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“I came to deliver your uniform,” announced Ed, the white cat, as he sat in the window the following evening. The only thing outside the window was a wall, so it wasn’t like he climbed up there, even if he was a cat. And it definitely wasn’t feasible to imagine a cat climbing up while carrying something. Ed also didn’t look like a super beefy cat, so he probably just popped over using the god’s power or whatever. “Did you receive permission to attend the academy?” he asked.
There probably wasn’t anything wrong with Ed sitting on the table, but Nina was a cat lover, which meant she wanted to show some hospitality when she knew a cat was coming.
She’d prepared a cushion for him and placed it on the table. He hesitated a moment, then sat on it, and she let out a mental squeal at the little ploop sound it made when he settled onto the cushion.
“Yep,” she answered. “I told Mom they’re letting me attend while working there part-time as a cleaner. She seemed worried, but I think it’ll be okay.”
It was a fishy story, to be honest, being allowed to attend an academy for nobles in exchange for some cleaning work. Aida was obviously concerned, but Nina couldn’t meet the villainess if she didn’t attend the academy, so she was pressured to convince Aida to let her go.
“I imagine she would be. Commoners don’t often attend the academy,” stated Ed.
“You do know a lot, don’t you? Guess you are a messenger of a god, after all.”
“No, that’s not… Um, anyway. Do you have any concerns?”
“Basically, I’ve just got to captivate everyone with my charms and get bullied occasionally by the villainess, right? I think I’m fine with that. Until this…final downfall thing.”
After reading the contract, Nina couldn’t tell what exactly this downfall was that the adversary was supposed to gloat over. Still, since it would involve causing trouble with a prince and noble girl, the punishment would likely be harsh. In the games and manga Nina could think of, the character was usually convicted of a crime and either exiled or executed.
She wasn’t about to claim she wasn’t afraid to die, but she was even more afraid of what would happen to Aida once she was gone.
“If something happens and I end up dead or forced to leave home for a long time,” began Nina, “can you use my reward money to put my mom in a hospital? And also…make her forget about me.”
Since Aida’s illness had no cure, she wasn’t going to live much longer, no matter what did happen. Nina didn’t want to break her heart by making her live the rest of that short life with the sorrow of losing her daughter.
“…If that does happen, I’ll do as you ask,” Ed said quietly.
Nina let out a sigh of relief. “Then I don’t have to worry. Thank you.”
This way, Aida would be okay no matter what happened. All that was left was for Nina to give the villainess a glorious opportunity to gloat.
Nina happened to glance toward her bed and saw a uniform laid out. She didn’t think she could have even bought the uniform with the money she made from her jobs. It was made from a clearly high-quality-looking material, which excited Nina when she touched it.
“This is the uniform, right?” she asked. “I should try it on.”
“Hm? Ack!”
Just as Nina went to unbutton her blouse, she heard what sounded like the strangled cry of a frog someone stepped on. “Ed? What’s wrong?”
“H-Have you no sense of decency?” exclaimed Ed, looking almost panicked with his fur standing on end. He might be the messenger of a god, but he was still a cat. What was there to be so embarrassed about? It wasn’t like she was going to get completely naked anyway. Nina didn’t see what the big deal was.
Thinking about it now, though, she realized she wasn’t sure if Ed was a boy or a girl; she just guessed boy. Now curious, Nina picked up the oddly behaving white cat and checked between his legs, where she saw two cute little pompoms.
“You really are a boy, Ed. Guess even god’s messengers have a gender,” she noted out loud.
“Wh-What are you looking at?!” Ed squirmed and twisted around, leaping from Nina’s arms.
“What’s the big deal? There’s nothing wrong with looking at what’s already out there in the open. They’re cute anyway.”
A human male who walked around with their privates out in the open would end in nothing but an incident, but seeing pompoms on a cat just gave Nina the warm fuzzies inside. Cats truly were incredible creatures if you thought about it.
Ed froze for a while as if he was going to say something but then just sighed. He seemed embarrassed. Being embarrassed about something that was always publicly visible must be a hard life.
Nina couldn’t see because he was covered in white fur, but she imagined his face was likely bright red. “You divine servants can have delicate sensibilities, I guess,” she stated.
“It’s just— Agh!”
Nina undid the buttons of her blouse again to get undressed finally, and Ed made another strange noise. “Oh, come on! If you don’t want to see, just look away.”
Ed lifted himself, turned to face the other way, and settled back on the cushion while Nina quickly undressed. She slipped her arms through the sleeves, and the high-quality fabric was gentle and comfortable on her skin.
It was very classy and cute with its forest green blazer and skirt, finished with an orange bow.
Nina lifted Ed—who hadn’t moved a muscle since facing himself the other way—and set him back on the table. She held her skirt up in pinched fingers and posed to show the uniform off to him. “Whatd’ya think? Do I look a bit like the heroine now?”
Nina usually dressed like a peasant worker, so even she could get an appearance boost with a uniform like this. You could also say the only thing worth relying on here was the improvement the clothes provided.
“Yes, you look very cute,” Ed replied flatly.
Nina gave a frustrated sigh. “Even cats who work for gods can give false compliments.” She sat on the bed, impressed by his ability to interact like a human. “By the way, what will I learn at the academy?”
She’d studied at church and a bit on her own before, but this world didn’t have compulsory education like Japan, meaning commoners weren’t used to school.
“Entirely standard history and such,” answered Ed. “It’s actually more of a setting for noble children to mingle with each other. The academy even hosts soirées. There’s only one left this year, though.”
“Soirées? That’s like some sort of party, right? I’ve never been to anything like that, and I don’t have a gown. I can’t even dance. Do I have to go?”
While Nina was a reincarnated Japanese person, she had been a perfectly normal person in that life too. She was never involved in things as elegant as that. And dancing? The only dance she knew was the Japanese bon dance they used to do at festivals.
“I would imagine that, as the heroine, going will bring you closer to your downfall,” Ed disclosed.
That made Nina realize she wasn’t very good as a hired heroine. This was obviously going to be the biggest event at the academy. The villainess would be there, and, in otome games, you needed the protagonist there in order to complete an event.
“I should probably go then,” she resigned. “But I don’t have a gown.”
“I know. I’ll handle everything. You don’t need to worry.”
Nina marveled at how immediately Ed replied. “Things must be tough on you, too, Ed. Must be a pain coming here and listening to me, even if it is your job as a messenger.”
“Not at all. I’m receiving compensation as well.”
Even though it was nearly buried in his fluffy fur, Nina looked closely and saw a contract ring hanging from his neck—Ed was a promisee, just like Nina.
“Oh. Well, that’s good, then,” she said.
What sort of compensation did a cat want though? A year’s worth of meat? All-you-could-lick cat nip? Maybe a life’s supply of high-quality scratching posts?
Nina imagined the white cat buried in meat, high on catnip, and sharpening his claws, and she couldn’t stop the smile spreading across her face, going almost slack-jawed enough to drool. She quickly ran her hand across her face.
“How is your mother?” asked Ed.
“Her complexion is a lot better. She seems pretty good.”
With the god’s help relieving Aida’s pain, she could now water the flowers and weed the garden. It truly was an improvement, as her limit before was a little stroll through the garden if she pushed herself.
Most people were happy to see her like that, but others wondered what doctor she was seeing or what medicine she was taking now. Nina didn’t hide the existence of the pills Ed gave her. She even gave some to people who were curious. They were just sugar pills, after all, so they wouldn’t have any effects. That should be enough to convince them she didn’t have some sort of miracle drug.
People could become scary when they were envious. Nina was already making her own plans to make sure no group of lawless ruffians came after the non-existent medicine.
“I’ll just remind you…” started Ed.
“That she’s not cured, right? Don’t worry. I haven’t forgotten.”
Yes. This was nothing more than pain relief. Aida’s illness hadn’t been cured, and progression hadn’t stopped. Her remaining flame of life, which they knew was close to burning out, was still fading.
Nina cast her eyes down, unable to say anything more.
“So long as you know,” said Ed, his long, elegant tail swaying back and forth.