Aria was completely convinced that he was just some low-ranking priest from the neighboring village.
As if introducing himself with a shameless lie wasn’t bad enough, the bastard had started showing up here all the time.
Seriously. Just go away already!
“...Oh my goodness. You must be really happy to see Father. You’re even head-bunting him.”
“Head-bunting?”
No. I just headbutted him.
“It’s something cats do to show affection to someone they like. It might look aggressive, but it isn’t an attack at all.”
No, it was an attack!
“Cats have scent glands around their foreheads, you see. So when they rub or bump their heads against someone, they’re marking them with their scent.”
“...So, essentially, he’s claiming me as his?”
Lippert looked back down at me, visibly touched.
“Haha. Cats really are fascinating, adorable creatures.”
That’s not what happened!
“To think you’d do something so cute.”
Both of his hands slipped beneath my front legs in an instant, supporting me under the armpits.
He lifted me straight into the air, his eyes curving into crescents.
“Do you like me?”
The smugness in his face annoyed me, so I planted both front paws over his eyes and pushed them shut.
“What does this mean?”
“That one looks like he’s just pushing you away.”
“He certainly does whatever he pleases.”
Lippert laughed again.
Then he ordered a cup of tea from Aria and took a seat by the sunlit window.
“I’ve been wondering whether you like me or hate me.”
He gazed at me with ridiculously fond, indulgent eyes.
Then the bastard forcibly planted me on his thigh and started stroking my head.
Whenever I lifted my hind legs to climb down, he used sheer strength to sit me right back down.
Damn it.
“Why won’t you sit still?”
“Maong.”
“Shh. Good boy.”
You bastard.
What the hell, did you stuff a tumbler in your pocket?
Are you trying to brag about how huge you are or something?
I could feel the exact size of what was packed inside his pants right under my ass.
This is why I hate sitting on men’s laps!
Fucking gross!
*******
“Garaong.... Garaaaok.... Garaaaaoook....”
I prowled around Lippert, crying at him.
“What does this mean? I thought he wanted me to play with him, so I held out my hand, but he refuses to come over and just keeps making that sound.”
Lippert smiled faintly, looking a little puzzled.
But even Aria seemed unable to decipher my unusual cry.
“...I’ve been living with Roro for over a month now, but I’ve never heard him make that sound either. Roro, is something stuck in your throat?”
Aria grabbed me and forced my mouth open to inspect it.
“Hmm. I don’t see anything stuck in there....”
“......”
“If you’re hurting, you have to tell me, Roro.”
Great.
Now I’d only caused a misunderstanding.
Swallowing a sigh, I jumped onto the windowsill and settled there.
Lippert had been visiting regularly.
He usually came during quieter hours when there weren’t many customers, stayed for thirty minutes to an hour, and then left.
...At least his visits didn’t overlap with the male lead’s.
Raymon usually came in the morning, while this bastard came in the afternoon, so they probably wouldn’t run into each other.
Probably.
Ugh. Whatever. I give up.
I decided to treat him as just another customer.
It wasn’t like I had the power to stop him from coming here or chase him out in the first place.
And even when I told him to leave, he couldn’t understand me.
What was I supposed to do?
At first, I’d wondered whether he knew the male lead came here often.
Maybe he was plotting something involving the heroine.
But that didn’t seem to be the case either.
...What a weird bastard. Why does he keep coming here?
“Roro. Would you come over here?”
“......”
“I want to see you up close.”
“......”
“You don’t want to stay with me? I thought you liked me last time.”
Apparently mistaking this place for a cat café, he kept staring at me while I was trying to rest or calling my name over and over.
I flicked my ears and ignored him completely.
That only seemed to amuse him more, because I could hear him quietly chuckling behind me.
He seemed to enjoy being ignored.
Seriously. What a freak.
Anyway, just like always, he quietly drank his tea, told us he’d come again, and left.
I had to wonder whether a villain was really supposed to have this much free time.
******
Nngh.
After stretching, I hopped down from my cushion.
By sunset, the hall was completely empty.
Finally.
Time to clock out.
I wandered around the room, checking beneath tables and on the chairs to make sure nobody had dropped anything.
Customers did leave things behind every now and then.
No lost items. Floor’s clean.
Now I was really off work!
I shouted toward the kitchen at the top of my lungs.
“MYAANG! MYAAANG!”
Heroine! Open the door for me!
Lately, I spent most of the day lying around and accepted treats from customers whenever they offered them.
As a result, I was starting to develop a bit of a belly.
Nobody who had never become a cat could understand the humiliation of walking around completely naked with your growing belly fat on full display.
I waited by the door, calling for Aria.
A moment later, she emerged from the kitchen.
“Going out for your evening walk?”
“Myaang!”
“Hold on. Put this on first.”
Aria fastened a collar she had made herself around my neck.
A little name tag hung from the center.
In tiny letters, it read:
[Roro. I’m the cat who lives at Aria’s Teahouse.]
“Come back early.”
The moment Aria opened the door, I bolted outside.
I had my own post-work walking routine.
First, I ran straight to the village entrance.
Then I headed to the well for a drink of cool water.
After that, I wandered through every corner of the village until the sun had completely gone down, then headed home.
Today, I raced down the street at full speed as usual.
Before long, I reached the village entrance and paused to catch my breath, looking up at the sky.
The sunset had painted it red.
“Myao. Myao.”
“Do you want some water? Wait just a moment.”
When I reached the well, I asked a woman drawing water if I could have some.
“Myaaa.”
Thank you.
I lapped up the water with my little tongue, then continued my stroll through the village.
“Oh, it’s Roro.”
“Looks like he’s out for his walk again. So cute.”
I acknowledged the teenagers who called out to me with a glance, then hurried past before any of them could catch me.
I was about halfway through the village when I spotted a child standing alone near the edge of the road, looking around anxiously.
She was a cute little girl with her hair braided into two pigtails.
“Waek-aong?”
What’s wrong?
Thinking she might have lost something, I approached and asked.
The moment she saw me, her eyes filled with tears.
“Sniff... Um, kitty...”
Yeah. I’m listening.
“Have you, sniff, seen my cat? His face is all round and, sniff, he’s really cute, and... hic....”
I couldn’t tell whether she was talking or just sucking snot back up her nose.
“He hasn’t come home. I don’t know, sniff, where he went....”
I had no idea which cat belonged to her, but there was a good chance he was in the clearing where the village cats gathered.
Most of the house cats went there to hang out.
“Myaak.”
Follow me.
I told the girl and started walking.
She followed me without hesitation.
Once we entered the forest behind the village, she asked,
“Is he really in here?”
The forest grew darker than the rest of the village as the sun began setting, so I could understand why she was starting to feel nervous about going any farther.
To reassure her, I stood up on my hind legs and waved both front paws.
Just a little farther.
That was what I meant.
For some reason, the girl burst into giggles.
“You’re really good at dancing, kitty.”
At least the laugh seemed to ease her nerves.
Apparently feeling braver, she continued following me.
We passed through the familiar brush, and the clearing came into view.
Several cats who hadn’t gone home yet were still playing there.
“Ah! Cookie!”
The girl shouted the instant she saw them.
At once, the little orange cat raised his tail straight up and happily came running.
“Cookieee... hic... I was so worried when you, sniff, didn’t come home....”
The girl burst into tears and wrapped Cookie in a tight hug.
Cookie, meanwhile, looked perfectly delighted, rubbing his cheeks against her.
“Thank you for taking me to Cookie, kitty.”
It was nothing.
“Huh? You’re wearing a collar. ...Roro. I’m the cat who lives at Aria’s Teahouse.”
She read the writing on my tag, then beamed.
“Your name is Roro? Hehe. I’m Betty. Thanks for today. Aria’s Teahouse... I’ll come visit!”
Betty stroked me.
Her touch was clumsy, but I let her pet me anyway.
“Waooowung. Myaoooong.”
From now on, don’t stay out this late. Go home early. Your family worries about you.
“Nyang. Nyaong!”
Okay, big bro!
“Waaong.”
And the rest of you need to hurry home too.
I lectured the other cats about going home before it got too late.
Naturally, most of them barely listened.
With no other choice, I left the forest with only Betty and Cookie in tow.
By the time we emerged from the trees, the streets were already dim.
I escorted them all the way to Betty’s house and watched until both of them were safely inside.
“Bye!”
Betty waved both arms wildly.
I accepted her farewell, turned around, and headed home.
*******
Two days later, Betty really did come to our shop.
She had only come to see me, but kindhearted Aria gave her a free cup of cocoa.
...That was how it started.
After that, Betty came by almost every day.
Before long, she started bringing her friends with her too, dropping by without warning.
“Hi, Roro! Hello, Aria!”
“Hi, Roro! Hello, Aria!”
The two girls marched into the shop and shouted the greeting in perfect unison, like some kind of idol-group chant.