Chapter 165
Chapter 165
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Translator: penny
Chapter: 165
Chapter Title: Cat Lord (6)
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"Lady Riadel, why...?"
I muttered in confusion at the unexpected name, and Kali, who had been grooming her fur, gave an equally unexpected reply.
-Meow. Once again, the Goddess of Luck has lent her aid.
"...You know her?"
-Riadel is our secret patron.
Riadel.
The goddess of art and luck.
Perhaps because she governs 'luck,' she has many epithets like the 'Goddess of Gambling,' the 'Goddess of Uncertainty,' and the 'Goddess of Ecstasy.'
I was already well acquainted with Riadel. Thanks to choosing the [Lucky One] trait, I'd benefited greatly from her blessings up until now.
Now I finally understood the suspicious phrasing in the quest.
A gift from a patron whose (for now) name cannot be revealed. An item whose (for now) name cannot be revealed.
'Riadel and Rausian are bitter enemies.'
That's right.
There's no way the goddess of temperance and order would get along with the goddess of art and luck.
Gambling, uncertainty, ecstasy—they're all things Rausian would despise with fervent intensity.
"A secret patron? Don't tell me..."
No matter how special these cats were, capable of traversing the nine worlds, invading the realm of the 'gods' wouldn't have been easy. And since these were still just kittens who hadn't fully grown, it must have been even harder.
Yet the kittens had stolen the goddess's quill pen from Rausian.
I'd harbored lingering doubts in a corner of my mind about how that was possible...
"Riadel. Goddess of Luck, did you perhaps let these cats into the realm of the gods...?"
Worried that Rausian's eyes might still be watching this place, I trailed off and peered into the Key of Luck instead.
-Hee hee. We bring joy to Lady Riadel. You can take pride in that as well.
Kali's words confirmed everything.
Riadel must have brought a basket of kittens into the divine realm for some fun. Then, in the moment she looked away, the kittens stole Rausian's quill pen and fled. But Riadel, already at odds with her rival, couldn't let it be known that she was the cause...
'So that's how all this happened.'
The Key of Luck sparkled under the light of the Milky Way. In other words, I was like a shrimp with its back blown out in a battle of whales—or rather, the Cat Lord caught in the crossfire of goddesses... Something like that.
At least my back wasn't completely shattered. Luckily, the reward seemed pretty decent. This Key of Luck looked incredibly useful...
The Key of Luck was made of gold. At the top was an emerald decoration shaped like a four-leaf clover, and at the bottom hung a thin, small cylinder engraved with highly intricate letters fit for the gods. Unlike ordinary keys, it had no groove carved into it. Instead, five or six round golden beads dangled from the cylinder, spinning it round and round.
Those golden beads must be able to reshape to fit any keyhole.
I narrowed my eyes and carefully read the tiny engraved letters. Though they were in an unfamiliar script, my [Interpreter] trait allowed me to read them.
'Open.'
The words held a disarmingly simple and straightforward meaning.
Call it supreme confidence. In any case... it meant this key could open any door or treasure chest, as long as there was a keyhole.
I recalled the box of Hainse's I'd taken from the top of Dehid's castle. It seemed impossible to open by normal means, so I should try this key on it.
'A reward befitting Riadel.'
I carefully tucked the Key of Luck into my inner pocket. After taking a broad look around the thoroughly wrecked surroundings, Kali—who had been grooming her matted fur for a good while—raised a front paw to beckon me.
-You are truly a clever one.
"...What do you mean?"
-Since you told Lady Rausian that you are the [Cat Lord], we have no choice but to make you our [Cat Lord]. And that without you undergoing any trials or knowing the 'roots'!
"I thought you'd start with thanks. That's cats for you... Kali, we're the ones who took the loss here. Because I said I was the [Cat Lord], Lady Rausian has it out for me now."
-Hmm, well...
"If I weren't the [Cat Lord], do you think things would have ended this well? You saw what Rausian was like. She was ready to mercilessly roast you and those nine kittens alive."
-Ugh...
"Calming a goddess in such rage was a miracle in itself. A miracle."
-...
"So, accept your new [Cat Lord] with gratitude. Please."
Kali's tail flicked back and forth in dissatisfaction, but there was no flaw in my argument. Honestly, saving the kittens from Rausian's wrath alone qualified me as the [Cat Lord], didn't it? Of course it did.
'With everything resolved, if I can just get those nine lives...'
Sweet. Not honey-sweet after all the hardship, but sweet.
-We must prepare the ceremony for the new Lord's investiture.
Kali muttered dejectedly, stroking her whiskers.
* * *
While the Cat Council prepared the investiture ceremony for the new Cat Lord, I slaved away making 'homemade churu' at the mercy of the kittens' insatiable appetites. I'd head to the sea, catch dream darlings until my boat was on the verge of sinking, dismantle them, chop them, boil them, mix them—and just like that, the kittens would devour the churu in seconds. Rinse and repeat.
"...When the hell is this investiture ceremony even starting?"
I glanced at the castle shaped like a cat tower, then stirred the pot of churu again at the sound of mewling beside me. The nine kittens surrounded me and the pot, their blue eyes sparkling.
-Meeeooow.
"Jeomsun!"
As I portioned the churu into dishes, Jeomsun appeared. I tossed aside the ladle and apron I was holding and asked her.
"Is everything ready?"
-Meow.
"Phew... Finally free from churu slavery."
Jeomsun looked up at me once, then took the lead as if to say follow her. I straightened my clothes roughly and followed. The kittens, having scarfed down the churu in no time with their monstrous appetites, trailed eagerly behind me.
Entering the castle, I was greeted—not by the yarn-and-toy-strewn mess I'd expected—but by a majestic scene. Delicate marble pillars carved with various cats, a red carpet on the floor. It rivaled the splendor and grandeur of Lutset's royal palace.
-We've arrived.
Kali greeted me in front of a massive brown door.
-Come, everyone is waiting for you.
Cats who seemed to be attendants bustled around me, muttering things like, 'No fur—where are we even supposed to tidy up?' After fumbling around, they settled for straightening my hair and clothes a bit more before vanishing.
I entered with Kali beyond the red curtains.
The Cat Council hall was round like the Colosseum. Directly ahead from the entrance were nine ornate seats, occupied by nine cats of every color. Surrounding them at a distance were countless more cats filling the seats on all sides. Meow, nyaa, mew. They chattered noisily until my entrance silenced them all at once. I slowly walked to the center of the now deathly quiet hall.
Then, an old cat with long white fur and blue eyes rose from the center seat. Leaning on a bone-shaped staff, the apparent head of the Cat Council looked down at me and began speaking in a booming voice that didn't suit her age.
-Fellow cat comrades! After a truly long time, we welcome a new Cat Lord.
The cats, including me, quietly listened to the cat chairwoman.
-He is human, after all, and lacks much compared to us...
Huh? A sudden diss like that?
-But he stood against the goddess to protect our future, and he will elevate our status going forward...
Yes, that's right. Talk about my achievements. Achievements. I nodded, and the nine massive kittens behind me nodded along. Good, worth protecting them!
-Theodor.
The chairwoman with drooping whiskers extended a front paw toward me, and something sparkling began descending slowly from above. On closer inspection, it was a crown shaped like a golden fishbone.
-We appoint you as the new Cat Lord.
The crown descended slowly and fit perfectly on my head. The worn brown cloak I'd been wearing transformed into a sleek black one gleaming like cat fur. Was this an item? It'd look tacky to check its effects right away. Suppressing the itch, I stared seriously at the chairwoman and gave a slight bow.
-Chomp chomp chomp chomp!
-Chomp chomp chomp chomp chomp!!
The cats' applause rang out. Thanks to the soft jelly, it felt different from human clapping. I slowly waved to every cat filling the hall, leaving none out.
-Congratulations.
Kali clapped as she watched me, and the massive kittens charged at me all at once. Fortunately, Kali pulled me out before I suffocated under the nine cats.
"Hoo, whew. Thank you."
-It's good that they like you.
"I'm not so sure."
It felt more like they liked the churu. Ptui. I spat out the fur in my mouth and asked Kali.
"...Anyway, you'll send me back now?"
-Yes, of course.
Stroking her whiskers, Kali revealed gleaming claws and snapped her toes with a click! The portal I'd seen before appeared.
-Until we meet again, Cat Lord.
The portal, like a cat's pupil, swallowed me whole. Drowsiness washed over me—no, nausea churned in my gut—no, a dizzying sense of eternal freefall scrambled my body and mind.
-Crash!!!
With the sound of tumbling, pain shot through my buttocks. I groaned and opened my eyes. A familiar ceiling.
"Master! Are you okay?"
Elle's puzzled voice reached me. Ow ow. Rubbing my sore butt, I climbed back onto the bed.
"I'm fine."
"Good. Just hold on a bit longer. We're almost at the village—I can see the lights!"
"Got it."
I replied in a dazed, half-asleep voice and blankly stared out the window. Reflected there was my figure draped in a black cloak gleaming like cat fur.