Ch. 146 Let's Call You Fou!

Three days after leaving Bangor, the stories of that city finally caught up with them.

In the inn, Kay heard merchants talking about the fire on Anglesey Island.

The official version was that one hundred and eighty people had died in the ‘demon invasion’ incident that night.

As for the details of the battle and the manifestation of the angel, they had gradually become abstract through word of mouth among countless people.

For example, it was said that an angel and Satan’s minions fought on Anglesey Island, leveling villages and turning half the island into scorched earth.

Even the very paths were obliterated.

And the angel? In people’s accounts, there were three angels, led by a young girl whose eyes and body were covered in white clouds, with peacock-like feathers on her back, holding a staff. She raised the staff, looking upon the world with the eye atop it, and her gaze repelled the devil.

She also held a blessed sword that could emit radiance, like fine gold within a fire, through which the Lord pardoned the sinners bewitched by the devil.

This image had not yet been depicted by the artists serving the Church.

But even if it were painted according to such descriptions, no one could possibly associate such an abstract, heavily religious image with Mia.

As for Artoria and Kay, they did not leave behind a unique appearance like Mia did.

In people’s descriptions, as before, they were depicted as winged angels.

Of course, the unique religious bickering was also part of the experience.

As the details of the story increased, in addition to the image of the angel, the image of a demon named ‘Cath Palug’ appeared.

Cath Palug is a Celtic term, Cath Palug, meaning’scratching cat’; it was a black cat that a fisherman hauled from the sea and named.

Because of this, the Celtic druids and prophets who loved making predictions were, of course, very unhappy.

According to ancient prophecies, Cath Palug happened to be the name of the cat-monster born of the sow-monster Henwen.

Rather than a minion of Satan or a demon from hell as the Christians preached.

To this, the monks’ explanation was quite flexible.

The British Church, far from Rome and isolated overseas, had always maintained an inclusive and syncretic attitude toward original Celtic beliefs; while declaring God as the only true deity, they cast the gods representing virtue in Celtic mythology as angels and the gods representing evil as demons.

The rampaging Cath Palug was, of course, a demon.

Regardless of what those traditional druids thought, the common people were very accepting of this Celticized Christian doctrine.

To this day, the portrait of the Goddess Britannia is still printed on the British currency, which was first issued by the Romans and is still imitated by various kingdoms today.

From the introduction of Christianity to Britain until the Renaissance a thousand years later, the several Christian denominations born on this isolated island were all quite peculiar compared to the orthodoxy of the continent.

Well, anyway, to Mia, religion was a rather boring thing.

Though it was a necessary stage in the development of civilization.

During a lunch break on the journey, Merlin saw Cath Palug lying on the carriage, looking down at them with great disdain.

Having nothing better to do, he reached out and snatched Cath Palug down.

“Fou!” Cath Palug protested strongly.

But as the saying goes.

When you are weak enough, even resistance is adorable.

Now, Cath Palug, who had become Merlin’s familiar, was exactly like that.

A pink nose, purple pupils, and long fur as fluffy and soft as cotton.

Looking at it made Merlin want to reach out and play with it.

“How about giving it a new name?” Merlin suddenly asked.

He sat on the ground, pinching Cath Palug’s little paws and forcing it into various poses.

“I feel like the light in its eyes has died…” Kay complained.

“This is atonement, right?” Merlin replied, wantonly rubbing Cath Palug’s little belly.

“Fou—”

A cry of resignation.

“In that case…”

Mia also ran over and crouched in front of Merlin.

“Then I won’t be polite.”

A vengeful mauling!

“Fou!”

“No biting me!”

*Smack*

Mia slapped Cath Palug on the head.

It made a crisp sound, like slapping a ripe apple.

“Fou-u…”

“Seriously,” Merlin said, “let’s change the name. Cath Palug is a bit too long.”

And if shortened to Cath… that originally just meant ‘cat’, so it couldn’t really serve as a proper name.

“Let’s call it Fou.”

“Fou?” Merlin nodded.

Considering the sound this fellow makes.

It was quite a fitting name.

“Then we’ll call you Fou!” Merlin grinned and messily ruffled Fou’s back, making its fur a mess.

“Fou-u!”

“Ah!”

Merlin was bitten.

“You weird cat!” Merlin shouted, jumping up.

Fou didn’t want to miss this chance to counterattack, climbing up Merlin’s clothes and scratching and crawling all over him.

“Fou, Fou, Fou~”

“I’m not the one who named you Fou! Go find Mia! Go find Mia!”

“Fou!”

The general meaning was…

Can’t beat her.

So it vented the humiliation it suffered onto Merlin.

“You’re just bullying the weak and fearing the strong, you brat! Hey, don’t go too far, you’re my familiar!”

Hearing such shouting.

Fou became even more infuriated.

The word ‘familiar’ must have touched a sore spot.

“Whoa, help!”

Kay watched the’struggle’ between Merlin and Fou with amusement: “No way, no way. Is the great Grand Magus of Britain unable to handle a small cat?”