Chapter 162: Cat Lord Part 3

[Special Quest Appears!]

[Special Quest: Operation Save the Kittens]

[Reward: An unnamed (for now) item from an unnamed (for now) benefactor]

What's with that reward? I wasn't even interested in the reward, since this quest was something I had to do regardless, but phrasing it like that is just irritating.

…Forget the reward. Solving this comes first.

This isn't the time to be standing around. I got up and asked Kali,

"Where are the culprits… no, where are the kittens?"

– Somewhere in this chaotic world.

The chaotic world.

People often refer to it as the "dream realm". A place where anything is possible, but only because it's a world where dreams take form. Chaos. Here, many beings regain their freedom and can interfere with one another.

For Laussian to manifest in the real world, the cost would be immense. But here, she was free as well. Ironically, because this was a place of "chaos".

And now I was supposed to find the kittens who stole Laussian's quill in this place?

Finding kittens in the chaotic world is like finding a needle in the desert or locating Mr. Kim in Seoul.

"Is there any way to…"

-.…..

"There is, right?"

Kali's tail swayed gently. From experience, that was never a good sign.

"Damn it. So you're saying I need to start by figuring out where the kittens are?"

-There is a way, but…

"But?"

-It's far too generous a gift for someone like you.

"Stop with the nonsense and just do something already."

Laussian was destroying their "sanctuary" yet weren't they being far too relaxed about it? Even if they were cats, this was ridiculous. I barely managed to resist the urge to pinch Kali's nose as I watched him thoughtfully stroke his whiskers with a serious expression.

– It's an emergency, so there's no other choice.

Kali plucked one of his golden whiskers with a pop and tossed it at me. The whisker floated lazily through the air, tickling the bridge of my nose before it shimmered and disappeared.

Then, something strange happened.

"What… what is this?"

I had grown whiskers. Cat whiskers.

To be more precise, they didn't sprout from my face. It was like having a special skin in a video game. They were glimmering cat whiskers that appeared on my face as if they were stuck on.

But a man in his thirties with cat whiskers? I touched my face in shock, but the cursed "skin" wouldn't disappear or even be covered up.

"Make good use of it."

Kali's words weren't just nonsense. The cat whiskers seemed to possess some kind of special ability beyond mere decoration.

How did I know?

– Flick, flick.

The whiskers twitched on their own and sent a tingling sensation through me.

Instinctively, I could feel it.

The presence of the kittens.

I briefly closed my eyes and focused on the sensations coming from the tips of the whiskers.

But with this, I can only figure out the general direction.

Could I really find the kittens with just a rough sense of direction in this chaotic space?

Impossible.

In that case, there was only one option.

…Instead of me finding them, I need to make them come to me.

I turned to look at Kali. The cat whiskers on my cheeks twitched.

"Where is the sea?"

***

We headed to the beach on the eastern side of the sanctuary.

A beautiful shoreline where the ivory-colored sand shimmered and waves sparkled like the Milky Way as they rolled in.

Nearby, I broke off a sturdy long branch from a moonlight tree and quickly trimmed it down. Then, I carefully wove a thread spun from a golden silkworm at the tip of the branch.

To think that outside of here, golden silkworms are so rare that even one is worth a gold coin, yet they're scattered all over this place. If I could take some of these back, becoming rich would only be a matter of time.

But there was no time for such idle thoughts. I tied one of the plump golden silkworms to the end of the thread.

With that, the fishing rod was complete.

It looks shabby, but there's no choice.

If you don't have teeth, you make do with gums. I had to make this work somehow. I placed the remaining golden silkworms into a basket and climbed onto the glass sailboat docked on the beach.

"Aren't you coming?"

-.…..

– Meow.

Kali and Camellia hesitated in front of the sailboat. Ah, right. They're cats. It seemed the thought of possibly falling into the water was bothering them.

"You said we need to save the kittens."

-…Ah, fine.

"Hurry up. We don't have time."

-They say humans are both foolish and brave enough to take risks. You're no different.

"Is that a compliment or an insult?"

-It's a compliment, a compliment.

Kali cautiously boarded the boat with my help, while Camellia, despite his plump body, displayed an impressive jump as he leaped onto the boat.

I rowed hard and headed toward the deeper parts of the sea. The chaotic sea seemed filled with pitch-black darkness, yet at times, it glimmered like the Milky Way, radiating a breathtaking beauty.

…It's like a dream come to life.

I doubted fish could live in a place like this, but according to Kali, there were all kinds of delicious fish in these waters…

Even if we don't catch enough to fill the boat, I hope we at least catch as much as we need.

We were using golden silkworms as bait, which was something unimaginable outside this place… Please!

"…Um, I'd appreciate it if you both stopped playing with the fishing rods. The line will get damaged."

– Ah, it's just… the way it's swaying, I couldn't take my eyes off it. Right, Camellia?

– Meow.

Well, cats do love these kinds of fishing rod toys…'

No, come on, be serious. I grabbed the fishing line that Kali and Camellia were batting with their paws, and I cast it deep into the sea with all my strength.

– Whoosh!

– Plop!

The golden silkworm shimmered as it sank. I focused all my attention on the line while staring intently at the sea. The whiskers on my face twitched. They sharpened my senses even more.

["Lucky One" effect activated!]

["Dream Tuna" spawning in large numbers!]

The timing of this special trait is perfect. After all, fishing needs a bit of luck!

– Thud!

"…Now!"

Before the fishing rod could even twitch, my whiskers stood on end. I yanked the rod with all my might. The line which was heavy with something on the other end traced an arc as it swung onto the boat.

– Thump!

What had seemed to be only the size of my forearm when it left the water had grown much larger by the time it landed on the boat; it was now far bigger than Camellia and nearly half the size of a grown person. Was it an illusion? Or maybe this is just how the "Chaos" world works? Either way, I actually landed a catch this big right from the start!

Even Dad never caught anything like this…!

Thinking about how my fishing-obsessed father would have been so thrilled and jealous if he saw this made me chuckle to myself.

– Oh, amazing! To think you caught a 'Dream Tuna' with such a flimsy tool!

"Flimsy? That's a bit harsh."

– Humans are really fascinating!

"You're not even listening to me, are you?"

Kali and Camellia were eyeing the "Dream Tuna" with a look of pure hunger; its silver scales were glistening as it flopped around. Of course, I made sure to warn them not to touch it before continuing to fish.

– Whoosh!

– Thud!

– Whoosh!

– Thud!

– Thump!

– Thuuump!

How much time had passed like that? Since the sun neither rose nor set in this place, it was hard to tell, but quite a bit of time must have gone by. Or maybe it had only been a short while.

Either way, the fishing had been a huge success. Thanks to the [Lucky One] trait, the glass sailboat was on the verge of sinking under the weight of all the Dream Tuna. It was more than just a full haul—it was beyond that.

We returned to the beach and started unloading the huge catch of Dream Tuna. Though I was nervous as Kali and Camellia kept licking their lips, fortunately, the disaster I feared never happened.

I stacked the Dream Tuna in a suitable spot and began preparing them. I tossed the heads into a pot, letting them boil vigorously to create a rich broth, while carefully separating the meat from the bones. After finely mincing the meat, I mixed it with the thick broth, and soon…

– Gulp.

– Meoooww.

The appetizing handmade cat treat was complete.

Unlike regular fish, the combination of rich broth, fatty oils, and tender meat made this treat's flavor impossible for any cat to resist.

Even the kittens wouldn't be able to ignore it.

– Can I have a taste?

"Go ahead."

I divided the handmade treat into nine plates and gave the remaining portion to Kali and Camellia. After tasting it, both cats widened their eyes in awe.

– W-Wow, this is incredible. It's the same fish, so how does it taste like this?

"There's a method to it."

– No cat could turn this down. Those kittens definitely won't either…

Kali smacked his lips. It seemed he wanted to taste more of the handmade treat, but what remained was reserved for the kittens. Hoping the savory aroma would spread across the entire realm of chaos, I focused my senses on the tips of my whiskers.

– Twitch…

Before long, my whiskers started trembling. I looked up at the shimmering sky.

– Nyaaah…

– Nyaaaang…

The distinct cries of young kittens echoed around me. Their meows were more like adorable chirps than actual meows.

As expected, no cat can resist these treats.

Still, I couldn't let my guard down. There was a chance goddess Lausian had heard those cries too. I needed to capture the kittens before she did. Otherwise, I'd simply be handing them over to her on a silver platter.

– Look over there!

Kali pointed sharply toward the sky with his claws. Beyond the cotton candy-like clouds, I could see twitching pointed ears sticking out.

"…Huh?"

Wait a minute, something seemed off.

I rubbed my eyes hard and looked again in the direction Kali had pointed.

"…What?"

There, filling the entire sky, were enormous kittens. And I wasn't exaggerating—they were truly big enough to fill the sky.

"K-Kali, you never mentioned they were that huge!"

– Does size matter?

Of course, it does, you bastard! I almost yanked Kali's whiskers but stopped when a sinister sound reached my ears and made me look up again.

– Rumble…

– Flash!

Behind the kittens, a lightning bolt filled with the wrath of goddess Lausian was closing in.