Volume 7 Side
Story 1
Records of the
Birth of a New Cat Species
One holiday afternoon.
Nozomu, having
finished cleaning his dorm room in the morning, had gone out to the commercial
district for lunch.
The roadside was lined
with a wide variety of stalls, and naturally, there were many shops selling
food.
Especially today, it
was a holiday. The lined-up merchants, aiming for a time when people's purse
strings would loosen on a day off, were shouting with more vigor than usual.
As Nozomu was walking
through the bustling downtown, he saw the figure of a girl in an Ecross uniform
about ten meters ahead.
"Huh?
Somia-chan?"
Her beautiful black
hair, cut to shoulder length, was undoubtedly that of a girl he knew well.
She looked around as
if searching for something, then disappeared into a back alley.
"What is she
doing? Iris doesn't seem to be around either..."
Seeing that Iris's
figure was not around, it seemed that Somia was alone.
While tilting his head
at her suspicious behavior, Nozomu for the time being followed her and stepped
into the back alley.
When he entered the
back alley, it was quite dim due to the disorderly houses and shops lining the
surroundings, and the back was not clearly visible.
Also, the back alleys were
as intricate as a maze, and if you lost your way even a little, you would
probably get lost in no time.
When he strained his
eyes to the back of the alley, he could see Somia's figure about ten meters
ahead.
"Hey,
Somia-cha~n!"
"Huh? Isn't that Nozomu-san?
What's wrong?"
When Nozomu called out
to Somia for the time being, she ran over to him with a surprised look.
Upon closer
inspection, she was holding a handbag, and that bag was quite large and
bulging, as if there was something inside.
"I was out
walking, wondering where to eat lunch... But what are you doing here,
Somia-chan? And you're wearing your Ecross uniform even though it's a
holiday..."
"I... was on my
way home after studying a little at school..."
At the somehow
mumbling Somia, Nozomu tilted his head.
It was probably true
that she had been studying on her own at Ecross. She was wearing her uniform,
and he had heard from Irisdina that she had been studying hard recently.
However, her house was
in the administrative district in the northern part of the city. Even if she
were to go home from Ecross, which was in the center of the city, there was no
need to pass through the commercial district.
And even if it was a
detour, it would be one thing to go to a shop or a stall, but the fact that she
had business in a back alley like this was highly suspicious.
"..."
"..."
Nozomu, in silence,
directed a skeptical gaze at Somia. She, too, seemed to know that her statement
was unreasonable, as she was averting her gaze like a kitten that had been
caught in the act of mischief.
Eventually, perhaps
unable to bear Nozomu's silent gaze, Somia began to speak timidly.
"U-Um. Could you
please not tell my sister?"
"Well, that
depends on what it is..."
"Please!"
"A-Alright. I get
it. I won't tell Iris. Is that okay?"
"Th-Thank
goodness... Nozomu-san, th-thank you!"
Since Somia was
pleading so desperately, Nozomu had ended up promising not to tell Iris.
Although he wondered
if it was really okay, seeing the relieved smile on Somia's face, he couldn't
bring himself to talk to Irisdina now.
"Well then,
Nozomu-san, please follow me. Please be as quiet as possible."
"Ah, alright..."
Nozomu, nodding as he
was carried along, followed Somia and headed for the back of the back alley.
"Hey, Somia-chan.
What in the world are you..."
"Shh! Nozomu-san,
please be quiet."
"Y-Yes. I'm
sorry..."
At Somia's strange
intimidating presence, Nozomu couldn't help but use honorifics.
She crouched down and,
while hiding in the shadows of the wooden boxes and carts that had been left in
the alley, she moved to the back of the back alley with movements like a spy or
a ninja.
As for Nozomu, he
could only feel a sense of wrongness at the young her taking such an action.
However, at Somia's
intimidating presence, he remembered his late master, and judging that it was
impossible to stop her now, he silently followed her.
And when they reached
a corner of the alley, Somia suddenly pressed herself against the shadow of the
alley and beckoned.
"Nozomu-san, look..."
"What is
it?"
Where Somia was
pointing. When he turned his gaze to the back of the corner of the alley, he
could see a single black cat walking leisurely.
At the cat's strangely
self-respecting way of walking, Nozomu felt a sense of deja vu.
"That cat
is..."
"Yes, it's
Kuro-chan."
The cat that Somia had
called Kuro was the female black cat that had been the trigger for Nozomu and
Somia to meet.
It was a stray cat he
had seen in the central park before, and a cat that had been given the
masculine name "Kuro" by Somia, even though she was female.
Incidentally, it
seemed that Somia thought this name was cute.
"Recently, I
haven't seen Kuro-chan around the central park, so I was worried. But on my way
home from school today, I found Kuro-chan, and I chased her several times, but
I lost her each time..."
"So you got
stubborn and kept chasing her."
"Yes..."
"And you want me
to keep quiet because it would be embarrassing if Iris found out."
Nozomu remembered that
Irisdina had been in a very good mood recently, as her younger sister had been
working hard.
Perhaps there was also
a bit of her trying to act older than her age, but since Somia had also noticed
her happy sister's state, she had probably thought that she didn't want to
disappoint her sister's expectations.
"Uuuuh, that's
right... And besides, if Mena were to find out by some chance, she would scold
me, saying, 'It's unbecoming of a young lady of the Francilt family!'..."
"A young lady
tailing a stray cat... Well, it is a sight that would make one tilt their
head."
Since her tone sounded
more like she disliked being scolded by Mena, while slightly correcting Somia's
true feelings, Nozomu observed the target black cat.
Kuro showed no signs
of noticing Nozomu and Somia and was briskly heading for the back of the alley.
"I get it. I'll
keep quiet from Iris and Mena-san. More importantly, you're about to lose her,
so you should hurry up and chase her."
"Wawa!
Nozomu-san, let's go!"
Somia ran off in a
panic.
Perhaps she was in a
hurry from almost losing Kuro, as she had completely forgotten about her
ninja-like movements from before and was chasing the black cat in a hurried
manner.
"Somia-chan. Your
footsteps, your footsteps."
"Ah!"
Noticing her own
footsteps, she hurriedly crouched down and went into ninja mode.
While giving a wry
smile, thinking, "I wonder if this will be okay," Nozomu also
followed her.
On the other hand,
Kuro, as if not noticing Somia and the others at all, was gracefully proceeding
down the alley.
However, her path was,
as is typical of a cat, free-spirited.
She passed under a
cart that had been placed behind a shop, walked on a roof, and went through a
hole in a fence.
And Somia also bravely
chased after Kuro.
"Nozomu-san,
please hold that cart down!"
"Yes, yes."
She used an assistant
named Nozomu to remove obstacles.
"Nozomu-san,
please run faster. We'll lose her!"
"Umm, are your
footsteps okay?"
She ran after her,
trying not to lose sight of her target, who was walking on a roof.
"Nozomu-san,
please be my stepping stone. I'm going to jump over!"
"Eh? Can you jump
over, Somia-chan?"
"It's okay. If we
work together, Nozomu-san, we can do it!"
She used her assistant
as a stepping stone and jumped over a fence that was nearly 3 meters high.
And she was getting
strangely good at it.
When she was jumping
over the fence, she even had Nozomu, who had become her stepping stone, cup his
hands, and she had placed her foot on them and jumped up with their combined
strength.
Of course, her landing
was also perfect.
To be frank, the
atmosphere had become more like a chase of a criminal than a tailing at some
point.
"Kuro-chan, I
won't let you get away this time!"
Correction, for Somia,
it had completely become a chase.
Completely forgetting
about stealth, the girl was chasing the black cat at full speed.
If she were to chase
after her with such loud footsteps, then of course Kuro would also notice
Somia, who was tailing her.
The black cat in
question turned around and glanced at the pursuing Somia, but without any
particular concern, she went up on the roof again and walked leisurely.
"Tch, you're
quite composed, aren't you! Very well. I will shatter that composure!"
That appearance had
apparently further fanned Somia's competitive spirit, and her tension had
broken through the heavens.
While being bewildered
by such an unexpected side of Somia, Nozomu was remembering that she was a fine
mischievous girl who had the experience of running away from home at the tender
age of five.
"Nozomu-san,
hurry up. Kuro-chan has come down from the roof! That's probably the
destination! I won't let her get away this time!"
"No, I mean, why
are your words so dramatic..."
It sounds just
like a military police officer chasing a real criminal, doesn't it? Isn't it a
bit too extreme just because you got stubborn?
Nozomu's cry from his
heart, of course, did not reach Somia, and she, with her tension at its
maximum, was running at full speed towards her target.
And at her
destination, there was a mountain of obstacles like never before.
Not only carts and
wooden boxes, but also household pots and chairs, desks and bookshelves.
Furthermore, large furniture such as beds were piled up like a castle wall,
completely blocking the alley.
"This is not
enough to stop me now!"
Along with a strangely
cool line, Somia bravely leaped at the mountain of obstacles.
As I've said many
times, the one she's chasing is a very ordinary black cat... or so it should
be.
"Tei, tei,
tei!"
"S-So fast!"
Somia jumped on the
back of a chair that had been left lying on its side, used it as a springboard,
and then, grabbing the corner of a piled-up desk, she pushed her body up.
And then, after
placing her foot on the corner of the desk again, she jumped again, put her
hand on the top of the mountain of obstacles, and then vaulted over it in the
manner of a side flip.
And then, with the
frilly skirt of her uniform fluttering, she made a clean landing.
Although it felt as if
he had had a glimpse of Somia's overflowing talent, her movements were such
that he could no longer tell which one was the cat.
Nozomu also hurriedly
followed after Somia.
"Kuro-chan, this
time, you're under arrest! Prepare your... self?"
And then, Somia, who
had finally cornered Kuro, was about to deliver her speech advising surrender,
but suddenly, her line petered out.
Wondering what was
going on, the caught-up Nozomu moved his gaze to where her eyes were looking,
and there was a vacant lot about the size of a house.
And there...
"It's a cat
gathering..."
A dozen or so cats
were gathered in the empty vacant lot.
Brindle cats, calico
cats, dark brown cats, etc., the various types of cats were all sitting, lying
down, or playing with each other in their own ways.
Among them, what stood
out was a section in the back of the vacant lot.
In the middle of a
space that was probably a spread-out rug that had been left there, the black
cat in question was lying down gracefully.
Upon closer
inspection, most of the cats in the vacant lot were gathered around Kuro. And
among the imperial guards that were surrounding this black cat, a few were
diligently licking Kuro's body, grooming her.
It was a composition
that made it clear who the central cat of this gathering was.
"A-A harem... No,
since she's a female cat, is it a reverse harem?"
"Kuro-chan, so
you were here..."
Somia casually
approached Kuro.
Then, one of the white
cats that had been grooming Kuro stood in front of Somia and began to
intimidate her with a growl.
The other cats were
also intimidating Somia, as if following behind the white cat. This cat seemed
to be the leader of the Kuro imperial guard.
However, when Kuro let
out a single "meow," the white cat readily made way for Somia. It
seemed Kuro was also strict with her subordinate's discipline.
"Ehehe, thank
you! Ah, this one is cute. Ah, this one too!"
Having received Kuro's
permission, Somia immediately tried to pet the surrounding cats.
However, perhaps the
cats of the Kuro imperial guard did not think well of the sudden intruder, as
when Somia tried to pet them, they immediately slipped through her hand and
took a distance.
"They're quite a
group of tough opponents..."
Somia, who was
particularly interested in the white cat, the leader of the imperial guard, was
trying to get its attention by beckoning with her hand or by twirling her
finger in front of it.
On the other hand,
Nozomu could not even get close to the Kuro harem.
When he tried to
approach, the Kuro imperial guard would get in his way, just as they had with
Somia before.
He had no choice but
to sit on the spot and beckon like Somia, but he ended up getting a cat punch
to the face.
"Wh-Why..."
While stroking his
scratched hand, he reluctantly moved to the edge of the vacant lot and sat
down.
Then, as if to comfort
the scratched him, a calico cat with a tortoiseshell pattern came over to
Nozomu's side.
This cat did not seem
to be a member of the Kuro harem.
Having no choice,
Nozomu decided to watch over Somia while stroking the calico cat's head.
As for the white cat,
although it had been wary of Somia at first, perhaps because of Kuro’s approval,
it gradually closed the distance to her and began to sniff the finger that
Somia had offered.
However, the white cat
turned away with a huff and walked away from Somia.
"Muu, is this
still no good, then..."
Somia casually thrust
her hand into her bag and took something out.
A hair ornament with
two black triangles connected, and a black, string-like object.
"Cat ears and a
tail! With this, I'm also a member of the cats!"
What she had taken out
were black cat ears and a tail. And they were strangely well-made.
Somia placed the cat
ear hair ornament on her head, put the tail in the back of her skirt and
attached it to her bottom, and had a confident smile.
"These cat ears,
if you let magic power flow through them, they will react to the owner's heart
and move like real cat ears and a tail. With this, they will surely recognize
me as a cat!"
"No, that's
impossible. No matter how many cat ears and tails you put on, over 90% of your
body is still human, isn't it!?"
Ignoring Nozomu's
retort, Somia approached the white cat. It seemed it was true that they could
be moved by letting magic power flow through them, as the cat ears and tail
that Somia had put on were cutely twitching.
However, there was no
way a cat could understand Somia's cuteness, and on the contrary, the white cat
became even more wary and would not approach Somia at all.
"Muu, even though
they're special cat ears from Feo-san and Tom-san... That's strange."
"...What are
those guys doing?"
He wondered what the
creators of these cat ears and tail were thinking when they made something like
this?
Nozomu couldn't help
but picture the faces of the fox-eared troublemaker and his friend who seemed
to be popular with shotacons.
"It can't be
helped. My trump card!"
Somia thrust her hand
into her bag again. Then, the cats that were present suddenly became agitated.
"Ta-da! Catnip!
With this, any cat will be a goner!"
What Somia had taken
out was, without a doubt, catnip. A final weapon against cats.
She placed it on the
ground in front of her.
As expected, the white
cat from before came back, lured by the catnip.
While the white cat
was sniffing the catnip that had been placed on the ground, Somia reached out
her hand to touch it.
However, just before
her hand could touch the white cat, Kuro, who had come from behind, snatched
the catnip.
Without a care for the
pushed-aside white cat, Kuro was enjoying the catnip with a purr.
The white cat behind
her was standing up straight, waiting for Kuro to finish enjoying the catnip.
As expected of the
leader of the imperial guard. However, the white cat's tail was honest, and it
was tapping the ground with an envious look.
"Muu,
Kuro-chan..."
At the fact that she
hadn't caught her target, Somia also had a disappointed expression.
As if in reaction to
her feelings, the cat ears and tail she had put on also hung down limply. A cat
ear set that was strangely well-made in strange places.
"It can't be
helped! My trump card number two!"
Somia reluctantly
patted her skirt with her hand, stood up from that spot, and once again thrust
her hand into her bag. What she took out were two cat teasers.
She held them in both
her hands, and after bypassing Kuro, who was enjoying the catnip, she moved in
front of the white cat and began to move them in front of it.
Perhaps due to a cat's
animal instincts, the white cat's gaze was also jumping around. And finally,
the white cat pounced on the cat teaser.
"I did it, I got
the white cat... whoa! The other cats too!"
However, Somia's
action had also tempted the other cats.
A swarm of a dozen or
so cats, pouncing on Somia all at once.
Perhaps when she had
patted her skirt just before, the scent of the catnip had transferred to her
clothes. The cats that had pounced were all rubbing their noses and bodies
against her at once.
In a space of just two
meters square, the cats became overcrowded, and the girl was quickly covered in
fur balls. However, her face was somehow happy.
The pleasant sensation
of the fluffy cat fur that enveloped her entire body. The warmth that reached
the core of her body, brought by a body temperature higher than a human's.
The cat ears and tail
that Somia had put on were also reacting to the joy she was feeling and were
moving around vigorously.
At this moment, a
corner of the vacant lot in the commercial district had become a space of cats,
for cats, by cats. It had become an existence that could be called a cat-space.
"Nyan-nyan-nyan~.
Nyan-nyan-nyan~"
Somia, too, perhaps
having been caught in the cat-space, had even started to speak like a cat. And
her way of playing was also cat-like.
She caught the playing
cat with her hand, which she had rounded like a bear's paw, and rolled it on
her stomach. It wouldn't be strange if she were to grow real cat ears and a
tail at this rate.
On the other hand,
Nozomu was completely left out with a single calico cat. The calico cat he had
been stroking had, at some point, lain down on its stomach as if to say,
"Pet me!"
While thinking,
"Is that okay for a stray cat?" Nozomu was watching the Somia who was
on the verge of turning into a cat while stroking the calico cat's belly.
"The birth of a
Somia-cat?"
At the sight of Somia,
who could be convincingly called a new species of cat, such words
unintentionally escaped from Nozomu's mouth.
Somia-cat.
She was certainly
cute. The black tail and ears matched her black hair very well, and the sight
of her playing with a mischievous smile was full of a cat-like loveliness.
The uniform was also a
good option. The cat costume, which suggested a wildness, on top of the
uniform, which gave a sharp atmosphere, would probably be accepted by people
like a theorem of this world set by God.
For a very small
number of people, she might even become an object of worship. Mainly Irisdina
and Victor...
"Nyan-nyan... Ah,
this one is a girl. Ah, this one too... Nozomu-san, all the ones here are
girls."
"So it wasn't a
reverse harem, it was a yuri harem, huh..."
It was natural for
Nozomu to be pushed out. In the first place, it was a space where the species
known as male absolutely could not exist.
What an unhealthy
harem. No, in the first place, I wonder if the word "healthy" is
appropriate for a harem...
At the side of the
sighing Nozomu, the calico cat from before was lying on its back, showing its
belly, as if to say, "Pet me more!" No matter how you looked at it,
it was not a posture to show to someone you had just met.
"You, don't you
have any wild instincts or pride?"
That magnificent
belly-up.
At the sight, which
had not a shred of wildness, Nozomu couldn't help but retort.
However, there was no
way the calico cat could understand his words, and Nozomu, without even being
able to eat lunch, had ended up becoming a dedicated, fully automatic
cat-petting machine for the calico cat until the Somia-cat was satisfied.
"...Ah, this one
is a male."
And by the way, this
calico cat was a magnificent male.
***
Cat Introduction
Kuro
A black cat who has
built a yuri harem in a vacant lot in the commercial district.
She was the trigger
for Nozomu and Somia to meet, and at the same time, that was also the beginning
of their relationship with Irisdina and the others. A cat with outstanding
charisma, but with quite a queen-like disposition.
A stray cat that
dislikes males and likes females.
White Cat
A member of the Kuro
harem and the leader of the Kuro imperial guard.
She has sworn her
loyalty to Kuro and is protecting her from the clutches of males on a daily
basis.
However, her essence
is still that of a cat.
Calico Cat
A stray cat that keeps
its distance from the Kuro harem in the vacant lot.
Its appearance of
having abandoned its wildness despite being a stray is conspicuous.
As a male, his symbol
is quite magnificent.
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