Once Mobius began teaching Advanced Honkai Energy Theory,
The atmosphere in the lab immediately snapped into full professional lecture mode. Elysia tried to listen for a few minutes, but very quickly felt the pressure piling up.
Elysia: (O_o)
Basic concepts and wildly out of scope material were all mashed together.
The result was a bizarre classroom experience where it felt like she understood it… and also absolutely did not.
And what was even scarier was this:
This knowledge, like the murmurs of ancient gods, was being expertly bundled by Mobius together with simple concepts and stuffed straight into her brain. And it was taking root. It was growing.
No no no no no!
Her head already hurt! At this point she might as well pet Inori Cat to relax, meow!
Very naturally,
Elysia reached out and slipped her hand onto Kiyono Inori, shamelessly wandering through the cat's fur. Every now and then she would press her fingers down into the soft flesh beneath the fluff and draw little circles.
Inori Cat: (^=_=^)
Inori Cat: (⊙_⊙)
Inori Cat: (≥﹏≤)
Kiyono Inori realized something.
This magical body created by the Transform-Into-a-Cat Magic Wand actually had all the normal weaknesses of a real cat!
The belly and tail were especially vulnerable. Every time the pink pig touched them, her body would twist uncontrollably.
"Because of the wand's unique properties,"
"You cannot predict how the summoned cat will pet the you who has turned into a cat. Use this item with caution."
The girl suddenly remembered the Cat System's introduction when she redeemed the wand.
So that was it!
Was this how it worked? Because being petted as a cat felt so unbelievably good, it was easy to get addicted to it?
The most obvious weak point was her chin. Every time the pink pig hooked her index and middle fingers under it,
Inori Cat's eyes would blissfully close. She even forgot she was supposed to be studying!
"Hehe, so soft and so cute! Inori-chan, do you know? Little kittens like you are born to be eaten up by big sister Elysia."
"Meow… mmm… mmm…"
The girl leaned close to the cat's ear. Sweet breath brushed against her cheek, drawing out adorable little mews.
Elysia was getting a bit carried away. Her hands roamed up and down the cat, and even her voice had grown noticeably lighter.
How should she put it?
Petting a cat was already an easy way to feel happy. And this was an absurdly cute cat, one that used to be a cool, aloof, refined beauty!
More importantly,
she was doing it secretly during class. The cat was actually listening attentively. And the teacher was Doctor Mobius!
Petting a cat. Slacking off in class.
Corrupting an honors student cat right under the snake's nose.
The buffs were completely stacked.
The pink pig was fully immersed in the world of petting Inori Cat, utterly forgetting where she even was.
This woman…!
Kiyono Inori had already realized something was very wrong. This pink pig was being way too intimate, wasn't she?
When Elysia herself had been Elysia Cat, she had been very mindful of boundaries. She had never gotten this close.
Leader of the Pre-Era Yuri Alliance!
Terrifying!
From a cat's perspective, this was normal contact, but had this woman forgotten that she was not actually a cat, but a person?
"Meow meow…!"
Inori Cat, whose soul felt like it was ascending to heaven, struggled and let out a couple of desperate cries.
Anyway.
This part could not be translated directly, but in human language it roughly meant "stop" and "I refuse."
"Eh? Why though? Inori-chan looks like she feels really good too! It's such a rare chance, just let me pet you a little. If I turn into a cat, I'll let Inori-chan pet me too."
Elysia blinked mischievously.
Then she flashed a sweet, playful smile that girls wore when they were up to no good.
Inori Cat: (⊙_⊙)
Inori Cat: (≥﹏≤)
This was worse! No, was the pink pig getting even more excited? It really was true that some people got more fired up the more you resisted.
Only now did Kiyono Inori remember the nickname that had spread the widest in her previous life.
Leader of the Pre-Era Yuri Alliance!
Too scary, meow!
If she resisted or begged now, a fired-up Elysia would probably just get even more excited.
But she could not just let it continue either. Being petted felt way too good! It was seriously affecting her learning efficiency!
Should she ask Mobius for help?
Kiyono Inori shook her head.
Right now she was just an adorable cat. If a girl saw her companion petting a cat, even if the cat was already meowing helplessly, the first reaction would definitely be to join in.
Pre-Era Yuri x1 was already terrifying.
Pre-Era Yuri x2 was a level of combat power she did not even dare imagine!
Was this… a dead end?
If this had been an untrained Inori Cat, it truly would have been a "dead end."
Turned into a cat.
Facing Elysia, the number two combat powerhouse of the Pre-Era Yuri Alliance, with no ability to fight back, only able to be petted over and over.
But…
She was Inori Cat who had trained under Mobius and learned a bit about Honkai energy and biology.
"Biological knowledge," "Honkai energy," "fairy magic," "Pioneer of the Stars," "Descender: Endpoint."
And with that, Inori Cat was done talking. It was time to show her true cat genius.
…
Five minutes passed.
Elysia: (⊙_⊙)
Elysia suddenly realized that Inori Cat, who had been super fun and super interesting, was not fun anymore!
Before, petting different spots would get different reactions. Sometimes there would be faint, coy little mews. The whole cat was unbearably shy.
Super! Fun!
Normal cats did not have emotions this rich. It was basically like petting a beautiful girl who had turned into a cat.
Well. Which she technically was.
But just now, this soft, sweet-smelling Inori Cat had become something else entirely.
No matter how she petted her, or where, there was no reaction at all. No cute mews. It was as if the soul had left the cat's body.
"Inori-chan, my good Inori-chan, did you go somewhere else?"
Elysia leaned close to the cat's ear and whispered in a coaxing voice.
"Mind your own business!"
Inori Cat rolled her eyes.
While enduring the pink pig's harassment, she had thoroughly studied the Transform-Into-a-Cat Magic Wand, the same way she had once studied the Parallel Universe Communicator.
The result was clear.
Using the gene and Honkai energy knowledge she had just learned, combined with fairy magic, she added a sensory shielding function to the wand. Even if Elysia kissed her into a spotted mess, she would not feel anything strange.
To Elysia,
It was like switching from an intense PVP game to a PVE training ground where the opponent did not react at all.
The fun factor dropped off a cliff.
"Please, my cutest Inori-chan, boo hoo, change back, change back!"
The pink pig rubbed her cheek against the cat's head, acting spoiled.
Inori Cat: (⊙▽⊙)
Inori Cat: hehe, not happening.
She did not even meow anymore. She did her best to act like a mindless NPC cat, just to avoid rekindling the Pre-Era Yuri Alliance leader's interest. She needed to study properly!
Elysia pinched the cat's ears.
Inori Cat: (⊙▽⊙)
Elysia poked the cat's belly.
Inori Cat: (⊙▽⊙)
Elysia scratched the soft pads of the cat's paws.
Inori Cat: (⊙▽⊙)
Pink Pig: (＃>д<)ノ
What is this supposed to be! This had gone from a living cat to a cat plush, hadn't it!
Without the shy expressions of a beautiful cat-girl as a side dish, everything just felt way less satisfying, meow!
After failing to persuade her several times, Elysia temporarily lost interest in bullying Inori Cat. Her mood was strangely similar to "my sweet, clingy girlfriend suddenly turning into a cold, life-sized body pillow."
Anyway.
Why was Doctor Mobius still lecturing? Did she not get tired? Oh no, weird knowledge was forcing its way into her brain again. Ahhh, her head hurt already!
Elysia: (⊙_⊙)
She barely managed to listen for another twenty minutes.
Elysia's eyes went completely hollow.
She was already reaching her limit. Swimming took stamina, but swimming in an ocean of knowledge took even more.
Her eyelids grew heavier and heavier. Doctor Mobius's voice drifted farther and farther away.
She successfully fell asleep.
…
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Let me know if I got a name wrong. I know basically nothing about MyGO.