V2Ch90 New Promise

After three weeks of great business, it was obvious that the restaurant was going to be fine. During the time I spent here, I learned a lot about cooking from Goldie. After opening night, she seemed to distance herself from me. Not in a way that bothered me. I felt she was doing it for herself. She knew I wasn't going to stay. She kept our further interactions professional.

Kurio began spending more of her free time with me. While her performances were still good, I felt like she was missing out on making new songs and improving herself in exchange for time with me. I decided it was time to break the news to her.

These thoughts ran through my head before I got out of bed this morning. I decided that I was going to leave tomorrow. I would give the restaurant one more day as a final goodbye.

The restaurant only opened a little before noon for lunch and stayed open until mid-evening for dinner. Kurio's performances were only done during the evening service. This left the mornings open for free time. This morning is the best time to talk to Kurio.

First, I had to talk to Babur.

"Hey. You awake?"

I felt her body squeeze itself tighter into a ball next to me. She was completely under the covers. I felt under the covers for her. I found her head and lastly an ear. I got a soft grip on her ear and started caressing it with my thumb.

She suddenly reached out over my stomach and under my back. She locked her hands and squeezed my midsection tight.

"Nyaaaaaaaaa... Yeah... I am nyow."

"Sorry."

She drowsily smacked her lips a few times.

"For nya, I don't mind."

"I'm thinking about leaving Coaction City tomorrow."

I felt a twitch from her. She began to shift and crawled on top of me. She moved forward until her chin and neck were resting flat on my sternum and her chest was on my stomach. Her arms trailed behind her and at my sides. Her butt was up in the air and I could see her tail attempting to flip about under the blanket that was still covering most of her. She must be awaiting an answer to my decision on the time to leave.

"I never planned to stay for very long. I wanted to make sure that the new restaurant could do well on its own, and it is. It's doing very well. I'm happy that they will be alright. But, I need to keep moving south. I need to know what happened to Sophie."

I moved a bit of her hair out of her eyes. I began to pet her right cheek. She leaned into my hand.

"I..."

I sighed. She slapped my leg.

"Spit it nyout."

"I want you to come with me... Stay... with me."

Her face didn't show any kind of reaction that I could detect. She kept silent.

"Sorry. I don't expect you to do anything for me. If it's too short notice, I can wait a little longer. Or... If you want to stay, I won't push you anymore."

She continued her silence. Her hand reached forward. I almost expected her to comb her fingers through my hair. Instead, I received a swift flick to the forehead.

"Ow."

She pushed herself up and brought her lips forward until they met mine. We spent some time on this kiss. It wasn't like the previous pecks. She pulled away with certainty in her eyes. She leaned her head forward again and touched her forehead to mine.

"Tell me. Did nya enjoy that?"

"Of course."

"Because... I really liked it. I want more of it. If I stayed here, I can't just find some random guy. It wouldn't mean anything. It means something to me when I kiss nya. No one else could be a substitute for nya. I already said I would follow nya. I won't stop nyow."

I smiled. It felt unusual because I don't normally grin this hard. I felt like my face was ready to split in half. I felt tears begin to build because I was so happy.

"Silly."

She said. She lovingly buried her face in my neck.

"Nya are mine nyow. I won't just let nya run away. I'll follow nya to the ends of Eyse. I only ask one thing."

"A... Anything."

I almost choked on that one word.

"Nya have to promise to keep me by your side. If nya are really immortal, I want nya to be holding my hand when I'm old and dying. I want nya to be the last person that I see on Eyse."

I kissed her head. That was an easy decision to make.

"Yeah. I promise."

We spent about an hour just cuddling with each other. Morning light started to shine through the inn window.

"Have any plans for today?"

"Nya? If we're leaving tomorrow, I need to let the Tracker's Guild knyow. I'll do that today."

"Okay. I need to let Goldie and Kurio know. Goldie knows it's coming but, I don't know how Kurio will take it."

"I hope it goes well. Nya."

I got dressed and left Babur under the covers. When I got to The Golden Lake, I pulled out my key and realized that I had to give it back today, too. No point in keeping it.

As I unlocked the door, my heart began to race. I still felt terrible about what was going to happen. I hoped that she would be understanding but...

The door opened before I could turn the handle.

"Oh! Good morning, Lake. You're up early."

Goldie greeted me.

"Hey. Uh..."

"Something wrong?"

"I came by to tell you that I'm going to leave tomorrow."

"I... I see. That's too bad. I was hoping you would stay a little longer."

"Well, I wasn't thinking about it until recently. I think Kurio is getting a little too attached. I feel like I have to wake her up before..."

"I understand. You said that you will leave tomorrow. Are you still going to work today?"

"Yeah. If you'll have me."

"Of course. I would never say no to you. I just hope your talk with Kurio goes well."

"Me too."