Chapter 39
Suddenly, a hypothesis formed in her mind.
A face and divine power exactly like Arte’s.
Hair and eyes exactly like Tete’s. And… cat ears.
Arte was still silent, but Ciela was convinced. Tete was the legendary ‘divine beast.’
Yes, a ‘divine beast’ was no ordinary animal.
If it wasn’t an ordinary animal, then…
‘Could it… also transform into a human?’
For a moment, Ciela’s thoughts came to a halt. Even in that moment, she was still staring intently into the eyes of the man before her.
Her lips moved on their own.
“Tete…?”
Even as she spoke, she had countless thoughts of ‘it can’t be.’
But the face looking back at her gave the answer first.
*Shiver.*
The man’s eyes, which had been calmly looking down at her, curved beautifully.
Even though it was just the slight downward slant of the outer corners of his eyes, the atmosphere changed in an instant.
“Yeah, Ciela.”
***
‘He just said, “Yeah”?’
Even though I heard his answer clearly with my own ears, as soon as it entered my mind, it shattered into pieces and disappeared.
As if seeing something handsome triggered a momentary amnesia, his words dissolved when I tried to process them, scattering apart again and again.
“…”
The man silently waited for me, who was just staring blankly at him. He still wore that faint smile.
“Yeah, Ciela.”
How many times did I shove those words into my head?
My mind, clouded by shock, gradually began to clear. Finally, the thoughts that had been completely cut off began to function properly again.
‘So… that man is my precious baby, my cat…?’
Of course, my mind working didn’t mean logical deductions popped right out…
‘He said “yeah,” so that must mean yes. So clearly, that person must be T-Tete.’
No, just looking at him, where does it even fit?
I scrutinized the man from head to toe again.
He was so tall that my craned neck would hurt, and he had a stiff, sturdy build that seemed to lack any of a cat’s flexibility.
His attire was also an intimidating black suit. He didn’t fit a baby cat at all, but perfectly suited a wolf or a tiger.
‘But how is that person Tete?’
Our Tete wasn’t like that!
As if voicing my inner thoughts, my head shook on its own.
Seeing me, the man slowly blinked.
In that moment.
*Poof.*
“…Huh?”
Familiar tufts of fur appeared on the man’s ears. Jet-black ears that I hadn’t even touched, yet I could picture their soft, fluffy texture perfectly.
“I told you… it’s not a dream.”
At the same time, the hand that had been stroking my head slid down and grabbed my wrist.
His touch was cautious. So much so that it would feel embarrassing to pull away in surprise.
I blankly watched what he did next. He suddenly knelt on one knee and guided my hand to his ear.
*Flutter.*
“…!”
The cat ear twitched against my fingertips. It was a familiar sensation. It felt like driving the final nail into my own persistent denial.
Only then did I barely acknowledge that the man before me was Tete.
“Why… why…?”
What followed was an indignant question. All the words and actions I had ever directed at Tete flashed through my mind.
“Gasp! Even your jelly paw pads are cute! I really want to go *nom* on your whole foot…!”
“Tete-yah, do you want a kiss from your noona? Ah! Don’t run away, Tete! It’s not bad!”
“Sniff sniff, did you get caught in the rain? You smell a bit wild. Hmm, I guess you need a bath, right? Tete, shall we wash together~?”
No wonder! Usually such a well-behaved cat, whenever I said things like that, he’d run away in disgust!
‘You mean you understood all those words perfectly?!’
And while being fully capable of transforming into a human?!
I even felt like I’d been played. Feeling the heat of shame rise up the back of my neck, I looked at the man.
He, who had offered me his ear, looked up and met my eyes. Touching his ear had brought our distance close in an instant.
*Hup.* I swallowed a shaky breath. Unfazed, as if he couldn’t see my trembling pupils, he tilted his head, rubbing his ear against my hand.
“Well, I didn’t intend to appear in human form.”
Wh-what?
‘If you thought that, shouldn’t you have hidden it forever?’
“But why…!”
Why do this now of all times?!
It was so absurd, my voice came out sharp on its own. I hurriedly cut off my words and frowned.
At the same time.
*Swoosh.*
“…!”
He closed the distance, which was less than two handspans, even further. It was close enough to hear breathing clearly.
“B-back up a little…”
Even as I said that, it was me who hesitantly retreated. To make matters worse, I couldn’t completely widen the distance.
‘Why is my back to the bed?!’
If I accidentally fall back, it’ll get even weirder!
In the end, I had no choice but to look at the man, Tete, with a sullen expression.
Then, he frowned slightly and spoke.
“Well. I thought if I stayed a cat, you might abandon me.”
“…!!!”
Instantly shocked by his words, my mouth dropped open on its own.
‘A-Abandon you?’
“Why on earth would you think something like that…?”
There’s no way I’d abandon Tete! And the fact that the person in question was worried about it made the shock double.
“You put me in another room.”
“That’s because I thought Tete was having a hard time!”
“Not hard at all.”
A slight pressure was applied to his hand, which was holding my wrist as if it were there but not there.
As if pressing with a cat’s jelly-like paw, he pressed down on my wrist with his thumb.
*Whoosh!*
Along with that, divine power poured into me again.
“I’m telling you… I’m not having a hard time.”
The last part sounded almost like an excuse. It was as if he was saying he became human just to say that, so don’t get angry.
‘…I’m not angry.’
It’s just that I’m a bit embarrassed because the cat I showed all my sides to turned out to be a grown man.
“Ahem. Well, I’m glad it’s not hard, I guess.”
I rolled my eyes, which had been looking askance into empty space, and looked at the man again.
The red eyes staring straight at me spoke of undeniable truth.
But why? The worries I’d had until now weren’t completely resolved.
Instead, they settled in one corner of my heart, leaving behind a sticky residue.
To be honest, precisely because he was human, the thought ‘is this right?’ grew stronger.
‘What if…’
Behind that indifferent face, he might be hiding annoyance.
‘Taking care of a sick person is originally the most—’
“Come here.”
*Thump.*
In that moment, the man’s hand cupped the back of my head and pulled me forward sharply. Before I could dodge, I ended up burying my head in his chest.
*Click.* My body stiffened on its own. The worries from a moment ago had long since vanished far away.
More than that, I’m someone who has never been held by a man, not in this life nor the previous one!
I agonized hundreds of times over whether I should stay buried in the man’s chest or push him away sharply.
Unaware of my state, he simply continued to gently stroke my hair as he had at first.
With each touch of his hand, the faint, lingering pain also cleanly disappeared.
“When it hurts, don’t think about anything.”
“…”
“It’s okay.”
*Thump.* My thoughts stopped again.
‘What exactly is okay?’
My pain? Or himself?
I wanted to ask for the precise meaning, but my mouth just twitched, unable to utter any words.
“It’s okay.”
Once again, his voice vibrated in my ears, traveling up the nape of my neck.
Again, I couldn’t ask the meaning of those words.
***
*Chirp chirp.*
“Ugh…”
Since when had it been? My consciousness had sunk deep into unconsciousness at some point, and now I could hear faint bird sounds.
Feeling more tired than usual today, I wriggled under the covers.
‘Mmm, so soft.’
The feel of the blanket against my whole body was plush. As if… holding a large animal—
‘…Animal?’
Animal reminds me of cat.
Cat reminds me of jelly paw pads and twitching ears.
Ears remind me… ears are?
‘Cat ears are that man’s ears…?’
“Gasp!”
When the drowsy chain of questions and answers reached the final answer, my eyes shot open.
“Wh-what?”
When did I fall asleep? I couldn’t remember at all.
The last thing I remember is burying my head in the man’s chest.
“Huh…?”
But was that really last night’s memory? Of course, I wasn’t drunk, so I remember it vividly.
But the moment I fell asleep is unclear, and haven’t I had realistic dreams before?
“Was it really a dream?”
