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Chapter 12 - Comandante, Please Help Them!
🕑 Added 2025-03-27 17:13:32 +0000 UTC"You brats, what are you doing here? This is no place for children to play!"
A guard standing in front of the barracks stopped the two small figures approaching, his tone serious but not aggressive.
Puss lifted his cold, indifferent feline eyes and stared at the guard, almost making him step back.
"We are not here to play, Señor. We came to see the Comandante."
Puss spoke seriously, his voice low and rough.
"T-the Comandante?!" The guard stammered slightly, seeing the intense seriousness of that cat.
For some reason, the cat's presence sent chills down his spine, like standing before a powerful beast.
"Si." Puss answered simply.
"This... I'll report it." The guard hesitated for a moment, but as he was stared down by an unblinking cat, he finally lost his nerve and ran off to report.
Puss remained indifferent at the gate, waiting, while a trembling Humpty watched everything unfold from behind him, pale from Puss's boldness—or at least as pale as a white egg could possibly get—and also confused, not understanding what he was planning.
As he shivered in uncertainty, Humpty suddenly heard Puss's indifferent voice echo through the area, still with his back turned toward him.
"If you keep shaking like that, you'll turn into scrambled eggs."
"Ahh!" Humpty let out a terrified squeak at the sudden remark from the friend he trusted.
Puss, hearing his startled yelp, was confused at first, but after thinking about what he had said, he quickly understood.
Feeling slightly embarrassed, he turned around and looked at the now even paler egg… well, he was already white to begin with.
Rubbing his forehead as if nursing a headache, Puss could only say helplessly,
"Wait! That's not what I meant. It wasn't a threat... just a bad egg joke… forget it."
He muttered, a little embarrassed, and looked at Humpty's face, which had relaxed upon realizing it wasn't a threat.
After recovering from the scare, Humpty let out a relieved sigh.
"Haah… Sorry, it's just that you were so scary just now, so I thought… well, my mistake."
Humpty also felt embarrassed by his reaction.
As the two children stood there in awkward silence, the guard returned, restoring the atmosphere to normal.
"The Comandante said he will hear you out." The guard spoke cautiously to Puss and then led them inside the barracks toward the commander's office.
The commander, a large and robust man wearing Spanish armor and sporting a thick mustache, stared at them with a serious face and narrowed eyes.
"What do you want, children?" he asked in a firm tone.
Despite his fierce appearance, the commander was well-known in San Ricardo as a man who despised injustice and valued righteousness.
Though he seemed rough, he was still willing to hear out the children to see if they were facing some kind of injustice he could help with.
"Comandante, I came to negotiate," Puss said seriously.
"Negotiate?" The commander was caught off guard, not understanding what was happening with these children.
"Si." Puss nodded and continued.
"We are from the orphanage, and the orphanage is struggling financially. Humpty and I have created an invention capable of revolutionizing travel and making a lot of money. But as poor children, we cannot do this alone, so we need a partner who can help us establish our business."
He spoke, leaving the commander stunned, but before the man could respond, Puss raised a paw, signaling him to wait.
"But here's the problem: as poor children, we are at serious risk of not being taken seriously or even having our plans stolen. So, we sought out the Comandante of this city, a man of integrity and high credibility. We are not asking for an investment, only for you to help us create a simple and inexpensive prototype and act as an intermediary with a merchant so we can secure a partnership and get the business running."
Puss finished, placing his hands on his hips with a cunning smile.
"This..." The commander was at a loss for words at the cat and the egg standing before him.
But Puss wasn't done yet.
"Don't worry, it won't be a thankless job. The net profits we earn—after subtracting the merchant's share—will be split into four equal parts: one for me, one for Humpty, one for the orphanage, and one for the San Ricardo guards. 25% each, no more, no less. Deal?"
Puss said, suddenly leaping onto the commander's desk and extending his paw toward him.
The commander stared, stunned. So far, he hadn't been able to say a single word.
Massaging his forehead, the commander felt a headache coming on. He could see that the children had good intentions—they only wanted to help the orphanage and themselves—but he found it hard to believe that children could have created something truly profitable.
"Look, kids, I know you're..."
The commander started to speak, trying to reason with them, but when he lifted his gaze to look at Puss, his words slowly faded away.
In front of them stood a pitiful little kitten, with pitiful eyes and pitiful little paws held up against his chest. His pupils filled his bright eyes, making him look extremely pitiful—and adorable.
"Awwww!" The nearby guards couldn't help but exclaim at the overwhelming cuteness.
Seeing that pitiful little kitten, combined with the knowledge that the two were poor orphans trying to help their orphanage, only weakened the commander's resolve further.
"This… I…" The commander struggled against those pleading eyes.
"Comandante, please help them!" One of the guards couldn't take it anymore and begged.
"Yes, Comandante, please, just look at how pitiful he is!" Others joined in, pleading as well.
With so many attacks coming from all sides, the commander was defeated.
"Okay! Okay! Stop it, I agree to give it a try. But first, let me see your idea. If I don't approve, you're going back home, and I'll see what I can do to help the orphanage."
In the end, he made his commitment.
"Whoo-hoo!"
"YES!"
"Hahaha! The Comandante is the best!"
A chorus of cheers erupted from the guards, celebrating.
Puss also dropped his pitiful expression and smiled in relief. He then turned to Humpty and gave him a thumbs-up with a grin.
Humpty looked at him in admiration. A smile slowly spread across his face.
That day, Puss and Humpty explained their spring mechanism, how to use it, and its benefits.
As the commander examined the plans, his eyes lit up. He saw both commercial and strategic value in the springs and looked at the two little ones in surprise.
Many goods and supplies are commonly damaged during transport due to the bumps and jolts of travel. The journey itself is exhausting, and carriages frequently break down because of rough roads. These springs would truly revolutionize travel.
So, with a small investment from the city guard's barracks, a blacksmith and a carpenter were called in to upgrade an old carriage the guards already owned, following Puss and Humpty's designs.
Puss wasn't too worried about their plans being stolen now—after all, the city guards were no joke.
'Fortunately, I ended up in this universe. If this were a real medieval era, I wouldn't stand much of a chance at success. If this were a feudal society, I wouldn't be able to keep anything, not even the orphanage. Luckily, there aren't such extreme problems in this reality. It's a more peaceful world… well, if you take out the villains. But to be honest, even the villains here seem pale compared to the truly wicked ones from Earth… of course, not counting the superpowers—I'm just talking about evil itself.'
Puss thought, feeling increasingly content with this world.
A few days later, a guard was sent to the orphanage to fetch Puss and Humpty.
This almost stopped Imelda's heart, and she was about to fight for the children.
"Guard, please, I beg you, they're just children! Don't harm them!"
Hearing the commotion and Imelda's crying, Puss quickly ran over. His heart tightened at the desperation in her eyes.
Stepping forward swiftly, he called out.
"Wait! Mama, they don't mean any harm."
Puss's voice startled her. When she heard the unfamiliar voice, turned around, and saw Puss, her eyes widened.
"Pequeño?" She hesitated, asking.
"Si, mama." Puss nodded in confirmation.
He didn't hesitate to call her mother. Puss no longer remembered his real mother's face, but Imelda gave him the same warmth he vaguely recalled. So, out of respect for this strong woman who loved him deeply despite not sharing blood, he wasn't ashamed to call her that.
Imelda was momentarily stunned, and though she was happier than she could express at hearing her pequeño call her that, there were more pressing matters at hand.
She looked at him seriously.
"Pequeño, why is the guard looking for you?" she asked, her tone firm.
"It's better if you see for yourself, mama. Señor Rodrigo, mi mama can come too, right?"
Puss smiled at her before turning his gaze to the guard, whom he knew by name.
"Of course!" The guard simply shrugged, thinking nothing of it.
Though still confused, seeing the guard's reaction reassured her that it wasn't necessarily something bad.
And so, Puss, Humpty, Imelda, and the guard Rodrigo left the orphanage under the curious gazes of the children and caretakers.
