Oh—
It moved.
The fur ball moved!
Startled, I stamped my feet in place.
“Uu-ung~ Gya-ung.”
I had no idea what that meant, but I vaguely gathered it was trying to tell me it was cute.
And then, from within that purring, squirming bundle of fluff, a tiny face popped out with a little bloop.
Triangular ears perked smartly upright. Eyes still drowsy, their corners drawn in a clean, straight line. A dusty-rose button nose, and a precious little mouth carved in a shallow curve just below it.
‘Oh my God.’
My expression melted at the sight of the newly awakened fluff.
And that was when it happened. The kitten, surveying its surroundings, slowly blinked its eyes open.
But.
Between those white, fur-fringed lids—a vivid pair of violet irises stared back at me.
“…Baby?”
Hold on, just a moment.
I squeezed my eyes shut and opened them again.
“Kwuut?”
And still, the white ball of fluff greeted me with those brilliant violet eyes.
“Violet eyes. It is a Creature, isn’t it.”
“Yes. The eyes were unmistakably violet, and it was confirmed to be a Creature. It communicated something along the lines of ‘I’m alive, nyah,’ or words to that effect.”
The voices from the meeting room seemed to place particular emphasis on the word ‘violet.’ I said nothing, and quietly reached out to lift the kitten.
Those eyes are violet, aren’t they.
No matter how many times I somersaulted forward and looked, or somersaulted backward and looked again—violet, unmistakably violet.
Pale with shock, I raised the little fluff aloft.
“…You are a cat, right?”
“Nong~”
“Nong? Does that mean ‘no’? Do you speak English?”
“Yaa~”
“……”
Was that a ‘yes’?
Unfortunately, I had no command of Cat, and so I tilted my head in quiet bafflement.
Whatever this creature was, one thing was certain—I had brought home something very strange.
* * *
