“I knew it was you, Elder Sister~ Now that I’m close up, I’m absolutely sure! You’re so cute!”
She’d found me out!
“I do not understand, meow… Of whom do you speak, meow?”
Nahna Nahna, behind Pecora, said with a totally flat expression, “I informed our guest of honor about your identity, since I believed it to be my responsibility as minister.”
She did this on purpose!
I’d let my guard down. Making Beelzebub promise not to tell anyone wasn’t enough. This was a festival for the Thursa Thursa Kingdom—I should’ve been thinking about keeping Nahna Nahna quiet!
Pecora kneeled before me. “O Cat God, please offer your power to the demons.”
I didn’t have a choice. I had to play the part.
“…Very well, meow. Be thankful, meow.” I patted Pecora’s head.
“Wow… Your hands are so warm, Cat God~”
Well, if this is all it takes to make her happy…
“Had enough yet, meow?”
“Could you pet me for another five minutes, please?”
Five minutes was too long, but a little more couldn’t hurt.
Meanwhile, Nahna Nahna brought over a very handsomely decorated box.
“Cat God, we thank you humbly for your presence today. It’s not much, but please accept this small gift.”
“What is it, meow?”
We had moved beyond the script at this point, but I decided to keep putting meow at the end of my sentences anyway.
“Nothing less than a potpourri pouch made of the finest catnip.”
Nahna Nahna slowly opened the lid of the box. It was the type with a sliding top, and inside was a small cloth pouch sitting prettily in the center.
My instincts—no, someone else’s—began to scream: I want it! I want it!
The next moment—
—a spectral cat leaped out of my body!
The feline spirit pounced on the pouch in total bliss. I guess the stuff is irresistible even in the afterlife.
This strategy was like scattering some catnip a short distance from the radiator to lure the cat away.
“But if that’s all you had to do, then you could’ve done it two weeks ago…”
“We only open this box during the cat god festival. It’ll lose its smell if we open it too often.”
It was just like how some Buddha statues were only shown to the public once a year.
“Good for you, ey?” Muu pointed to my head as she spoke. “All yer cat parts are gone. Good for you.”
I put my hand to my head in relief.
That’s right! Now that the spirit was out of me—
“My cat ears are gone!”
I reached around to my butt. The tail was gone, too.
“Yes! I’m back to normal!” I threw my hands in the air.
There came a quiet applause from somewhere close by. Pecora was smiling and clapping for me.
“How wonderful, Elder Sister~ ”
“…Yeah. A lot happened, but all’s well that ends well.”
“That said, I wouldn’t mind you putting on cat ears every once in a while~”
“No.”
“But I am not the only one hoping for it.”
Pecora turned to watch as Laika approached.
Embarrassed, Laika said, “Lady Azusa, I don’t think it would be a bad idea if you put on cat ears now and then… It might serve as a nice change of pace…”
“Two votes won’t convince me!”
Once the festival was over, I paid a visit to the Thursa Thursa Kingdom’s cat café.
I lay down, resting my head on a lion’s stomach. As I lay there, other cats and tigers came to snooze with me.
“Phew. The exhaustion hits all at once when the festival ends, huh?”
One of the nearby cats meowed. I felt like it was agreeing with me.
“Cats really are the best thing for soothing one’s soul~”
As I lay surrounded by soft fur and whiskers, I could feel my spirit recovering.
“Sheesh. Don’t melt,” Muu said, approaching.
“I just finished a big job. I’m allowed to laze around for a bit.”
“Guess so. I won’t fault ya. But—” Muu’s eyes darted to a patch of empty air.
“—don’t let another cat spirit get in ya.”
There was probably a cat ghost where she was looking…
“J-just let me use the bag of catnip if that happens…”
She was right, though. Last time I was here, I’d wound up with ears and a tail. If I came here to recuperate and ended up as someone’s soul radiator again, I’d be caught in an endless loop…
Just then, a few of the cats lifted their heads to watch as a customer entered the café.
Ost Ande the reaper had arrived, a number of her tendrils waving around.
“…Hello, kitties.”
I quietly gave Ost Ande some space.
It was best to let sleeping cats lie…
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