86
Ch.86 Cat Thief
The dakgalbi was delicious, but Meister's emotions were especially tasty.
Meister looked at me, shocked, surprised, and filled with regret before finally sinking into pure despair.
That despair, untainted by even a hint of fear, made for an excellent seasoning to the dakgalbi.
Gulp. As I swallowed the saliva pooling in my mouth, Sagugu ran around me in circles.
"Brother, you're drooling! Thinking about dakgalbi! Dakgalbi is super, super yummy?!"
"Gugu? I’ll make you dakgalbi today, so can you stay still for a bit?"
"Stay still!"
Sagugu immediately flopped onto the floor, sticking to it like glue.
Gu Seo-ryong, who had been sitting on her as usual, twitched a finger resting against his cheek.
"Just eating them up and reading their memories would be faster... Anyway, isn’t it true that Meister is connected to the lab? This is a chance to get some simple info about the lab and provoke them at the same time."
"If Meister isn’t the head but just bait, then all we’d be doing is revealing your existence to the lab."
"Oh? Are you telling me not to kill Meister because you’re thinking of me?"
"No."
While I’ve gained notoriety as a monster who protects humans, it’s highly likely the lab still doesn’t know about Gu Seo-ryong.
In that case, killing Meister would be the worst choice.
"Why do you think Meister isn’t the head?"
"Her emotions."
"Ah, you’d know that since you met her yourself."
A monster’s senses—not mine, but the ability to feel human emotions.
Tap, tap. Gu Seo-ryong drummed her fingers against her cheek, lost in thought.
"Well, if Meister were helping the lab, neither she nor I would be failures... It’s weird that even with a numbering like Sagugu, we’re still at this level."
"Unyanya."
"Alright, if you say so. Then, we should check what’s inside Meister’s bag. To do that... We’ll also need to know how long Meister plans to stay in W-City."
Gu Seo-ryong, who had been sitting quietly, suddenly smacked Sagugu’s butt as she slowly pulled out her tail and ears from her crouched position.
Probably meaning for her to tuck them back in, Sagugu retracted her tail and ears, and Gu Seo-ryong, looking exhausted, draped an arm over her head.
Then, she held out her hand to Sagugu.
"Gugu? Phone."
"Nyeeh."
Sagugu, with her ears and tail out, opened a space and pulled out a phone from inside.
Using Sagugu’s ability like a portable bag—I’d never thought of that application before.
The unconventional use of her ability was surprising, but even more surprising was the phone itself.
"Do you have a phone?"
"Huh? You don’t have one? Still?"
"How did you register your identity?"
"Ah~? Well, hmm... I see, you’re such an innocent cat who doesn’t know any~ illegal methods."
[Hello? Who is this?]
"It’s me, darling."
[Darling...? I think you have the wrong number... But...]
Click, click, click. Gu Seo-ryong, who had dialed a number, made an incomprehensible sound to the person on the other end.
Not human language—the sound of a monster.
As her long, snake-like tongue flickered with a whisper, the voice on the other end of the call grew strange.
[...Confirmed. Please state your request.]
"What’s the schedule for the VIP currently in W-City?"
[Currently... Undecided. Confirmed to be staying for the time being.]
"Good. Delete all call records."
Snap. Gu Seo-ryong flicked her finger and hung up.
"What was that just now?"
"Huh? Mind control. Seeing the parasite gave me some ideas, so I tweaked my method a bit."
"You can use your ability over the phone?"
"Well, not exactly... But close? I marinate their brains well with drugs first, then set conditions for the ability... Simply put, I’ve set it up so they enter a hypnotic state with a trigger phrase."
"Fascinating."
"Getting chased by Starlight like in Guryongseong would be troublesome, so I’m stretching my reach more discreetly under the surface. So? Impressed? I’m quite a capable woman."
"You didn’t implant a parasite, did you?"
"That’s way too gross~ Even if I could, I wouldn’t. Well... That method wouldn’t require periodic doses, so it’d be more convenient, but I prefer my way. If I don’t keep checking, it’s hard to notice when something goes wrong."
Gu Seo-ryong’s brainwashing relies solely on drugs, meaning it fades over time.
And to avoid detection, she leaves no traces in the brain...
Thinking it’d be fine to leave it be, I relaxed my grip, and Gu Seo-ryong sighed.
"Hey, if you’re gonna strangle me as a warning, could you at least hold back a little? At least just use your tail or legs. Or, like this time, just think about it."
As if sensing the chill on the back of her neck with a monster’s instincts, Gu Seo-ryong rubbed her neck, looking oddly excited.
"Anyway, it’s strange. Meister staying in W-City for a while... Is it because of you? There’s no reason for someone like Meister to stay unless it’s for research on a monster that protects humans."
"Probably."
"There are all sorts of questions, but... Alright, while Meister’s in W-City, we’ll steal the contents of her bag. Can I leave that to you?"
"You’re telling me to commit theft?"
"It suits you, doesn’t it, Mr. Thieving Cat? You’ve already stolen my heart, so stealing a bag should be easy, right?"
"I’ve never touched your heart."
"After playing with it so roughly so many times. What a bad man."
Leaving aside Gu Seo-ryong’s heart, stealing Meister’s belongings from the hero HQ shouldn’t be too difficult for me.
Send a small cat to confirm the location, open a space, and slip in... Even Starlight wouldn’t notice for a brief moment.
"But do we really have to steal it?"
"What else would we do?"
"Couldn’t we just ask to borrow the bag for a bit?"
"You think they’d just hand it over? There’s no way they’d give us something related to the lab that easily."
For some reason, I feel like they’d just give it to me if I asked.
But the plan proceeded with theft.
The reason was simple.
"...Stealing does sound more fun."
"Thief game! Fun!"
Because it sounded fun.
Perhaps thinking the same, Sagugu’s eyes sparkled next to Gu Seo-ryong.
Sensing unease from Sagugu’s energy, Gu Seo-ryong grabbed her by the scruff.
"Gugu, you’re not coming. Stay home with me."
"No... Staying with Mom at home is boring!"
Poof. Along with her tail and ears, Sagugu’s arms were now covered in fur as she leaped through space to escape Gu Seo-ryong’s grasp.
Monster transformation—did she learn that from Gu Seo-ryong?
Landing on the neighboring rooftop on all fours, Sagugu licked the fur on her hands like a monster, then spat out the fur stuck to her human-like tongue.
"That little—! Why do you keep running away lately?! After all I do for you!"
"That looks fun."
"You think she’s playing right now?"
Probably. Cats do love jumping around, after all.
Nodding, Gu Seo-ryong sighed and chased after Sagugu, leaping across rooftops.
"Anyway, you! I’m counting on you for the bag theft! Contact me with that cat thing when you’re done!"
"Meowowow!"
"Stay right there!"
Gu Seo-ryong chased Sagugu, who sprinted across the rooftops on all fours, trying to escape.
As for me... I guess I’ll prepare for the theft.
"Meow."
"Meowaa."
"Meowat."
I created three cats and sent them to District 0.
***
"Huh? A black cat..."
"What? There’s a cat here?"
"Kyaaa! So cute!"
The cats heading toward the government building in District 0 were treated like ordinary cats as they roamed freely inside.
Since only Starlight among the heroes knows my ability, the others let my cats wander deep into the Hero HQ without suspicion.
"Did it lose its mom?"
"Come to think of it, Iron Might was carrying a cat the other day..."
"Was that the same cat?"
Assuming my cats were lost, the heroes pitied them and even offered food.
Sausages, jerky, milk... Hmm, tasty.
The food at the Hero HQ isn’t bad.
While sampling the food, I left one cat behind and sent another to explore elsewhere.
Sniff, sniff. Trying to track Meister’s scent, I panicked when I couldn’t detect it anywhere.
Did she shower? If she went out and came back, that might explain it.
If her scent was masked by shampoo or soap, my weak monster cat senses wouldn’t be able to track her.
The cat wandered the Hero HQ, searching for Meister’s location.
"Seriously, why do the soldiers from A-City hate heroes so much?"
"We don’t hate them because we want to... It’s just that the heroes there... If A-City only had heroes like you, we wouldn’t have needed to do this in the first place."
"Ha, if that were the case, you’d still be treating us like tools, right? Saying stuff like, ‘heroes start as privates.’"
"That ability suppressor thing—what, did you think abilities are like guns? You can’t just suppress them like that."
Then, the cat entered a room filled with what looked like soldiers and heroes.
A whirlwind of mixed emotions filled the room. Hoping they might mention Meister, the cat entered just as a soldier and a hero raised their voices.
"You heroes are dangerous elements who can turn into villains at the slightest misstep. That’s why you need to be under our control—"
"Are you trying to start another fight? Lower your voices. Wow... But the soldiers are weird too. Heroes are still human, not tools."
"O-of course, heroes are human... But... You’re different from us."
"That’s what I wanted to say! Humans and heroes are different, and you’re judging us by human standards—! Huh? A cat...?"
"What? Why is there a cat here?"
"Meow."
The group, caught in a strange argument, stopped when they noticed me.
Then, a female soldier began petting me, and the emotions in the room gradually settled.
"Oh my, what’s this? It’s so cute."
"A black cat, of all things. How ominous."
"In W-City, they’re symbols of good luck, you know?"
"A black cat as a symbol of good luck? It’s cute, but traditionally, they’re symbols of bad luck."
"Black cats are lucky."
"Are we talking about cats now? Right now, we’re discussing why heroes are the way they—!"
"What’s the harm? Let’s take a break. Doesn’t your throat hurt?"
"No..."
The emotions settled. Once their focus shifted, they seemed to calm down.
The heroes and soldiers, now more relaxed, continued their conversation while petting the cats.
"What about Meister?"
"Can someone check the treatment room?"
"Hmm... Judging by the capsule status, she’s recovering well."
"They say she’ll probably wake up again tonight."
Did Meister get injured in the meantime?
In that case, I need to find the treatment room.
Gathering info from the heroes’ conversation, I tried to free the cats from their grasp.
"Meow, meowmeow...!"
"Meowow!"
"Wow, so fluffy."
"The fur is so clean, what the—?"
"The paw pads are so soft..."
But the cats, at the level of ordinary animals, couldn’t escape the heroes’ hands.
Reluctantly abandoning two cats, I moved the last one.
The treatment room—I don’t know where it is, but for someone as important as Meister, it must be in a secret location.
Heading toward a secluded, empty part of the building, the cat’s ears picked up an odd sound.
"Hey, now’s not the time for..."
"...Shut up."
"I don’t think relieving stress like this is a good habit..."
"I said shut up."
Hmm...
This doesn’t seem like the right place.