Chapter 66
Leon swallowed hard.
And yet, saliva kept pooling in his mouth.
He wiped at it with his arm, but that only made him lick his lips even more.
His fur stood on end.
His tail swayed harder than ever.
He couldn't look away.
[ Th-This smell... I've never smelled anything like it before... slurp. ]
He closed his eyes and slowly breathed it in.
The scent traveled through his nose.
A jolt like electricity ran down his back and reached the tip of his tail.
Step. Step.
Yes.
This was instinct.
The kind of instinct that made it impossible to care whether the Constellations were watching or whether he was supposed to hide his identity.
"I-I can't take it anymore, nyaaaaaa!!"
Leon dropped his concealment and sprinted forward.
Then he threw himself straight into the enormous pile of catnip.
Fwoomp.
His body sank softly into it.
The more he sniffed, the more blissful he became.
A wide grin spread across his face.
This...
This was heaven.
"Hehehe... feels so gooood, nyaaaa...."
Meanwhile, Suhyeok and the other three were too stunned to even speak.
Taesu, in particular, slapped his own cheeks repeatedly, as if convinced he'd seen something wrong.
It didn't take long for him to realize this was reality.
"Wh-Why is that guy here? H-Hyungnim...?"
"...Wow."
Yumi stared blankly.
"This is honestly more shocking than what just happened."
"I-I know. Why is he... here?"
Suhyeok watched Leon, who still hadn't come back to his senses.
He let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
"...We're screwed."
I dragged Leon away from the catnip and moved elsewhere.
After I finished explaining the situation, everyone seemed to understand, more or less.
Leon, having finally come back to his senses, was currently pressed against the wall with both hands raised as punishment.
"...So you're saying he's been traveling with us this whole time?"
Taesu stared at him.
"Because of some contract with Hyungnim?"
LMAOOOOOOOO
This is way too funny lol
Good thing they dragged him somewhere else. Otherwise he'd still be buried in that catnip lol
This is the first time I've ever seen an Administrator act like that hahaha
At least most of the reactions are positive.
If it had been any other Administrator, this could've turned into a serious problem.
People would've accused them of colluding with a Player.
Leon seemed to be getting a pass because his situation was unusual.
When I gave him a cold look, Leon folded his ears and awkwardly cleared his throat while avoiding my eyes.
Taesu studied Leon closely.
Then he rubbed his chin with a conflicted expression.
"Hm. This is troublesome."
"I'd planned to beat you senseless if I ever saw you again, but now that we've actually met..."
"...!"
Leon seemed to remember everything Taesu had said before.
He immediately became wary and shouted.
"D-Don't stare at me like that, nya! How rude for a human, nya! Lower your gaze to my level, nya!"
"Shut up, Leon."
"Ugh.... Why are you only mean to meee?"
While that was happening, Hyuna poked Leon's cheek.
Then she quietly pulled out a Churu she'd taken from the café.
"Want some?"
The moment she held it in front of his face, Leon's guard dropped instantly.
"R-Really, nya? Thank you, nya!"
He leaned in to lick it.
Then our eyes met again.
His pupils shook.
Leon quickly snapped his head away and shouted.
"...N-No! Ahem! Take that away, nya! You think I'll fall for such a cheap trick, nya? Dream on!"
Then Yumi walked over beside Taesu.
She pinched both of Leon's cheeks.
"Ubehbehbeh...."
"Hmm."
She smiled coldly.
"What should I do to this arrogant cat to finally feel satisfied? You've been following us around this whole time, huh?"
Smack.
"H-Human, don't get cocky, nya! You're not Lee Suhyeok! You think I'd bow my head to people like you? With just one claw, I could-"
"But you said you can't kill us."
Leon froze.
Yumi tilted her head.
"Then aren't you basically just a cat beastkin now?"
"..."
"W-What nonsense is that, nya?! Who said such r-ridiculous...?"
A cold silence descended.
Leon swallowed.
A moment later, in front of everyone, he dropped to the floor in a deep bow.
"P-Please forgive me, nya! I'll behave from now on, nya!"
I checked something briefly, then looked at Leon.
"Leon. What happened with the task I gave you before?"
"Hm? Ah, you mean the message I told them to send to the 10th floor, nya?"
He scratched his cheek.
"That's confusing me too, nya. It's already been several days, but there's been no reply, nya."
He snorted.
"That pig bastard is probably just slow, nya."
A while ago, Carlson and Bens had reported the situation to me.
Part of the mine was already undergoing trial operation.
They'd even begun supplying Dolkin.
Mass production would take some time, but everything should proceed without issue at this rate.
"Tsk. Why is a simple greeting taking this long?"
Leon shrugged.
"Uji will probably bring the message soon, so don't worry too much, nya."
I couldn't afford to be careless.
I needed to prepare for the possibility that something had gone wrong.
Once I'm done here, I should head back down to the 10th floor.
Taesu pointed toward the catnip.
"Hyungnim, what are you planning to do with all that?"
"As we just saw, it seems highly addictive."
"Don't worry."
I answered calmly.
"As long as people don't ignore the proper dosage like someone did, there won't be a problem."
Leon flinched.
"A-Ahem. Why phrase it like that, nya? Anyone can make a mistake, nya."
Then he glanced toward the catnip.
"Speaking of which, maybe I could have just a little more...."
Everyone's gaze immediately turned toward him.
Leon began whistling.
Several days passed.
The date of my meeting with Piyong was drawing close.
The catnip had been safely delivered to Myoga.
At first, the half-beasts had completely lost themselves to it.
But perhaps because they were half-beasts, they recovered their senses fairly quickly.
"Wow."
Taesu stared ahead.
"Look at that line. It's only been a few days, and it's already this long."
The café was packed.
Beastkin and half-beasts alike stood together in a long line.
Every customer who walked out wore an expression of pure bliss.
"I-I feel so goooood...."
"Sniff, sniff... I want to keep smelling it...."
"And this Churu stuff is i-insane too! I-I can't stop licking it!!"
Watching from a distance, Yumi struggled not to laugh.
"Pfft... ahahaha."
She glanced at me.
"The person who made everything is standing right here, and nobody even cares. That's kind of cruel, don't you think?"
"..."
Taesu grinned.
"That name recognition is something else, Hyungnim. I'm jealous."
"Pfft. I know I shouldn't laugh, but that slogan is way too funny."
A huge poster hung over the main entrance.
[Churu that'll make even a crying child burst into a smile! Catnip you can never escape once you smell it!]
