The catgirl tilted her head and said, “Hmm, that’s a good question. I don’t really know either, meow~ But I get the feeling you’re the kind of good person who would crouch down to feed a stray cat on the street? So you’ll feed me too, right?”
If she had to pinpoint a reason, it was simply because Freya had caught her stealing food, which had served as an introduction of sorts.
Besides, for the catgirl, asking didn't cost her anything. If Freya agreed, great. If she refused, she could just leave and look for food elsewhere.
Freya fell silent for a moment. If she saw a stray cat on the street and had food on hand, she really would feed it. Of course, if she didn't have any and had to go out of her way to buy some, she wouldn't bother.
But this comparison made absolutely no sense! The creature in front of her wasn't an actual cat; she was a person. Freya initially wanted to refuse, but on second thought, the catgirl was only in this miserable state, running for her life, because she was taking the fall for Freya. Plus, she was currently in a simulation (which was the most important part). In the end, she agreed. “Alright.”
Seeing this, the catgirl’s tail wagged rapidly behind her. “Yay! You’re such a good person, meow~!”
Freya said, “By the way, I don't know your name yet. I'm Freya. Nice to meet you.”
The catgirl said, “I'm Kuro~”
A question mark practically popped up over Freya's head. That didn't sound like a normal name at all; it sounded like a very lazy alias. She said, “I'm willing to shelter you even though you're wanted, and I've promised to feed you, yet you're giving me a fake name?”
Now it was the catgirl's turn to look confused. She tilted her head slightly, her cat ears twitching. “It’s not a fake name. Kuro is my real name, meow~”
Freya thought about it. Was she one of those characters who started out as an orphan, wandering around without a name, and then just made one up for herself?”
But in the next second, Kuro said, “I really like the name my papa gave me. I think it sounds really nice.”
Freya was taken aback. “You have a pa—no, your father gave you a name like that? What's your last name?”
Kuro said, “I don't have a last name. My full name is just 【Kuro】, meow~”
Freya paused before saying helplessly, “Your father is quite a character.”
Kuro thought about it. “Quite a character? That sounds pretty accurate! Anyway, he’s super amazing, meow. A super amazing... character!”
Freya was completely at a loss for words. This catgirl's father was quite something, and the catgirl herself was certainly a piece of work.
She walked back to the bed, saying “scoot over” as she lay down. It wasn't dawn yet; whatever happened could wait until tomorrow. For now, it was time to sleep.
But Kuro was full of energy and had no intention of sleeping. She kept trying to strike up a conversation. “Freya, Freya, you're clearly just an ordinary person. How did you end up living in a grand noble's mansion?”
“Freya, Freya, you smell so good~”
Slurp~
“Eek—!”
Freya, who had just lain down, sprang up like a carp. She reached up to touch her cheek, which felt slightly damp, and stared at the catgirl in front of her. The girl tilted her head slightly, asking in confusion, “What’s wrong?”
Freya said, “Did you just... lick me?”
Kuro said, “Yeah, what’s wrong with that?”
Freya said, “What do you mean 'what's wrong with that'? Why did you lick me without saying anything!”
Kuro said, “You smell so good. Isn't it normal to take a lick?”
Freya didn't even know how to begin criticizing her. “How is that normal, hey!”
Pausing, she said, “Anyway, don't touch me. I'm going to sleep. If you wake me up again, I won't feed you anymore!”
“Meow~” Kuro shrank her neck, her cat ears drooping. However, even though she was deliberately acting cute, Freya had no intention of softening her stance. Her sleepiness was washing over her again, and in the middle of the night, she really just wanted to sleep.
She lay back down, and this time Kuro didn't disturb her. Soon, morning arrived.
When Freya got out of bed, she found Kuro curled up almost into a ball, hugging her shins as she slept in a corner of the bed, letting out soft purring sounds.
Yet, despite being asleep, her ears still twitched from time to time, which was actually quite cute.
Not wanting to wake her, Freya tiptoed out of bed. At breakfast, only Freya and Euphy sat at the massive dining table. Freya glanced at the dishes and began frantically piling food onto her plate, preparing to bring some to the catgirl.
Seeing her piling food without eating, Euphy spoke up directly. “Fufu, is there someone else in your bedroom?”
Freya, “?”
Euphy thought for a moment and said, “Is it the little thief who broke into my house last night to steal food?”
Freya, “...”
True, Freya had no intention of keeping it from Euphy, but she hadn't said a single word yet. How could anyone guess that directly?
Euphy explained, “After all, you promised me earlier that you'd eat with me, Fufu. Now you clearly want to take the food and leave, so there must be some special circumstance. Linking it to what happened last night, it's not hard to guess. Since that Trick Pathway extraordinary was dragged into trouble because of you, do you want to help her?”
Freya nodded. “That's pretty much how it is.”
Euphy said, “Then let's go. I'll come with you. I happen to be quite curious about the Trick Pathway anyway.”
The main thing was that Euphy knew they weren't in reality right now, so keeping a thief in the house didn't matter at all.
And so, the two of them carried the food to Freya's bedroom. After pushing the door open, Freya scanned the room but didn't see Kuro anywhere. She was slightly startled, but realized why when she looked at Euphy beside her. She said, “Kuro? Are you there? This is Euphemia, my friend. She can be trusted.”
“Really, meow?” Along with the voice, Kuro’s figure slowly materialized right next to Freya, less than a meter away.
It was a good thing she appeared slowly. If she had suddenly startled her, Freya probably would have dropped the plate in her hands.
Euphy said, “I'm Euphemia. Nice to meet you. What's your name?”
Kuro said, “I'm Kuro~”
Euphy blinked. “Huh?”
...
Rate on N.U.
