The Ultimate Paw Pad Pamper: A Gluttonous Tiger Cub’s Wild Grass Run
I had just shaken off Kailian’s slobber and slipped out to eat breakfast.
“Kyua…”
I was getting way too plain these days, huh?
I sat at the table and stared blankly at my front paws.
My thoughts had turned so simple lately.
Hungry. Tired. Scared. Love the butlers.
Every single thought in my head was now stuffed full of just those four things, spinning in a loop.
Did losing my teeth take my smarts with it?
Back when I was human, I worked myself to the bone and never had to use my brain, so this lazy life was way too comfortable.
“Kyua…”
I was still smart, right? Why did I keep getting this simple?
Would I end up actually living like a real beast?
“Blanc? Not eating? Tastes bad?”
Kailian’s worried voice snapped me out of it.
She was holding a spoon and carefully feeding me a soft piece of meat stew right up to my lips.
“Kyua.”
I opened my mouth on pure habit and slurped it up. The flavor melted sweetly in my mouth.
I shoved the rest into my gum with my tongue, chewing it all down in messy gulps. Every time my empty gums felt the empty space, it felt like a scratch on my beastly pride.
I didn’t care.
Complex thoughts were disgusting.
Whether it was my identity or anything else, thinking about it just gave me a headache. Right now, what mattered most was the people who took care of me and needed me.
When that gloomy, complicated feeling got wiped away, the best thing was to move my body. I wolfed down the rest of the stew in one go, jumped down from the table, and roared.
“Kyua! Kyang!”
Let’s go! Let’s play outside!
I rubbed my face against Kailian’s legs and dragged her along.
The imperial princess’s palace garden was here now. Warm sunlight poured down, and spring had arrived with lush green grass swaying in the breeze.
Demian, who had followed me without me noticing, had already claimed a spot under the trees. Today he must have finished his duties early.
A steaming pot of the finest black tea sat on the antique teacup table.
“The weather is really nice today, Blanc.”
He smiled softly at me and lifted his teacup.
“Here! Blanc! Look at this! Ignore your big brother and see!”
“…Damn sister.”
Ignoring Demian’s words as if they were nothing, Kailian made a solemn face and pulled something long and thin from behind her back.
A fishing rod with a bright feather and a little bell attached at the end. The classic cat-buttler toy.
I was a white tiger, not a cat.
Jing-jing!
The feather fluttered in the air like a living bird, hopping up and down in a wild pattern.
“Kyua…”
My pupils shrank at the sight.
All the random thoughts in my head vanished in an instant, and only one instinct took over my brain: I had to catch that arrogant feather.
Squelch, squelch.
My hips started twitching side to side on their own, and the muscles in my back legs tensed tight. My soft pink paw pads pressed hard into the grass, giving me extra grip.
“Kyaaong!”
I exploded forward like a bullet.
“Kyua!”
The feather danced just out of reach before I could touch it. I landed with a thump and smacked my lips in frustration.
Ah, I almost had it!
“Eh…? Me too! I wanna play!”
Lumia, who had been watching me with the feather, decided she wanted to join.
When she shifted back into her white fox form, she tilted her head in confusion at the feather.
But the second I went crazy and started jumping around, she jumped right after me.
“Kyeng! Kyeng!”
Unlike me, Lumia bounced lightly, like a fluffy ball of white fur. The two little white tails zipped across the grass in a chaotic chase, and a smile spread across Kailian’s face.
“Hahaha! Catch it! It’s right here!”
Kailian waved her fishing rod like a pro, her wrist snap from years of sword training looking more like art than anything.
The feather kept slipping away at the last second.
“Kyak!”
I jumped and slashed through the air, but the feather shot up at the last moment. The second I landed, Lumia stepped right on my back and launched into the air.
“Kyeng!”
But Lumia only brushed past it too and face-planted into the grass. We tangled up with each other and rolled across the lawn in a wild mess.
“Ahahaha, you two are way too cute.”
“Hmm. I want to draw this.”
Demian took a sip of his tea and smiled happily. Seeing his little sister this relaxed made him laugh without meaning to.
Blanc was the blessing bestowed by the gods on the imperial family and the most expensive treasure in the world.
We played like that for a long time. After running and rolling until our lungs burned, the random thoughts started to disappear.
Crunch!
I finally caught the feather. And on pure instinct, I opened my mouth wide and bit down.
“Kyang!”
Squelch.
What came back was just a wet, squishy feeling on my gums. No satisfying crunch of breaking teeth.
Ugh… it’s not fun anymore.
I should have saved the crunching for last, but now I can’t even break anything.
“Kyeng… heh… heh…”
Lumia, who was weaker than me, gave up first and flopped onto her back on the grass. Her white belly was exposed to the sky as she lay there, tongue out, panting.
“Kyeng…”
Oppa… I’m tired.
Lumia turned her head to look at me while lying down. Her golden eyes sparkled. She was waiting for something.
Seeing that look, I felt like a fool for being so down.
I was supposed to be the best big brother in the world to Lumia, but here I was sulking just because my teeth fell out. My pride wouldn’t allow it.
“Kyua.”
Yeah, no teeth, but I still had other weapons.
It was time to show the majesty of the divine beast.
I jumped up from the ground, stared seriously at the clear blue sky above, and declared:
The target was that empty sky with no people.
“Kyua.”
Watch closely. And don’t tell anyone.
I planted my hips firmly on the ground, braced my stance. I put power into my back legs and drew up sacred energy from deep inside my belly, starting from my waist.
Not as crude as before, but as flashy as possible. I imagined a firework show and concentrated the sacred energy.
“Kyuaaa…”
I took a deep breath.
A tingling rush of sacred energy swirled in my mouth, and the air vibrated faintly.
“Huh? Blanc? What are you doing?”
Kailian, who was packing up the fishing rod, noticed my suspicious move and asked. But instead of answering, I opened my mouth as wide as it could go.
“Kuaaaaaang!!!!”
Flash!
In an instant, a white flash exploded from my mouth. A sacred power beam condensed to extreme density.
A straight line of white light shot out and pierced the sky.
The beam split the clouds and kept going, then exploded into a gorgeous fireworks display of white sacred energy under the blue sky.
“Kyua.”
I smiled contentedly and looked at Lumia. I shot it, but it was still so pretty.
“……?!”
Lumia shot up from her lying position. White light lines reflected in her clear eyes.
“Kyeng! Kyeng!”
Wow! Big brother’s mouth is shooting out light!
Lumia’s eyes sparkled and her little tail wagged like crazy. I could feel nothing but worship and awe in her gaze.
I puffed myself up to my biggest size and struck a cool pose.
This is the power of the white tiger. No teeth, but my mouth can still fire a beam.
“Blanc!”
Kailian’s face went pale and she sprinted over, grabbing my cheeks with both hands.
“Kyaaak!”
It hurts…
“This troublemaker! If I suddenly shoot a beam, what do I do?! People will freak out! The knights will think it’s an ambush and come running!”
“Kyuaaa…”
It hurts… let go…
“No, you have to reflect. I told you not to fire a beam so casually, no matter who you are, right? Huh? You’re impossible, for real!”
Kailian yanked my cheek flesh like taffy, stretching it until my eyes narrowed and my words all mashed together.
That beam from last time must have really traumatized her. But… it still hurts, you butler.
Kailian wasn’t the only one startled.
“Puuuuwuuuub!!!”
Demian, who had been drinking tea elegantly, spat it out in one big breath. The refined black tea shot out like a fire hose from a car wash.
“Gurgle! Gurgle! Gurgle!”
Demian coughed with sand in his mouth, eyes wide as he stared at me.
Whoa… scaring me.
I quietly looked away. Watching him glare with bloodshot eyes while spraying tea was actually pretty terrifying.
“T-the…! Blanc! What the heck are you doing all of a sudden.. gulping!”
He didn’t even think to use a handkerchief and just stared blankly at the lingering light trails in the sky.
Amid the chaos, I was still being grabbed in the cheeks by Kailian.
“Hup, look at these getting bigger. It’s like cheese or something?”
Kailian scolded me once, then got so absorbed in my soft cheek flesh that she started playing with it instead.
The evil bounce that stretched and then snapped back had addictive power.
“Kyua…”
Butler… stop… I’ve been holding it in a lot.
At that moment, Lumia, who had been watching with sparkling eyes, suddenly turned back into a tiny fox with a “pang!”
Lumia looked at my stretching cheeks with eyes full of pure curiosity, like she had discovered the most fun toy in the world. Her tiny hands poked at it curiously.
“Wow…”
Lumia’s small mouth opened wide.
“Oppa’s cheeks really stretch so much… they look so soft…”
“Kyua?”
Hey, you’re not serious, are you?
“Me too! I wanna try too! I wanna pull it!”
Lumia laughed brightly and reached for my face. It looked too fun for the butler to do, huh?
She dared to touch the imperial princess’s body?
The second Lumia’s tiny hand touched my cheek.
Tap.
My soft front paw pressed down hard on Lumia’s head.
“Eh…?”
Lumia’s head got squished under my paw.
Even though my cheeks were stretched like buns from Kailian, I looked down at her with the most solemn face possible.
What.
Daring to play with big brother’s cheeks?
“Kyua.”
No. Go away.
I firmly pressed Lumia’s head to stop her. Lumia whined underneath my paw.
“Hic! It’s mean! I wanna touch too!”
“Kyung.”
Shut up, cub.
Even though I got scolded for shooting the beam and my cheeks got stretched, I couldn’t give up my final dignity as big brother.
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**End of Chapter**