Chapter 36: It’s time for Churu and Catnip! (2)

It had been quite a while since we last met, so when Selene saw me, she greeted me with a delighted expression, flicking her tongue and tickling my cheek with it.

It always sends shivers down my spine, no matter how many times I see her.

“Oh my, what brings you here?”

“I want to know how to become a divine beast.”

“Ohoho, a divine beast… a divine beast. I thought you’d ask a bit later.”

Selene spoke as if she had anticipated this day would come, her eerie eyes fixed on me as she leaned her head closer.

Naturally, Kazein, who was sitting beside me, also tensed up and spoke.

“Ah, hello… Lady Selene!”

“No need to be so nervous. You’re quite an interesting human, after all.”

“Huh?”

“How does it feel to have strayed from your destined path?”

“What…?”

There’s no way Kazein would understand even if she said that to him.

Of course, considering the snake’s sinister nature, she’s probably saying it on purpose.

I had no intention of indulging her twisted sense of humor, so I placed a box in front of her.

“Do you know what this is?”

“Oh my, where did you get this? It looks quite delicious.”

“Well, I found it along the way.”

“What a naughty little thief. I like it.”

Selene tapped the box with her nose. 

Then, the box, which had clearly been locked, opened, and its contents floated up to the height of my head.

“Using telekinesis without any incantation…!”

Is that all?

It’s not really something to be overly impressed by.

Maybe it’s because I’ve seen all sorts of flashy magic in games.

By the late game, you’re casually summoning meteor showers without a second thought.

“Do you want to become a divine beast?”

“Yes. Seeing how the world is going, it seems too hard to live as an ordinary cat.”

With the specs of a cat that can talk like a human, there’s no way I can keep up with the main story of this game.

Right now, there aren’t any major obstacles, so I can manage by scheming a bit here and there, but once the real antagonists start moving in the later stages, there’ll be no difference between an ant and a cat.

So what I need now is to solve the problem of my short lifespan and transcend being just a cat.

I don’t necessarily have to become a human.

I just need to get strong enough or gain some useful abilities.

“You don’t have to get involved, you know?”

“It’s frustrating, so I’ll do it myself.”

It’s because you haven’t seen Orca and Alice.

Looking at them, it’s like they’re destined to die from cancer or something!

Orca is trying to make friends by knocking people out with one hand in sparring matches, and Alice has started eating her meals in the bathroom!

Because of this situation, I’ve been too busy to properly manage things, and their conditions are getting worse.

The others aren’t much better, so someone has to step up as the leader of this messed-up group project.

“Hehe, it’s been a while since I’ve had something this entertaining to watch~”

“So, cooperate as payment for the show. You’d rather have a chaotic mess than be bored, right?”

Sealing the evil dragon will inevitably cause a commotion at the academy.

A long-lived divine beast like Selene, especially one as cunning as her, would enjoy that spectacle.

She’d never step onto the stage herself… but honestly, it’s better if she doesn’t.

Who knows what she might do.

From what’s happened so far, she seems like a pure ally… but she’s the type to mess with us if it looks fun.

“If you’re going to stand on the stage, you need a proper role. Hehe, what role will you play?”

“Uh, it’s hard to follow the conversation…”

“Don’t bother, just go with it.”

Kazein, who’s been a minor character from the start, is in an incomprehensible realm.

Explaining Selene’s words would take too much effort, and I don’t even know where to begin.

“Then let’s get started. What’s the method to become a divine beast?”

“I don’t know!”

Has she gone senile?

I stared at Selene in disbelief at her bold declaration.

Selene found my reaction amusing and chuckled before explaining the meaning behind her answer.

“Divine beasts become what they are on their own. You have to realize it for yourself.”

What kind of martial arts nonsense is this?

Are you telling me to sit in a lotus position and meditate or something?

…Wait, can a cat even sit in a lotus position?

For a moment, curiosity got the better of me, but I shook my head to clear it.

Maybe later, but not now.

“I think I get the gist of it… so how does one become a divine beast? Even if it’s self-realization, there must be some rules, right?”

“No. A divine beast is a being that transcends the limits of its species. How you transcend those limits is up to you to figure out.”

“That’s such a vague answer.”

It’s not helpful at all.

But I couldn’t just ignore Selene’s words.

After all, there’s no divine beast on the continent as old as Selene.

Gort… is more like something resembling a divine beast, and Irops would probably tell you to fight him if you want to know, and Ratatosk wouldn’t be much help either.

Honestly, it’s questionable whether we can even define those squirrels as divine beasts in the first place.

“I thought divine beasts were beings with abundant magical power…”

“The higher your rank, the more life energy you have! Like me.”

Like any fantasy world, this one also uses magic to strengthen the body and cast spells, so it’s not a strange statement.

“There must be some hints, right?”

“In the past, humans used all sorts of methods to raise their rank. For example, snorting white powder—or dancing naked on fire—”

I can roughly imagine what kind of things they did.

But are you telling me to do that?

“Are you messing with me?”

“Hehe… I’m being serious.”

“Well… I think I get it. I have a rough idea.”

I think I know what’s needed.

“If you’re going to do it, do it here. I’m curious too, about what kind of divine beast you’ll become.”

At Selene’s words, I nodded readily.

If I’m going to do it anyway, it’s much safer to do it in front of an expert.

I turned to Kazein, who had been quietly observing the conversation.

“Do you know what catnip is?”

—————

The next day.

“Nine, what is this?”

“Hey, don’t sniff it…”

“Ugh…”

Oh no… he’s gone. Completely gone.

I pushed the brown-furred figure, who had collapsed with his eyes rolled back and tongue hanging out, to the corner of the bench and looked up at Kazein.

Kazein looked shocked at the state of the brown-furred one.

“Nine, is this okay…?”

“I don’t know. We’ll just have to try it.”

Whatever it is, we’ll just have to go for it.

We can’t keep making plans and putting them off.

We don’t have as much time as we think.

Even if we manage to get past the climax of Act 1, we have no idea how Act 2 will unfold, so we need to do everything we can now.

“Alright, let’s go to Selene.”

“Okay.”

We immediately gathered our supplies and headed to Selene.

Selene seemed to have been waiting for us, as she greeted us with a cheerful expression as soon as we approached.

“Oh my, you’re here?”

“We’ve got all the supplies. What now?”

“Drink the elixir. And then—throw yourself into the pile of catnip!”

“And then?”

It can’t just end there.

“Do you think you’ll have the luxury to think about what comes next?”

Selene asked with a hint of amusement.

Was my question that funny?

I’d like to think that as a seasoned fighter, I wouldn’t be affected by something like catnip.

Besides, my body will be filled with magic, so will I even have the capacity to care about catnip?

“Got it. Let’s hurry.”

“Hehe…”

“Nine, good luck!”

With Selene’s sinister laughter and Kazein’s encouragement, I steadied my mind, opened the box, and drank the elixir.

The elixir slid down my throat as smoothly as a liquid and settled in my stomach.

Probably.

Despite being in a solid form, it was surprisingly devoid of any sensation.

Even drinking water would feel more substantial than this.

“Now, throw yourself into the pile of catnip in that state!”

…Is it really okay to throw myself?

“…I can really throw myself in, right?”

Seeing Celine so excited, the anxiety I had been desperately suppressing surged up.

Could she be deceiving me?

What if, the moment I land on the pile of gaebakha, I end up like a piece of samgyeopsal wrapped in lettuce—devoured in one bite?

“Oh my, if you don’t hurry, your body might explode!”

Screw it.

I shut my eyes tight and leaped into the heap of gaebakha.

“WRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY!”

That was the last thing I remembered.