JSOML 11

Chapter 11

By the time the scenery outside the window had turned a bruised blue, Sonia and Jack returned.

Larry, having used up all his energy, was sprawled out like a piece of dried seaweed.

Sonia, who had been tidying up Larry’s toys, gave him a close look as he lay there, seemingly one with the cushion.

Something was off. The bedroom was always kept clean, so Larry’s fur was usually meticulously groomed. But now, the little puffball had turned a bit grimy.

“This won’t do.”

Unable to ignore it any longer, Sonia spoke with a serious face. With her hands on her hips, she looked like someone about to undertake a major operation.

“What’s the matter?”

“Meow? (What’s up, Sonia?)”

Jack, who was popping a cookie into his mouth, and Larry, who was melting into the cushion, both looked at her. Neither of them seemed to grasp the gravity of the situation.

“I think we need to give Sir Larry a bath.”

It was a thunderbolt out of the blue, and it almost seemed like a grand drumbeat echoed from somewhere.

The party in question, Larry, casually tried to nudge Jack, but instead gave himself a good sniff all over.

‘Huh? Do I smell?’

Not bad, really.

His fluffy, cloud-like fur only carried a faint scent of Theodore.

Sonia locked eyes with the two layabouts in turn and said.

“So, Sir Larry, Jack. Get ready.”

Jack looked Larry up and down and tilted his head.

“He seems cleaner than I am, though.”

“Meow. (That’s true.)”

Even Larry agreed with that. Jack was a bit much. There were cookie crumbs scattered messily around his plump belly.

Eww. Disgusting.

Larry turned his head away sharply, as if he’d seen something unsightly.

Compared to that, his own fur gleamed with luster, thanks to the devoted care of his wonderful butlers.

But Sonia’s thoughts differed from theirs.

“I think Sir Larry snuck out yesterday.”

Her sharp perception flashed.

*Ouch.* Feeling a pang of guilt, Larry and Jack averted their gaze from her.

Detective Sonia’s deduction continued.

“Look, his paw pads are all black, and there’s dirt caked between his toes.”

Everyone’s eyes focused on the little puffball.

Strangely enough, it looked no different than usual to them.

Larry moved his head back and forth, zooming in and out. Sure enough, tiny pebbles lodged between his claws made their presence known.

‘Maybe they *are* a bit of a dusty pink…’

Feeling slightly embarrassed, Larry rubbed his paws against the rug.

“Sir Larry, shall we go play a fun game?”

Sonia said in a slightly higher-pitched voice to Larry, who was busy destroying the evidence.

Sonia scooped up Larry in one go and started gathering some treats.

“…But why are you bringing those?”

Jack, who knew nothing about cats, asked hesitantly.

“Weapons are essential on the battlefield.”

Sonia’s eyes gleamed with determination. It seemed to hint at the enormous commotion that was about to unfold.

“It’s just a cat bath, though?”

Finding her explanation insufficient, Jack scratched his butt and retorted.

“Meow? (Battlefield?)”

But I’m not a cat.

Larry blinked his round eyes. Contrary to their thoughts, the soul ‘Ju-Yena’ had been a true sauna enthusiast, even paying for a monthly membership.

‘What is all this?’

From the moment he entered the bathroom, Larry’s jaw was practically on the floor.

No matter how much the owner was a crown prince, he never expected a dedicated cat bathroom. It was incomparably grander than the place he’d lived before.

Sonia left Larry with Jack and began preparing the bath.

She touched a magic stone at the edge of the tub. Smoke rose, and warm steam filled the air in an instant.

“But do you really need me here?”

Jack, who had been standing idly, asked slowly.

Sonia looked at Jack, who was holding Larry’s body awkwardly. Anyone could tell he wasn’t exactly friendly with cats.

“We’re comrades in arms, aren’t we?”

“Comrades…”

So now it’s comrades.

A question mark appeared on Jack’s usually expressionless face.

Having never raised a pet before, Sonia’s thorough preparations seemed unfamiliar to him.

“Before, the Marquis of Serpeon and His Highness helped me, and it was absolute chaos. Everyone ended up bleeding.”

Sonia smiled, reminiscing.

There had been a time when she struggled a lot. Fortunately, she had now mastered the technique and was quite skilled at it.

Unlike the determined Sonia, Jack, who was holding Larry, began to tremble as if riding a shaky exercise machine. The words ‘ended up bleeding’ seemed to make him anxious.

His trembling shook Larry’s entire body.

‘Is it an earthquake?’

Larry looked at the blunt hands holding him and chuckled. Jack didn’t seem to live up to his large build.

‘Scaredy-cat.’

His fear persisted until Sonia poured a lavender-colored bath salt into the water.

As the tub filled with the dissolved salts, a unique floral scent tickled their noses.

“What is this smell…!”

Jack grimaced at the intense fragrance that made his head spin. For someone who preferred the scent of butter his whole life, it was a truly painful moment.

“Meow! (Great smell!)”

On the other hand, Larry happily swished his tail. The scent was thyme, which was said to enchant cats as much as catnip.

It was strange. As a human, he had hated it to the point of shuddering, but now he wanted to bury his nose in it.

Larry, losing his senses, slipped from Jack’s grasp. He plopped into the tub.

The combination of the warmth enveloping his skin and the thyme was fantastic. It felt like he had arrived at a paradise.

“Mreow~ Ah. (Just~ right.)”

Entranced by Larry’s blissful expression, Jack and Sonia burst out laughing at the same time.

Even though his fur was puffed up with water, he looked as adorable as a melting cotton candy.

‘What a relief.’

Sonia let out a sigh of relief.

It always made her sad to force Larry into a bath when he hated it, but seeing him clearly enjoying it now put her at ease.

“I changed the bath salts. It seems he likes them.”

Sonia said, plugging her nose with cotton balls and checking the brand label.

“Just as I thought, it’s from the Rubio Kingdom.”

The bath salt, which featured a cute cat drawing, was a product of the Rubio Kingdom, an island nation at the far eastern end.

It was a legendary kingdom said to be overgrown with thyme and catnip, as they worshipped cats as guardian deities.

It had since been destroyed, making Rubio products hard to come by, but Theodore had apparently managed to obtain some after much searching.

‘Rubio Kingdom? Where’s that?’

Larry’s ears perked up as he was enjoying his half-bath. Curiously, a surge of curiosity welled up inside him.

Jack, with perfect timing, continued the conversation.

“Ah. That destroyed kingdom’s product?”

“Yes. Perhaps because it was a territory for cats like Sir Larry, I heard the island itself was quaint and cute. I always wanted to visit there at least once in my lifetime.”

“Is that so. What kind of food is famous there?”

Jack’s interest was entirely focused on ‘good eats’. Taken aback by the unexpected question, Sonia scratched her cheek and explained.

“Hmm… Food? Well, I’m not sure. I heard there’s a salmon steak restaurant in the capital. They said even foreigners would line up to eat there…”

“Sa-Salmon steak?”

“Yes. Dishes made with salmon are very famous there. Like cubed salmon cut into pieces, or skewers brushed with sweet seasoning and lightly grilled…”

“…”

“…Jack? Are you okay? I think you’re drooling…”

Just imagining the salmon steak seemed to have made Jack delirious. His eyes, fixed on the air, looked half out of it.

Larry, who had been listening with interest to the story of the ‘Rubio Kingdom’, was no different.

‘Salmon… I want salmon too…’

As he mumbled to his empty mouth and imagined the thick flesh of the salmon, his mouth watered just from the thought.

Sonia smiled at them, then recalled the ‘Rubio Kingdom’ she had only ever seen in famous paintings. She carefully wiped Larry’s face with a damp cloth.

‘Come to think of it, I’m glad he seems to have regained his energy.’

The outline of Larry’s body was visible beneath his wet fur.

His formerly scrawny frame had now filled out. She couldn’t help but feel pleased seeing his chubby belly.

“Jack, stop thinking about salmon and hold Sir Larry for me now.”

“Yesss…”

At Commander Sonia’s order, he wiped his drool and shuffled towards the tub. It seemed time for the bloodshed to begin.

Fearing he might get hurt, Jack carefully pulled his sleeves all the way down to his wrists.

‘What did she say?’

That meant they were going to wash me together with Jack!

In an instant, Larry’s eyes, previously lost in bliss, grew sharp.

No matter how much he looked like a cat, he couldn’t allow a man’s hands on him.

“Yowl! (How dare you touch me!)”

Larry let out a sharp hiss. The two faces were immediately filled with bewilderment.

“G-Good kitty…”

Jack, his eyes welling up, reached his hand out again. As if to show he meant no harm.

But before his hand could even touch Larry’s body, it was stopped by a cat punch.

[SYSTEM: You have used the skill ‘Deadly Cat Punch’!]

“MEOW! (You shameless fiend!)”

Jack surrendered to the attack of the ferocious beast.

“…I think I’m being told to leave.”

With Jack looking like he was about to cry, Sonia’s head throbbed.

He had been so well-behaved just a moment ago.

At her little master’s sudden change of heart, Sonia nodded and permitted Jack’s banishment.

Jack retreated cautiously, keeping his guard up until the very end.

Only then did Larry become as quiet as a mouse.

She rolled up her sleeves and began washing Larry in earnest.

“He’s being so good too.”

Her worries were unfounded. Larry obediently accepted her touch, whether she was wetting his body or lathering him with soap. He didn’t even want to get out of the tub when the bath was over.

Sonia found the whole scene astonishing.

“Meow~ Meow meow~ Meow meow meow meow~”

He hummed an unintelligible tune, or sat in a comical pose like a person.

‘Truly… I just can’t figure him out.’

She wondered if this was the charm of a cat.