The water spirit Undine yawned.
“Fwaaah…”
A rumbling sound shook the ground.
Instantly.
“W-wow…!”
“I-impressive as expected of the water spirit Undine!”
The open-air bath Miyako had spent all day building was now filled with water.
Completely filled to the brim.
With just a single yawn, she had summoned a massive amount of clear water from the void.
A feat only possible for a rare and powerful water spirit.
All that remained was to toss in some heated stones, and the home bath would be complete. Perfect.
She could enjoy unlimited baths with Fuuka.
“Hehe, hehehe… I’m so happy! Thank you, Undine.”
“Nyafuu, it was nothing, nya~”
While wagging her snake-like tail, the cat-shaped water spirit Undine puffed out her chest proudly.
Miyako stared intently at the light blue mark engraved on the back of her hand.
It was proof of her contract with Undine.
It had appeared the moment the cat-shaped spirit gave her a little kiss.
“As thanks for digging me out of the ground, nyaa. Until you disappear from this world, I’ll be your kept Undine instead of a kept cat, nya.”
“Th-thank you…”
As a reincarnated person, Miyako didn’t fully grasp the significance, but judging by Fuuka’s pale, trembling form as she frantically read books about water spirits (something like a local encyclopedia found in the cabin’s cupboard), this was probably.
“Something pretty incredible?”
“Making a contract with a spirit is something only a handful of people achieve per generation… And to do it just to make a bath…”
“Nyahaha, that girl has a normal reaction, nyaa. How boring, nya~”
“She’s not ‘that girl,’ she’s Fuuka-chan.”
“Hmm. Fuu-ka.”
“Yes. She’s someone precious to me, so please call her by her name properly.”
“I see. Understood. Fuuka, my apologies, nya.”
“Oh, and there’s one more request.”
“Hmm? What is it, nya?”
“That tail! Can’t you do something about it!?”
That tail.
The tail of Undine that Miyako was deliberately avoiding looking at.
It was a wriggling snake.
Miyako hates snakes.
“Mufuu, I thought it was cool, nya~”
“Sorry, it’s just… I can’t handle it…”
“Well, fine, nya. I am a formless water spirit—changing my appearance is easy enough…”
“Huh?”
Undine tilted her head cutely.
“If Miyako and Fuuka have names, nya… then give me a name too, nya~”
“Wh-what!???”
The surprised exclamation came from Fuuka.
“Giving a name to a spirit… that’s the final stage of a contract!? In summoning arts, naming is a means to define the spirit by its name and completely subjugate it! This is beyond just a contract…”
“I’m saying it’s fine, so stop being noisy, nyaa.”
As Undine turned her face away with a huff, Miyako scolded her, “Don’t act like that!!!”
In her previous world, Miyako had been the assertive eldest daughter.
“I want a good name, nyaa~”
“Hmm…”
Miyako hopped onto a nearby stump and observed Undine’s body (while carefully avoiding looking at the tail part).
Cat-shaped.
Semi-transparent, water-like body.
A gem-like object embedded in her forehead. Pretty.
Something like a fish fin on her back.
And the tail is a snake.
“……..How about something like ‘Showers’?”
“I don’t know the details, nya, but I have a feeling it infringes on something, so rejected, nyaa.”
Miyako is from the Pokémon generation.
“Then, ‘Eevee’?”
“Do I look like a dog to you, nya? And what’s an eel, nya?”
Miyako is knowledgeable about retro anime.
“Hmmmm, cat-shaped, pretty blue color, so… the most famous blue cat-type I know is—”
“I have a bad feeling about this, nya…”
“Doraemon!”
“As I thought, I feel like it infringes on something, nya!!”
Miyako loves national anime.
“Hmm, then… Umi!”
“Umi?”
At Miyako’s suggestion, Undine and Fuuka tilted their heads in perfect sync.
“Yeah. You’re a water spirit, but your body color kinda reminds me of the sea.”
Miyako recalled the Okinawan sea she visited on her graduation trip before becoming an overworked corporate slave destined for death by overwork.
“Nyahaha! I see, you’ll give me the name of the sea!!”
Undine laughed cheerfully.
“Very well, I shall accept that name, nya! From now on, my name is Umi, nyaa!”
As Umi’s body swayed gently—
“Kitty!”
Miyako’s expression melted.
A Persian cat with glossy fur had appeared.
The jewel on her forehead remained, but compared to her previous form—which, while modeled after a cat, clearly felt like something otherworldly—this was overwhelmingly more cat-like.
Fluffy and soft.
Shiny, lustrous fur.
“I have paw pads too, nya.”
“Genius!!!!!!”
Yahooo, paw pads are justice!!
While Miyako was completely hyped up, Fuuka trembled behind her.
Was she not good with cats? Or was Miyako just being too excited?
“Fuuka-chan? Sorry, I went ahead and—”
If Fuuka didn’t like it, she could ask Umi to change back… Just as she was thinking that.
“So cuuuute!!!!!! …I mean.”
Fuuka’s beautiful eyes sparkled brightly.
It was the most excited voice she’d made since arriving here.
“Y-you like it…?”
“A-hem! I-I don’t dislike it! At the mansion, they said it was bad for my sisters’ health… so my wish to keep a cat never came true. Naturally. Besides, however you choose to let your contracted spirit appear is none of my business! We’ll be parting ways next week anyway!”
After saying all that in one breath, Fuuka lowered her eyes.
Miyako knew. Fuuka was actually an animal-loving girl.
And yet, everything had been taken from her except what was necessary for her political marriage.
“I’m not a cat, I’m Umi, nyaa.”
Saying that, Umi purred contentedly.
“Ehehe, I see. I’m glad Fuuka-chan doesn’t mind.”
Miyako smiled.
“You know living leisurely with a cat was my dream forever. It just feels like a quality life, you know? A life with a cat.”
Where Miyako used to live, pets were prohibited.
“I’m not a cat, I’m Umi, nyaaa!”
Umi’s ears twitched as she tilted her head with a “unya.”
“Seems someone has come, nyaa.”
“F-F-Fuuka hime~!!!!”
A familiar voice.
It was about noon now.
Shanly, the continental merchant who came every day around this time.
“Shanly-san?”
“Wahh~, Fuuka hime! I heard YOU have knowledge of white magic!!”
The usually teasing Shanly rushed in, completely out of breath.
“Wh-wha-what’s wrong!?”
“Please help me without asking any questions!!”
The atmosphere was utterly chaotic as usual.
Thank you for reading!
Looking forward to your continued support this year.
Somehow, Umi sounds like she’s speaking Tosa dialect.