My Divine Tiger Majesty Soars to the Cat Tower
All beasts carry an inescapable instinct.
It is the insatiable desire to gaze down upon their domain.
King Lang, the king of all beasts, surveys his territory from the highest peak, watches the movements of his prey, and revels in the majesty of his rule.
Though I currently wear the appearance of a fluffy kitten, the blood of the noble White Tiger flows through my veins.
Yet reality was a complete disaster.
"Blanc! It's dangerous over there! Get down!"
Princess Kailian rushed over with a shriek and scooped me into her arms.
I had been clinging to the end of the curtain rod, trying to survey the world below.
I had just scaled the top of the bookshelf when books came tumbling down, filling my fur with dust.
Sigh. How infuriating.
I wriggled free from Kailian's embrace and flopped onto the floor, belly-down.
The forest of human legs.
What I saw was always just their shins, shoes, or scurrying insects on the ground.
I hated looking up. Beasts should be the ones being looked up to.
I hopped onto the windowsill and stared outside with a sigh.
I wanted to be high up too.
My melancholic back view, and my pitifully drooping tail.
"Qweuoo..."
My sharp-eyed butlers never missed the signal.
The next morning, in the princess's palace living room.
A strange tension filled the air.
Normally, the table would be scattered with teacups as we chatted, but instead a gigantic architectural blueprint lay before us.
"Right. So you're saying you want to go high up, Blanc?"
Emperor Karsion asked seriously.
In front of him knelt the Empire's top architect, the imperial court mage, and the imperial woodworker.
"Yes, Your Majesty. Recently His Highness has been climbing the curtains and bookshelves, expressing a strong desire for vertical space."
The Imperial Chamberlain read his report and the Emperor nodded.
"It is shameful that no lookout tower exists for beasts to watch their territory. I have been too neglectful."
The Emperor picked up his pen and drew a thick line across the blueprint.
"Build it."
"Excuse me?"
"Construct the tallest, most magnificent, and safest tower in the Empire. One from which the beast can oversee the entire imperial palace: the Sky Fortress."
"Your Majesty, to install such a structure indoors would require piercing the ceiling..."
"If necessary, remove the roof to make space."
The Emperor's command was absolute.
This was no ordinary cat tower.
It was the beginning of a historical construction project, mobilizing the Empire's strength and technology to its fullest.
Construction progressed at lightning speed.
The mages cast Silence Magic to block all noise and Hasten Magic to triple the workers' speed.
I had only taken a nap and woken up when the living room in the princess's palace had completely transformed.
"Blanc, come here. Don't be scared."
At four in the afternoon, Princess Kailian covered my eyes and led me into the living room.
Demian stood beside me making silly sound effects with his mouth.
"Ta-daa!"
Kailian's hands pulled away and my jaw nearly dropped at the sight.
"...Qweu?"
What the hell is this? World Tree? Did we go to war with the elves?
In the center of the living room stood a massive structure rising from the floor to nearly touching the chandelier.
Four and a half meters tall.
A luxurious cat tower as high as a two-story house.
"Allow me to explain."
The Imperial Chamberlain glanced at the script in his hands and began.
The pillars were carved from a thousand-year-old sacred tree harvested from the Elf Forest, filling the room with a subtle pine scent.
Each platform was covered in the finest wool carpet and velvet, edged with gold thread.
The first floor was a cozy dome hideaway.
The second floor was the scratching zone.
The third floor was the rest zone, dotted with floating magic-crystal hammocks.
And the grand fourth floor, the top...
"There it is. Your throne."
The Emperor pointed with his finger.
The highest spot, laid with a golden cushion and capped with a tiny roof, was literally a throne.
"How do you like it? Does it please you?"
The Emperor asked with folded arms, pleased.
This was not a question of liking or not liking.
This was overwhelming.
How much of the national treasury had been spent on one cat playground.
My beast instinct stirred.
At that height, I could look down on my bothersome maids, Demian who kept trying to touch me without permission, and everyone else.
"A challenge."
I stepped firmly onto the first-floor platform.
Squish.
The premium wool gently enveloped my jelly pads. Pass.
"Kyaaa!"
I launched into a leap.
Tap-tap-tap!
I nimbly crossed the first floor and planted my claws on the scratching post on the second floor. The sound was crisp. Perfect grip.
Acceleration kicked in. I raced up the pillar like a squirrel and landed on the magic-crystal hammock on the third floor, then made my final leap.
Thud.
Landing successful.
I settled into a penthouse at 4.5 meters above the ground.
The air up here was different.
The chandelier at the ceiling sparkled within my eye level.
I settled onto the golden cushion and looked down.
"Ooh!"
"He's up there!"
"Successful ascent!"
Cheers erupted from below.
The Emperor, the Crown Prince, and the Princess looked tiny.
They all stared up at me with mouths open.
Like worshippers facing a god.
Fufu. Is this the taste of power? Bring me meat, my butlers!
I elegantly draped my tail and slowly blinked my eyes at them.
The joy of looking down.
The pain of always being looked up at washed away in one stroke.
I was the ruler of this territory.
"You see that majestic form?"
The Emperor whispered to the Imperial Chamberlain, overcome with emotion.
"It is as if a legendary divine beast has descended. Have the painter capture this scene at once."
Kailian clapped with delight while Demian tossed her dried jerky toward me.
I admired their antics and groomed my fur.
A perfect afternoon.
The problem came after they left.
"Well, Blanc, enjoy yourself up there. I'll pick you up at dinner."
They left the room, saying they wouldn't disturb my "lonely time."
The empty living room.
I was left alone at 4.5 meters up.
The first ten minutes were great.
I was the king.
But after thirty minutes my stomach growled and after an hour I needed the bathroom.
Should I go down?
I looked down.
"...!!"
My head spun.
When I climbed up I had only focused ahead and hadn't noticed, but from above it was an endless drop.
The only way down were the narrow spiral platforms.
What if I slipped? I wouldn't even have bones left.
Slide... I should slide.
The Emperor's boast, the "ultra-fast escape slide," appeared.
But it wasn't a slide. It was a near-vertical drop course.
Hey, even if the tiger jelly falls from here it would hurt...
If I tried that my heart would probably pop out first.
"Kya... qweu..."
Hey... there's no one here?
I cried softly.
No one answered.
Why not!
The princess's palace was too big and I was too high.
"Game over."
I propped my chin on the golden cushion.
The weight of a crown is heavy, apparently, but so is this throne height.
I was trapped in this Sky Fortress like an exile.
"Qweuuo..."
I tapped my crystal decorations on the chandelier with my front paws and waited for time to pass.
Boring.
I missed the little mouse doll downstairs.
I missed the warm ondol floor.
Most of all, I missed Kailian's arms that used to hold me.
In the end I curled up in the corner of the penthouse and fell asleep.
In my dream I became a winged tiger and gracefully landed.
"Blanc?"
How long had I been asleep? I opened my eyes at the familiar voice.
Outside the window it was already dark.
Looking down, Kailian stared at me with worry in her eyes.
"Are you still up there? Aren't you hungry?"
I sprang up and wagged my tail wildly.
You're here! Butler! Take me out! It's too high up here!
"Kyaaang! Kyuao!"
My desperate howl made Kailian finally understand the situation.
"Oh, you can't come down? Are you scared?"
She urgently called for Demian.
Soon Demian arrived running with a ladder.
"Stand back! I'm the rescue captain!"
Demian climbed the ladder.
When his face reached my eye level I jumped onto his shoulder without hesitation.
Splat.
A solid, warm shoulder. It felt like flesh.
"Oh dear, our beast lord. Were you scared?"
"Qweuung."
"Aaaah! Blanc claws! Claws! Ow...!"
I planted my claws in the strange Demian and clung on.
Demian screamed as he carried me down.
I gripped his sleeve tightly and refused to let go.
The moment my feet touched the ground I nearly passed out from relief.
Ground was the best. Gravity was amazing.
"Hungry? Let's eat."
I buried my nose in the bowl Kailian offered.
The taste of food on the ground was heavenly.
Who said eating on a stand is delicious! It's all lies!
I ate hurriedly while glancing at the cat tower.
That damn Babel Tower. Never climbing it again.
The next morning I was again perched on the very top of the cat tower.
Humans, no, beasts, are creatures of forgetfulness.
Staring at the chandelier glittering in the morning sun, I again savored the taste of power.
Of course the fear of coming down would come later.
When that time came I could just cry.
The butlers would come to get me anyway.
After that day, a new routine began in the princess's palace.
Every morning I would climb up and every evening Demian would bring the ladder to rescue me.
The Emperor, unaware, praised him daily for being a divine beast who worried about the nation from the peak.
Well, whatever.
I was spending another lazy, elegant day at the highest point in the Empire.