Chapter 212: The Catgirl, Anya, Wants to be a Little Sister
Nightfall.
Under a dark sky with a high crescent moon, the Labyrinth City, Orario, was ablaze with the light of countless Magic Stone Lamps.
The solemn Pantheon, the adventurer's district that flourished around the Adventurer's Guild headquarters, the industrial district where the clang of steel on steel echoed, and the entertainment district, centered on the grand theater and casinos, which thundered with applause and cheers.
Blessed by the Dungeon, the Labyrinth City thrived once again today. The din of the crowds was endless.
In terms of sheer prosperity, Axel couldn't even compare.
"I guess we're too late..."
Kobayashi sighed, standing outside the massive white building.
The sky was already dark, and the Adventurer's Guild had long since closed. Its tightly shut doors seemed to say, "If you need service, please come back bright and early."
It looked like becoming an adventurer tonight was out of the question.
Kobayashi had no intention of becoming an "Unlicensed Knight." After all, not just anyone could enter the Dungeon. Even if it was a public toilet anyone could use, on paper, it was a domain only adventurers could tread. Forcibly entering was still forbidden.
Besides, the Dark Faction was still active in the shadows. It would be a nightmare to be mistaken for one of them.
In any case, having an official ID would make things much more convenient. It didn't cost money, didn't discriminate based on race, gender, or age—anyone with the will could become an adventurer. He had no reason not to register.
"Kobayashi-sama, what should we do now?" RyuZU chimed in. "We are far too conspicuous standing here. If you were holding a small bowl, I believe passersby would surely give you a donation."
Kobayashi and RyuZU were simply too dazzling. Their clothes, appearance, and demeanor attracted a lot of attention.
Having been standing here for a while, they had already drawn the notice of the crowd. Some people even looked like they were working up the nerve to come over and chat.
Kobayashi mused for a moment, then said, "RyuZU, are you tired?"
"I am not tired. I am an automaton. Could it be that the desert heat has damaged your brain, Kobayashi-sama? Have you forgotten that I am, in fact, an automaton?" RyuZU said, her face expressionless.
The perfect, sharp-tongued attendant, as always.
But Kobayashi simply took her hand, a smile playing on his lips. "No, you are tired. So, we're going to rest now."
"Kobayashi-sama, it appears Lady Esdeath and the others were not thorough enough in draining you."
"...Why would you bring them up?"
"Am I wrong? Night has only just fallen and you are already impatient to... release... your vigorous desires are on par with Lady Darkness."
"It's a misunderstanding! A misunderstanding!"
RyuZU hadn't lowered her voice, causing the surrounding pedestrians to cast... knowing looks at Kobayashi. There was envy, jealousy, and even a bit of disappointment, as if they believed the cute girl whose hand he was holding would not be escaping his clutches tonight.
...Although, it wasn't like she needed to escape in the first place.
Kobayashi glanced around and, before any self-righteous heroes could appear to stop him, he grabbed RyuZU's hand and fled.
Wait, why did he feel so guilty?
Oh, right. It's because he has done indecent things to RyuZU before. Okay, never mind then.
Orario had eight main streets that radiated from the city center to the circular wall, like eight slices of a cake. The residents typically referred to them by their direction: North Main Street, Northeast Main Street, and so on.
Right now, Kobayashi was on West Main Street. To be precise, he was outside a shop on the side of West Main Street.
The storefront looked small, with an outdoor café seating area. But now that it was dark, no one was leisurely sitting there drinking coffee.
A wooden sign hanging on the upper-left of the door depicted a knife and fork, indicating it was a place to eat.
Of course, the bustling sounds of conversation and clinking glasses from inside also proved this was a tavern, and a very popular one at that.
The Hostess of Fertility.
"Kobayashi-sama, is this the shop you kept asking pedestrians about? My apologies. I forgot that you, as a human, still have the physical need to ingest food." RyuZU glanced at the lively scene inside and understood why Kobayashi had asked if she was "tired."
He wasn't tired, he was hungry.
Kobayashi couldn't help but retort, "Please, RyuZU-san, don't mock me with that 'flesh is weak, all hail the machine' tone. I have no plans to become a mechanical lifeform, at least not right now."
"What a pity."
Her lips said "pity," but her expression was completely unchanged. The perfect attendant beside him seemed to desire eternity even more than he did.
"Well then, Kobayashi-sama. Shall we go in?"
"Of course."
Before meeting Goddess Freya, he might have hesitated. But now that he knew the Goddess of Beauty wasn't interested in him, he felt less pressure.
As everyone knows, a rowdy tavern is the easiest and most convenient place to gather information. Plus, The Hostess of Fertility was so popular that even high-level adventurers, including the Loki Familia, came here to eat. Kobayashi had no reason not to come here to check things out.
Ari had successfully reclaimed her kingdom, and Goddess Freya had vanished. He urgently needed to know the current timeline.
Without pausing, he walked into the tavern.
"Welcome! Two guests, nya!"
He had barely gotten his left foot in the door when a black shadow darted from the side, latching onto his arm. A soft, supple sensation flooded his mind, and a cute, playful voice rang in his ear.
Kobayashi's body froze.
Only when he clearly saw the pair of brown cat ears atop the girl's head and the tail wagging erratically behind her did he gradually relax.
The cat-person girl asked with concern, "Are you okay, guest? Are you feeling unwell, nya?"
"...No, I just wasn't expecting the staff to be so enthusiastic." Kobayashi shook his head.
Seriously, you should have 'nya'd' sooner! If you had, I wouldn't have been so startled!
Anya Fromel. The cheerful, overly familiar cat-person—a genuine catgirl—clinging to his arm. At the same time, she was Allen Fromel's sister.
That's right, the brother of that cat-man who had snarled at him outside Goddess Freya's chambers.
Why was the sister so cheerful, outgoing, and kind to people, while the brother was a yandere-type guy who only had eyes for his goddess and looked at everyone else with disdain?
The difference was way too big!
"Anya, you startled the guest."
A soft, yet equally cheerful voice sounded nearby.
Kobayashi turned his head, and his pupils couldn't help but shrink.
She had short, silver-gray hair and wore the same maid uniform as the other staff. She was a bit petite, the type who naturally exuded a charming, pretty aura. In terms of pure looks, she wasn't as exquisite as RyuZU, but for some reason, Kobayashi's gaze was uncontrollably drawn to her.
The power of Charm.
Kobayashi knew. This was Syr, Goddess Freya's bunshin. Her inherent charm was bound to leak out.
And since she was here, it meant Freya was already back in Orario.
"Syr!"
Anya greeted her happily.
Syr turned to Kobayashi with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, guest. Anya has no sense of boundaries."
"Wait, Syr, it's not my fault, nya!" Anya defended herself. "This guest was standing outside for ages! I was very restrained and didn't go out, nya. So when he finally came in, of course I had to give him a warm welcome, nya!"
So, she had seen him.
"That's no excuse to trouble a guest! Have you forgotten what Mama Mia said, Anya?"
"Mama Mia...!!!"
Syr's words made Anya's tail shoot straight up. It seemed the infamous authority of the dwarven matron terrified the catgirl.
"Syr, please, nya! I'm begging you, don't tell Mama Mia! I'll do it, nya! Whatever you say, I'll do it, nya! Please, nya!" Anya grabbed Syr's arm and pleaded desperately, her meowing cries stirring a strange sense of excitement.
Unfortunately, she wasn't pleading with Kobayashi.
"That's not right, Anya." Syr instead looked at Kobayashi. "The person you should be apologizing to is this guest, isn't it?"
"Guest, I'm sorry, nya!"
Anya bowed her head to Kobayashi, her tail drooping lifelessly.
Syr was still smiling, a perfect curve on her lovely face.
"It's fine, it's fine." Kobayashi waved his hand. "I don't dislike this kind of enthusiasm. In fact, I'm happy to be welcomed so warmly."
"Really, nya?!"
"Yes, really."
Faced with such a cute catgirl, Kobayashi unconsciously reached out his hand, wanting to rub Anya's little head.
He swore it was purely subconscious.
The moment his hand landed, it wasn't just Anya and Syr who froze. Even Kobayashi himself was stunned.
"...Eh?" x3
The next second, he snatched his hand back as if electrocuted and apologized profusely. "S-Sorry! I apologize! It must be because you're so cheerful, Anya-san. I just acted without thinking. I'm truly sorry!"
"...I-It's okay, nya~"
Anya lightly scratched her cheek, looking a little shy.
So cute!
It wasn't that Axel didn't have demi-humans, but with Aqua and the other problem children around, he already had his hands full. He'd never had the time to pay attention to other demi-humans.
He also hadn't expected Anya to be so lively that he'd lose control of himself. Or... did he have a secret catgirl fetish?
Beside him, RyuZU stated in a deadpan voice: "Kobayashi-sama, I was not aware you possessed such... preferences. It is a failing of mine as your attendant. However, no matter the circumstances, you should not act on them with others. Being arrested by the guards would truly lower my own dignity. Please restrain yourself until I can return and procure a cat-ear maid for you."
"RyuZU-san?!" Kobayashi yelped.
RyuZU's sharp tongue spared no one and no occasion. It was practically hard-coded into her programming, but it was also one of her "moe" points.
Kobayashi loved his attendant.
Except for her mouth.
Even if he managed to shut her up for a moment, she'd be right back at it. That little mouth of hers... he both loved and hated it.
But what Kobayashi didn't expect was for Anya to grab his hand and place it back on her own fluffy, cat-eared head. She even nuzzled against it, a look of pure, blissful enjoyment on her face.
"Aah, as I thought... so comfortable, nya~"
"Anya?"
Anya was lively and popular in the tavern, with plenty of fans, but she had never been this close to a customer on their first meeting, let alone ask them to pet her.
Kobayashi's hand froze.
Because he was now being stared down by every single adventurer in the tavern with looks of jealousy, rage, and envy.
If looks could kill, Kobayashi would have died several times over.
Come to think of it, the waitresses at the Hostess were all "treasures" to be admired from afar, not to be sullied. Seeing one of them getting so intimate with an unknown man would naturally make him an enemy.
Syr pulled the catgirl away.
"Anya, you can't do that! You're troubling the guest!"
"But... it feels really good, nya~"
"That doesn't matter! Mama Mia will be angry."
"Even if Mama Mia gets mad, I don't care, nya!"
Am I catnip?
Are you the Goddess of Beauty?
Kobayashi and Syr both had strange expressions.
Even bringing up Mama Mia didn't work. Anya seemed to be deeply "poisoned."
Kobayashi quickly tried to defuse the situation. "Please don't blame Anya-san. It was my fault for acting so suddenly. I'm sorry... it's just that Anya-san is so lively and cute, she reminds me of my little sister, so..."
"Little sister?!" Anya's eyes lit up, and she shouted, "Please let me be your sister! Please let me be your little sister, nya!"
"Anya?!"
Syr was completely shocked.
Anya was saying one out-of-character thing after another. It was hard not to suspect Kobayashi had done something.
But Kobayashi had done nothing. He was just as confused and wanted to cry.
Because Syr's (Freya's) gaze... was now filled with a rapidly intensifying interest. If this kept up, it would lead to unnecessary trouble.
"L-Little sister?"
"That's right! Please let me be your little sister!"
You'd better not mean a "little sister" in the romantic sense...
"Anya, you're scaring the guest."
"Syr~~~"
"No."
Even though her voice was soft, Syr managed to calm Anya down.
Seeing his chance, Kobayashi quickly said, "Ahem. It seems this isn't a good time for me to be here. My apologies, I'll come back tomorrow!"
Without another word, he turned and fled.
Watching him go, Syr couldn't help but ask, "Anya, what was that?"
"Because... it just felt really comfortable, nya~" Anya said, clearly savoring the memory. "That gentle, all-encompassing, pure aura... it was so comfortable, nya! I've never felt anything like it, nya! It felt like my entire soul was being cleansed, nya!"
Her vocabulary was limited, but with her "nyas" and rich expressions, she vividly conveyed just how good the headpat had felt.
Syr was certain. This was not the power of Charm.
She looked at Kobayashi's retreating back, her eyes filled with obvious divinity.
The next second.
An incomparably pure, sky-blue color filled her vision.
Syr froze on the spot. She only snapped out of it after Kobayashi's figure had disappeared into the crowd.
"...yr... Syr?!"
"What is it, Anya?"
"Are you okay? You were totally spacing out, nya."
"I'm fine. I'm just... a little curious about that guest."
"What, nya?! No way! Even if it's you, Syr, I won't give up the position of little sister, nya!"
Syr had no idea what the catgirl beside her was fighting over, but... she was genuinely interested in Kobayashi.
How exactly did a "stone wrapped in jade" transform into "pure jade"?
She was very curious.