Chapter 177: The Black Cat and the Night Forest

“Hime, who is that…?”

Isamu, fully awakened by his surprise, asked.

He had heard that there were no cat-like animals in this world, Ethersia, and he hadn’t seen any in the year since he came here. Yet, right in front of him was undeniably a black cat.

Upon closer inspection, only its paws and the tip of its tail were white, a type known as a “white-tabi” with a “penlight tail.”

“Nyafoo.”

“Nyauu.”

Orihime let out a short meow, seemingly prompting the black cat, which then trotted over to Isamu. Given how accustomed to humans it appeared, it was likely a domesticated cat or one raised in a human environment.

When Isamu extended his index finger towards the approaching black cat, it sniffed lightly before rubbing its nose against his finger.

“Meow.”

After a single meow, it returned to Orihime.

“It’s definitely a cat.” 

Isamu murmured, observing the gesture. Like Orihime and cats on Earth, this one greeted by touching noses, indicating it had no hostile intent and was not wary of him.

While pondering where it might have come from, Isamu noticed Orihime jumping off the bed and heading towards the room’s door, the black cat following her.

“Nyan-nyan.”

Reaching the door, she turned and meowed, seemingly calling Isamu.

“Does she want me to follow?”

Isamu quickly changed into pants, put on boots, donned a leather chest armor, and wrapped himself in a magic-protected cloak, then followed Orihime.

After opening the door and stepping into the hallway, Isamu, led by Orihime, walked through the silent mansion towards the entrance. Due to a recent attack, sentries were posted even inside the entrance. Tonight, one of Isamu’s personal guards, Mizeroi, was on duty.

Noticing Isamu coming down the stairs, Mizeroi called out in surprise.

“Oh? Isamu-sama, what brings you here at this hour? Ah, Orihime-sensei is with you too…!”

He smiled upon seeing Orihime, but his expression turned to shock upon noticing the black cat behind her, speechless as he alternated his gaze between Isamu and the cat.

“Well, it’s surprising, isn’t it? Orihime suddenly brought it here, but it didn’t come through the front door.”

“Sensei did? Indeed, no one has passed through since I’ve been on watch. Are you heading out?”

“Yes. Orihime seems to want me to follow her. I’m curious about this cat too, so I thought I’d go with her. Mizeroi, could you accompany me?”

Realizing he couldn’t go out alone at this hour, Isamu asked apologetically.

“Of course! I’d be honored to accompany you! Felix is outside, so he can join us as well.”

Agreeing eagerly, Mizeroi softly called Felix from outside the door. Felix, after hearing the situation, was as surprised as Mizeroi but quickly spoke to another sentry.

The sentry nodded and ran towards the mansion gate.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, but we need to wait for the replacement to arrive.”

Felix turned back to Isamu.

“I appreciate it.”

“No problem. Is that black creature also a ‘cat’ like sensei?”

“From its appearance and behavior, it’s definitely a cat. We had many black cats in the previous world too.”

“I see…”

As they chatted, the sentry returned with two other knights.

“Good work. When the lord wakes up, inform him that Isamu-sama and we have gone out together.”

“Understood!”

With the handover complete, the three—Felix, Mizeroi, and Isamu—left the mansion.

Orihime jumped onto the magic car parked near the mansion gate, meowing persistently. They took the magic car and headed out of the town.

As soon as they left the town, Orihime and the black cat jumped off the vehicle and began to lead the way, running ahead. The magic vehicle’s speed was around 15 kilometers per hour, while a cat could run up to 50 kilometers per hour for short bursts. As long as they had the stamina, leading the magic car wasn’t a problem.

After about 30 minutes of following Orihime and the black cat along the highway in the darkness, they stopped and Orihime let out a “Nyafoo” towards the forest. It seemed like they were being directed to enter the forest.

“Isamu-sama, are cats creatures with a lot of stamina?” 

Felix asked Isamu, noticing the black cat, which was only slightly out of breath after the continuous run.

“I think they are more known for their explosive power… However, this black cat might not be an ordinary cat, just like Orihime.”

Although Orihime was not out of breath at all, neither Felix nor Mizeroi seemed surprised. To them, Orihime had transcended the status of a mere cat and had become a revered sensei.

They parked the magic vehicle off to the side to avoid obstruction and removed a magic stone and part of the mechanism. Doing this meant they would need to reconnect a few lines with magic ink to use it again, but it significantly reduced the risk of it being stolen. Even if it were stolen, only Isamu could make it work, so the damage would be limited to the physical object.

Leaving the highway, they ventured into the dark forest.

Orihime and the black cat moved through the forest with ease, as if there were no obstacles. Relying on the moonlight and magic lanterns, Isamu and his companions struggled to keep up. Occasionally, Orihime would glance back and let out a sigh-like “Nyafoo,” to which Isamu and the others could only respond with a wry smile.

After about an hour of moving deeper into the forest without encountering any monsters, they arrived at a clearing about five meters in diameter, free of trees.

There, they saw a magic giant golem in a kneeling position and a small wagon-like vehicle.

“What?!”

“A magic giant golem!!”

The moment they saw it, Felix and Mizeroi drew their swords and stepped in front of Isamu.

“Nyaa~o~”

Ignoring the humans, Orihime let out a lazy meow and trotted forward.

“S-Sensei!!” 

Mizeroi called out in a panic, but the black cat followed Orihime, raising its tail and meowing softly.

“…….”

The three men exchanged silent glances, then nodded and followed Orihime and the black cat into the clearing.

As Orihime approached the magic giant golem, the bushes at the back of the clearing rustled loudly.

Isamu and his companions tensed up again, watching the increasing rustling with weapons ready. With a louder noise, a large white figure leaped out.

“Awoooon.”

The creature landed in front of Orihime and let out a small, affectionate howl.

“A wolf?!”

“And it’s huge!!”

The three men were once again shocked by the sudden appearance of a massive white wolf, around three meters in length. Ignoring the humans, the white wolf rubbed its cheek against Orihime and then sat down. Its large, fluffy tail swayed back and forth.

“Is he… a friend of yours, Orihime?” 

Isamu asked cautiously.

“Nyaff,” Orihime responded proudly, as if saying “Yes, he is.”

“You’ve made quite a large friend… And that magic giant golem, what’s that about?”

As they watched the magic giant golem from a distance, the door of the wagon-like vehicle slowly opened. With weapons at the ready, Isamu and his companions watched as a single person emerged.

“I mean no harm. Please lower your weapons and listen.” 

A young woman dressed in white clothing that clearly outlined her figure said. She raised her hands to show she had no hostile intentions.

“Who are you?” 

Isamu demanded.

“My name is Liline. I am a descendant of Avalushi and one of the operators of the magic giant golem. However, I am not aligned with those who attacked Klaufendam. The situation is a bit complicated, so please allow me to explain.”

The three were taken aback by the sudden influx of information. As they hesitated, the black cat trotted over to the woman named Liline and began scratching at her knees.

“Hey, Max! Behave yourself!” 

Liline said, trying to calm the cat, but it continued scratching and meowing.

“Max? …He looks hungry to me.” 

Isamu observed, recognizing the behavior from his long experience with cats.

“You understand what Max is saying? And how did you know Max is male?” 

Liline asked in surprise.

“Felix, Mizeroi, it seems she genuinely means no harm. Let’s hear her out.”

“Understood.” 

They replied, lowering their weapons but staying alert.

“Orihime, could you ask Max to wait a bit for food?” 

“Nyaffu” 

Orihime responded, then meowed at Max.

“Nyaah!” 

Max meowed once, then ran to the white wolf and curled up at its feet.

“I think we can talk for a while now.”

“Your cat understands human speech?” 

Liline asked in astonishment.

“Cat!?” 

Liline was truly surprised by the conversation between Isamu and Orihime, but Isamu was also surprised by the words that Liline came out of his mouth.

“Well, where should we start…” 

Isamu murmured as he slowly walked toward Liline.

“Wow, there’s no doubt that person is a wanderer from the same world as me… Although they’re probably a bit older than me, the time they transferred here must have been vastly different.” 

Isamu said, listening to Liline’s story. 

In just three minutes, Yu was hit with a barrage of shocking facts. The most surprising was that the founder of Avalushi was almost certainly a wanderer from Earth, and an American at that.

“Is that so? The legend says their place of origin was called ‘Zasutesu,’” 

“I see… Then it’s definitely someone from America. They often refer to their country that way.” 

Isamu explained.

As Isamu noted, Americans rarely refer to their country as “America”; they often use terms like “the States” or “the U.S.” ‘Zasutesu’ was likely a distortion of “the States.” Furthermore, the name “Max” is common in English-speaking countries, and “cat” was likely “cat.”

“I never imagined that someone from the same world created Avalushi and that it was the second iteration.” 

“I am equally astonished… To find someone outside Avalushi with a cat, who is also a wanderer from the same world as our great boss, Abel-sama…” 

“Moreover, the name of the ruined city of Avalushi was Neo Tokyo, and Abel’s cats were named Ray and Kaoru… I guess I understand Abel’s tastes now.” 

After sharing their mutual astonishment, they decided to listen to Liline’s story in more detail.

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