Chapter 26: Pondering Nell’s education policy

While I’m in town, I show up at the cat gathering.

Since it was already evening, many of the cats had gone home, but the elder-like cats were still there.

「Nyaa—（Nekomata-sama! You’re here! ）」

「Nyan（I’m not nekomata. ）」

「Nyaa（Again, you’re too modest. ）」

Is there such a thing as modesty in cat society?

Oh well.

「Nya（Are you guys interested in basilisk meat? ）」

「Nyaa—（Basi…? What meat? ）」

「Nyaa—（It’s meat from a big snake. ）」

「Nyaa—（A snake? It’s been a long time since I had one. ）」

I decided to give all the leftover basilisk meat to the cats in the gathering spot.

I was getting tired of eating the same meal all the time.

It’s a waste to throw them away, so I’m going to try to give them as a gift.

「Nyaa—（Here. You’ll have to share the food with everyone. ）」

「Nya! （Oh my…! What a fine piece of meat! ）」

Some of the cats at the gathering spot seemed to have heard me and came up to me, meowing.

Well, now it’s time to go and see the girl at the inn, Nell.

I headed to the inn, leaving the stray cats competing for the meat.

◇　◇　◇　◇

When I knock on the inn, the girl appears.

「Neko-san, welcome back! 」

Then I walk into the inn.

「Sorry, Neko-san. Dinner’s already over. 」

「Nyaa—（Don’t mind me. ）」

In the hallway of the inn, I caught a rat and crunched it.

Not a drop of blood spilled, praise me.

The mouse meat tastes somewhat like raw garbage.

It is not very tasty.

「Neko-san is amazing. 」

「I’m hom—ara, Neko-san, you’re back! 」

Nancy, the innkeeper, seems to have returned.

She whispered that if her daughter kept this up, she might not be able to leave the cat.

Mmm, maybe my frequent visits aren’t good for Nell’s education.

Do you want me to come less often?

Sooner or later, she will be old enough to play with kids her own age.

If that happens, she won’t be lonely.

That was what I was thinking about as I kept up with Nell’s reading.