Speak in the language of cats here. 2p2

Mission 2: Cat Café Assault Order! p2

Guided by the woman down the amber-polished hallway, we soon came to a glass door that was opened for us.

Beyond it was a fairly large Japanese-style room, about twelve tatami mats in size. Along the walls and ceiling were what appeared to be handmade wooden cat towers and catwalks—

“Fa… fa-achoo!!”

Nearly ten cats were lounging around, some relaxing, others playing with each other.

“K’shoo, k’shoo!”

An intense itch welled up from the back of my eyes and nose, and I sneezed repeatedly. Tears welled up, and red hives appeared on my skin.

“Eh, Anya-chan, you’re allergic to cats? Are you okay?”

Seeing me like this, Akira looked slightly surprised.

I, on the other hand, was freed from the pain of death in exchange for the allergic reaction. The heartbeat that had been about to fade was revived. Even the itchiness of my body was completely unnoticeable in the face of the refreshing feeling of revival.

“No problem.”

I answered, blowing my nose with a pocket tissue.

“I see, well, if you’re okay. There are quite a few people who love cats despite being allergic… here, this is the menu. The system is that you order your drink first.”

I looked at the menu board Akira handed me. The items listed were the usual things you’d find in a coffee shop or café, like coffee, tea, and juice.

Akira ordered chamomile tea, and I ordered a cappuccino, both hot.

In the meantime, we sat on cushions and watched the active furballs. Most of the cats paid us no mind, each indulging in their own selfish behavior.

One was indulging in a deep slumber in a hammock on the cat tower.

One was just plodding along with its tail up, for no apparent reason.

A pair was wrestling enthusiastically on the tatami, curled up like ammonites.

One looked down on the bipedal ape descendants who had entered the room with the gaze of one observing a lower life form… not a single cat was doing the same thing.

Among them, a cat that had shown interest in us turned and approached. It was a calico cat with a pattern on its upper lip that resembled a black toothbrush mustache.

The calico cat targeted my legs as I sat cross-legged on the cushion. It brought its pink nose close and began to sniff at me intently.

It was as if it were saying my feet smelled, and I began to feel a pressure mixed with shame.

“It seems Chobi-chan has taken an interest in you, Anya-chan. I guess they can tell who likes cats and who doesn’t… you could probably hold that one, don’t you think? It’s a good chance, why don’t you try?”

Akira was watching me with an amused smile, but she was completely mistaken. I am by no means a cat lover, and I have no particular desire to hold one.

However, having my feet sniffed at endlessly was also embarrassing, so I tried to lift it by scooping up its soft belly with both hands.

The moment I did, the calico cat slipped through my hands. Even though I had a firm grip on it.

The cat landed silently on the tatami and walked away.

…What is this impossible flexibility? Is it a slime or something?

“Ahaha, looks like Chobi-chan didn’t like that. Holding them like that probably hurts, so it’s better to put your arm firmly under their front armpits to lift them, and support their bottom with your other hand.”

“It’s quite difficult…”

It seemed the name given to that calico cat was Chobi.

Even if you just say “cat,” as the woman earlier had said, there are various breeds, and their fur colors differ. Their personalities are probably different for each one as well. Naturally, a name is necessary for individual identification.

Though naming it “Chobi” because of its mustache-like pattern seems a bit simplistic.

“But, do cats even have skeletons? They seem to be able to change into any shape, curling up or stretching out…”

“They say cats are liquid, you know. But that’s just how their bodies are structured. They have many joints and their internal organs can move freely, so they can slip through narrow spaces without any problem.”

Akira explained, petting another cat that had come near.

“I didn’t know you were a cat lover, Akira.”

Come to think of it, since she’s a regular here, it was only natural.

And not just Akira, but the demand for cats in this country must be generally high. Otherwise, a strange shop like a cat café wouldn’t be popular.

Russians are a nation with a lot of cat lovers, but I get the impression that the Japanese are no less so.

“Yeah. I love all cats. But my favorite are the stray cats who live so bravely outside.”

Akira’s eyes as she looked at the cats were very gentle and warm. It was a gap from the cool and mysterious impression of her appearance, and watching her made my chest stir a little.

Just as I was feeling restless, someone entered the room.

A girl wearing a plain sweatshirt and jeans that looked like loungewear, with a homely apron.

In her hands was a tray with the cup of cappuccino I had ordered and a glass teapot with Akira’s chamomile tea.

“Sorry to keep you waiting… huh?”

The girl’s eyes went wide when she saw us.

“Anya! And Akira-san is with you?”

The person who brought our drinks was my classmate, Matsukaze Kohana.

She seemed surprised to see me, but the feeling was mutual.

“Kohana. You work part-time here?”

“Ah. No, what should I call this… helping out at home, I guess?”

“Helping out?”

“Fufu. Sorry for not telling you, Anya-chan. This ‘Matsu-neko Tei’ is Kohana-chan’s house.”

Akira, who had been watching Kohana and me with a grin, let out a mischievous chuckle.

It seemed she had wanted to stage this face-to-face moment. I had been splendidly had.

And if Kohana’s family runs this cat café, that means.

“Then, could it be that the woman at the reception earlier was…”

“Yep. That’s my mom.”

The sense of déjà vu from earlier now made sense. The woman’s gentleness and laid-back way of speaking were just like Kohana’s.

“I see, so that’s how it was…”

Kohana had said there were twelve cats at her house. Indeed, that number almost matched the number of cats in this café.

“My dad, mom, and grandma live here together, and the whole family loves cats. It was my mom’s dream to run a cat café. So, since our house is old but really big, we decided to turn it into a shop.”

Recognizing their owner, Kohana, many of the cats gathered around her. We watched Kohana, who was tending to them like the mother of a large family, as we sipped our drinks.

I had the impression that cats were abnormally wary creatures, but the cats here were overly familiar and not at all afraid of humans.

Seeing them act so spoiled with people, rolling around and showing their bellies, which is a weak point, made me think that they were a completely different species from the cats I imagined.

As I was thinking about this, I suddenly felt something collapse against my lower back with a thud. It was quite heavy.

I cautiously looked back…

“Wha—”

There, a large cat was lying on its side like a seal. And what’s more, it was relaxing with its head resting on my butt.

“Oh my. It’s rare for Moo-san to come down from the second floor. Maybe she’s in a good mood because the weather is nice today.”

It had long, fluffy fur, and its coloring was a distinctive pattern of black patches on a white background. It somehow reminded me of a dairy cow.

“That’s the oldest resident of ‘Matsu-neko Tei’. Aren’t you lucky she’s taken a liking to you, Anya-chan?”

“No… thanks to her, I can’t move. To be honest, it’s a nuisance.”

The large, cow-patterned cat was completely leaning its weight on me, engrossed in grooming. If I were to stand up, it would lose its support and tumble over.

Not that I was obligated to offer my rear as a support, but for some reason, I felt like I had to. It was as if I had become a servant.

“Fufu. Even the cool beauty Anya-chan is completely at the mercy of the cats’ pace… did you know? It’s actually cats who rule this planet. In other words, humans are the slaves of cats.”

“What did you say? That can’t be…”

Akira continued the conversation as I looked at her in genuine disbelief, sipping her tea.

“There’s a novel where an alien who saw the relationship between Earthlings and cats misunderstood it that way. It’s a short sci-fi story by an author named Hoshi Shinichi.”

Hearing the word “novel,” I remembered the assigned reading books that Koshka had sent me. They were all books about cats, and I had to read them and send in a report.

The pretext was to deepen my understanding of the existence of cats, which was directly linked to my own life support—but after being shown that maid outfit this morning, I was skeptical. Isn’t she just a cat lover?

“Hm… is it my imagination, or has the itching and stuffy nose suddenly subsided?”

“Moo-san is a Siberian, you see. They’re said to be a breed that’s less likely to cause cat allergies.”

Compared to the other cats, her long, fluffy fur was particularly noticeable. I searched for information on Siberians on my smartphone.

“Siberian Forest Cat—oh, so it’s a breed native to Russia.”

In Russian, it’s Sibirskaya Koshka. In other words, the cat of Siberia. There’s a theory that they evolved into a long-haired breed to adapt to the cold environment.

“Her ancestors are from the same homeland as you, Anya-chan. Maybe that’s why she came over, feeling nostalgic?”

“Most of the cats we have are rescue cats that we picked up when they were injured, or adopted from shelters or adoption events… but Moo-san is the only one who was a leftover at a pet shop. Maybe because her fur pattern isn’t very Western-cat-like? Even after she turned one and got bigger, she was always in a cage at the shop… My dad felt sorry for her and brought her home.”

“Is that so… most of the cats adopted from shops are still small kittens. That’s great, isn’t it, Moo-chan?”

Kohana and Akira exchanged words, looking at the large, cow-patterned cat with a somber expression.

I voiced a question that had just occurred to me.

“What happens to the shop cats that grow up and are left unsold? Do the staff personally take them in? Or are they returned to the breeder?”

It was a simple question with no particular intent.

But. When Kohana heard it, a shadow of sorrow suddenly appeared in her eyes.

“There are also cases where the shop looks for a new owner… but it seems there are still some who have nowhere to go in the end.”

It was Akira who answered.

And with a small sigh, she didn’t continue. As if she didn’t want to say it out loud.

“So, you know, Anya?”

As if to dispel the slightly heavy atmosphere, Kohana spoke up in a bright voice and turned to me.

“When Moo-san came to our house, I was still a baby. So, I used to do things that cats hate, like pulling her whiskers and grabbing her tail. But maybe she intended to be a big sister? She never got angry and was always with me, apparently. She’s a very gentle cat.”

Kohana happily recounted an episode with the cat named Moo. Her hand was stroking the long-haired, cow-patterned cat that was relaxing against me.

“Hey, Anya-chan. Want to try playing with the cats with a toy?”

Akira suddenly stood up. She brought back two cat teasers from a corner where they were provided and offered one to me.

It was a thin plastic rod with a fluffy, felt-like core and a dangling tassel. It somewhat resembled an ear of wheat.

“Here, if you shake it in small movements like this…”

Akira demonstrated for me. She waved the cat teaser rod in front of one of the cats, and the tassel at the end began to move sinuously.

The cat was instantly captivated by the movement. It locked onto the cat teaser with its entire being, as if nothing else existed. It crouched down in a hunting posture, wiggling its rear, looking ready to pounce at any moment.

“There!”

And when Akira suddenly swung the rod in a big motion, the cat leaped at it with fierce momentum.

Akira moved the cat teaser in circles on the tatami, mimicking the movements of a scurrying mouse. The cat, its pupils dilated to black, chased after it with single-minded focus.

“You try it too, Anya.”

“Ugh… alright.”