~Chapter 8~
I had no idea where to start, so I just stared at Himong with my mouth hanging open.
Himong shook his head, then waddled over and plopped down on the sofa.
“Come here, meow. We’ve got a lot to discuss, Airevet meow.”
I followed him and sat down. Himong put his soft little paws on the coffee table, like a cat detective about to interrogate me.
“That dungeon—was it one you cleared in your previous life, Airevet meow?”
“Yeah! I’d already almost finished clearing that dungeon, and then the Gate opened right there!”
I jumped up like an accused criminal, defending myself. Himong nodded thoughtfully.
“Of course meow…”
“Of course? You know something, right?”
“I looked into it, meow. That dungeon appearing here seems to be because of you, Airevet meow.”
“What? Me? I didn’t do anything!”
“That’s because this dimension, meow—it’s brand-new and really unstable. And it got mixed with an impure element—Airevet meow.”
I was speechless. A cat calling me impure—insulting!
This world was the one I read in the original novel, and it was just beginning. And me, the story’s “possessor,” wasn’t part of the original—so technically, I was impure.
Himong’s claim was that my impurity caused the dungeon to appear here. I hoped it wasn’t me… but it was.
I was the villain ruining my own sweet second life.
Absurd! I yanked at my hair in frustration, then snapped at Himong:
“That’s ridiculous! Even if I’m possessed, a romance fantasy world spawning a dungeon?”
“Why’d you get possessed, meow? Do you have any idea how many headaches us Bureau agents get because of possessors?”
“Don’t blame me! I didn’t choose this! I died, then woke up here! What else could I do?”
“Don’t ask me that, meow.”
Himong shrugged like a weary bureaucrat handling a nasty complaint.
Grr, this rude cat… I don’t know how hard it is to adapt to a new world without being noticed.
I wanted to shout for a supervisor, but as an animal lover, I held back.
More important was what lay ahead for my possessed life.
“If the dungeon happened because of me, could more dungeons just pop up?”
“Possibly, meow. This dimension isn’t stable yet, so anything could happen.”
“What do you mean, ‘not stable’?”
“You said this is the world from your novel, right? Dimensions made that way start off shaky, meow.”
“So when does it stabilize—no more dungeons?”
“I asked the Director, meow. He thinks so.”
That was the first hopeful thing Himong said.
I scooted closer on the sofa and grabbed one of his furry paws.
“When will it stabilize? Can’t it happen sooner?”
But the cat shook his paw free and shook his head.
“Not my job, meow. When the novel’s story is complete, the world’s foundation solidifies, meow.”
“So everything has to play out like the novel? After it finishes, this world stabilize?”
“Yes, meow. The real beginning of this dimension is after the novel ends, meow.”
Himong said this with a solemn face, but it was nonsense.
It takes time for a new dimension to settle, but he—an entry-level Bureau agent cat—can’t actually do anything.
Bottom line: the world will follow the novel’s plot. The problem? The novel, “Secret Tryst in the Butterfly Garden,” hasn’t even finished yet—and it’s nowhere near done.
“What if a dungeon breaks early? What if a main character dies?”
“Then this world will never stabilize, meow.”
“Oh no…”
I was doomed. My second chance life was a bust.
There was nothing I could do—who knows when or where the next dungeon would spawn.
If one popped up on a deserted island, it’d end the world and my life, too.
No sweet times for me. I should’ve stayed dead yesterday.
I flopped on the sofa and sobbed.
“Airevet meow.”
Himong called softly, more serious than ever. I just whined, so he gently put his paw on my hand—his paw jelly soft and warm.
“Don’t worry, meow. If a Gate is detected, I’ll let you know, meow. You just have to stop it before the dungeon fully opens, meow.”
Please don’t say that—useless entry-level agent cat.
“So what good is a warning? You want me to clear it alone?”
Himong’s ears drooped. He clasped my hand tight, eyes huge and pleading.
He looked so adorable, my grumpy heart melted.
Okay, he’s super cute.
“Come on, meow. If this dimension doesn’t settle, they’ll be on my case, meow. I might lose all my fur, meow.”
“Alright, but how am I supposed to clear a dungeon solo?”
“You can do it, meow. I trust only you, Airevet meow.”
This laid-back cat? In the end, it’s all on me.
But wait—maybe I’m not completely alone. It wasn’t me who took down Laniere yesterday.
Someone else was in that dungeon—another Awakened one who could fight the demons.
And when the Gate opened, the dungeon was already 99% cleared.
If these dungeons appear because of me, I don’t know what condition they’ll be in.
But if it’s always near-cleared—and I only have to defeat the boss—that might work.
I used to be one of the top S-rank Awakened in my last life.
I know every dungeon strategy, so as long as it’s not one of those “die with the dungeon boss” S-rank dungeons, I can handle it.
Even if I can’t, to save Himong’s fur and my sweet second life, I’ve got to try.
“Okay, I’ll do it. But you have to warn me the moment the Gate opens, right?”
“I’ll handle it, meow!”
That super-cute, overconfident fat cat swished his tail and meowed proudly.
Even if I stop the dungeons, what about the novel’s plot? The engagement announcement in the Butterfly Garden was the first scene—and that’s already off-track, so I’m nervous.
I gently held onto Himong’s paw as he tried to pull away and asked,
“So the story just needs to follow the novel’s events? It doesn’t have to be exactly the same?”
“As long as the things that happen to the novel’s main characters happen correctly, I think that’s fine, meow.”
“That’s a relief.”
They’ll announce Haeyd and Larienne’s engagement at next week’s banquet—so the story can officially begin.
I just hope nothing goes wrong that day.
“When will the next dungeon appear—any way to know in advance?”
“No, meow.”
Himong hung his head sadly.
That little bald patch on his fluffy head was tragic.
