Regarding Cats in Another World
The representative of Trash II’s women… What was her name again? If I remember correctly, it’s Tsugumi. For her treatments, we procured various medicines that were difficult to acquire.
The wound itself had healed, but the distorted weapon made with the power of the Spirit Tortoise seemed to have left an unexpectedly nasty aftereffect on her.
We went to get unicorn horns as ingredients for medicine, and just came back. Somehow, the unicorns here were similar to the ones I knew from stories. Unicorns are horse-like mythical beasts with a disgusting nature that flock to virgins, and they really seemed to exist in other worlds.
So Kizuna, Glass, Raphtalia and I went to hunt unicorns in the forest, but as soon as they entered the forest, the unicorns came out of the forest close to me and started to eat grass and rest, so we were able to easily hunt them down.
Kizuna mocked me and called me a “maiden”, what the heck is she talking about?
Anyway, we took a breather after we finished treating Trash II’s women. I left the castle’s treatment room and sat on a chair in another room.
“Phew…”
If I think about it again, Tsugumi and her friends went on a rampage in Kizuna’s world using genetic material from the Four Sacred Beasts of this world, which are on par with the Spirit Tortoise… So there are people who have such extremely rare materials in their possession.
“Kizuna, materials such as those from the white tiger and others have spread a lot, huh.”
I think that those materials were the ones that Trash II was originally using for his research.
“I’m sure that what he had were the basics, but… yeah, something troublesome sure has spread.”
“I heard that those monsters appeared after the waves arrived, and that Glass and the others fought them,” Kizuna said.
It’s easy to imagine that those beasts had a role equivalent to the Spirit Tortoise in our world, but after that, various troublesome things happened in this world.
It’s kinda similar for us, but I think I should give a thought about how to manage the materials after defeating Kyo. Though… I think it’s likely that materials from the Spirit Tortoise will be distributed for the purpose of reconstruction funds. It’s fine if they can manage the materials right, but my expectations are low.
Even if the Queen and other authorities put some restrictions in place, there are still limits. It seems that the weapons made of white tiger material were excellent too, so some distribution in order to strengthen our forces is inevitable.
In the first place, they already had time to do some research about the Spirit Tortoise using the materials from the Spirit Tortoise’s familiar, so I guess it’s already too late.
Well, if we find someone researching such things in our world, we will pursue using our authority as a hero and crush them before they can cause problems.
“A white tiger… how cute would it be if it was a cat… Speaking of which, there are cats in other worlds, aren’t there?”
It’s a strange ecosystem when you think about it. Cats seem to count as monsters, but cats are cats, so…
“So did the world you were summoned to also have cats, Naofumi? A cat stole the fish I caught before, like a scene in a manga.”
“Stray cats, huh… I wonder what’s the principle behind the existence of cats here.”
“Well, if you put it that way, it’s not like there aren’t fish that you know. Even if we think about it for a while, I think we still won’t find the answer.”
“Or maybe the heroes who were summoned here in the past brought them in or made them by modifying some other monsters. I guess that’s what happens when you summon heroes from other worlds.”
Though, it would be funny, if a cat was summoned as a hero.
“What’s wrong, Naofumi-sama?” Raphtalia approached us.
Speaking of which… When Raphtalia was still small, we were shopping in Melromarc’s Castle Town, and I remember Raphtalia peering at a cat that I couldn’t tell if it was a stray or a pet.
“I was talking to Naofumi about cats existing in different worlds. It’s strange to think that that creature exists in every world.”
“Even if you say so, it’s my first time coming to another world… It’s a little difficult for me to judge what’s normal and what’s not,” Raphtalia commented.
“Well.. right. From what I’ve heard, some of the races in our world don’t exist in Raphtalia-san’s world.”
Is it called “another world” because of the many differences in each world?
Well, there are no game-like statuses in Japan either, moreover monsters. Or, maybe animals are categorized as monsters.
“Looking at Raphtalia-san, there is a race with animal characteristics called demi-humans in your world you are summoned to, right, Naofumi? Are there cat demi-humans too? Back in our world, a cat-eared girl or something only can be found in anime, right?”
I think I understand what she wanted to say. If it’s me who just came to another world and heard about demi-humans, I will probably think about that too.
Raphtalia feels like a tanuki girl, which is rare for such a subculture of animal ear characters.
I guess cat demi-humans would have cat-like personalities.
“Cat ears… most likely they exist. Keel is a dog-like demi-human, so I’m sure they exist.”
I remember that Keel is said to be a Nui(ヌイ) race. (TLN: Inu イヌ = dog)
“Cat-ears… there were some in the village back then…”
Oh, just like what I guessed.
Raphtalia slightly averted her gaze.
… Perhaps they were the villagers who died in the waves and in the incidents that followed. Maybe the fact that she was staring at the cat in a daze back then was to remind her of those in the village. Even being reunited with Keel may have been something of a miracle to her…
“Girl with cat ears? Are they cute after all?”
“Rafu! Rafu rafu!” Raph-chan cried, likely screaming to show her appeal.
I think cats are cute, but I don’t think Raph-chan is bad either. It’s like a tanuki, and it’s pretty different from a cat, but she’s still lovely. Let’s stroke her for the time being.
“Rafu~”
Raphtalia used to be… There were some cute things about her, come to think of it. But now she’s grown big and now looks dignified.
“Please don’t look at me with those strange eyes while stroking Raph-chan, Naofumi-sama. I somehow don’t like it!”
Fumu… I don’t really understand, but she seems to not like it.
… Raphtalia has lost her hometown in the waves.
Just as Keel and her were reunited and trying to get things back on track, the Spirit Tortoise incident happened.
“Hopefully you can be reunited with the people from the village someday.”
We have to settle this silly battle as soon as possible and prepare for the next wave in Raphtalia’s world. In the meantime, I want to do something for Raphtalia’s hometown too.
“Yes, Naofumi-sama, let’s do our best.”
“Ah!” While I was talking with Raphtalia, Kizuna, who is looking at me mockingly, opens her mouth in an annoying tone.
What? What is she going to say?
“Raphtalia-san seems to be good at taking care of cats. Did you keep one a long time ago?”
“I didn’t have any monsters at home. There were monsters I took care of with everyone in the village though.”
There are monsters that are raised on the ranch, but there are no domestic cats… Thinking about it, demi-humans keeping pets… well, sounds possible.
From now on, I will keep Raph-chan as a pet after all. In the first place, Filo is also meant to be a monster.
I mean, why did Kizuna recognize Raphtalia as someone who is good at keeping cats?
“It seems like Kizuna once got her fish she caught stolen by a cat.”
“There were places where wild cats were being given fish by fishermen in the harbor. It’s true that if there was a chance, cats might steal fish.”
That must be a story from fishermen acquaintances of Raphtalia’s parents.
“But… I don’t remember seeing any cat steal any fish from Sadeena-nee-san. How strange.”
“I see… Oh yeah, Raphtalia is from a fishing village. Kizuna, Raphtalia might also be good at fishing.”
“Raphtalia-san, would you like to go fishing together next time?”
“If these things are over and we have some free time, let’s do it together. With Naofumi-sama too.”
Ugh… she also dragged me into this. Raphtalia is able to talk like that, huh.
And, she acts like it’s easy for her… since she’s from a fishing village, so maybe she’s really good at fishing.
“By the way, Kizuna, why did you ask if Raphtalia ever had a cat?”
“Why? Well… it’s obvious… you know why.” For some reason, Kizuna looks at me with a half a laugh.
Wait a minute, is she talking about me?
“You know, when you pick up an abandoned cat and take care of it, it seems to like you… like that?”
“Kizuna! You are calling me an abandoned cat!?”
“Well, you are ‘Naaofumi’, right?” (TLN: pun of “nyaa” aka the cry of cat in Japanese)
“Don’t call people’s names like it’s a cat cry!”
The heck is ‘Naaofumi’!?
I remember after the first wave, after the duel between me and Motoyasu with Raphtalia’s freedom on the stake. I’m aware that I was being pretty violent at the time, but who is she calling a cat!
“Umm…” Apparently, I’m not an abandoned cat in Raphtalia’s mind.
But… that line, I was once told something similar by a senior at school. ‘Your demeanor is cat-like’ he said. I mustn’t let anybody know about this though.
“If you say that, Kizuna… aren’t you cat-like as well?” Before I knew it, Glass appeared near Kizuna, glanced at Kizuna and warned her.
“Just what part of me has that cat-like element you’re talking about!?”
“It’s about how self-paced you are. How many times do you think I’ve to look for you, just to find out that you suddenly went out fishing without notifying anyone?”
“Ugh…”
Well, Kizuna has an extraordinary passion for fishing that we can’t just brush off.
“I see, in that sense, Glass is dog-like.”
“Say what you want. Your partner–Raphtalia-san is similar though.”
“Right. It’s pretty troublesome for both of us,” Raphtalia said to Glass.
“Yes. They are both troublesome cats,” Glass Replied to Raphtalia.
Glass treats me and Kizuna like cats, damnit.
“Why were we talking about cats again…?”
“It’s about how things would be easier if the white tiger was a cat, right?”
“Ah, right. It’s just a complaint.”
Cats… I just thought of them as pets. Come to think of it. When I got the egg from which Filo was born, I bought them with the intention of taking care of them no matter what monster is born, and sold them when I couldn’t take care of them anymore… But, there’s no way I can get a cat from an egg gaccha.
Things like cats hatch from eggs in these worlds… wait, that sounds possible. It seems that Usapils also hatch from eggs. The ecology of monsters sure is mysterious. Maybe that means that they are different species that are very similar.
“How to say this… In this world, it sounds like cats are like youkai and fight as monsters. Like a Nekomata.”
“I’ve fought one,” Kizuna responded.
“Yes, there are some in my hometown. Though, they are monsters,” Glass continued.
The heck, they exist? Well, in the world I am responsible for there are Nues too, so Nekomata might exist too.
“Kizuna-san was taking care of cats, but I think Naofumi-sama is better than me at taking care of cats.” Somehow I feel like Raphtalia is backing me up.
“Well, after seeing how Naofumi takes care of Filo-chan, I also think he seems to be good at keeping animals.”
“Really?”
“Rafuu!” I stroked Raph-chan’s throat like stroking a cat.
When I was a kid, I remember playing with my friend’s pet in the neighborhood. Basically, pets are friendly, so I didn’t feel particularly unpleasant.
I’ve also been told that the pets were more attached to me than their masters. In my friend’s room, when I was waiting for my friend, who had gone to the bathroom, a cat came and sat on my lap. My friend who came back from the bathroom said that the cat wasn’t the type that likes sleeping on someone’s lap. The cat yawned, sounded annoyed, and left right away.
When I was younger, I found a gathering of stray cats and brought dried sardines and fed them… It wasn’t the best thing to do, but it was somewhat interesting.
“Did you keep one at home when you were in Japan?”
“Naofumi-sama…” Somehow Raphtalia looks worried about me.
“I didn’t have a pet in my house. My brother made a fuss about wanting one for a while, but after we went to see some at a pet shop or foster parent, he immediately stopped nagging my parents about it.”
It must have been different from what he expected. It’s selfish to not take responsibility for a life.
When I return to my original world, I have to prepare an environment so that Raphtalia and Filo can live without me. Well, Filo is still a bit of a question mark, but Raphtalia is not a pet.
“Kizuna, you must have realized why his little brother stopped fussing about it, right?” Glass asked.
“Ah, yes I do. From the reaction of those unicorns, it seems that that reason is very probable,” Kizuna agreed.
“That’s right. It feels kinda lonely.” Somehow Raphtalia also agreed with those two.
“What are you talking about?”
They are talking about something that I don’t know.
“That would also explain why Ethnobalt reacted to him in a similar manner.”
“So, Kizuna, you don’t have a cat?”
“I don’t~ I’m good, I have Chris after all~!”
“I have Filo and Raph-chan, so I think we’re similar in that regard.”
“Rafuu!”
“It’s not that good though…”
Raphtalia made a bitter face, but that’s how we finished talking about cats.
