The Spring Molting Meltdown
The warm spring breeze brought a huge change to me.
Moulting had begun.
The thick, matted winter fur that had clung to me since the cold months was finally starting to fall away. Dead hairs were dropping out, and new ones were pushing through in their place.
“Kyaaah… kyuuung…”
My mouth was still clamped around the perfectly grilled turkey leg the head chef had slaved over, yet I couldn’t bite down or swallow. I trembled all over, the vibration travelling straight through my body.
“Kyuuu…”
It itched. It itched so badly I wanted to scream.
A maddening, crawling itch had erupted from deep inside my skin, as though hundreds of ants were running through the fur between each strand, driving me insane.
Heat surged through my core, pounding against my skin like tiny hammers.
The dense, insulating undercoat that had kept me safe from winter’s brutal cold was now waving its flag in surrender as the temperature rose.
“Kyaaaak!”
I finally spit out the turkey leg and bolted for the table edge, smearing it with my side.
Thud! Thud-thud!
I scraped my forehead against the corner of the desk and rubbed my flank furiously against it.
“Kyuuuueh!” I’m losing my mind! A mosquito bite on my fingertip would’ve been better!
The hard wooden edge finally scratched the worst of the itch. A wave of cool relief shot up my spine. But the second I stopped, the itch spread like wildfire—neck, hips, the delicate spot where my tail would one day start.
I dropped flat on the floor and rolled across the carpet.
Rub, rub.
“Kyaaaaang!” Annoying! I want food! Why does it itch right when I’m supposed to be eating?!
Between my growing hunger and the unbearable itch, I lost. I stared pathetically at the fallen turkey leg.
“Blanc? What’s wrong? Are you hurt?”
Just then, Princess Kailian, who had been reviewing documents, rushed over in alarm.
“Kyaaang!”
Butler! Save me!
In her eyes I must have looked like I was dying or cursed—curled up on the floor screaming while rolling around.
Normally I could focus on food so hard I didn’t notice even if you poked me, but now I’d tossed my meal and was having a meltdown. Kailian’s heart clearly dropped.
“Kyuuung! Kyaaa!”
Don’t just watch—scratch my back and butt! My front legs can’t reach!
I thrust my hips toward her and wailed, tail twitching. With my short forelegs I couldn’t scratch the middle of my own back. This was the failure of evolution that had wiped out four-legged beasts.
Kailian watched me for a moment, then spotted the fluffy white tufts of fur drifting through the air. She burst out laughing.
“Ah… so our Blanc is shedding?”
“Kyaaaaang!”
If you saw, then scratch me! I’m dying here!
She exhaled in relief and pulled the Emperor’s top-tier pet brush from the drawer.
“Come here. I’ll scratch you super clean.”
Kailian sat on the sofa and patted her knee. I crawled up on all fours, collapsed onto her lap, and buried my face in her thigh.
“Okay, here we go.”
Swish, swish.
The brush glided down my spine.
“……!”
I held my breath.
The dense bristles slipped between old hairs, pressing just right against the itch. It felt like medicine. It felt like dopamine.
A little like the addicts I’d heard about…
“Kyuuuhng…”
My mouth fell open, tongue lolling out. My eyes drooped. Bliss flooded my brain.
Swish, swish. Swish, swish.
The faster Kailian brushed, the higher my pleasure score climbed.
“Grrrrrroooool…”
A deep engine rumble rolled from my throat. My hind legs kicked of their own accord, slamming against her thighs.
“Whoa… in the whole world…”
Kailian’s hand froze mid-stroke.
“Blanc… how long have you been hiding all this fur?”
I blinked up at her with half-lidded eyes, scanning the scene.
Kailian’s lap, the sofa cushions, the entire carpet—white fur mountains piled everywhere. The original carpet colour was completely gone.
“Kyuuung?”
What?
I’d only been brushing for about ten minutes and the shed fur was already bigger than my body. Had I been digested?
“Look. The brush is so clogged it won’t move.”
Kailian tugged out a thick clump of matted white fur. It came free with a soft *poof*.
That alone was the size of two fists.
She stared in disbelief, turning me this way and that.
“Even with this much shedding, your size hasn’t changed. Do you produce infinite fur? Or is it because you’re a divine beast?”
“Kyuu.”
The mystery of the divine beast.
She stopped. I tapped her hand with my tail.
Honestly, I was surprised too. Where had this compression skill been hiding all along?
Like a four-dimensional pocket?
“Okay, sorry for stopping. There’s still some left on your rear, right?”
Kailian resumed brushing at my nudge.
Scrape, scrape.
Dead fur tangled in the bristles while the heavy, cramped feeling in my body lightened, as if feathers had replaced the old coat.
My pores breathing freely. The refreshing feeling of shedding a thick winter coat and wearing only thin underwear.
“Haa… I think it’s mostly done.”
About thirty minutes later.
The floor was a sea of white fur. Kailian’s red uniform had turned into an angora sweater, completely covered.
Tiny strands of fur floated in the air like glitter.
Sorry to the maids who have to clean this up.
I barely had time to feel sorry before the relief washed over me. I felt reborn.
I had to express this freshness and gratitude to my butlers. I rose from Kailian’s lap and looked at her.
She was wiping sweat from her forehead, massaging her arms.
“Cool, right, our Blanc?”
“Kyaaaaang!”
Yes! It’s so cool.
I leapt onto her chest and rubbed my head, cheeks, and body against her clothes.
Rub, rub.
This was the ultimate feline affection—head-butting and scent-marking. Claiming her with my smell while passing on gratitude.
“Ah! Hahaha! Blanc, ticklish!”
Kailian giggled wildly as I accepted the embrace.
“Heh, how was it? Was it that refreshing?”
She hugged me tight and pressed our cheeks together.
“Fufufu! Cough!”
Kailian coughed out fur and laughed.
“Blanc, I have an important noble council today… if I leave like this they’ll think I’m an albino.”
“Kyuu.”
So what? It’s divine beast fur. It’s an honour. This is all a blessing.
I wagged my tail arrogantly.
“Oh my, in the world!”
Saintess Lina had just finished prayer and stepped out of the chapel, only to walk into the living-room disaster.
“Is this… heaven? The divine beast’s aura is overflowing…”
Lina’s eyes widened as she stared at the mountain of fur on the floor. Her gaze landed on the tufts stuck to Kailian’s uniform.
What is that?
Her pupils began to shine with an eerie light.
“These… these holy hairs…!”
Lina knelt on the floor, trembling. With shaking hands she gathered the fallen clumps.
“These are pieces of the divine beast’s body… pure crystallised sacred energy! They are not just fur—they are relics infused with divine power!”
“Saintess? It’s just shed fur… just throw it away after cleaning.”
Kailian tried to stop her, but Lina’s eyes were already glazed.
“Throw them away?! Throwing them away is heresy!”
“Kyuu…”
The heresy bar is way too low.
Lina fished out a needle and sponge from her pocket. Where did those come from?
She sat on the floor and began bundling my fur.
“Divine beast fur has high mana conductivity and tends to tangle together. If I sew them like this…”
“Kyuu?”
Why do you know so much about my fur? Do you collect it every day?
Knock, knock, knock, knock.
Lina’s hands moved at blinding speed.
“Kyuu?”
Whoa… she’s ridiculously fast.
Kailian and I watched, spellbound, as the saintess’s divine hands wove my fur into a tiny doll.
A moment later she held it up proudly.
“Finished.”
On her palm rested a fluffy white doll the size of a fist.
“……!”
Kailian and I both gasped at the same time.
Round cheeks, stubby legs, cocky eyes, and a pink jelly heart.
The perfect mini-me. Even the fur shimmered exactly like mine.
“Wow… you can make things like this? It’s exactly like Blanc.”
Kailian sighed in admiration and picked it up.
“This texture… it really feels like touching Blanc.”
“Right? Because it’s made of divine beast fur, there’s still a trace of sacred energy inside. Holding it will drive away nightmares and calm the heart.”
Lina beamed.
“Kyuu…”
I felt a strange feeling looking at my own doll made of my fur.
“Divine Beast-nim still has plenty of material left! I’ll make one for Master Rosalia and His Majesty too!”
Lina grabbed the needle and charged back at the fur mountain.
“Kyuu…”
Her eyes had definitely glazed over.
From that day on, Emperor Carchion’s desk, Tower Master Rosalia’s desk, and Princess Kailian’s desk each had one of my identical fur dolls.
The butlers cherished them as “my other selves,” but I had been completely shorn and was freezing.
I burrowed deep into Kailian’s arms.
“Kyuuuung…”
“Are you cold, Blanc? Come here.”
Kailian pulled me tight against her chest. Her uniform still carried my fur scent.
[Divine Beast fur has high mana conductivity and tends to tangle together. If I sew them like this…]