What Is My Cat?

"Ugh, Lady Lucy. Please stop. People are watching."

I hunched my shoulders and whispered quietly. A black cat sat perched on my shoulder. Lucy seemed to be in a good mood; she kept licking my earlobe with her rough tongue.

A languid voice echoed inside my head.

"You're not following me just to eat me, right?"

Lucy wrapped her tail around my neck like a collar. This wasn't just cute affection. It was a declaration of ownership, an instinctive territorial marking that said, You're my food, so no one else can touch you.

Still, the objective was complete. I had bought a mountain of spices and ingredients to rescue the dungeon dinner table. All that remained was to return and satisfy Lucy's palate. That would buy me some more time alive.

"Come on, let's hurry. There's no point lingering here."

I adjusted my collar and crossed the village square toward the gates. Merchants and adventurers bustled all ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠around us, but thanks to my Magic Concealment skill, no one gave me a second glance.

That was when it happened.

"Hey, look over there!"

The crowd near the gate suddenly split apart like a wave. Every eye turned in the same direction. Murmurs rippled through the crowd, followed by gasps of reverence.

"It's the Hero!"

"The Saintess is with her!"

"Oh my god, look at how that armor shines."

My heart plummeted. Four girls were walking straight toward us from the gate. They radiated brilliant light from head to toe, looking exactly like the cover of a fantasy novel come to life.

It was the Hero Party.

Lucy's eyes narrowed on my shoulder.

"Lady Lucy, please. Stop licking your lips. Your killing intent is leaking everywhere."

Cold sweat ran down my back as I quickly lowered my head. I had to look like the most ordinary passerby imaginable. Luckily, the Hero Party seemed too busy waving at the cheering crowd to notice anything else.

Good. If we just slip past naturally like this...!

I held my breath the way I'd learned in the gallery and pushed my demonic energy deep into my core. The distance closed. Ten meters. Five. Three.

The blonde beauty at the front (insanely, unfairly pretty) passed right beside me. The sharp-eyed rogue with her blade and the staff-wielding mage behind her didn't spare me a glance either.

Done. Success.

"Oh my!"

At that exact moment, the girl in the white robe at the very back stopped dead in her tracks. It was the Saintess.

Her eyes locked onto my shoulder.

"A cat! Oh my goodness, it's so cute!"

We were screwed.

The girl known as Elin blocked my path, eyes sparkling. An overwhelmingly pure holy power radiated from her body. To a black mage like me, it felt like radiation.

"Excuse me! Just a second!"

She grabbed my sleeve. There was no escaping now. Running would only make me more suspicious. I stiffly raised my head.

"Ah... yes? What can I do for you?"

"Are you the one raising this cat?"

Elin gazed at Lucy with an enraptured expression.

"How is its fur so red and glossy? And those ruby-red eyes... they're like actual gemstones!"

She reached out without hesitation.

"Could I hold it? Just once? I love cats so much!"

The air on my shoulder turned ice-cold in an instant.

Lucy's crimson eyes gleamed with danger. She might look like a cat, but she was the Demon King. For a cleric who hunted demons to treat her like a pet and try to touch her? This was a matter of pride.

A dark crimson haze began rising from Lucy's body. Demonic energy. The aura of the Demon King that my concealment skill had been suppressing was about to explode from pure rage.

If this continued, the Saintess's wrist would be gone in a second, or the area in front of the gate would turn into a bloodbath. And I would be skewered by soldiers or the Hero Party and burned at the stake.

There was no time to consult the gallery. I had to act on pure instinct.

Right before Elin's hand could touch her, I boldly grabbed Lucy by the scruff of her neck and pulled her into my chest.

Lucy's scream came out as an ordinary cat's cry. I held her tightly against me, one hand firmly pressing her head down to hide her face.

"No."

My voice came out lower and heavier than I'd intended. Elin flinched and froze.

"Ah... I wasn't trying to hurt it. I just thought it was really cute..."

"This one is extremely shy around strangers."

I channeled the gloomy aura typical of black mages into cold charisma. I stared straight into the Saintess's eyes, focusing my gaze, and subtly traced a magic circle with my fingertip.

Now. The trick I saw in the gallery.

"And..."

I whispered softly while locking eyes with her.

"It hurts. A lot."

Elin's pupils dilated. For a split second, she didn't see an ordinary person holding a cat. She saw something vanishing into untouchable darkness.

"Huh...?"

While she stood there with her mouth open, I gave a short bow.

"Excuse me."

I activated Shadow Step, a basic movement skill for black mages. It hid my body within shadows and erased my presence. It wasn't perfect in broad daylight, but it was more than enough to vanish into a crowd.

In a flash, I slipped past her like the wind and melted deep into the throng of people. Only after dashing through three alleyways did I finally stop to catch my breath.

"Haa... haa... Damn. I really almost died back there."

My back was soaked with cold sweat. I looked down at Lucy, still cradled in my arms. She stared up at me with wide, round eyes.

Her tail swished.

"You told me to save you. You said I'd die if we got caught, remember?"

I put on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠a deliberately stern expression and flicked her nose with my finger.

"And control your temper. What were you going to do, releasing your demonic energy in a place like that? Don't you want to eat delicious food with me anymore?"

Lucy didn't answer. Normally she would have bitten me while yelling about how I dared to touch her body, but now she was strangely docile. Instead, she rubbed her face against my chest and let out a soft purr.

I could sense faint amusement in her telepathy.

"Is that a compliment?"

She burrowed even deeper into my arms. She was warm and incredibly soft. How nice it would be if she were an actual cat instead of the Demon King.

Obsession? That sounded a little terrifying.

I sighed and peeked out of the alley. The Hero Party had already moved on. We were safe.

"Alright, let's head back for real. I'll grill you that steak when we get home."

"Yes, yes. Strawberries and whipped cream on top."

I placed Lucy back on my shoulder and left the alley.

Meanwhile, in front of the gate.

"Elin? What are you doing? Let's go."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Karina, leader of the Hero Party and Sword Saint, called out to the lagging Saintess.

Elin, who had been standing in a daze, snapped back to reality.

"Ah, sorry! It's just... that cat was so cute."

"A cat?"

Karina glanced toward the alley Elin had been staring at. The man was already gone. But the Sword Saint's sharp senses hadn't missed a thing. For the briefest instant, she had felt a strange sense of dissonance.

A man who didn't shrink before the Saintess's holy power. Instead, he used some bizarre trick to divert attention and slipped away leisurely. And that red cat on his shoulder had given off an overwhelmingly arrogant gaze.

"Hmm."

The corner of Karina's mouth lifted slightly.

"Looks like there was an interesting one in the mix."

"Huh? What did you say?"

"Nothing. Let's go. The village chief is waiting."

Karina adjusted her grip on her sword hilt and started walking again. But the image of the man's back as he passed by was burned deeply into her mind.

His eyes had been far too deep and dark to belong to an ordinary villager.

"Kim Daon... was it."

She didn't know if she'd heard it somewhere or seen through it with a skill. She murmured the unfamiliar name that had drifted to her on the wind.

Something enormous was hidden in this small village. She could feel it.