JSOML 12

Chapter 12

From the day after he had that fluffy, refreshing bath, Jack had changed. Whether Ian, the Knight Commander, had been incredibly effective, he kept a strict watch on Lery.

‘Tsk! No you don’t!’

He rubbed his sleepy eyes and pinched his own thigh, using his whole body to block Lery’s secret outings.

‘I want to go out! I’m so bored!’

Now, Lery couldn’t escape easily anymore.

‘Just eating, playing, and sleeping all day is getting dull. Being a freeloader isn’t easy either.’

As the tedious days continued, only complaints born of gluttony piled up.

They say cats over-groom when they’re bored. Lery too, spent his days grooming himself more than necessary.

“Lery~”

It was when Lery had dozed off for a moment. Theodore’s sweet voice drifted faintly to his ears.

Lery slowly lifted his eyelids. Even though it was clearly daytime, it was dark all around.

“Lery, I can’t find you.”

Lery creakily raised his body. Then he thumped his head hard.

‘Ouch!’

Right. He had crawled under the display cabinet.

He remembered coming to look for something shiny, but he must have been captivated by the narrow, cozy space and fallen into a light sleep.

‘I’m really becoming more and more like a cat.’

Lately, his feline nature had been surfacing quite often. He tried to restrain himself, but by the time he came to his senses, the incident had already happened.

‘Anyway…’

For now, he had to show himself to his fussing owner. As Lery shuffled forward and poked his head out, Theodore greeted him with a bright face.

“Haha. Are you wearing a dust hat?”

He burst out laughing seeing the pile of dust that had taken over Lery’s head.

He had called Lery because he thought he might be sleeping uncomfortably in a narrow space, and here he appeared looking so cute.

Today again, Theodore was one hundred percent satisfied with his job as a ‘cat butler’.

At his words, Lery shook his head vigorously, sending a cloud of fine dust flying everywhere. Theodore brushed off the remaining dust and whispered.

“Lery. Luke misses you so much.”

“Mya? (Me?)”

That couldn’t be true.

He picked Lery up and continued.

“He said he’d die if he didn’t see you, so I graciously brought you here. Luke can’t die yet, you know.”

Why did he suddenly give off the image of a tyrannical boss?

Lery felt sorry for Luke. He must carry a resignation letter around like a talisman, worn out by his master.

Not reading Lery’s thoughts, Theodore smiled brightly like a big dog happily wagging its tail.

“Alright, shall we go then?”

Carried in his arms, he moved with long strides, and soon they arrived at the garden.

Near the flower garden, where swaying flowers and plants were in full bloom, a table for a tea party was set up.

Luke, who had been sipping black tea at the round table, waved his hand excitedly.

“See? I told you.”

“……Myaang. (……If you say so.)”

Lery gave a vague response.

“What…… do you mean, Your Highness?”

At Luke’s question, Theodore teased.

“You were the one begging me to let you see Lery, weren’t you?”

“Huh? But that was because Your Highness ordered me to…….”

Luke, who had answered carelessly, suddenly stopped, realizing his mistake. He had seen his sharp-eyed master’s gaze.

‘Damn…… he lied…….’

Luke’s back broke out in goosebumps. Theodore’s eyes seemed to threaten him.

‘Co-op-er-ate.’

Luke pursed his lips tightly like a chicken gizzard. It seemed better to keep his mouth shut than to state the facts.

Once Lery and Theodore sat down, Luke placed a birdcage covered with a white cloth onto the table.

“Ta-da! Sir Lery! A present!”

As the cloth was removed, a small squirrel revealed itself. Its fluffy fur and chubby cheeks stuffed full of nuts it was holding in its mouth were quite adorable.

‘What?’

A squirrel as a present?

To the bewildered Lery, Luke enthusiastically explained, practically spitting.

“This is a squirrel I rescued a while ago. It will be Sir Lery’s new friend.”

There was an overload of information, from the heroic tale of how he happened to treat an injured squirrel, to his excessive desire to make a friend for the recently lethargic Lery.

“Its name is Pompom.”

Theodore cut Luke off and told Lery its name.

‘Pompom! Who named it?’

It was a name as adorable as its cute appearance. Lery, full of anticipation, peered into the cage.

But the terrified Pompom flinched and scurried away.

“Squeak! Squeak squeak! ($%%!!^!)”

What is it saying? It seems scared.

Lery couldn’t quite understand Pompom’s words. He pricked up his ears.

Just then, a system window appeared.

[SYSTEM: Would you like to acquire the ‘Fluffy Animal Dictionary’?]

[YES/NO]

[You will be able to understand animal language and can become BF (Best Friends).]

Animal language? Best Friend?

It was an utterly nonsensical skill. Without a moment’s hesitation, Lery chose ‘NO’.

‘I’m human.’

I don’t know if it’s possible, but I don’t know when I might become human again.

Just like the moment he first refused cat food, he still didn’t want to fully enter their world.

“Squeak squeak! (#$@%!)”

Meanwhile, Pompom let out a sharp cry. Clutching an almond tightly, it glared at Lery.

‘Why is it acting like that? Is it threatening me?’

Lery tilted his head at the sudden aggression.

Watching this, Luke and Theodore completely misinterpreted the situation.

“It seems to be saying hello.”

“Lery, it must like you.”

Hmm. Was that really the meaning?

Their guess seemed highly doubtful, but since Lery had no intention of harming Pompom anyway, he greeted it as kindly as possible.

“Mi-yaang. (Nice to meet you too.)”

“Squeak! Squeak squeak! ($&*&%$)”

But Pompom stomped its feet even more fiercely, making an uglier face.

“Would you like to meet it properly?”

Luke, watching them, opened the cage door entirely.

Creeeak.

The metal sound of the cage door grated on the ears. As the door opened, Pompom quickly darted out and took refuge on Luke’s shoulder.

Pompom’s mischief continued. It spat out the seeds it was holding, one by one, at the wide-eyed Lery.

‘Ouch! You little punk!’

Lery’s whole body stung from the seed bullets Pompom threw. The sudden provocation made his blood boil.

‘I can’t let this slide. They say there’s a hierarchy among animals, right? I need to teach it a lesson.’

Lery bared his fearsome fangs. Friend or not, he intended to scare it properly.

Then, Pompom fled to Luke’s bare scalp. And to top it off, it wiggled its bottom!

As if mocking him, saying, ‘You can’t get up here, can you~?’

“Meu-yaang! (You! Come here!)”

Unable to contain his anger, Lery wildly swung his fluffy paw.

[SYSTEM: Skill ‘Lethal Nyancat Punch’ has been used!]

“Ouch! Sir Lery……?”

Unfortunately, the fluffy paw struck Luke’s innocent jaw hard. Luke writhed in pain, experiencing such agony for the first time in his life.

Before he could even feel sorry for Luke, the seed barrage continued.

“Squeak squeak! Squeak squeak! (#%%!#$&)”

“Mya! Mya mya myaang? (Hey! Are you going to stop or not?)”

Luke stared blankly at the two animals. He couldn’t interpret their conversation, but it didn’t seem like a very pleasant exchange.

Even though they had been growling at each other for a while, the oblivious Theodore was the only one feeling pleased.

Pompom spitting seeds and Lery swinging his front paws in the air just looked like they were playing to him. He marveled at Lery’s social skills.

“Lery plays so well with small animals too.”

“Well, I’m not so sure…….”

Isn’t this place basically a battlefield? Your Highness, can’t you see my aching jaw……?

Luke clutched his reddened jaw, still vividly feeling the pain.

Despite feeling pity for Luke’s situation, the two animals continued their relentless growling.

“Squeak squeak! ($#%^)”

“Mi-yaaah! (You little tiny thing!)”

Just as this small war was reaching its peak.

Theodore pouted and complained.

“Lery~ Enough. Now it’s my turn to play with you.”

“Myaang! Mya-aaang? (You! Aren’t you coming here?)”

“Squeak! Squeak squeak! (#%$#$)”

But there was no way he could be heard over them.

Lery was thrashing around like a live fish, and Pompom, not wanting to lose, was stomping its feet hard on Luke’s scalp.

Right when the flames were blazing the fiercest.

‘Huh?’

Someone suddenly grabbed Lery’s limbs. In an instant, Lery’s body was lifted into the air.

“Mya! Mya mya! (What! Let go!)”

Wanting to see the fight through to the end, Lery thrashed his whole body around like he was riding a Viking ship. But the grip on his limbs was so strong he couldn’t easily break free.

“Haven’t you had enough?”

Then, a tired voice sounded from above his head. The one who had captured Lery was none other than Ian.

Dressed immaculately in formal attire, his sharp eyes were deeply furrowed.

‘What? When did he get here? I didn’t even hear footsteps!’

Lery’s eyes went wide. He had been so engrossed in the fight that he hadn’t even noticed Ian approaching. He had no idea how he’d been caught.

Ian looked down at the bristling Lery and spoke.

“But this is……”

He started to say something, then suddenly stopped. He began to bring his face close to Lery’s.

‘What, why is he doing this?’

As his face drew nearer, Lery gulped.

His prominent, sharp nose, which looked like it could cut if it touched, was soon approaching Lery’s belly.