WE WENT TO A CAT CAFÉ
A wyvern touched down near the house in the highlands. Just as I was wondering who it was, Nahna Nahna from the Thursa Thursa Kingdom appeared. She was alone.
“Hello! Oh? Is Miss Muu not with you today?”
Laika, who had been training outside, was the one to greet her. I was taking down the laundry.
“No, she isn’t,” Nahna Nahna replied. “I come bearing only an invitation, and I alone am enough for that. Her Majesty, who is planning the event, is presently incapable of thinking of anything else, so she has opted not to come today.”
“Can’t think of anything else…besides what? It isn’t gambling, is it…?” A worried look crossed Laika’s face.
Indeed, it wasn’t very long ago that we witnessed someone face terrible losses in gambling… And Laika was the type to disapprove of delinquent activities.
“Oh, no. It’s something else entirely. But I cannot tell you what.”
“You cannot? Why is that?”
Laika tilted her head. Anyone would be curious.
“In Her Majesty’s words, ‘More fun that way, innit.’”
Well, I couldn’t argue with that reasoning. Laika seemed satisfied as well.
“Thus, it is Her Majesty’s fault. If any of this displeases you, then feel free to hold her in a headlock next time you see her.”
Though spiteful as always, Nahna Nahna was still doing her duty by Muu, even if that meant she was at the mercy of her sovereign’s every whim. She must be a very kind person.
“My strength is not for tormenting the weak…,” said Laika. “But let us speak somewhere more comfortable—why don’t you come inside? Lady Azusa! You have a vis—”
“I know, I know. I heard everything.”
I had finished taking down the laundry, and so I made my way toward the others.
“If Muu’s preventing you from saying anything, Nahna Nahna, then I won’t force it out of you,” I said.
“In my opinion, it is not exactly a secret worth keeping, so I think it would be perfectly fine for me to tell you.”
“Whoa! There’s no need to spill the beans. Muu might be more disappointed than you think. Plus, I don’t want to feel guilty for hearing.”
“I’ll give you a hint—”
“I know you’re just going to tell us the answer. You really, really don’t have to say it!”
This woman had quite the stubborn streak, and she was not easy to manage.
“To avoid revealing the secret, I will simply tell you that Her Majesty has begun a little project. Something akin to a shop. You must drop by if it strikes your fancy.”
That sounded plausible and casual enough not to warrant the sovereign herself making the trip here.
“I just have one question,” I said. “Whatever it is, it’s not dangerous, right? Can the whole family come along?”
Events held by demons, ghosts, and gods often involved elements that could harm normal people. That was the one thing I wanted to double-check.
“Oh, no. You should be all right.”
Nahna Nahna’s answer was immediate. In that case, our conversation was pretty much over. We were done before she even came inside.
“They are all very tame.”
“…Tame?”
That wasn’t a word I was expecting.
Still, I had a feeling if I asked any more, the secret would be spoiled, so I held my tongue.
The following day, I and the rest of the family made our way to the Thursa Thursa Kingdom.
I was riding on dragon Laika’s back. Falfa and Shalsha sat behind me.
“Shalsha, Shalsha, what do you think we’ll be doing?”
“It’s a secret, which leads Shalsha to believe it must be some great discovery. Perhaps magic that can easily bring the dead back to life or a spell that can rewind time.”
“Wooow! She’s going to revolutionize both science and arcanology!”
The girls’ expectations were ballooning out of control.
“I don’t think you should get your hopes up, kids… She might just be feeding us a nice meal… And bringing people back from the dead would shake the world’s very foundations, which frankly sounds a bit terrifying…”
If such technology existed, Nintan or one of the other gods would probably have something to say about it. An innovation like that could turn the whole world upside down.
I was surprised to see another family member frightened by what the girls were talking about.
It was Rosalie, who was riding on Flatorte to Laika’s side. The ghost was full-on shaking.
“Why are you scared, Rosalie?!”
“I’d lose my entire identity if I was brought back to life…”
“That’s an awfully human concern.”
“And if that happened, I wouldn’t be able to float or pass through walls anymore…”
“I guess from a ghost’s perspective, you’d just be reverting to a less convenient lifestyle.”
No one thing could make everyone happy, it seemed.
“Gosh, I would be delighted if she’s devised some sort of new alcoholic beverage! I’ve heard you can make some really unusual drinks by fermenting fruits from the south!”
Halkara was the same as always. But her suggestion seemed a lot more likely. And if that’s all it was, at least there wouldn’t be too much trouble involved.
And so we arrived at the kingdom of the dead, Thursa Thursa, without issue.
Muu and Nahna Nahna were waiting for us when we got there.
“Oi, good to see ya. I’ll take ya straight there. Come right ’is way, just follow me………………… Ughhh……… I’m already knackered…”
Muu turned and attempted to walk, but she immediately exhausted herself.
“Did you really think that was going to work?”
“Oof… Guess I’ll walk an’ talk… This was a type o’ café ’at was once real popular in the old days o’ the Thursa Thursa Kingdom… Urgh! Come on, move it! Once I make me first step, I swear I’ll get the next one…!”
“I have a feeling you’ll finish explaining long before we get there, so feel free to wait.”
In the end, Muu used her ghost powers to move her body.
On the way to our destination, I tried to figure out what the secret was based on what Muu had said.
A type of café that was popular in the ancient days… Was this going to be like the maid café again…?
It was better not to get too hung up on the word ancient. The civilization Muu had lived in was extremely advanced. It had probably had almost anything I could think of.
Furthermore, Nahna Nahna’s outfit looked a bit like a maid’s dress… If people in outfits like hers would be doing the serving, it’d be a maid café by default.
But it would be tactless of me if I said as much and ended up being right, so I decided to stay silent.
Muu and Rosalie were chatting in front of me.
“Di’n’t wanna wait too long. I ’ad a good number, an’ they’re tame enough, so I figured it’s time.”
“Tame? What do you mean?”
“You’ll see. There’s a gate ahead, yeah? The café’s just past it. Use any free table ya like.”
Just as she said, beyond an arched wooden gate was a series of tables and chairs. And all around…were cats!
I could see black cats, orange tabbies, and ones with ears flat against their heads like Scottish folds! There were even some that looked like mousy-gray British shorthairs! Wait, wasn’t it a little odd to describe a cat as “mousy”?
“Well? Whaddaya think? These sorts o’ cat cafés was popular back in the old civ. You can play wiv cats while ya relax. Great idea, ey?”
Muu seemed proud of herself as she told us about it.
I see… When she said “tame,” she was talking about the cat staff (?) members.
I could hear the children cheering from behind me. Falfa was the first to rush forward, and Shalsha followed right behind her. They immediately took their seats and reached out to pet the cats’ heads.
“They’re so cuuuute! These kitties are adorable!”
“I see most of them are southern varieties. Not many have long hair. But all cat breeds are cute.”
In my opinion, the cutest thing was the girls playing with the cats. It was such a lovely sight. I would definitely have been taking pictures and posting them on Instagram if this world had such a thing.
“You’re an obsessed parent, Azusa. They’re just petting cats,” Sandra said flatly as more of the animals quickly gathered around her. “Hey, come on, what’s with you? I thought cats were carnivores. Sheesh, you want pets? Fine, I’ll give you pets.”
Sandra didn’t look as displeased as she sounded. I guess everyone found cats charming.
“This is a great idea, Muu!” I said. “Just fantastic! It’s definitely your best idea so far!”
“What’s wrong with the ones before, eh…?”
Muu looked at me with a strange expression, but if you asked me, cooling down the entire ancient civilization wasn’t just weird, it was a whole lot of trouble.
“The ghosts o’ the kingdom use’ta keep cats to pass the time. An’ I thought, ’ey, why not start up a cat café? An’ that’s ’ow all ’is came about.”
It was totally worth coming all this way.
“All right, everyone. Take your seats, and we’ll—”
I stopped.
Laika’s eyes were sparkling.
She must really love cats. I didn’t have to ask—I could see it in her face.
Come to think of it, most people had the impression that the more serious-minded a person was, the fonder they were of the free-spirited cat. This was just a myth, however. Lazy people weren’t suited to take care of pets, period, and that went for both dogs and cats.
Flatorte, meanwhile, was locked in a staring contest with a brown cat.
“You wanna fight with me, the great Flatorte?! You sure have guts!”
“No sparring with the cats!”
This was a café, so there was a menu. I asked the ghost waiter to give me the menu for the living, but—
“Then I guess we’ll all have boiled well water.”
—since this was the land of the dead, there wasn’t a lot to choose from.
“There’s food, too, y’know. Why don’t ya try some? The Black-Green Moor o’ the Dead’s a whole set.”
Muu poked at the menu.
“This isn’t the type of café a person orders a set meal at,” I said.
The picture she was pointing at looked like an okonomiyaki set.
The Black-Green Moor of the Dead seemed to be an ancient dish that kind of resembled okonomiyaki. Maybe it came down to cultural difference, but I wish it sounded a little yummier.
“Ya know I went out of me way to make sure the livin’ people had a menu, too. There’s even a sauce noodles set.”
I’d never heard of sauce noodles before, but it sounded like yakisoba.
“I’ll order one of those next time we stop by.”
To reiterate, this was not the type of café one came to for eating. The main point of this place was to play with the cats.
Laika, in particular, was now rolling around on the floor as the kitties crawled all over her.
“Ah-ha-ha-ha~ That tickles! You are kind of heavy, aren’t you? Ha-ha-ha, ha-ha-ha~”
“Laika’s expression is so soft… All her tension has vanished…”
I was glad she was having fun, but I had no idea she’d be so into this…
“Oh, I see you are getting closer to my face. Is there something on it? Ha-ha-ha~ My, have you decided to sleep on my tummy? Am I warm? Ha-ha-ha~”
Laika looked like she was going to melt… I bet she’d be willing to come to the Thursa Thursa Kingdom just to visit this place.
Flatorte, on the other hand, was looking very suave, drinking her well water at the table. It wasn’t a very suave drink, but it was literally the only thing on the menu.
“Mistress, Laika is much too soft. She usually acts so stoic, but once she’s surrounded by cats, she loses herself. Unless she gets her act together, she’ll never be the strongest.”
“Uh, I don’t think fawning over cats is much of an issue, but…yeah, I suppose Laika is acting pretty different right now.”
Laika wore a look of pure bliss as the cats surrounded her. My daughters were playing with them, too, but Laika was far and away the one having the best time.
“I ’ad no idea it’d be such a big ’it wiv the dragon girl.”
A kitten was sprawled over Muu’s head. I wasn’t sure if the cat had climbed up her or if she had put it there.
“Thanks for all this, Muu. Everyone’s having a great time.”
“Cats were valuable creatures ’ere in the kingdom. We use’ta run cat cafés like ’is one in order to keep large numbers of ’em. There are probably about three ’undred cats an’ their relatives just at this café.”
“Hmm? Cat relatives? Does that you mean you have animals other than housecats?”
At that moment, Halkara screamed.
“Eeeeeeeeeeeeek! Stoppppppppp!”
I looked over to see Halkara in a lion’s mouth with only her face sticking out.
“Sh-she’s being eaten! This is bad!”
“Oh, ’at’s just Corozawan the lion. It’s fine. He’s just playin’. He won’t eat ’er.”
Muu gave the lion’s name without a second thought. This must have been what she meant by cat relatives.
“It doesn’t look all that fine to me!”
“Ya know ’ow cats lick people’s ’ands, yeah? This is the same thing. He’s trained.”
But Halkara was going pale.
“Ooh… It’s so slimy… So warm and gross… I feel like a helpless prey animal…”
“We worshipped the cat’s relatives as divine creatures, see. Seein’ ’em makes ya remember just how small we all are.”
I had a feeling it was more about physical size than divinity.
Just then, a tiger sauntered over and licked Halkara’s face.
No Comments Yet
Post a new comment
Register or Login