Chapter 424 - Job Interview?
Tuesday
"They're saying the island Natural Ramune is on is Cat Island."
"Huh?"
It was raining again at lunchtime, so we were in the classroom.
Nat crumpled his croquette bun bag and suddenly said that.
I looked at Mion, who shook her head. As for Iincho…
"I don't know either!"
"What do you mean?"
"There was talk about it on the forum. They found another new Cait Sith settlement."
This time, they apparently just found a regular settlement, which was a relief.
There was one Cait Sith who was attached to Ramune-san, and that one was apparently guiding and explaining various things (?), so they were getting along well.
"Oh~, that's good then."
"And now they're saying there might be a Cat Kingdom, Shou, do you know anything?"
Nat asked. But,
"It's not good to ask Ise-kun about everything, is it?"
"No, no, it's not like I'm going to do anything with the information."
He hastily defended himself, glared at by Iincho.
Well, hearing "Cat Kingdom" certainly makes you excited.
"Alright, alright. If you appraise the Cait Sith, you'd know, but at least that Boss Cat was the Commander of a Knight Order called the Silver Cat Knights."
"Ooh, a Knight Order! …He doesn't look strong, though."
"Well, he's not much different from True or Pan, after all."
If he stood perfectly straight, he'd probably be about the same height, but being a Cait Sith, he usually had a somewhat hunched, forward-leaning posture.
Full plate armor wouldn't really suit that stance.
"Shou-kun."
"Hm? Oh, this kind of look could be knight-like, too."
Mion showed me an illustration of Puss in Boots on her tablet.
A fedora, was it? With a decorative feather, a coat-like jacket, and boots.
In his hand, a rapier—that's cool.
"That's nice. Ise-kun, why don't you make him one?"
"Oh, this!"
Iincho, taking the tablet, started saying whatever she pleased with Nat, looking at it. Well, I did kind of want to try making it.
"Speaking of which, Nat, do you usually act together with the Gnomes?"
"Hm? Well, not all the time, but they often follow me."
They apparently followed him into the 'Inner Ancient Dungeon' he was currently exploring.
They weren't front-liners, but they would provide support with earth spirit magic from the rear.
"Oh, that's amazing!"
"You have a bunch of fairies following you, too."
"…That's right. No, that's true, but what about the Gnomes' weapons and stuff?"
I had to make tridents for True and his Selkies, and I wanted to make scythes or whatever Pan and his Urisk wanted. And a rapier for that Cait Sith from earlier?
As for Sweee and her fairies… I guess I'll just ask them directly.
"Hmm, it feels like they really cherish the pickaxes and other tools we gave them."
"Those ones we gave them when we first became friends, right?"
"Yeah, those."
Ah, those.
They certainly were weapons… or rather, tools… that Gnomes would like.
"So, are you planning to arm your fairies, Shou?"
"Yeah, you guessed right. Well, Pan and his Urisk always carry scythes, but I heard True and his Selkies' spears broke."
"At your place, it feels like you could form an army with just fairies alone."
Nat said, laughing, but it's true, it's already at army scale…
*
After receiving the Small Magic Boat and docking (?) it in the ancient ruins, I explained to everyone that we should settle down for a bit and then logged out.
What was supposed to be a small exploration turned into a chaotic situation with all sorts of things happening, plus Azure-san, the Boss Cat, and the magic boat joining the mix…
Pan and the Urisk were concerned about the fields, so Sweee sent them via the Divine Tree.
True and the Selkies promised to bring their broken spears the next day (meaning today) and went home after Azure-san left.
The fairies and Cait Sith must be sleeping in the old tavern floor area, surrounded by Leda and Roy…
"Woof!"
"Oh, good morning, Lupi. Just a moment."
I started a private stream for Mion and climbed down from the loft bed in the old tavern's back room.
Shou-kun, Lupi-chan, good morning.
"Welcome, Mion."
"Woof-n!"
I headed to the floor area… no one was there.
When I went outside, the delicious smell of roasted dried fish wafted from the storage area…
"Kyuu~"
"""Nyaa~♪""
I peeked in, and the Cait Sith, including the Boss Cat, were gathered and eating.
"Bow!"
Roy, who must have been keeping watch, came to Lupi and lay down.
While stroking him, I said,
"Thanks. And where's Leda?"
I wondered why she wasn't with him, as they were usually together.
"Bow!"
"~~~♪"
Leda was with Sweee and the fairies.
They each held a Camlus Fruit, so Leda must have been acting as their guard.
"Leda, thanks to you too. Alright, everyone, let's eat."
"Woof!" ""Bow!""
………
……
…
"~~~?"
"Nya-nya."
Before I knew it, Sweee was interviewing the Boss Cat.
From my perspective, it was fine as long as he got along with the current residents, but Sweee's tone implied, "You're going to be useful on the island, right?"
Shou-kun, you still can't understand what the cat is saying, right?
"Yeah. It seems the 'Guardian' title is necessary too."
I guess it's a combination with the 'Apostle of the Jade Goddess' title I received earlier.
It probably feels like too much of an effect if the Apostle title alone made me understand all fairy languages.
"~~~♪"
"Hm? Mmm-hmm…"
From what Sweee told me,
"As a knight, he'll do his best to protect what he needs to, which means me, his lord… he says."
Uh…
Mion was at a loss for words, and so was I.
Sweee is convinced, so I guess it's fine, but…
"Well, as long as you don't overdo it. And about your name…"
Yes! How about Shal-kun?
"Okay! Then, Shal! Nice to meet you!"
"Nyaa!" """Unyaa~!""
[Cait Sith Guardian: 3 SP acquired.]
Speaking of which, did he resign as commander?
[Cait Sith (Former Commander): Shal: Loyalty]
A Cait Sith fairy, former commander of the Silver Cat Knights.
The Silver Cat Knights once served as the knight order of the Cait Sith Kingdom.
"Former Commander"…