“Eek!!!!”

The moment it realized it’d been spotted, it struck a menacing pose, ready to bolt at any second, and then…

A small, fair hand reached in, holding a handful of dried fish.

The cat watched as the hand set the dried fish down in front of it, then withdrew.

It lifted its head in confusion. There were those same eyes again, deep black with a faint hint of blue lurking beneath; those fine white brows, pure as snow; and the long bangs over her forehead, gleaming silver-white in the sunlight.

The cat stared, transfixed. The reason was simple: the owner of those eyes had just smiled at it.

The cat began pacing anxiously around the cramped space. It really wanted to draw that smile from a moment ago, but in the end, all it could do was lie there, glum.

Can’t answer that. I’m just a cat.jpg

(What an unbelievably beautiful girl.)

Lying there, the cat kept thinking about the girl and her peerless, breathtaking smile. But if it recalled what it had heard those people outside saying earlier, this young lady was probably the owner of the carriage—and the source of the danger on this journey.

(As they say, beauty has always been a source of trouble.)

It lay there, eating the dried fish the girl had given it.

(A little salty.)

………………

Before long, the carriage set off. No one came to chase it out. But that made sense, really. The carriage’s owner had given it food, so even if the others found it, they probably wouldn’t kick it out.

(This is the life, meow.)

Before setting out, it had worried about getting hungry on the road, so it had made sure to scrounge a little extra food from the captain. It hadn’t expected to get this kind of treatment once it was on board, too.

Feeling the carriage sway, it peered out through a gap. The nameless little town, surrounded by earthen walls, was getting farther and farther away.

(Ah, farewell, the place where I was born.)

Goodbyes were always painful. And the more sensitive you were, the more deeply you felt them—especially if you studied art.

But honestly, the cat wasn’t sad at all. It even felt kind of heartless. Maybe that was the difference between humans and animals.

(Huh? I feel like I’ve been insulted.)

As the cat rode farther and farther from the town, slowly swaying with the carriage, deep in the forest on the outskirts, in a damp, chilly corner where moss crept over the surrounding rock walls, a long, glittering figure—black, yet shimmering with every color—watched the cat depart. It looked utterly helplessly at the “person” on its head.

“Hey, that little one’s got such incredible talent. Why’d you scare it away?”

The “person” looked down at the enormous figure beneath their feet and stomped hard on the creature’s head twice.

“I don’t like furry things!”

The huge creature felt as if it might’ve just been stomped on twice. Helplessly, it lowered itself and turned, heading deeper into the forest.

A moment later, the creature seemed to mutter to itself in a mournful voice.

“Sigh. She’s a girl, and yet she doesn’t like these cute, fluffy creatures. Women, honestly… Ow! Easy, young lady!!”

………………

After a long, bumpy stretch, the carriage finally began to run smoothly. The cat cautiously poked its head through a gap and took a look. The road was surprisingly flat, and even after such a heavy carriage had rolled over it, not a trace was left behind. That alone showed how solid the road was.

(Who knew this world’s construction was so advanced?)

The cat was amazed by the craftsmanship of the road. In the little town where it had been born, the main roads were made of rough stone slabs. Huge gaps yawned between every slab, and the carriages there had no suspension at all.

So carriages bounced terribly on those roads. Outside the town, the main roads were covered with coarse sand. That did help cushion the ride somewhat, but all kinds of stones, big and small, still knocked against the wheels and made the carriages shake.

Once the carriage reached this road, it noticeably picked up speed. The sun slowly sank from overhead toward the mountains in the west.

The cat wasn’t worried at all. It couldn’t see whether the carriage was getting close to its destination, but signs of human activity were gradually appearing along the sides of the road, so it could figure that the next inhabited place was getting closer. Still, the sky growing darker was enough to make anyone feel tense.

“Whoa!!!!”

The carriage, which had been speeding along, suddenly slowed down. The people aboard sounded panicked.

(Shit, don’t tell me something really happened?)