Chapter 4. Supernatural Survival Method (3)
“…Did you just say Mya?!”
A tiny, delicate cry—one I could never forget.
I trembled like someone hit by lightning and hurriedly looked down.
because the owner of that voice was small enough to barely reach my knees.
“Hey—! Cat, you!”
“Myaaaa—”
Right in front of my completely customer-less stall, tail swishing slowly,
stood that blue-eyed cat—the very same one who had shared life-and-death moments with me just days ago.
I hadn’t known meeting a cat in this bizarre place would feel this comforting.
Surrounded by all kinds of strange and intimidating creatures,
I shouted with all the joy I had:
“It’s been a while!”
“Mya.”
The cat blinked slowly.
They say cats blink slowly to greet someone.
I blinked slowly back—but my voice was fast.
“You are happy to see me too, right?!”
“Mya, myaaa.”
Was that a yes or a no?!
Well, whatever it meant—he was happy to see me.
After all, this cat was basically the reason I awakened—my lifesaver, my benefactor, my… bene-cat.
“No, really—come on up!”
I thought it would ignore me again like before.
But the cat lightly hopped onto my stall.
Compared to the fancy, glittering stalls around me,
My stall displayed exactly one item—a bottle of spring water.
The cat looked around with its head tilted, then tapped the bottle with its paw.
Even if I hadn’t mastered “cat language,”
I knew exactly what that meant.
“Yes, I’m broke, and this is all I can afford to sell. Fight me.”
“Mya.”
“… Did you just say ‘yes’?”
The cat looked away and began licking its paw.
“Well… whatever. At least you came.”
I glanced at the huge orc across the street, admiring a rainbow-colored harp, and sighed.
When I first arrived here,
I almost fainted at the sight of monster-like beings casually walking around.
But after a few hours?
I was praying—even begging—
“Please, SOMEONE, ANYONE, stop in front of my stall!”
At least the quest didn’t say I’d fail if no one bought anything.
Time passed differently here than outside.
Outside, maybe ten minutes had passed.
or maybe not even one.
“But still—somebody has to show interest for me to sell anything!”
People like me in the real world could barely buy anything.
But this dimensional market must attract only rich customers.
Maybe I needed to buy more items from the market to fill my stall…
[⁕ Attracting customers is fine too!
Effective marketing skills here will also help you with your Open Market later :].
Sam-i, my fake guardian angel, added this uselessly cheerful advice.
Why was I doing marketing inside the Babel Tower?!
“Well… at least one of these creatures must have exactly 1 gold left.”
Hoping for a miracle, I reached out to the cat sprawled on my stall like it was being sold as merchandise.
It batted at my hair—which reached down to my waist—
then promptly closed its eyes and purred.
Soft fur, warm vibrations—
Everything was perfect… except the part where I had zero sales.
“By the way, are you still playing with that feather?”
“…MYA!”
The cat leapt up indignantly.
“What’s wrong?”
It suddenly jerked its head toward the air—
and then—
“…A pocket space?!”
A tear opened in the air like sliced fabric.
The cat stuck its entire head inside and swished its tail.
then pulled out the same feather I’d given it before—
now in miserable condition—
and dropped it at my feet with a furious meow.
“Myaaaa—!”
“… You REALLY played rough with it, huh?”
The once-beautiful feather my brother prized so much
was now basically a bare stick.
But more importantly—
This cat can summon items out of a pocket dimension?
No way this was a normal cat.
The cat whacked the sad feather, clearly displeased.
“You want me to buy you a new one?”
“Mya.”
“I don’t have another one.”
“Myaaaaaaaaa—!”
“Okay, okay, fine. I’ll search the dimensional market—”
Before I could finish, Sam-i—Samwise-wannabe—cut in.
[⁕ To help marketing managers communicate with customers,
Automatic translation is enabled within the dimensional market.
Please speak freely. :)]
“…Automatic translation?”
I stared hard at the notification.
If that meant I could finally understand this frustrating cat—
Then suddenly, a translation window popped up.
–Could you perhaps purchase a new feather for me?
And…
It translated into THIS.
“…What.”
That dignified, aristocratic sentence came from those cute, bratty “mya” sounds?!
I nearly screamed:
“Give me back my cat!!”
–I do not belong to you, so please stop using possessive terms.
I collapsed onto a nearby chair.
“This is a dream… My cat… talks like THAT…”
Out of all the insane things today,
THIS was the most shocking.
If a cat were to talk—
not that cats ever talk—
but IF THEY DID,
Shouldn’t it be like this:
‘Meow, meow, I want a treat, meow!’
But no.
This guy?
‘Could you perhaps acquire a replacement?’
–If you cannot purchase one, I shall seek alternatives.
And he said this while licking his paw.
I felt deeply betrayed.
He had been purring in my hands just minutes ago!
–So? Can you acquire one?
This feather’s form and usefulness were impeccable.
“… You said ‘mya’ twice.
How did THAT turn into THIS MUCH text?!”
Babel Tower was full of mysteries.
But this was beyond comprehension.
–Human?
The polite little voice nagged me.
“Fine, fine. You’re my first customer anyway. Let’s take care of you.”
I opened the market to search for feathers—
“But Sam—” I interrupted again.
[⁕ Please use your Repair skill 🙂
You can repair damaged items and receive compensation.
Ask for the customer’s name and enter it in the repair queue! :]
“Oh. Right.”
I paused my hands on the keyboard.
With all the stress about my empty stall,
I’d completely forgotten I even had skills.
Finally, I checked the skill:
[Repair Lv.1]
You can fix damaged items.
The rarer the item, the longer the repair time.
“Straightforward enough.”
To someone like me—pre-awakening—
Even a griffon feather was rare.
But maybe not here.
I wanted to check my other skills too.
But the cat—still tapping the feather impatiently—came first.
“This is repairable. Want me to fix it?”
“Mya—”
–I would be most grateful.
How long shall the repair take?
“… Still not used to that. No idea. I’ll check.
What’s your name?”
Sam-i, annoying nickname aside, worked quickly.
A repair window appeared immediately.
–You may call me Manti.
Manti let out a dignified mya.
The name was cute.
Too cute for that overly formal speech.
A new window appeared:
[> One new request
– Repair request: “Griffon Feather”
– Client: Manti (Dimension-■■)
“So it WAS a griffon feather…”
I blinked, stunned.
My brother had…
just casually brought home a griffon feather?
‘I really knew nothing…’
Before I could think deeper, a new issue hit me:
“…Wait. I don’t have mana. Can I even use this skill?”
No stats = no mana.
“Sam,” I answered instantly.
[⁕ Money replaces mana for market managers. 🙂
Combat skills use mana.
but your skills consume Gold instead.
Skills like “Dimensional Gate” require large amounts of Gold.]
[⁕ Minor repairs cost no Gold,
but rare repairs may consume Gold :)]
So basically—
My skills burn money instead of mana.
“Great. If I mess up, I’m screwed.”
[⁕ Correct 🙂 So please be careful.]
Positive spin?
As long as I had money, I could use my skills indefinitely.
Then again—
“No combat skills, no money, no house… What am I supposed to—”
“Myaaaaa—!”
“Okay! Okay! I’m repairing it!”
No time for existential crises.
I placed my hand over the feather.
[Using Repair skill on “Griffon Feather.”]
A golden glow enveloped the feather.
Then—
“…It’s done?”
It took maybe ten seconds.
Definitely a “minor repair.”
No gold consumed.
The once-bald feather was now lush and pristine.
like it had just fallen from a griffon’s wing.
Manti’s tail shot straight up.
–My gratitude.
Seeing him so happy made me feel better too…
though I still couldn’t sell a single bottle of spring water.
“Haaa…”
I slumped over my stall.
Manti didn’t care about my despair—
He happily chewed and wrestled with his restored feather.
“Are you happy?”
“Mya.”
“He’s happy.”
For someone who said,
‘My gratitude,’
He sure acted like a regular cat while playing.
“…Wait.”
A spark lit in my brain.
“Manti. You…”
He used formal language, sure,
but his body was unmistakably cat.
He adored his feather.
Which meant…
“Do you want more toys?
Or maybe a special treat?”
–If it is something you recommend,
I find myself intrigued.
Ah, yes.
A customer with good taste and good behavior.
Perfect.
I grinned.
“Manti… Have you ever heard of Churu?”
