NOVEL NEXT Chapter 147.1
The Kitty Returns, The Young Master Arrives!
A knocking sound came from the entrance of the hideout. Before Yuuri, who was passing through the hallway, could react, the door swung open with force.
And then.
“Meow!”
“Whoa!?”
“Young master!”
“”Young master!””
A small bundle that had leaped through the open door charged straight toward Yuuri’s abdomen. Knocked off balance, Yuuri fell on his backside, and on his stomach, a kitten purred contentedly.
Wait, let me correct that. Not a kitten, but a young member of the Werecat race—a bipedal cat-like humanoid species. Today, the kitten was dressed in a shirt, pants, and boots, looking like a character straight out of a picture book.
The Werecat child, with its beautiful golden-brown fur and large ice-blue eyes, was happily perched on Yuuri’s stomach. This was the same kitten that had once been lost and was rescued by Yuuri, who had then fallen in love with Yuuri’s homemade cat food and tried to take him home. By the way, this kitten is of the Royal Werecat lineage, a higher class of Werecats, and is said to be the next leader of their village.
However, right now, he was just a cheerful, high-spirited kitten.
“It’s been a while, Yuuri-dono. …Young master, where are your manners? You can’t just barge in like this.”
“Meow!”
“That won’t do. I understand you’re happy to see him, but you must greet him properly first.”
“Meow…”
The one scolding the kitten while lifting him off Yuuri’s stomach was a young man with brown fur. He was the kitten’s escort, who had been by his side before. …This was the same kitten who had escaped from his escort, only to collapse from hunger and be found by Rooks. Well, cats are naturally curious, so it couldn’t be helped.
The kitten seemed to be complaining, but Yuuri couldn’t understand a word of his cat language. So, he left that to the escort and turned to the other companions, who were smiling awkwardly. Among them was the black-furred woman who had been with the kitten before, and a red-furred boy he was seeing for the first time.
“It’s been a while. A bit earlier than planned, isn’t it?”
“My apologies. After lunch, he insisted we come immediately…”
“Ahahaha!”
The kitten, who had plans to revisit the royal capital of Drahein, had taken Yuuri’s casual “Come visit again sometime” quite seriously. Yuuri had been preparing to welcome them after receiving a letter saying they would arrive in the afternoon. However, it seemed the impatient kitten had dashed over ahead of time.
Yuuri had no idea what had drawn the kitten to him so strongly. Sure, he had helped the kitten when he was lost, but the food he had given him was just simple cat food—plain rice mixed with bonito flakes, without even any seasoning. Yet, for some reason, the kitten had grown deeply attached to him.
Noticing Yuuri’s gaze, the red-furred boy bowed slightly. He seemed around the same age as the kitten, but judging from how he had shouted “Young master!” earlier, it seemed he could speak human language.
“Pleased to meet you. I’m Etol, a classmate of the young master.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Yuuri. So, you can understand human language?”
“Yes. …The young master has been slacking off on his language studies.”
“Ah, hahaha…”
Yuuri chuckled wryly at the added comment, recalling the kitten’s carefree attitude. It was no use expecting a playful kitten to take his studies seriously. After all, cats are whimsical and love to play.
By the way, for Werecats, learning human language mainly involves pronunciation and vocalization. The meaning is the same as their cat language, so the kitten can understand when spoken to in human language. However, speaking it requires different pronunciation, which takes practice.
Today, the visitors to the hideout were the self-centered, curious young master—the golden-brown kitten, Ridi; his escort, the brown-furred young man, Crest; the black-furred woman who took care of him, Fia; and finally, Etol, Ridi’s classmate who hadn’t been there last time. These four Werecats had come to visit the hideout of the Scarlet Lynx.
As for today’s caretaker, it was Ali, who had stayed behind in case anything happened. Jake, who had wanted to stay and interact with the Werecats, was told to do his job properly and left with Urgus, Magg, and Licht for fieldwork. The scholar’s curiosity often led him to slack off, but no one was going to let him get away with it.
“Still, I didn’t expect him to be this excited.”
“The young master seems to have had a lot of fun…”
“Did he really have that much fun…?”
When Yuuri had found him, the kitten had been collapsed from hunger, devoured three bowls of cat food, and then promptly fell asleep. Honestly, Yuuri didn’t remember interacting with him that much. Yet, for some reason, Ridi had grown attached to him.
Deciding it was no good to stay in the entrance forever, Yuuri led the guests to the living room. Along the way, Rooks, who had been cleaning the hallway, noticed the visitors and bowed politely. When he saw Ridi, his eyes lit up.
Still, Rooks continued cleaning the hallway, though he kept glancing back longingly. He would probably return to them as soon as he finished.
Meanwhile, Ridi, who had been reaching out to Rooks, was carried off to the living room by Crest. It seemed they thought it would be trouble if the young master was allowed to roam freely out of curiosity.
By the way, Ali was in his room, working, having only said, “Call me if anything happens.” He was there as a precaution, but he didn’t seem interested in meddling in Yuuri’s friendships. After all, the Werecats had come as companions of the young master who wanted to see Yuuri and Rooks, so Ali had no business with them.
“Oh, the little one’s here.”
“Camille, watch your tone.”
“Huh? But he’s a tiny cat.”
“That’s why I said watch your tone!”
“Ouch!”
Drawn by the lively scene in the living room, Camille and Aroru had popped in. Seeing the two who had been involved when Ridi was lost, the kitten’s face lit up. It was like he had found an old friend. He tried to leap toward them but was pulled back by Crest’s arm.
Neither Ridi nor the other Werecats seemed to care, but Aroru couldn’t help but scold Camille for his overly casual tone. While Ridi might look and act like a curious kitten, he was still a Royal Werecat and the future leader of a village. Aroru, being the more mature one, knew that such disrespectful behavior wasn’t acceptable.
By the way, Ridi himself didn’t seem to care at all, meowing happily and reaching out to Camille. Camille, a cat lover, took Ridi with Crest’s permission and laughed joyfully, saying it had been a while. Beside him, Aroru sighed tiredly, which was oddly striking. Hang in there, ten-year-old.
“Camille, his name’s Ridi, apparently.”
“Oh, so you’re Ridi, huh? I’m Camille. Nice to meet ya!”
“Meow!”
“Your paw pads are so squishy and nice!”
“Meow!”
Camille, being a cat lover, was obviously delighted, and Ridi was happy to be played with. Watching the cheerful young master, Crest and Fia smiled. Etol, however, sighed as he watched his classmate. As a fellow student, he seemed to have mixed feelings.
“Yuuri, bring some drinks for the guests, …Huh? Camille and Aroru are here too? Well then, Yuuri, I’ll go get more. You handle this.”
“Got it. Thanks, Yakk.”
“No problem. Since your friends are here, you should relax, Yuuri.”