Ch.112The Immortal Cat

# 112. The Immortal Cat

“I was just so moved to see in real life what I’d seen in the game!”

“‘Moved’? We’re on the fourth floor, not the first. Why so impressed now?”

“A human imitating a cat in a world where the cat race Ayorr actually exists! And in Benas, no less! As an internet cat lover, I couldn’t help but be amazed!”

“Geez, this guy gets confident about the weirdest things.”

“I knew you liked cats, but…”

“That’s not all, is it? Be honest. You weren’t interested in the ‘cat’ but in the ‘woman’ pretending to be a cat.”

“Nyaa! Nyaa nyaa!” [W-what’s that! That’s weird!]

“I-I’m innocent! How could I have such thoughts when I’m with you guys!”

“Hmm, suspicious.”

The intense… battle of words…

“Then, should I try doing that too?”

Was instantly shattered by someone’s murmur.

“A-Arang?”

“Hm? What is it?”

“You want to try imitating that with your clothes? Why?”

That someone was none other than Arang. Everyone, including me, looked at her.

Arang glanced at each of us.

“Well…”

“Well…?”

“It’s cute, isn’t it?”

“Huh?”

She chuckled, finding our reactions amusing for some reason.

“There were lots of cute Ayorr outfits. I dressed my character in them often, so I’d like to try wearing something like that too. Good thing I’m a woman, right?”

Better than a guy saying he wants to wear that stuff.

We all briefly imagined a man wearing those clothes while serving us. Oh shit. I’d like to buy a brain that didn’t imagine that.

And I additionally imagined Arang wearing those clothes.

‘…Oh shit.’

The intense(?) battle ended rather anticlimactically, and I approached Arang, the one responsible for it, and whispered secretly.

“Thanks.”

Then Arang stood on her tiptoes and…

“Did you imagine it, nyaa?”

Dash-

Ah, that Arang.

“Guild Leader! What did you say to our Arang!”

“I-I didn’t say anything!”

“Then why is our Arang’s face so red! Wait a minute! Guild Leader, your face is super red too?”

“Hmm, suspicious.”

Run.

Let’s run.

I fled to another room. And soon after, Senior Yehyun and Senior Soyu chased me down and interrogated me again…

Someone save me.

**

After everyone had rested, it was soon time for dinner. At first, we thought about having food brought to our rooms, but since this wasn’t a dangerous place, we decided to go down to the first floor to eat and experience the atmosphere.

“There are quite a lot of people here?”

“It was a nice place in the setting. In the game, it was always crowded with locals when we came here.”

As we passed through the lobby and entered the dining area, the waitress who had greeted us earlier was just returning with an empty tray after serving someone. When she spotted us, she hurried over.

“Ah! It’s the polite guests, nyaa! Here for dinner, nyaa?”

“Yes. Seven humans and one cat.”

Is it just my imagination that I feel stares?

“Haha! I know, nyaa! Kind guests, nyaa! Fortunately, there’s an empty table where everyone can sit together, nyaa! This way, nyaa!”

For some reason, my eyes were almost drawn to her twitching ears and swishing tail, but curiosity kills not only cats but (internet) cat owners too.

“The Immortal Cat has many proud menu items, nyaa! When you decide what you want, press this circle here and I’ll come running, nyaa!”

The waitress handed us menus and left with an energetic “Nyaa!” sound, allowing me to narrowly escape the clutches of curiosity.

“…Nyaaaa.”

[…Are cats r-really that great?]

Since no one but me could understand Danya’s words, I remained silent, though I felt bad for her!

Anyway, we opened our menus with the excitement of tourists visiting a famous restaurant abroad.

“This is really fascinating.”

“Right?”

<Regular Meals!>

Cat (Recommended!)

Dog

Turtle

Snake

Rabbit

<Specials!>

Dwarb

Levilug

Lizardian

Ayorr

Alb

* Prices and specific dishes vary each time, nyaa! So I’ll tell you the price when you order, nyaa!

* The order of race names under <Specials!> is alphabetical, nyaa! There is absolutely no intention of racial discrimination, nyaa!

“These are the original menu names from the game. They’re exactly the same.”

It was fascinating. I remembered how in the game, I initially wondered “why are the menu names like this” and spent a ton of money out of curiosity to see what each menu item contained.

While Subin and I were momentarily lost in nostalgia looking at the menu names, the other guild members were staring at us like we were perverts.

“What?”

“Just wondering how you remember even these details~”

“Hey. To complete affinity quests and achievements, you need to know all this stuff. Subin just has a good memory, and I remember because I wrote achievement guides and walkthroughs.”

“And the concept is unique. It’s memorable in many ways.”

At our combo response, Yuri shrugged as if conceding defeat, then pointed at the menu and asked.

“So what’s the most delicious?”

“Well… my character’s taste might not match mine, so wouldn’t it be best to just ask for recommendations?”

“Hmm~ You just want to talk more with that waitress, don’t you?”

“Hey, we need to call her over to order anyway, you know?”

Senior Soyu, sitting in the corner, pressed what looked like a call button. Within less than five seconds, the waitress appeared.

“Ready to order, nyaa!”

“Since it’s our first time here, could you recommend something?”

“I thought you might ask that, nyaa! If there’s anything that would kill you or that you really hate, please tell me in advance, nyaa!”

“As long as it’s not raw meat… what do you all think?”

No one had any particular dislikes. As long as it wasn’t bizarre food.

“But why isn’t ‘human’ on the specials menu?”

Senior Yehyun suddenly asked the waitress. The waitress laughed with a “Nyahaha~” as if she’d heard an amusing question.

“Humans are omnivores, nyaa!”

“Oh.”

“Since it’s your first time, this cute cat will recommend some suitable dishes for human guests, nyaa! Three Cat Regular Meals, one Dwarb Special, and two Alb Specials should be just right, nyaa!”

From her explanation, the Dwarb Special was a set menu full of meat dishes with alcohol included, and the Alb Special was a vegan set menu packed with vegetable dishes. The Cat Regular Meal seemed like a “today’s recommendation” type of thing.

“Yes, we’ll go with that then.”

“Three Cat Regular Meals, one Dwarb Special, and two Alb Specials! That’s 3,200 gold, nyaa! Payment in advance, nyaa!”

3,200?

“…Here you go.”

“Received 3,200 gold, nyaa! I’ll cook it deliciously and bring it right over, nyaa!”

In an instant, 3,200 gold disappeared. I felt somewhat entranced. Only after the waitress left did Subin ask accusingly.

“Is it right to spend 3,200 on one meal?”

“I-I didn’t know it would be this expensive either.”

“We’re seven, no, eight people now, so isn’t this level of expense unavoidable?”

Both Subin and Seyeon had valid points. If we spent this much money every time, all our funds would go to food expenses, but if we tried to save money even in a safe place where we could rest and spend comfortably… wouldn’t that defeat the purpose of earning money in the first place?

“Let’s eat first and then decide.”

“Right. If that woman overcharged us because we’re new… we’ll have to look elsewhere, even if it’s troublesome.”

The truth was, we were complaining about the price because we didn’t have much money on hand, but compared to the gold we had before falling here, 3,200 was nothing. Just one run through a regular dungeon used to bring in tens of thousands.

‘Compared to then, we’re still low-level.’

But this place has many ways to earn money. Our situation is completely different from when Seyeon and I first entered Edengard!

“Dinner is served, nyaa! Could you move the water glasses aside for a moment, thank you, nyaa! Now, first the Cat Regular Meals!”

“Wow… look at these dishes!”

“They really nailed the concept. It feels a bit different from typical medieval fantasy.”

The bowls containing the Cat Regular Meals had cute cat pictures drawn on them.

Not only that, but the mushroom soup was topped with a cat face design, and the sauce drizzled over the pasta-like noodle dish was shaped like a tail.

The visuals and aroma were already passing with flying colors.

“Here are the Dwarb Special and Alb Specials, nyaa!”

Before we could finish admiring the first dishes, the table was filled with another round of serving.

“Wow.”

“My goodness.”

The Dwarb Special was literally a “mountain of meat,” “overwhelming meat.” Meat with a rich aroma and abundant juices flowing was piled like a small mountain, and refreshing beer with proud foam was ready to cleanse the greasy feeling.

“The salad and fruit are incredibly fresh too?”

I honestly had no expectations for the Alb Special, but the reaction was better than anticipated. Especially Subin and Senior Soyu, who were strict about their figures, were wide-eyed with excitement.

You’re wondering about Yuri?

She’d been fixated on the meat and beer for a while now.

“Enjoy your meal, nyaa!”

Nya nya nyaa~

After the waitress—who at this point could be committed to the concept, professionally dedicated, or genuinely a human with Ayorr cat blood—disappeared.

“Huh? Why is everyone just sitting there?”

“Even water has hierarchy. You’re the guild leader, so you should eat first.”

“Come on. Don’t worry about such things. Just eat without thinking about it.”

“Hurry up.”

“Fine, fine. I’ll eat first. Thank you for the meal.”

Under Subin’s urging, I casually picked up a spoon and tasted the soup.

“Whoa.”

It’s freaking delicious.

Seeing my reaction, the guild members hastily moved their spoons and forks.

“Wow, this is really delicious!”

“After eating hospital food and then this… *sniff*”

“A-Arang! Are you crying?”

“…It’s pretty good.”

“Man, this meat and beer are killer!”

“Wow. What’s the name of this fruit?”

Judging by their reactions, it seemed we wouldn’t need to change inns after all.