“…….”
“…….”
A brief silence followed. Leonard and Elton’s gazes turned toward Yellian, and Yellian’s large, round eyes darted back and forth between the two men.
“Ah, no way, nya. No way, nya.”
After about five seconds of silence, Yellian hurriedly tried to mimic a cat’s meow. Of course, there was no chance of anyone falling for this, but it clung to a sliver of hope.
“Elton.”
“Yes.”
Whether or not he knew Yellian’s thoughts, Leonard calmly grabbed the scruff of Yellian’s neck and lifted it up.
Dangling in the air, Yellian glared at Leonard with fierce eyes. Elton, worried that Yellian might scratch his superior, couldn’t take his eyes off Yellian while responding to Leonard’s call.
“Bring me a knife. I think I need to skin this cat. Only then will it speak properly.”
“Are you crazy!”
At the chilling words, Yellian reflexively shouted. Though it regretted it a second later, at this point, Yellian had to admit there was no turning back.
Fine, I’m a talking cat. What are you gonna do about it!
“Wha, what! What! What are you looking at! What are you gonna do!”
Yellian went wild, throwing one jab, two jabs, swinging its soft paws fiercely at Leonard. Its insignificant claws, recently trimmed and not very sharp, poked out slightly.
Unfortunately, due to its short legs, no matter how much it swung its front paws, it couldn’t reach Leonard.
“Finally, it speaks.”
“Yeah, I do! I’m a talking cat…… Wait a minute, finally……?”
Panting and throwing a tantrum, Yellian dumbly repeated the word.
Come to think of it, Leonard, this guy, wasn’t surprised at all that a cat was talking. And it wasn’t just Leonard. Looking around, Elton didn’t seem shocked either.
“I was wondering why a feline humanoid cub wouldn’t speak.”
“My lord, please say ‘cub of a feline humanoid.’ Calling it a feline humanoid cub could cause misunderstandings.”
“I don’t see who would misunderstand when I call a feline humanoid cub a feline humanoid cub.”
Elton corrected Leonard’s words, but Leonard kept saying ‘feline humanoid cub’ as if to make a point. Whether or not this mattered, Yellian was in shock.
That it wasn’t a cat but a feline humanoid……? And these two knew that fact……?
“I’m a feline humanoid……? A feline humanoid……? But what is that……?”
Though it didn’t know much, it could guess that the term combined ‘cat’ and ‘human.’ But it didn’t know the specifics of what kind of race it was. Naturally, it questioned what a feline humanoid was. But the real issue lay elsewhere.
“You knew I was a feline humanoid…… not a regular cat, so why didn’t you say anything! Why did you just watch my tearful butt show!”
Ugh, I’m so mad!
Yellian once again threw one jab, two jabs, even three jabs, swinging its soft paws into the air. As expected, none of the hits landed, and it only looked like a cute cat’s antics.
“Your speech is too casual. Elton, are feline humanoid cubs always this disrespectful? Are they all this insolent?”
“Well…… this is my first time dealing with a feline humanoid, so…….”
“Well, it doesn’t matter. I can teach it from now on.”
At Leonard’s chilling words, Yellian involuntarily swallowed dryly. Unlike before, it lowered its front paws and placed them politely on its belly before speaking.
“What do you mean by that, sir? I grew up in a land of courtesy in the East, so I know my place.”
Yellian quickly became subservient. The shock of learning it was a feline humanoid was significant, and it had momentarily forgotten, but Leonard was the most dangerous lord in this world, and it was just a powerless cat cub…… no, a cub of a feline humanoid.
Fear filled its grayish pale blue eyes. Yellian anxiously awaited Leonard’s reaction, desperately hoping he wouldn’t kill it.
“Am I old enough to be called sir?”
“Gasp, no, not at all. You’re in the prime of your youth.”
At the split-second response, Leonard’s lips subtly stretched. It was a change hard to notice unless looked at closely, but he was definitely smiling.
Of course, Yellian didn’t notice this. Only Elton realized that his superior’s mood wasn’t too bad.
In any case, this feline humanoid was a mysterious being. To think it could make someone as cold-blooded and stern as Leonard smile.
Meanwhile, Yellian was dying inside. It feared what horrific thing might happen if it displeased Leonard. Its small head was filled with the single thought of escaping before Leonard got angry.
“When exactly do you plan to turn into a human?”
“……Into a human? Ah, well…… my condition hasn’t been good lately…….”
At the absurd question of when it would turn into a human, Yellian was flustered but answered tactfully. It seemed that the feline humanoid race could transform into humans. Even as a cat, it could speak human language, and it could turn into a human as well. The more it thought about it, the more fascinating it was, but now wasn’t the time to marvel at such things.
If Leonard, with his temperament, found out that it was a being from another world, a world outside a book, and that this world was merely a novel, he’d surely lose it.
“Your condition isn’t good, huh……. Right, condition. That’s an important issue.”
“Yes, I suppose it is……?”
“So when will that condition improve?”
“Well…… isn’t it called a condition because it’s unpredictable?”
Yellian cautiously tested the waters while gauging Leonard’s reaction, hoping its words wouldn’t anger him. Unfortunately, though it wasn’t clear why, Leonard didn’t seem pleased with Yellian’s answer.
“Maybe I should start by skinning you…….”
“I’ll recover! As fast as possible! I’ll get my condition back!”
“That’s better.”
At the resounding answer, Leonard responded in a slightly more lenient tone. Yellian sighed deeply in relief while inwardly grumbling.
After all, a condition isn’t something you can recover just because you want to. The chances of feeling good when you want to are as low as winning a random draw. Usually, it improves inexplicably when you least expect it, and the moment you realize your condition is good, it plummets. That’s what a condition is.
However, explaining such a long-winded story honestly was too big a hurdle given Leonard’s temper. So, instead of adding unnecessary remarks, Yellian decided to say something else.
“Um, noble Leonard, sir. If it’s not rude, may I ask when you’ll put me down?”
Indeed, Yellian was still dangling in the air, held by the scruff of its neck by Leonard. Strangely, it didn’t hurt, but a four-legged creature couldn’t feel at ease hanging in midair. Of course, Yellian’s true form was a bipedal human.
Whatever the case, Yellian expressed as humbly as possible its wish for Leonard to put it down.
Leonard stared at Yellian with unfathomable black eyes, then dropped it to the ground as if tossing it. Though Yellian was suddenly dropped, it landed agilely on all fours, as a cat…… no, as a feline humanoid should.
Finally regaining its freedom, Yellian lowered its front legs, stretched its hind legs out long, and gave a big stretch. It was the very picture of a kitten. Watching this, Leonard’s eyes narrowed.
As the veterinarian said, this creature was indeed a feline humanoid. Having confirmed it could speak human language, there was no denying it was a feline humanoid.
Yet its behavior was entirely cat-like. Of course, Leonard didn’t know much about cats, but he could tell that its actions weren’t particularly unique for a feline humanoid. Leonard decided he needed to observe a bit more to see if this creature was a useful feline humanoid.
Meanwhile, oblivious to Leonard’s thoughts, Yellian’s small head was busy plotting an escape. However, it wouldn’t be long before Yellian’s dream of escape took an unexpected turn.
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