DYBA 40

Chapter 40

Yeah. This must be a dream… I guess.

‘Even if Teté being a divine beast is one thing, him turning into a human is a bit too much—’

“It’s still dawn. Sleep more.”

“Huep!”

*Thud!* My heart plummeted to the floor at the sudden voice.

Clutching my chest, I turned my head toward the source. I saw him sitting on the chair beside the bed.

His presence was so overwhelming it was surprising I hadn’t noticed him until now.

Bathed in the faint light of dawn now rising, I could no longer dismiss his presence as some sort of illusion.

For a moment, I just stared at him blankly, unable to speak. He didn’t avert his gaze either.

Then, *tap*.

He familiarly placed his hand on my head and gently stroked my hair.

He was the one who had been a cat, so why did I feel more like the one being treated like a pet?

‘…For some reason, my pride’s hurt.’

The stroking felt pleasant, which made it worse. It was even more problematic because, perhaps due to his divine power, it just felt overwhelmingly nice.

My lips, which had been pouting and sticking out, slowly relaxed.

Right at that moment.

*Ding.*

—

**[Arte has donated 520 Florins!]**

[Did you make up with Pieté? Will, will you forgive me too?? Sniffleㅠㅠ I’m cryiiingㅠㅠㅠ.·´¯`(>▂<)´¯`·.]

—

My brows furrowed slightly at Arte’s status window that popped up. It wasn’t because any anger toward him remained.

“Pieté…?”

It was a name I was hearing for the first time. I wondered if Arte had sent the status window meant for me to the wrong person.

“Mm.”

But then, he, who had been silently pouring divine power into me, answered. My gaze, which had gone up to look at the status window, shifted to him.

“Your name is Pieté…?”

I briefly wondered if I should use formal speech, but kept my question short.

I was worried he might take offense, but he nodded with an unconcerned expression.

‘So he had a name.’

Well, of course. It’s not like anyone is nameless. I felt a bit sheepish for having given him the name ‘Teté’ on a whim without knowing.

I thought I should call him ‘Pieté’ now and moved my lips. But he spoke first.

“You can call me Teté.”

“…Is that really okay?”

“Yeah. Everything’s fine.”

His expression, which had been calmly watching me the whole time, softened.

It was just a faint smile, but the heavy atmosphere instantly changed to a bright one.

*Gulp.* My body flinched at his still heart-stopping smile, and I quickly nodded.

My throat felt strangely warm. It didn’t hurt. He seemed to judge this symptom wasn’t pain either, as he slowly removed the hand that had been stroking my hair.

*Whoosh—*

Simultaneously, his human form began to change into a familiar shape. My head, which had been tilted back to look at him, now lowered.

“Meow.”

On the chair now sat a cute cat, small enough that I could probably pick it up with one arm.

I hadn’t noticed before, but its glistening, glass bead-like red eyes, black fur, and even its strangely distinct features seemed exactly like his when he was human.

“It’s amazing.”
“Nyawng.”

He—no, Teté—pricked his ears up and tilted his head.

“Gasp.”

In the morning sunlight, his already cute appearance became extremely cute. Especially that twitching mouth and moist nose were a sight to behold.

Honestly, seriously, it’s so cute it might kill me…

‘Umm, is it okay to pet him?’

Even though he’s an extremely cute cat now, a pitch-black (?) man is inside him, so is this really okay?!

“Ugh…”
“Meow?”

My hand hovered in mid-air, wavering, about to go to Teté’s head.

Given all the past embarrassing history, one more wouldn’t even show, but still.

‘It’s not the same when you know and when you don’t!’

It felt like there was an invisible wall between Teté and me. I was hesitating, unable to decide what to do.

*Hop.*

Teté, who had been sitting demurely on the chair, suddenly jumped over to my bed.

“Eh?” In the meantime, Teté’s face rubbed against my hand floating in the air.
“Nyawng.”

Teté’s gaze was fixed on me. Then, *shhh*, he closed his eyes and *tap tap*, leaned his body against my hand.

*Purrrr.*

In the quiet bedroom, the sound of Teté’s purring echoed. To me, it sounded like a kind of permission.

*Flinch.*

I slowly moved my fingers, touching him, stroking his soft fur. Satisfied with the touch, Teté’s tail was held high.

“…Hehe.”

He’s cute. Even knowing Teté was a person, he was cute. Frankly, this was a cuteness that made you abandon all thought!

Perhaps because it had been a while since I touched him, it felt like adrenaline was surging wildly inside me.

Before I knew it, the gloomy thoughts in my head had disappeared, replaced by optimistic feelings.

‘So what if Teté is a person?’

First of all, he’s the cutest thing ever when he’s a cat. Besides, how could I possibly refuse when the cutest being is protecting me!

‘Teté said it was okay.’

Yeah. If he finds it comfortable and enjoyable to be by my side, that’s all that matters. Let’s not think about it too complicatedly anymore!

“Nyawwaa.”

As if sensing my thoughts, Teté let out a pleased cry.

*Purrr*, the purring grew stronger. Before I knew it, I had forgotten Teté was a person and was diligently petting him.

*Slurp—*

Perhaps due to the warm touch, Teté’s eyes closed. He told me to sleep more, but his own eyes were full of tiredness.

*Flop—*

Soon after, he removed his hand from me, went to the chair, and curled up. His even breathing echoed leisurely in the bedroom.

Then, *ding*, the sound of the status window was heard. Perhaps conscious that Teté had fallen asleep, the sound was quieter than usual.

—

**[Arte has donated 52 Florins!]**

[Hiccup,,, what a beautiful sight it is……☆]

—

Behind the status window, I saw him dabbing his teary eyes with a handkerchief.

I let out a stifled laugh at the over-the-top display I hadn’t seen in a while, but seeing him also made the unfairly buried resentment explode.

‘Wait. Does that mean Arte-nim also knew Teté was a person?’

And when I was saying those embarrassing things, instead of stopping me, you were on the side going ‘Uhmjjokjjok♥’?!

‘Arte-nim, how could you do this to me?’

I couldn’t possibly yell while Teté was sleeping, so I protested loudly in my head.

Couldn’t you have at least given me a hint before he appeared as a human?

*Ding.*

—

[Arte makes an expression of worldly injustice.]
[Arte pounds his chest and protests quietly.]
[Uh, uhh, buh, burgh]
[Wo-Words, words won’t come out…… Huh, I, me! Yesterday, I yesterday! That status window so much!]

—

‘What are you saying?’

I furrowed my brows at the completely incomprehensible words. Then, with a long *ding—*, the sound rang.

—

[Simplifying status window.]
[Arte : I’m really wronged! Me yesterday! Yesterday! At the church!]
[Arte : I kept, kept saying Teté is a divine beast, yesterday, kept, kept ringing, butㅠㅠㅠ]
[Arte : You said you didn’t see it, Cierraㅠㅠㅠ Boohooㅠㅠㅠ૮₍ ˃̵͈᷄ . ˂̵͈᷅ ₎ა]

—

“When did Arte-nim—”

Ah, right.

My voice, which had come out accusatorily, was cut off by a suddenly surfacing memory.

Come to think of it, Arte did keep ringing the status window at the church yesterday.

‘Ahem, I thought you were just making weird stories again and changing the subject…’

If you were going to say something that important, you should have appealed more strongly, shouldn’t you have?

*Slurp*, I rolled my eyes sideways and subtly shifted the blame to Arte.

‘Be-Besides, you’re the one who kept the secret?’

*Ding.*

—

**[Arte has donated 520 Florins!]**