Chapter 12
I am a chair. Why? Since I am being used like a chair, I deserve to be called one.
No one dares to infringe upon my sacred rights as a chair.
Even if it is a 'God'.
"It's hard, meow."
"Sorry for being hard."
"Shut up! Crow!!!"
"...."
The name of this gray Cat who is mercilessly crushing my back with her sturdy rear and treating me like a chair is Shion.
There are many reasons and misunderstandings intertwined as to why I am being possessed as a cat tower and suffering a bitter humiliation comparable to the Humiliation of Samjeondo.
I have no intention of explaining it.
The story gets a bit long, you see.
"Suddenly strangling my neck! Throwing me to the ground! Even stomping all over my stomach! It was such a painful and humiliating experience, meow! Now, just seeing a Crow's Head makes the anger boil up inside me, meow!!!"
"...."
Just like this.
Her voice is so booming, as if she swallowed a train's firebox. I'm not sure if trains even exist in this World, though.
"...."
"...."
As Shion's hiss, filled with Wrath, echoed through the cavern. A small hint of disgust settled in the eyes of the Adventurers passing by, watching my disgraceful display with a mix of fear and curiosity.
Damn. Even though I was wearing a Mask, their stares felt truly piercing.
I silently vowed that someday I would show them what a great sin defamation by stating the truth is.
"Lady Shion, please calm down and let go of your anger."
Yeah, calm down like the Contractor said. You crazy Cat. Our Magpie is having a hard time because of your hard rear.
Kyu-kyu!
What? You're not? You actually want her to press down even harder? Magpie, you were a male? You useless, lovely bastard.
Well, assuming a push-up position like the Magpie said did calm the Cat down a bit, but I'm the one who's not okay.
"But! But! You saw the atrocities of this crazy Crow too, Mr. Adventurer, meow! If we let it slide here, there will be another victim, meow!!!"
No. That's a bit unfair. If anyone heard that, they'd think I walked up and smacked her in the back of the Head first.
"You were the one who..."
"I told you to shut your mouth, meow! You damn Crow reeking of blood!!! Do you want to go to the Guard Squad!!?"
Damn it. Maybe because she's a Cat, she just can't be reasoned with.
"...This is driving me crazy."
As if my continuous retorts had triggered a switch, Shion started throwing a tantrum, bouncing up and down on my back with her rear.
In proportion to the duration of her tantrum, the corners of the Contractor's mouth, which had previously held an apologetic expression, gradually stiffened.
Hey, stop. What lies ahead is Hell.
"Stop it."
"Meow!"
Her Pupils dilated like a waxing moon, and her ears folded flat like a scolded Cat. The chilling words, backed by a 200% aptitude for Frost Magic, froze the Cat completely solid.
I told you to know when to stop.
Even when throwing a fit, you have to carefully toe the line.
"To be honest, doesn't the fault lie with you in the first place, Lady Shion?"
That's right! Good job, Contractor! Push her harder!
Show her that justice still remains in this World.
"Me-meow! What are you talking about, meow! I-I'm the victim here, meow! I was unilaterally beaten to a pulp by that mon... no, by that Crow, meow!"
What? Unilaterally? Then what was I subjected to? A free sports massage? The back of my Head is still tingling.
"The one pinned... beneath you, Lady Shion, is 'my' Familiar. Therefore, it is only natural for them to try to protect me, their Contractor, from an unknown threat."
The Contractor started to quietly but firmly beat Shion down with facts.
As the Contractor's words continued, Shion's gray tail, which had been puffed up and standing straight, gradually drooped.
"T-That's true, but meow!"
"Also, seeing that you are wearing a white armband, you look like a Sherpa belonging to the Guild. Didn't they teach you how to approach an Adventurer accompanied by a Familiar?"
Checkmate.
"No. I-It's just. Uum.... Come to think of it, I guess I was in the wrong, meow. I think I was too overzealous and short-sighted, meow...."
Faced with the sword of logic, the gray-headed Beast eventually declared defeat, dropping her ears and tail.
"Let's apologize to each other and clean the slate."
"...Understood, meow."
If you understand, please get off. My back is burning.
The bread is not just baking, it's scorching at this point.
Heave-ho.
I finally overcame the long period of persecution and humiliation and escaped the deadly punishment.
Ah, is this what freedom feels like?
Thaaank you, cat. Thanks to you, the joyful memories of my military unit have been revived.
Pat, pat.
While inwardly reciting a half-forgotten military creed and lightly brushing the dust off my sleeves, Shion cautiously approached me.
She was so excited and acted up when she had me pinned down, but now she's nothing more than a cowering cat.
Now then, let's hear this cat's apology.
-Stare.
"...."
Unable to withstand the contractor's persistent stare that was practically burning the back of my head, I had no choice but to speak first.
Not recognizing a gentleman's intention to give a lady the right to apologize first. How cruel.
"...I acted impulsively without assessing the situation and ended up causing you great pain. I am truly sorry."
There, is this enough? I end my turn.
Apologize, cat. Hurry and show me your sincerity.
"Cr."
Cr? Like the sound?
"Cra-cra...."
Cra-cra? Are you craving a Churu?
"Crazy crow!!! I'm sorry, meow!!!"
"...."
A violent apology shouted at the ground with a look of extreme resentment.
It bounced off the floor and somehow reached my eardrums, but it leaves a bit to be desired to be called a proper apology.
However, seeing the moisture welling up in her eyes as if it would spill over at any moment, I suppose I have no choice but to accept it.
Since image is everything for a demon(?)
-Squish!
"...?"
Apology and forgiveness.
It culminated in a suspiciously squishy handshake.
Maybe because she's a cat beastman, she has pink toe beans on her palm. The soft and bouncy texture actually felt quite nice.
Swish!
Like a cat with tape stuck to her front paws, zip! Shion snatched her hand away, leaving a small scratch on my chest.
She planted both hands firmly on her hips and boldly began to introduce herself, acting as if she hadn't just been on the verge of tears.
"T-Then. I'll formally introduce myself, meow! My name is Shion! I'm an official Sherpa of the Adventurer's Guild, meow!"
Clap. Clap. Clap.
"Wow...."
"Hmm."
I followed the contractor's soulless applause off-beat, reminiscing about flickering memories.
'A Sherpa. I miss those days.'
Sherpa
A veteran player mentor program.
Named after a minority ethnic group famous as Himalayan mountain guides, it refers to server-certified helper veterans who aid a newbie in safely adapting to the game by teaching them the game system, map structures, survival know-how, and farming routes.
You could say it's an in-game volunteer guide.
For reference, I am also a former Sherpa.
Although I got kicked out after a week for taking newbies to hunt raid bosses. Those were the good old days.
"My class is Pathfinder! My tier is a whopping 5-tier, meow! Look up to me in awe, meow!"
She introduced herself as if she was incredibly proud, but the contractor and I had a lukewarm reaction. Path.... what?
"What kind of class is a Pathfinder?"
"Is a 5-tier high?"
We need to know something about it to be surprised or not.
Showing off in front of a newbie is completely useless.
"Why doesn't everyone recognize my greatness, meow!"
"Because it's our first time in a Dungeon."
"It's my first time in this World."
"Just where do I even begin explaining, meow!?"
"Everything."
"Crazy Crow, saying 'everything' like that, meow."
The main Class of our Guide, who will safely lead us into the Dungeon, is Pathfinder.
She rambled on with a bunch of meow-meow-meow! about her Class, but if I were to summarize all that cat-talk into one word,
It's 'Thief'.
Yes, the kind of Thief who picks locks and maps things out.
However, if there's a difference from the common Thief in typical fantasy games, it's that public perception is very good?
"Me-meow! Don't call me a Thief, meow! I'm not a Criminal, meow!"
"Anyway."
"Did you just ignore me, meow!?"
"You called yourself a 5-Tier earlier. Just what exactly is a Tier? Is it like an Adventurer rank?"
"Ah, about that."
In place of Shion, who had her eyes closed and was throwing cat-punches at the air to create a sense of fear, the Contractor calmly continued the explanation.
"As Raven mentioned, Tier does mean an Adventurer's 'rank', but it's a bit more accurate to express it as 'status'."
Status? I guess I can just think of it as something like a level.
"You also know that I am currently a 0-Tier Adventurer, right, Raven?"
"Yes. I heard the Guard mention it. Hmm. In that case. The higher the Tier number, the higher the rank must be."
"Exactly."
"Then, is a 5-Tier considered high?"
"Of course it is, meow! Even if you hunt hundreds of Entities in the Green Zone, you might barely reach 3-Tier, meow!"
"Shion is right."
By the looks of it. It seems extremely difficult to level up in this World.
Is this a hardcore RPG?
No, seeing as there are no save files, it might be closer to a roguelike.
"But no matter how I think about it, hundreds of them seems a bit exaggerated."
"Shut up, meow."
Status isn't just a simple accumulation of experience, but something that grows when the Human Race overcomes their limits or achieves a feat worthy of the Goddess's acknowledgment.
Because of that, it cannot be easily raised through simple repetitive hunting or training.
It seems my 'Strengthen Yuri! Plan' needs a complete revision.
"Got it, meow! Among Adventurers, a 5-Tier can be considered a Great Senior as high as the sky, meow!"
"So you weren't an ordinary Thief."
"That's right, meow! I'm not an ordinary Thief, but an amazing Thief.... No, why am I a Thief again, meow!"
Hmm. So. Ultimately, in order to level up, we shouldn't just do simple repetitive hunting, but instead do crazy things like achievement farming to stimulate the Goddess....
You could say that's my area of expertise.
"If so, Thief."
"Do you really want to see me go crazy, meow?"
"If I, as a Familiar, achieve a feat on behalf of my Contractor, does the Contractor's status increase as well?"
"Of course it does, meow. Isn't a Familiar ultimately an existence summoned through the Adventurer's ability, meow?"
"Hmm... Is that so?"
"Oh. I guess it is?"
The Contractor and I met eyes at the same time.
Looks like we're having the exact same thought.
"Raven."
"Contractor."
Could it be that this Dungeon clearing thing isn't actually that difficult?
***
[*Error: The corresponding Weapon cannot be retrieved.]
"Ah."
"Why is he acting like that again, meow?"
"Raven? Are you okay?"
...This Dungeon clearing thing, it seems it won't be as easy as I thought.
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