The Identity of The Boss Cat

The Identity of The Boss Cat

As if witnessing the end of the world.

Rumi looked at me and Delia alternately with a face devoid of any hint of a smile.

“……”

Then, with a somewhat complicated expression, she paused for a moment.

Soon after, she bit her lip tightly and slowly moved her steps forward.

In this frustrating situation, I tried to say something as I usually would, but.

[So please stop now. Please…]

Remembering the words I had heard before, I had no choice but to close my mouth.

If that’s really what she’s thinking… even just me saying something could be burdensome.

‘So let’s just leave her alone for now.’

As the boss cat and Delia had said.

Thinking that ignoring her might be better right now, I carefully hugged Delia.

I could feel Delia, who was hugging me, flinch and bury her face in my chest.

‘I’m not sure if this is really right, but.’

As I was showing my complexity, hoping things would get better.

Rumi slowly passed by my side and muttered softly.

“… Trash.”

Looking at the situation alone, one might think she said that simply out of anger.

‘But considering Rumi’s thoughts and personality from the original novel…’

I knew that saying those words itself was not a normal situation.

Considering Rumi’s personality, she would typically put herself down rather than insult others.

Realizing something was wrong, I was about to open my mouth, but before that, Delia hugged me tighter and shook her head.

‘Is she telling me to leave it be?’

After a moment of internal conflict, I decided to follow Delia and the boss cat’s advice and closed my eyes.

‘Even if I step in to explain, nothing will change anyway.’

If nothing would change, I thought it would be better to at least try something that could make a difference.

‘This is giving me a headache.’

…I thought everything would be resolved if we just took down the Heaven God Cult.

I never imagined that other additional factors would hold me back even more.

Just as I was thinking that all these situations had become so tangled that it was giving me a headache.

Suddenly, I noticed black cat hair on Delia’s shoulder.

‘Did it get there when we were at the mansion?’

But that doesn’t make sense since her clothes are different from before.

As I felt something was off and was about to grab it.

Delia slightly moved away from me and said.

“Rumi left.”

“……”

At those words, I stopped my rising suspicion and said to Delia.

“Thank you.”

“It’s nothing, considering how much I’ve received from you. This much is only natural.”

I nodded at those words and spoke to Delia.

“By the way, is your house alright?”

“Oh, yes. It’s painful that the employees died, but… the rest can be restored, so it’s fine.”

Maybe it’s because they’re known for being a wealthy family.

They say that damage that would have annihilated an ordinary noble family can be restored.

While I’m looking at Delia, thinking she’s amazing in many ways, she claps her hands as if she’s remembered something and says to me.

“Oh, come to think of it, can I stay at the mansion for a while? My house is destroyed, so I have nowhere to stay.”

Didn’t she just say earlier that she could stay in a guest house or villa at the mansion?

I was about to refuse, remembering this.

“Plus, I think it would be better if I’m here to provoke Rumi’s jealousy, you know.”

The second reason that followed made it impossible for me to refuse.

I nodded, deciding to lend her a room, since we have many empty guest rooms anyway.

‘It feels like everyone is gathering at our house.’

While I’m thinking that it might be too crowded, even though it’s unavoidable to protect them from the Heaven God Cult.

Delia smiles brightly and says to me.

“Then, since we don’t know when and where Rumi might be watching us, I think it’s good to keep up this skinship consistently.”

It seems like she’s making this suggestion more to satisfy her own selfish desires rather than to provoke Rumi’s jealousy.

‘I don’t have any other choice anyway.’

I nodded, deciding to go along with it for now, pretending to be fooled.

*

After returning to the lab, I decided to do some ‘research’ to calm my complicated mind and sat down in the chair.

When my mind is complicated, it’s best to do something that requires full concentration.

I decided to move on to the next magic after ancient magic and recalled the next spell.

‘Space expansion magic.’

It’s the opposite concept of compression magic.

Using it itself is not particularly difficult, but like space compression magic, it’s a technique that requires ‘proficiency’.

It seemed necessary to build proficiency in this through research for a while.

So I decided to focus on this during my spare time and recalled the theory of space expansion magic.

As I was pondering for a long time on how to modify the expansion magic.

Luna, who had been in my arms, slipped out and yawned long before speaking to me.

[Master smells like the boss cat.]

At those words, I chuckled somewhat incredulously and replied.

“Of course I smell like a cat, since you just introduced me to one earlier.”

[Hmm, no. It smells like you’ve been hugging something continuously!]

Hugging? The moment I heard those words, Delia’s face, whom I had hugged earlier, flashed through my mind.

The only person I had hugged today was Delia.

Thinking this, I shook my head and said to Luna.

“I haven’t hugged any boss cat, so it must be your imagination.”

[No, it’s true!]

At those words, I was about to dismiss it, thinking she was just being strange as usual.

But suddenly, a few questions flashed through my mind.

‘Come to think of it, doesn’t the boss cat’s statement about taking responsibility after eating everything strangely overlap with Delia’s comment about being okay with being a concubine?’

On top of that, both of them spoke similarly about ignoring Rumi earlier, to the point where it seemed artificial.

Additionally, it was somewhat suspicious that ‘I had met Delia’ as soon as I finished talking with the boss cat and went into the hallway.

‘… Something’s not right.’

In fact, this wasn’t the only strange thing.

Thinking about it, even Luna meeting the boss cat was actually included in the category of things that were extremely odd.

‘They don’t even let stray cats in, let alone birds, to maintain security and hygiene in the mansion.’

A mere stray cat had been meeting Luna while evading security magic and the eyes of numerous employees?

Thinking about it, one could tell something was off.

‘No, they could have met outside.’

Just in case, I asked Luna where she first met the boss cat.

[I can’t leave the master alone! I first met him in the garden!]

She confirmed that they met in the park inside the mansion, insisting this was the truth.

Upon hearing this, I silently wiggled my fingers.

Then, calmly composing my expression, I asked Luna one last question.

“Do Delia and the boss cat smell the same by any chance?”

To that, Luna nodded and said as if it were obvious.

[Yes!]

With that single word, I felt a headache coming on and held my forehead.

* * * * *

Delia lay on the guest room bed, tapping her feet impatiently.

She never expected things to go this smoothly.

‘Transforming into a cat to approach was the right answer.’

It was the right decision to transform into a cat and casually wander around, wanting to observe Deren a bit more.

Thinking that my foresight was excellent, I giggled and squirmed, but soon calmed myself down and got up.

‘Anyway, keep pretending to be a cat and give Deren advice.’

Thinking that the goal was to create ‘opportunities’ for myself as well, I lightly patted my cheeks with my palms.

‘So, be careful not to let Deren find out that I’m the boss cat.’

To avoid being discovered, I transformed into the image of a cat I had seen in childhood fairy tales.

More than using tricks like deliberately changing my speech pattern.

I accurately mimicked a cat’s behavior and even ate strange cat treats, so Deren would probably never suspect a thing.

‘No… there is one thing that bothers me a bit.’

It just occurred to me now.

It was concerning that I had naturally understood and immediately responded when Deren ‘spoke human language’.

Fortunately, Deren didn’t seem to pay much attention to it, but if I don’t mind these small details, I’ll eventually get caught.

I steeled my resolve to be more careful next time.

‘Then what advice should I give next?’

Earlier, I advised him to show Rumi him getting cozy with other girls.

Next time, to provoke Rumi even more, it might be good to suggest stronger skinship and expressions of affection.

‘Hmm… I’m quite satisfied.’

Thinking about cuddling with Deren already made me happy.

Recalling Deren’s scent from earlier, I rolled around on the bed again.