The material was leftover Special Shaping Clay from her master's lab—a material that softens when heated and hardens when cooled, originally used for making prototypes of experintal apparatus.
Edna stole so.
Well, she stole a lot.
Her master probably knew, but never said anything.
No other Cat knew that Ms. Etina was actually a model enthusiast.
This hobby was rare among Cats.
It was even a bit embarrassing to talk about.
A Cat, a dignified Wayfarer of the Path ◆ Nоvеlіgһt ◆ (Only on Nоvеlіgһt) of the Pope, the Facility's chief assistant, and the spiritual ntor of all Cats—
Liked to hide in her room and sculpt figurines after work.
If the other Cats found out, her dignity would probably vanish in an instant.
So this was her secret.
A secret belonging only to her.
Edna rolled over from her blanket and rolled to the workbench on the other side of the room.
The workbench was also custom-made, only a third of the height of a normal table, and various tools were laid out on it—miniature carving knives, tweezers, sandpaper, magnifying glasses, all modified into shapes suitable for Cat paws.
She jumped onto the workbench, sat down, and rested her front paws on the edge of the table.
Her tail swayed leisurely behind her.
What model should I make today?
She tilted her head and thought for a mont.
Then she thought of Ed.
That white Cat wearing a black top hat.
One of the youngest assistants in the Facility.
And one of the clumsiest.
This guy was clumsy, and every ti he saw her, he looked dazed and silly.
Whenever she was present, his work always went wrong.
Turning the wrong valve, misreading the scale, sticking the reagent bottle label on backward.
Just like yesterday.
Even opening a door resulted in a malfunction.
That huge iron door made a deafening rumble, scaring that human girl so much her hair stood on end.
Edna was so angry at the ti she almost slapped his top hat off.
Afterward, she scolded him for a full thirty seconds.
Thirty seconds was a very long lecture for a Cat.
When Ed was being scolded, his ears drooped, his tail was tucked between his legs, his whole body curled into a ball, and the brim of his top hat almost covered his entire face.
He looked quite pitiful.
But if she gave him just a little bit of sweetness—like saying "You did okay," or touching his head with the tip of her tail—he would be happy and obedient again.
His tail would wag.
His eyes would shine like two small amber light bulbs.
Quite cute.
Right.
I'll make a model of Ed today.
The corners of Edna's mouth curled up slightly.
Although a Cat's smile is different from a human's, if anyone were present, they would surely be able to tell she was smiling.
She took a piece of white shaping clay from the tool rack, placed it on the workbench, and began kneading it with her paw tips.
First, the rough outline of the body.
A round head, a chubby body, and four short legs.
Then the details.
The angle of the ears—Ed's ears always tilted forward slightly, as if he were listening to sothing at all tis.
The curve of the tail—when he was happy, his tail would curl into a perfect question mark shape.
And that top hat.
The top hat was the hardest part.
The width of the brim, the height of the crown, the position of the hatband—all needed to be precise to the milliter.
Edna humd while she sculpted.
It was a low, rhythmic purring sound that only a Cat could make.
Her mood was very good.
Very good.
A rare holiday, a quiet room, and doing what she loved.
A perfect night.
...
"Crack—"
Suddenly, a strange sound ca from nearby.
Edna's purring stopped abruptly.
Her ears shot up, and her whole body tensed instantly.
She turned her head.
And saw, sowhat blankly—
A flash of red light suddenly erupted from the wall where her model shelf stood.
Crimson light burst from the cracks in the wall, as if sothing were burning on the other side.
Then the entire wall began to collapse.
Brick and stone fragnts flew in all directions.
Dust filled the air.
The models on the display shelf were blown away by the shockwave, tumbling through the air before crashing to the floor and shattering into countless pieces.
Edna saw her cha model—the latest royal knight cha she had spent three whole days completing at a 1:200 scale—spin two and a half tis in the air before slamming headfirst into the opposite wall and breaking into three sections.
Her mind went blank.
Then she saw Pavela.
That human girl ca scrambling out from the hole in the wall.
Her eyes were crimson.
The light of the Path of the Tower burned in her pupils.
Her silver hair was ssy and stuck to her face, and her school uniform was in tatters, revealing her bandage-wrapped body underneath.
Her expression—
Pavela's expression wasn't anger or madness.
It was fear.
Pure, heartfelt fear.
Like a hunted rabbit.
"No—don't co again—!"
She wailed and scrambled forward desperately.
Then, the chanical arms ca.
Silver, flexible chanical arms extending from the hole in the wall.
One.
Two.
Three.
They slid silently across the floor like snakes, precisely wrapping around Pavela's ankles.
"No—!"
Pavela scread, grabbing the carpet with both hands, struggling desperately.
Her right hand erupted with crimson light—the power of the Destroyer from the Path of the Tower.
The light struck one of the chanical arms.
The chanical arm snapped in the middle, fragnts flying.
But more chanical arms imdiately reached out from the other side of the wall.
Two beca four.
Four beca six.
They wrapped around Pavela's limbs, waist, and shoulders from all angles.
Pavela shattered another one.
Three more appeared.
Her struggle beca increasingly weak.
The crimson light began to flicker like a dying fla.
"Let go—! I don't want to anymore—! I really don't want to—!"
Her voice was already choked with tears.
But the chanical arms ignored her.
Steadily and unhurriedly, as if carrying a fragile item, they dragged Pavela toward the hole in the wall.
Pavela's fingers left ten long scratch marks on the carpet.
Then she was dragged back.
Disappearing into the other side of the hole.
The chanical arms were in no hurry to leave.
First, they picked up the shattered fragnts of the chanical arms one by one and stored them neatly.
Then they began to repair the wall.
New brick and stone grew from the edges of the hole, like so kind of fast-solidifying liquid tal.
The gaps were filled, and the surface was smoothed.
The entire process took less than thirty seconds.
The wall returned to its original state.
Smooth, complete, and flawless.
As if nothing had ever happened.
Only then did the chanical arms retract.
The room fell silent.
The dust slowly settled.
Edna stood on the workbench, motionless.
She lowered her head.
Looking at everything on the floor.
Her models.
The models she had spent countless nights sculpting bit by bit with her Cat paws.
Broken.
All over the floor.
The cha model was broken into three pieces.
The spire of the clock tower model was gone.
The miniature deer was missing a leg.
And the model of Ed she had just started sculpting.
That lump of white shaping clay had been blown into the corner of the room by the shockwave, covered in dust and debris, its original shape completely unrecognizable.
Edna's tail slowly lowered.
Then it slowly rose again.
Standing straight up.
Her fur puffed out completely.
Like a furious bottle brush.
She jumped down from the workbench.
Her four paws stepped on the fragnts, making small crunching sounds.
She dashed to the repaired wall.
Raised her front paws.
And started pounding.
Thump thump thump thump thump.
"ow!!!"
Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump.
"ow ow ow!!!!"
Thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump thump.
"ow!! ow ow!!! ow ow ow ow ow!!!!!"
She owed out her curses particularly viciously today.
But there was no response from the other side of the wall.
Only an extrely distant, extrely faint sound, as if coming from a very, very deep place—
"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaa—!!!"
Pavela's scream.
And her master's perverted-sounding, excited laughter.
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