I was a cat.
I didn't have a name back then.
I liked to think I lived a respectable life. I made sure to pull my weight so I wouldn't be a burden to the villagers, and I never forgot to be polite.
However, I drew the line at being touched.
Why were the villagers always trying to rub my belly? That area is strictly off-limits.
Fine, I would compromise on the back. I would allow them to pet my back.
But the base of my tail was out of the question!
One day, I was captured by a villager.
I stood my ground with dignity, assuming it was simply time for one of my occasional baths. If my legs were trembling, it was only because of the winter chill. It certainly wasn't because I was afraid of being washed.
But I was wrong.
The villager handed me over to a man who looked quite important. He stared down at me with a broad, unsettling smile.
Was I... was I going to be eaten?
As I sat there imagining my own demise, I fell asleep. I didn't faint. I just took a nap.
As it turned out, I wasn't eaten.
I was passed from that important man to someone even more important, and then to someone even more important than him. What was happening? Where was I being taken?
After a journey filled with baths and regular meals, I was eventually brought to a room filled with other cats around my age. Seeing my own kind offered a moment of relief, but it quickly turned to unease.
They were all drones.
I had no intention of picking a fight, but I knew it would be a hassle if any of them tried to start something. Sure enough, one drone came at me early on. He was clearly a city dweller; I could tell just by his aura.
I took him down with a single blow. Compared to the rats in the countryside, a city-bred drone was no match for me. If there had been any female cats around to witness it, I’m sure they would have been swooning.
Hmph.
I claimed the center of the room and sat there majestically. I wasn't going to let anyone else mess with me.
By the time I had finished my tenth meal there, an incredibly important man picked me up. It seemed he was taking me somewhere.
I stared into the very pits of hell.
Those things weren't cats. They were Magic Beasts.
Biologically, mating might have been possible, but in reality? Not a chance. Completely out of the question.
Those Magic Beasts were overwhelmingly more powerful than the strongest guard dog back in my village. I didn't need to fight them to know; the instinct was bone-deep.
There were four of them. The Four Magic Beast Sisters, apparently.
It seemed I had been brought there as a potential groom for one of them, but I was relieved beyond words that none of them took a liking to me. Truly, I was blessed.
Don't get me wrong—they were certainly beautiful. But to me, they looked like nothing more than elegant personifications of Death.
It’s a wonderful thing, being alive.
After that, I began my new lifestyle in the house of that incredibly important man. I wasn't happy about the collar, but apparently, I couldn't move freely through the house without it.
There were a lot of people in this house, but because it was so massive, it had rats. And these weren't ordinary rats—they were Magic Beasts.
When I first encountered one, I prepared myself for death.
But I needn't have worried. Compared to those Four Magic Beast Sisters, they weren't strong at all. Perhaps the Magic Beast Rat hadn't expected me to fight back, because it had let its guard down completely.
It was sheer luck.
When I went to show my prize to the incredibly important man, he showered me with praise. It felt good.
So, I started hunting those Magic Beast Rats with a vengeance. People other than the master began praising me, too.
Hehehe. I was happy.
However, I got a bit too carried away with the hunting. Lately, I hadn't seen a single Magic Beast Rat.
I’d made a tactical error. I knew that if I killed off all the rats, I might be kicked out. And yet, I’d done it anyway.
I was worried about my future, but I wasn't sent away. Instead, the master even gave me my own private room. It gets wonderful sunlight, and the food is delicious.
There is only one drawback.
Sometimes, the master comes home smelling like those Four Magic Beast Sisters. And it’s not just them; sometimes there’s another scent mixed in too...
Until those smells are gone, cuddling is strictly forbidden.
I’ll allow him to pet my back.
But the base of my tail is off-limits.
I am a cat.
My name was given to me by that incredibly important man.
Arthur.
His subordinates call me the Knight of the Food Storage.
"That cat... no matter how you look at it, he isn't a normal cat, is he?" the sentry asked.
"Of course not," the minister replied. "He's the one who wiped those troublesome Gozrats right out of the castle. The kitchen staff are raving about him; they say we must never let that cat go."
"And yet, biologically speaking, he is just a normal cat," the scholar noted.
The general shook his head. "That is the strength possessed only by those who have crossed the line between life and death. I feel both love and sadness in him."