NOVEL WEB Chapter 82.1
A Stray Kitten Gets Some Neko-manma
That day, Yuuri was out grocery shopping with Camille, who was on meal duty. What happened took place on their way back. As usual, Rooks was bouncing quietly at Yuuri’s feet, but then, as if spotting something, he suddenly started moving on his own.
“Roo-chan?”
“Huh? What’s up with Rooks?”
“Kyuu, Kyui!”
Rooks seemed to say, Over here! The two had no choice but to follow him. Thankfully, they were using a magical bag for shopping, so the load wasn’t heavy. Otherwise, Camille, carrying most of the groceries, would have been worn out by now—they’d bought quite a lot today. Most likely, it was because the friendly market vendors sold to them skillfully and even gave them freebies.
Don’t worry—Yuuri, steadily gaining experience as a househusband, had haggled properly, so it wasn’t a wasteful shopping spree. Probably.
“Roo-chan, what’s wrong?”
“Kyuu! Kyuu!”
“…Is that… a kitten?”
“Whoa, it really is! Looks weak, though—is it okay?”
Rooks led them to the shadowy corner of a building, where a small kitten lay collapsed. The kitten, with its golden-brown fur, wasn’t moving at all. When Camille reached out to pet it, it twitched slightly but remained still. Worried, Camille gently picked up the kitten, relieved to feel its warm body, confirming it was alive.
“Is it hurt?”
“Doesn’t look like it… Hey, Yuuri, use your appraisal skill.”
“Oh, right. Hang on.”
Yuuri had a cheat ability, the [God’s Eye] but he often forgot about it. Even though one look would give him the answer, he tended to overlook the skill. To him, the world’s most powerful appraisal ability was little more than a handy tool for inspecting ingredients. He had only recently realized it could be used to monitor the health of his companions. Why it took him this long was a mystery.
Just as Yuuri was about to activate the skill, something about the kitten caught his attention. He stared intently at it, and then, with a puzzled expression, spoke.
“…Hey, Camille. Isn’t that kitten wearing shoes?”
“…Huh?”
“And clothes, too?”
“…Yeah, it’s wearing clothes.”
They hadn’t noticed at first because the kitten had been curled up, but it was indeed dressed—and wearing boots. In that moment, both Yuuri and Camille understood. This wasn’t just a normal kitten. No way. Even someone as laid-back as Yuuri knew that a kitten dressed in clothes and boots couldn’t possibly be ordinary. After all, in this world, there wasn’t a culture of dressing up pets. Maybe in Japan, but definitely not here.
Camille slowly set the kitten back down. He loved cats—a lot. Yuuri, too, found kittens adorable. However, both of them could sense trouble radiating from this one. Fortunately, it didn’t seem injured. Appraising it might reveal unwanted information, so they decided it was better not to get involved.
“…Camille.”
“Yuuri.”
“Shall we head back?”
The two exchanged looks and nodded in agreement. It was best not to get tangled up in anything troublesome. If it had been just a regular kitten, they could take it home, find it a new owner, or care for it until it recovered. But a kitten in clothes and boots? That was a whole different story. Better not even think about it. Their decision was sound.
But just as they were about to leave, Rooks betrayed them.
Perhaps realizing their intent to abandon the kitten, Rooks stretched his squishy body and tossed the kitten onto his head. Then, half-submerging it into his body, he secured it firmly.
“Roo-chan?! Don’t eat it!”
“Kyui.”
“Huh? You’re not eating it? Then what are you doing?”
“Kyukyuu!”
“Hey! Roo-chan, stop! What are you doing?!”
“Is he seriously bringing it back with us?!”
After being scolded, Rooks shook his body in denial. In response to their confusion, he let out a cheerful squeak and began bouncing back toward their hideout, kitten still perched on his head. The sound was as carefree as usual, but he was moving faster than normal. Yuuri and Camille scrambled to catch up, but it didn’t seem like they’d be able to. As expected of a rare mutated slime, Rooks’ abilities were off the charts.
When they finally managed to catch their breath and catch up to Rooks, he had already slipped through the hideout’s front door. There, a ten-year-old girl named Aroru greeted them with a sharp gaze, as if to say, What are you two doing? They hadn’t done anything wrong—yet.
“Uh, Aroru, could you stop Roo-chan?”
“Stop him? Hey, Rooks, what did you bring back this time?”
“Kyuu?”
Rooks looked up at Aroru and let out a small sound. Aroru, the only one who could fully communicate with the slime, stared at him, unimpressed. Even the white snake coiled around her neck gave Rooks a pointed look. Under their combined stares, the slime finally relented and squeaked.
“Kyukyui.”
“…Ah, I see.”
“Kyuu.”
“That makes sense.”
“Kyukyuu!”
“…But are you sure it’s safe to bring it here?”
“Kyui.”
Rooks turned away, as if to say Whatever. Aroru let out a long sigh. Yuuri and Camille, still catching their breath, looked toward Aroru. The skilled beast tamer, despite her young age, seemed thoroughly exasperated as she pointed to the kitten atop Rooks’ head.
“That kitten is a werecat. It looks like it was on the verge of being kidnapped by someone shady, so Rooks decided to rescue it.”
“…What?”
“Just so you know, weretigers aren’t monsters. Some regions treat them as such, but they’re really just people in animal form. Anyway, it seems this one passed out from hunger, so could you whip up something for it to eat?”
“…Roo-chan.”
Yuuri collapsed to his knees. The word werecat was new to him, but he decided to let it slide. What really baffled him was how Rooks’ mind worked. He brought the kitten back just because it was hungry? Then again, it made sense—Yuuri had once taken in Rooks, mistaking him for a starving puppy. Maybe Rooks was just following his example.
With the kitten still on his head, Rooks bounced toward the dining area. Yuuri sighed and followed, with Camille right behind him. Aroru trailed after them, seemingly aware that leaving things unattended would only lead to more trouble. A ten-year-old supervising two high school boys—how had it come to this?
“Aroru, what do weretigers eat?”
“They eat just about anything. Oh, but I think they don’t like onions.”
“…So, in that way, they’re still like regular cats.”
Yuuri stared at the kitten—no, the werecat—curled up on Rooks’ head and sighed again. If Aroru hadn’t said anything, he never would’ve guessed it was anything other than a normal kitten. Probably because it was still young. According to Aroru, weretigers and werewolves could walk on two legs, use their hands skillfully, and speak just like humans. Some even believed that beastkin had evolved fr