Volume 6 Chapter 54 The Klock Trial
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
A rough, scraping sensation brushed across his cheek, like being rubbed with sandpaper.
”――――”
The unfamiliar touch drew confusion. It felt disturbingly similar to being licked, and the answer followed quickly: a cat’s tongue.
”――――”
A voice purred near his ear. The rasping tongue trailed not only over his cheek but also the back of his hand. Surrounded—he realized he was encircled by cats.
What kind of situation was this?
Had he drunk too much last night and collapsed somewhere? If so, it made sense. Surely this was cat territory, and the strays were ordering him to get out before they decided to bite.
That would be bad. He needed to get up. Yet when he tried to stir, his body refused to obey. Only sensation reached him. He lay flat, cheeks and hands licked, something soft and warm stuffed into his mouth.
”――mff?” he groaned.
”Oh? You’re awake?” a woman’s voice said.
He had been biting down on something. That realization only deepened the absurdity. Who slept with something in their mouth? Certainly not something he had chosen, in his right mind.
”Get up already. How long do you plan on being a baby?” she chided.
His fingertip twitched. That was something. If his body could respond, then he could wake. Clinging to the thought, he forced his eyelids open.
”Good morning, Kuro. You’re quite the sleepyhead!”
It was not a strange ceiling he saw—but a face hovering in front of it. A familiar face, gazing down at him.
”I thought you’d died, you know! You wouldn’t wake up, so Lona nearly kicked you off the tower for fun!”
Her grin only furrowed his brows. He didn’t understand her words. His head was still sluggish, but one thing was certain: she was holding him in her arms. And that warm, soft thing in his mouth was—
”Elna, is your milk flowing yet?” another voice asked.
”Almost. Here, Kuro, hurry up now,” Elna said.
At her words, heat flared through his body.
Smack, suck, slurp—
His foggy brain snapped awake as though struck. His tongue and lips moved of their own accord, latching onto the firm bud in his mouth.
He hadn’t meant to. Why was his body moving without him? He tried to resist, but failed. He suckled greedily, mouth filling with sweetness, clinging like a newborn unable to let go.
”Lady Elna, the council will begin shortly. Will you attend, or rest today?”
”It’s fine. If I’m late, Lona can lead. Kuro, quickly now,” she said.
Again her words carried heat into his veins. His body leaned into her, hugging tightly on instinct.
”Mmh—your sucking is so indecent,” she whispered, her mouth quirking even as her brows pinched.
His lips kept working, drawing noisy slurps as he looked up at her. The cat-girl’s breath grew sultry, her gaze half-lidded. Memory stirred—the face, the hair, the voice.
The daughter of the Emperor of the Hundred Beasts. The white cat princess. Elna.
Klock was nursing at Elna’s breast, her hand stroking his head like a child’s.
”Really! To start sucking so lewdly the moment you wake!”
Elna batted his head lightly and rose, letting him tumble onto the bed. He sank face-first into a downy futon, shocked at the softness, before pushing up to see strange young women staring at him.
”It’s time to go. Come with me, Kuro.”
Elna tugged her dress back over her chest. Around her, the other girls scrambled off the bedding, their many tails flicking in the cramped room. Whitewashed stone walls framed the scene, bright ears twitching above their heads. All cat beastkin, every one of them. Their eyes darted curiously to Klock, then away, then back again.
Go where? he wanted to ask.
But no sound came. His body climbed from the bed of its own accord, following Elna as she left the room.
He tried again, but his voice still failed. His tongue burned hot.
A slave mark.
The realization struck cold. He’d once heard stories from a shady acquaintance who dabbled in slave trading. Marks carved openly to display ownership—or hidden in private places like the breast, the sole, or the lower belly. One of the cruelest was the tongue.
’Am I a slave now?‘
’No. No way. That’s not funny.‘
’And just where the hell am I?‘
He trailed after the girls out of the room, only to be stunned still by the sight beyond. His whole body shrank as he looked outward.
”Don’t you dare fall. You’d splatter like a tomato dropped from the roof,” Elna warned.
Well, no kidding, he thought, mouth hanging open though no sound escaped—his tsukkomi bursting only inside his skull.
”This is the Cat Tower. The tallest in the world—or rather, one no one can reach the top of. From this height, a fall would leave nothing recognizable. Please be careful not to slip,” another cat-girl explained politely from behind him.
Below, white mist churned. When he recognized it as clouds, his gut shriveled. Instinct screamed danger.
’Too high. Way too high. This isn’t a tower—it’s a nightmare.‘
Far off, a mountain pierced the clouds, yet he was looking down on its summit.
This was beyond high. Beyond human capability. It was impossible.
As Klock trembled, the group pressed forward, a cat-girl leading the way while Elna followed. And he, unwilling but compelled, trailed after them into the unknown.
The structure was not just tall—it defied the very notion of human craftsmanship. It rose in impossible proportions, an edifice so unnatural it seemed an affront to reason itself.
Klock trembled, but the group pressed forward. At Elna’s side, a young cat beastkin girl led the way, the others following in her wake.
They climbed a spiraling staircase fixed to the exterior of the tower. The stone steps felt unnervingly solid beneath their boots, yet the absence of walls was maddening. One misstep beyond the railing and the endless drop below gaped like a promise. Even without falling, a glance downward bred a suffocating vertigo.
”Hurry up, Elna!” the girl called.
After a long climb, they slipped back inside. The chamber resembled the previous—narrow, enclosed—but waiting within were unfamiliar feline girls. At the center stood one Klock knew: a black cat beastkin, arms crossed, perched on the dais with an expression as smug as it was insufferable.
”Sorry, Lona. Let’s begin!” Elna announced.
A trial. The thought struck Klock, cold and sudden, just as the nearest girls seized his arms. They dragged him to the center, forced him into a chair, and began binding his wrists to its arms.
Why the ropes? What next—torture if he said the wrong thing?
He had no chance to resist. His hands were lashed with ruthless speed, his legs strapped to the chair’s feet until escape was impossible. And then, as though curiosity were part of the ritual, two girls leaned in close and sniffed at him with quick, twitching noses.
”Now, the trial begins! Defendant Klock Livorno, the time has come to settle your crime. Are you prepared?” Elna’s voice rang sharp.
”That’s right! We’ll chop you to bits and execute you!” Lona shouted.
The chorus followed: “Execution! Execution!” The room reverberated with the crude chant.
This was no solemn tribunal of state. It was more like a family squabble dressed up as justice—a gathering with the weight of a child’s game. Yet being judged in enemy territory meant the play could turn cruel in an instant.
Klock bit his lip, voiceless. A girl leaned close, sniffing at him again.
”What you did was the worst crime in the history of the Beast Country. It was treason! Even kind, gentle, beautiful Elna could not forgive you. We’ll judge you fairly and cleanse your sin. Let your soul be purified—that is your mission.”
”We’ll roast your body over coals and eat you piece by piece!” another shouted.
Fair judgment did not begin with ropes and gags. Voices rose again:
”Barbecue! Roasted pork! I’m starving!”
Tails lashed and swayed, their appetite almost audible. Elna clapped her hands, scolding, “Dinner comes later!” More girls pressed close, sniffing at him with unabashed interest.
”The facts need no review,” said a white cat, speaking with relish. “Everyone knows you lay with Elna. If I gave details, half the room would be pregnant just from hearing it! So let’s keep it brief!”
Her smile was disturbingly bright. Klock frowned hard, unable to understand her game.
She continued: “That day, we met as enemies. In the museum, you fought me fiercely—fur bristling, claws flashing. Then suddenly, you abandoned the fight, pulled me close, and started… preparing yourself.”
Silence fell. Dozens of ears pricked forward. Lona scowled.
Pulled her close? Was that really the story? Klock’s brow furrowed deeper.
”Elna’s beauty must have broken you. You forgot the battle, lost in her allure. And oh, Elna, that day you came in nightclothes, didn’t you? You couldn’t see yourself, but you were irresistible! No wonder he lost control! Looking back, I can almost forgive him. But you’re still a princess, Elna, and that makes it his crime. Instead of writing a love letter, instead of inviting you for tea, he dared leap straight into wickedness! Unforgivable!”
Her speech tumbled out breathless, relentless. Even Lona tilted her head in confusion. Around them, the other cat girls grew bored, grooming each other, yawning, or leaning in to sniff at Klock as though he were a curiosity on display.
”So Elna decided,” the white cat concluded. “Your crime cannot be ignored. But execution? That would only grant you peace. Death is a moment’s pain, then eternal rest. No, far too merciful. Instead, you will live—and work! You will serve Elna, forever!”
”…Wait, not kill him?” Lona asked, baffled.
Elna’s gaze silenced her. The black cat looked away, chastened. The room froze under the sudden tension; every girl fixed her eyes on Elna.
”Ahem! Therefore, Klock Livorno, I sentence you to indefinite conscription as Elna’s personal slave. Do you object?”
The question landed like a slap. Elna’s face broke into a grin—triumphant, delighted. Lona sulked at her side.
He wanted to shout. Couldn’t they see? She had carved the slave’s mark herself. His thoughts blazed at her, his gaze carrying the protest his gagged mouth could not.
”No objections, then! No complaints from the rest of you? Good! Then it’s decided! From this day, your name is Kuro. You may never again use the name Klock Livorno. You are Elna’s slave, forever and always. Accept it!”
Hands on her hips, Elna declared it like a queen bestowing law.
The room fell silent. Lona muttered, “What a joke…” before the girls gave a slow, polite applause. One leaned in to sniff him again.
Was this all just play-acting?
Klock could only endure the farce.
Just moments ago, Elna had called him Kuro. Had she already decided from the beginning to press him into service as a slave? The mark was carved deep, his very words already stripped away—there had never been any intention to allow him refusal.
It looked less like judgment and more like playacting, an extension of their make-believe. Not the fair process of a trial, not anything meaningful at all.
”Then the trial is over! The defendant is dismissed—go to the slave quarters! Mana, Sana, show him the way. Everyone else, the assembly begins now!” Elna declared.
She clapped her hands sharply. Two catgirls approached, and the ropes binding his wrists and ankles were loosened. Why had they tied him at all? Perhaps only to prevent even the smallest gesture of resistance.
Did Elna truly want him as a slave, no matter what? As the two guided him away, he turned once more toward her.
”—Mhmf♡” she breathed.
The wind teased through her long white hair, making it sway. Elna’s eyes met his with a sharp, challenging glint. He sensed no vengeance there, no wrathful desire for retribution. What emanated from her instead was something harder to name—
”This is the room where you’ll live from today onward. Please keep it clean.”
The tawny-furred catgirl spoke curtly, shut the door with a heavy thud, and left him alone.
Klock remained, a stranger in an unfamiliar room.
He looked around. White walls hung with pale blue lace. A bed with a soft quilt, framed in polished wood. A patterned carpet, thick enough that bare feet sank into its warmth—thick enough to sleep on the floor comfortably.
He wandered to the window. Wooden shutters were bolted to the chalk-white wall. Peering out, clouds drifted past, close enough to touch. They had descended from where they had been, yet still so high it seemed the chamber must sit atop the fiftieth floor of some impossible tower.
What—what was this? Was he really to live here now?
From the underground to the skies, his life swung between extremes. Unable to keep pace with the sudden turns, Klock could only gape. An hour had passed since he awoke, and still he was lost in confusion.
What had become of the Wolf Princess? Of Kuzuha? Of Cianie, Suzette, Meina? What were they doing now?
Unable to grasp his own situation, Klock leaned against the window, staring out into the drifting clouds, stranded in bewilderment.
Notes:
• Lona – Female. A young apprentice mage. Her appearance is that of a child with black hair reaching her shoulders. She wears a black hooded mantle with strange patterns. Her relationship is as an apprentice to Hermine, the Great Mage. Her power involves advanced magic, including spatial teleportation. Her combat style is magical, and she is described as childish and easily provoked. Elna’s sister; a black cat Beastkin who’s relatively normally developed physically compared to Elna.
• Elna – Female. A young apprentice mage. Her appearance is that of a child with white hair reaching her shoulders. She wears a black hooded mantle with strange patterns. Her relationship is as an apprentice to Hermine, the Great Mage. Her power involves advanced magic, including spatial teleportation. Her combat style is magical, and she is described as childish and easily provoked.
• Suzette – The older maid from Viscount Fennec. The head maid at the Viscount Fennec’s villa. She is confident, clear-spoken, and professional.
• Cianie – A noble girl with a fluffy white and light blue dress, indicating her high status. She has a hesitant and flustered personality but is kind and courteous. Her relationship with Klock begins as an accidental encounter and develops into a romantic interest. She has a fiancé but expresses feelings for Klock, complicating their relationship.
• Meina – She is a golden-haired catgirl employee of the beastman (Larana the cat woman) Inn, appeared performing fellatio, desperate and tear-streaked, with an inexperienced yet earnest approach to her work.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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