Lucian indeed did exactly as he had said.
Carrying the unconscious, filthy, and foul-smelling Cifera in his arms, he made his way back to his newly acquired street-facing house.
Inside the bathroom, steam billowed gently through the air as the bathtub gradually filled with clean water at a comfortable temperature, the faint sound of flowing water echoing softly throughout the enclosed space while the warm mist slowly spread across the room.
Lucian's movements were not particularly gentle, yet they were undoubtedly meticulous. After rolling up his sleeves, he stepped over to the tub and carefully adjusted Cifera's position in his arms before directly lowering the unconscious girl into the warm water.
*Splash!*
In an instant, water scattered everywhere, and the once-clear water almost instantly turned into a murky, mud-like color, while a suspicious oily sheen and unidentified debris even floated on the surface.
Seeing that this girl was truly dirty beyond description, the corner of Lucian's mouth twitched on reflex. If she had not run into a kind, intelligent, and caring guy like him, she would have had to continue enduring that miserable life.
Not wasting time, Lucian picked up the clean, soft brush he had prepared earlier and began to wash Cifera while carefully avoiding her wounds.
He started with the hair, where grime was most likely to accumulate, causing the gray strands to clump together, matted with dirt, grass, and even what looked like food residue. He patiently untangled the knots, rinsing bit by bit and controlling his strength well so it would not hurt her, yet it was enough to scrub away the stubborn filth.
A few minutes later, it was finally the face's turn.
Cifera's small face was fairly delicate, and her features hinted at what she might look like when she grew older. At the moment, however, her face was covered in mud and dried golden bloodstains.
Lucian soaked a soft towel and gently wiped her face, starting from her forehead, moving to her cheeks, and then to her chin, revealing the originally fair and smooth skin underneath.
After the golden blood was wiped away, several fresh wounds and older scars became visible. Seeing them, he casually infused a trace of extremely faint power of Abundance, causing the wounds to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye, leaving only faint pink marks.
Done with the face, next was the body.
Cifera's small body was so thin that her bones were faintly visible, let alone her completely flat chest. Her skin bore not only dirt but also various bruises where new and old ones overlapped, silently telling the story of the hardships of her wandering life.
Under the effect of the power of Abundance, however, all the wounds were completely healed.
While bathing Cifera, Lucian naturally had no unnecessary or distracting thoughts, not only because she was still underage, but also because his mind was only filled with pity for the wandering life she had lived.
He was like an experienced gardener tending to a flower covered in mud, carefully washing away every trace of filth from each inch of her skin.
Especially those sensitive cat ears of hers, and that cat tail so dirty that its original color was no longer recognizable—when washing her ears, even while unconscious, Cifera wrinkled her nose in discomfort, and when washing her tail, she instinctively tried to pull it back.
In the end, Lucian gently held the base of her tail to keep it from moving around.
"Hahh, so dirty..."
Lucian muttered as he changed the water three times before finally restoring Cifera's silver-gray hair to its original color, leaving it looking pristine and refreshed.
Finally, he used a large, soft bath towel to wrap up the completely refreshed Cifera, who still carried warmth and a faint scent of soap. Only her small, damp head was left exposed, her cheeks flushed from the steam, while her long eyelashes rested quietly.
Seeing her sleeping so deeply, Lucian smiled faintly, then carried her into a clean and warm guest room, placing her on a soft bed that matched her body size, before conjuring a new set of clothes and changing her into them.
Right after finishing dressing Cifera, Lucian tucked her in under a blanket. Only after making sure that he had done everything he could did he finally straighten up.
"Well, looks much better now..."
Bathing this girl actually gave him a surprising sense of accomplishment.
Lucian had originally preferred raising dogs, but now it seemed that raising a cat wasn't bad either. Especially when that cat was Cifera—her ears and tail were unbelievably soft and fluffy to the touch.
In the end, he decided to stay a while longer, leisurely petting her fluffy cat ears and tail.
===
A while later, Cifera was awakened by an overwhelming sense of comfort.
Not cold.
Not hard.
Not foul-smelling.
It was a warm, soft sensation, just like when her grandmother was still alive.
"Grandma…"
Cifera murmured as she groggily opened her eyes. Soon, what entered her sight was not the cold stone walls of a sewer or the hard ground of a street corner, but an unfamiliar wooden ceiling.
At first, she blinked in confusion, her expression dazed.
However, the moment she looked down and saw the soft fabric wrapped around her body, she instantly became fully awake. Her blue eyes widened sharply as every hair on her body stood on end, from head to tail.
In the next moment, her entire body sprang up from the bed like a coiled spring, causing the blanket to be thrown aside. She immediately tried to dart toward a dark corner.
'Where am I?'
'Did I get captured?'
'Am I still alive?'
As Cifera crouched in the dark corner, all those questions flooded her mind.
Soon, however, she noticed that something was wrong with her body, so she immediately looked down, only to discover that the clothes she was wearing were no longer the patched, dirty rags from before, but a clean, soft, slightly oversized linen nightdress!
'Huh?! Who changed my clothes?!'
Cifera touched her face in panic, only to notice that her skin was smooth, without a trace of dirt!
Her hair, neat?
Not tangled at all!
Her tail?
Fluffy, and it even carried a pleasant scent!
Cifera looked around and finally realized that she was in an unfamiliar, clean, and orderly room.
However, her eyes immediately locked onto the table, where fruits and a glossy, aromatic roasted chicken that emitted a fatally tempting fragrance, rushing straight into her nose, lay quietly.
*Growl—*
In an instant, Cifera's stomach growled in protest.
Her reason sounded the alarm that this place was dangerous and that she should run as soon as possible, yet her instincts were screaming wildly at her to take that roasted chicken, that good-smelling meat.
In the end, after struggling for a few seconds, her instinct won over everything, and with a whoosh, she grabbed the roasted chicken, bigger than her face, and hugged it tightly, immediately staining her new clothes with grease.
Right after, Cifera, barefoot, rushed to the window, leaped out without hesitation, moved with agility, rolled upon landing without injury, and dashed straight toward her sewer hideout without looking back.
Just like that, only a small, slightly greasy handprint was left on the windowsill.
Lucian, who stayed in the adjacent bedroom, had already sensed Cifera's actions and series of reactions upon waking, from her hair standing on end, to the sudden jump, and finally to the panic—he had perceived them all clearly.
He walked to the window just in time to see that small gray catgirl, clutching the roasted chicken, disappear around the corner of the alley.
Seeing her disappearing figure, the corner of his lips lifted into a faint, helpless smile.
"You're such a naughty kitty. You run pretty fast..."
===
In a dark alley, Cifera hugged the piping-hot roasted chicken as she ran wildly, gnawing on it as she ran, with grease smeared across her mouth.
'So good!'
Ever since her grandmother died, she had become a homeless thief and had never eaten meat this delicious again.
How long had it been since she last ate meat?
A month?
Two months?
A year?
No matter how she tried, she could not remember!
Usually, even finding half a moldy piece of bread counted as good luck.
As for meat?
It was something that only existed in her dreams.
In fact, the reason she had not eaten the chicken right away in the room was that she feared it might have been tampered with. If something went wrong, she would not even have a chance to escape.
Now that she had run far away, even if the roasted chicken was actually drugged, she would not have to worry about being caught.
Cifera weaved through countless twists and turns, deliberately choosing the dirtiest and most complicated alleys. Only after confirming that absolutely no one was following her did she finally stop, panting heavily as she hid herself in a deserted corner piled high with broken wooden crates.
By now, her new clothes were torn and once again stained with dirt, but she felt so happy that she was almost about to faint and did not even realize it.
Not caring about anything else, she continued to devour the chicken, tearing into it with big bites and unwilling to spit out even the bones, as if she wanted to swallow the entire chicken whole.
"Mm, there's no drug in it..."
Cifera muttered thoughtfully while vigorously munching on the roasted chicken meat.
"Did I run into a nice guy? Eh, not sure. Guess I'll just see tomorrow."
===
[A bonus chapter for every 300 Power Stones.]
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