She was grateful to cats purely for existing.
“This…isn’t exactly funny,” muttered Ed.
“Hm? What’d you say?” She lifted her face from his fur, but he shook his head.
The gesture was as human as always, but he was so divinely adorable that everything he did made Nina’s heart flutter.
There was that saying, “I’d take even a cat’s paw.” She knew it meant that someone was so busy that they would accept help from even a cat, but she was certain there was a little bit of a different meaning in there too, that the person was so busy they couldn’t do it without the soul-soothing help of a cat.
“It’s nothing. Pay me no mind,” dismissed Ed. “Speaking of Dino, what do you talk about with him?” He settled back on his cushion and glanced at his disheveled fur but must have decided to leave it because he hadn’t started grooming himself.
“Prince Dino wants to eat rice,” stated Nina.
“Rice…? As in, white rice?”
“But it has to be japonica rice. It’s not something you can find around here, so he’s thinking about cultivating it himself.”
If the rice had already been sold throughout the country, he would have found it by now, thanks to his royal advantage. But apparently, he hadn’t been able to find a matching grain even after investigating nearby countries, so he gave up on trying to import and instead decided to focus on cultivating it.
“Japonica? Why has that become a topic of conversation with you?” Ed probed.
“You don’t know about japonica rice, do you?” Even in Japan, few people knew much about the type of rice commonly eaten there. Even if Ed was the messenger of a god, there was no way he’d know anything about rice varieties. “I think I was the daughter of a rice farmer back in Japan. Prince Dino talks to me for advice on growing rice.”
“Advice…on growing rice?” Ed’s expression practically screamed, “What the heck?” Apparently, even cats could look exasperated.
And, of course, even that expression was cute.
“There’s no way he can grow it without being careful, considering the climate here. The first thing is making a rice paddy,” she explained. They hadn’t yet found the most essential component—the rice plants—but Nina planned to tell Dino everything she knew since he was so dedicated to it. “Prince Dino is trying to turn a part of the academy’s fields into a rice paddy. It’s crazy. Oh, a paddy is a type of farm field used for growing rice, by the way.”
“I know what a rice paddy is.”
“You do?” She wondered why a cat would know about the farm fields necessary for growing different grains in different worlds. Maybe he knew a lot because he served a god, or perhaps a similar grain already existed in this world.
Regardless, a farming prince might not be your usual main love interest, but everyone these days wanted more variety in their heroes. She could see herself enjoying an illustration of her and Dino, standing before his completed passion project and smiling as they looked out over the drooping heads of golden rice stalks in their paddy.
It was in no way fitting with the feel of an otome game set in an academy in a country resembling medieval Europe, but Nina personally didn’t think it would be bad.
“Oh, and Prince Dino…” Nina started, gesturing in an attempt to express Dino’s excessive love for rice, but Ed didn’t seem amused. “I’m boring you, aren’t I?”
“No, that’s not it. You said…Dino is attractive, didn’t you?”
Nina nodded, and Ed’s white tail lashed faster.
“Which means, essentially, that you…like him?”
“Well, if I’m going to have to look at a boy, I’d prefer a nice-looking one. So yeah, I guess I like him.”
It wasn’t like she liked him. To Nina, it didn’t matter what the main love interest looked like; she had a job to do. But if she was going to have to see him a lot, she was grateful that he was so easy on the eyes. Anyone would feel the same.
She nodded, which made Ed leap to his feet. “Not Dino!”
“Not Dino what?” She couldn’t imagine any reason why his voice would go so raspy. What was up with him?
His eyes darted about like he was uncomfortable. “You’re the heroine, and he’s the main love interest…”
“Are you trying to tell me not to fall for Prince Dino?”
His tail jerked, then slowly sank like a wilting flower.
“That’s it, isn’t it? Prince Dino is basically just my work partner. Don’t worry.”
“I-I’m not exactly… I mean, I don’t want to see you hurt in the end.”
“Aw, Ed, thank you!”
Having taken on this role, Nina was destined for a downfall, which didn’t bother her, but it still made her happy to know this beautiful cat was concerned for her. Before she could think, she reached out to cuddle him, but then quickly pulled back.
“Oh, sorry. I didn’t give you a warning. Um, I want to cuddle you and stroke you from your head to the end of your back for a long time.”
“Go on. So, in terms of Dino, you’re really not…?”
With Ed’s permission granted, Nina picked him up and devoted herself to stroking him. His warm fur soothed her soul in this fleeting moment of enchantment where she was so relaxed that drool threatened to spill from her lips.
She was half drawn into a dream world, but her hands never stopped petting Ed.
“Um? Oh, it’s fine,” continued Nina. “He has a pretty face and is generally a good guy. He’s exactly like a prince who stepped out of a picture book.”
“And that…means you’re fine?”
“Oh, I feel so much better. Hey, can I squish your toe beans? Front paws first, then your back.”
Ed gave a non-cat-like sigh and set his front paws in Nina’s hand. “No, this isn’t funny at all…” he murmured, but Nina was far too entranced with his toe beans to hear.