JSOML 16

Chapter 16

It was only around the time the sun disappeared beyond the horizon that Lery’s shopping finally came to an end.

And that was entirely because of Theodore, the Great Demon King of Flattery.

As if dresses weren’t enough, he had to look at accessories, jewelry, and even shoes before finally returning, seemingly satisfied.

‘He’s worse than me. What a tiring day…….’

Worn out from trying on all sorts of things, Lery let his body slump. Then he organized the clues he had acquired in his head.

No matter how he thought about it, there were more than a few suspicious points.

First, he was a cat who could understand human language.

Second, he couldn’t read the Empire’s script.

Third, he could only decipher the script of the ‘Rubio’ Kingdom.

Combining everything, one hypothesis became clear.

‘This cat might have come from the Rubio Kingdom. Or maybe it was human. In the first place, it’s strange for a cat to understand human language perfectly.’

However, it was a bit too much to conclude definitively.

Because of the inconsistency of ‘not being able to read the script of the Sentineo Empire, yet understanding the spoken language’.

‘Could there be something else here that I can read?’

Other than the difficult words he’d seen in the study.

Lery suddenly stood up and frantically rummaged through the bedroom. Before long, he found a folded, yellowish newspaper on the table.

‘……Ha. Same thing.’

He glared at it as if trying to bore a hole through the paper, but it was no use. Only the numbers indicating the date were legible; the rest looked like an extension of cryptic lines.

Lery’s discouraged ears drooped low.

Just as he was about to turn away, dejected by the lack of results.

‘Huh? Wait a minute.’

A large picture adorning the front page caught his eye. It was of a middle-aged man holding a fruit basket.

What interested Lery wasn’t the man, but the sentences written above the picture.

‘……Fruit, penny, bought?’

Strangely, the words began to appear here and there. Lery carefully read the newspaper.

‘Drinking water, war, support.’

There were more legible words than expected. Judging by their usage, they were very simple, yet essential for survival.

‘What? Why can I read the Empire’s language too? Isn’t it only the Rubio Kingdom’s language?!’

With this new question added, Lery’s mind tangled like a knotted ball of thread.

‘If only a system window would appear at times like this…….’

Just as he was bumping his small head against the newspaper and sighing, a system window flickered into existence.

[SYSTEM: Congratulations! You have found a clue to the memories of the cat ‘Lery’!]

[Synchronization will continue. Currently 20% synchronized……]

Come to think of it, he often saw the phrase ‘synchronization in progress’ whenever he woke up.

He had dismissed it as nothing important, but the number, which had been stuck at 11% all this time, had now jumped to 20%.

As Lery blinked, his vision gradually darkened. And a black-and-white video began to play with a crackling sound.

‘Governess! I can turn into a cat now too!’

‘Oh my~ Let’s see how cute Sir Lery looks as a cat~?’

‘Mya mya! (Ta-da!)’

Although the faces were blurry, a girl, transformed into a white cat, was happily wagging her tail. And the person she called ‘Governess’ was stroking the girl’s head.

[SYSTEM: Some memories of the cat ‘Lery’ have been transmitted.]

He couldn’t glean much from the short scene alone, but strangely, Lery felt a pang in his nose.

As if the memory were his own, he felt a cozy and warm feeling.

‘As expected…… I was right.’

Lery nodded, looking into the air.

The clues revealed without filter that Lery was human and could transform into a cat at any time.

Although he still didn’t know how to transform into his human form, it felt like a great harvest nonetheless.

“Squeak squeak? (What are you doing#?)”

Pompom hopped over to the dazed Lery.

Irritated by the interruption, Lery narrowed his eyes.

“Mi-yaaaang. (Don’t bother me, I’m in a bad mood.)”

He was already tired and upset, and he didn’t have the energy to deal with Pompom’s antics.

But who was Pompom? Wasn’t it the tireless energizer and the most annoying squirrel in the world?

Completely ignoring Lery’s warning, Pompom put down the almond it was holding. And with a swift kick, sent it flying toward Lery.

Thump. The flying almond struck Lery right on the forehead.

“Mya. (I told you to stop.)”

Lery gritted his teeth at the stinging pain. The fact that it had hit him on a particularly sharp spot only heightened his irritation.

“Squeak~ squeak~ squeak squeak! (#$#~ Let’s dance!)”

Giving up wasn’t in Pompom’s vocabulary. Before he knew it, Pompom had scurried onto Lery’s back and started doing the twist.

Unable to bear it any longer, Lery screeched.

“Myaang! Mya-ak! (What dance! You dance by yourself!)”

“Squeak squeak! Squeak squeak squeak~ (*&^%! Getting fat~)”

Suddenly, Lery regretted acquiring the ‘Fluffy Animal Dictionary’ immensely. Because Pompom’s words were really getting under his skin.

“Meu-yaaang! (You little b*stard squirrel!)”

Finally exploding, Lery wildly swung his sharp claws.

[SYSTEM: Skill ‘Catstouch’ has been acquired!]

[Caution! Carelessness may result in bloodshed!]

However, since Pompom had scurried away nimbly, only the innocent newspaper was shredded to pieces.

Meanwhile, Pompom, who had climbed all the way to the ceiling, stuck its tongue out.

“Squeak~ squeak squeak~ (Can’t catch me#$~)”

‘How can I teach it a lesson?’

Just as Lery was grinding his teeth, another system window appeared.

[SYSTEM: Affinity has increased! Affinity with specific animal ‘Pompom (Squirrel)’ is 3/5.]

What on earth is the standard for that!

Frustrated, Lery kicked wildly at the air. Affinity or whatever, he didn’t want to know.

“Mya…… Mi-yaa……! (You…… just wait till I catch you……!)”

“Squeak squeak~ (Puhahaha~)”

Only Lery’s sharp cries echoed through Theodore’s bedroom.

Having heard that Lery was exhausted from the long shopping spree, Sonia prepared a special meal for him and returned to the bedroom.

But there, Lery and Pompom were facing off. It seemed the situation had ended with Lery, having failed to get his revenge, slipping into a gap in the display cabinet.

“Sir Lery~ Would you like a snack?”

“Myang. (I don’t want any.)”

Even Sonia’s personal attempt to coax him couldn’t lift Lery’s spirits.

Lery refused even his favorite snacks and refused to come out of the gap in the cabinet.

‘I think it’s best to separate those two.’

Sonia concluded that separating Pompom and Lery was the top priority.

And after thinking about how to do that, she decided it would be best to put Pompom to sleep and then go for a walk.

“Sir Lery! Let’s go for a walk~”

“Myaang……? (Walk……?)”

At the word ‘walk’, Lery softened and peeked his head out.

Sonia brushed the dust off Lery’s back and smiled.

“Let’s go out and play until you feel better, okay?”

After putting Pompom to sleep, the two of them headed toward the fountain. The cool spray of water seemed like it might soothe Lery’s anger a little.

‘Phew. That’s a relief. At least he seems a bit better.’

Sonia felt relieved as she looked at Lery. As if nothing had happened, Lery’s plump tail swayed happily.

Passing through the large courtyard and garden, the fountain came into view. Sonia gently set Lery down and spoke in a soft voice.

“Don’t go too far, okay~”

“Mya mya-a! (Okay! Don’t worry!)”

Lery trotted here and there around the garden before approaching the fountain. The moonlight was faintly flickering near the stone statue.

‘They said this wolf is the guardian deity of the Empire.’

Looking at its brave, wide-open mouth, he vaguely recalled the myth Luke had told him.

‘I’m bored…… Should I try praying?’

He knew he was human, but he was feeling frustrated because he didn’t know how to actually transform.

Lery pressed his front paws together neatly.

‘Star spirits…….’

His wistful sky-blue eyes moved along with the starlight.

‘Are you listening to my prayer……?’

Unfortunately, the star spirits gave no answer.

‘If you are listening, please give me the answer.’

The way to transform into a human.

Lery focused, even closing his eyes. And he twirled his neatly folded paws round and round.

Before long, his innocent prayer had escalated into mentioning all sorts of random deities.

‘God, Buddha, Heavenly Spirits, Li…… what was it? Lord Likamong……?’

He was lost in prayer for a long while.

Then, he felt a sharp gaze from somewhere. Instantly sensing danger, Lery’s fur stood on end.

As Lery stared intently into the dark space, he caught a faint movement in a split second.

‘What……?’

For some reason, a sense of déjà vu washed over him. Lery swallowed dryly and approached the direction of the movement.

‘No, is that……?’

There, the venomous snake he had encountered recently was flicking its black tongue.

‘Whoa! Why does it keep showing up!’

Lery cowered, his body overcome with fear.

“Kyaak! (Stay away!)”

Despite his desire to run away, his body, overtaken by beastly instinct, wouldn’t obey. Instead, it only assumed a defensive stance.

The venomous snake, as if mocking Lery, slowly closed the distance.

“Kyaaak! (I said go away!)”

Lery swung his front paws through the air like weapons. Conversely, his hind legs, where his human reason remained, were stepping backward.

“!*%$*”

The snake, now right before his eyes, spoke to him again.

An eerie silence fell everywhere, as if time had stopped. Lery’s paws became damp, whether from sweat or dew, he couldn’t tell.

[SYSTEM: Current fear level has exceeded 30%.]

Even the system window flashed like a warning light.

Just then.

‘Huh?’

The snake silently stared at Lery. Then it turned its body away from him and advanced into the dark thicket.

‘What? Is it leaving?’

Lery stared blankly at the snake’s retreating back.

The snake kept repeating the pattern of moving and stopping. Whenever it stopped and looked back, it seemed like it was telling Lery to follow.

‘Why is my body like this? It won’t move the way I want!’

But then, something surprising happened. As the snake moved, Lery’s body began to move on its own.

As if possessed by a ghost, his front paws moved of their own accord, and against his will, he found himself following the snake.