8
Chapter 8
I can't move my body.
I feel nothing but a tingling sensation in my limbs.
My limbs are so weak that I can't even move Luna, who's curled up in a ball on my stomach, to the side.
That's right. I'm completely wiped out by severe muscle pain.
"I was definitely fine after my walk at dawn."
I took a short nap after the walk, and then I woke up to find my limbs paralyzed. I mean, Estella did train me pretty hard...
Usually, when you get muscle soreness from intense activity, doesn't it start before the next day, rather than hitting you suddenly?
To be honest, I've never really exercised properly, so I'm not sure if this is normal.
Still, I don't think it's supposed to be like this.
Luna, who had been sleeping on my stomach, opened her eyes at some point.
Meow—
"Luna, we're screwed. I can't move my limbs."
Meow-?
Luna tilted her head as if she didn't understand what I was talking about.
"I can't give you food."
Hiss—
This time, as if she understood me, Luna hissed and smacked me in the face with her tail.
"You little..."
"Stop..."
"Doing..."
"That!"
I'm going to turn this cat into a soup one of these days.
As if she could hear my inner thoughts, Luna's tail attacks only grew more violent.
After taking those tail hits for a few dozen minutes, the tingling in my limbs began to fade and they started to obey me again—whether I'd adjusted or I was actually recovering, I couldn't tell.
I tried to pick up Luna with my shaking arms, but noticing my trembling hand approaching, she bolted away.
"This brat."
One thing Luna overlooked was that since there's barely any furniture in my house yet, there was nowhere to hide from my reach, meaning her escape couldn't last long.
However, one thing I overlooked was that I was in no condition to chase her—I could barely even sit up, let alone run around, so the idea of a "chase" was nonexistent.
In this ridiculous situation, Luna lowered her stance and slowly approached me.
"Is this a peace treaty?"
Once she got close enough, Luna let out a meow and tried to tackle me for a hug; I was completely defenseless against her "hug-attack," and my upper body, which I had barely managed to prop up, flopped back down.
Anyway, despite the twists and turns, the war between Luna and me ended with a cuddle.
Buzz—
While I was basking in the peace, my phone, which had been sliding around on the floor, started vibrating.
"Luna, bring that over here."
Luna approached my phone and pushed it toward me with her head.
"She actually understands."
Meow-!
Is my daughter a genius?
I picked up the phone to check it.
[Your order has been delivered.]
An ominous message.
"Luna, what could possibly have been delivered to us?"
I talked to Luna in a desperate attempt to deny reality.
Meow—
But that didn't seem to help much.
If I'd known it would be like this, I should have paid extra for professional installation instead of trying to save money by doing it myself.
"Luna, there should be furniture outside the front door. Go out, bring it in, and set it up."
Luna seemed to understand that too; she dashed to the front door and jumped... how the hell did she open the door? Crazy.
Anyway, from the pile of boxes in front of the open front door, she came back in carrying a small box in her mouth.
"What's this?"
Luna clawed at the corner of the box as if she intended to shred it to pieces, but since her claws hadn't fully grown in yet, she couldn't do any real damage.
"Hey, close the door. It's still winter, so it's cold."
Luna went back to the front door and tried to close it, but due to her physical limitations, she could open it but not close it. Realizing this, she looked disappointed and returned to me.
It's starting to get chilly.
"What are we going to do?"
Meow...
Fortunately, I had a smartphone—the solution to all problems—and I decided to make full use of its features.
Specifically, the phone.
I opened the phone app and called the only other contact I had, Estella.
Ring ring—
After a few rings, a voice came through the smartphone.
[Hello~]
"Estella, are you busy?"
Based on the original story, she's always free, but I asked just to be polite.
I didn't forget to make my voice sound as strained as possible.
[I don't have anything particular to do today. What's up? Why do you sound like you're dying?]
"I need help."
As I said that, Luna let out a little panting sound.
[Su... suddenly? What happened?]
Hearing her bewildered voice, I gave her my address and hung up.
And not long after.
Estella walked in through the open door.
She was greeted by me and Luna, who was hiding inside my clothes with only her head poking out of the collar.
"HELP! Help!"
"What is it?"
"Please bring in my packages."
"Sigh..."
Slam!
"Well, at least the door's closed now!"
Meow—
"Huh? What is it, Luna?"
Meow—
"You're asking about our food?"
I took the phone out of my pocket again and made another call.
Ring ring—
[You crazy bastard! I thought something terrible happened!]
Her voice, full of irritation, echoed through the phone.
"But I felt like I was going to freeze to death."
[Why the hell did you call me for that!]
"Because it's fun."
Bang bang bang!
[Open the door.]
"Nope, can't do it!"
Meow—
At that moment, Luna escaped from my arms. I had a bad feeling and urgently called out to her.
"Luna, no! Don't open that!"
Despite my desperate plea, Luna dashed forward and opened the door again, just as she had the first time. Man, that really is impressive.
[What do you mean, 'no'?]
"What do you mean, 'no'?"
She slowly approached me.
"Stay back...! I told you not to come any closer!"
***
Today's little incident eventually ended after she treated me enough to move again, made me kneel in the corner with my hands up, and we had a few "discussions."
As expected of a protagonist, she's versatile enough to provide medical care. Of course, the treatment included some "physical therapy."
[I have wasted the precious time of Lady Estella over something trivial.]
I don't even know how she got hold of this sign and hung it around my neck.
Meow-LOL.
Luna laughed at my misery.
The dignity of the head of household is rolling on the floor.
"Lady Estella? May I put my hands down now?"
"You think so?"
"Yes, ma'am."
When I stayed still, she was the one who spoke first.
"Don't you have anything to say?"
"I appreciate you bringing the stuff inside, but could you also help me set it up?"
She laughed at my request and kicked me in the ribs.
How sad.
"By the way, why is your place so empty? Did you move out of your parents' house to live on your own?"
She said this while sitting comfortably on the floor.
"I don't have parents."
"Oh... I'm sure they've gone to a better place."
"I think they're actually still alive."
"Huh? What? Wait, what do you mean? Huh?"
She was left completely dazed by my impressive double blow.
I broke Estella!
Taking advantage of the moment, I naturally lowered my arms and took off the sign.
"Don't worry too much about it. It's not as big a deal as you think. Just a light... disownment?"
"No, that's not light at all! That's a huge deal!"
I picked up Luna, who was curled up on top of a box.
She's fluffy and quite warm.
"The cat is so cute! What's her name?"
Seeing me breeze past the subject, she realized I didn't want to delve deeper into it and decided to change the topic.
"This is the cat I mentioned before, Luna. Want to pet her?"
I held Luna by her armpits and held her out toward Estella.
Luna looked stretched out and limp as a result.
Cats are longer than I thought.
"Oh my, she's so adorable."
Estella took Luna from me, and Luna didn't seem to mind.
"How old is the little baby?"
"She's eleven. Stop talking in baby voice."
"Pretty girls are allowed to do that! But if she's eleven, you must have had her for a long time? No wonder she's so well-behaved. Is she female or male?"
"Huh? I've had her for less than a week. And she's female."
I found out her age and gender when I took her to the veterinary hospital for a checkup.
"Luna, do you want to come live at Unnie's house?"
"Stop talking nonsense."
Estella let out a little whine and put Luna down, and Luna immediately ran back to me.
"Did you like animals? I didn't know."
This time, I was the one asking the question.
In the original story, the only animals she ever encountered were things capable of ripping a person in half with one hand, so I wasn't sure if she actually liked animals.
"Animals are great~ They're cute, and they're so easy to understand. All they want is food and pets. That's all."
"If it's you, I bet there are plenty of people outside who'd die of happiness just if you petted them."
"Hey! Are those two things the same?"
Estella's flustered reaction to my unexpected comment was pretty funny.
"I'm kidding. Just kidding."
I opened the boxes (which Estella had brought inside after scolding me) and took out the flat-pack furniture.
Some items, like electronics, were fully assembled and just needed installation, but things like desks and chairs were mostly assembly-required.
"Huh? Why does it look like this?"
However, where the assembly joints should have been, there were strange marks drawn. The material didn't seem like something a screwdriver could easily pierce, nor did it look like a structure designed for screws or nails, which left me puzzled.
"Why? Is something wrong?"
"I think I got a defective product."
Estella approached me and looked closely at the furniture.
"What are you talking about? It's perfectly fine."
When she touched the part with the strange marks, they lit up, and when she pressed it against a matching pattern on the desk, it snapped right into place.
"Oh. What the? That's amazing."
I tried pulling on the attached desk leg, but it wouldn't budge, as if it were fused.
"I should try it too."
I grabbed another leg and pressed it against the matching pattern.
"Pfft, what are you doing? You have to channel your mana."
Now that I think about it, how do I actually use that?
Since I'll be fighting in the future, not having mana means I can't deal proper damage, and once an opponent's level gets high enough, they can even become immune to damage.
There was someone who showed me that overwhelming physical strength can solve everything, but since I can't use that kind of power and reaching that level seems impossible, that's not a build I can go for.
"I don't know how to do that."
"What are you talking about? Are you teasing me again?"
"No, I really don't know."
"This guy's mouth is practically an automatic lie generator."
"I'm serious, I really don't know! It's unfair! And how many times have I even lied!"
"Right now."
Seeing her look at me, wondering if I was actually telling the truth, I added:
"For real."
"No, even ordinary people know how to use it. You really don't? You even got into the Academy."
"I'm sorry for being worse than an ordinary person. So, how do you use it?"
"Can't you just... think about using it?"
"Tella-mon, please explain it to me like I've never used it and didn't even know mana existed."
"Okay. Close your eyes."
"Closed."
"Now, focus with all your might on feeling something flowing through your body."
"Got it."
I focused, trying to feel something flowing through my body...
The sensation...
The sensation...!
I couldn't feel a thing.
"I don't feel anything."
"What?"
She stepped closer and grabbed my hand.
"Physical contact without consent is sexual harassment..."
"Ugh, I swear, this guy."
I took a hit.
"What is this?"
She spoke after holding my hand with her eyes closed for a moment.
"What is it?"
"Why are your mana circuits completely blocked? Did something happen to you in the past?"
From what I remember, mana circuits were organs that let mana flow and helped use it, right?
"Nothing happened."
It's probably because the world I originally lived in didn't have things like mana.
"Then, shall we try to unblock them?"
"Do what?"
I asked, feeling a sudden sense of dread at her words.
"The mana circuits, obviously."
"Is it okay to just unblock them some random, makeshift way?"
"There are actually quite a few people in the world with blocked circuits. They're all ordinary people, though."
"And?"
"Which means, obviously, there's a technique to unblock them."
"I've never heard that you knew how to do that."
"I picked it up by watching others. Yeah, it'll be fine."
"That doesn't sound fine at all."
I tried to pull my hand back, but her grip was incomparably stronger than my frail strength, so my attempt to break free was futile.
"Stop overreacting. It's my first time doing this for real, but you don't need to worry."
"If it's your first time, then you shouldn't be doing it!!"
"Even the most skilled people had a first time."
"Then go get some experience first!"
"I'm doing this to get experience!"
"Aaaaagh!"
"Stay still!"
Meow-!
Despite the combined attack from Luna and me, the procedure went very smoothly, and the room echoed with laughter, screams of agony, and the meows of a cat.
Later, when I got a checkup, the doctor mentioned that whoever performed the procedure had done a remarkably clean job.
Is there anything this woman can't do?