Reason and Resolve

At around the same time when Ryne and company were beginning to investigate the park area, Caitlyn noticed that Mallory had fallen asleep at work again. He had stayed up longer than he should, so he lacked rest once more.

"Oh no, Mr. Miller's asleep again…" said Caitlyn to herself. "And I just reminded him recently…"

She approached her sleeping superior, but hesitated to wake him up at once. Instead, she looked closely at his face, partly covered by his left arm and some of his white hair.

"I bet if he married someone, he would be able to make her so happy," she thought. "He's handsome, athletic, kind, and even loves to read." With the thought, she recalled his jump from his chair when she previously woke him up.

Even more than that, she remembered the time she first applied for a job at the company…

----------

She'd been on her job hunt for a while then, but every time she applied somewhere, something always went wrong. So by the time she went to Spiritbooks, she was almost resigned to the idea of not passing her application.

Thankfully, she had already passed the first few stages, and was just going to be interviewed by Mallory himself, who was still fairly new at heading the company at the time.

"G-Good afternoon, sir," said Caitlyn as she went into his office. From the way she flinched, she knew she made a mistake, and Mallory noticed it.

"You know, if you didn't bring attention to it, I probably would have ignored it as well," said Mallory.

"I'm sorry!"

"What are you sorry for?" Quickly said the executive.

"Huh?"

"Think about that before you say sorry. The word doesn't mean anything if you don't have a clear reason for it," explained Mallory. "Too many people say it but do so for the wrong reasons."

"I-" Caitlyn stopped herself from saying the apology again on impulse. Now that she thought about it, apologies are for when one commits an error, not when you've offended someone.

"Good. At least I know you listen. Now please, sit."

Caitlyn was still taken aback by how Mallory started the interview. No amount of tutorials or job application training was going to prepare her for this.

She started getting nervous just thinking about how she was going to survive the rest of the ordeal.

Mallory got up from his seat and got them both some catmint tea. "I don't think I can get the best answers if you're not relaxed."

He then served a cup to Caitlyn. "Drink some," he said. His voice hasn't changed such that it had become tender, but his actions said otherwise.

He went back to his chair and said, "My name is Mallory Miller. I am the one managing Spiritbooks for now, in place of now-Mayor Gibson. I'll be interviewing you."

"Oh, yes, I've checked your company's info, so you didn't need to let me know. I should be-"

"But we haven't met yet. I'm not a man who needs no introductions. I don't expect to be known."

Caitlyn was again stunned with surprise. Usually, people would tell her that knowing the name of the head of the company is a given when going through a job application. This was the first time that she had met someone who was… human, for the lack of a better word.

"I at least know that you're meticulous, then. Hm… That's good."

The way her blunders were redeemed by this man had so far amazed her. If only she could work for him, then that would be the best moment in her life.

"Do you like reading books?"

"Uh, y-yes!" she answered.

"What makes them interesting for you?"

"Well… Books were my only companions while I was growing up. I'm shy around people, but with books, I can become anyone and be with anyone."

"I see. Since that's the case, will you become my assistant and work with me? We're both new to our positions, so we can learn from each other."

----------

The rest was history, and events have led to this moment. And Caitlyn noticed too late that her superior had woken up.

"How long are you going to stare at my face, Caitlyn?"

"Oh! M-Mr. Miller!" exclaimed the assistant in surprise. "I was thinking of waking you since you fell asleep again, and I-"

"You've been thinking for a bit too long… I've already been awake for a few minutes now."

Caitlyn now felt like she wanted to just melt into the floor.

"Well, don't just stand there," Mallory said as he stretched. "We still have work to do."

"Ah y-yes, sir!" said Caitlyn before she started walking away to go back to her desk.

However, she hadn't gone far when Mallory said, "Sorry for having you come and wake me when I should be awake at this hour."

"Ah, t-that's no problem," said Caitlyn sheepishly. "I didn't even actually get to wake you."

"Still, the fact that I fell asleep on the job is poor behavior."

"Well, at least I was the only one who saw it this time… Haven't you been sleeping well, sir?"

"To be honest, no."

"Maybe you could have some of your tea at night, sir? I've read that catmint is actually good for insomnia," suggested Caitlyn, although what she had wanted to do was ask if her superior was okay or if he had a problem. She didn't think herself good at making such a direct inquiry.

"I've been having it, but it's not working as well as I thought." Mallory wanted to share more of his thoughts, but he was at a loss on how to word it. Seeing as he was wasting his assistant's time, he decided to drop it for now. "Hm… I might try a stronger brew next time."

"Oh, I see… I-I'm going back to work outside, now."

"All right and thank you for your suggestion."

----------

That evening, the cloaked human went out again to look for his next set of victims. As he traversed the city, he recalled the memory of a past conversation with someone.

"What do you mean? I've done what you asked me to, right?"

"No, you're not doing it! Not anymore!"

They got kicked by their conversation partner off their chair. Despite their natural athleticism, they truly weren't prepared for that.

"People know about the cats! I told you to keep it hidden!"

"I've done what you asked me to. I killed cats, I hid it from others. I've been doing it before. Why are you so angry that people found out about the cats?"

"Because you're going to put me in danger!"

"Why would you be in danger? No one cares about disappearing cats!"

What came next made him flinch as he remembered it, so his thoughts went to what happened next.

"I'll be more careful… I'll do what you ask. Exactly."

"Yes, that's right. Good."

"Good," he muttered the word to himself a few times while he roamed the city. It gave him a pleasant feeling before, but now, it was confusing.

Is good truly good? he thought.

There was no time or reason for him to think about it deeper at the moment, in his opinion. What mattered was the fact that he needed to hold his end of the bargain. He passed by more houses with cats in them, but he ignored them this time around because apparently it posed a problem. He was thoroughly and carefully educated about it.

So the strays it was.

It seemed as if the strays were much fewer than they thought. Usually, anyone could expect to run into several of them roaming about, even in the darkness of the night. But now, it's as if the cats were actively hiding.

Some of the voices from before also shouted in the distance.

"INTRUDER!"

"Don't come here, intruder!"

Normally, he wouldn't mind, but the frustration was getting to him.

"I guess no one's letting me do as I was asked to, huh? I can't let them do that!" he murmured.

Soon, the voices were gone, and so were a few cats.