(129) Cat Sith village
Translator: Tseirp
It took just an instant to lose sight of Stella.
I could only see a pea-sized figure of her when we exited the cave and I could no longer see her when we returned to the forest. It was impossible to not lose sight of such a small figure moving quickly in the distance. I guessed that I had to rely on Haru’s nose to lead the way.
I was about to call Haru over when Marina spoke to me.
“Stella is definitely heading for the Cat Sith village. I will lead the way.”
“Ah, that’s right. Marina has been to the Cat Sith village.”
That was when Malina went berserk and was treated as a devil though.
“Then, I’ll let you guide us to somewhere near the village and have you stay in My World after that.”
“Umu, that’s fine. Since the village will face unprecedented havoc if I visit it.”
I can’t deny that.
Even Stella who had a favorable impression of us had such a reaction. We might be treated as companions that the devil brought if strangers like us brought Marina to the village.
I’d prefer to avoid that.
“By the way, Marina. What kind of person is the Cat Sith King?”
“He’s a huge black cat that has lived for centuries. Speaking of his size, he is comparable to that Bronze Dragon just now.”
” … That’s huge … have you seen him before, Marina?”
“Umu, before Malina went berserk. I met him once when we went to offer him a scratching board as a gift. He was a really good king.”
A scratching board … they’re totally treating him as a cat.
Actually, a scratching board for a huge cat the size of a Bronze Dragon will probably have to be custom-made so it would probably have value after all?
Just as I was having such thoughts, we entered a wide carriage road.
“This is the path. Along the way, there are multiple forks but we will arrive at the Cat Sith village if we take a left, right, left and right in that order.”
There, I opened the distortion to My World.
Haru and Marina entered My World. Then, Haru exited together with Fuyun. He was pulling the carriage.
It’s convenient how things are capable of entering and exiting the distortion regardless of size.
Haru sat on the driver’s seat while Carol and I rode in the carriage.
While we’re at it, I also took out the barrel filled with Silver Vine from my item bag.
“Can I leave it to Carol to decide on how to utilize this whole barrel?”
“Yes, please leave it to Carol, Ichino-sama.”
Yup, when it comes to business, Carol is really reliable.
It most likely won’t be wasted in Carol’s hands.
The carriage was led according to Marina’s directions and we sequentially took a left, right, left and right at the forks in the road.
After doing so, we arrived at a large clearing and I saw miniature houses like they were scaled down from regular houses.
So this is the Cat Sith village.
“Stop nya!”
“Halt nya!”
At the village entrance, two Calico Cat Siths stopped us with their spears raised.
“Do I have to pay an entrance fee?”
It’s a chance to raise my Commoner level.
Or so I thought but,
“There’s no use for money in this village nya!”
“We don’t need money in this village nya!”
Was the subtle change in expression deliberate?
If they were going to do it then I would have preferred if they just aligned their replies.
I can’t distinguish between the faces of cats but their patterns were the same too so I guessed that they were twins.
“We came here together with Stella though.”
When I said that, the two Calico Cat Siths looked at each other and,
“Stella-sama did not inform me of that nya!”
“I’ve not heard of it from Stella-sama nya!”
This looks troublesome.
I thought that as Carol alighted from the carriage, approached the two Cat Siths and said something to them by bending down.
Then, the two Calico Cat Siths looked at each other and,
“Welcome nya, guest-sama!”
“We welcome you with open arms nya! Guest-sama.”
And greeted us with a welcoming mood with their arms wide open.
A small leather pouch was on the paws of those two hands.
Nevertheless, this village.
It’ll likely be an annoying village with the nya nya speech patterns.
I prayed that my speech pattern doesn’t switch over too.
“Stella-sama went to meet King-sama nya.”
“King-sama’s place is where Stella-sama went to nya.”
“Then, where is your King-sama at?”
When I asked that, the two of them replied the same way for the first time.
『There nya.』
I figured.
After all, even though all the other houses were 1/2 the usual size, only the furthest building in the village was so large that even a dragon could fit in it.
“Is it possible for us to enter there?”
I asked.
“If you wish to have an audience with King-sama, I think you can do so if you ask through Stella-sama nya.”
“I think if you ask through Stella-sama, you can have an audience with King-sama nya.”
And they once again returned to their replies with slightly different nuances.
Then, I asked the thing that was bothering me the most.
“You’ve been saying Stella-sama Stella-sama the whole time but is Stella really that great?”
The Calico Cat Siths once again looked at each other and said.
With an expression that said ‘you don’t even know something like that?’.
“Stella-sama was originally the Cat Sith’s Knight Squadron, the Nya Nya Gray Star’s Knight Captain nya.” (TL: Seven in j.a.panese is Nana, which the Cat Siths all p.r.o.nounce ‘Na’ as ‘Nya’)
“Originally, within the Cat Sith’s Knight Squadron, the Nya Nya Gray Star, Stella was the Knight Captain nya.”
… Stella was the Seven Gray Star’s leader despite being a black cat huh? But nevertheless, it has become the Nyanto Six Stars after Stella left.
Then, the two of them continued.
“Stella-sama is King-sama’s only daughter nya.”
“King-sama’s only daughter is Stella-sama nya.”
“I … I see.”
Instead of the unexpected twist that Stella is actually a princess, I was more concerned about whether the expression of ‘only’ daughter is applicable even for Cat Siths. (TL: Something else that doesn’t translate well into English. In essence, the j.a.panese term used here for ‘only/single’ is literally ‘one human’ in j.a.panese so he’s tsukkomi-ing their usage of it despite being cats)