I Managed to Bring Down the Entire Family of That Impossible-To-Conquer S-Class Beauty, Completely Filling in Her Outer Moat
――Morning, in my classroom.
“Waaah… I played too much in my lucid dream and now I’m actually sleepy…”
I yawned, opening my mouth wide enough to swallow a whole mandarin orange, then collapsed face-first onto my desk.
Just then, the reason the classroom grew even noisier arrived.
“Good morning, everyone…”
It was Amagiri China. But today, she seemed somehow less energetic than usual.
Of course, I wasn’t the only one who noticed; a classmate mentioned it.
“China-san, what’s wrong!? You look like you’re not feeling well!”
“Ah, yeah. Actually… my cat hasn’t come home…
She often goes out alone, but she always came back every night. Lately, she hasn’t been coming back.”
“That’s so worrying~… I’ll look for it on my way home too! And I’ll post a picture in our group chat to let everyone know!”
“Thanks!”
A missing cat.
Come to think of it, Chi-na asked me on YINE last night how to find a lost cat.
(…Since we have an assembly today, I’ll ask everyone there.)
I’m not thinking about trying to get in Amagiri-san’s good graces or anything like that, but I am concerned about the cat’s whereabouts.
Among mammals, cats are my second favorite animal after pangolins.
“Hey, Nozomu! Good morning! Wanna play soccer after class today?”
“I can’t today. There’s an assembly. Sorry! Ask someone else.”
“Assembly? Oh, that thing. Lucky you~, I’m super jealous~~~”
“Sorry about that. Enjoy it.”
While I’m happy about Kouki’s invitation, I really can’t skip it.
I finished most of my tasks for today’s sake.
“I heard, China-chan! The cat’s missing, right? I’ll help look too!”
“Ahaha… Thanks, Fumihiko-kun.”
Where did you sprout from, weed boy? I almost want to tease him like that.
At this rate, the whole class… no, the whole school will unite, everyone frantically searching for the cat.
While the students schemed to curry favor with Amagiri-san, I drifted back into my dreams.
――After class.
“Alright, all set. Let’s go!”
After getting home, I stuffed my backpack full of certain things and headed out.
I walked for a while, stepping into the mountains. From the mountain path to a game trail. Then, continuing along the pathless path, I finally arrived.
A weathered torii gate, its paint peeling, stood tall within the desolate grounds. This place was a forgotten shrine.
Hardly anyone knew it existed, so I was the only one paying respects.
“Ugh, termites got it again.”
I’d stumbled upon it while exploring ruins within legal limits.
Since I’m on good terms with the mountain’s owner, I got permission from the town office and DIY-ed repairs to keep it from collapsing.
‘Meow!’
‘Meoww’
‘Ooo-rooo-rooo…’
‘Gororooro’
No human worshippers. But there are mountains of worshipping cats.
Countless cats roam the grounds, rubbing against my legs as if they’d been waiting for me.
Yes. The gathering I speak of is a cat gathering.
“Whoa, another day of pure fluff heaven!”
The reason I, a human, can participate here is because I serve them food after the gathering ends.
As soon as I sat down in the grounds, the cats each started meowing.
‘Meow’
‘Now’
‘Fshhhhh!!’
‘Naooon’
I have no idea what they’re saying, but just watching them is heavenly.
After gazing at this feast for the eyes for a while, they all suddenly look at me at once. Seems they’re done.
“Alright, alright, time to hand out the food then!”
By the way, every cat here has been TNR’d (Trap-Neuter-Return). Not NTR, mind you.
Well then, let’s get to the main topic and ask about Amagiri san’s cat.
I pulled out my phone and showed the group a photo of her pet cat that had been sent around.
It was a beautiful calico with a bell around its neck.
“Does anyone know this cat?”
Some cats sniffed the phone itself instead of the photo, others tried to step on the cat in the picture.
There were various reactions, but one cat grabbed my sleeve and tugged.
“Follow me… is that it?”
‘Meow’
I followed that cat. Down the mountain, through back alleys, across the roof of an abandoned building…
At the end of the trail lay a plot within the ruins. There was a trap for catching cats, and inside, a calico cat with a bell was meowing.
“No one noticed because there’s no human traffic…”
The cat that guided me had vanished without me noticing.
I approached the trap quietly so as not to startle it and rescued the cat.
“…Meow”
“Here, you must be hungry. Let’s eat?”
I took out some leftover food and offered it to the calico.
It cautiously closed the distance and began eating voraciously. It must have been terribly hungry.
“I’m so glad we found you early…”
If we’d been any later, it might have become even more emaciated.
Gently stroking its head, I waited for the kitten to finish eating.
‘Meow’
“Hmm, done eating?”
‘Purrrrrrr…♡’
“Whoa, this one’s friendly, huh?”
It purred and rubbed against me, letting me pick it up—such a cute cat.
Holding it close, I left the ruins. I’d return it to Amagiri san right away! Or so I thought…
“But I don’t know where Amagiri san lives…”
Amagiri san isn’t part of our class group, YINE.
The cat photo sent to the group was from one of her friends.
Well, what to do? Keeping it for now and telling her tomorrow is one option.
As I pondered this, I suddenly bumped into someone.
“Ah, Amagiri san!?”
“Watarai-kun…? And… my Serinuntius-chan!?”
“S-Serinuntius-chan…?”
The person I happened to run into was none other than the owner herself, Amagiri-san.
Her hands were dirty, so it seemed she’d been searching for this little one since class ended.
“Eh, eh, you found Serichan!?”
“Ah, yeah. Well…”
I explained where I’d been and handed over this cat—or rather, Serinuntius-chan.
What on earth happened? What family meeting led to naming a calico cat Serinuntius? I’d be spending a sleepless night tonight.
“Thank you so much…! Since Serinuntius went missing, my food just didn’t taste right…!”
“I’m glad she was found. Well, I’ll be going now…”
“W-wait! I want to thank you properly, so please come to my place…”
“It’s fine. For now, please share your joy with that cat!”
“That cat is looking for you, Watarai-kun.”
“Huh?”
Somehow, she’d slipped out of Amagiri-san’s arms and was relaxing on my shoes.
I-Idiot, it can’t escape…!? Cat-sama, why are you fixated on someone like me?!
“Watarai-kun, please.”
“Guh…! Alright, fine…!!”
“Hehe, gotcha♪”
‘Nyaa’
Holding Serinuntius-chan, I ended up heading to her house with Amagiri-san.
At that moment, I was in high spirits… no, to put it bluntly, I was giddy.
My classmates and Fumihiko would probably try to kill me if they found out, but I was just going to the front of her house. It should be fine.
—I was thinking so optimistically, but I had no way of knowing then that the entire Amagiri family would gather shortly after…
Maiasa