At the sudden mention of his nickname, he thrashed his entire body with all his might.

“Hiss! Hak!”

[‘Kyle’ is throwing a tantrum.]

“Huh? Why are you suddenly acting like this?”

Cioranne was bewildered by Kailas’s sudden violent thrashing. She righted the potted plant that had toppled over from his movements.

“Come on now, I told you not to knock over the pot. The plant will get hurt.”

‘Is the plant really the issue right now?’

Kailas bristled, making his fur stand on end.

‘Nobody is allowed to use my nickname! Not even a deity!’

He couldn’t stand the sight of the woman smiling broadly while cooing at him. Kailas tried to express his anger by flailing his cotton-soft paws. That’s when it happened.

‘Whoooa.’

Cioranne plucked a bit of catnip and rubbed it in front of Kailas. The moment he smelled the intensified scent, he went limp like a squid again.

‘This is driving me crazy. The addiction is insane. It feels like my brain is turning to mush.’

[‘Kyle’ is satisfied.]

He couldn’t help but be satisfied. With such a good feeling, pretending to be unhappy would be an insult to the catnip.

‘Before catnip, I am a helpless prisoner.’

For the first time in his life, Kailas admitted defeat.

‘Catnip, you fearsome thing!’

It was a bewitching substance that made him forget why he was even angry in the first place.

Cioranne smiled at Kyle who was now pedaling his front and back paws in the air like he was riding an invisible bicycle, acting like he had never been angry at all.

It was a peaceful moment.

Gazing down at Kailas, Cioranne gently poked the tiny wiggling paw pad with her index finger.

On his front paws, smaller than the first joint of her index finger, were round, squishy pink jellies embedded like pebbles.

“So this tiny baby will grow into a big cat someday.”

At Cioranne’s murmur, Kailas wore a triumphant expression.

‘Not just a big cat, but a mountain-sized black panther. You’ll be so shocked you’ll fall backward when that happens.’

Do you have any idea how sexy the leopard pattern looks, subtly showing through my black, glossy fur?

Even now, Kailas’s fur wasn’t completely black. The pattern would likely become more distinct as time passed.

Whether she understood the reason for Kailas’s smugness or not, Cioranne continued to tap the soft jelly pads, murmuring in wonder.

“Was I this small when I was a baby too?”

‘I didn’t know I was ever this small either.’

This time, Kyle thought to himself somewhat glumly. Just then, the deity started gushing.

[‘The Dragon Trampler’ says you were incomparably adorable.]

[He says when baby Cioranne smiled, rainbows appeared over the village, and everyone gasped at your cuteness.]

Kailas could see the deity’s messages too. He gave a cynical smile that didn’t suit a baby cat.

‘That doesn’t make sense. Some deity you are—nothing but a liar.’

The deity responded with a cold message.

[He says the slave to catnip should shut his mouth.]

‘What! How dare you call me, the Emperor, a slave!’

Kyle was so angry that he tried to push over the catnip pot with his front paws.

Well, that was just his intention.

‘Catnip, precious. Can’t destroy it in anger.’

But his young body was true to its instincts. Instead of giving up the catnip, Kyle simply closed his eyes.

‘I can just ignore those stupid messages.’

* * *

While Kailas was learning through catnip that black panthers were indeed distant relatives of cats…

The rat that received Kailas’s order was diligently delivering the letter. So exactly three days later, a rat arrived at the window of Marquis Noel Ferol’s office.

Tap tap.

Startled by the sound of the rat tapping on the window, Noel, who had been pacing around his office like an anxious bee, jumped.

“Eek!”

Noel was an ordinary human. And like most high-ranking nobles, he had a cleanliness obsession.

But a field rat on his windowsill!

‘Until His Majesty started using rats as couriers, I didn’t even know they grew this large.’

He had imagined mice small enough to fit in his palm, but those were really just baby mice. Actual field rats were as big as small dogs, with glistening eyes and gray fur that made his skin crawl just looking at them.

But at this moment, it was undoubtedly a precious creature. Noel put on gloves and opened the window.

“You’ve, you’ve made a delivery. Thank you.”

The rat sat still, making it impossible to tell whether it understood human speech or not. After taking the small note, Noel rang a bell and ordered his butler:

“Bring a piece of delicious Emmental cheese.”

No matter what orders the Emperor gave, rats that came on errands like this would never leave until they received food.

After handing the chunk of cheese to the rat, it struggled off with the piece larger than its own body. Only then did Noel close the window and sigh with relief.

“Ugh, I’ll never get used to this no matter how many times.”

Just seeing the long tail made his heart sink. After calming himself from the shock of seeing the field rat, Noel sat down.

On his desk lay the note, now filthy from being carried in the rat’s mouth. Though it looked shabby, it held great significance for Noel.

“Thank goodness His Majesty is alive.”

The note brought by the rat was undeniable proof that Kailas was safe.

Of course, he wasn’t completely relieved. In this world, there were plenty of situations where death might be preferable. If the Emperor were truly healthy with all limbs intact, he would have come himself rather than sending an animal.

‘Let me read it quickly.’

It was a vassal’s duty to provide help if needed. Noel hastily unfolded the note with his gloved hands.

The content was extremely brief.

<I am in the temple.>

The handwriting was messy, but it was definitely written by Kailas himself.

‘His Majesty is at the temple?’

Noel’s face wrinkled in concern. He chewed his lip anxiously.

‘But I heard the temple side was in disarray because they didn’t know His Majesty’s whereabouts.’

He’d heard that even during the grand ceremony, which regular believers attended, people were whispering about this issue. Yet the Emperor, whose whereabouts even the temple was curious about, was inside the temple?

‘This doesn’t look good.’

There were two possibilities:

First, the Emperor was imprisoned in the temple, and only the temple leadership knew about it.

Second, for some reason, the Emperor was trapped in the temple, unable to move, and the temple was unaware of the situation.

Honestly, he leaned toward the first possibility.

‘His Majesty, being a beast-folk, has superior recovery speed and abilities compared to ordinary humans.’

He couldn’t think of any “reason” that would prevent someone like that from escaping on his own.

‘Could the Pope be keeping him imprisoned to let the Empire fall apart?’

But even thinking that way provided no answers. The Pope Incensino he knew was a black-and-white thinker who never compromised. If he had captured Kailas, whom he deemed evil, he wouldn’t bother keeping him alive.

‘Either way, I need to go to the temple.’

No conclusion would come from just thinking here. After throwing the gloves and note into the fireplace, Noel gave his butler a new order.

“Contact Richard and tell him to stop by the house.”

Richard, a distinguished holy knight of the temple, was Noel’s younger brother.

* * *

When I first went shopping for cat supplies with Richard, the store clerk asked me with a bright smile:

“How did you meet your cat? Did an acquaintance give it to you?”

“Well… the deity bestowed it upon me.”

I had no intention of raising a pet, but the deity forced a quest on me, so “bestowed” was the right word.

I meant it literally, but the clerk clapped her hands in admiration and replied:

“That’s right! The fact that we become caretakers to our cat lords among countless cats can only be explained as divine providence!”

“Ah, yes.”

Dear deity, here seems to be one of your deeply devoted followers.

‘I honestly hadn’t thought of it that way.’

I looked down at Kyle’s golden eyes. Kyle blinked his large eyes as he stared back at me.

[‘Kyle’ says deities don’t exist in the first place.]

Ah, the cat himself is an atheist.

‘What a twist of fate.’

Our meeting seemed more influenced by divine intervention than most, yet the subject himself was an atheist—how ironic.

‘With such an innocent face!’

Just as I playfully tapped Kyle’s forehead with my finger…

The clerk said with a bright smile:

“Remember your first meeting with your cat lord well. The more adorable your cat becomes, the more precious that memory will be.”

For some reason, those words stayed with me for a long time.

Almost like there was a predetermined end to my time with Kyle.