Ch.124Said

Yu Anna felt a bit wronged seeing the journalists shouting for Black Cat’s protection with unhinged looks in their eyes.

“…When I was running the Black Cat protection operation, they wrote articles criticizing me.”

In the past, when the operation to extract Black Cat from another city began, some journalists wrote hostile articles about Black Cat and Yu Anna. The secret operation name “Black Cat Protection Operation” had spread, and journalists questioned whether it was right for heroes to feed monsters.

“Who wrote those articles?”

“It was me! I’m sorry! I’ll bow my head in apology!”

“I wrote them too! I’m sorry!”

“I failed to understand the greater purpose!”

“No….”

They immediately stood up at the sound of Yu Anna’s quiet complaint and bowed their heads on the broadcast that all citizens were watching. Seeing this, Yu Anna felt more than just dissatisfaction—she felt anxiety. Their eyes were desperate, bordering on madness.

“We’re not joking around. If I may speak on behalf of all W City citizens, we genuinely need Black Cat!”

“Everyone gathered to check on Black Cat because we’re that desperate. I feel the same as a citizen!”

“So forget about apologizing for the incident. What we need to discuss now is how to keep Black Cat in W City and how to make W City feel like a good place for Black Cat to live!”

The journalists passionately conveyed the citizens’ wishes, even more fervently than politicians. And the broadcast chat screen in front of Yu Anna aligned with the journalists’ sentiments.

[The journalists are speaking well.]

[Isn’t this obvious? There were rumors that Despair-rank monsters might evolve differently, and we weren’t sure if it was deceiving us or not. But now it’s protecting us even though it’s become an unmanageable monster.]

[It’s foolish not to trust Black Cat.]

[Not foolish—they must be operatives from other cities. Even fools know by now that we should trust and cherish Black Cat.]

[I’m a fool and I agree with that statement.]

The overwhelming power that Black Cat had shown everyone, now encompassing not just one district but the entire city. The citizens of W City, who had already experienced how areas where Black Cat appeared became safe, didn’t want to lose it. They wanted to do whatever it took to let Black Cat know that W City was the best place to live.

[I appreciate that Starlight apologizes to citizens whenever something goes wrong, but sometimes it’s frustrating to see this.]

[If you were the first to start something like the Black Cat Protection Operation, you should take responsibility.]

[Nobody died, so what’s with all the apologizing! Stop that and share your opinion as W City’s ultimate Black Cat otaku!]

Having Black Cat in a city meant having a completely safe city in this monster era. Even the heroes who fought monsters every day shared the desire to keep Black Cat in W City somehow. Yu Anna also hoped Black Cat would stay in W City, but more than that, she hoped it would maintain a positive view of humans, regardless of where it stayed. Finally, Yu Anna began to share her thoughts with the citizens.

“First of all… the Black Cat I’ve seen likes food, but I think it already has enough to eat.”

“Well, looking at that plump belly…”

“Then what would be good?”

“First, wouldn’t a bed be best? Since there aren’t many places in W City where Black Cat can lie down comfortably, creating such a place…”

“Then we should give an entire district to Black Cat as its bed! A Black Cat special zone!”

“What? No, that’s too big. Just expanding the current park or installing a bed in a space of similar size would…”

And the W City citizens who heard Yu Anna’s opinion raised their voices in the chat.

[Moving to the 3rd District park with demolition vehicles right now.]

[That small building? Let’s just crush it?]

[If we start now with drone assistance, construction could finish within 3 days?]

[What are you talking about? There’s plenty of empty space in the 4th District, just give that to it.]

[What good is having Black Cat there?]

[Why not give it the collapsed Kowloon Walled City site in the 9th District as is? There are still some criminals who used to play under villains there, and if Black Cat settles in, W City’s crime rate could potentially drop to 0%.]

The question of which district in W City should house Black Cat instantly tore apart the W City citizens who had been united in purpose.

[No, obviously it should be the 3rd District, which has the highest population density in W City.]

[It’s also close to the 0th District where the heroes are.]

[Are you people from A City living in the 3rd District? You have no conscience.]

[Obviously it should be the 4th District! The 4th District has a free soup kitchen supported by Starlight, so Black Cat can be fed immediately if it gets hungry while sleeping!]

[That’s only open on weekends.]

In this era, property values in all cities increase the closer they are to the 0th District where the hero headquarters is located. For the same reason, the safest place in W City, where Black Cat is located, is naturally right next to Black Cat. It would clearly become a special district with skyrocketing property values, guaranteed redevelopment, and the bonus of being able to see Black Cat freely.

[Definitely the 9th District! Eliminate both monsters and crime!]

[Can’t Black Cat make the entire city a safe zone anyway? It doesn’t matter which district, so let’s go with the 5th District. Most commuting routes pass through the 5th District. Everyone could see Black Cat morning and evening.]

[If we put a bed in the boring 5th District, would Black Cat even view W City favorably? It would obviously dislike how boring it is.]

[Isn’t it about a bed? Shouldn’t a bed be in a quiet place?]

[Have you all had your intelligence eaten by parasites? Obviously this should be the 8th District!]

Yu Anna rubbed her forehead and sighed as she watched the rapidly scrolling chat.

#

On the outskirts of the city, in a closed-off area with a clear view of W City.

I woke up to warm sunshine, having fallen asleep while letting the monster core resonate. Though I had eaten a bit too much, I felt great after eating my fill and getting a good rest. However, that good feeling didn’t last long.

“Black Cat is awake!”

“Black Cat! Black Cat!”

“Did you sleep well, Black Cat?! Time to eat!”

“Quickly contact inside! Tell them to prepare Black Cat’s breakfast!”

Humans who had been camping in tents along the city wall rushed out as soon as they heard I was awake. Watching the heroes who had been monitoring me go off to contact someone, I spread my wings and entered the city. I was thirsty after waking up, but the stream in the closed area carried wastewater from W City, so I didn’t want to drink from it. Shortly after, when I arrived at the stream in the 4th District to drink water, residents of the 4th District walked toward the stream.

“See! Look at this! I told you the 4th District was right! There’s a stream here!”

“They say cats like running water. If it wants to drink water, the 4th District is the only option.”

“Quickly record a video, this definitely proves it should be the 4th District.”

What are they talking about now… did something happen while I was sleeping?

After drinking enough water, I lay down and scratched the dirt ground with my claws. Stretching my body relieved the stiffness in my claws and joints that had built up while sleeping. Then I took off again to go to another district.

“No, don’t go!”

“Don’t leave! Black Cat! Stay in the 4th District!”

Leaving the residents behind, I headed to the 9th District. After the collapse of Kowloon Walled City, this area had become very quiet with very few people, making it the quietest place in W City. I planned to practice reducing my body to its previous size here. When I arrived at the 9th District, residents there gathered around. Unlike before, they kept an appropriate distance rather than approaching excessively, and each held a telescope.

“Did it really come to the 9th District?”

“I’m glad it’s here, but why did it come?”

Indeed, because of my increased size, people can immediately see where I’m going and follow me. I felt the need to learn how to transform into a human or reduce my size as I concentrated on making my body smaller.

“Huh? Is it just me…?”

“Is it… getting smaller?”

Reducing a monster’s body was not that difficult compared to compressing it to human size and changing its form. Still, the limit now was going from the size of a small building to about a three-story house. I was still noticeably large.

“Black Cat got smaller!”

“Isn’t this breaking news?”

“Did it just get smaller? Or does this mean its food intake will decrease too?”

“Wait, it’s getting bigger again!”

As I was gradually reducing my size and reached the size of a two-story house, I made a mistake and whoosh! My fur puffed up and I grew larger. After several more attempts, I realized that the limit for now was the size of a three-story house. Having become somewhat smaller, I circled the 9th District once to adjust to my reduced body before flying toward the smell of food.

“It’s here! It’s here!”

“Can’t resist breakfast!”

“Doesn’t it look smaller?”

“Let’s feed it first! Before the food gets cold!”

The chefs who had made me feel more than full the night before. I ate the freshly baked bread and meat they offered me for breakfast. The amount I ate was 2,000 portions.

“It’s eating less?”

“Oh? Look, they say Black Cat was practicing making its body smaller in the 9th District earlier.”

“Could it be… because it feels bad about consuming too much of W City’s food?”

The chefs, who were sending warm feelings and gazes my way for some reason, moved even more busily to serve food in front of me.

“To think I considered the food given to such a kind Black Cat even slightly wasteful… I’m trash!”

“Let’s feed it until it’s full!”

“Let’s turn the 3rd District into a restaurant exclusively for Black Cat!”

These humans are trying to dispose of food rather than eat it.

I told the chefs making strange comments to take it easy.

[Enough, I’m full.]

“…Huh?”

“Whose voice was that just now?”

The chefs were startled by the sound of wind created by special ability. Based on yesterday’s experience, these humans would keep bringing out food endlessly if I didn’t speak properly.

[If you want me to eat more, bring me some Churu.]

“Churu…?”

[It’s dessert.]

“C-could it be that Black Cat is speaking?”

“A monster can talk?!”

The chefs were so surprised by my words that they dropped the pots, ladles, and dishes they were holding. And in a corner of the park, citizens who had been quietly watching me began to murmur.

“Th-this is a scoop…! This is a real scoop!”

“The monster can talk! Black Cat can talk!”

“Can Annihilation-rank monsters normally talk?”

“Is that important right now?! Black Cat can talk, I’m telling you?!”

Something about the atmosphere doesn’t seem right. Maybe I shouldn’t have spoken. The people who had been quietly observing today approached me with excited looks in their eyes.

“Step back! I’m sure it was announced! Approaching Black Cat excessively without permission is illegal starting today!”

At that moment, Starlight and several heroes quickly flew down from the sky and stood in front of me, blocking the crowd. Among them, Starlight had an expression that suggested she had just realized something. Looking tired as if she hadn’t slept much, Starlight muttered quietly.

“I should have warned it not to speak in front of people…!”

And the once-quiet park began to grow noisy again.

“It’s true! Black Cat spoke!”

“It definitely asked for Churu earlier…!”

“No, how does Black Cat know about Churu?”

“What crazy person gave Churu to Black Cat?”

Once again, mini helicopters and drones for broadcasting flew through the sky, and people leaned against railings from company buildings. Though there were fewer people than the night before, it seemed like everyone from the 3rd District was gathering. The citizens who followed the heroes’ control kept a certain distance from me but raised their voices loudly.

“Breaking news! Black Cat has spoken! The first conversation between a monster and humans! This is a moment that will go down in human history! This historic moment is taking place not in the ruins of A City but in a sun-drenched park in W City…!”

“Let’s give Black Cat a presentation on why our W City is better than places like A City!”

“Let’s ask Black Cat directly! Whether it prefers W City or A City! Whether it prefers the 3rd District or the 4th District!”

“Churu! We have Churu here! We have Churu!”

“Did it really speak? Really?! Really?!”

“Please be quiet! Quiet! Everyone be quiet!”

“The great cat has deigned to use human language to communicate with humans! The almighty cat is God’s messenger who cares only for humans! Salvation is near! Believe! Believe!”

“Cat heaven! Disbelievers to hell!”

They’re keeping their distance, but not much else has changed. Unable to even take a nap for the second day in a row due to the commotion, I fled back to the outskirts of the city.

“Ah! It’s running away again!”

“I told you so many times to be quiet! Starlight said Black Cat seems to dislike noise!”

“Black Cat! We’re sorry! We were wrong!”

“Don’t go! Don’t go!”

Once again, citizens chased after me in droves, crying out almost in desperation. I looked down at the citizens who were even chasing me in cars and sighed. To avoid the citizens, I would need to quickly relearn how to transform into a human.