The Skollcat’s Interpreter

The man who unhesitatingly tore off nails just because I was scared of them.
Thinking of him must have made me lost in thought for a moment.

‘Now you ignore me when I’m right in front of you? Do you know who I am? I am the second-in-command of the Rhino Tribe…! Ugh, aak!’

The rhino beast-kin, who was about to thrust a fist the size of a watermelon at me while huffing and puffing, fell flat on his back.

‘Who are you pointing your finger at?! You insolent, lowly bastard, nya!’

The scorpion tail of the Skollcat, which was the size of a weasel and had been dozing on my lap, whipped his cheek.
It happened so fast that the Empire knights lined up to do exactly that—subdue troublemakers—didn’t even have time to react.

“What am I supposed to do if you knock him out before the inspection is over?”

‘You’re too noisy, nya!’

The Skollcat, looking completely annoyed at having its nap interrupted, hissed.

‘Throw that guy into the hardest coal mine as soon as he wakes up! Teach him a lesson, nya!’

“…He will wake up, right?”

‘Of course. But he won’t be able to speak for a few days, nya. He was too loud, so I petrified his tongue, nya.’

As expected of a boss monster considered the pinnacle of the ‘Poison’ status ailment, the Skollcat seemed to be able to choose and use any effect it wanted, like picking flavors at an ice cream shop.
Seeing how it could turn someone into stone at times, or into a docile sheep at others.

‘It’s much better now that I’m touching you.’

Speaking of poison, I was reminded of him again.

The man who hadn’t shown even a tip of his nose, to the point where his face was getting blurry in my memory.

‘I am of the Bear Tribe. If you accept me as a refugee, I will do anything.’
“……”
‘Hey, that bear is saying something.’

Just where is he and what is he doing?
I was lost in a daze when—Smack!—I was hit by a cat punch.

“Ouch!”

‘Snap out of it, human! Why are you spacing out?’

“…Ah, yes! Where did you say you were from?”

When the sun sets, Midvalen’s main gate closes, and my work is done.

‘The stem! I told you to take it all off!’
“Ah, it won’t kill you to eat this much! And the chefs said they’d take them off, so why do you always make me do it!”
‘You ignorant thing! Fruit is freshest right after the stem is plucked, nya!’

After having dinner with the Skollcat, I even had a little free time.
It was an incomparably better life than the past, when I would receive Baalzeph’s atrocious quests every day and barely return late at night.

‘Why are you acting so dazed especially today? You absent-minded thing.’

Even so, a corner of my heart always felt as heavy and uncomfortable as if a boulder was sitting there.

‘Are you planning to go out again today?’
“Yes. You don’t have to come with me if it’s a bother.”
‘Hmph, you’re the one who finds it a bother! I want some fresh air too, nya. Hold me!’

At the bold demand, I picked up a round bath sponge piled in the corner of the room and held out my hand.
The Skollcat narrowed its eyes, but seeing my firm expression, it pouted and obediently offered its tail.

‘Get that away! Why is my tail dangerous?! It’s not poisonous even if you get pricked normally!’

Of course, the resistance was very strong at first.
It jumped up and down like a beast-kin with clipped nails, asking if I was insulting it.

‘Even if there’s no poison, it hurts if I get scratched! If you don’t do it, I won’t let you on my lap.’
‘Kyaaaaak! Insolent thing! What’s the big deal about offering a lap that will rot away when you die anyway!’

It jumped around in a rage, but when I flatly stated I wouldn’t even touch it if it didn’t do as I asked, it reluctantly yielded.

The Skollcat, glaring at the sponge stuck to its tail like a dandelion with a displeased look, did a mid-air somersault and looked up at me.

‘Is this enough, nya? Hug me!’

Seeing it standing imposingly on all fours, about the size of a marten, and giving orders was cute, but knowing I’d get another cat punch if I showed it, I held it in and picked the Skollcat up.

Crunch, crunch, as I walked along the forest path, I saw a distorted circle in the shimmering, cloudy sky.

‘…It’ll be a full moon again in a few days.’
I stared blankly at the moon, which looked blue because of the dark clouds, and sighed deeply.

It had already been three months.
There was no news from Karvan.
My Leviathan, which I had lent to him, hadn’t returned either.
SL-grade weapons automatically bind to their first owner to prevent theft. Even if someone else acquires it, it returns to the first owner the moment they die.

So the fact that it hasn’t returned yet means he’s alive, but why isn’t he coming?
Has he not found Dowongyeong yet?
In almost a hundred days?
Even with the map?

‘I will find you, wherever you are.’

Wondering if he couldn’t find me because I was inside Midvalen, I came out to look at the moon like this every night.

They said the Varg are closely related to the moon because of their wolf lineage, so I thought maybe he could find me under the moonlight.
Of course, it was a completely useless endeavor.

‘…Hey. Human.’

As I stared blankly up at the sky, the Skollcat tapped my arm with its tail, which was fluffy because of the sponge.

“Yeah, what is it. Are you cold?”
‘No. I was just wondering why you’re waiting so desperately for someone who’s frozen stiff every day. Do you have a male you left behind?’
“I-I just came out to look at the moon.”

The Skollcat made a dubious face that said ‘Sure you did,’ and started licking its front paw.

Lick, lick.
The sound of it grooming its fur intertwined with the rustling of the grass in the night breeze.

‘If I were to give you some advice, nya, males have always been…. Hm?’

The Skollcat, about to speak boastfully, suddenly whipped its head around.

Rustle.

At the same time, I heard the sound of footsteps stepping on the grass from beyond the shadow of the trees opposite us.

‘…Don’t tell me?’
I froze, turning my stiff head to follow its gaze, but only for a moment.

A familiar black object was standing there.
A tall silhouette with a body as black as a shadow, wearing a fedora.

【…An Observer appears….】

It was an Observer, which I hadn’t seen in a long time.

But I was no longer afraid of them.
After waking up in Midvalen, strangely enough, they no longer chased me, nor did they call me a ‘Defector’ when they saw me.

【…Irretrievable… Assimilation….】

They should have muttered such incomprehensible words and disappeared, but today, strangely, it didn’t leave and just stared at me.

【…Main body, confirmed….】

Not only did it tilt its faceless head, but it even started to squelch towards me.

【Divine Outcast: Main body confirmation complete. No abnormalities.】

Flustered, I reached out to summon a weapon, but it stopped dead in its tracks and started murmuring over itself.

【Inferred based on records: Presumed simple change of mind and desertion.】
【Return to shrine expected to be impossible at present.】
【Requesting replacement with <Divine Outcast> clone.】

The Observers, chattering at an incredible speed as if reciting insurance terms, melted into the ground like snow and disappeared as soon as they finished speaking.
I blinked blankly.
It felt like it was talking about the Skollcat.

“…What does ‘main body’ mean?”

Mulling over the words I barely caught, I glanced at the cat sitting on my shoulder like a scarf and asked.

“And what’s a clone?”

‘You Awakeners invade my shrine every single day, trying to pick a fight, nya.’
“Daily subjugation…? Ah, yes. Right. What about it?”
‘Usually, I leave a clone that has learned my behavior patterns in the shrine, nya. I only deal with them personally when I’m bored while sleeping.’

…Wait a minute.
Don’t tell me, that’s why sometimes it was ridiculously easy to defeat, and other times its patterns were so vicious I thought the game was bugged?

Recalling the wildly fluctuating difficulty of the boss monsters, I asked dubiously.

“Then if you’re not a clone right now, does that mean you fought with your main body and got captured by the Empire….”
‘Are you joking, nya?! I just let them capture me, nya! I could go back right now if I wanted to, nya!’
“Ack, okay! I’m sorry. Th-then why don’t you go back to your shrine?”
‘If I go back, I’ll have to look at the faces of the Awakener bastards rushing at me all day long. Would I want to go? It’s better to just sit around in this vampire den and laze about, nya.’

The Skollcat, glaring at me as if to ask what kind of question that was, tapped its tail against my forearm and added.

‘Nominally, this great me was captured by force, so if Navi says anything, I’ll blame it on the vampire bastard.’

Listening to its grumbling voice, a question suddenly arose.

“But why did Baalzeph bring you here?”
‘How should I know! There have been strange rumors about him for a while, nya. He only steals ancient holy artifacts cherished by the gods or their priests, nya. Even though he doesn’t really need them! He’s a very strange guy, nya.’

…Indeed.
Listening quietly, that was true.

Baalzeph didn’t particularly value the holy artifacts I brought him.

‘You really brought it. Awakener.’
‘I had a really hard time getting it. Where should I put it?’
‘I don’t need it.’
‘…Pardon?’
‘Keep it if you want it.’

Even after going through the trouble of completing quests and bringing him holy artifacts, he would fiddle with them a few times before tossing them into a display case, or he would return them to me to keep.

That was the reason I considered Baalzeph a jerk.
Someone risks their life every day, avoiding Observers to bring him artifacts, but it felt like he was just teasing me.

‘As for you, human. What are you?’

…Anyway, there’s absolutely nothing to like about him.
Like a gloomy mosquito.
As I was mentally cursing Baalzeph with a scowl, I snapped back to reality at the sudden, inquisitive voice.

“Huh? Me?”
‘Yes, you. I’ve been curious for a while, nya. No matter how you look at it, you’re not an ordinary Awakener. What are you?’
“…I don’t know either.”
‘What?’

The Skollcat’s voice rose sharply.
It looked ready to use me as a scratching post if I didn’t answer properly, but I really…

“I really don’t know. Operator… No, anyway, I’d like to ask someone too. What I am.”

…What I should do from now on.

I looked up at the distorted moon with gloomy eyes.
The moon, cleared of dark clouds, was glowing a bright yellow.

‘I will find you, wherever you are.’

…Could he be dead?
No. If he were dead, Leviathan would have returned.

But as I’ve experienced, there’s no such thing as an absolute impossibility in this world.
What if another bug occurred?

What if something went wrong and I just don’t know it?
What if he really….

‘Hey. Human.’

The thoughts multiplying like a landslide were abruptly cut off by the sour voice.
Purple eyes were looking up at me pathetically.

‘Is the world ending just because you were abandoned by a male?’
“…It’s not like that….”
‘Hmph, as if! Do you think you can fool this great me?’

The Skollcat smacked my forehead with its tail.

Thanks to the soft sponge, it didn’t hurt, but strangely, it snapped me out of it.

‘Forget him, nya! There are so many males in the world, another guy who likes you will appear!’

…And, a few days later.

Meeting that man again was something I hadn’t expected even in my wildest dreams.