Kays Translations

Chapter 15

In the early afternoon, a certain parent and child arrived at the Tiara Adventurer's Guild.

"Ah, is this the place?"

The father said, and the accompanying child eagerly opened the door with joy.

As they entered, several customers inside noticed their presence, creating a stir.

The parent and child, seemingly unconcerned, headed towards the available counter. 

Lily, who was busy with paperwork, raised her head at the arrival of customers, and her eyes widened in surprise.

"Ah... welcome. Are you here for a request?"

"Well, we heard that there's someone named Mizuki Mitarai here..."

The person in question is around 160 cm tall, a traveling merchant-like figure with a large backpack on their back—a cat-person.

At that time, I was desperately tapping away on my smartphone, completely unaware.

"Mizuki-san, um..."

"Yes?"

When I raise my face at Lily-san's voice, a large brown tabby at the counter catches my eye.

"Whoa!"

The companion kitten then notices me and jumps around excitedly.

"Big brother! Big brother! Me! Me!"

"Ah!"

I quickly recall and my face softens.

I stand up and head into the shop, sitting together on a bench by the wall.

"I'm Mizuki Mitarai from the Tiara Adventurer's Guild. You can just call me Mizuki."

He shows a momentarily surprised expression, then quickly offers a greeting with a face that says, "I see."

"I'm a traveling merchant, Rumil. This little one is Rachel. Thank you for helping us the other day."

"Oh, no need. I didn't really do anything."

As Rachel vigorously taps on my knee and hugs my leg, I pat her head.

"By the way... you really speak the language of cat people?"

"Oh... well."

I understand why the customers in the shop are surprised—it's because I'm speaking the language of cat people. 

Come to think of it, the gatekeeper guards seemed confused and didn't understand. It seems it's incomprehensible to humans.

"Which do you prefer, Marl or the language of cat people?"

"It's easier in the language of cat people, but either is fine."

"Hmm..."

After thinking for a moment, I glance at Rachel.

"I guess Rachel would like to hear it too, so let's go with the language of cat people."

When I say that, Rachel nods and shows a cat-like smile, as if to say, "Got it."

I might be meowing right now, and strangely enough, it feels a bit amusing when I think about it.

Rumil explains the reason for his visit.

Originally, he had planned to come and express his gratitude right after his recovery, but at that time, he heard that I was a traveler, so he thought we wouldn't meet again.

He stayed at the healing facility for about two days, and because of that, he was likely to be delayed for his plans in another town. There were urgent circumstances that forced him to leave quickly.

So, when he came to this town today, he heard from Captain Gattmir at the East Gate that I am working here.

"I heard that you were attacked the other day; I'm relieved to see you unharmed."

"Well, I went through quite an ordeal."

I  scratch my head, a little embarrassed.

"Brother, you can't die!"

"Nah, I'm not gonna die."

Whispering quietly to Rumil, wondering if it's Rachel's comfort.

"Is Rachel a boy? Or a girl?"

He glances at Rachel, then looks at me and smiles.

"She's a girl."

I breathe a sigh of relief, realizing I almost made a mistake.

I kept saying 'he' because I thought Rachel was a boy... turns out she's a cute girl. I'm glad I noticed.

　◆ ◆ ◆

The guild was in a state of commotion.

A cat-person and a human were talking—not in the common language but in the language of the cat-people.

To an outsider, it sounded like meowing, with the humans making 'nya-nya' sounds.

Humans were meowing.

Meow-meow... Nuuu... Nii-meow, Naaahhhh-meow, Nyaaahhh-nyaaahhh... Nii-ahh.

Naa... Nya, Aaaau-meow, Naaahhhh-nyan-nyan... Nanna-nyaan.

Nyaa-nyaa-nyaa-nyaa, Nyaaahhhh... Nuuu...

That's the gist of it.

Carol, with her mouth half-open in disbelief, grabs Lana's shoulders and shakes her.

Lana, captivated by Rachel playfully nuzzling my leg, can't tear her gaze away, completely enchanted.

Lily has stopped thinking altogether, wondering what on earth she's witnessing. She's been staring at us, frozen in place.

The three from accounting are in a half-crouched position, wearing expressions that scream, "What on earth is happening?"

The two from purchasing are peering over the shelves, trying to catch a glimpse of what's going on.

Without a doubt, everyone is likely thinking:

"What on earth are you!"

And as for the manager—unfortunately, he wasn't here.

In an unfortunate turn of events, he was out on other business and missed this precious scene.

When he returns, Carol will probably boastfully recount it to him, and he'll likely regret missing out.

Even the customers who happened to walk in were left speechless, giving the unusual sight a second glance.

　◆ ◆ ◆

Rumil's belongings consist of a backpack, a shoulder bag, and a wooden box that looks like a carry case.

For a traveling merchant, it seems like quite a modest amount of luggage. Perhaps that's typical for an individual.

"What kind of business are you in?"

"I deal in daily necessities, luxury goods, and occasionally I acquire requested items as needed."

He explains that he engages in buying and selling with various cat-person communities scattered around. 

However, in this city, he doesn't have a shop but occasionally wholesales his goods to friendly store owners.

Upon hearing the term "luxury goods," I remember that I only have one more pack of cigarettes.

"Do you have cigarettes?"

"Yes, but... they're for cat people."

As he says this, he rummages through his belongings and pulls out a product.

"A smoking pipe, 'kiseru'?"

However, this one is designed for cat people, so it's about the length of chopsticks.

"Do you know about it? Humans don't really smoke these."

"Oh, is that so? In my country, it seems people used to smoke with these in the past."

"Which country is that?"

"Japan."

Rumil looks a bit puzzled, showing that he's not familiar with it.

"Should I get regular cigarettes for humans too?"

"But, Rumil-san, you don't deal with humans, right?"

"Not entirely. I handle luxury goods, so I do business with humans too. Tea, for example, sells quite well."

"I see."

"What kind of cigarettes are they?"

I take a Marlboro from my waist pouch and offer it to him. He sniffs it and returns it to me with an expression that says, "Hmm, I see."

I wondered if he could discern the type from just the smell, but I didn't let it show on my face.

"I insist, please take it."

"No, it's alright."

It seems the red-and-white Marlboro box is intriguing to him, and after I handed it to him, he observed it carefully for a while.

"Is it paper?"

"Yes, it's paper."

"It's incredibly beautiful."

He seems impressed by the cigarette box.

"If it interferes with your business, you don't have to force yourself."

"No... I have a few ideas, so I'll bring some as a trial. It would give me a reason to visit this town, and this little one here seems happy about it too."

Rumil and I look at Rachel.

"Well, if you put it that way..."

Rachel gleefully taps my knee again, as if to say, "That's great." She's adorable.

I see them off to the front door.

Rumil mentions that he'll visit again soon, and Rachel waves her hand, saying, "See you later."

Back at the table, everyone was eagerly waiting.

A barrage of questions ensues—why can you speak cat-person language? But there's no way to answer that without evading the truth.

"Well... I learned it at school."

Everyone, except Carol, is convinced it's a blatant lie.

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