Pecora was here! As a guest of honor!
I’d slipped up. The Thursa Thursa Kingdom had ties to the demons. It was natural for Pecora to be invited to such an event.
And it was already too late—Pecora was leaning way over, staring straight at me!
“Oh, the one playing the part of the god looks a lot like my elder sister… Hmm? Hmmmm?”
Maybe she hadn’t noticed yet. Or could she already tell who I was? Either way, I had a feeling I was done for.
After that, I shouted, “Meow, I’m the cat god! Praise me more, meow! Give me gifts! Meeeooow!” just as I was supposed to do. And each time I did, I noticed Pecora following me at a distance.
Stay in your seat, woman!
But judging by her expression, it didn’t seem like she was plotting anything. She was simply peering at me suspiciously. Perhaps she still hadn’t discarded the possibility that this was just a chance likeness.
The festival clothes probably helped. I must look very different.
Oh, and it was only now that I realized my tail was waving back and forth. Maybe she saw me as an actual catperson. If I were just wearing a costume, the attached tail wouldn’t move around like this.
It seemed like Beelzebub hadn’t told Pecora about my cat situation. I was really thankful she’d kept her promise.
“Right. I’m going to put on my best act until this festival is over.”
I was going to get through this. I would show them all what the Witch of the Highlands could do!
—Oh, right, I wasn’t supposed to be the Witch of the Highlands… I was the cat god. No one else. I had nothing to do with Azusa or any witches!
“Meow, I’m the cat god! Watch out, meow! Some flowers are poisonous for cats!”
The ghosts carrying the palanquin said, “Your performance has gotten much better. Keep it up!” I’d made a breakthrough.
I wasn’t even acting anymore. I was a catperson. Pecora could follow the parade with that unsatisfied look on her face all she liked! In fact, I didn’t even know who Pecora was! To me, she was just a guest of honor—some important stranger!
After I had meowed in several designated spots along the way, the palanquin reached its final destination—Muu’s grave (which was also a shrine and her house).
Her grave was also a large structure somewhat like a pyramid, so it wasn’t especially spooky.
We wouldn’t be going inside. The palanquin was carried along the outer stairs to about halfway up the grave. A spacious temporary stage had been built there. From it, I could see out over the entire kingdom.
The final part of the program would take place here.
Muu emerged from the grave and took a seat on my palanquin.
Even Muu, the queen, had to humble herself before the god, so she dipped her head.
“Mind not your manners, meow. Lift your head, meow.”
Muu did as instructed.
“Ha-ha, Cat God. It’s been a while! The Thursa Thursa Kingdom is thrivin’ fanks to you! I wanna keep it up, so lend us a paw in the comin’ years, ey?”
Perhaps because the divine parlance sounded so much like a cockney accent, I couldn’t sense a hint of regal dignity in her words. But it wasn’t like the cat god could point any of that out. I had to stick to the script.
“I’m impressed, meow. You speak the divine parlance with ease, meow!”
This was not my personal opinion. I was merely reciting the script.
“But if you want my help, show me more, more of your faith, meow!”
I sounded really arrogant, but again, this was all in the script.
“We’ve prepared several sideshows just for yer entertainment, Cat God! First, a race!”
I then heard a loud cheer in the distance, and I looked down to the ground from the stage.
Several ghosts who apparently had been good at athletics in life began to run (?). It looked like their feet were touching the ground, at least.
“Run, run, run! Everyone in fifth place an’ above gets prize moneeey!”
The idea was to entertain the cat god with some running around.
“The view’s pretty good from ’ere, innit? You’ve got the perfect spot!”
Muu had scarcely taken part in any of the practices, but she was basically acting the same as always, so I guess she didn’t need to. With a real queen taking the role of the sovereign, there wasn’t much she had to do differently.
“Yes, meow. I have a great view, meow.”
“There’re several turns along the course, an’ some people tend to fall. See? That one’s already eatin’ dirt.”
I guess ghosts could fall over, too.
“This is a dangerous sport, meow…”
“This use’ta take place in the temple. I ’eard it was started in the era of Epise the Third.”
“It has quite the history, meow.”
After about a minute, the top contenders reached the goal, and the race was over.
“That was nice, Queen, meow. But it was too simple—not interesting enough, meow!”
We had only been watching some people run around, after all.
“Gotcha. Then I ’ope you will enjoy watchin’ the float fight.”
Floats, each well over nine meters long, appeared from all corners of the kingdom. They started drifting towards each other on a collision course.
“Yaaah!” “Don’t lose to the next town over!” “Smash ’em!”
When they collided, the floats would shudder, sometimes even toppling over.
“This is getting real violent, meow!”
“I ’eard you enjoy the bloodshed, Cat God.”
Was I an evil god…?
“Before we all became ghosts, this event always ’ad injuries. But no one can die now, so we’re safe. I ’eard this all started when the capital was Kishiwadi under the reign of Danzir the Fifth.”
“So this has a whole history, too, meow.”
At last, one float remained standing, while the rest had all fallen over. The event had been quite a spectacle…
“Meow, meow, meow! That was fun, meow!”
“Then, Cat God, will you ’elp our country?”
I gave an evil little smile. This was a part of the act, too—I wasn’t actually evil.
“No, this is not enough, meow! The world of gods runs on money, meow! I need cash, meow! Faith takes the shape of a coin, meow!”
Now that I was properly in character, it struck me how rotten the cat god was…
“Show me your faith, meow. Otherwise, I won’t give this country my protection, meow!”
I walked around atop my palanquin so that all the audience members could see how smug I was. I didn’t feel embarrassed at all now—my transformation was complete.
“Very well. Then we’ll show ya our faith.”
As Muu spoke, she taped a coin to my leg. It was cold… I was used to the sensation of coins in my hand, after all.
“What are you doing, meow…?”
That was the line in the script, but it was also how I felt.
“I offer this coin to ya, Cat God.”
Yes—apparently coins were offered to the cat god by sticking them directly to the god’s body.
The ghost staff members came up to me and started sticking coins on my face and arms. This was less fun… There sure were some weird festivals out there…
Stick, stick, stick, stick, stick, stick, stick, stick…
By the time the fifth coin had been taped to my cheek, I yelled, “That’s enough, meow! Enough! I promise to help grow your country!”
“Ha-ha-ha! Thanks for your blessing!” Muu kneeled before me.
I peeled off all the coins and scattered them among the people watching at the foot of the palanquin. Each coin one picked up was said to bring great profits, and I could see the ghosts crowding around.
“People always ’urt themselves pickin’ up those coins,” explained Muu.
This whole festival sounded like a bloodbath…
I patted Muu’s head as she kneeled before me.
“My divine power is now yours, meow~ Be thankful, meow~”
The narrative was a little rough around the edges, but the festival had some semblance of a storyline. The ruler entertained the cat god, who then shared its power with the country.
“Long live the queen!” “To sound health!” “May my business prosper!”
The ghosts in the audience were all yelling. In a way, it was a touching little ending.
With my role as cat god fulfilled, I should be able to turn back to my normal self now. But then Nahna Nahna approached the palanquin where Muu and I sat.
Huh. Nahna Nahna coming over wasn’t part of the script… Or maybe she was here to collect me, now that my job was over.
“Mighty Cat God, there is another sovereign who wishes for your power. This is a special case, but do you think you could oblige?”
I had a terrible feeling about this, but I knew I couldn’t say no. Even the most tyrannical gods could read the room.
“Very well, meow. I’ll make an exception, meow. Bring them over, meow.”
Pecora immediately spread her wings and lifted into the air. There was a great look of delight on her face.
I was right! This is terrible!
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