After school, inside a white sedan, Hirakawa Tetsuya sat in the passenger seat.
"Kudō-sensei, thanks for the help."
"You're welcome. It's on the way anyway."
Kudō Mina kept her eyes on the road as she drove. "That shrine… it's toward the train station, right?"
"Yeah."
The reason he was in her car was simple. You couldn't bring cats onto the train. He'd been wondering how to get them home when she noticed and offered to help without hesitation.
As for him, last life he had a license but no car. This life he could afford a car but didn't have a license.
Truly outstanding life management.
It wasn't like he couldn't go get one. Every time he thought, "I should really make time for it," another thought followed right after—"Do I actually need it?"
And just like that, he kept putting it off.
Still, having a kind and considerate colleague was a blessing.
"Kudō-sensei, you're amazing."
"Huh?" She glanced at him briefly, puzzled. "Please don't praise me like I'm some convenient tool."
"That's not it. That was sincere."
"Alright."
She didn't sound convinced.
They arrived not long after.
"Kudō-sensei, do you want to help?"
"No need. I can manage a few kittens."
He unbuckled his seatbelt, got out of the car, and headed into the shrine. It didn't take long before he came back out holding the box.
The cats inside were calm. The white one—Michel—looked at him and let out a soft "meow," as if recognizing him.
No resistance. No struggle.
"Wow."
He stared at it.
"I really do have max-level cat affinity, don't I?"
They'd only met once, and now he could just carry them away without issue.
If he'd known earlier, becoming a tiger trainer wouldn't have been a bad option.
Bigger cats, same logic.
And honestly, teaching students and training animals weren't that different.
Broadly speaking, humans were animals too.
"Hey, Hirakawa-sensei."
Kudō's voice pulled him back.
"Hm? What's up?"
She had already stepped out of the car and walked over.
"What are you spacing out about?"
"I was thinking…"
He paused, then said seriously, "Reborn in Tokyo, I become the strongest beast tamer."
"?" She blinked, clearly not understanding.
Right. Too webnovel.
"Let me rephrase."
He cleared his throat. "How about this as a title—'With Max-Level Cat Affinity, I Reincarnated Into Another World and Became the Strongest Beast Tamer—My First Companion Is a Cute Catgirl!'"
Silence.
Kudō froze.
A long pause later, she finally asked, "…What is that supposed to be?"
"Never mind."
Explaining a joke no one got was pure torture. Like telling a joke and having the other person ask, "And then what?" and all you could say was, "That's it."
A perfectly awkward silence.
"Let's just move on."
He sighed and placed the box into the trunk.
Just as he was about to close it, Kudō leaned in and looked at the cats. After a brief moment of thought, she spoke gently, "It's not the best environment, but we'll be there soon. Just hang in there a bit, okay?"
"Meow."
Only after hearing the response did she close the trunk softly, looking satisfied.
Hirakawa watched her.
If a random adult acted like that, it might seem childish. But on her, it felt natural. Even… cute.
That kind of innocent sincerity.
If he did the same thing, people would probably just call him kind.
Life was unfair.
Blame human instincts—people naturally favored what looked good.
"Alright," he thought. "Enough commentary for today."
They got back into the car and drove toward his house. It didn't take long.
"Kudō-sensei, thanks again."
He opened the trunk and took the cats out of the stuffy space. Kudō stepped out and came over.
"Safe arrival."
"Meow."
"If you ever move again, you can call me."
"Meow."
Hirakawa said nothing.
Their conversation ended just like that.
Kudō smiled and gave a small wave. "See you next week, Hirakawa-sensei."
"See you."
With his hands full, he could only reply verbally.
She got back into the car and drove off. Hirakawa watched the car disappear before looking down at the box and meeting the cat's gaze.
"We're home."
His house was a three-story standalone building in a prime location. The train station was just a short walk away. In Tokyo, a place like this was extremely expensive.
But he didn't buy it.
It was inherited.
Which meant he got it effortlessly.
"Honestly, this kind of life isn't bad at all."
He set the box down after entering, went upstairs to change into comfortable clothes, then came back down.
The white cat had already climbed up, placing its front paws on the edge of the box and peeking out cautiously, observing the unfamiliar surroundings.
The three kittens, meanwhile, still hadn't even opened their eyes.
Hirakawa crouched down and observed the white cat for a while before saying, "You're kind of dirty."
The cat said nothing.
"If you walk around like that, the floor's going to get filthy. And I'm really not in the mood to clean."
"So… mind cooperating with a bath?"
"Meow."
"I'll take that as a yes."
Normally, stray cats were extremely cautious. Even house cats resisted baths. Getting a stray to cooperate was usually impossible.
But—
"You're surprisingly obedient. That's good."
After the bath, the cat's fur transformed from dull gray to pure white.
Hirakawa gently patted its still-damp head. The cat rubbed against his hand in response.
"Yeah."
He nodded calmly.
"I really do have max-level cat affinity."
"Definitely qualified to be a tiger trainer."
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