Chapter 3: The Heroine Buff Goes out of Control
“GOOD evening.”
“Ed! Long time no see,” greeted Nina when she saw the white cat in the window, his fur as beautiful as always.
Without thinking, she went to pick him up and cuddle but stopped herself short. She really wanted to let her instincts take over and run her hands all over him, but there was something she couldn’t forget.
“That’s right, I need to give you an advanced warning. Ed, I want to rub my face on your belly, then see how far I can stretch your scruff,” she explained.
The white cat looked at Nina with his beautiful blue and gold eyes and let out a very un-cat-like sigh. “…Go on. As you wish.”
“Thank you!”
And, just as she’d said she would, she buried her face in his belly fur. She laid him on his back on the table cushion and arranged their positions. This way, her arms wouldn’t get tired while holding him, and it should be less stress on Ed since he’d be in a stable position as she felt his fuzz.
After a bout of belly-fur enjoyment, she sat him up on the cushion and played with the skin on the back of his neck, but it somehow didn’t feel like enough.
“Hey, Ed, do you mind if I play with you a little more? Your ears, maybe? I want to play with your ears.”
“That’s fine; pet me however you like,” he sighed, sounding exasperated.
Nina rubbed his head and, getting swept up in things, brushed her lips against his ear.
“Uwaaah!”
The moment she did, Ed yelped and leaped into the air. He flopped down far from the cushion and tumbled off the table. Being a cat, he did manage to twist himself so he landed properly on the floor, but he was on edge, perhaps shaken up. His tail had turned into a giant white poof several times its normal size.
“Wh-What are you doing?!” he demanded.
“What? I just…touched your ear with my lips.”
It was basically like a light kiss. She was certain she hadn’t accidentally caught him with her teeth or drool on him or anything. Nor did she think she hurt him; perhaps he didn’t like how it felt?
“I’m sorry. Obviously, you don’t like being touched by me,” she apologized. “I got so carried away with petting you that I did something bad. I won’t do it anymore.”
Honestly, though, she wanted to pet him more. She wanted to feel the warmth and springiness of the cartilage in his ears with her lips.
But cats had their own opinions on things. It’s a crime to push yourself onto someone or some-animal who doesn’t like it. She just had to restrain herself.
“N-No, it’s not that I don’t like it or that I don’t want you to,” stammered Ed. “And it is certainly not because I’m embarrassed. It’s just, simply, that it…feels… Oh, what am I even saying?!”
He was clearly still shaken up, his tail lashing back and forth as he babbled something Nina didn’t understand.
“I know. That’s why I’m apologizing. I won’t do it again. Would you let me rub your belly instead?” she asked.
“Well, no, it’s just, I’m trying to say you did nothing wrong…”
“So, you don’t mind if I rub your belly? That’s great!”
“Wait, that’s not what I… Oh, never mind.” His shoulders slumped in a very human-like way, and then he jumped up on the table and sat on the cushion. He did it with a string of sighs, which were adorable in their own way, leaving Nina frozen as she watched him. “So then,” he continued, “how are things going as the heroine?”
“Not bad. I’m getting closer with the main love interest, the prince.”
“Dino?”
“He’s a promisee too, which you probably knew. He mentioned a cat sent by a god. Was that you?”
“Yes.”
Which meant Ed threatened Dino. The nature of the threat meant Ed was well aware of Dino’s thoughts. It wasn’t surprising at all that a messenger of a god would have that deep an understanding of things.
The god might even have sent a cat messenger because they knew how obsessed Nina was with cats.
“We talk a lot, actually,” continued Nina. “Since we’re both contractees and have the same goals, it means we have a lot in common to talk about.”
Ever since they discovered they were both under a contract, Dino would wait for Nina simply so they could discuss rice. They were constantly together during breaks and at lunch, and there were even rumors running about that she was growing close with the prince, to which Nina wanted to declare that it wasn’t she he loved but rice.
As the heroine, growing close with the main love interest was the right move, so it wasn’t off the mark to say this wasn’t a problem. She only wondered how obsessed Dino was with eating japonica rice. Rather than running out of topics relating to rice after talking about it for days, their conversations had actually become more passionate.
With that passion and the financial backing of a prince, he was sure to reach his dream someday. Nina was grateful to share in that bounty when he would someday achieve his most fervent wish.
At this point, she was starting to want seaweed, dried plum, and an onigiri, but those were things a prince could get somehow with his status.
“Though…I don’t know what’ll happen to me after the downfall,” she pondered.
It hurt to have powerful hopes only for them to go unmet. Aida was the most important thing to Nina, so she decided to avoid thinking about anything else.
“What’s wrong?”
“It’s nothing. I’m just glad Prince Dino is nice and attractive. He’s not so bad to look at.”
“I…see.”
“I’d like to rub my face on your belly one more time, then pat your paws together. Is that all right?”
“…Go on.”
Having received permission, she joyfully plunged her face into his floof. His fur was seriously the best ever. No matter how many times she stroked him, it brought her endless joy.