Chapter 68 – Scary Person

Rea​d ​on K​a​tReadingCa​fe

–

“Haaam…”

Miao yawned widely, then rose and stretched fully. After stretching with a shiver, even extending her tail, she hopped off the counter with a refreshed look.

“You’re both late. You were in front of the store for ages, why so late?”

“Oh, you knew?”

“I could feel the presence of someone lingering out front.”

‘Then why didn’t you come out and tell us…’ As I grumbled inwardly, Yuika said with a smile,

“I ran into someone I know out front. You know Wei?”

“Of course. He’s a neighbor. I saw him yesterday, too.”

“He must have been talking to Mari when we arrived. Thanks to that, Mari misunderstood a little, hee hee.”

“Misunderstood? Misunderstood what?”

Miao looked at Yuika with a questioning gaze at her amused expression. Yuika avoided her gaze and continued in a voice laced with laughter,

“Since the door was closed, Wei thought Miao had gone down into the dungeon. And since Mari happened to be hanging around in front of the store, he must have told her, and Mari took it to heart, thinking Miao had forgotten the appointment and looking all teary-eyed-“

“Y-Yuika…! You don’t have to tell that story…!”

‘You didn’t have to tell her that I suspected Miao, did you!’ I grabbed Yuika’s sleeve in surprise, but then I felt a shadow fall over me.

I turned my head in a hurry, and Miao had already come close, her eyes level with mine, a meaningful expression on her face.

“Hmph, is that so?”

“M-Miao, it’s not like that…”

Her voice was breathy, and her amber eyes stared intently at me, making me shrink back. Miao put on a sad face and opened her mouth.

“That’s too much. Did you think I was such an irresponsible person that I would make an appointment and then forget it…?”

“N-No, that’s not it…”

“You even thought that just by listening to someone else… I thought we had become friends, but I guess I was the only one who thought so… I see…”

“Th-That’s… I-I’m sorry…!”

I couldn’t find any words to defend myself. It was true that I had listened to someone else and thought Miao had broken our promise. I quickly bowed my head in apology.

“I-I don’t know if it’s enough as a replacement, but I’ll do anything I can…!”

“Anything, you say?”

Eh? Her sad voice suddenly changed to a playful one, and I involuntarily raised my head. And with a grin, Miao slipped her hands under my armpits and lifted me right up.

“Eeeek?!”

“Then you have to do whatever I say while you’re here today. Got it?”

“Y-Yes, but please put me down!”

“No way. You said you’d do anything, Mari, didn’t you? So you’ll be by my side today instead of Yuika.”

“Th-That can’t be…!”

The last words weren’t mine, but Yuika’s. Miao giggled at Yuika, who looked like she had lost everything in the world, then adjusted her hold on me and asked,

“How about this position, is it comfortable?”

“I-It is comfortable, but could you please put me down…?”

This is kind of like holding a child, it’s embarrassing. My face flushed slightly, and Miao grinned and shook her head.

“Like I said before, no way. Give up and just entrust yourself to me for now.”

“That…”

At her smiling face, I sighed inwardly and nodded helplessly. Anyway, it was my fault, so if this would make Miao feel better, that was good.

“Alright, shall we go inside, then?”

Still holding me, Miao jumped nimbly over the counter.

To leap over a counter that was easily over 1m high without even a running start was truly worthy of a feline beastkin.

Apart from that, my heart dropped because she jumped without warning. I grabbed Miao’s sleeve and screamed, “Hiek-“, and Yuika belatedly followed us.

“W-Wait, let’s go together!”

When I stood at the counter, I saw a door that hadn’t been visible before. Miao opened it, revealing stairs leading up.

“There was a second floor…?”

“We’re using a remodeled two-story house as a store. There are many houses like that in the northern district.”

“I see…”

After a short conversation, we went up the narrow stairs and found a space that definitely felt lived-in. I looked around and spotted a black cloth draped over the back of a chair, and I turned my head in surprise.

“Ah~ I forgot to clean that up. Sorry, showing you something unsightly.”

“A-Ah, no…”

Miao seemed to have belatedly noticed it because of my reaction, and she quickly collected it, but she couldn’t hide her embarrassed face.

I nodded and said it was okay, but my face was hot because of the scene from a moment ago.

…Miao wears that kind of underwear. It seems like I’ll keep thinking about those black cloths whenever I see Miao for a while.

“Why? What’s wrong?”

Yuika, who had belatedly climbed the stairs, looked puzzled at my flushed face, but I quickly shook my head to indicate that nothing was wrong.

…There are some things in the world that you don’t need to know.

–

We ended up sitting across from each other at the table, but Miao was still holding me.

Aside from being a little awkward, it was honestly comfortable. Miao’s lap was softer and more comfortable than sitting on a hard wooden chair.

Of course, I couldn’t lean back comfortably.

Anyway, the problem was that Yuika was staring intently at me as I sat like that.

She seemed very dissatisfied, and it seemed she didn’t like that I was sitting on Miao’s lap.

But why? I pondered for a while, and then a realization struck me like lightning, and my eyes widened.

I see. It’s because Yuika also wants to sit on Miao’s lap. Certainly, with such soft and comfortable thighs, it was understandable that she coveted them.

I wanted to give way to her right away, but it didn’t seem like she would let go. I shook my head as I looked at Miao’s arms wrapped around my waist.

Still, I was bothered by Yuika’s passionate gaze, so I decided to say something.

“Um, Miao… Can’t I just sit normally here…?”

“Why? Is it uncomfortable?”

“No… It’s not uncomfortable, but, um…”

If anything, it was comfortable, not uncomfortable. It’s just that Yuika’s gaze was burdensome.

But Miao didn’t seem to have any intention of putting me down. I had no choice but to persuade Yuika here.

“Um, Yuika?”

“Uh, yeah?”

“I don’t know if it’s enough as a replacement… but I’ll lend you my lap later, so could you please stop staring so intently…?”

“Cough?!”

Yuika suddenly started coughing when I said that. I wanted to give her some water, but there was none. I waited until she stopped coughing, and then Yuika asked with a very embarrassed face.

“…W-Was I staring that intently?”

“You were staring very intently? I thought Mari’s face would get a hole in it because of your eyes.”

“N-No, it wasn’t that bad?!”

Yuika protested to Miao, who had answered for me, her face turning as red as a beet.

“No, but think about it. Why else would Mari ask you to stop?”

“Th-that’s…! I guess so…”

But Yuika sank at Miao’s next words.

“I’m sorry, Mari…”

“It’s okay. I’ll lend you my lap later instead.”

“Why the lap…? More than that, what are you talking about…?”

Did I say something strange? I tilted my head, looking puzzled at Yuika’s expression, and Miao clapped her hands to focus our attention.

“Alright, alright, enough chit chat. We didn’t gather here today to just chat, did we?”

“That’s right! What did you call us here to do?”

When I looked at her with curious eyes, like Yuika, Miao opened her inventory and stuck her hand inside. She rummaged around for a while as if looking for something, and then her arm came out, but it wasn’t empty.

I looked at what she was holding and said unconsciously.

“A doll?”

It was a doll made of wood. I looked at it with curious eyes, and Miao said with a smile.

“That’s right. It’s one I made last night. Do you want to touch it?”

“Is that okay?”

“Of course. I made it to show it to you in the first place.”

“Then I won’t refuse…”

I carefully took the doll she handed me and examined it from side to side.

A smooth oval head without a face, a segmented torso, and straight arms and legs. Even at a glance, the quality was on a different level than the dolls I made.

I carefully grabbed its arm, looking at the detailed fingers, and then it snapped off with a click.

“Huh?”

I looked back and forth between the fallen arm and the one-armed doll, then quickly turned my head and said in a trembling voice.

“I-I’m sorry… I-I didn’t mean to break it…!”

“It’s okay, it’s okay. I just made it roughly to show you, so you don’t have to feel so sorry.”

“St-Still…”

“It’s okay, see?”

Snap. Miao broke the doll’s neck in one swift motion, and as I stared in shock, Miao shook the round head and said,

“See? It’s okay to just break it.”

S-Scary person… I quickly nodded my head, sweating profusely.

Author Note

A/N (Author’s note):
Thank you for reading today too!

…The cold has truly set in.

The season of icy drafts freezing hands and feet has arrived at last.

Please everyone, take good care of your health.

I’ll strive to maintain timely updates without delays…

[My apologies and gratitude…]

Translator Note

T/N (Translator’s note):
And that would be… well I assume most of you already guessed it!

Oh yeah, and snap the head like how I want to snap the lewd saintess’s stupid poor excuse of a head!

Placeholders