Chapter 9: Our Journey: Travelogue (2) – The Black Cat and a Memory Sandwich
Hoss tossed the “luggage” into the storage room, and the black cat looked around in surprise.
Daga, brimming with curiosity about the black cat, hovered annoyingly close, but the cat did nothing.
Somehow, it was a heartwarming sight. Still, this black cat felt familiar—like I’d seen it somewhere before.
Not the arena ruins… even earlier than that. Somewhere else… maybe just déjà vu?
Once things settled down, the Witch gathered everyone in the observation room.
There was an oval white table there.
According to the Witch, the dining room was black-themed, while the observation room was white.
She spread a map on the table and began explaining.
“Now then—this is sudden, but we’re changing plans and stopping at the town ahead.”
“Huh. Why?”
“That black cat right there. Its owner—the captain of the Explorer Knights—is staying in that town.”
“The Explorer Knights…?”
“The Explorer Knights, DESU!”
“……”
Anna poured tea.
Also known as Explorers’ Bane—they deal with former explorers and explorers who turned to crime.
What fallen explorers fear more than anything is the Explorer Knights.
The Explorer Knights is the party’s name, but they are officially recognized as a “knightly order.”
They’re classified as a free category.
Because they’re recognized as a knightly order, they can exercise the rights of knights.
Those rights are investigation, execution, and arrest.
The difference from regular guards is that knights have the right to kill; guards do not.
From what I’ve heard, the captain, Pianey Monkschud, is from a prestigious imperial noble family.
When it comes to imperial knights, the name Monkschud is famous.
The Explorer Knights, led by that noble young lady, crack down on explorer-related crimes.
Explorers falling into crime is extremely common.
Many were rough to begin with, living violent lives.
If you say the soil was already there for them to fall, you wouldn’t be wrong.
So while feelings toward the Explorer Knights are complicated among explorers, they’re generally supported.
The Witch said we’d be meeting up with them.
“So we’re handing over that ‘luggage,’ huh.”
Mineha spoke up. There was living “luggage” in the storage room.
The Witch smiled.
“That too, yes—but there’s more.”
“Something else going on?”
“Are we… cooperating with the Explorer Knights?”
Given how the conversation was flowing, I’d already sensed it.
Cooperating with the Explorer Knights meant capturing or exterminating fallen explorers.
The Witch looked at the black cat. The black cat meowed.
“Well, well, in the end, that’s what it comes to. Wof boy—are you opposed? Our travel schedule will slip a bit, after all.”
She spoke apologetically, a little hesitant.
“No. We were planning to wipe them out ourselves anyway, so I’m not against it.”
“Eh? Ehh? Is that so?”
“That’s right.”
“Indeed.”
“I see…”
“As expected, DESU!”
“…………”
Anna brought out some tea snacks.
The black cat meowed, sounding exasperated. And just like that, the meeting ended.
It was nearly three hours to the town.
After we dispersed, I returned to my room.
My knife—reeked of sweat, so I decided to take a bath.
Of course, I confirmed none of the women were inside first.
I told Shaldina, who was mopping the hallway, that I was bathing, then headed to the bath.
I undressed in the changing room and briskly opened the bath door with a hand towel in hand.
“Hm?”
“Eh?”
Our eyes met.
A girl with long black hair, large black cat ears, and a slender black tail—half-lidded gray eyes.
She still looked young, but her features were beautifully refined. About Pakira’s age, maybe.
Her cat ears drooped along with her hair, and her tail sagged too.
Like a soaked stray cat.
And she was naked.
So was I.
A petite body with smooth, white skin.
A modest, cute chest with little rise—but a nicely rounded backside.
Her gray, half-lidded eyes with a cat’s distinctive diamond-shaped pupils reflected me.
“Ah—sorry! I’m so sorry!”
I apologized reflexively and slammed the door shut.
That scared me. Careless of me—no way I expected someone to be in there.
No, wait—I did check.
And I don’t recognize her at all. Who the hell was that!?
“W-who are you!?”
Startled and on guard. An intruder…?
What should I do? Open the door? Call someone?
But she might escape before that.
Could she be here to rescue the “luggage”?
Then why would she be leisurely taking a bath?
Something else felt off.
In the changing room, there were only my clothes. None that looked like hers.
Sure, she could’ve hidden them somewhere—but still.
Why was she even in the bath?
“Meow.”
“Huh?”
Suddenly, a cat’s meow came from the bath.
The doorknob rattled—and the door opened.
A single black cat with an unusually long tail, soaking wet, walked out slowly.
“Eh—wait—a cat?”
That black cat—the Witch had said the Explorer Knights captain’s pet—looked at me with gray, half-lidded eyes.
After a single glance, it calmly walked off, still dripping wet.
Immediately, I heard Shaldina shouting and Bid sighing in exasperation.
I cautiously entered the bath.
I’d called out just in case before going in, but there was no response. No presence at all.
“…She’s gone…”
No one was there. Just traces—or rather, an atmosphere—that clearly remained.
It didn’t feel like a cat had been there.
It felt like a person had been there until moments ago.
With an unsettled feeling, I sat at the washing area, scrubbed my body with soap, washed my hair with shampoo, and rinsed off.
Then I soaked in the bath.
A huge rear bath—big enough for ten people—used wall to wall.
I relaxed, placing a towel on my head.
“Fuu~… this is a good bath…”
I couldn’t help murmuring.
“But still… who was that girl…?”
Long black hair. Big black cat ears. Long black tail. Slender body. Gray, half-lidded eyes.
A beastkin—cat-tribe—like Pakira.
But she looked exactly like that black cat.
“Hahaha—there’s no way the black cat is actually a cat-tribe girl. I mean, even for fantasy that’s—wait, there is! There’s a transformation relic!!”
I jumped to my feet. That’s it—a transformation relic. I’d completely forgotten.
After getting dressed, I headed to the Witch’s place before looking for the black cat.
The workshop on the second floor.
“Wof. Where you headed?”
“The second floor. The Witch’s workshop.”
“Then perfect timing. Take this.”
Hoss showed me a plate.
On it were black-and-white sandwiches.
“What’s this?”
“The Witch said she wanted something light, so I made them.”
A light meal, huh.
Black and white… maybe dough made from white bread beans and black bread beans?
I was offered one, so I took a bite.
Mustard, cucumber, and finely sliced ham.
It was stuffed so full of cucumber it bulged.
Crunchy, fresh texture.
The softness of the white bread bean and the firmness of the black bread bean matched perfectly.
The sharp acidity of the mustard stood out, and the amount of ham was small—
making it clear the star of this sandwich was the cucumber.
“It’s delicious. A cucumber sandwich?”
“Yep. I used to eat these a lot in Heizen, so I made one out of nostalgia.”
“Oh… I really like this.”
The fact that cucumber was the main ingredient was great.
“Normally I’d use ale-pickled cucumber. That goes great with ale.”
“Beer-pickled—”
“Ale-pickled.”
“Oh—right.”
I remembered it from my past life.
I’d once been obsessed with beer-pickled cucumbers.
So Heizen has something similar.
At Hoss’s urging, I took the cucumber sandwiches with me.
I knocked on the workshop door.