever cat seemed to sense that the man had no ill intentions and relaxed its guard a bit, lying down somewhat lazily. The three kittens struggled to climb onto their mother's belly and began to nurse.

Charlotte watched for a while and said, "I'd like a batch of coffee, a little of everything. These three kittens are very cute. Please allow me to take them all."

"However, they are too young to leave their mother. For now, I'll trouble you to take care of them for a few more days. Here are twenty centimes, which should cover the cost of food for the little ones during their stay."

The coffee shop owner was slightly surprised and delighted. Her coffee shop's income wasn't very substantial. Raising one clever cat was already difficult, so she couldn't keep the three kittens. Not only was Charlotte willing to adopt the three kittens, but he also paid for their boarding, allowing the kittens to stay for a longer period. For this lady, it was simply wonderful. She readily agreed.

Charlotte was very happy to have adopted a few little ones. His limited experience with pets in his previous life taught him that kittens shouldn't leave their mother too early, otherwise they might not survive. So, despite his affection, he didn't take them immediately, planning to wait until the little ones were a month old.

Twenty centimes had a purchasing power equivalent to nearly four hundred Renminbi, which was enough to raise these three little things for a long time. It's worth noting that his former fiancée, Miss Sylvie Martin's weekly salary was only a mere eighty-five centimes.

Since the amount of coffee purchased wasn't large, Charlotte didn't ask the owner to deliver it and carried it out himself.