Kailas wasn’t even given time to curse. In that moment when the blinding light swallowed him, completely cutting him off from the world.

[Do you want a chance?]

A voice both gentle and commanding—one he had never heard before—resonated throughout his body.

‘Who are you?’

He asked, but he already knew without asking. This being was “God.”

[I will give you a chance. I’ll slightly twist the curse placed on you. From death to helplessness.]

“God” told him that instead of death, he would be given an opportunity.

[The way to break the curse is…]

Just as he heard that part, the light disappeared, and God’s voice faded away.

‘No! How can you disappear without telling me the most important part!’

When an angry Kailas shouted to call God back—

“Meow!”

But the sound that came out was strange. Instead of his usual booming voice, it was an extremely thin and small cry.

Kailas looked down at himself in confusion.

“Meow meow?! (What the hell?!)”

It wasn’t an auditory hallucination. The front paws he saw were adorably small enough to make him want to bite them.

‘When you said helplessness, did you mean I’ve turned into a baby?’

Just as Kailas turned pale—

“A cat?”

A woman with blue eyes and sparkling silver hair, who gave off an ethereal impression, was staring at him intently. As a confused Kailas stared back at her, a strange, semi-transparent window appeared before his eyes with a ding sound.

[Quest: Become My Servant.

You’ve been cursed to become a baby!

Find a way to break the curse while staying by the ‘Holy Maiden’s’ side.

Quest Duration: Infinite

Success: Curse lifted

Failure: Curse remains]

Though filled with unfamiliar terms, the conclusion was simple. He had become a baby panther, and to regain his original body, he needed to find a way while staying by Cioranne’s side.

“Meow~! (This can’t be happening!)”

Kailas couldn’t help but scream.

* * *

“Truly remarkable.”

The Pope exclaimed in an ecstatic voice.

“Cioranne Letus. My most powerful chess piece.”

The dazzling light that enveloped him was powerful holy energy. Despite being a curse, it felt warm and not frightening because of that.

‘Everything is going according to my plan.’

Normally, the Emperor wouldn’t be affected by holy power, but against this powerful curse, he crumbled helplessly…

“…But where is the body?”

Emperor Kailas, who had been confronting him, was nowhere to be seen. According to the curse he had designed, the Emperor should now be lying on the ground.

‘Something’s not right.’

Just as the Pope’s face hardened with foreboding—

People who had been standing at a distance rushed toward him.

“Are you alright, Your Holiness?”

“That was truly an incredible light.”

The Pope answered in a humble tone. In reality, all he had done was draw the formation.

“Everything is thanks to Holy Maiden Cioranne Letus’s power. And having such a powerful Holy Maiden with us is surely the will of our deity.”

“The Holy Maiden!”

Everyone marveled, but the Pope only smiled silently.

It had been a long time since he had stopped hearing God’s voice. Since he decided to act in God’s place for a perfect world. Nevertheless, Pope Incensino’s heart was at peace. Because he truly believed he was acting for justice.

‘Everything is for this world.’

His gaze swept over the empty space.

* * *

“A cat?”

Richard’s brown eyes widened. He focused on the small creature trapped between my hands.

“Why do you have a baby kitten?”

“I found it here. But I’ve never raised a living creature before.”

“Hmm.”

Richard knelt in front of me and extended his large hand. I placed the black cat on Richard’s palm. The cat trembled violently, looking around anxiously.

Meeting the cat’s golden eyes, Richard spoke in a voice so sweet it was almost creepy.

“Aww, what a cute baby kitty-witty.”

“HISSS! (I am not!)”

I thought it was cringeworthy, and apparently the cat agreed, as it showed its claws and bristled its fur.

Richard examined the cat by pressing its eyes, ears, and mouth with his thick fingers, then returned it to my hands.

“It’s feisty.”

Richard’s hand was marked with red scratches from the cat’s claws. But either because Richard’s skin was tough or the cat’s claws were still soft, there was no bleeding.

Richard placed his hands on his hips and said.

“It seems young enough to need milk. Poor thing, has it lost its parents?”

“It’s that young?”

“Yes. Its teeth are very small. You can estimate an animal’s age by looking at its teeth.”

“Richard, I’m so glad you’re here.”

Without Richard, I wouldn’t even have known this cat was a newborn.

Well, I barely knew its age, and everything else about this cat remained a mystery.

I raised my hand to meet the cat’s eyes. Up close, the cat’s golden eyes weren’t just ordinary gold. Pale green flecks floated like stars within them.

“What are you thinking?”

I genuinely wondered what thoughts were going through this cat’s mind.

As if answering my question, the cat showed its tiny teeth and replied.

“…Meow.”

The problem was that the answer was a thoroughly cat-like meow.

‘What on earth are you saying?’

As I frowned, the deity who had been quiet for a while became extremely amused.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ is laughing while holding his stomach]

Not helping, but laughing? Isn’t that too much?

I briefly made a resentful face, then shook my head. Although my insides were a mess, being alive after using holy power for something as wicked as a curse was entirely due to the deity’s grace.

‘Since it’s called a quest, I must raise this cat, right?’

The cat was still cold, trembling. The vibration transmitted through my palm felt strange.

After staring at the cat’s round ears for a moment, I shrugged.

‘If worse comes to worst, I can infuse it with holy power.’

Not to brag, but my holy power was strong enough to revive anyone with even a breath of life. Extending a baby cat’s breath would be nothing.

Just as I was thinking comfortably like that, Richard, standing beside me, asked.

“Are you planning to raise the cat? Animal breeding is forbidden in the temple.”

“Ah, there are special circumstances.”

The deity directly commanded me to raise this cat. There must be a special reason.

“Let’s go back to the temple now.”

“Without meeting His Holiness?”

“I want to rest.”

And no joke, my body felt so heavy I could collapse and fall asleep right away. It felt like I had scraped the bottom of my holy power reserves.

When I sighed, Richard reached out and picked me up like a princess.

“Heave-ho.”

Reflexively cradling the cat with both hands to protect it, I pouted and said to Richard.

“I can walk. Put me down.”

Richard replied with a sly smile and playful tone.

“Please stay still, Holy Maiden. Isn’t it a knight’s duty to attend to the Holy Maiden when she’s unwell?”

Your knight, he says. He’s good at saying cheesy things.

“Haha. …Ugh!”

While laughing casually, I suddenly hunched my shoulders and groaned at an unexpected change. Richard’s face turned serious.

“What’s wrong? Are you in pain?”

“No, that’s not it.”

I frowned at the yellow window that appeared before me.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ has opened ‘Kyle’s’ channel.]

Kyle’s channel? Before I could wonder what a channel was, I immediately understood. I pressed my temple and smiled bitterly.

“It suddenly got too noisy.”

“…?”

Richard, unable to see the message window, tilted his head, not understanding what I meant. I smiled wryly. Though I didn’t say anything, my vision was cluttered with constantly appearing windows. It was because of the notifications pouring in from Kyle’s channel that had just opened.

[‘Kyle’ sighs that the way you’re holding him is uncomfortable]

[‘Kyle’ says life is better lived alone.]

[He sighs that this life is ruined from the start.]

[He blames you for everything.]

[…..]

[He says he doesn’t even want to talk.]

I unconsciously looked down at the cat in my palm. The cat was still trembling violently. Looking at it, you would never imagine it was internally spewing such negative thoughts.

‘This is truly the harm caused by message windows.’

Could it be because I said earlier that I wanted to know what the cat was thinking?

But dear deity, isn’t this excessively customized service? These thoughts are coming through too raw!

[‘Kyle’ says his back hurts and wants you to change his position.]

[‘Kyle’ says he wants to sleep but can’t.]

[He’s wailing that everything is ruined.]

[He blames you again.]

The cat’s thoughts were very simple. Hungry, sleepy, cold. Constantly complaining and then blaming me.

Hey, did I want to be in this situation either?