Chapter 86

This is a heartwarming slice-of-life episode featuring the heroine. You don’t have to read it if you don’t want to.

It was a certain Sunday.

Yui’s morning started early.

Even on days off, she wakes up at the usual time. After waking up, she deliberately takes a second nap to savor the feeling of it being a day off.

While munching on a sweet bread roll, she returns to bed with her smartphone in hand. She reads newly updated manga on an app, scrolls through social media to see if there are any interesting posts, and then checks video sites. After a thorough round of browsing, she reluctantly crawls out of bed and heads to the bathroom.

When she opens the door to her room, a small shadow crosses her feet. It slips into the room. A black mixed-breed male cat.

She does keep a cat at home.

However, it is hopelessly unaffectionate. It usually runs away when it sees her.

And it has been given the unimaginative name "Kuro." So Yui calls it "Gabu" (officially Gabriel or Gabs) for short. She does this because it bites her whenever she touches any part of its body except its head.

She remembered a short video she had seen right after waking up. It was a video of playing with a cat. It had a lot of views.

Yui suddenly had an idea and picked up her smartphone, pointing the camera at Gabu.

She is registered on two other social media platforms but rarely posts. She mostly uses them to browse. She keeps switching between making her accounts private and public, thinking about starting to post more seriously soon.

"Come on, Gabu, come at me, come on, come on."

She starts filming a video with the theme of "a cat that gets angry easily."

Gabu, unusually, doesn’t run away but stares up at her. This might mean it’s hungry. It only acts affectionate when it wants something.

Yui crouches down and, with her smartphone in hand, pokes Gabu’s front paw. This usually makes it angry.

But today, it just moves its tail unhappily, showing no interest.

So she grabs its front paw and starts poking its paw pads. This time, it suddenly bites her. She quickly pulls her hand back.

"Ouch! Even a gentle bite hurts, it’s just on the edge of being painful. I’ll send you back to the wild, you!"

She forgets she’s filming and starts spouting off. With audio like this, the video is unusable. It would probably cause a backlash rather than go viral.

In the first place, who would want a video of a cat that suddenly bites? She stops filming.

"That was a lie, I’ll play with you, Gabu, just wait a bit, okay?"

She pets Gabu’s head and leaves the room. To make a video, she needs to train it a bit more. She closes the door to keep Gabu from escaping and goes to the living room. After washing her face and changing clothes, she finds no one there.

She usually checks the cupboard where the cat food is kept but can’t find it. She doesn’t even know if it has been fed.

Yui leaves the living room and heads to her sister’s room. It seems her sister, Maki, is unusually tense due to an approaching report deadline.

"Hey! Maki, hey!"

She storms into the room, filming with her smartphone.

Since she is usually the one being bullied, she takes this opportunity to get back at her sister.

Maki, who was working on her laptop, silently threw a slipper at her. She immediately snapped.

Yui quickly leaves the room but manages to capture her sister’s rude behavior on video.

She tries to upload it to a posting site, titling it "Angry Auntie (Looking for a Boyfriend)." However, Maki’s face is clearly visible, and she isn’t wearing makeup. Her hair is a mess, and she’s wearing her committee glasses. If Yui posts it without permission, she will definitely be killed. She reluctantly gives up on posting.

"Guess it’s just Gabu, huh..."

The masses are weak for animals. She decides to target this weakness.

She heads back to her room but quickly turns around and returns to her sister’s room. She has something to ask Maki.

She opens the door a little and asks,

"Hey, sis, did you feed Kuro this morning?"

"What? ...Oh, I might not have. I forgot."

"Are you a monster? And there was no food."

"Huh? Really? Did you check the top shelf?"

"It wasn’t there."

"Hmm? I thought Mom said there was still some... Yui, I’m busy, so can you buy some and feed Kuro?"

She’s completely passing the buck.

The one who first suggested getting a cat was her sister. Now it’s treated like this.

Or maybe it was Yui. Her memory is a bit fuzzy. Either way, it’s a fifty-fifty situation.

"Why doesn’t anyone notice this?"

Complaining, Yui takes the family wallet and leaves the house.

It’s cruel to let a cat go hungry. She has some conscience.

The money in the wallet can be used freely, but she has to submit a receipt.

Her mother usually works in an office and is very strict about money management. The term "small amount" for household expenses is a bit questionable.

She mounts her bicycle and pedals to the nearby large supermarket.

The area is a residential neighborhood with almost nothing around. The station is also deserted. However, this supermarket is well-stocked, and you can find almost everything you need here.

She arrives in about ten minutes, enters the store, and heads straight to the pet supplies section.

Since she often runs errands here, she knows the layout well. When she reaches the cat food shelf, she notices an unfamiliar object nearby. Yui stops in her tracks.

"...A cat puncher?"

There is a sample on display. It’s a spring with a ball attached to the end, mounted on a base.

The package shows a cat reaching out excitedly. It looks cute.

So, using such an item to create viral content is an option.

She imagines it.

Gabu finds the cat puncher, glances at it, walks past it, and leaves it behind. It’s in the way.

That indifferent attitude reminds her of someone. Not saying who.

If she buys unnecessary items, she will definitely be questioned about the receipts later, "What did you buy this for?" If it’s deemed unnecessary, she will have to pay for it out of her own pocket.

She buys the food and returns home.

Thinking Gabu must be hungry, she immediately opens the bag and pours the kibble into Gabu’s special dish.

The bottom of the dish has a print of the Abareranger. She doesn’t know why this dish is used. She started using it by chance, but now Gabu only eats from this dish. Conversely, it will try to eat anything placed on it.

"Huh? Where did Gabu go?"

She has filled the dish, but Gabu is nowhere to be found.

She searches the usual spots, like the living room window and the kitchen corner, but can’t find him.

Since they keep him indoors, he doesn’t usually go outside. Or rather, he doesn’t want to go outside.

Feeling suspicious, she goes to her sister’s room to ask. Maki is still working on her laptop.

"Hey, sis, have you seen Gabu?"

"...What? Who?"

"Kuro."

"I haven’t seen him. Isn’t he in the kitchen?"

"He wasn’t there. By the way, sis, you can type on a keyboard."

"Don’t mock me, this is easy for me."

"You’re only using your index finger, right?"

"I use my middle finger sometimes. Anyway, stop bothering me. Be quiet, please. I told you my report is serious."

"Here’s the food I bought. Do you want some?"

"Oh, yummy kibble! Maki, straight ahead! Who’s eating it, though?"

"2 points! Do it again."

"Fine, I’m satisfied. Get out."

She’s saying, "I’ve played with you, so forgive me."

It seems to be a serious situation. She’s afraid of what might happen if she bothers her sister more.

As a peace offering, she picks up a piece of cat food and places it on the edge of the table. She leaves the room.

"Hmm, where did Gabu go... Oh!"

She remembers. She had locked him in her room and completely forgot.

She rushes to her room. With the dish in hand, she opens the door, and Gabu immediately runs out.

He rubs against her feet and nuzzles her.

"Sorry, Gabu, you must have been scared... Come here, come here."

She crouches down to pet him but quickly pulls her hand back, thinking he might bite.

She realizes his gaze is fixed on the dish of food.

"Wait, wait. I bought it for you, so show some gratitude. Spin around and say ‘woof’ once."

She holds her hand up to signal him to wait, but he ignores her and circles around. He’s only focused on the food.

She lifts the dish high and says,

"You! Until you meow, no food for you!"

But he shows no sign of meowing.

Since there’s no engagement, she puts the dish down and lets him eat.

Gabu turns his back and starts eating, as if to say, "I’m done with you."

She stands by, like a servant, to avoid making him angry.

But then she has an idea and starts the camera on her smartphone. A scene of him eating enthusiastically might be good.

She crouches in the hallway and points the camera. A faint, unpleasant odor wafts from the room.

She stops in confusion, stands up, and sniffs. It definitely smells.

She thinks, "No way..." but follows the smell into the room.

She reaches her bed. At first, it looks normal... but then her eyes are drawn to something.

A long, brown object. It’s sitting on the bed. Small but emitting a terrible smell.

Yui turns around and shouts,

"Gabriel!"

"Be quiet, I told you! Ah!"

Maki, with a demonic expression, bursts into the room.

Yui gets a lecture for the smelly room and has to clean up the mess. The smell won’t go away, so she has to buy deodorizer and make another trip to the supermarket and back.

The important Gabu has disappeared, leaving behind an empty dish.

And so, Yui’s day off passes.

What is this?