Chapter 112: Cat (1)
The morning sunlight cast warmth over the rooftop.
Leaning against the railing, I closed my eyes, bathing in the dazzling sunshine.
‘The weather is nice.’
I had been swept up in a strange commotion since the morning.
The newly acquired active ability ‘Mimicry Art’, that much was fine.
But of all things, my unmanaged bladder, Lily sprawled out in front of my room, and Seol Hayun visiting at the most breathtaking timing.
As a result of coincidences overlapping with coincidences, I lost my dignity.
‘Good weather to die.’
It was also the mont I realized the danger of the mimicry ability.
Even if my heart had beco like a rock, did I really have to say sothing like ‘I felt like pee was going to burst out right now’?
‘It feels like I beco a different being for a mont.’
Co to think of it, it was similar when I mimicked Balzac.
I got angry at words that the original
wouldn’t have gotten angry at, and I flared up my montum.
Thanks to that, Instructor Kang Mooseong detected Balzac’s energy.
‘It also seems like it’s not an ability to abuse recklessly.’
It was definitely useful.
Saving my bladder from bursting dramatically was also thanks to the Mimicry Art.
When I mimicked the teddy bear, thanks to that, I had a sound sleep for the first ti.
However, the feeling of being influenced more than necessary wasn’t entirely pleasant.
Just as I was lost in such thoughts.
“Ah, so cute.”
“These guys seem used to human hands.”
Excited voices ca from sowhere.
Turning my gaze toward the sound, two won were crouching down and touching sothing.
OW-
A small cry followed.
‘Cats?’
Looking again, the number of cats was quite large.
There was even a sign providing information about the cats.
It stated that these were cats with completed health vaccinations and that they could be touched even if one had cat allergies.
The creatures were taking their spots, loafing, or approaching people to act cute.
‘Is it sothing like Animal Therapy?’
Soon, one approached
as well.
A blue-eyed Russian Blue.
The fellow sniffed my hand and actively clung to .
And it was when I was looking at the fellow.
[Cat]
[Touch: 195]
A touch count appeared next to the cat like a label.
Just like I saw with the teddy bear.
‘It seems it doesn’t appear if I just glance, but only if I focus.’
Co to think of it, the label with the touch count didn’t appear when I scanned past them earlier.
“A cat, huh.”
About 200 tis was not a small number, but it was enough to be worth a challenge.
DING-!
[Tactical Manual]
[Mimicry Art - lv.2]
[1. Rock 2. Balzac 3. Bongbong Teddy Bear 4. (-) 5. (-) 6. (-)]
There were only 3 spare slots, but I had already confird sothing regarding this issue.
[Do you want to remove ‘Bongbong Teddy Bear’? Y/N]
[※Upon re-acquisition, acquisition difficulty increases.]
The point was that removal itself was free.
So it was right to acquire it first if I could.
W-?
The fellow tilted its head and looked at .
‘For 195 tis, please take care of .’
My hand reached out toward the fellow.
EW?
The fellow flinched and was wary, but my hand was faster.
OOW-!
A bewildered cry was heard.
[Cat]
[Touch: 162]
The touch counting was going down fast.
OOW-!
But the atmosphere was unusual from the start.
A cry stained with annoyance.
And imdiately after that, the cat swung its claws toward my face.
SWISH-!
The air was cut sharply.
But a cat’s attack was nothing.
I could avoid it just by twisting my neck slightly.
W-?
The cat fellow froze its body for a mont and looked up at
intently.
Its blue eyes beca round.
The sign of fluster was evident.
And the fellow freezing was an opportunity.
I quickly started petting the fellow frozen with surprised eyes.
[Touch: 139]
This is it. If it goes like this, it will be over soon.
It was the mont I cheered internally.
“What is that? Doesn’t that kid dislike it?”
“I know, right? Didn’t it just get angry?”
Unfamiliar voices were heard.
When I turned my head, two won holding coffee were looking at .
‘Ah.’
Only then did one thing flash in my mind.
The fundantal problem of the touch mission.
If the target avoids it, a problem arises.
Before, it was an inanimate object that didn’t move or a person sleeping out of the blue.
There was no problem then.
But this ti was different.
A living creature with its two eyes wide open, aning it could reject my touch.
Of course, it would be possible to forcibly hold it and fill the touches like this, but.
I started to feel gazes.
Two won drinking coffee on the left, an old man taking a walk behind them.
And on the right, a muscular man looking rugged on a bench at the end of the garden.
He was staring piercingly this way.
‘This is a Hero-Exclusive Hospital.’
Is that person also a hero?
His face is a total gangster, though.
Cold sweat began to flow.
What if I get photographed like this?
What if I circulate on social dia with the keyword [Cat Abuse]?
It would be completely screwed.
‘Why is my luck so bad today?’
A restroom chase in the morning, and now suspicion of animal abuse?
‘Damn it.’
I forced a smile.
Gently stroking the cat’s head, I spoke as naturally as possible.
“The weather is nice~ Right?”
OOW-!
The fellow twisted its body sharply.
It openly ant ‘Let
go quickly!’.
The bright voice strategy didn’t work, damn it.
I felt people’s gazes gathering once more at the cry it just let out.
Soone whispered, and soone raised their phone as if warning
to be prepared if I did anything stupid.
‘Should I retreat for now and co back later?’
Aggro had already been drawn.
A situation where it was a bit difficult to fill the touch count like this.
But would there be a next ti?
Rooftop access is controlled after evening, and there are many watching eyes whenever I co during the day.
Either way, I had to find a way to touch the cat naturally.
Besides, the midterm evaluation is in three days.
I have to grasp the ability as quickly as possible before then.
It was a point where a more fundantal solution was needed.
‘...In that case.’
I cald my breath and focused on my fingertips.
The sensation of the tissue’s texture changing.
Slither, sothing soft unraveled under my skin.
[Mimicking ‘Bongbong Teddy Bear’.]
[Fluffy: Body becos fluffy.]
[CoCoNenne: Falls asleep.]
In an instant, my body changed softly.
My arms and even my thighs beca fluffy like cotton.
‘If it’s this.’
As the cat’s body, which I had held on my lap, sank down slightly as if subsiding, the fellow let out a questioning cry.
W?
The cat’s blue eyes widened slightly.
The fellow rubbed its back and turned its body over as if fascinated.
And as if curiosity had arisen, it started bringing its nose to my hand first.
OW-!
The tone changed.
It wasn’t the hostile cry from just before.
A slightly pleasant cry, a resonance as if saying ‘good’.
‘Done.’
I moved my hand slowly.
Softly, I swept my palm down along the grain of the cat’s fur.
Every ti I did, the fellow’s tail shook slightly.
[Touch: 87]
The counting went down steadily.
“Cute~”
“The kid likes it a lot? I guess we saw it wrong earlier.”
The won drinking coffee also had the opposite reaction before I knew it.
The atmosphere changed completely.
But it wasn’t over yet.
Because the teddy bear mimicry had one downside.
[CoCoNenne: Falls asleep.]
It was exactly the existence of this damned passive.
‘It’s coming.’
My eyelids started to beco heavy.
I chewed the inside of my cheek with my molars.
Because I couldn’t fall asleep like this.
Just in case, I also prepared to deactivate the mimicry imdiately if sleep poured down.
‘...Hmm?’
But for so reason, sleep didn’t co.
I was sleepy, but it was at the level of drowsiness that would co during class.
‘Is it because I already slept once? Or maybe the effect varies depending on the condition.’
In the morning, the settlent pain remained in my body and the fatigue was severe.
Now it was different.
The intensity of the passive might vary depending on the body condition.
[Touch: 45]
Then there is no problem.
I moved my hand diligently.
With appropriate speed and strength so that people around wouldn’t think it too strange.
The cat rubbed its body on my lap before I knew it.
Soon the fellow started leaning its head on my fluffy stomach.
PURR-
A calm sound spread like a vibration on my stomach.
DING-!
[Cat]
[Touch: 0]
At that mont, I t eyes with the rugged-faced man in the corner of the garden.
He stared at
for a while, then raised a finger with an expressionless face.
Thumbs up.
Nice.
Only then did I relax my tension and mutter quietly.
‘Done.’
***
Lily was buried in a cozy texture, hugging a large teddy bear.
‘What is this?’
A sudden sense of heterogeneity.
Clearly, she was investigating in the hospital.
So to speak, she was in the middle of a kind of work, so there was no way she could feel this coziness.
Lily frowned slightly and opened her eyes slowly.
Silver hair hanging in the air covered her vision.
And between them, red eyes were looking down at her.
‘Miss Hayun?’
It took a little ti for her head, just awakened from sleep, to understand reality.
And the very next mont.
‘Wait, what is this?’
Her upper body bounced up reflexively.
The blanket Lily was covering herself with was thrown back.
Her gaze slid back and forth between the ceiling, wall, floor, and Seol Hayun’s face.
“You woke up.”
Seol Hayun’s calm voice flowed out.
Lily, eting her gaze, drew a diagonal line with her eyebrows.
“What happened? Why am I here, and why is Miss Hayun suddenly in front of ...”
“I heard you fainted in the hallway. I moved you to my hospital room now.”
“I fainted in the hallway? Why?”
Seol Hayun shrugged at Lily’s question.
Lily, who lost her words for a mont, had a blank mind, then a scene slowly ca to mind.
‘Ryu Jinwoo, I entered that person’s room and fell asleep.’
The sensation of that ti revived faintly.
She entered Ryu Jinwoo’s room and looked at him sleeping.
Her eyelids started to get heavy gradually.
She ca right out, but the drowsiness didn’t go away.
Then, before she knew it, all consciousness turned off as if soone had pressed a switch.
Like magic, it was in an instant.
‘Even if he sprayed... sleep mist, the effect wouldn’t be that good.’
Her body and mind relaxed completely in an instant.
Unlike ordinary people, Lily had a constitution that didn’t fall asleep even with most sleeping pills.
Yet, to fall asleep as if losing consciousness just by inhaling slightly?
Did he spray so sleeping powder for great demonic beasts or sothing?
One more question regarding Ryu Jinwoo ended up being added.
‘Wait, then does that an I was lying on the hallway just like that?’
She realized belatedly.
She fainted in the hallway while leaving the hospital room door.
The path where people pass by.
Then that ans every passerby saw
sleeping.
Lily’s vision turned white.
It was then.
Seol Hayun raised a finger and tapped the inside of her own right eye.
“Here.”
“Yes?”
Lily raised her hand reflexively and touched the edge of her eye.
Then sothing small and hard was caught at her fingertips.
TAP-
The thing stuck to her finger was sleep from her eye.
“.......”
This is the worst.
Lily’s face flushed red in an instant.
As she turned her face reflexively toward the mirror hanging on the wall, a shocking sight unfolded.
It wasn’t just the sleep in her eye that was the problem.
Her eyes were swollen, and there was even a faint trace of saliva around her mouth.
“It can’t be like this...”
Lily’s body, sitting on the hospital bed, curled up into a ball.
She wrapped her head while crouching just like that.
“The image I’ve built up so far has been shattered.”
“Image?”
When Seol Hayun asked with a puzzled expression, Lily continued.
“I must have looked completely like an idiot. Falling asleep sprawled in the hallway. And in such a shabby state too! Everyone must have thought I was a weird kid.”
The ‘evaluations heard so far’ flashed through her head like a revolving lantern.
Cute girl from Arica.
Genius Telekinetic belonging to a mid-sized guild.
Incarnation of Self-Managent who doesn’t miss Student Council activities.
A new tag was about to be attached to all those titles.
‘Eye Booger Girl who slept drooling on the hallway floor.’
Lily’s head dropped in despair.
On top of that, of all people, the one who helped was Seol Hayun.
That fact fed Lily one more punch.
The connection between the two was old.
Seol Hayun, the successor of the Fire of Annihilation Guild, used to co to Arica for field training since childhood, and the two were always in a competitive relationship.
They vied for superiority in dignity and skill, in every aspect.
In the midst of that, she even received help in a shabby state.
The word ‘worst’ couldn’t fit better than this.
At that mont, Seol Hayun moved quietly.
In front of Lily, who was dropping her head while crouching, Seol Hayun bent her knees and sat down.
A distance where breaths strangely touched.
Seol Hayun, eting Lily’s gaze, spoke as if whispering.
“The only person who saw was Jinwoo. I only heard it after coming to the hospital room too.”
Lily’s head lifted slowly.
“Yes?”
“It’s literally as I said. Jinwoo is the only one who saw you lying in the hallway.”
“Really?”
Seol Hayun nodded shortly.
Only then did Lily’s shoulders sink a little.
‘Is it fortunate for now?’
But it was still too early to be relieved.
Lily thought.
In the first place, Seol Hayun is one of the figures who know her true nature.
Then there is no need to care too much.
The problem is Ryu Jinwoo.
‘That person is the problem.’
A mysterious man whom Lily herself hadn’t properly grasped yet.
There was nothing that made her heart more anxious than that.
‘I need to go examine Ryu Jinwoo one more ti.’
It has nothing to do with the request.
This ti, for herself.
A firm resolution blood inside Lily.
She raised her body slowly.
It was then.
Seol Hayun, who was sitting quietly, opened her mouth.
“Are you going?”
“Yes, I feel like I need to rest a bit.”
Roughly making an excuse, Lily tried to leave the seat.
However, the single phrase that followed imdiately stopped her movent.
“You’re trying to go to Ryu Jinwoo, right?”
It was a direct remark.
“Yes?”
“There’s no need to worry.”
Seol Hayun rose from her seat slowly.
Adjusting the hem of the disorganized hospital gown, she added.
“At least the Jinwoo I know isn’t a person who goes around gossiping about others’ shaful secrets recklessly.”
Lily’s eyes shook slightly.
Her thoughts were pierced exactly.
“And at that ti, Jinwoo didn’t have much interest in you, Lily.”
“Yes?”
“Because he was busy with other matters.”
“Other matters? What matter?”
There was a matter that made him not interested in a person sleeping sprawled in the hallway?
Lily waited for the answer quietly, but Seol Hayun stopped speaking.
Her eyes headed toward the ceiling as if agonizing for a mont.
“That is... a secret.”
She threw it out shortly.
Lily stared at Seol Hayun blankly.
The tips of Seol Hayun’s ears were faintly red.
‘What on earth happened?’
A subtle reaction unlike Seol Hayun.
Lily’s question only deepened.
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