81.1 Monologue of A Certain Capture Target－White－
===
“KYA~! CAT, KAT, KATZ, MEO~W!”
As soon as we arrived in the store, Katrina raised a delighted scream that honestly felt like it was going to pierce the crown of my head.
“MEO~W!!!”
As a result, the cats all scattered around, as if they were escaping from her. Scratch that, they WERE escaping from her.
“Ah, wait, cat lord, wait. Don’t worry, I’m not scary you kno~w? Let me hug you~. Please, meo~w.”
Katrina approached the cats slowly while ending her sentences with that mysterious word at the end. Then, she captured a brown kitten, and brushed their head rather roughly. Of course, as a result, the kitten naturally struggled in her hand, trying their best to escape.
“So~wwy. Be a good child, oka~y. Ya~y, so flu~ffy! The pad is squi~shy!”
After a while of resisting, the kitten finally gave up and simply let Katrina fluff them as she wanted.
“Ya~y, now purr for me. Is it here? Or here? There, there. You’re such an adorable chi~ld. Let me pat you again. Fua~h, I’m in heave~n.”
I couldn’t even make sense of what she was talking about. However, perhaps because our dumbfounded stare was too obvious, Katrina finally noticed our presence. Though, for some reason, after noticing us, her body immediately stiffened. Are you okay? You’re sweating profusely like a waterfall, you know?
“H-how much have you seen… Your Highness Elliot?”
“Well, we come together, so… pretty much everything.”
“Please forget about it.”
“That’s impossible, right?”
“Ri~ght.”
Although her tone of voice was akin to a dead person’s, aka too monotone, her hand that was brushing the kitten’s throat didn’t stop even for one second. Seriously, just how much of a cat lover are you?!
“Pfft, kukuku….” My big brother (Frederick), who also came along with me for this excursion, was desperately trying to hold back his laughter. Alas, it was proven slightly impossible from the sound he let out.
Katrina’s face flushed red from embarrassment, yet despite that, her hand kept petting the kitten. You’re truly a cat lover, aren’t you?
◇
Even when we’re guided to the terrace on the 2nd floor, Katrina refused to let the kitten go. And the kitten obviously had given up on any form of resistance from the way they acted. Evidently, they considered it a futile effort before Katrina’s enthusiasm. They squinted their eyes, allowing Katrina to pat them as much as she likes.
“Ha~h, I’m in heave~n. The cats are fluffy and chubby.”
What in the world was she talking about? This was the first time I heard this kind of sentence.
“Bumya~.”
A fat cat suddenly came down from the handrail to the table and began licking my hand. I was really shocked with this and subconsciously almost pulled back my hand before stopping myself.
“You can pat their head, Your Highness Elliot. Now, try to say ‘There, there’ to that fat cat.”
Since when were you able to talk to cats? And why in the world was this fat cat waiting while puffing their chest? Ah, fine, since it couldn’t be helped, I would just pat their head. I decided as I patted the fat cat’s head.
“Bumya~”
The fat cat let out a satisfied cry and showed its stomach to me, confusing me.
“They want you to caress their abdomen. They’re pleased.”
Katrina spoke enviously, but I had no idea what was so good about this. Still, since Katrina recommended me to do so, I did as she said. Sure enough, the fat cat squinted their eyes with a satisfied expression once I did as Katrina suggested.
… WHY?!!! I was really confused but, somehow my heart was warm, was it perhaps due to the warmth the cat’s body gave?
“It feels good, right? You’re quite talented in brushing the cats.”
My half-brother, who was sitting in front of me, praised me with a smile on his face.
“T-that might just be a coincidence. Besides, even if it’s true, I can say the same to you, Big Brother. That cat looks like they’re enjoying your touch,” I softly denied my big brother’s claim while simultaneously praising him. After all, the black cat that my big brother was brushing looked like they were having the time of their life under his touch.
A~h, I’m so jealous of that cat. Change places with me, now.
“This child is really obedient after all. Moreover, it’s likely that the cats in this store are used to being brushed by people. Anyway, brushing them like this will make us feel good too.”
“Brushing cats will make people feel good. Animal thera— Nay, I mean, I hear that contact with animals can heal your heart.”
“Hee, is that true? Miss Katrina is truly knowledgeable.”
“It’s just something I happen to hear about.” Katrina smiled happily when she heard my big brother’s praise toward her.
As expected, she likes my big brother more than me. The moment I thought so, Katrina stared at me. She then signaled me using her hand that was carefully hidden by the kitten’s body.
‘Now, it’s your turn. Do your best,’ She signaled with her hand gesture.
Ah, so that’s the case. The reason she reserved this cat cafe today was to make a chance for me to reconcile with Big Brother….
When Katrina invited me to this cat cafe, she also proposed to invite my big brother along. That was why, after making an arrangement with my big brother, the two of us went to the elementary division’s dormitory to pick him up. Furthermore, the moment she saw my brother’s shocked expression when he saw us coming together to pick him up, she didn’t waste a single second to pull him into the carriage too. Thus, preventing him from bailing out on us and letting us ride the same carriage toward the cat cafe.
Albeit, at the end, Katrina’s facade went south the moment she saw the cats in the store. Still, apparently, she never forgot about her goal.
“― B-big brother….”
“Theodore also said that animal therapy thing― is this what he means? Well, this place is managed by him after all.”
Why are you talking about that guy right now?!
“Ah, y-yes. Indeed. H-how it comes to be? Well, I only heard that he does this for Muriel-sama,” Katrina replied with a troubled expression.
Stop, I really don’t want to talk about that guy right now.
“Humph. He really loves Miss Muriel, huh. Come to think of it, I heard that he created a miracle. Is that true?”
Why did I feel that though Big brother spoke to us, in a way, it was as if he was focused on Katrina instead of both of us. Katrina also become flustered and even looked bewildered.
“The rumour about that matter has been spreading in the academy right now. I have no idea what really happened though, and wanted to ask Theodore about this matter… however, I haven’t received permission to leave the academy. The security around the royal capital seems to become even stricter than before though. There’s also the rumour of a demon race going around lately, right? I can’t confirm the fact from the rumours since the academy’s side doesn’t really pay attention to that regard. That’s why, I’m really grateful when you send that invitation— So, can you tell me what really happened?”
“Uuhm….” Katrina turned to look at me with a troubled expression. Seemed like she knew that I was displeased with this development.
“Big Brother, we don’t really see Theodore’s miracle with our own eyes. That’s why, I can’t tell you what really happened back then.”
Katrina nodded in agreement with my words.
“Is it something that you can’t tell me about?”
“No, both Elliot-sama and I, we, really have no idea about this matter,” Katrina added in a hurry.
“Eh? You’re in that place, right?”
Seeing Big Brother cocking his head to the side in confusion, Katrina started to explain our situation back then; of the incident in which Katrina and the other girls passed out from exhaustion after Miss Muriel wore the magic tool that snatched her life force.
81.1 Monologue of A Certain Capture Target－White－
===
“KYA~! CAT, KAT, KATZ, MEO~W!”
As soon as we arrived in the store, Katrina raised a delighted scream that honestly felt like it was going to pierce the crown of my head.
“MEO~W!!!”
As a result, the cats all scattered around, as if they were escaping from her. Scratch that, they WERE escaping from her.
“Ah, wait, cat lord, wait. Don’t worry, I’m not scary you kno~w? Let me hug you~. Please, meo~w.”
Katrina approached the cats slowly while ending her sentences with that mysterious word at the end. Then, she captured a brown kitten, and brushed their head rather roughly. Of course, as a result, the kitten naturally struggled in her hand, trying their best to escape.
“So~wwy. Be a good child, oka~y. Ya~y, so flu~ffy! The pad is squi~shy!”
After a while of resisting, the kitten finally gave up and simply let Katrina fluff them as she wanted.
“Ya~y, now purr for me. Is it here? Or here? There, there. You’re such an adorable chi~ld. Let me pat you again. Fua~h, I’m in heave~n.”
I couldn’t even make sense of what she was talking about. However, perhaps because our dumbfounded stare was too obvious, Katrina finally noticed our presence. Though, for some reason, after noticing us, her body immediately stiffened. Are you okay? You’re sweating profusely like a waterfall, you know?
“H-how much have you seen… Your Highness Elliot?”
“Well, we come together, so… pretty much everything.”
“Please forget about it.”
“That’s impossible, right?”
“Ri~ght.”
Although her tone of voice was akin to a dead person’s, aka too monotone, her hand that was brushing the kitten’s throat didn’t stop even for one second. Seriously, just how much of a cat lover are you?!
“Pfft, kukuku….” My big brother (Frederick), who also came along with me for this excursion, was desperately trying to hold back his laughter. Alas, it was proven slightly impossible from the sound he let out.
Katrina’s face flushed red from embarrassment, yet despite that, her hand kept petting the kitten. You’re truly a cat lover, aren’t you?
◇
Even when we’re guided to the terrace on the 2nd floor, Katrina refused to let the kitten go. And the kitten obviously had given up on any form of resistance from the way they acted. Evidently, they considered it a futile effort before Katrina’s enthusiasm. They squinted their eyes, allowing Katrina to pat them as much as she likes.
“Ha~h, I’m in heave~n. The cats are fluffy and chubby.”
What in the world was she talking about? This was the first time I heard this kind of sentence.
“Bumya~.”
A fat cat suddenly came down from the handrail to the table and began licking my hand. I was really shocked with this and subconsciously almost pulled back my hand before stopping myself.
“You can pat their head, Your Highness Elliot. Now, try to say ‘There, there’ to that fat cat.”
Since when were you able to talk to cats? And why in the world was this fat cat waiting while puffing their chest? Ah, fine, since it couldn’t be helped, I would just pat their head. I decided as I patted the fat cat’s head.
“Bumya~”
The fat cat let out a satisfied cry and showed its stomach to me, confusing me.
“They want you to caress their abdomen. They’re pleased.”
Katrina spoke enviously, but I had no idea what was so good about this. Still, since Katrina recommended me to do so, I did as she said. Sure enough, the fat cat squinted their eyes with a satisfied expression once I did as Katrina suggested.
… WHY?!!! I was really confused but, somehow my heart was warm, was it perhaps due to the warmth the cat’s body gave?
“It feels good, right? You’re quite talented in brushing the cats.”
My half-brother, who was sitting in front of me, praised me with a smile on his face.
“T-that might just be a coincidence. Besides, even if it’s true, I can say the same to you, Big Brother. That cat looks like they’re enjoying your touch,” I softly denied my big brother’s claim while simultaneously praising him. After all, the black cat that my big brother was brushing looked like they were having the time of their life under his touch.
A~h, I’m so jealous of that cat. Change places with me, now.
“This child is really obedient after all. Moreover, it’s likely that the cats in this store are used to being brushed by people. Anyway, brushing them like this will make us feel good too.”
“Brushing cats will make people feel good. Animal thera— Nay, I mean, I hear that contact with animals can heal your heart.”
“Hee, is that true? Miss Katrina is truly knowledgeable.”
“It’s just something I happen to hear about.” Katrina smiled happily when she heard my big brother’s praise toward her.
As expected, she likes my big brother more than me. The moment I thought so, Katrina stared at me. She then signaled me using her hand that was carefully hidden by the kitten’s body.
‘Now, it’s your turn. Do your best,’ She signaled with her hand gesture.
Ah, so that’s the case. The reason she reserved this cat cafe today was to make a chance for me to reconcile with Big Brother….
When Katrina invited me to this cat cafe, she also proposed to invite my big brother along. That was why, after making an arrangement with my big brother, the two of us went to the elementary division’s dormitory to pick him up. Furthermore, the moment she saw my brother’s shocked expression when he saw us coming together to pick him up, she didn’t waste a single second to pull him into the carriage too. Thus, preventing him from bailing out on us and letting us ride the same carriage toward the cat cafe.
Albeit, at the end, Katrina’s facade went south the moment she saw the cats in the store. Still, apparently, she never forgot about her goal.
“― B-big brother….”
“Theodore also said that animal therapy thing― is this what he means? Well, this place is managed by him after all.”
Why are you talking about that guy right now?!
“Ah, y-yes. Indeed. H-how it comes to be? Well, I only heard that he does this for Muriel-sama,” Katrina replied with a troubled expression.
Stop, I really don’t want to talk about that guy right now.
“Humph. He really loves Miss Muriel, huh. Come to think of it, I heard that he created a miracle. Is that true?”
Why did I feel that though Big brother spoke to us, in a way, it was as if he was focused on Katrina instead of both of us. Katrina also become flustered and even looked bewildered.
“The rumour about that matter has been spreading in the academy right now. I have no idea what really happened though, and wanted to ask Theodore about this matter… however, I haven’t received permission to leave the academy. The security around the royal capital seems to become even stricter than before though. There’s also the rumour of a demon race going around lately, right? I can’t confirm the fact from the rumours since the academy’s side doesn’t really pay attention to that regard. That’s why, I’m really grateful when you send that invitation— So, can you tell me what really happened?”
“Uuhm….” Katrina turned to look at me with a troubled expression. Seemed like she knew that I was displeased with this development.
“Big Brother, we don’t really see Theodore’s miracle with our own eyes. That’s why, I can’t tell you what really happened back then.”
Katrina nodded in agreement with my words.
“Is it something that you can’t tell me about?”
“No, both Elliot-sama and I, we, really have no idea about this matter,” Katrina added in a hurry.
“Eh? You’re in that place, right?”
Seeing Big Brother cocking his head to the side in confusion, Katrina started to explain our situation back then; of the incident in which Katrina and the other girls passed out from exhaustion after Miss Muriel wore the magic tool that snatched her life force.
