This Body's Paw Print, So Consider It an Honor
“What…?”
I had just heard something.
Raise it? Raise what? Who is she? And why that tone?
“Fine house.”
“Eek!”
While I stood there blankly for a moment, the strange woman with cat ears and a tail stepped into my house without hesitation.
“U-um! Wait a second, why are you barefoot…?”
She wasn’t wearing shoes at all.
Barefoot, and her sole was pitch-black and filthy, completely out of place with her snow-white skin.
“Waaah! The floor’s going to get filthy!”
The moment the door slammed shut behind her, I grabbed her shoulders with both hands and tried to stop her from stepping inside.
“Let go of me, human!”
“No! Who are you?! And why have you been calling me ‘human’ non-stop since earlier!”
“Because you’re human.”
“You’re human too!”
“What nonsense. I’m a cat.”
“… Huh?”
I should have suspected this crazy woman who proudly declared herself a cat had come to our house.
Who should I report this to?
The police? Or… no way. A mental hospital escapee?
While I pondered every possibility in my head, she grabbed the hem of my tank top and yanked it up.
“Huh? Why are you suddenly taking off your clothes…?”
In my startled view appeared smooth legs, a butt, and white panties—followed by a fluffy white cat tail connected to her tailbone. It was swaying back and forth as if it were alive and not a decoration.
“Tai… tail…”
My hand reached out on autopilot, mesmerized by the wagging tail.
Then I instinctively grabbed it.
“Kyaaah!”
She jumped straight up from the spot and let out a weird scream.
“What are you doing, human?!”
“Eek… it’s not allowed to touch it?”
“Of course it is! I’m a cat!”
The sensation was exactly like a cat’s tail—soft and silky.
“Don’t you dare touch my tail…”
I also gently pressed her twitching ears, thinking they must be real.
“Hyaang. It tickles!”
She twisted around with the same melting sound I make when someone massages me.
“So soft…!”
The fur was velvety, the touch was cat-like—it was definitely a cat ear.
“But why a cat… like a human…?”
Is this the usual cat beastkin?
“Human, what’s your name?”
“Yerin. Han Yerin.”
“Yerin, if you say you’ll be my butler, I’ll forgive this one-time offense of touching this body’s tail and ears recklessly.”
“Huh? Butler?”
“If not…”
Just as she was about to continue, she tried to step on her dusty black sole.
“Wait!”
I desperately reached out, but she stopped at the last millimeter, looked at me, and smirked with one corner of her mouth lifted.
“If you don’t want this body’s paw print left on the floor, become my butler.”
“First, put that foot down from the shoe rack…”
“This body doesn’t want an answer like that.”
In the end, her black sole touched the floor.
“Ah… waaaaah!”
“This body’s paw print, so consider it an honor. Now, take care of me well, butler.”
She waved her hand, placed the other sole on the floor, and walked inside with a thud.
Each step left a black footprint on the pristine white floor.
“This is just… a normal person’s footprint…”
If it were cat paw prints, I’d happily sweep them away.
“I’m tired, so I’ll sleep now. Don’t make any noise.”
That meant she was heading for the bedroom.
“Hey hey hey! You crazy person!”
I quickly rushed over, hugged her waist from behind, and lifted her up so she couldn’t step a single footprint into the bedroom.
“What are you doing? Let go, you arrogant butler!”
“You’re trying to step into someone else’s bedroom with that foot!”
“Kiiiieek! Let go! You dare lift this body. Are you out of your mind?!”
She flailed wildly with her arms and legs, trying to escape my arms like she’d committed the worst crime.
“At least wash first!”
“I hate water! Why would I let you bury something so evil and terrifying on this body?!”
Even while she was thrashing like that, I kept lifting her.
After all, she was incredibly light.
It felt like holding a real mischievous cat.
If this woman really was a cat—
“Stay still and I’ll give you Churu.”
“… For real?”
“Yeah, for real.”
The moment I mentioned Churu, she suddenly became obedient.
“Give me Churu quickly, butler.”
“That’s why I’m not your butler.”
“You looked me in the eye. So you’re my butler.”
“You rang the doorbell. There’s no cat that rings the doorbell.”
“Anyway, we met, so you’re my butler?”
What the heck, this cat? Where did she learn such a weird way of speaking?
“First, let’s wash your feet.”
“Ugh! I knew this would happen! I’ll never wash them!”
“Ah, really! Then at least wipe them quietly!”
“Fine if that’s all.”
“Haa, this is hard.”
After setting her down, I thought about quickly going to the bedroom, so I grabbed a disinfectant wipe.
“Foot.”
“Here. Hhehehe! It tickles!”
“This is just wiping a human foot…”
“Hihihee! St-stoop!”
“Stay still. Why are you saying it tickles?”
She was so ticklish that her sole kept twitching every time I wiped it.
After cleaning her sole perfectly, I gave her one of the Churu I had bought in bulk for the stray cats.
“Here, eat.”
“You have to cut it.”
“Am I really a cat?”
I cut the end with scissors and handed it over. She grabbed the Churu with her small hand and started licking it enthusiastically.
Just a moment ago she had been causing chaos, but I couldn’t help melting at how cute she was.
The wagging tail was simply too lethal.
“Chuuuup! Chyuuuup! Um! Delicious!”
If a cat liked Churu this much, she must really be one.
“Hey, what’s your name?”
“Name? None. I’ll let the butler name me.”
“Then… Dollli.”
“What the heck, what a gross name.”
I’d lived hearing that my naming sense was dead since I was a kid.
Her appearance—white hair and blue eyes—reminded me of a Ragdoll, so Dolli came to mind.
“Butterfly?”
“Rejected.”
“Um, Chuchu.”
“That doesn’t sound bad.”
What standard did I have for “not bad”?
“Chuchu, were you a beastkin from the start?”
“No, this body was just an ordinary cat.”
“Then how did you become one?”
“I was thinking of finding the butler who left this body behind, and it transformed into a human form.”
Chuchu said she was left behind, but that was clearly abandonment.
Why would anyone abandon a pet?
Animals are living beings, and raising one is a huge responsibility.
If that’s the case, they shouldn’t have raised them in the first place.
“Check this out?”
“Choker.”
“The butler who raised this body gave it to me. I was walking around thinking I’d keep buying more so the butler would notice, and I found a new butler.”
Honestly, this couldn’t happen in real life. But the cat ears and tail were real, and Chuchu’s behavior matched a cat perfectly. The part about wishing to find the previous owner was impossible to forget.
“Chuchu, do you still want to find the person who raised you before?”
“No, I don’t need them anymore. I found a new butler.”
She might be simpler than I thought.
“How old are you?”
“Two.”
Two cat years meant about twenty-four human years.
Lucky, younger than me.
“But the butler doesn’t even have a cat and still has Churu?”
“I like cats, so I bought Churu and snacks and food to give to the stray cats.”
“What? Then this body coming here is a blessing!”
“A blessing…?”
She flicked the empty Churu wrapper behind her and stood up straight, hands on her hips, flashing a victorious smile while looking down on me as the lower rank.
“I can live in an incredibly luxurious life from now on!”
“Hah. This is hopeless no matter how you look at it.”
“The previous butler didn’t give food, so I was hungry. This butler won’t do that.”
“What? You didn’t give food?”
“I looked like I was poor. She picked me up from the street but threw me away after less than a month.”
A life wasn’t even given the chance to use its abilities.
Even if that person had no evil intent, it was unforgivable.
The more I thought about it, the angrier I got, and when I gritted my teeth—
—Gurgle.
A sound cleared the atmosphere instantly.
Of course, it was Chuchu’s stomach.
“Hungry, huh?”
“Yeah, I’m hungry. So, butler! Fetch food!”
“Okay, got it.”
I sat her at the table and took a canned tuna from the shelf, scooping some onto a plate and handing it over with a small plastic spoon.
“Here, eat.”
“Um! Smells good! Hyaap! Chp chp chp!”
“No… with a spoon… yeah, I guess you wouldn’t know how to use one.”
While she had her nose in the plate, crunching with a satisfied chp sound, I thought she really was a cat.
Her ears perked up and her tail wagged the whole time she ate.
Just as I was getting lost in her oddly human-yet-cat-like features, she requested another can.
“One more!”
“You’re really hungry. What should I give you this time? Chuchu, pick?”
“I love it, let this body pick!”
She got down from the chair and walked toward the shelf, but because it was so high, she had to almost stand on her tiptoes to see anything.
“Echa.”
“Oh, now I can see!”
I picked her up from behind and set her at eye level. She was satisfied and pulled out the can she wanted.
“This one!”
“This girl only picks the expensive ones.”
She had picked the most expensive canned tuna belly from the many cans.
“It smells really good.”
“Yeah, eat. After all, everything here is your food now.”
“Looks like I’ve made up my mind to raise this body properly.”
The backstory was a backstory, but I accepted that she wasn’t just a cat but a beastkin.
She spoke normally and, although she still had things to learn, she was behaving quite human-like.
Most of all, she was adorable.
Even with her slightly annoying parts, I had no choice but to melt and say “Ogu ogu” to this cat.
“Gurgle! Full!”
“I’ll give you water. And you drink it from a cup.”
“Cup?”
“Yeah, this is a cup. You hold it like this and drink.”
“Um.”
Even though I showed her how to drink from a cup with my own hands.
“Aoaoooorol.”
She held the cup with both hands and flipped it straight toward her face.
“Kyaaah! Water! Water on this body’s face!”
Then she jumped around like she’d had a tantrum because water had splashed on her face.
“Ouch… oh well, I have to go. Chuchu, stop jumping. I’ll come up from downstairs.”
I grabbed the jumping Chuchu, sat her down, and wiped her face clean.
Today I’d let her drink however she wanted.
I’d tell her how tomorrow.
“Chuchu, please take care of me well. I’ll take good care of you. I won’t think of the previous owner.”
“Previous owner? I’m a butler! This body is a great cat!”
Still, I was glad she had a bright personality.
I had met and raised a somewhat peculiar cat, but I was satisfied that I had become a proper butler.
While thinking about the butler life I’d always dreamed of, I fell asleep together with her.
—Pang! Dong!
Right from dawn, nothing but chaos.
“Chuchu! Stop making noise?!”