Volume 6 Chapter 70 A Talk with the Oni Cat
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
”That’s a surprise. I thought I’d have to fight a little before you agreed to hear me out.”
The two of them sat on a sofa in a somewhat wide room.
”Nya. You’re an important guest, nya. If you have something to say, I can’t just ignore it. Being the Hero’s partner gives you that much value, nya.”
This was the reception room of the inn Klock and his group had rented.
They had paid to rent the whole building, as if to keep everyone else out.
At first he had tried to settle things by standing and talking, but the Hostess was willing, so he invited her here. An empty room was the perfect place to speak about heavy matters.
The two of them sat in the dim room.
It was very quiet.
The firestone in the corner was not very bright, so the place even felt fit for a scary story.
”I’ll be direct. How about we stop fighting?”
Klock spoke. Irina narrowed her eyes.
She did not look surprised, as if she had expected him to say it.
”I want to talk to the Hero. Then I want to stop the attack on this country.”
”Too late. That stage has already passed, nya. Do you know about Slomvanilla, nya? Our home base was already taken by the Rebel Army led by the Hero. We are scattered and hunted like prey, nya.”
The Hostess narrowed her eyes and spoke with a serious face.
It was already beyond the point of stopping an attack. Il Rasiella had once claimed the whole continent, but now it had fallen so far just from losing a castle.
The reason was easy to guess.
The Beastkin did not like to leave their homelands.
Boorinel was the land of bird Beastkin, Belandi the land of wolves.
Cats had always lived from the center to the north, and the Emperor of the Hundred Beasts had always strengthened only Slomvanilla.
In short, they had not built other strongholds.
When the castle fell, the male soldiers scattered.
Without allies of other races to protect them, the Cat Beastkin could not recover and faced disaster.
”But humans can always start again if they have a leader. The Emperor of the Hundred Beasts escaped, right? As long as the Empress lives, you can still rebuild.”
”That’s right, nya. That’s why I will take you with me, nya.”
”Using me as a hostage will only make the Hero angry. Just look at what happened. She’s not the type to stay still with her hands in her lap when someone is taken. And she’s not the kind to forgive enemies. Honestly, she’s the type who’ll chase down someone she hates for years. Don’t use me as a shield. Talking things out will work better.”
The Hostess closed her eyes quietly at Klock’s words.
She was no fool. She knew what might happen. She would not dismiss his words as nonsense.
Using him as a hostage could work.
Because the Hero was unfair itself. Fighting her always ended in defeat. If using a hostage could create another result, even for a moment, then it had meaning.
But if they fled with Klock as a shield, nothing was solved.
It would only buy time. She would never forget the grudge.
”Don’t make her hate you. If that happens, it’s all over.”
At this rate, the Hostess and her people would die.
He spoke from the heart. If Cianie bore a grudge, she would never stop until she had her revenge. Klock knew it best—he had been chased by her himself.
Klock was forgiven because he was her lover.
The Hostess was not. She had no reason to be spared.
”I can’t trust you, nya. You just want to meet up with the Hero. If that happens, we can do nothing, nya.”
He lifted both hands. If it was about trust, nothing could be done. Her sharp cat eyes pierced him.
”This mess started with Elna. I think she knows it too. I want to explain that myself. We met again in a terrible way, but now I don’t want Elna to die.”
It was no lie. He did not want Elna to die now.
He could not just watch a woman die if he could save her with words.
But it was hard to tell the Hostess that.
Truthfully, he did not care much about the Emperor of the Hundred Beasts or the other cats.
He only wished peace for the three girls from Cat Tower and the landladies.
But strangers he had never met—he could not care about them.
”So, I can’t let you catch me here. If my mouth is shut, no one can save her or you. Please think it over.”
”…Do you want to save us, nya?”
”Of course. I even want to make you my woman, that’s how serious I am.”
Klock laughed loudly.
The Hostess gave him a suspicious look, but he was used to that and let it slide.
If he said he wanted a fling, she would claw him without hesitation.
”It’s not such a bad deal, right? I make peace with Elna, you escape danger, and no one needs risky hostage talks with the Hero.”
”If what you say is true, there is merit, nya. But I still can’t trust you. If you leave, we lose our only weapon. If you betray us, we’ll just die, nya.”
”But fighting the Hero is the worst choice. And even if you use me as a shield, it won’t stop the Rebel Army. She may be their leader, but she’s just a figurehead.”
It was said the Hero led the Rebel Army.
But Klock guessed that was not true.
She was only being pushed up front. He knew Cianie was not the type to do that herself.
”Can you even face other races right now? You’re already finished.”
The problem was not just the Hero.
The Hostess fell silent.
If they could control the Hero, they might control the Rebel Army.
But if not, it would be harsh. What if other Beastkin chiefs ordered their soldiers to hunt Klock?
He would be found someday. Then the Hero would turn on them.
Escaping with a hostage only worked if there was a safe base.
But against Cianie there was no safety. She would chase forever, until her blade was at their throat.
”Guest. I only know from rumors, but is the Hero really scary, nya?”
”She’s terrifying. She once chased someone she hated for ten years.”
He felt bad speaking ill of his lover, but had no choice now.
The Hostess’s face said “Ehh…” but let it stay here.
”I heard she came to Slomvanilla with a demon face, nya. I thought she was troublesome, but if she’s like that, then a hostage plan is dangerous, nya…”
It seemed his point got across.
Cianie’s scary part was not only strength. Her stubborn, never-give-up will was her true weapon.
”If things stay like this, the cats will perish, nya…”
”No way. I’ll talk it out. Leave it to me.”
Irina suddenly grew weak.
She only wanted to protect her people.
Trusting her fate to another must have been terrifying.
”You’ll save Elna, Her Majesty, and everyone, nya?”
”Yeah. She won’t ignore my words. We’ve known each other for ten years.”
Most of it was silence, but still.
”…Then, will you save me too?”
”…Yeah?”
Her eyes were wet as she looked at him.
He frowned at the Hostess’s sudden meekness.
She stood up.
Then she walked from across to sit beside him.
”I worry about everyone, nya. But I’m scared too. I fear what might happen to me, nya…”
She leaned against him.
Her light weight pressed onto his shoulder.
Suddenly, the air turned sweet.
She tugged her clothes to show her cleavage. She looked up at him with big eyes, like an innocent girl seeking help.
”If the Rebel Army finds me, they’ll pull my hair, drag me, beat me, and do cruel things, nya. Will you hold me so that never happens, nya?”
She gave off the air of a lost girl.
He felt he had to protect her.
She was stronger than this, but now she seemed fragile.
A woman’s weapon.
Showing weakness to make a man protect her.
It was a clear seduction.
The Hostess was skilled. How she leaned, how she showed herself, her tone, her words—everything was practiced to catch a man. It was clearly on purpose, but he still felt it was fine.
”Don’t worry. Who else but me could protect you?”
A man pretended not to notice a woman’s trick.
He excused himself in his heart as he embraced her, stroking her brown hair.
Relations between men and women were a game.
Each side tried to make the other move the way they wanted.
She used her woman’s side to sway him. Then he would use his man’s side to sway her.
”Hostess. Leave it to me now.”
”Nyan…♡”
In the dim room, her lips glimmered faintly.
Her sweet scent tickled his nose as he kissed her lips—
”Idiot. Don’t jump into a trap yourself.”
A voice cut through the silence.
At the same time, a black shadow leapt from the corner.
”Uwah?!”
Klock bent back in surprise.
The Hostess jumped off the sofa and retreated to the edge of the room.
A shadow leapt between them, kicked off the wall, and landed on the table.
From its shape, from its body, it was clear at once that it was some kind of beast.
”…Breaking in between a man and a woman is quite rude, nya.”
”Oh really. But that man has to take responsibility. Don’t try to seduce him away from me.”
The Hostess stood with a small blade in her hand.
In front of her, blocking her way as if to protect the man, stood a four-legged beast.
It was the fox Elna had picked up earlier.
Black legs. A shining brown coat brushed smooth.
With a noble air, the beast gave Klock a glance, then glared straight at the cat leader.
”They say Foxkin pass down the art of changing form. To slip past my senses, you must be skilled, nya.”
”Thanks for the praise. From you it only sounds sarcastic.”
It was more a racial skill than a technique.
Klock swallowed the thought. Tension filled the space between beast and woman.
The killing intent of true enemies hung heavy.
Klock stepped back to watch.
”You—”
”Don’t fall for such an obvious seduction trick. This woman had a kunai ready the whole time, and it was coated with poison. This inn is already surrounded by her ninja.”
At the fox’s words, the Hostess smiled.
She really had planned a sneak attack. No surprise. She had been too suspicious.
And still, even knowing that, he had dived in. When a chest is flashed, a man puts his face in, even if the woman is the enemy.
”So, Hostess. You don’t trust my proposal that much?”
”Not true, nya. What you said was attractive, and I think you meant it.
But Her Majesty’s order is absolute, nya. After I capture you, I’ll tell Her Majesty your words. If she agrees, everything is solved, nya.”
The Hostess waved her hand.
She was leader of the Nyan Law Corps, the head of an underground group. But she was not the top of the chain. Orders came from above, so she could not make the final choice.
Klock bit down on his frustration. His proposal meant meeting the Hero. For that, the cats had to risk letting him go.
But what she wanted was to catch him first and then talk. That forced the risk on Klock instead—he might not escape.
”In contracts, the weak carry the risk. It’s the same in business.”
”Exactly, nya. I expect you to persuade her, so surrender quietly.”
The deal had failed.
Someone had to give in, but if neither wanted the risk, this was the only end.
She must have expected this.
That was why she had surrounded the inn, ready to strike.
The fox crouched.
The Hostess put away her blade and bent at the waist.
”Fist Art. Left-Slash Cat Paw—”
A cutting wind filled the room.
Magic surged from her core, turning her hand into a bursting cat punch.
The fox leapt.
The table shattered beneath the strike, wood scattering to smack against Klock’s legs.
Too fast—
By the time he noticed, it was too late. He now understood: her true skill was martial arts, not just ninjutsu. But she was already inside the fox’s guard.
”Right-Slash Cat Paw—”
Power swept through the air.
No careless human could dodge a wild cat’s sharpened strike. And she was no mere stray—she was an Oni Cat who had fought on countless battlefields. Her speed and strength were unreal.
”Kyah—”
Her deadly cat paw struck the fox.
As if crushed by a hammer, as if sliced by a sword, the fox was torn into four bloody pieces.
Klock’s eyes flew wide.
The beast’s severed head rolled. It was too cruel, and left him speechless.
It was in beast form, not human. But still. It had surely been a person.
”Now, give up, nya. Come with me to Her Majesty. With your words, I’ll also persuade her to talk.”
”You…”
Her words passed through his ears.
How could she say that after killing someone? He did not know who that fox had been, but the voice had been a girl’s.
She did not have to kill her.
The Hostess stepped across the shattered table toward him.
He readied himself. From the start he had considered this might happen, and he carried his own preparations.
Too bad, but it had to be done.
Klock bent low. The Hostess lowered herself too—
”N-nya—?!”
As she stepped in, blackness burst from the floor.
The Oni Cat jumped, but her legs were caught by wide black cloth.
Klock realized what had happened. It was not cloth, but a shikigami.
”This way!!”
The window crashed open.
A hand reached out, one he remembered from before.
”Long time no see. I wished never to see you again.”
Her half-kimono flared.
She brushed back long black hair. Two thick tails swung high as the proud girl looked down at him.
”Kuzuha—”
It was the Foxkin princess he had met in the Bastili Hundred Pits.
Black-haired, twin-tailed, the beautiful Princess of the Karakas Foxes.
He turned to check. What had been torn apart was gone.
The fox’s head had turned to smoke.
A paper figure drifted down, with letters written on it.
”So I was tricked, nya. She had only transformed a shikigami.”
Ignoring the bound Hostess, they leapt from the window together.
Around them, more cats were also trapped by the same black cloth. Young girls in kimono with cherry patterns, like Meina.
Unbound cat ninja rushed in.
As they jumped, fire burst where they landed.
Screams rang out. The foxfire burned, and Klock dodged through as Kuzuha pulled his hand.
”Really? Do you chase every woman—wolf, cat, whoever? Idiot.”
Her first words while saving him were a scolding.
Her grip on his hand was too strong—actually painful.
”I heard the rumor. You were rescued from the Hundred Pits.”
”Yes. The Hero came to save me.”
They landed in a narrow alley between houses.
Kuzuha landed lightly. Klock stumbled. She pulled a paper ball from her coat, pulled the string, and tossed it back.
With a pop, smoke gushed out.
The alley filled with white.
”Ton, Gentei, Rijō, Buyō uyūjū, Rikenkō.” [T/N: Onmyōdō spell chant]
As Klock threw the smoke bomb, Kuzuha raised two fingers.
Snow rushed past the edge of his sight.
”F-nya?!”
Voices of shocked cats rang behind.
Smoke bombs were just cover. But this one hid a trap.
Snow swarmed like a blizzard, blocking their way.
”Ken, Gentei, Rijō.”
Kuzuha chanted again.
Light flashed around her, and she grabbed Klock’s hand, sharing the glow.
He understood at once.
It was strength support. Power surged in his body.
”Be careful. What I gave you is not magic. It lets you use greater strength, but it will damage your body. If you push too far, your ligaments will snap and your bones will break.”
A terrifying buff.
His body felt light, like a limiter removed.
Kuzuha leapt to a roof.
He copied her, and floated high.
But when he landed, sharp pain ran through his legs.
”Sorry, but don’t you have a safer one?”
”If I used Celestial Water Song, it would help escape, but in battle you’d be heavy and weak. My art pulls the world’s flow. Unlike human magic, it has both plus and minus.”
So her skill always had a price.
It was powerful, but also dangerous.
Divination was reading the world’s flow.
Her art was close to fortune-telling.
”You’re amazing. Were you hiding all this in the Hundred Pits?”
”A wise hawk hides its claws. A fox hides its tails too.”
He nodded.
She was clever—cunning even. She had hidden her claws from him and from the wolf princess too.
It was his first time seeing her arts. And her two tails.
She had hidden it all.
”But if you’re that strong, couldn’t you beat the wolf princess?”
”Impossible. I didn’t lose on purpose. Against her Unique Skill, Wild Fang, no mage can fight properly.”
They leapt from roof to roof.
His legs ached. Bones ground under the strain.
If he ran with full power, they would break.
A troublesome art indeed.
The two of them ran under the night sky.
It reminded him of the time he had run with the demon spy in the Empire.
Not romantic enough to gaze at stars, but still, he could look up while running.
”Hey. Isn’t the sky red?”
Suddenly, something in his vision caught Klock’s attention.
He could not grasp the direction, but the sky not far away had turned bright red.
”This is no time for that. She’s chasing us,” Kuzuha said.
They leapt from roof to roof, and each time she landed she glanced behind.
There she saw them—Cat women racing forward, light on their feet.
A brown-striped tigress led several girls in cherry-patterned clothes, flowing as they ran.
”So she came. That one uses Cat-Gathering Arts. She can summon her allies, Mina and Larana. If it’s a head-on fight, we’ll be at a huge disadvantage,” Klock said.
”A troublesome art indeed. I plan to settle things with the Red Cat someday, but not now. For now, I must focus on sending you to the Heroine,” Kuzuha answered.
”Don’t forget I saved you.”
Her eyes shone with resolve.
She had her reasons. It was not hard to guess. Helping Klock, who was tied to the Hero, had meaning. The reason was limited and clear.
”Wait, nya! A moment ago you were sweet-talking me, and now you switch to another woman? You womanizer, cheating man, nya! I’ll never let you go!” Irina’s voice rang out.
”Oh come on, you took a guest’s playful words seriously? Sorry, but I’m not interested in a girl who can’t even spoil me. No money, no deal!” Klock shouted back.
Klock always met provocation with provocation.
He stuck up his middle finger.
Beside him, Kuzuha gave him a look as if he were garbage.
He realized he was hurting himself as much as his enemy, so he quickly waved his hands and shut his mouth.
”Fnya! After doing that, you’re throwing me away? That’s cruel! You just used me and tossed me aside, nya!”
But that was three months ago.
Why bring it up now?
Kuzuha’s gaze grew even sharper.
Maybe Irina wanted to drive a wedge between them—turn it into man versus woman.
”Hey. Don’t believe her. That was—”
”Shut up, rapist. I’ll never forgive you,” Kuzuha snapped, looking away.
Klock rolled his eyes white.
This whole mess had begun because he abandoned Cianie.
Though he made peace with her, he had then been kidnapped for raping Elna.
He had since settled that too, but in between, he had also laid hands on the Wolf Princess and Kuzuha herself.
When things with the cats ended, would the wolves and foxes be next?
Klock had a feeling.
He would be chased by women for the rest of his life.
”Wind Style—Raging Gale Wave!!”
Klock realized just in time and shoved Kuzuha aside.
A gust split the ground beneath them, cutting forward past the buildings.
The blast of wind hurled Klock back.
”Damn it. As expected of the Hostess. She won’t let us escape so easily.”
He was thrown, but he did not crash.
His boosted body twisted in midair, and he landed cleanly.
It was a useful spell as long as he did not punch or kick.
But the fatigue piled up at terrible speed.
Pain spread from his legs as muscle exhaustion grew.
His movements were growing stiff.
”Give up, nya. Come with me to Her Majesty,” Irina said.
The brown-striped cat closed in.
Klock quickly pulled a small wooden box from his clothes.
It looked plain and ordinary, but when she saw it, she froze and stepped back.
Of course. She was cautious.
Usually his tricks were only bluffs, but this time it was real.
Irina edged closer, step by step.
Klock too stepped back, thrusting the box forward in an obvious show.
He wanted her to think it was a trap.
If she decided it was a bluff, that was fine. If she relied only on ranged attacks, he could just keep running.
For a moment, they locked eyes.
Only minutes ago, they had been sharing a sweet mood.
Now, man and woman glared with hidden blades ready.
If the talk had gone differently, their lips might have met.
Now, with furrowed brows, they searched for a chance to strike.
”Nya—?”
”What?”
Irina crouched, two fingers extended.
Klock braced too. But then, both froze.
At the same moment, their eyes turned in the same direction.
The ground itself was shaking.
”What is this? An earthquake, nya?”
No, not that.
It felt like something heavy had struck the earth.
Most people might not know the difference, but Klock had felt it before.
When the volcanic dragon Fornas had stomped the land.
It was that same kind of tremor.
”—Hey. Why is it so red?”
Klock forgot the word “sky.”
Above them, the heavens over Fwavlotz glowed crimson, like fresh blood.
The red he had seen earlier far away had now spread overhead.
The streams of clouds twisted unnaturally, as if stirred by a giant hand.
Klock looked up. Irina looked up.
The cat girls who had caught up looked up too.
A fierce premonition spread in his chest.
His instincts as a living creature screamed a warning into his mind.
Notes:
• Irina – She introduced herself as the innkeeper’s name, a 32-year-old with a youthful appearance, who enjoys being sexually satisfied by Klock. A beastkin cat.
• Slomvanilla – The white fortress, also known as the empress’s residence; a gigantic bedroom on the scale of a fortress.
• Il Rasiella – A region within the Beast Country, divided into areas each ruled by a local lord.
• Boorinel – A town east of Ryzan, where Lord Cattleya’s manor is located; said to be a long journey from Ryzan.
• 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.
• 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.
• 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.
• Larana – Her white hair contrasts with an aggressive seductress attitude, as she entices with her body and a calculated air, once the gold coins appear.
• Mina – The red-haired cat girl is a hostess who leans in closely, her blushing cheeks indicating her interest, but she plays hard to get.
• Fwavlotz – A town beyond a mountain north of Rizan Village, it is an alternative location for Klock to verify his humanity.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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