The Allure of Fish
A small, plump head appeared before the table at a man's waist height. The child perked up her white cat ears and gripped the edge of the table with her dainty hands. "Excuse me, is this a cat treat?"
The cat child asked if it was a cat treat. I-chan-hwi, who had been preparing cat treats for the contest, hesitated before nodding. "Yeah... it is a cat treat, but..."
"Oh..." Winter's eyes sparkled as she gazed at the snack the man had made. She sniffed it and swallowed hard. I don't know why fish smells so good. Did the cats in this world have some kind of obsession with fish? Winter rested her chin on the table, her tail swishing gently. She looked just like a cat debating whether to eat the fish right in front of her.
"Do you want to try it?" The ingredients were safe for humans to eat—the whole concept was food that both people and cats could enjoy together. He wanted to just let her eat as much as she liked, but something about it felt wrong, and he couldn't bring himself to offer. It was hard to treat the child like an actual cat. What was he supposed to do?
While I-chan-hwi was still pondering, Sofia approached, leaning on her cane. "Winter, don't get in the way too much."
"Okay. I was just smelling it."
She liked the finished treats, but she liked plain fish too. Winter's gaze drifted toward the uncooked fish still waiting to be prepared. "Does the smell of fish really please you that much?"
"Yes. It smells a lot like Sofia."
Both Sofia and I-chan-hwi flinched at the same time. Sofia was startled to hear she smelled like fish, while I-chan-hwi stared at Sofia's shark tail in shock. Fish...? Had he just cooked fish right in front of a fish beastkin? Wasn't that ethically questionable? He shot Sofia a worried look, but she was focused entirely on Winter.
"...Does my body really smell fishy?"
"Mm... kind of."
"R-really...?" Sofia's mouth fell open in a very uncharacteristic way. It was the first time she'd heard that a shark beastkin's tail smelled fishy. She washed every day with body wash and even applied polish—why would it smell? She hurriedly sniffed her own tail, but couldn't detect any fishy odor at all.
"What exactly do you smell, then?"
"Good fish smell."
"...It must be because your nose is much better than a normal beastkin's."
"Really...?" Other people couldn't smell this wonderful scent? Winter's eyes widened as she looked around for Levinas and Saebyeok to check if they smelled fish on Sofia too.
"Levinas only smells like roses!"
Sniff, sniff. Levinas smelled Sofia's tail, then suddenly bit down on it. Gnaw, gnaw— The sound of her teeth scraping against the tail echoed. "You little rascal, stop using my tail as a teething toy."
Levinas's head shook violently as Sofia's tail flicked back and forth. Her head moved so fast it left afterimages, but she refused to let go of the tail she was chewing. "Mmph, mmph!"
Using Sofia's tail to teethe? A horned rabbit beastkin's teeth would probably hurt quite a bit. Winter looked worried, but Sofia's expression remained perfectly calm. On closer inspection, her once-soft tail had hardened like steel.
"Sofia, is your tail okay?"
"I used mana, so it's fine."
"Ah..." So mana could do that too. Winter tried flexing her own arm, but it stayed as soft and squishy as ever. My ability isn't about strength, after all. Feeling a bit embarrassed, she scratched the back of her head and glanced around for Saebyeok. Does Saebyeok not smell like fish? She wanted to ask, but when she saw Saebyeok staring intently at the fish, she closed her mouth instead.
"Why is the little one doing that?"
"I wonder...?"
Just like Winter moments ago, Saebyeok gripped the table with both hands, her tail swishing right in front of the fish. She looked ready to snatch it up any second. Chomp—
"Ah!"
"Oh dear."
At the same time as the worried cry, Saebyeok bit into a fish bigger than her own forearm. Yoo Sang-ah, who had been nearby, quickly lifted Saebyeok up. "No. Spit it out."
Yoo Sang-ah shook Saebyeok, but the girl only hugged the fish tighter to her chest. Winter clutched her head, mortified that they'd ruined someone's contest entry.
**
"I'm sorry..."
With one hand over her stomach, she bowed politely toward the man. She'd expected a scolding, but he only chuckled. "It's fine. It was entertaining."
"Huh?" What part of this was entertaining? She tilted her head in confusion. Saebyeok was still holding the fish in her mouth. "You must really like fish."
"Yes. Someone I really like is a fish too."
"Ah..." His eyes flicked toward Sofia's shark tail. Levinas was still clinging to it, teething away. "Hmm... you like fish, huh... Well, would you mind tasting this for me? I'll give you some fish as thanks."
"Really...? Is that okay?"
"Yeah. I'd actually be grateful if an expert tried it."
Expert? The word felt strange and a little embarrassing. She scratched her cheek and called out to Saebyeok, who was still being held by Yoo Sang-ah. "Saebyeok."
"......"
"Saebyeok?"
"...Gasp. What was I doing?"
Saebyeok dropped the fish she'd been holding in her mouth. Just as it looked like it would hit the dirty floor, she caught it with her tail. "Whoa."
She'd heard that her body had gotten stronger after the change, but catching a fish with just her tail strength was impressive. Winter clapped without thinking. "Sorry. The fish looked too delicious."
"Yeah. I get it."
"...You too, Winter?"
"Yeah. We can't help it."
Seeing fish less than a day after transforming must have made it hard to stay rational. As a fellow feline beastkin, she understood exactly how Saebyeok felt. "This is embarrassing."
Saebyeok said it with a blank face, though her ears and tail had drooped. "It's okay. Let's just try the treats. He said he'd give us fish if we rate them."
"Fish..." Saebyeok licked her lips and opened her mouth. Winter fed her a piece of the treat. It was a finely minced white fish paste, though she couldn't tell exactly how it had been made. "Nom."
After one bite, Saebyeok's ears and tail perked straight up. Her pupils dilated so wide you could see them clearly. "It's delicious."
Delicious, huh? That good? Curious, Winter popped a piece into her own mouth. "Wow..." This was incredible. With her senses several times more sensitive than a normal person's, she could tell—it was several levels above the fish dishes she'd had at fancy buffets. "You give this to cats as treats...?"
"It's a contest. I tried to make it as luxurious as possible."
"Ah..." That made sense. Nodding, she was about to feed Saebyeok another piece when someone suddenly lifted her off the ground. "Wah!"
Her legs kicked reflexively as she floated upward. Turning around, she saw Han Yeoreum smiling at her with crinkled eyes. "Winter, what were you doing?"
"I was taste-testing."
"Taste-testing?"
She popped a piece of the treat into Han Yeoreum's mouth with the spoon. Several people had already shared the same spoon, so it probably didn't matter. "Oh my, that's really good."
"Right? It's supposed to be a cat treat, but it's ridiculously delicious."
"C-cat..." The cook approached Han Yeoreum while her pupils trembled. He showed her the ingredients. "It's fine. The concept is food that both humans and cats can enjoy together."
"Ah... I see? The cat treat was so tasty I got confused for a moment."
"Haha, thank you."
The cook bowed and returned to his table. Bolstered by the praise, he began humming as he cleaned up. Han Yeoreum watched him for a moment, then set Winter back down. "It was so good I thought Unnie had turned into a cat."
"That would've been funny."
"Yeah. It would've."
"Hehe." Han Yeoreum grinned and pulled a marble-sized bead from her pocket. She tapped Winter's nose with it, and the flour and egg covering her body began to disappear. "Whoa."
Magic never stopped being amazing no matter how many times she saw it. She looked down at her now spotless body with sparkling eyes. "Winter, do you know what this is?"
"Um... a magic bead?"
"Yeah. More precisely, it's a cleansing item. Same kind of magic as the one on the pond. Yuna wanted me to use this to clean you up."
"Oh..." Using such an amazing item just to wipe her down made her feel like some kind of aristocrat. "Oh right, Winter, can you make some time tomorrow?"
"Sure."
"You should ask why first."
Han Yeoreum smiled and poked her nose again. Winter's eyes blinked each time her finger touched. "Why tomorrow?"
"It seems like it's time for you to take on a Level 1 Dungeon boss."
"Huh?" She was already at that stage? It still felt like she had a long way to go. Her ears and tail shot up in surprise. "You won't be going alone. I was thinking of teaching you proper party play."
"Ah, party..." If Han Yeoreum was coming along, there was nothing to be afraid of. Her presence in a Level 1 Dungeon was absolute. "Ubp, ubp!" Levinas, still biting Sofia's tail, raised her hand. Winter instinctively understood what she meant. "Yeah. Let's bring Levinas too."
"Mmph!"
Tackling a boss with party play. It was scary, but also exciting. Somehow, it felt like she'd truly become a resident of this world.