“Oh!”

When I cried out, the deity asked:

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ asks what’s wrong.]

I rubbed my eyes with my sleeve. Yet the scene before me remained unchanged. I answered in a dazed tone.

“There’s a little ball of fluff lying on my bed.”

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ frowns and asks what nonsense you’re talking about now.]

Nonsense? I know it’s nonsense, but I couldn’t help saying it!

“Really, there’s a ball of fluff…”

On my bed, a black kitten lay sprawled on its back, exposing its white, plump belly.

I looked at the cat’s pale pink skin with soft black fur sprouting from it, then at its small, adorable pink front paws, and clutched my heart.

“Why is it sleeping on my bed instead of its own spot? Was it anxious in an unfamiliar place?”

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ replies that how would he know.]

“How would you not know! It’s too cute!”

Goodness. Why would a four-legged creature lie flat on its back like a human at attention instead of curling up?

‘It must be trying to make my heart race!’

After setting down the potted plant, I watched the rhythmically rising and falling belly before getting up.

“Wait a minute, I need a picture! I have to preserve this moment!”

While I didn’t have many special hobbies, I occasionally sketched scenes I wanted to remember. Just as I picked up the notepad and pencil from the bedside table—

“Huh?”

As I was shading with the side of the pencil to create black areas, I noticed what looked like traces of writing on the notepad.

‘I’m sure I didn’t write anything…’

I tilted my head in confusion. My gaze automatically drifted toward the kitten sleeping soundly on the bed.

* * *

After sleeping, Kailas felt his energy returning. He raised himself up and opened his mouth wide in a yawn. Then he narrowed his eyes sharply and extended his claws.

‘How did I become so weak that I collapse after transforming into human form just once?!’

Oh, I’m angry. So angry.

As Kailas was furiously scratching the bed with his claws to vent his frustration, slender hands grabbed him by both armpits and lifted him up.

“Hey! You can’t do that to the bedding.”

Kailas twisted his entire body and hissed in response.

“Hiss! Hiss!”

Why not! I’ve been cursed into a baby! I’m a panther being mocked as a cat, and I can’t even take out my frustration on some stupid bedding!

Kailas’s claws drew a long red line on the back of Cioranne’s hand. His claws were still so small and soft that it didn’t even hurt. Cioranne tilted her head and muttered.

“Why are you in such a bad mood after waking up? Did you have a strange dream?”

‘You’re asking because you don’t know, you insensitive woman!’

Seeing the woman with her clear face, looking completely oblivious, made him even more furious. Kyle thrashed all four limbs.

‘Bow down before me right now! Apologize for casting that curse! And hurry up and break this damn curse… Oh!’

Interrupting his thoughts, something fresh and cool tickled his nose.

‘W-what’s happening? This is strange.’

Just from smelling it, his mood improved dramatically, and he suddenly wanted to do somersaults.

As Kailas went limp and turned his head around searching for the source of the smell, Cioranne blinked.

“Ah, you must smell the catnip. They said cats love it, and it’s true!”

‘Catnip?!’

The magical herb that relieves cat stress!

Only then did Kailas realize that something new had appeared in the previously empty room. It was the small potted plant on the bedside table. Cioranne put Kailas down on the floor, placed the pot in front of him, and said:

“Here you go. Be careful not to knock over the pot, okay?”

At Cioranne’s gentle voice, Kyle hissed again.

‘Do you really think I’m a cat? Do you think I’d roll around so much that I’d knock over the pot because I like this stuff?!’

And exactly 5 seconds later, Kailas realized.

Catnip… the state-approved drug!

* * *

I was deep in thought about something important.

“Hmm, what should I call this little one?”

The important matter was what to name the cat!

Until now, I’d just been calling it “kitty,” but I was starting to feel that lacked sincerity.

‘Actually, I do know its name.’

The system notifications tell me it’s “Kyle.”

But if I suddenly called it that, the cat might realize I can read its inner thoughts.

‘I suppose it wouldn’t matter much if the cat found out.’

Maybe it would be better to honestly tell it that I can read its thoughts.

But somehow that bothered me. I recalled the traces of writing I’d discovered earlier. Most of the fragmented letters were unrecognizable, but a few words had left clear marks.

I am. And temple.

‘A cat writing letters? That’s absurd.’

Imagining those adorable paws pressing down to write each character made my heart flutter again. I smiled contentedly at the cat rubbing its cheeks against the catnip pot with a dazed expression.

‘Looking at it now, it’s definitely just a cat… but there’s no harm in being careful.’

I decided that for now, I shouldn’t let the cat know I could read its thoughts.

I politely asked the cat:

“What should I call you?”

[…]

There was no response from the cat. I asked again.

“Did you like being called kitty? Should I keep calling you kitty?”

[…]

Again, there was no response. I folded my arms and frowned as I watched the cat, completely lost in the catnip like someone drunk on alcohol.

‘Wait, is it really okay to let cats have this? It seems too potent.’

It’s like an actual drug.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ shakes his head saying this one’s a lost cause.]

The deity clicked his tongue and offered commentary while watching the cat in its trance.

I wondered if it was okay to leave it like this. Worried that the stimulation might be too strong for a baby cat, I shook my head.

‘Sister Mary gave it to me, so it can’t contain anything harmful to cats.’

Still, I should put it outside the window occasionally.

‘At this rate, it might get addicted.’

More than anything, I felt a little hurt that the cat wasn’t paying attention to me.

* * *

While Kailas often deliberately ignored Cioranne’s words out of spite, today was different.

Kyle was completely captivated by the catnip’s charm—so much that he couldn’t even hear Cioranne’s voice. If he had been in his right mind, he would never have ignored her when she talked about continuing to call him “kitty.”

‘This is a whole new world!’

Kyle rubbed his face vigorously against the catnip.

Today became a day Kailas would never forget.

It was the day he first got high on catnip.

‘I’ve never seen or heard of such pleasure in the world.’

While his behavior of rubbing his entire body against the catnip was no different from any other cat, Kailas’s mind was filled with grand descriptions. He was on the verge of composing poetry in praise of catnip.

‘Just smelling it clears all worries from my mind and brings peace. Yet at the same time, I feel incredibly excited.’

This mysterious harmony of calmness and excitement.

‘Ah, this is truly a gift from god… no, how should I put it.’

Of course, even in this state, his firm belief that no deity existed remained unshaken.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ clicks his tongue and says you’re really insufferable.]

Whatever. What does your tongue-clicking matter to me? With catnip, I don’t even want to bother with the likes of you.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ sarcastically remarks that he told you only cats get high on that stuff.]

Oh, shut up!

Just moments ago, the proud black panther had been insisting he wasn’t a cat and wouldn’t succumb to something like catnip, but now Kailas had shamefully surrendered to it.

Watching Kailas circling around the catnip pot without responding to her questions, Cioranne sighed deeply.

“I’m asking what name you’d like.”

Kailas’s eyes grew heavy. After being so intensely intoxicated by the catnip, drowsiness was setting in. It was natural to feel languid after moving so vigorously, even if unintentionally.

It was truly a perfect combination.

Cioranne glanced at Kailas cautiously and asked:

“Then I’ll just call you kitty. I asked for your opinion. Don’t grumble about it later, okay?”

To Kailas, who was getting sleepy from the catnip high, Cioranne’s question was just annoying background noise like a mosquito’s wings.

‘Whatever. Too bothersome. Do what you want.’

Cioranne stroked Kailas’s small head with a satisfied smile.

“But kitty seems too generic. I’ll call you Kyle instead.”

‘…?!’

At those words, Kailas’s eyes flew wide open.