The Final Masterminds Are Obsessed with My Foot Jelly
I gently pressed my divine power into the scrapes on the little one's cheeks and gave them a quick lick.
“Uhi hi! It tickles!”
The child smiled brightly, eyes curved in delight.
Yeah, smiling a lot makes you happy.
It’s not that happiness makes you smile—it’s that you have to smile for happiness to arrive.
I slipped out of the child’s embrace and slipped behind the basket piled high with the corpses of the bugs they’d been dragging.
“Kyau.”
You’d be stuck with this for the whole day if you did that.
I tapped the basket lightly with my front paw, giving the signal for them to step aside.
The child understood my gesture right away, eyes widening as they took a step back.
These kids these days are so clever. They catch on to things the first time you say them.
“You’ll push it for me?”
“Kyaong.”
Of course I would.
I pressed close behind the basket and squeezed my front paws hard.
The heavy basket slid forward with a single motion.
“Waaah! Amazing! You’re really strong! You’re not a normal cat at all!”
“Kyaong.”
That jerk… not a normal cat.
The child clapped both hands together, jumping with joy as they watched the basket glide away in an instant.
Then they came running up behind me, gently stroking my fluffy white tail with their small hands.
“Your tail is so soft! So fluffy!”
“…Kyaaaah.”
This is…
My tail instinctively pulled away from the hand touching it.
“Hehe, thank you so much.”
I’m not that small of a white tiger that I’d snap at the face of someone smiling that brightly.
Just once, I’ll let it go.
I kept the irritation to myself, but when they touched my tail again I squeezed my front paws tight and shoved the basket all the way to the end.
Drurrrk! Thud!
In the blink of an eye we reached the spot where the bug corpses were piled.
“Whoa, you’re already done!”
The child twirled around me, lavishing compliments without holding back.
“Kyau.”
This is nothing but child’s play.
I puffed out my chest in pride, and the child looked like they’d remembered something, rummaging in their old pants pocket.
“Here! I’m really grateful you helped!”
They handed me a small piece of cookie wrapped in crumpled, dirty paper.
They must have had to abandon the house in a hurry because of the bugs and not had time to prepare properly.
This was the child’s precious emergency food.
“Kyau?”
They’re giving this to me?
I stared at the small, shabby cookie in their hand.
It looked nothing compared to the snacks I always ate, but to them it must have been everything.
I quietly closed my eyes and let a bit of divine power flow.
Paah.
Golden sacred energy poured from my body, and a large, soft loaf of bread and a chunk of meat steamed gently in the air, dropping onto the paper-wrapped bundle.
When I was little I ate a lot.
“……Eh? Whoa!”
The child’s eyes bulged as if they might pop out.
I licked the cookie fragment from their hand and popped it into my mouth.
Slurp.
Mm… the taste is… not great, though.
“Kyaang.”
That was delicious.
I wagged my tail happily at the child and smiled.
Then I slid the meat and bread I’d just made toward them.
“Kyaong.”
This is my thanks. The price of the cookie.
The child stared at the bread and meat that had been pushed in front of me and swallowed hard, their mouth already full of saliva.
“T-This… can I really eat it?”
They looked at me with trembling eyes, clearly unsure.
I raised my chin as if it were obvious and nodded.
“Kyau.”
I made it for you. You gave me the cookie, right?
The second I nodded, the child hugged the bread and meat to their chest.
“Thank you! Thank you so much! I’ll definitely share this with Mom and Dad!”
The child beamed as if they’d been given the whole world.
“Cat, I’m really, really grateful! I’m off now!”
The child bowed with a belly laugh and immediately dashed away happily.
“Kyau.”
I’ll come back when I’m all grown up… Who’s a cat?
“Ugh, our Blanc. When did you grow up so big you’re already taking care of kids?”
Just then Princess Kailian, who had been watching me from behind, came over and ruffled my head.
“I’m so proud of you, Blanc. Good job.”
“Kyaong.”
I’m naturally good.
I puffed out my chest and let myself enjoy Kailian’s gentle touch.
Compliments never get old.
After seeing off the child and once the village cleanup was nearly finished, I stared at the mountain of bug corpses and clicked my tongue.
“Kyau…”
That’s a lot… When are they going to clean all this up?
At that moment the mages of the Magic Tower gathered and began unleashing a massive flame spell toward the corpse pile.
Whoosh!
The dark bug corpses were engulfed in flames and started to burn.
Chiiiik—.
“…Kyau?”
What’s that smell?
As the bug corpses sizzled and burned, a mouth-watering scent filled the air.
Why does it smell like shrimp with salt?
I sniffed curiously and slinked closer to the burning pile.
In the flames the black shells of the bugs gradually turned bright red, like lobster.
“Kyau…?”
I could eat this, right?
I glanced around.
Kailian, Lina, and Rosalia were busy giving orders from a distance and not paying attention.
This was my chance.
I slipped past the butlers’ watchful eyes, grabbed a nicely roasted red bug with my front paw from the flames.
The cool air cooling my paw made the bug the perfect eating temperature.
I used my claws to crack open the thick shell.
Crack.
“……!”
Once the shell came off, white, thick meat steamed up inside.
… This is just an experiment. I’m not eating it because I want to.
I licked my lips and took a big bite of the white flesh.
Mmm.
“Kyau.”
Why is this so delicious?
The subtly sweet taste of the meat spread in my mouth, and each chew released the explosive umami of crustaceans.
It looked ugly, but the taste was like lobster.
“Kyaong… chomp, chomp.”
I wagged my tail and devoured the remaining meat in big bites.
The yield was actually pretty good too.
Just as I reached out my paw for another one, a chilly aura brushed the back of my neck.
“Blanc, what are you doing over there?”
A cool voice that sent a shiver down my spine.
I froze.
“What is that thing you’ve got in your mouth?”
Kailian’s voice grew even colder.
Swish.
She grabbed the back of my neck and hoisted me up.
I dangled in the air, staring straight into Kailian’s red eyes.
Shock and anger burned in her gaze.
“Ky, Kyau……”
That’s… that’s it.
I reflexively lifted both front paws to cover my eyes.
I don’t want to look.
“Blanc.”
I slowly lowered the paws covering my eyes and let my ears droop.
“Are you crazy?! Why did you pick that up and eat it!”
Kailian’s shout echoed through the air.
“You already ate earlier! Why would you eat something like that! What if there was poison in it!”
Kailian roughly wiped the corner of my mouth with her hand, furious.
“Kyaong……”
I’m sorry…
But… it was really tasty.
“Your Highness, please calm down. Blanc will be fine.”
Just then Gumiho, who had been watching from behind, stepped forward. She calmly picked up one of the well-cooked bugs.
“……?!”
Gumiho didn’t hesitate at all. She tore off a piece of white meat and popped it straight into her mouth, chewing happily.
“You again—why did you pick that up and eat it!”
“Mmm… this is delicious.”
Gumiho completely ignored Kailian’s words and savored the taste.
“There’s no poison. It tastes a bit like crayfish.”
“No poison?”
Lina’s eyes sparkled as she listened to Gumiho.
Lina immediately plunged her hand into the burning pile of corpses.
“Kyau.”
… She wouldn’t be burned at the stake even if she were on a witch hunt.
Lina broke open the shell and stuffed the meat straight into her mouth.
Mmm.
“……This is.”
Lina’s eyes twinkled.
“It’s delicious! It tastes almost exactly like shrimp. No, the texture is even firmer.”
Lina laughed with joy and began devouring the bug meat at lightning speed.
“Your Highness, I checked just to be safe, but there’s no poison or any harmful ingredients.”
They’d been staring at the bugs with serious faces the whole time and checking them?
Rosalia carefully lifted one and spoke to Kailian.
“I tried one too, but there was nothing strange at all. It’s perfectly safe to eat.”
“Kyau! Kyaang!”
See! I told you it was safe! You all are eating it too.
I flailed my paws at Kailian in protest.
“Blanc. So you’re happy about that?”
“Kyau…”
No…
I hung my head again in Kailian’s hand.