chapter 11

Roll is probably on top of the car .

Just what in the world is she planning to do against that gigantic dragon?

As I thought about that, I heard a ‘baam’ from above .

Don’t tell me she just jumped?

Unbelievable!

The only thing I can do, since I can’t take my hands off the steering wheel, is to pay attention ahead with all I have .

Because of the severe force feedback, I must hold the steering wheel strongly .

The road was rough and the truck shock violently .

However, I didn’t slow down at all, instead, I pushed the acceleration even more recklessly .

I didn’t have time to listen to the sounds outside .

It happened right then .

The dragon descended from above, right in front of me .

It was the same edged dragon .

It made a terrible sound as it fell on the ground . It took me by surprise but I stepped on the break with all my strength and stopped the car before running over it .

The windscreen was now obstructed by the huge body of the edged dragon .

“…… . . You gotta be kidding me!”

I got off the truck, muttering those words .

The edged dragon died with its neck twisted, its tongue and eyes popped out . Its legs were still moving .

Did Roll do this?

“At any rate, this thing sure is huge…… . ”

I approached the fierce dragon and touched its blade-like scales .

Its scales were sharper than I thought and I ended up cutting my firger a little .

But where did Roll go?

I focused on my hearing and I heard Roll’s heartbeat on the other side of the dragon’s corpse .

I walked to the other side of the corpse . At which point, I heard Roll’s footsteps moving in the opposite direction, as to avoid me .

“…… . . ?”

Is she in the mood for hide and seek or something!?

As I chased after her, I circled the edged dragon’s body once .

This girl…… . What is she doing?

“Roll! What are you doing?”

I faced Roll, who was separated from me by the dragon’s corpse, and asked her .

However, she didn’t answer .

With stealthy steps, I tried walking towards Roll again . But she escaped again .

Was she always this playfull……or better say, tiresome?

“Really now, what are you doing!? Cut it out!”

I raised my voice, at which point a faint answer could be heard from the other side, her voice so weak that only I could hear it .

“I used the ‘Stay Cat’…… It takes 10 minutes to change back…… . ”

I see .

In short, Roll is supposed to have cat ears now .

And the reason why she didn’t show me this until now is because she’s truly embarrassed .

It seems that she can’t change back instantly like Kuroinu-san .

“Hmm……”

I dashed off with all my might .

I must see it no matter what!

“Why are you coming this way!?”

Roll started to run too .

“Because I want to see!”

“It won’t be decent!”

I chased after her for a while but I couldn’t catch her . I couldn’t even see her shadow .

I felt rather hummiliated because I couldn’t keep up with a girl, but Roll was using an enhancing ability right now, so it was inevitable .

She’s just way too fast .

I already circled around the edged dragon a couple of times .

As I went out of breath, I thought of a great idea .

All I have to do is create a chasing sound .

The moment I thought of this idea, I began to put it in practice .

I took cover behind the truck, as I created a sound that sounded like me chasing Roll .

It’s not like I neglected my ability training these past days .

I silenced my breathing as much as I could, and I waited for Roll to be caught in my trap and run towards me .

I leaped in front of her right when Roll got close to the truck .

“Wha! You…… . . !”

This time it was Roll who quickly took cover behind the truck .

She looked just like a cat……I mean, she WAS a cat .

Yes, it was only for an instant but I saw her .

Beside cat ears, I saw a tail too .

“…… . It’s better not to see me . ”

“I already did . Come out now . ”

To be honest, I didn’t clearly see her . But since I already saw this much, there’s no reason she wouldn’t come out and show me herself .

And so, Roll came out from the shadow of the truck, while holding down her ears and tail .

But her hands couldn’t hide them completely, and I managed to sneak a look at her .

“……Haa”

“This is…… . . ”

After a complete look at her from upfront, it was impossible not to feel a shock .

How should I put it? She was just too cute……

How comes cat ears and a tail change a person this much? No, it’s not that . Most likely this is the Stray Cat’s ability .

So this is the so-called psychological gravity?

In fact, my feet moved towards Roll, like she was sucking me in .

She’s too adorable .

I truly felt like I couldn’t abandon this stray cat .

I want to pet her . I want to love her . I want to rub my cheeck against her .

“Roll……, this is really bad…… . ”

“See? I told you that it won’t be decent!

You are truly mean……”

Roll sighed .

“Take your hands away . ”

“That won’t happen . You want to pet me, right?

Being petted is… . . you know… . ”

Is what?

Still, she’s way too adorable .

I can’t endure it anymore . I’ll forcibly hug her .

“This is really bad!”

“I’ll hit you if you get any closer . This is a bit too effective on you . It’s abnormal . ”

“Damn it! Let me hug you!!”

I jumped at Roll, ready for a honourable defeat . She threw her fist into my stomach, sadly, and I crumbled down on the spot .

_________

I regained a bit of composure, as I sat in the passenger’s seat and pretended to look at the passing scenery . I was rather more concerned about the cat eared and tailed person beside me .

The truck advanced uninterrupted .

We reported to the secret base about the edged dragon and it was decided to retrieve its body as well .

Since you could extract some rare materials from it, it would be wasteful to leave it there to rot .

“…… . Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Because, you know……I’m curious . ”

10 minutes is a long time . Still, the ability should wear off pretty soon .

“It would’ve been much better if I brought my hat . ”

“Won’t you let me pet you at least once?”

“No . ”

That’s when Roll’s cat ears bounced a little .

She was like a small animal .

Roll normally keeps her cat ears low, it seems, but when she looks at me, her ears stand up, focused .

“……That really is adorable, you know?

I guess that since you’re a cat, you’re quite curious too . ”

“It can’t be helped . There are cases when enhancement type animal abilities come together with instincts and traits .

But well, it’s already time-out . ”

When Roll said that, her cat ears and tail drew back inside her body .

It appears that 10 minutes have already passed .

“Nooo…… . . ! The tail! The cat ears!”

I stretched my arm towards Roll but she repelled it .

Now that Roll’s ability wore off completely, I too began to gradually regain my composure .

“Ah, I’m tired .

That’s why I don’t really want to use the Stray Cat too often .

It’s tiring and it sexually excites you, Shion . ”

“…… . . It didn’t sexually excite me!

It’s just that, you looked more adorable than I expected . That’s foul play, you know? You were almost too adorable . ”

“Will you… . . stop calling me adorable now? It kind of annoys me…… . ”

“Don’t tell me you feel embarrassed . ”

“I’m not . ”

“You do feel a little embarrassed . Admit it . ”

“……………Well, it does make me happy when I’m told to be adorable . ”

To be honest, even without her cat ears Roll was rather cute .

The kindness and girliness she shows sometimes make my heart throb .

It’s just a matter of time until I fall in love with her .

“Shion, hurry up and show me your cool side too . ”

After receiving this counter blow, I kept silent .

It will take some time for me to be able to stand next to Roll .

However, I can feel that we are opening our hearts to each other little by little .

A short time later the city finally came in sight .

At the end of the highway, the evening sun illuminated the city .

We entered the city and drove to the same restaurant’s parking lot we used earlier today, where Roll stopped the car . She left the driver’s seat and got off the truck .

Piled up on the truck’s roof rack, the buried dragon and the edged dragon were covered up with a cloth .

If we parked the truck here, someone from the organization would come and collect it .

That’s why, our mission finished at this point .

“There’s some time left . ”

She looked at her watch and said .

The watch was pointing a little bit past 5 .

“You’re right . ”

“Are you sure you’re all right with the tests?”

“Well yeah . I did study long enough . ”

“Hmm .

Then, what about having some fun together?

After we eat something over there . ”

Roll pointed at a restaurant and suggested, wearing a mischievous smile .

I was planning to study after I got back home, but I couldn’t bring myself to refuse her .

“All right . ”

“Let’s go then . ”

We didn’t expect to meet the persons we did when we entered the restaurant .

Tsurugi, Ohashi and Rin were there .

Recently, the other members of Tsurugi’s harem can’t seem to keep up with Ohashi and Rin’s fierce attacks, so the liveliness surrounding him grew dim, compared to before .

Well, I didn’t really care about that anyway . But we did stumble across these three’s study meeting .

When Roll noticed them inside, she looked quite unhappy about it .

It’s not like she hated Tsurugi and the others . What she found annoying was the fact that she had to act again .

Besides, if they were to find out that Roll and I went to a restaurant together in the town’s outskirts, things would probably get troublesome .

Still, the question is why did they choose this remote place for a study meeting!?

Well, anyway, we were planning to leave the restaurant before they became aware of our presence .

However, before we could do that, Tsurugi and the others noticed us .

We couldn’t leave the restaurant anymore .

And so .

We took the seats right next to Tsurugi’s group and Roll started to splendidly answer the barrage of questions .

That’s how the reason for me and her being here turned out to be a ‘date’ .

“Kamiya-kun, you are not to be underestimated . ”

“I’m shocked……I didn’t believe that Kazato was a man of action . ”

“Kazato, as I thought, you did fall in love .

Congrats . ”

It seems that these three easily accepted the idea that Roll and I were going out .

This will probably get troublesome at school .

Miss Roll already boasts a lot of popularity inside our school .

I wanted to insist on the fact that we were not going out, but Roll said to them before I could say anything .

“Urm…… . Will you please keep the fact that we’re going out secret for now?”

Since Roll said this, it was decided for us to go with the dating setup at school . This way, there would be no obstacles to us being together .

Even though she said to keep it a secret, rumors will still spread .

But this will certainly make things easier for us working together .

I might have to endure the other male students’ looks of envy and light harassment from now on .

“Of course . We won’t tell anyone .

Since we’re in your way, we should probably leave now . ”

When Tsurugi said this, Ohashi and Rin stood up .

It seems that they’re considerate of us .

We tried to stop them, but well, our real intention was for them to leave us alone already .

The three of them saw right through us, so they paid their check and left the restaurant .

“My plan went astray . ”

A short time after Tsurugi’s group left the restaurant, Roll said .

“How comes?”

“I wanted our getting together to proceed a little slower .

It appears that we’re already going out now . ”

She’s talking about school .

It seems that Roll had various plans .

“Is there a problem with that?”

“I wanted to proceed with caution and discretion . But well, it’s all right anyway . ”

“Hmmm .

For now, let’s just order something . ”

I opened the menu and said to her .

“I already know what I want .

Omuraisu 1 and melon soda . What about you, Kazato?”

“Hm? Kazato?”

“This is a private meeting after all . But well, you can only call me Roll either way . ”

I see . There’s no need to use code names during our private meetings .

At any rate, she wants to order omuraisu and melon soda . She’s normally cooking food that is good for the body so this choice is unbelievable .

“Then I’ll also have an omuraisu and melon soda . ”

“Why are you ordering the same thing?”

“In our private lives we’re a couple, aren’t we?”

“You’re right . Still, you need nutritious food so I’ll order for you .

This is more girlfriend-like anyway, right?”

___________

After we finished our food, we ended up chatting for a short while, then we left the restaurant .

It was already past 7 .

At Roll’s suggestion, we entered the nearby department store for a light shopping session, then we returned to the secret base .

It was past 10 now .

Roll bought a lot of clothes so both my hands were now full of shopping bags .

“This will look good on you . ”

She said, and ended up choosing some clothes for me too .

No matter how much money Roll had, I still couldn’t let her pay for me since it would’ve hurt my dignity as a man .

Thanks to the reward I received for the mission I did with Kuroinu-san and Hakunetsu-san, I already had a surplus of money . I was troubled about how I should use it but now was just the right chance for it .

Still, at the end of the month I’ll received a huge load of money; 450000 yen .

My money sense is getting confused .

“Good night then . ”

“Good night . ”

I escorted Roll back to her room and left her luggage there, then informed her of my leave .

I decided to leave the clothes Roll chose for me in her room .

“Ah, wait a second . ”

I was on my way down the corridor when Roll detained me .

I looked over my shoulder and saw her standing in front of her door .

“What?”

“Come back for a second . ”

She told me and I walked towards her . Roll started to quickly measure my back and arms with a tailoring meter .

“…… . What are you doing?”

“I must place an order for your tuxedo . You wear it during infiltration missions or suppression missions since it’s easy to move in it . ”

“Ehh? There’s such a thing too…”

A tuxedo, huh? It’s kind of embarrassing .

After a while, Roll finished her measuring and said .

“Good, I’m done . Good night then . Be sure to study, all right?”

“Yeah yeah……”

I gave her an inarticulate answer, and so, our day together finished .