Chapter 61 – The Terrible Alcatse
“I-I’m finally free…”
Menew walked unsteadily out of the guild. It was already night time, and the streets were bustling with people.
(It’s so crowded…)
He had not felt this suffocated in the narrow spaces of the dungeon. Menew loosened one of the buttons of his shirt.
The events of a week ago had still left a deep mark on Menew’s heart.
He was scared to be in a crowd. What if it happened again… The god had promised that it would not happen, but he could not help but feel anxious.
There was a crossroad in front of the guild, with a plaza. However, if he wanted to enter the street on the south side, he would have to make his way through a thick crowd.
“Uuuh…”
He started to feel nausea, and had to hold his mouth shut as he sat down on the stairs in the middle of the plaza.
He leaned against a stone planter near the top, and decided to wait until there were fewer people.
But as he sat there, he grew terribly sleepy.
Now that he thought about it, he had quite a busy day. Making a contract with a dragon, drawing a divine beast, making Wal and summoning him.
(I guess I’ve run out of magic energy.)
Menew was down to two digits.
He tried to think while fighting the tiredness, but there wasn’t really anything he could do.
Thankfully, it was still early Autumn. And so there was no danger of freezing to death.
(Contact Ralph… It’s so inconvenient to not have phones…)
His vision blurred. And then Menew’s head swayed and he fell asleep on the spot.
…In the morning, he awoke while there were still few people around. And he realized that something fluffy was enveloping his body.
(Huh…?)
From what he could see in his narrow vision, he had not returned like last time. It was still the familiar town.
So, was this some kind of joke?
It was so warm. And he could hear something purring.
As he had slept while sitting on the stone steps, his body was sore, but the thing on top of him was warm and soft.
(Is this the fur of a cat…?)
The fur definitely felt like one. However, it wasn’t just a single cat. There were more than ten of them.
“Menew. What are you doing?”
“Are you alright, Mr. Menew?”
He pulled off the cat that was stuck to his face and then turned his head towards the voices.
Menew was so relieved to see them that he laughed.
“Ah, good morning, Ralph and Totto.”
“We were worried that you didn’t come back… What is this mountain of monsters?”
“Monsters?”
When he looked at the cats of various colors, he noticed that they had two tails.
So they weren’t ordinary cats.
“These monsters are called Alcatse. Scratching cats… Well, they are harmless. Though, I suppose that depends.”
They were monsters that no one was scared of seeing in the town. But if they were this friendly, should they even be considered monsters? Regardless, Menew decided to address the Alcatse.
“Um… Could you perhaps get off of me now… It was very warm. Thank yuo.”
And just like that, the cats began to stretch and then move off of him. However, they did not leave, and continued to pur or rub against the legs of the three humans.
“They really are friendly!”
Totto said happily as he tried to pick one up. However, the Alcatse did not allow him.
It flashed its claws and then seemed to smile as it purred and walked away.
It was almost shocking how evil it had seemed.
“Uh…”
“Woah…”
“Hmm…”
Totto was dumbfounded.
Around them, there were still other cats playing cheerfully.
“If you are fooled by how cute they are, and try to pick them up, they will scratch you with their claws…”
And they will laugh and walk away with satisfaction.
What horrifying monsters. It was mostly about psychological damage. While one might think this would cause people to dislike cats, apparently it made people treat friendly cats with more care.
“What should we do with them…”
“I see Totto has been defeated… I guess we can wait until they get bored.”
Just then, one of the Alcatse at Ralph’s feet began to pur in the most adorable voice. It was high-pitched and soft. On top of that, it was rubbing up against him.
“Gah…!”
“Don’t give in, Ralph…!”
Menew said as he saw Ralph stretch out his arms.
He knew that if Ralph fell for it so early in the morning, he would feel bad for the rest of the day.
“Sorry…!”
“R-ralph!”
Menew’s encouragement was in vain, as Ralph tried to pick up the Alcatse.
Its claws went right into the gap of his armor, and then it hissed loudly while twisting away. And with an evil smirk, it ran off.
Obviously, Ralph took this very hard.
“I suppose I should fall for it once as well then…”
Menew reached down and scratched the chin of one of the cats. The others then moved towards his hand as well. As if they wanted to be petted.
“Uh?”
As they would be satisfied and leave after he petted them a little, Menew petted the last five until they left.
“…Mr. Menew should just get kicked by a scarab.”
“Totto?”
“Maybe if he stood there all day, at least ten of them would come?”
“Ralph!?”
For some reason, the other two were angry with him.
Menew stretched his limbs and looked up at the sky. It was sunny.
And his body was still warm from the Alcatse.
Menew then offered to buy the others breakfast in order to cheer them up. And like that, they went off to the market.
Perhaps it was because he had slept in a mass of cats, but Menew no longer felt anxious inside of a crowd.
That was adorable and funny at the same time.
That was beautiful! Thanks very much!