Chapter 12

The next morning: “What is this?! Last night’s smoked steak and sausage platter were delicious, but this is also amazing!” In the cafeteria on the first floor of the inn, Stella is just as excited as she was at dinner yesterday. She’s completely forgotten how upset Aria got with her in the middle of the night. In Stella’s hand is a fragrant piece of toast covered in crispy bacon and a soft-boiled egg. “And this fruity water you gave me is amazing! I’ve never drunk such delicious water before!” As she nibbles on her toast, Stella intermittently takes sips of her fruit juice and shouts enthusiastically. Although Aria’s guard has been up a bit since last night, seeing Stella act like a child, she feels like any poison that was present has been sucked out. Suddenly, she turns to her and says, “Stella, it might be rude of me to ask you this because you don’t have any memories, but is there anything you’re especially good at?” “Mmmph—? Something I’m good at?” Stella was reaching for another piece of toast when she hears Aria’s question and stops dead in her tracks. Aria’s been thinking about something since last night. Taking care of Stella doesn’t particularly bother her, since it was her idea to begin with. That said, there’s no guarantee Stella’s memories will ever return. In that case, Aria will need to train her so she can live on her own and find a job… To that end, above all else, she wants Stella to learn the meaning of “he who does not work, neither shall he eat.” In response to Aria’s posing of the aphorism and her question, Stella replies, “Well, I’m good at fighting! No—if anything, I actually love it!” “Fighting… I see. But wait—Stella, you were so scared in the labyrinth, right? If you like fighting, isn’t that a little weird?” “What say thee? That was simply me being afraid of you. I was not afraid of any monsters or of fighting itself!” “Wha—?! Afraid of me? Why would you say that, Stella? I don’t recall ever doing anything to you…?” “It’s true that I have no experience of ill intentions at your hand. Yet, the Fearsome Cat bends to your will like a child. How ridiculous of you to claim that I should not be afraid of a being such as yourself!” Aria is noticeably shocked at the fact that Stella was actually afraid of her. Tama also thinks, Ohhh…I get it…from his spot tucked into Aria’s cleavage. In other words, Stella both respects and fears Aria because she is the master of Tama, her pet (knight), who previously defeated the former earth dragon in a single fell swoop. The world of monsters is eat or be eaten. Weaklings are devoured by the powerful or made their slaves. Aria hasn’t simply subjugated or controlled Tama; she loves him like a child. Unable to ascertain the true power of someone that unfeasibly strong, Stella was understandably terrified. —Hey, Fearsome Cat. Just who is this girl Aria? She has subjugated you and all your incredible power, yet she’s wrapped in an aura of gentleness. It doesn’t make any sense. As Tama finally understands Stella’s inexplicable reaction to Aria and comes to terms with it, Stella enters his head telepathically. —She is many things to me: my benefactor, my beloved master. She is a kind human. That’s why she’s looking after a wayward creature like you. You better watch yourself moving forward. —I can’t believe that you, most Fearsome Cat, can call her master… Ugggh! Such an incredible female! I’m shivering! In response to Stella’s telepathic outreach, Tama tested his ability to push his words onto her. In response, her voice again erupted in his head. It appears his use of telepathy was on point. —By the way, earth dragon…erm, Stella. You must never tell my master that I can use telepathy like this. —Hmm? And why is that? It would benefit you greatly to be able to express your thoughts with words to communicate. —My master doesn’t know that I’m an S-ranked behemoth—she’s mistaken me as a very powerful cat. As her knight, it benefits me to maintain that perception. —Ohhh really? That’s a tasty bit of information. Fearsome Cat, if you don’t want her to find out, you must pledge to copulate with me! —Wha—?! Tama is too shocked for words at Stella’s demand. He did not think that a former monster would resort to blackmail. —…That was a joke, I’m afraid. My sense of pride will not allow me to compel you, whom I love deeply, into becoming mine. Fearsome Cat, in the end, I will win you over. Prepare yourself for that day! —…I can’t believe that you, a former monster, would joke like that… But never mind this idea of winning me over. For now, I can’t have you calling me Fearsome Cat all the time. Please call me Tama, just as my master does. —Ohhh! You’ll allow me to address you by name? Excellent—this is a step forward. Tama hasn’t let his guard down. However, their conversation thus far has revealed that Stella harbors no animosity toward him. He now understands that she’s in love with him. The little cat can’t reciprocate her feelings, but even so, he’s decided to take one step closer to her, given that they’ll be living together from now on. And although he only did it to save his master, he does feel guilty—albeit slightly—for taking Stella’s life in the first place. Perhaps that’s another reason. Huh, that’s weird… It’s like Tama and Stella are somehow communicating with each other… As Aria watches them converse silently via telepathy, she gets an intuitive sense of this and feels a pang of jealousy. “Meown… Stella, are you sure that’s what you want to wear?” “Of course I am! It suits me perfectly!” At Vulcan’s item shop, a mid-level establishment in a corner of the city, Stella responds to Vulcan’s question with the cheerfulness of a confident girl. Stella told Aria during breakfast that she’s good at fighting, prompting the elf to ask if she wanted to become an adventurer. Stella replied with an enthusiastic “Yes, I do!” Aria suspected Stella was just blowing hot air, given her lack of memory…but then, showing off her knowledge, Stella said, “Adventurers are humans who defeat monsters in return for money!” Ever since her life as an earth dragon began, Stella already had a certain level of knowledge about this world. She also had experience fighting those calling themselves adventurers in the labyrinth. She often thought their lifestyle looked enjoyable and yearned for something similar. As such, she was very happy with Aria’s proposal. “But, Stella, if you’re going to wear that, then you should at least equip some gauntlets, don’t you think?” Stella looks quite pleased with herself in her adventurer’s outfit, but Vulcan skeptically suggests putting on more gear. Stella’s outfit is very high on the revealing scale. Her top is nothing but a piece of leather cloth, showing all her cleavage and under boob. On the bottom, she’s wearing only hot pants. Both items are undersize and very low-rise. From the front, the area of coverage resembles a swimsuit at best. From behind, it’s far more provocative. The top half of her plump butt cheeks are more or less hanging out on full display. The hot pants in question were a normal design pattern to begin with, but when Stella tried them on, she said, “I need them to cover less area so I can show more! Cut off half the back portion covering my butt!” The end result is as present. “I want leg protection, but I don’t need any for my arms!” “…And why is that, Stella? You don’t want gauntlets, but you want leggings…?” Stella’s response to the suggestion is confusing. Aria quizzically presses further, to which Stella replies: “Hmm? It will be faster to show you than tell you. This is what I’m talking about!” Stella grunts softly, “Hnnngh!” with a show of effort. Now what’s going on…? Stella’s whole body, including her chest and rear, is wrapped in a soft light. As it grows brighter, it also extends its scope. A few seconds later, the light stops shining and… What the—?! What is this? “She has dragon arms and a tail, oh meow goodness!” “Incredible! Stella, did you used to be a dragonewt?” Tama, Vulcan, and Aria can’t hide their surprise. Just as Vulcan said, Stella’s arms have expanded to four times their normal size into giant earth-colored appendages. They are thick and appear reptilian. Her hands have grown as well, with sharp claws extending from her fingertips. Also, Stella has a thick tail growing from the part of her rear end sticking out of her hot pants. It’s muscular like her arms and similarly reptilian.