Black Cat Lady

"Done."

After roughly two hours of careful work, the braised short ribs were finished. I had sliced carrots for color and added extra potatoes—the kind I liked best—simmering everything until the sauce clung thick and glossy to every piece. It looked mouthwatering enough to eat as-is, but that was never the real reason I had cooked it.

Buff application.

The moment I activated my ability, an invisible current of power flowed out of me and settled into the dish. Whether it was just my imagination or not, the aura felt a fraction larger than before. It filled the entire pot of braised ribs and locked the buff into the food.

So this amount is about the upper limit?

I filed the observation away. How much food could one casting of the buff actually cover? Tonight I finally had a clear answer.

"I already checked this sort of thing before, but..."

Most of these details I had already figured out back when I was testing the power alone. Still, I believed the ability would keep growing, so I needed to keep updating the data every time I used it.

"Just a little for now."

Cooking had left me hungry anyway, buff or no buff. I set the other questions aside, scooped a generous mound of steaming rice, and dug into the braised ribs.

The sweet-salty short-rib meat shredded apart along the grain with almost no resistance. The potatoes, soaked through with the same glaze, crumbled soft and fluffy on my tongue. Meat and potato mixed, then a mouthful of clean rice washed it all down, and an indescribable satisfaction bloomed through me.

Korean food really is the best.

Maybe it was because the me of my previous life had also been Korean, but Korean dishes always hit the spot more than anything else. Even in this world—where history had diverged the moment superhumans appeared in the nineteenth century and food culture had shifted quite a bit—that preference never changed.

"Mm."

I licked my lips in contentment, and the buff that had been resting in the food sank into my body. Physical strength surged. Seizing the moment, I hauled out the exercise equipment I had bought ages ago and started measuring the boost.

Creak. Creak.

"Hoo...!"

A quick grip-strength test showed the difference at once. My usual mid-forties kilograms of grip had jumped into the eighty-kilo range. Lifting dumbbells and running through a few more checks confirmed the same result: roughly double my normal physical ability.

Fsshhh.

"Ugh."

Thirty minutes later the strength simply vanished. The duration was identical whether I buffed myself or applied the power to Astra and Snow White. Maximum thirty minutes—more precisely, it scaled with how much of the buffed food you ate. A single bite lasted about a minute; stuffing yourself to the brim bought the full half hour.

The power of the buff is on a completely different level for them, but the duration itself stays the same?

Even when the superhuman women ate far larger portions, the clock still maxed out around thirty minutes. Trying to force a longer timer by sheer gluttony probably hit a hard ceiling.

The moment the buff ended, the side effect arrived. Compared with what the superhumans suffered, mine was mild and even came with a timer.

I studied the message, then fished one more short rib from the remaining stew and popped it into my mouth.

"Gulp."

The buffed food settled in my stomach. I held my breath and waited.

......

"Still no good, huh?"

I had chewed and swallowed, yet no new buff appeared. Another fact I had already learned in my earlier solo tests.

As long as a side effect is active, you can’t receive a fresh buff.

My stomach was already pretty full, but I still needed to clear the condition. I dug through the fridge, found leftover asparagus and celery, and forced the greens down like a rabbit on a mission.

The side effect vanished almost at once. Feeling the limits of my stomach, I picked up another piece of short rib and ate it.

Whoosh!!

Power flooded back into my limbs. The portion had been small this time, so the duration would be shorter. I grabbed the grip trainer again and squeezed.

Creak!

Seventy-five kilos.

Still stronger than baseline, but weaker than the first casting. Clearing a side effect let you reapply the buff, yet the effect itself seemed to diminish.

Whoom!!

The second buff lasted barely a minute before winking out. I carefully noted that as well, then closed the lid on ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the pot. My stomach had reached its limit.

The remaining braised ribs still carried the original buff.

Let’s see how long it lasts.

The next experiment was simple: once a buff was placed on a dish, would it stay if the food sat around for hours? I had never properly tested this before. Back then my parents had still been alive; leaving food out where ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠they might eat it had been too risky.

Looking back, maybe I should have given them the buff anyway. Even as ordinary people, if only...

Don’t think about it.

A dull ache pulsed behind my eyes and darker thoughts tried to rise. I deliberately wiped them away. Dwelling on what was already gone changed nothing.

"There’s quite a bit left. I’ll check it every twelve hours."

I set an alarm, left the pot of braised ribs sitting on the kitchen counter, and stood up with a yawn. My belly was full and no more customers would come tonight. Time to close the shop and rest.

Feels a little lonely.

Maybe because I hadn’t seen Astra or Snow White in days after weeks of regular visits. Or maybe because I had just thought about my parents again. Cleaning up the restaurant alone left a quiet hollow feeling that drifted through me and was gone.

That night.

Thud-thud-thud!!

"This way. The scent’s coming from here."

"You sure? This is just an empty shopping street."

"You think I became C-class in tracking for nothing? This ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠is the place. Spread out and search."

"Tsk. Do we even need to catch her? Honestly, Black Cat’s more helpful than most villains. I heard the Association’s been half-deliberately leaving her alone."

"Hah! If she were really that righteous she wouldn’t need to live in hiding. And do you know how completely she wrecked the stock market this time?!"

"...Did you get bitten or something?"

"Kyaaaaah!!"

A group of people moved through the Ain shopping district near where Siwoo lived. Every one of them wore a flashy hero suit.

"Who’s the hero in charge of this area?"

"You know the one. She’s been all over TV lately."

"Ah—Astra, right? She took down a large-class monster last time, and I think she also bagged a B-plus villain?"

"I heard the villain was actually taken down by that other girl next to her—Snow White."

"Whatever. Point is, a request for cooperation won’t get an answer. Still, one more person would’ve been nice. Too bad."

"Are we really going to catch her...?"

"Don’t tell me you’re a fan too? I get it, but we still have to bring her in. After this latest mess a lot of civilians get nervous just hearing the word ‘villain.’"

The brief exchange ended. The heroes scattered in every direction. Once they had taken up positions throughout the shopping district, the C-class hero leading them—Silver Tracer—pulled a thick sheaf of documents from her coat.

Flutter.

The papers contained every dirty secret of Cheongsang Construction: the corruption, the collusion with villains, everything Black Cat Lady had dumped on the Association’s doorstep before vanishing.

"Hssss...!"

Silver Tracer activated her power. The residual traces clinging to the documents answered, and a silver thread shot outward, weaving and swaying as it searched for a direction. It never locked on perfectly, yet the general heading was clear enough.

"Good. Move!"

The heroes surged forward. The quiet late-night shopping street erupted into noise.

At the same moment—

Shhhk-shhk-shhk!!!

From the direction the heroes were heading, a black shadow twitched, then streaked away at high speed. It crossed the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠entire shopping district in a blur, glanced once at the tightening ring of heroes, and slipped into a narrow alley.

Crrrack!!

The human-shaped silhouette twisted. Bones and muscle seemed to collapse with a wet, grinding sound, and the figure shrank rapidly.

"What the—my tracking just cut out?"

"What? Try again."

"I am! It’s gone! Did she leave the search radius? No, that can’t be—"

The heroes arrived too late. Their target had already vanished. High above them, a small shadow watched their confusion for a moment longer, then slipped away with leisurely calm.

"No! She’s still nearby. Comb every inch!"

"Meow."

Even as the heroes refused to give up and began a thorough sweep, the shadow—no, the black cat—gave a short, irritated cry and scanned its surroundings. Its eyes landed on a restaurant building whose tiny kitchen window stood slightly ajar.

The opening was far too small for a person. For a cat, it was perfect. The cat slipped inside.

It prowled the restaurant that still held faint food smells, then sat and began grooming its fur while muttering to itself. The soft, pleasant voice that emerged belonged to none other than the woman the public knew as the B-class villain Black Cat Lady.

"What’s gotten into the heroes tonight? They used to half-ignore me."

Her power, which she herself had named Cheshire Cat, let her transform into a cat. Outside, the heroes still shouted and searched; she watched them with mild interest while continuing to lick her fur.

She was a rare transformation-type ability user—one who could become not just any animal but a legendary creature with its own special powers. Much like the Association president who could turn into a fire-wielding Red Dragon, Black Cat Lady could become the shadow-manipulating Cheshire Cat. That was how she had never once been caught while systematically looting so many villains.

"Hmm. Looks like they won’t give up easily. I’ll rest here a little longer."

She groomed herself with her tongue like a real cat, listening to the persistent voices outside. Then a small sound escaped her.

Grrrowl.

"...Meow."

Turning into a cat was useful, but the animal instincts came with it as a side effect. Hunger that had been manageable a moment earlier crashed down hard. Black Cat Lady licked her chops in feline form.

They chased me so suddenly I never even got to eat. And after I did their jobs for them, too.

Annoyed and empty-bellied, she sniffed the air. Her newly sharpened sense of smell immediately locked onto a rich, sweet-savory aroma.

Sniff... sniff...

"Nyaang."

Once she caught the scent, she could not believe she had ignored it even for a second. The building was clearly a restaurant; every spice and food smell now clawed at her.

"Nyaang... maybe I should hide somewhere else?"

She grumbled at her own reduced patience and considered fleeing the food smells. Then her eyes fell on a pot whose lid sat slightly ajar.

"...Meow."

Something tugged at her hard. The heightened animal instinct insisted she had just discovered the ultimate prey she could not leave behind.

Meat...

She nudged the lid aside. Inside lay the mouthwatering short ribs—the very braised short ribs Siwoo had made earlier.

Grrk.

"....."

Conflict flickered across Black Cat Lady’s face. She was a B-class villain whose every appearance shook the nation and forced special news bulletins. Looting other villains was half hobby, half sport, and the notoriety was a badge of pride.

I’m a B-class villain. The famous Black Cat Lady...

And yet here she was, debating whether to steal food simply because she was hungry. The closer she got, the harder it became to resist.

She kept wrestling with herself until a final rationalization settled the matter.

Well... I have money. And jewelry. Leaving a little cash behind should be fine, right?

Pride folded. She opened the pot the rest of the way, plucked out a chunk of meat, and ate.