Chapter 206

I’m not a Loner, You Know
It’s currently 3 a.m. Most of the citizens are resting in bed. According to the scheduled reports, the Arlandian army is likely attacking the Imperial army’s encampment around this time.

I slipped out of bed. I had some business outside the castle. I removed the bottom board of the bookshelf in my room and tried to exit through the secret passage. The moment I stuck my head in, someone grabbed my leg.

“Ah, aaaaaaah!”

A little while later, after the mysterious underwear combustion incident, I had changed into a fresh pair and was glaring at Alicia, who stood before me.

“Where are you planning to go at this hour?”

“Before that, Alicia, you should apologize to me. I protest this strongly.”

“It’s still better than sneaking out on your own.”

“Where were you hiding?!”

“I was in the room the whole time. Hidden behind the curtain.”

She was there from the beginning? I didn’t notice since she didn’t use magic.

“So, just where do you think you're going?”

“A night stroll.”

I decided to play it off.

“A stroll? At this hour? Using the secret passage?”

“I’m just going to meet a friend.”

“... A rendezvous at a time like this? It’s far too early for you, Princess! Also, I absolutely refuse to approve of that man of unknown origin!”

“? What are you talking about?”

Alicia was snorting indignantly, but I had no idea what she meant.

“Eh? You’re going to meet a man at this hour, aren’t you?”

Well, yes, he’s male.

“Yeah, that’s right.”

“So it *is* a rendezvous!”

“No, it’s not.”

There’s a bit of a problem aside from his gender. No matter how you look at it, this isn’t a romantic meeting.

“You’re going to see that man named Takuto, right? It’s true that at this hour, no one would interfere.

B-u-t, I ask you to consider the current state of the country.”

Ah, so she misunderstood and thought I was going to see Takuto.

“No, that’s not it. I’m going to see President Nyamlas. There’s a meeting tonight.”

“……… Who’s that?”

“The president of Nyalverde, the unified nation of cats.”

There’s no way it’s a romantic meeting with a cat.

“... Are you planning to go to another world or something? I’ve never heard of a country called Nyalverde.”

I had no choice but to explain to the clueless Alicia.

Nyalverde is a feline nation located in the royal capital of the Arland. President Nyamlas won an intense territorial battle and unified the cat society of the capital, thus forming the nation.

“Uhh, this *is* Arland, you know…”

“Unfortunately, no matter how liberal Arland may be, cats don’t have civil rights. Besides, it’s not a human-type nation—it’s a cat society.”

There’s no issue in human society terms. Their concept of territory is entirely different from humans’. Simply put, he’s the boss cat of the capital.

Since rule is based on strength and not bloodline, coups (territorial disputes) break out regularly, so it’s not exactly a peaceful place.

“Anyway, there’s a meeting tonight. I called it.”

“What kind of position do you hold in... this Nyalverde?”

“Me? I’m just a friend. People always say behind my back that I don’t have many friends, but I’m not a loner!”

I’ve got way more than a hundred cat friends. I’ve got tons of them.

So, once again, I stuck my head into the bottom shelf of the bookcase, trying to slip out through the secret passage, but Alicia caught me again.

“W-wait a moment! I’m coming too. I cannot allow you to go out alone!”

“Ehh~ explaining everything is a pain…”

“Also, just where did you form such a connection?!”

Huh? You didn’t know? I just turned into a cat and talked with them like normal. As long as I have transformation potion, it’s easy.

And so, Alicia ended up coming along too. Since this particular secret passage was cat-sized, we used the weak transformation potion (with a few hours of effect) and headed out into the royal capital.

Currently, the capital is in a development boom, so there are quite a few empty lots. One of those is being used as the meeting ground for the cats tonight.

When I arrived, over a thousand cats were already waiting.

“That one is President Nyamlas.”

“President Nyamlas.”

Looking all important as he sat on a discarded sofa with his legs crossed—that was President Nyamlas. Female cats sat on either side of him. In front of the sofa, about ten tattered-looking male cats were piled up.

By the way, his name comes from the fact that his face looks like he’d give you a hundred-thousand-dollar PON. Not that I’d be happy to receive that or anything.

“Another coup?”

“Just small fry.”

Apparently, someone overestimated themselves, tried to stage a coup, and got utterly defeated.

“Thanks for calling everyone together this time.”

“It was a request from a friend, so I don’t mind. Want some dried fish?”

He held out a dried fish pinched between his paw pads, but when I shook my head, he put it in his mouth like a cigarette.

Now then, I climbed on top of a wooden crate and began to address the gathered cats.

"Dear beloved kitties who dwell in the royal capital, thank you for answering my summons.

The reason I’ve gathered you today is because a crisis is approaching this royal capital—no, this entire kingdom. The Granzut Empire has declared war on the Kingdom of Arland.

I want to borrow your strength."

In response to my speech, one cat stepped forward.

"Human wars have nothing to do with us cats, meow."

"I see. That might be true. But are you okay with the butcher you always visit disappearing?"

This kitty sometimes receives leftover meat from the butcher.

"! Uncle Butcher has nothing to do with this, meow!"

The cat swatted the ground with its paws. But it’s not entirely unrelated. That butcher is a beastkin. In the worst-case scenario, he could be enslaved and taken to the Empire.

"And you over there, you're the same. The dried fish shop's granny has a cute daughter. If the Empire attacks this royal capital, she’ll definitely try to protect it.

If she gets injured or killed, you won’t be able to sit on her lap anymore."

Although that granny is a formidable woman who’s hard to imagine losing. Her staff skills are about as strong as a knight’s.

When I pointed my paw at another kitty, it muttered, "That would be terrible, meow..." That granny loves cats, so there are many kitties she dotes on.

Then, behind me, President Nyamlas, who sat pompously, held a piece of dried fish between his paw pads like a cigarette and let it fall from his mouth.

"Living in coexistence with humans is the easiest way for us cats to live. I’ll help you, Alice. You lot help her too. If you refuse, it’s purging time. Like *them*."

When President Nyamlas pointed the dried fish at the cats lying on the ground, the gathered kitties flattened their ears.

"No need to be afraid. I’ve brought payment. For the kitties who help, I’ll gift you this dried fish."

When I opened the Treasury, my clones piled up a mountain of the dried fish I’d collected. Cheers rose from the cats.

"I just want you to hide this paper throughout the capital. That’s it—and in return, you can eat this dried fish to your heart’s content."

"Meooow! I’ll go hide it right meow!"

"I wanna eat it now, meow!"

"Feast time, meowrr!"

The kitties took several paper humanoid figures from my clones and scattered throughout the capital in a dash.

"Thank you, President Nyamlas."

"You haven’t forgotten my reward, right? Hurry up, hurry up!"

President Nyamlas wagged his two tails furiously.

"Of course I brought it. High-grade cat food made with premium bonito flakes."

When a clone placed a bowl down, President Nyamlas dove into it ravenously. He’s a stray cat, after all. Even if he’s important, that doesn’t mean he gets to eat fancy meals. But it seems he has no intention of becoming a pet cat either.

"Okay, I’ll leave the rest of the papers to you. And invite me to the next meeting too."

"… Hmph, fine. I’ll invite you next time as well."

He acts high and mighty, but his mouth is covered in bonito flakes. Honestly, he should take after me and carry himself with more dignity.

With that, I parted from President Nyamlas and returned to the castle. If I stayed too long, someone might notice I wasn’t in the castle. There are too many people with sharp instincts.

I returned to my room, but the effect of the weak transformation potion still hadn’t worn off, so I decided to stay up for a while.

"By the way, what exactly is that paper?"

"Hmm~ I guess you could say it’s insurance?"

"Insurance…?"

"Yeah, insurance. There’s something about the capital that smells… off. This is a countermeasure, just in case.

I don’t think it’ll be necessary, but still, you never know."

I’ve been tasked with defending the royal capital, but there’s this uneasy feeling—almost like a stench—from within. It’s incredibly unpleasant. A smell like someone’s trying to trample on something precious to me. I absolutely loathe it. Makes me want to annihilate them. But I don’t know where it’s coming from. So this is just a precaution.

"Hmm, we may need to investigate a bit."

"Huh, you’re not suspicious of me?"

"There’s been a report from the special service. It’s too quiet. Normally, even hidden enemies give off some signs of movement. We’d usually catch one or two at least."

Apparently Alicia had her own doubts.

"I’ve prepared all the insurance I could, but split my royal guard into two units. Make sure one unit is always ready to move instantly."

For now, I’ve judged that I can deal with the situation using those paper figures and the citizens. My royal guard should be enough as backup. I’ve also instructed the Viceroy Family Guard to protect the Viceroy Merchant Union’s facilities. They seem to have sensed something too, so the security level shouldn’t be an issue. They have guns, after all.

"I think this will also help dispel the rumors that I have no friends."

"Princess... let’s work on making some human friends too."

… Unacceptable.

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