Chapter 58: Belly Button Lv.99

“I’ve already taken down wolves and bears. Now it’s time to take down cats.”

Naturally, the 18th floor was Nekopia, a place where the cat tribes lived in groups.

From here on, Enya also joined the party as a story companion NPC!

With five members, plus one more, and even a reserve member who could be swapped in at any time, I now led a total of seven brave warriors, advancing with great momentum.

Moreover, I had gained another reliable ally who could unleash a physical force of at least 200 arc.

“Chu-chu!”

“Kyaa, kyaa!”

“Bam bam!”

Now, even the game’s common sense couldn’t explain the bizarre phenomena.

A dependable pet, known as the boss of the 10th zone on the 17th floor, Scylla A.K.A. the Nightmare of the Great Forest!

But now, it was serving as a riding pet, putting in a great performance!

The idea of a dog beastman riding a bear was something my tiny brain could never have conceived.

So, I felt like my brain cells were slowly diminishing, but I decided to accept it anyway. 

After all, good things are good.

What’s the point in denying it?

A little ways away from Nekopia.

“Chu-chu!”

“Kyaoo!”

When the giant bear roared, Rumi, riding on its back, also barked along.

And then?

“Hieeeek…!”

“Nyaaa!”

The cat tribe friends were simply soaked in terror, flipping onto their backs and flailing about.

The no-kill restriction was still in place as a three-star clear condition, but now, with Rumi and the bear duo, who had upgraded from a loudspeaker to Starlink-level emotional domination over the beastmen, things were different.

Including me, the rest of the warrior party members were just sweetly sucking up the honey, and even just walking through the area was enough to clear it, as if the divine stones were being duplicated.

“Nyaaa, nyaaa…”

Watching the cat tribes flailing on the ground…

I really wanted to blow raspberries on their bellies…………!

But if I did something like that, my social status would plummet.

I had no choice but to hold back.

The life of a noble prophet was truly this tough.

“Brrr.”

“Huh? Ark, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing, just…”

I really want to go brrr, brrr………….

***

“Heh…”

Today, too, Neb was lying on the bed, rolling around as if it had nothing to do with her, watching the warrior party’s rapid advance with sparkling eyes, amused by the chaotic spectacle.

On the tiny screen.

‘Chu-chu!’

A giant bear fiercely swung its front paws.

‘Ughhhh…………!’

The surrounding tigers were helplessly sent flying, crashing into the walls.

That bear was clearly one that Neb had brainwashed and left on the 16th or 17th floor.

How on earth did they break the bear’s brainwashing?

Curiosity swirling in her mind, Neb rolled around once for no reason.

Then, with a blank expression, she stared at the screen again.

Snapping her fingers with a tap!

But nothing happened to the bear.

“Hmm.”

That meant the talisman she had attached to the bear had already been removed.

The totem set up at the Wolf tribe’s base had also burned down, and judging by the current momentum, the totem at the Cat tribe’s base would likely burn soon as well.

As for the Dog tribe, well, they didn’t really have a base, living scattered around and finding their own masters.

Deep in thought, Neb looked at Tina’s face, which was beaming with a bright smile.

“Is it really that fun……………?”

Curiosity was slowly sprouting in her heart.

Not just Tina, but Ellis, and even Arachne.

How? 

Why had they melted so easily?

And that neck, hoo, brrr.

Doesn’t that look incredibly pleasant?

A baseless fondness was gradually blooming in Neb’s chest.

Of course.

That didn’t mean she planned to let them pass easily.

That would be boring.

How could she miss out on such an entertaining spectacle?

If the Demon King, who had appointed Neb as the tower’s administrator, could read her thoughts, he would probably pound his chest in frustration, lamenting how not a single one of his subordinates was sane.

***

Rapid advance.

Mentally subduing all the blocking cats with belly raspberries, we arrived at a familiar place around the 7th zone.

《Everyone! Finally, a new challenger…?》

The familiar voice of the announcer boomed loudly before gradually trailing off.

It seemed like they were experiencing déjà vu.

Even.

“Wow, who broke that?”

“Must have been a strong warrior. That level of destruction is from a single blow.”

Ari’s exclamation was met with Saha’s agreement.

“Ok!”

Rumi’s tail wagged proudly for no reason.

The wall of the colosseum, which we had destroyed while progressing through the side story, was still preserved.

《The challenger faces… Raila? Petra? Huh?》

A familiar cat tribe member and a tiger confidently emerged from the opposite entrance, but upon seeing Rumi, they started trembling.

I thought it was something like a parallel world, but it seems more like a complete alteration of common sense.

The audience seats were filled with murmurs and unrest.

There were many cat tribe members who had come to watch the match normally, so I tried to hold back, but the atmosphere was getting disrespectful.

Watching this, memories of being chased around by that insolent tiger as a quadrupedal dog came flooding back.

“Rumi. Bark once.”

I gave the order and also signaled Enya and Renatel.

Immediately, our Wolf tribe warrior covered her ears with her hands.

So cute.

There’s a reason why wolves are part of the canine family.

Once our side was prepared.

Rumi perked her ears, took a deep breath, puffing up her already large chest even more, and…

“Kyaooooo!”

A powerful roar was unleashed for three seconds!

Cats and tigers were knocked out in one go!

“Bwuuk…”

“Ah, right nya!”

Tina, seeing the bear trembling, made a cute mistake, saying “Oops, my bad nya.”

Daring to act cute in the hometown of cuteness itself.

“Hooook.”

“Kyahak, kyahak, master, stop it!”

I couldn’t bring myself to do it to that soft belly, so I blew raspberries on Tina’s neck instead for a proxy satisfaction.

The reaction was just perfect.

Jingling, divine stones poured out from the torn void, which I deliciously collected before heading straight to the next zone.

“Let’s keep going like this!”

***

Just yesterday, I had scolded Johanna for her ‘Did we win?’ spell.

I had foolishly brought up unnecessary words like a monkey…

“Arc? What should we do?”

“……”

9th zone.

For the first time, we encountered enemies who resisted Rumi’s roar, proper foes.

“Nyao!”

“Nyao!”

“Nyaoha!”

All sorts of nya-nya sounds were being shouted as the cat tribes hissed.

They all looked different, but they had one thing in common.

“Should we take off their earplugs first, or just subdue them?”

It seemed the cat tribes were also being controlled by something, not talismans but perhaps totems.

All of them had red eyes, having lost their reason, and were blindly hostile towards us.

Amidst this, there was one cat tribe member who seemed to be maintaining her sanity.

“The honor of the cat tribe will not be tainted by this magical nya, cute nya, Roen nya!”

Correction.

She didn’t seem entirely sane either, this crazy nya.

It was Roen, the Guardian of Nyandarae, who had been included in the previous select gacha lineup.

“Self-proclaimed cute nya, how shameless.”

“Cats being in a bad state isn’t a new thing.”

Enya and Renatel commented cynically.

Their extreme cat-hatred was fueled by malice, stubbornness, and resentment.

“Hmm, it seems better to just subdue them.”

Saha, thankfully, answered my question without forgetting.

Rumi, who had been sulking because her roar didn’t work, reignited her fighting spirit.

“Well, it’s not like we’ve been coasting all along. Let’s just take them down. Be careful not to kill them.”

SD Ari whispered in my ear, ‘We’ve been coasting a lot though…’

“Aha, ahahaha…!”

I took revenge by tickling her soft belly with my thumb.

“Everyone, charge! Protect Roen nya!”

The magical nya, cute nya, Roen nya, shouted.

Blink blink.

Nya, nya, nyaaa.

But the cat tribes who were supposed to listen were all wearing earplugs, so they just kept hissing.

“Ark, are you stupid?”

Even Tina called her stupid, which was serious.

“Eek, I’m not stupid nya! Roen nya is a genius nya, smart nya, spell nya! Watch carefully nya!”

Roen, realizing her mistake, finally took out a bell-like object from her pouch and shook it.

The soft ringing sound spread, but I wondered if such a sound could penetrate earplugs.

“Sniff sniff, the smell of bad catnip…!”

The sound was just an effect; the real effect must have been in the subtle scent.

As soon as Rumi started gagging in disgust.

“Nyaoo!”

“Nyaaa!”

The cats began to surround us, tightening the encirclement.

“Tina! Merge! And Rumi, you saw that earlier, right? Steal that bell!”

“Woof!”

Saha, our traditional tank, was sent to the front.

Renatel and Enya were positioned on the sides for support.

Finally, Tina merged with me on my shoulder!

“Did you spray perfume?” Tina?

“Hehe. I got it from Ellis. The cat smell was too strong.”

…Somehow, a strange scent tickled my nose, making me feel a bit weird.

And lastly, the finishing touch.

Behind us.

“Kya, kyaaak…!”

Johanna, trembling in fear, was sitting on the bear’s shoulder, gripping its fur tightly.

“Johanna, hang in there! Make sure the bear doesn’t kill the cat tribes with its front paws!”

“Ye, yes! Kyak!”

Ignoring the saintess’s screams every time the bear moved, I decided to focus on the front.

The bear tears people apart.

But the cat tribes are tougher than humans, so maybe they wouldn’t get torn as much.