Chapter 2: The Heroine Buff Definitely Works
“GOOD evening.”
“Ed! Hello!”
With just that short greeting, Nina picked up the white cat as he entered through the window and buried her face in his soft belly. It was odd, but his fuzzy fur smelled a bit like soap. Nina also liked the fresh, sun-dried scent of normal cats, but she couldn’t get enough of this.
“Nina. That tickles. Please stop,” requested Ed.
“Ah, you said my name! That’s the first time other than when we made the contract.”
“Is it?”
“It is.”
Nina felt like they were growing a little closer. That made her happy, and she shoved her face into his belly again. Getting fur in her eyes was a tiny bit of a calamity, but it was so irresistible that she couldn’t stop.
“I said, could you please stop that?”
“Oh, come on. It doesn’t hurt anything, does it?”
“Maybe not, but it’s just…about my personal state, I suppose. About…being prepared.”
Oh. So, did the one being squeezed need to get ready too? That was something Nina did not know.
“So, I just have to say something first?” she asked.
“That’s not really what I’m trying to convey.”
“All right, now I’m going to grab your front paws and squish your claws in and out, theeen feel all the bones in your tail.”
“N-Not the tail!” Ed scrambled out of Nina’s arms.
“What? It won’t hurt. Trust me, just let me lead. I have petted so many cats. I’m a pro.” Nina held her hands up and wiggled her fingers, but Ed’s reaction wasn’t positive.
“That’s not the problem. Just…please don’t touch the base of my tail.”
“All right. Then, I’m going to play with your front paws and make you do quiet applause.”
Apparently, that was acceptable since Ed didn’t resist as she pulled him into her arms.
“I met Lady Clarissa, the raffle winner,” she relayed, patting Ed’s front paws together in silent applause as she did. “Does she know the heroine’s been hired?” She just could not get enough of the ploop sound his toe beans made when they came together or the springiness she could feel in her hands.
“No, she doesn’t know,” answered Ed. “The only interactions with her were when she met the god once and when I met her at the start of the contract. She doesn’t know there are others who have been reincarnated like her. She believes everyone involved was born and raised in this world.”
“It’s probably better to make sure she doesn’t find out I’ve been hired then, right?”
“The contract says nothing about that, so it’s not strictly forbidden. However, I imagine she won’t be happy if she knew.”
True. It would probably be easier for Clarissa to get a satisfactory victory if she believed Nina was a real heroine. If she knew Nina was also reincarnated like her, she might hold back, which wouldn’t go well.
Nina wanted this triumph to be genuine—a good, proper gloat.
“But, Ed, I don’t really understand what sort of heroine picture Lady Clarissa has in her head.”
“What do you mean?”
“Is the protagonist innocent? Ditzy but sweet? Passionate? Starry-eyed? Tsundere? Yandere? There’s only a few I can pull off well, and it’d be easier to do if I at least knew what sort of way to lean with it.”
The villainess could end up confused if the heroine acted differently every time. Nina wanted to be careful with her consistency.
“She didn’t lay out many details regarding behavior. All the winner said was that the heroine captivates those around her with her charms,” recounted Ed.
“That’s hard. That actually makes it harder. I’m not charming. That’s the hardest part!” Nina lamented.
“If you do what you can, that will become charming,” explained Ed, and a lightbulb turned on in Nina’s mind.
“Are you talking about, like, a heroine buff? Does that exist?”
“Likely.”
“I hope so.”
The heroine enhancement in these sorts of games and manga was scary. It could reform the most wayward of attractive men or even open the heart of a rampaging monster to bring peace to the world.
That wasn’t the sort of outcome Nina wanted, but she was relieved to know it wouldn’t be her hard work that needed to put the charm on everyone.
It basically sounded as if no matter what she did, it would be fine.
This god’s power was also scary, seeing as it was just going to go and make her charming and captivating.