Chapter 35: It’s time for Churu and Catnip! (1)

Ouch, my mouth hurts.

I almost lost a tooth carrying this.

I placed the notebook, clearly marked with bite impressions, on the bench and let out a sigh. 

I really wanted to deliver it right away, but I was too exhausted from sneaking back while carrying such a heavy book. 

I figured I’d rest for a bit before taking it over.

“Nine! Where have you been?”

“Just handling some business. I’m tired, so go play somewhere else.”

“Okay…”

The brown-furred one, looking a bit sulky at my words, obediently moved aside. 

His brain might only weigh 30 grams, but at least he listens well. 

Some might argue that I’m no different, but unfortunately, the number of folds in our brains sets us apart. 

If I’m a fully-packed walnut, he’s a wrinkly cherry tomato. 

So comparing us is out of the question. 

That’s why I need to rest before I turn into a shriveled tomato myself. 

I curled up on the notebook and closed my eyes. 

It’s been a while since I slept at night.

——————-

“Hehe, this guy seems to have found himself a new bed while I wasn’t looking.”

A rough, calloused hand patted my head. 

Morning had already come. 

I purred softly as I slowly emptied the bowl placed in front of me. 

This has become my recent routine. 

The gardener served me breakfast, Orca joined me for lunch, and Kazein brought me dinner. 

Since I had my meals scheduled, I’d become a diligent cat who ate three square meals a day. 

Absolutely not on the path to becoming a chubby cat.

Where else would you find a cat as hardworking as me? 

Sure, the brown-furred one might be getting bigger lately, but there’s no way I’d gain weight. 

Really.

“Nine, what are you doing today?”

“Work.”

“Nine’s always busy.”

“It’s all to make a living. The leader of a group is always swamped, you know.”

“Swamped…?”

The brown-furred one tilted his head, clearly not understanding. 

Did I use too complicated a word?

“Like a mother cat hunting, always busy.”

“Ah!”

At least he understood that much.

“Nine’s the leader?”

“You think I’d be a subordinate?”

I built the foundation, I handle the business, and now I’m even stuck playing the role of a protagonist. 

And I’m doing all this in the body of an ordinary cat. 

It’s ridiculous. 

If I had to be reincarnated, why not give me the body of some overpowered extra? 

Or let me possess one of the five protagonists. 

Either would’ve been much easier than this. 

In a cat’s body, no matter what I do, I can’t be more than a supporter! 

If I could become a spirit beast, that’d be different… but I don’t know how to become one. 

I don’t even know how long it takes. 

So for now, I’ll focus more on communication than leveling up.

Ah, I’m full. 

Now that I’ve eaten, I should get going. 

I wiped my mouth with my paw and picked up the notebook in my teeth.

“Can I come too?”

“Sure. And carry this.”

“Hmmm!”

No need to struggle carrying it myself. 

I tossed the box of spirit beast treats to the brown-furred one. 

He obediently picked it up in his mouth and raised his tail. 

Lately, I’ve been too busy to spend time with him, so he seemed happy to be allowed to come along. 

It feels like I’ve got a little kid tagging along. 

I’m worried he might cause trouble if left alone.

“Hehe, going out to play? Have a good trip.”

“Meow.”

With the gardener seeing us off, we headed toward Professor Ruyen’s lab.

——————-

“Can I scratch this?”

“No.”

It’s a magical vine.

If you scratch it, who knows what might happen.

“There are cats sitting at the door.”

“Are they Professor Ruyen’s cats?”

“So cute…”

After coming and going so often, we were practically treated as half-house cats now. 

Thanks to the rumor that Professor Ruyen kept us as pets, we could enter confidently. 

But still…

“Meow-“

As I let out the prearranged meow in front of the vine-covered door, busy footsteps approached from the other side.

“Wow! The tree moved!”

“Yeah, yeah, stop making a fuss.”

I could feel warm gazes piling up. 

How long had I waited, bearing the stares of so many people? 

The vines covering the door retreated, and the door opened.

“Nine! The brown cat’s here too!”

“Meow-“

“Nine!”

“Hmm.”

Kazein peeked out from the doorframe, looking down at us with a happy expression. 

I lifted my head toward her and tapped the notebook with my paw.

“Did you succeed?”

Kazein took the notebook and smiled, opening the door wide. 

There’s the blond kid, and the half-elf with some common sense.

“Hey, give me the box.”

“Mmm!”

Ah, it’s leaking.

“Kazein, do you have a handkerchief or tissue? Can you wipe this off?”

“What’s this?”

“Hmm… bait for spirit beasts?”

“Bait for spirit beasts?! How did you get something so expensive…?”

“Well, it’s an unexpected windfall.”

Life sometimes brings unexpected luck.

“Wow! Spirit beast bait is super expensive~”

Professor Ruyen made a fuss, focusing on the box in Kazein’s hand. 

Even a great mage would find it hard to obtain such a thing.

“So you’re a thief cat now?”

Her gaze wasn’t accusatory. 

If anything, it felt like she saw a kindred spirit. 

What had my junior been up to in her past? 

I shamelessly met her gaze and spoke.

“I just picked it up off the ground.”

Protagonists are supposed to find treasures while walking around, right? 

Smash a few pots, raid some storerooms, pickpocket merchants—saving the world while making a little profit on the side is fine, isn’t it? 

Is that not the meta anymore?

Anyway, what’s important now is this: 

Has Act 1 been completely resolved? 

The basic plot of Act 1 was tracking down the minions of the hidden villain in the academy, the appearance and defeat of the monster, and uncovering the villain plotting behind the scenes. 

The former was handled, but was the latter perfectly resolved? 

Since Kazein doesn’t have the scales, there’s no risk of her turning into a monster, right? 

If she gets forced into becoming a monster, I’m out. 

Seriously, I’m done. 

That would just be forcing the story back to the original, and if the one who reincarnated me has any sense, they wouldn’t do that. 

There’s nothing more frustrating than trying to twist a story that’s already 90 degrees off back to its original path.

“This is the ledger?!”

“There was a hidden safe in his office. I just borrowed it.”

“Amazing!”

Ruyen flipped through the notebook with her delicate fingers and smiled with satisfaction.

“Hehe, this should be enough to call it a weakness! There’s more than one or two suspicious items here!”

“Keep it safe. The moment they step out of line, this will be their guillotine.”

I might not be able to deliver the final blow right away, but I can at least set a trap. If they overstep, they’ll step right into it.

“Well done, Nine! As a reward, I’ll hug you!”

Don’t try to sneak in your personal desires.

I deftly dodged Ruyen’s attempt to hug me.

“Hmph. If you won’t let me, I’ll hug this one instead.”

After this happened a few times, Ruyen puffed out her cheeks and grumbled. 

Has she really gone senile?

“I’m not giving this to you either.”

A fishy-smelling dried fish popped out from Ruyen’s pocket. 

She carries that around in her pocket?

“Kitty, want this? Come here~”

“Nine, can I go?”

You sensed something off too, huh? 

Yeah, that’s understandable.

“Go if you want. She’s not dangerous. Probably…?”

As soon as I gave permission, the brown-furred one snatched the dried fish from Ruyen’s hand.

“Eek…”

“Kazein, how’s the research going?”

“Not well…”

“Really?”

“I’ve got the theory, but no way to test it.”

That makes sense. 

But I know something. 

In the original story, Kazein’s research was at least half successful. 

How do I know that, even though Kazein doesn’t? 

Well, ironically, one of the enemies in the latter half of the Academy Chronicles was a poorly made artificial spirit beast. 

The senile kid had a particularly strong reaction to them. 

Even if their names weren’t revealed, the research itself clearly had some success. 

If it had completely failed, those fake spirit beasts wouldn’t have appeared.

“Kazein, come with me somewhere.”

“Suddenly?”

“You’re going to keep researching, right? This might help you.”

In matters like these, it’s always easier with an expert’s help. 

I knew someone more of an expert than Kazein. 

A spirit beast who oddly enough seems to like me.

“Ruyen, take care of the brown-furred one.”

“Okay! I’ll take care of Brown!”

“Nine! Let’s go together!”

“You stay here and play with her.”

The brown-furred one, trapped by the grandmother pretending to be a preschooler, looked at me with pitiful eyes.

“Wow, you sold out your subordinate…”

What’s this half-elf talking about? 

I’m just leaving him here since I can’t take him with me. 

And it’s good for him to play a bit.

“If you’re bored, you can play with him too. He likes being petted.”

“Oh, I’d love that.”

Marina joined the brown-furred one’s petting session.

“Kazein, let’s go.”

“Uh, okay…”

Leaving the brown-furred one behind, purring away, we left the lab. 

Kazein and I were off to meet the guardian of the magic department.