CH 24

“Nya~ nya~”

The kitten sweetly growled as it snuggled up to my feet.

What?! What’s happening?!

“Yuuri-chan, that cat is a monster, get away!”

At the same time Argo-san shouted, Georg-san who was standing beside me was about to thrust his sword towards the kitten. But the kitten dodged the attack agilely, avoiding being slashed by the sword. Georg-san was targeting the kitten again, but my leg got in the way so it seemed that he couldn’t target it well.

“Even though you told me to get away from it…Eh? Monster?”

Even if it cried out, “Nya~n”?

Even though I could only see it as a kitten no matter how you look at it?

As I unconsciously stared at it, the kitten looked up at me and cried out “Nya~n” once more.

Its sapphire-like blue pupils were shining as they were looking at me.

Eh…what’s with this cuteness?

My chest reflexively tightened, and when I realized it, I was already holding the kitten in my arms.

“It’s a cat~! Here kitty kitty kitty caaat~~~~~!!!”

As I rubbed the kitten on my face, it licked my cheek.

Aha. It tickles.

I lifted up the kitten to my eyes’ height as I talked to it with out eyes locking.

“Where did you come, cat-chan? What’s your name? Why are you here?”

When I looked at it carefully, it really had an adorable face. Its chesnut-like blue eyes were cute.

I loved cats, but my big brother had an allergy to animals, so we didn’t keep any at my home. A black cat with blue eyes was an ideal pet cat that I had wanted to keep~.

But…as I remembered my big brother, I hugged the kitten tighter.

I wonder if Onii-chan was doing well…Otou-san and Okaa-san too…

I had recalled my family many times over ever since coming to this world. It was inevitable that I’d feel uneasy because I didn’t know how I could go home.

However…The warmth that I felt from the kitten that I hugged around my chest faded away such loneliness a bit.

The kitten approached me as it cried out “Nya~n,” as if it responded to my feelings.

“Uhhm…I wonder what we should do about this…?”

I came to my senses back upon hearing Argo-san’s words that he said in amazement.

Ah, that’s right, I was told that this cat was a monster.

Eh, but it didn’t attack?

Besides, if it was indeed a monster, why was it in the campsite despite the fact that we put the magic formation that protected us against monsters?

“Isn’t this child just a normal kitten?”

“There is no ordinary animal in the Demon Forest. Even if an animal gets lost here, they would normally be eaten by the monsters.”

“But…”

“That’s why, that one is a monster. A Dark Panther’s child.”

Dark Panther…Aah, there was such a monster. They weren’t a really strong monster. As its name implied, they were black panther monsters.

It was certainly black…but this child, no matter how I looked at it, I could only see it as just a cat…

Besides, normally, a large animal’s child would have a small body yet big feet, and yet this one didn’t have such big feet?

“I don’t quite understand the ecology of animals, so I can’t affirm anything, but judging from its size, it seemed like it was just born. Which means, monsters that were just born weren’t ferocious…? No, but since it’s a monster, it was supposed to not be able to approach as we put the monster-proof magic formation. In short, this, how should we say it…?”

Argo-san didn’t dare to be negligent as he still had his sword on standby even while he was thinking. At that time, Georg-san said, “Could it be…”

“Earlier when Yuuri-chan was using Cure to the water, one of the Cure ended up flying to the direction of the forest. Could there be a possibility that the Cure hit this monster there?”

“It can’t be. To think that there’s such a coincidence?”

“However, it’s impossible to hold a monster in one’s arms like that. There’s supposed to be a cause to it.”

At Georg-san’s words, Argo-san was thinking as he tilted his head a bit.

“Speaking of which, Yuuri-chan, do you happen to have a magical skill to subdue monsters?”

“No, I don’t have any. Does that kind of magic exist in Elysia?”

“I have never heard of it too. I see. It doesn’t even exist in the foreign country, huh?”

There doesn’t exist such kind of magic in the game…

As I was thinking, the kitten lightly growled, “Nyaa.”

What should I do, it’s really cute.

As I ticked its neck, it purred as if it was feeling good.

“That being the case, was it really hit by Cure, then…? No good. There’s just too many things I don’t know. Let’s leave the decision to Leader.”

“That’s right.”

In the end, we maintained the status quo until Leon-san returned.

“Uhm, is this child’s mother alright?”

“The mother?”

“This kind of monsters should be born from a mother, right?”

That’s right, what to do? If a large herd of monsters were to come attacking in order to take back this child…

“I wonder about that. There’s still a lot of things we don’t know about monster breeding. We still don’t have any clarification whether they were born from a parent or if they were born due to natural occurrence…Well, in any case, I wonder if the law of the jungle applied and that this child seemed to be dropped out from the herd when it was gone?”

Did that mean this child was cast away at that time? If that was the case, would that mean its mother won’t come looking for it?

“Even if a group of dark panthers comes attacking, we could just beat them at their own game. The number of the monsters is also reduced, so it’s like killing two birds with one stone.”

No…With that kind of development, it would seem as if we were the bad guys, and I’d like to discreetly refuse that…

Until Leon-san returned from the exploration, I used the grasses around the area that seemed like green foxtail to play with the kitten to my heart’s content.

If I were to say it, it was a moment of pure bliss.

In the beginning, Argo-san and the knights were alert, but as time passed, they grew used to the kitten and their attitude loosened to the extent that they would come to play along too.

As expected, the cuteness of a kitten was invincible in whichever world it might be.

“So, how could a monster slip into the campsite?”

Leon-san, who just returned, said as he looked amazedly at the kitten that I was holding with my arms.

“No, that is…”

After Argo-san explained, Leon-san was thinking, “Hmm…”

“Certainly, monsters shouldn’t be able to come here as we have the monster-proof magical formation. But no matter how you look at it, it is a dark panther’s child. Could it be that its ferociousness was purified with Cure?”

“I don’t know. But if that is the case, Yuuri-chan could hurl the Cure and we could nullify the monsters even from a distant place.”

“It’s worth trying…huh? Frank!”

Frank-san appeared as Leon-san called him.

“You were able to hurl the Heal. Think you can hurl Cure?”

“I think I will be able to, as long as I practice.”

“Then practice so you will be able to do it by the end of today, then hurl the Cure to the monsters at the beginning of the exploration tomorrow and let’s see the situation.”

“Understood.”

“Also, Yuuri.”

“Y-y-y-yes?”

I straightened up my back as my name was suddenly called.

“We are still unable to judge whether that is really harmless or not. It’s still a child now so it’s fine, but once it becomes an adult, it will become a threat.”

Eh? Could it be that they were planning to kill this child?

But it still hasn’t done anything bad now? Also, it’s this clingy, you see?

“But we do not know the monsters’ ecology yet. If we were to raise one from when it is still a child, we might be able to understand its ecology more. Like how long it will take to become an adult, how big it will be, and how intelligent it will be. This is surely a perfect chance to observe it. That’s why, if Yuuri can raise it, then you can keep it alive. However, if it were to injure a person, we shall dispose it at once. How about it?”

If you asked me about how it was going to be, my answer was already decided!

“I will raise it! I will do my best to raise this child!”

“I understand. Then, let’s notify the others so they won’t injure that monster.”

“Please treat me well!”

I bowed with all my strength to Leon-san, all while tightly embracing the kitten.

“That’s great, we can keep you! Ah, I have to give you a name!”

I wonder what name I should pick? Since it’s black, should I name it Kuro?1

But Kuro is way too ordinary.

Ah, then, since its color is like the night sky, let’s go with Noir.2

“Noir. Your name is Noir! Nice to meet you, Noir!”

“Nyaa!”

And thus, I made a new friend.