Chapter 32

Today, I brought some dried fish as a gift.

Since I was receiving special magic lessons from the Cat Teacher, I thought I should bring something as a token of appreciation.

The dried fish, in fact, was a gift from Vain.

It seems he caught a lot of seasonal fish in the river and turned them into dried fish.

At first, I was taken aback by the large amount of dried fish he gave me.

I was worried that they might go to waste, but when I tried them, they were surprisingly delicious.

As seasonal fish, they were rich and flavorful even as dried fish.

I heard they were just smoked, but they were well-seasoned and hard to stop eating. The aroma that spread in my mouth and the elasticity of the flesh were irresistible. Vain’s creation was packed with irresistible deliciousness.

So, I thought I would share some with the Cat Teacher and brought them along.

Holding two pieces of dried fish in my hands, I arrived in front of the classroom.

This was the room the Cat Teacher had designated.

I knocked and entered.

I thought the Cat Teacher would be in the room, but there was no sign of her.

Instead, a beautiful woman was sitting on the only chair in the spacious classroom.

Her elbow rested on the armrest, and her hand was touching her cheek.

Even though I had entered, she did not move at all.

Our eyes met.

I realized at first glance that she was a very beautiful woman.

She had all the right curves and a figure that matched her beauty.

Her long, beautiful limbs were exposed, and she was sitting with her legs crossed, just watching me.

I suddenly felt embarrassed and looked away.

I could feel my heart beating faster.

Was I getting nervous?

"Welcome."

The beautiful woman’s voice echoed in the quiet classroom. The sky had a slight tinge of red, and the room was a bit dark.

It felt a bit erotic.

"Yes, hello."

"Oh, don’t be so formal? You’re making me feel formal too."

"I’m sorry. My heart is just racing."

"Hehe, you’re young."

The woman placed her hand on her lips and smiled gently, which looked very elegant. At the same time, I felt a mature charm.

I could feel my heart beating even faster.

This was a type of woman I had never met before.

She was the epitome of a mature woman’s charm.

"What do you have in your hands?"

At the woman’s question, I quickly hid the dried fish behind my back.

"No, it’s nothing."

I felt embarrassed about having the dried fish.

"Is that so? Don’t just stand at the entrance, come over here, Kururi."

"Huh!? Do you know me?"

The moment my name was called, my heart skipped a beat.

But after a moment, I felt very happy that she knew me.

"Of course. Don’t you know who I am?"

"I’m sorry. I can’t forget such a beautiful woman, but I can’t seem to remember."

"Hehe, that’s harsh. Since you don’t know me, should I punish you?"

"Please don’t tease me. So, who are you?"

At my question, the woman tilted her head slightly, showed a thinking gesture, and then nodded and started speaking.

"Really don’t know? It’s me."

"No, I really can’t tell."

I was trying hard to remember, but there was no memory of her.

How could I forget such a beautiful woman!

"I see. This is unexpected. Oh well, if you really don’t know... It’s me, the Cat Teacher."

"..."

The magic was dispelled, and a giant ball of fur appeared with a puff—it was the Cat Teacher.

Without looking in a mirror, I knew my face must have been devoid of any emotion—joy, sadness, anger, or true feelings. My face must have been blank.

I didn’t want to think or feel anything. I wanted to empty my mind. If I did, I would find peace.

I sincerely wished my memory would be erased.

"You’re here, cat. Hey? Why do you look like you’re dead?"

I was spoken to by Ark, who arrived late, but unfortunately, I was in a state of not hearing anything.

"Let’s start today’s magic research. I was going to show the transformation magic to Ark, but since Kururi didn’t notice at all, I undid the transformation. I’m too tired today to do it. I’ll show it to you next time."

"What did you see?"

"...Nothing."

"Today, we’ll continue from last time. Last time, we only transformed one hand. Today, we’ll try both hands. Every year, some people drop out here. The difficulty level increases, so try your best."

"...Understood."

I managed to respond with sheer willpower.

Ark immediately started practicing. It seemed he was struggling as usual.

Phew, I sat down for a while to calm my mind before starting to practice.

I was already quite tired before starting. I might not be able to do it today.

"By the way, don’t forget, this."

I handed the dried fish to the Cat Teacher.

"Dried fish? I don’t dislike it, but it’s not something to give to a lady."

...Yes, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have treated you like a cat.

The Cat Teacher took it and lay down in the part of the classroom where the sunset was shining.

Well, let’s start practicing.

As usual, I needed to repeat the process. First, I reviewed by imagining and transforming only one hand into the Cat Teacher’s hand. Thanks to the many times I did it last time, it was easy. The anxiety that I wouldn’t be able to do it was gone, and I felt a bit more relaxed.

"Meow, meow, meow! It’s delicious! This is so good!"

Looking at the source of the excited voice, I saw the Cat Teacher lying down and biting into the dried fish.

"Did Kururi make this?"

"No, I got it from Vain. Vain caught them and made them from scratch."

"Wow, Vain did this? That’s impressive."

Okay, let’s focus and try to transform both hands. The Cat Teacher said the difficulty level would increase, so I needed to concentrate.

"Wow, Vain has such a special skill? He doesn’t have much magic power, but he has an impressive skill."

When I tried, it indeed felt difficult to maintain the magic power while making changes in multiple parts. It was like focusing on one part made it hard to focus on another.

"Delicious, can’t stop, good texture, wonderful aroma, and great taste."

But I didn’t feel like I couldn’t do it. I felt confident that I could do it today, even though I had to focus on more parts.

"Meow, meow, meow, this is great. I’ll come back for more. I definitely will."

Could you please be quiet! I shouldn’t have brought the dried fish. How much did you like it?

Ark doesn’t seem to care, so maybe it’s just me who is bothered?

No, no, I need to focus.

I took a deep breath and manipulated the magic as I imagined.

My left hand and right hand simultaneously transformed into furry cat paws, just like the Cat Teacher’s.

Wow! Did this work?

"Cat Teacher..."

"Amazing. You already did it? You’re a genius, Kururi."

It seems I succeeded. It didn’t feel particularly difficult. I felt like I could do it many times.

"Next, let’s grow a tail. It’s easiest to start from the tip and gradually move to the center."

"I’ll try."

This time, I imagined the Cat Teacher’s tail.

I gathered magic around my hips and concentrated on maintaining the magic in my hands.

Puff, the tail also formed beautifully.

"Amazing, amazing. Keep going."

Next, the legs, which also went well, from the knees to the thighs, and from the elbows to the shoulders.

The torso also went well gradually.

Finally, the head transformed successfully.

I was amazed at how well it turned out. I couldn’t explain why it went so well.

"Cat Teacher, it worked! Oh!"

"Amazing. You’re the first to do it besides me, and you did it so quickly."

"Thank you!"

Oh! My sentence ending...

"Teacher, my sentence ending is strange."

"It’s not strange. It’s normal."

"...Is that so."

I felt a bit disappointed.

"Try compressing the magic."

"Compress? I’ll try."

I tried compressing the magic as instructed.

My body started to shrink rapidly.

When it was about half the size, I hesitated, and the shrinking stopped.

"You can also shrink like this. How is it? Amazing, right?"

"It’s amazing!"

I got excited and answered loudly, and the magic immediately cut off, and I returned to my human form. "Ah."

I was relieved that my size also returned to normal.

"Your ability to maintain it is still low. Practice to maintain it for 1-2 hours."

"Understood."

Good, my sentence ending is back to normal.

Prince Ark, who saw this, was not convinced.

Of course, he was immediately caught and started asking for tips and secrets.

The Cat Teacher, as usual, got tired quickly, so I had to teach him step by step.

It continued until night, but in the end, he could only transform both hands.

"Not bad, but not great. For a prince, you’re still average," the Cat Teacher said in her usual tone, and the magic research session ended.

I was worried that the prince would say he would come to the room today, but he must have been discouraged by the significant difference, so he didn’t come.

Still, why did I manage to do it so quickly?

Maybe I have something in common with the Cat Teacher?

...I don’t want that.

I’ll go to bed. I returned to my room and got into bed.

And, as usual, I had a nightmare that night.

"Ugh, the beautiful woman was the Cat Teacher, and the Cat Teacher was the beautiful woman, ughhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh