After that…
I kept going to make myself known to Dominique.
At first, he was grumpy, grumbling things like, “What the heck is with this cat?”
But over time, Dominique’s attitude gradually softened.
—
“You can’t even catch this?”
He waved a fishing rod made from a stick and string right in front of my nose, trying hard to get my attention.
(To be honest, I have a lot to say about this.
He thinks he’s playing with me, but seriously?
I’m the one playing with him, obviously!
…Anyway.)
—
“Kitty.”
He also casually gave me the name “Kitty.”
Now that I think about it, he’s been calling me that for a while.
Honestly, that guy has zero talent for naming things…
Putting that aside, I quietly observed how Dominique lived his daily life.
And what I realized was…
“This situation… something needs to be done.”
I narrowed my eyes and watched as the other trainee kids played ball together.
What did they say it was?
Something like a class to promote teamwork?
It was even an official training session with the instructors participating.
“Teamwork? Teamwhaaat?”
If it meant teaming up just to bully one person… well, I guess that makes sense.
It was that pathetic.
Because the trainees were only aiming the ball at Dominique!
—
“Myaaak!!”
Look at that! Just look!
Unable to hold back my anger, I jumped up on all fours.
Right in front of me, Dominique barely managed to dodge the flying ball.
But the real problem?
That ball was aimed directly at his head!
“What if he gets hurt?!”
And the instructor just stood there, completely ignoring the fact that Dominique was being targeted!
Sure, Dominique wasn’t going down easily, and he dodged them well…
But still—
“I don’t want to see him being bullied like that all alone.”
My insides were boiling.
“I’ve got to get back at them somehow.”
That’s when—
Something caught my eye.
A basket full of neatly folded towels.
It was probably there so the kids could wipe off their sweat during breaks.
“That’s it!!”
My eyes gleamed.
If Dominique couldn’t get revenge himself, then I’d do it for him!
I snuck over to the basket with an evil little grin.
—
And so, the first half of the ball game came to an end.
“Hey, did you see that just now?”
“You mean the ball I threw earlier…?”
The trainees gathered together, loudly chatting and laughing.
“You seem to lack stamina. Run five laps around the training field before you head in.”
“Aww, Instructor!”
The instructors were giving them various bits of feedback.
Meanwhile, our Dominique stood off alone at the edge, like a forgotten sack of grain.
Once I made sure no one was looking my way—
I quietly padded over to Dominique.
“Nyaa~”
Dominique’s gloomy expression finally brightened a little when he saw me.
“When did you get here, Kitty?”
“Nyaa.”
He plopped down and gently started stroking my back.
We’ve seen each other a few times now, and he’s clearly gotten used to cats.
His touch was surprisingly gentle.
As I rubbed up against Dominique’s hand, I slyly glanced over at the group of trainees.
“Look at that. They didn’t even give Dominique a single towel.”
My eyes lit up for a second.
Well, that’s exactly why I left them a little gift in that basket.
Smirking to myself, I silently counted down.
3… 2… 1…
—
“AAAAAAAHHH!!”
A piercing scream rang out.
Dominique turned around, startled.
Through his wide, violet eyes, you could see green bugs flying everywhere in a flurry.
And the trainees screaming and scrambling to get away.
“B-B-BUGS!”
“Hey! Get them away from me!”
“They’re chasing us!!”
I grinned wickedly as I watched the chaos.
Well, obviously.
I had just spent so much effort catching grasshoppers and katydids earlier.
Ugh, I hate bugs.
“But I did it all for Dominique’s sake!”
Ahem.
With my chin held high, I relished in the memory of my glorious bug-hunting adventure.
I shoved a whole bunch into the towel basket, so when someone opened it—
Boom. Out they flew.
Seriously, do you even know how hard it was sneaking around without being seen?
—
“GAH!!”
Just then, a grasshopper jumped up and smacked right into a trainee’s face.
It was exactly the one who had been aiming balls at Dominique’s head earlier.
“Get it off! GET IT OFF ME!!”
His face turned bright red as he screamed.
“Hmph. Serves you right.”
I snickered quietly.
And then—BOOM—the instructors exploded with rage.
“You’re panicking over a few bugs?! What kind of knight do you think you’ll become?!”
“Pathetic behavior! Absolutely disgraceful!”
The trainees all cowered in embarrassment and fear.
Meanwhile, Dominique glanced sideways at me.
“Did you… do that?”
“Nyaa, nya, nyaaa.”
Who, me? I have no idea what you’re talking about.
I played dumb.
—
“Pfft.”
Dominique stared at me suspiciously for a long while… and then laughed out loud.
“Alright, let’s say you didn’t.”
He reached out and gently patted the top of my head.
His hand, rough with calluses, was surprisingly warm and kind for a boy of just nine.
As I basked in his affection, my eyes sharpened again.
“Well, I’m glad I could get a little revenge like this…”
But I couldn’t just sit by and watch Dominique keep getting bullied like that.
Maybe I wouldn’t have cared if I hadn’t noticed…
But now that I knew, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.
I sank into deep thought.
“There must be a way I can help Dominique somehow…”
And as it turned out—
That opportunity came sooner than expected.
—
A few days later.
Adrian oppa came to visit our house.
He was holding a big bundle of gifts.
“Adrian oppa!”
I bounced up and down and ran straight to him.
Then I clung to his arm and looked up at him with sparkling eyes.
“My snacks!”
“All you think about is food, huh, May?”
Adrian oppa gave me a teasing glare, but I didn’t care.
I snatched the bundle from his arms right away.
After rummaging through it for a while—
“Found it!”
I held up the jar of candy with both hands and shouted joyfully.
Lately, I’d been giving almost all my snacks to Dominique, so I hadn’t had many left for myself.
Even if he doesn’t say anything, I think Dominique looks forward to them too.
I was about to stick my hand into the candy jar when—
“May, that’s not allowed.”
A stern voice stopped me.
It was Sabina unni.
“What did we say? You can have one after lunch.”
“Hiiiing.”
I pouted and stared longingly at the jar.
But Sabina didn’t bat an eye.
“You’ve been eating way too many sweets lately.”
She narrowed her eyes.
“You’ll get cavities.”
Haaah… so unfair.
I let out a deep sigh from the bottom of my heart.
All my snacks had gone straight into Dominique’s stomach, after all!
