But Taeko Hiramatsu quickly realized that this seemed rather unrealistic, so she immediately shook her head.
"No, no, how could humans possibly communicate with animals? This isn't a fantasy novel!"
Looking at Eriri with a face full of certainty, Taeko Hiramatsu said, "Eriri, you're just messing with me again, aren't you?"
"Not at all. I'm telling you the absolute truth~"
Eriri smiled casually, showing no displeasure at Taeko Hiramatsu's skepticism.
Maybe Eriri's voice just had a natural charm that inspired trust, because even when faced with something so implausible, Taeko Hiramatsu subconsciously chose to believe her.
"I see... So you really can communicate with Haruka. I never imagined such amazing things existed in this world. It's unbelievable," Taeko Hiramatsu said in awe.
Seeing Taeko Hiramatsu's astonished expression over such a trivial matter, a mysterious smile appeared on Eriri's face.
"Hehe, Taeko, this world is far from as simple as you think~"
This world didn't just have magical girl warriors like Kyoko from the alternate world of Velier, but also Megalos created by the underworld, and vampire ninjas who survive by sucking human blood.
They just tended to stay in the shadows, and whenever unexpected battles broke out, all kinds of methods were used to erase the memories of any ordinary people who happened to witness them.
So to regular folks like Taeko Hiramatsu, the world always seemed like a perfectly normal, mundane place without supernatural elements.
Seeing the confused look on Taeko Hiramatsu's face because of her words, Eriri didn't elaborate further and quickly changed the subject.
"Alright, Taeko, do you want me to translate what Haruka wants to say to you? Or would you prefer to talk to her directly~?"
"Eh? Is that even possible?"
Taeko Hiramatsu had already been inclined to agree when she heard Eriri's first sentence, but her face once again lit up with surprise upon hearing the second.
"Of course it is. It's not a big deal at all!" Eriri replied with a casual smile.
With Eriri's affirmation, Taeko Hiramatsu clasped her hands together in delight and said, "Then I want to talk to Haruka directly. Eriri, I'm counting on you!"
Hearing this, Eriri smiled and nodded. She then extended her right index finger and lightly tapped Taeko Hiramatsu on the forehead.
"Alright, it's done. You can talk to Haruka directly now."
As she withdrew her finger, Eriri spoke nonchalantly.
Though Taeko Hiramatsu had no idea what that tap was supposed to do, and didn't feel any changes in her body, she chose to trust Eriri's words.
So she turned her gaze back to Haruka, locking eyes with her beautiful heterochromatic ones.
"Um... Haruka, can you understand what I'm saying?" Taeko Hiramatsu asked tentatively.
Meow meow meow (Of course I can. What do you want from me, human woman?)
"You can really understand me..."
Even though all she heard were meows, Taeko Hiramatsu could clearly understand what those meows meant—as if she were listening to a foreign language she had fully mastered.
The bizarre experience felt utterly amazing.
Then came an overwhelming wave of joy—because she could really talk with this stunningly adorable little kitty!
She couldn't help but excitedly say again, "Haruka, there's something I've always wanted to know—why are you cats so cute?"
Meow meow meow (Huh? Are you stupid? You actually asked such a dumb question!)
Hearing Haruka's mocking meows, Taeko Hiramatsu showed a slightly embarrassed expression—after all, she realized she had just asked a completely pointless question.
But as Haruka meowed again, she realized she had misunderstood Haruka's initial response.
Meow meow meow (I don't know what your aesthetic standards are, but the other cats I saw at the pet store looked hideous to me!)
The mockery was still there—but it was aimed in a completely different direction.
Turns out, just like humans, cats also have their own sense of aesthetics. To most people, as long as a cat isn't deformed, it's probably considered cute.
But from a cat's perspective, there's a huge difference between beauty and ugliness.
And while ordinary cats might think all humans look more or less the same, that's not the case for Haruka—whose awakened intelligence rivaled that of humans. She understood both feline and human aesthetics.
In other words, she could fully distinguish the differences in human beauty just like any person could.
"You're not wrong—after all, that's common sense. But to me, all cats are super cute. Still, Haruka, you're the cutest and most beautiful one I've ever seen."
Meow meow meow (At least you have good taste. My owner is so pretty—how could I possibly bring shame to her? Compared to her, you're not even in the same league!)
Hearing Haruka's blunt words, Taeko Hiramatsu didn't get upset. In fact, she fully agreed.
"Haha, I won't deny that. There's no way I could compare to Eriri~" she said with a laugh, while gently stroking Haruka's head.
Meow meow meow (At least you know your place!)
Haruka didn't object to being petted—so long as those sinful hands didn't try to reach anywhere else.
As long as it stayed to her head and back like before, she didn't mind letting Taeko Hiramatsu continue for ten minutes... maybe even twenty.
But that thought was quickly dashed.
"Oh right, Haruka, that's not actually what I wanted to talk to you about."
As she spoke, Taeko Hiramatsu stopped stroking Haruka and looked at her expectantly.
"Haruka, can I hold you for a bit? Just for a little while!"
Meow meow meow (No way. Not negotiable. I won't let anyone into my private space except my owner! Give up on that idea!)
Meow meow meow (And the petting ends here too. My owner only gave you ten minutes anyway—and that time is already up.)
With that, Haruka raised her paw and swatted away Taeko Hiramatsu's right hand, which was still resting on her head.
Thankfully, she hadn't used much force. Otherwise, that hand might have been broken instead of just pushed away.
"Eh?! Why like this?!"
Haruka's words and swatting action left Taeko Hiramatsu dejected. She stubbornly reached out again, but Haruka easily dodged.
Besides, she didn't dare get too bold—after all, Haruka was darting around atop Eriri's body.
But before long, Eriri, who had silently been watching their interaction, suddenly stepped in to interrupt.
"Alright, Taeko. Since Haruka said no, just give up on that idea." Eriri clapped her hands and said, "That's the end of that."
Hearing her, Taeko Hiramatsu immediately withdrew her hand, not daring to make another move.
In the end, not only was she unable to hug Haruka—she even lost the right to keep petting her.
Disappointment instantly washed over her.
Then, under Taeko Hiramatsu's envious gaze, Eriri reached up with both hands and gently picked Haruka off her head, cradling her once more in her arms.
"Taeko, it's already almost 8:30. Are you okay on your end? Judging by your outfit, you're a high school student, right? And today isn't a weekend, so weren't you originally on your way to school?"
"Huh?"
Hearing Eriri's words, Taeko Hiramatsu, still caught up in her envy, suddenly froze. She finally remembered what she had originally set out to do that morning.
She quickly turned around, pulled her phone from her school bag, and upon seeing the time displayed, her face immediately showed a look of panic.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no! I'm almost late—the first period starts in just a few minutes!"
Without a second thought, she grabbed her bag and stood up from the bench. But before she left, she didn't forget to bid farewell to Eriri and Haruka.
"Sorry, Eriri, and Haruka too. I have to get to class. Let's meet again another time."
Without waiting for a response from Eriri or Haruka, she hurriedly dashed out of the park, running toward her school.
Watching the slender figure fade into the distance and disappear around a corner, Eriri didn't call her back or offer to teleport her to school—even though doing so would've taken just a thought.
To Eriri, this meeting with Taeko Hiramatsu was nothing more than a coincidence. She had no intention of deliberately establishing a connection.
This might have been their first meeting, and possibly their last.
Still, a meeting is a form of fate, and since Eriri didn't have a bad impression of Taeko, she decided to leave her a little gift.
That gift was the ability to understand cat-speak—not temporarily, but permanently.
And to help her communicate with ordinary cats smoothly, Eriri also added a trait allowing her spoken words to be understood by them as well.
After spending a little more time in the park playing with Haruka, Eriri finally picked her up and continued walking along the sidewalk.
...
The school Taeko Hiramatsu attended was called Sogyou Academy, which also frequently appeared in the original work.
Within its walls were not only vampire ninjas endlessly repeating their school days, but also the strongest magical girl warrior—cursed into a middle-aged man—working as a teacher.
Luckily, Sogyou Academy wasn't far from the park, so thanks to her effort in running, Taeko barely made it to school with two minutes to spare before the bell rang.
As she walked into the classroom panting, the bell officially rang, and her entrance immediately drew everyone's attention.
While it wasn't rare for students to arrive just in time—or even be late—Taeko's situation was especially curious.
After all, she was the class president, ranked first in the entire school, and had been praised as an ultra-high-level honor student. She had never cut it so close before.
Feeling everyone's eyes on her, Taeko blushed deeply and hurried to her seat.
"Taeko, why are you so late today? Did something hold you up?"
From the seat behind hers, a beautiful girl with long chestnut hair tapped her on the back and looked at her curiously.
This girl was Kanami Mihara, who had a close relationship with Taeko. So Taeko didn't bother making up an excuse and instead told her everything about meeting Eriri.
"I ran into a really mysterious girl on the way here—and she had a little cat that could understand human speech. I guess I lost track of time."
Kanami's eyes lit up immediately.
"A mysterious girl? A cat that understands human speech? That sounds super interesting."
"Mhm, and I even talked with Haruka."
"Haruka?"
"That's the kitty's name. Isn't it a cute name?"
"Wait, you actually had a conversation with the cat? That can't be right. Even if the cat could understand you, are you saying you could understand it too?"
Kanami chuckled, clearly skeptical.
But Taeko wasn't offended—if she hadn't experienced it herself, she wouldn't have believed such an absurd story either. Most people would just chalk it up as an urban legend.
"That brings us to Eriri. Listen, Kanami, she was just unbelievably, unbelievably, unbelievably beautiful."
At the mention of Eriri, Taeko lit up with excitement. She didn't even know how to properly describe Eriri's looks and ended up using a string of "unbelievably" to convey just how stunning she was.
"That Eriri is the mysterious girl you mentioned earlier, right? Well, setting everything else aside—is she really that beautiful? More than you, Taeko?"
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