“Not a word to her.”
I quickly cut Beelzebub off. I didn’t even need to consider it.
“Very well. I pity you, so I shan’t say a word of this to Her Majesty. Be grate—”
“Mraaaooow!”
I leaped into the air and swiped at a slime.
“…Why must you interrupt me in this manner?”
“Ah-ha-ha-ha… I can’t stop jumping at things that move.”
Ever since I’d sprouted these cat ears, I felt like my reflexes when I attacked slimes had gotten better.
“If you want to learn more about the catperson lifestyle, I can ask Pondeli for you.”
“No! I’m not trying to live like a catperson. Though I appreciate the sentiment.”
“And if you’re looking to move to the town around Vanzeld Castle, I can provide you with your choice of property.”
“I’m not moving!”
It seemed that to Beelzebub, the cat ears made me look like a demon.
I found I had some new problems thanks to my temporary feline nature.
For instance, when we were having stew for dinner, I spent most of my time blowing on it to cool it down.
“It isn’t all that hot, Mistress. I don’t like hot things, either, so I made it a nice temperature.”
Flatorte had made dinner that day, and the soup bowl was stuffed full of ingredients. Flatorte always made hearty dishes when she cooked.
“But it still feels hot… I’ll eat it once it cools.”
Now that I had a cat’s tongue, I had a newfound aversion to anything giving off steam.
And that wasn’t the only thing that made me aware of my catlike qualities. I’d started wanting to avoid baths as well.
I was sitting in my room thinking, I’m not that dirty. Maybe I can skip it this time…
I shook my head.
“No! I can’t compromise like this! I’m forcing myself in! Some cats like taking baths—I shouldn’t generalize!”
Aside from my occasional reflexive reactions, I had complete control over my body, and I was able to get in the bath. Still, I spent way less time in the water than usual.
“I can’t even relax while I’m soaking…”
There was a voice inside me screaming at me to get out. Being part cat sure was difficult…
I also opted out of going shopping in Flatta. If even one of the villagers spotted me, it’d spread through the whole place like wildfire. They loved gossip, after all.
Thankfully, the other family members switched shopping days with me, so I managed to avoid it.
The two weeks passed—they had felt both long and short at the same time.
At last, I left for the Thursa Thursa Kingdom’s cat god festival.
I couldn’t imagine how awful it would be if I was late and had to wait another year, so I gave myself plenty of time to get there flying on Laika’s back.
“Sigh, I suppose this marks the end of your cat life, Lady Azusa.”
“Why do you sound so disappointed…?”
“Personally, I…would rather like it if you could become part cat for about one day each month…”
“N-no thanks!”
I wasn’t going to do that—not even for Laika.
When we arrived at the Thursa Thursa Kingdom, it was decorated in all kinds of banners and flags. It really felt like a festival was about to start.
Muu and Nahna Nahna came to greet us right away.
“There ya are. You’re the star o’ this year’s festival. Ya need to rehearse.”
“Okay… I’ll do anything to get back to normal.”
Muu said I needed to “rehearse,” but I was essentially just a decoration, so it was pretty easy.
The cat god festival was a celebration that honored a humanoid cat deity the people of the ancient Thursa Thursa Kingdom once fervently worshipped. This time, I’d been chosen to play the part of cat god. Apparently, the festival had an even greater impact when the one chosen had actual cat ears.
First, I got on the palanquin, and we practiced marching down the chosen route. I thought I wouldn’t have to do anything, since I was just riding, but there were some spots where I was supposed to shout in a loud voice.
Then, at the climax of the festival, I had to deliver an oracle as the god, so I had to memorize a very long passage. That was probably the most difficult part.
“Can’t I put a little cheat sheet on the floor or something?” I asked Nahna Nahna, who was acting as my instructor.
“Miss Azusa, this is a very important celebration for us. I would appreciate it if you took this seriously. You must respect other cultures.”
“Ugh… You’re right… I can’t argue with that.”
This was a traditional festival. I couldn’t cut corners here.
I did eventually manage to memorize my lines, but that wasn’t the end. If anything, that was just the beginning.
“Good. Now try and recite the lines with inflection.”
“Ugh… You mean I have to make it like a performance?”
“Of course you do. This is an important ceremony. We can’t have you speaking in a monotone. That would spoil the whole event. You must convince the people that you are truly the cat god.”
Once again, she was right, and I couldn’t argue.
“It is important to repeat these lines several times over. Now begin again from the top.”
“Uh, okay… Meow, I’m the cat god…”
“You’re too quiet! You are playing the part of divinity! Act like it!”
“Hrrrgh! You’re so strict!”
Nevertheless, I survived Nahna Nahna’s very rigorous instruction. She was right. I was the star of this performance. I wanted to touch everyone’s hearts! And then I wanted to be freed from this cat hell!
“Very good. I see the sparkle in your eyes. Now let us run through it one more time.”
“Yes! Let’s do it! I’ll play the part of the cat god perfectly! No, I will become the god!”
And then at last, the day of the cat god festival was upon us.
I stepped from the ruins that enshrined the cat god, got onto the palanquin held aloft by ghosts, and rode as they marched along the chosen route.
As the cat god, I wore a bright and colorful costume.
All the guests were from the Thursa Thursa Kingdom, so there shouldn’t be any rumors. There was no risk, so I was going to go full steam ahead.
The palanquin set off, and I saw more ghosts than I had ever seen in my life. Had they all taken corporeal forms at once?
No. Because I had a cat spirit inside me, I could see all the ghostly spectators with my own eyes. It seemed the Thursa Thursa Kingdom was alive and well, so to speak. The streets were thronging.
I turned to the crowd and waved.
I could hear a lot of people shouting, “Cat God, Cat God!”
You know, this wasn’t so bad. I was kind of enjoying it. Even though I had been forced into this role against my will, it genuinely made me happy to be doing something for someone else.
The palanquin reached a turn. I had to say a line here.
I struck a pose and made my fingers into claws.
“Meow, I’m the cat god! Praise me more, meow!”
I couldn’t let myself feel embarrassed. If I were really the cat god, I would feel no shame doing this.
But off in the distance, I could see a table and chair. That must be a guest of honor.
And there, in the chair, sat Pecora.
No! This is bad…
“P…praise…me… Meow…”
My voice suddenly went quiet.
One of the ghosts carrying the palanquin said, “Try to be a little louder.” Yeah, I know.
But…
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