The moment I reached the front of the shop, I could almost smell that sweet, slightly bitter aroma of tea again.
It was strange.
I’d never once thought of this place as my home. I hadn’t even stayed here for a full month.
And yet my chest warmed as though I’d finally returned to my hometown after years away.
I lifted one front paw and tapped the wooden door.
Tap, tap.
Worried they hadn’t heard me, I knocked again.
Tap, tap.
A moment later—
“…Yes, I’m coming.”
Jingle, jingle.
The clear chime of the bell rang out as the door opened.
Aria stood there with her long blond hair tied back in a single ponytail, wiping her wet hands on her apron.
When she saw no one outside, confusion crossed her face.
Then her gaze dropped.
The instant our eyes met—
“Ah… Roro!”
She rushed outside and swept me into her arms.
“Thank goodness you’re safe. Thank goodness….”
Her hands trembled as she held me tight.
At the same time, my fur began growing damp.
Warm tears soaked into it.
Her grip made it a little hard to breathe, but I stayed still and let her hug me as much as she wanted.
This one was on me.
I’d disappeared for a whole week without a word.
How worried must she have been when the cat she was raising suddenly vanished?
There weren’t any security cameras here. No pet detectives either.
She must’ve felt completely helpless.
I sheathed my claws and carefully placed my paw over her fingers so that only the soft pad touched her skin.
Sorry I’m late, heroine.
******
The male lead had said he’d become a regular, and apparently he meant it.
He came to the teahouse every single day without fail.
Not only that, he always showed up right when the shop opened, like he was camping out for a grand opening or something.
You know what, man? I respect the commitment.
I’d never flirted with anyone or even had a girlfriend, but even I knew that kind of dedication wasn’t normal.
Sitting in a sunny spot by the window, I watched the two of them.
They seemed to have grown noticeably closer while I was gone.
There was warmth in Aria’s eyes whenever she looked at Raymon.
She smiled at him easily when she spoke, almost as gently as she did with me.
“Mr. Raymon, could I ask you to evaluate something for me?”
“…Of course. You want me to taste it and tell you what I think?”
“Yes. It’s a new menu item I made. I’m calling it the dessert of the day.”
Now that she had some financial breathing room, Aria had installed an oven in the kitchen.
Lately, she’d been developing new dishes, including something she called the “dessert of the day.”
It was meant for customers who felt like tea alone wasn’t quite enough, with a different fun dessert offered each day.
The customers got to try something new depending on the day, while Aria only had to prepare one kind of dessert at a time.
Win-win.
“Today’s dessert is pancakes with cream and honey, by the way.”
Aria sat across from Raymon and watched him eat.
For some reason, her green eyes were sparkling.
“What do you think? I want your honest opinion.”
“The pancake is moist and soft, and soaking in the melted cream makes it even more tender. The honey gives the whole thing a pleasant sweetness. It’s very good. …If I had to put a price on it, I’d say at least ten gold coins.”
“Hehe. If I charged that much, no one would order it. I was thinking around five silver coins.”
“I think you could charge more. If this is the dessert of the day, does that mean there will be other desserts too?”
“Yes. I’m still deciding what to make. Please look forward to them.”
For the record, the male lead was supposed to dislike sweets.
And yet in the webtoon, he practically inhaled tea and desserts every day because he couldn’t bring himself to leave anything the heroine had made for him.
…Watch your blood sugar.
I offered Raymon that silent piece of advice and turned my head away.
Seriously.
Spring really was in the air.
We probably hadn’t even reached the middle of the webtoon yet, but the atmosphere between those two was already turning pink.
Guess I should give them some space. Sigh.
A gentle spring breeze drifted through the slightly open window.
I nudged it wider with one front paw, then slipped through the gap and hopped down.
I landed silently on the ground and set off on a leisurely walk.
Instead of following my usual route around the village, this time I headed toward the forest behind it.
Chirp, chirp.
Birdsong echoed peacefully through the trees.
The air was fresh, and the mix of sunlight and shade made the forest both cool and pleasantly warm.
I stretched long from nose to tail, then dug my claws into the rough bark of a tree and scratched hard.
Scratch, scratch.
Long claws got surprisingly uncomfortable.
Regular maintenance was essential.
I was busily exploring the forest and getting some cardio at the same time when faint sounds reached me from the distance.
They were quiet.
But I recognized them immediately.
Cats.
Relying on my sharp feline hearing, I headed deeper into the woods.
Beyond a wall of tall undergrowth, I found an open clearing.
Judging by the tree stumps scattered around, people must have come here long ago.
An old swing still hung from one large tree, swaying gently.
And beneath the warm spring sunlight, cats were lounging everywhere in comfortable little loaves.
They didn’t look feral.
Every one of them had clean, fluffy fur and gentle eyes.
Village cats?
So there was a whole place where the local cats gathered.
My heart began pounding at the discovery of this perfectly legal cat café.
Not that normal cat cafés were illegal.
I was just about to step into my newly discovered paradise when a gray cat rushed over and blocked my path.
Judging by his large build and dignified posture, he was probably the boss of this territory.
“Weoooh.”
Who are you?
Oh!
I could understand cat speech.
Made sense, I guess.
If we were the same species, communication came naturally.
“Myaaaoong.”
I’m the cat who lives at the teahouse.
I introduced myself and held out one paw.
The gray cat slapped it away with his own soft paw and puffed up his tail.
“Weeung? Uweeeeng—”
A teahouse? What’s that? You’re suspicious.
Right.
He was still a cat.
His intelligence was a little lacking.
It’s a thing.
I backed away as I answered.
This gray cat looked pretty temperamental, so I figured I should calm him down first.
“Myaaang? Nyaaang.”
You all live in this village, right? I live here too.
I blinked slowly at him to show I had no intention of fighting.
“Myaya, mweoong.”
Oh. You’re a village cat. Fine, come in.
“Myaang.”
Thanks.
The gray cat stepped aside after giving me permission.
The moment I entered the clearing, the other cats grew curious about the newcomer and began approaching one by one.
Before I knew it, I was surrounded.
Tiny pink noses twitched right in front of my face as they sniffed me curiously.
Their little muzzles were unbearably cute.
While I was distracted, something suddenly brushed beneath my tail.
A small, damp nose sniffed.
“Myaak!”
Hey! Not the butt!
I yelped in surprise.
The cat that had been trying to sniff my rear sprang backward in shock.
Weird.
He won’t let us smell his butt!
Weird!
The cats whispered among themselves.
Apparently I was the strange one here.
Cute.
They soon lost interest in me and returned to their spots to loaf.
Only the younger cats kept running around the clearing, playing excitedly.
I was watching them with fond satisfaction when a question mark practically appeared over my head.
What the hell are those two doing?
A young male cat—obviously a kitten—was making moves on another kitten.
Wrapping his tail around her.
Rubbing against her.
The vibe was… suspicious.
I crept closer and listened in.
It was even worse than I thought.
“Nyaaaoong!”
Let’s make babies!
“Kyukang?”
Should we?
What do you mean, “Should we?”
The tiny female lifted her rear, and the male started climbing on top of her.
I immediately intervened.
Stop. How old are you?
I’m Cookie!
No… that’s not your age. Don’t you know how old you are?
Age? What’s that?
How long has it been since you were born?
Oh! Four months!
Four months old?
I felt dizzy.
And you?
I’m five months now!
At four and five months old, they should be getting spayed and neutered, not doing this.
Haa…. You’re probably too young to control being in heat, but you can’t do that. What do you mean, making babies?
I wedged myself between the two kittens and began lecturing them.
They both tilted their heads at me.
I’m not a baby.
I’m all grown up.
…What part of you is grown up?!
This was driving me insane.
I never imagined the day would come when I’d have to give sex education to kittens, but I calmly sat the two of them down.
Look at your bodies. Are you smaller than the other cats, or bigger?
Smaller!
Then you’re babies, right? You’re babies!
I carefully explained that getting pregnant before their bodies finished growing was dangerous, and that they should wait until they were adults and found cats they really liked.
Thankfully, the kittens understood what I was saying.
So it’s dangerous…. Sorry.
The little male’s ears drooped dejectedly.
It’s okay!
The little female was remarkably chill about the whole thing.
I watched them with satisfaction.
Then I heard the other cats whispering from across the clearing.
What’s with him? Weird.
He’s a weird cat.
His fur is completely white too.
Weird.
When I walked toward them, the cats startled and slowly backed away.
Then they watched me from a safe distance.
Watching these tiny balls of fluff act territorial was nothing but adorable.