episode_0011

Ever since cat ears and a tail sprouted on my body, some disadvantages have emerged, but the advantages far outweigh them.

As I mentioned before, my sense of balance has improved, and apart from being able to use my third hand, there are other benefits too.

If I were to single out the greatest advantage, without hesitation, it would be this one.

Meow-ong.

“Meooow….”

The cats don’t avoid me! Instead, they come closer affectionately and even seem to approach me first!

Perhaps they think of me as a higher-ranking cat in their hierarchy.

Regardless, I love cats! Even when I’m just sitting quietly, having cats come up to me first is a significant advantage.

It feels great! My heart is healing!

And receiving the love of cats not only uplifts my mood, but it’s also an advantage in itself.

Meow-ow.

Nya-ah.

“Nyaa-nyaa….”

It’s not quite like conversing with people, but based on the gestures and meows of the cats, I can roughly understand them.

Actually, when I meow, the cats can’t understand me. I’m just pretending to respond to their meows to make them feel at ease.

“Mom! That person is talking to the cats!”

“Shh! Don’t pay attention to that kind of thing!”

Oh, Mom. Saying things like that to a person…

Even though I have cat ears and a tail, I am still undeniably human.

Spending time with the cats attracted more attention than usual.

But maybe it’s because I became the leader of the cats. Those stares didn’t hurt at all….

* * *

Cats have a natural instinct for communal parenting.

When they see offspring, regardless of whether they belong to another animal, they have a tendency to protect them rather than harm them.

This happens when a male cat goes out to hunt and doesn’t return, or when it abandons the kittens and the female.

Or even when the female goes out to hunt. It’s an instinct to protect one more kitten to preserve the species.

In reality, when a person is pregnant, a cat will stick close by and try to protect them from anything that could harm them.

And that was a trait also possessed by the leader of this neighborhood, the “Brown Tail” cat.

A few days ago, Brown Tail heard an intriguing story from his follower, “Spotted Nose.”

Apparently, an unusually large cat had appeared in the neighborhood!

Preventing the intrusion of cats from other neighborhoods was both the responsibility and duty of the neighborhood’s leader.

With a determined expression, Brown Tail walked proudly and majestically followed the path guided by Spotted Nose.

Arriving at their destination, Brown Tail was struck by a shocking sight!

The female cats of the neighborhood had gathered, exuding maternal gazes.

However, as the leader, Brown Tail couldn’t afford to be merely surprised. He had to step forward, be vigilant, and assess the situation.

With confident strides, he made his way through the female cats and approached the being at the center.

His initial impression? It was huge. Definitely huge.

Moreover, it almost looked human! Apart from its head, it was all fur, with scraps of cloth wrapped around its body instead of fur.

Furthermore, it even walked on two legs, just like a person.

At this point, Brown Tail considered this being a worthy subject of vigilance.

However, when he tried to pinpoint why he couldn’t immediately attack the being…

It was because the scent of a cat emanated from this creature as well.

To be ready to escape at any moment, Brown Tail stood tall, extended his neck with a wary attitude, and sniffed the scent.

From him, there was the distinct smell of warm milk, typical of a young kitten. Although Brown Tail’s wariness had almost entirely dissipated upon detecting the scent of a kitten, he still had the responsibility as the leader of the neighborhood cats.

They couldn’t allow this uncertain being to roam the neighborhood freely.

At that moment, Brown Tail felt a gaze and looked up. Lo and behold, a giant cat was looking at him with curious eyes!

For a moment, Brown Tail was on the verge of completely letting go of his guard.

Despite having a face resembling a human, the curiosity-filled expression was just too adorable!

The brown tail, which had been in disarray and confusion, suddenly realized that a giant cat’s hand was reaching out to it.

What! What is this! An attack?

Was it a plan to lull it into a false sense of security and then ambush the leader itself?

Even though it instinctively tried to pull its head back when the hand, larger than its own, covered its entire head and came closer, it involuntarily shrank back.

However, avoiding the hand that had already come up to its nose was impossible, and eventually, the brown tail tried to accept its fate, but…

Sweep, sweep.

It wasn’t a pleasant sensation coming over its head!

This feeling of being gently stroked! It was like… the mother cat grooming her kitten with her tongue.

It resembled the gesture of a kitten nuzzling against its mother.

“Meow, meooow~.”

Moreover, it even seemed to shyly mew as if it didn’t yet know the language!

At that moment, the brown tail’s wariness completely dissipated.

It even declared to the female cats around it.

With those impressive eyes of this little one, I shall name this one “Golden Eyes”!

Having lost its mother and wandered the streets before coming here, the female cats should take good care of this little one with all their hearts!

For that reason.

Hwaye-rin, with golden eyes, received the love of the cats…

* * *

An internet broadcast.

I’ve been recommended to try broadcasting twice already.

It felt as if this world was forcing me to become an entertainer.

“Actually, I’m not really into internet broadcasting… But…”

If internet broadcasting is not my profession and is only for promoting the work of a problem solver… then it might be okay.

If what Ju-hee said is true, broadcasting the work of a problem solver could be beneficial.

Furthermore, I know that internet broadcasting offers a means of generating income called donations.

If I can receive donations too, it could be a nice additional source of income.

“Well, then, should I go to the PC room first to find out what equipment I need for internet broadcasting…?”

Right now, I only have an old feature phone provided by the military.

It would be best to go to the PC room since it’s too much trouble to go buy a smartphone right now.

I’m currently staying at a hotel, and even if I were to find a room, it’s still too wasteful to buy a good computer.

As soon as I entered a run-down internet café in the neighborhood, I felt everyone’s eyes on me, even though I hadn’t done anything.

I thought I would attract attention because there were a lot of people… but I didn’t expect it to be this much as soon as I came in.

“I should have covered my ears and come.”

Scolding myself for acting rashly, I dashed inside and sat in an empty seat.

I quickly turned on the computer with the intention of searching as fast as possible and then leaving, and signed up for the internet café membership.

After charging for about 2 hours with the card provided by Im So-ryeong, I sat back down and logged in, only to be bombarded with advertisements for various games.

As I was trying to quickly close the pop-up windows to search, suddenly, an advertisement for a new game released by the game company “World Tree” caught my eye.

The top displayed a full-dive virtual reality game ad, while below, the game introduction and videos were plentiful.

“A full-dive virtual reality game…?”

It’s a memory from quite a long time ago now.

Come to think of it, in my past life, I was quite into games.

I didn’t go as far as watching other people play through internet broadcasts, but…

Occasionally, I would go to the internet café with friends to enjoy games together, or watch big matches like the E-sports World Cup together.

I was just your typical, run-of-the-mill Korean gamer.

Moreover, the theme song of an anime I saw once was also related to that.

Trapped in a full-dive virtual reality game, if you experience a game over even once, you die in real life… quite an ingenious concept for an anime.

While watching that anime, I had thoughts of wanting to try a full-dive game at least once before I died…

It seems like in this world, the full-dive technology has truly been realized.

“Well, considering that ten more years have passed in this world than the one I originally lived in, and there’s magic here too.”

If combined with fantasy-type magic, it might not be such a difficult thing after all.

Save of Abyss.

It was interesting. Since I was already flexing the equipment needed for internet broadcasting, I even considered buying a full-dive device.

“…Sure. Since I’ve come to this kind of world, I should try playing some games too.”

Since I’m doing internet broadcasting, it wouldn’t hurt to occasionally play games during the broadcast.

As I engraved the game name in my mind, I was finally about to search for broadcasting equipment when suddenly, a female student sitting next to me spoke up.

“Excuse me….”

Suddenly, a female student sitting next to me spoke to me.

In my past life and present life, the only people who talked to me at the PC room were friends asking to switch seats or part-time workers bringing food.

Surprised, I stared at the female student with my tail standing up stiffly.

The girl facing me flinched, then with a slightly blushing face, she asked,

“Um… do you have cat eyes…?”

Cat eyes?