I slowly pulled my hand back and looked up. Midori and Aoi were staring straight at me, their sharp eyes locked onto mine without blinking. I couldn’t tell if the knife was a warning or an attack that missed its mark. Either way, the message was clear. I nodded. I understood.

  “Hey, brat. Looks like you can’t even handle your own girls,” a rough, middle-aged man called out with a mocking laugh.

  I turned toward the sound and saw a huge, bald man standing there. Covered in old battle scars, and wrapped in an expensive black fur coat that seemed heavier than my lifetime of regrets. He was gnawing on a chicken leg like an animal. The way he ate made it clear this wasn’t someone you wanted to argue with, or even stare at for too long.

  “If you need help keeping them in line, I can lend a hand, bwahaha!” He said with a disgusting, drunken laugh.

  I squinted at him, watching him stand there, proudly disturbing the calm of the entire inn. The others acted like he wasn’t even there. Definitely the kind of troublemaker best ignored, at least until we finished eating. I decided to keep it that way.

  “Sorry about him,” the cat girl said, leaning close and whispering in my ear. “He’s a high-ranking officer in the royal army, so we can’t interfere or talk back. Even if he’s… a complete jerk.”

  “No, it’s… fine.” I muttered.

  Then my eyes landed on Midori and Aoi. They were this close to leaping over the table and tearing the man apart. Their eyes locked on him, sharp and burning, barely holding themselves back.

  “Hey, over here,” I said, waving my hands to get their attention. “What are we eating?”

  “Everything,” Midori said, all casual.

  “...Everything?!”

  “Well, um, all these dishes look so different and delicious, and I can’t decide,” she muttered, pointing at the drawings on the menu. “It’s not because I’m that hungry... just curious.”

  I narrowed my eyes at her. She was awful at lying, and even worse when she was hungry.

  “I’m curious too. I wonder which one will suit my taste,” Aoi said. “They all look decent, but… I’ll still keep my expectations low, just in case.”

  She glanced at the cat girl and waved her hand in a lazy way. “Anyway, you demi-human, bring us a proper feast. Don’t worry. We have more than enough money.”

  “Please don’t mind them,” I whispered in her ear, dying of embarrassment at the same time. “They’re just a little hungry, that’s all.”

  “I-It’s fine! I’ll see if it’s possible and be right back soon,” she said, forcing a stiff smile and heading off.

  “Can you two stop this?” I turned to them, hissing. “What do you mean ‘everything’? Why can’t you just order like two normal humans—”

  “We’re not normal humans, remember?” Midori cut in, her voice flat. “I used to be a turtle, and this one was a… worm. So don’t expect us to act like some cat girl with cute ears and a fluffy tail.”

  She looked at me, her eyes sharp and dead serious.

  “You’ve never called me cute,” Aoi added, clearly sulking.

  “Wait, that’s the problem? Really? It’s my first time seeing a cat girl, and I got a little excited...”

  The cat girl returned with a big tray, piled high with roasted chicken, steak, and soup. “Be right back,” she said, rushing off.

  We started eating in tense, suffocating silence. I struggled to swallow as the two angry bosses glared at me, their teeth clenched, chewing heavily.

  “Okay, fine… you’re cute too, alright?”

  “Exactly what part of me is cute?” Aoi squinted, all skeptical. “How do I even know you’re not lying?”

  “He’s obviously lying,” Midori muttered, gnawing fiercely on a chicken leg.

  “What? No! Seriously, you… you’re a product of my imagination, right? Isn’t that something?”

  “Nope.”

  “Definitely not.”

  The cat girl came back with another tray. This time it held large mugs of beer, plates of salad, some beef, bacon, and a few dishes I couldn't even make out under the glare of the two angry women.

  “I brought everything from the kitchen.”

  A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.

  “Thank you. And... uh, sorry for tiring you out.”

  “Oh no, really! It’s my job. Enjoy your meal!” she said with a warm smile, dashing off with her tail swishing behind her.

  “Sorry for tiring you out,” Midori mocked me in a cruel tone, rolling her eyes.

  “Hey. I don’t sound like that, okay?"

  

  Then the sound of metal hitting the floor echoed through the inn. I turned to see the cat girl, who had been serving the animal-like man, picking up a tray that had fallen. The man glared at her, eyes full of anger.

  “How many times do I have to tell you to fill my glass? Are you deaf?”

  “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t. Drinking isn’t allowed here if you’re already drunk—”

  “Cut the crap! If I tell you to bring it, you bring it!” he snapped.

  

  He grabbed a plate and hurled it at her, sending it crashing to the floor in front of the cat girl.

  "Ahh!” she cried, covering her face with her hand.

  A vein popped on my forehead. I forced my food down, took a slow sip from my mug, and stared at him. The drunk idiot had crossed the line, and the entire inn fell into dead silence. I was done holding back.

  “Hey, buddy, show some respect to the lady.”

  He gave me a cold, careless glare, then, as if I didn’t exist, turned back to the cat girl, grabbed her arm, and tried to drag her.

  “Get up on your feet! Now go and—”

  

  “Ahh, let go of my arm!” she shouted, slapping him on face.

  Her sharp slap barely moved his massive head. He grabbed her by the collar and slammed her into the table beside him. The crash echoed through the inn, sending everyone running out. I slammed my hands on the table and jumped to my feet, heading straight for him.

  “You’ve gone too far, you animal!”

  I was already slipping into berserk as I stormed toward him. We had just arrived in the human lands, and this would be the second time today. But I stopped counting. My eyes burned as I locked onto him, when Midori suddenly jumped in and wrapped her arms around me, barely managing to hold me back.

  “Calm down, please. You don't want to make the same mistake again,” she whispered in my ear. “And this time, you’ll get us all killed.”

  I froze in place. She was right. Completely right. This morning I lost control and released my domain like a fool, even putting Midori in danger. My anger shattered, turned into regret and slowly faded. I calmed down, but I wasn’t stepping back.

  “Huh?” the man barked. He loosened his grip on the cat girl for a moment, then turned to me. “What do you think you are, freak?”

  He spun around and charged at me, sending tables flying like they were toys. He stopped right in front of me, looming with a twisted sneer and eyes full of ugly confidence.

  “Did you really think you could take me on with mana weaker than a chicken’s?”

  Ah, right. I almost forgot. I had spread my mana across the whole area, just like Aoi taught me, and kept doing it all the way to the palace. I wanted to stay subtle, barely noticeable. But now felt like a very good time to take it all back.

  “Or are you’ll hide behind those two whor—”

  I pulled all the mana back into a dense sphere around me, enough to go head to head with a boss level monster. The man just froze. Whatever he was about to say died in his throat as he backed away. His foot caught on a chair, and he almost fell.

  As he stepped back, I kept walking toward him, gathering fire in my hand and shaping it into my flaming katana. His back hit the table behind him, and the moment he realized there was nowhere left to run, he threw his hands up.

  “Wait, stop! I’m a high ranking officer in the army!” he shouted. “If you even tear off a button, that is six months at least. I… I’m serious!”

  I wasn’t even listening to him. Only one thought ran through my mind. if I killed him here, Midori would probably bury him on the spot, and we would walk out like nothing happened. After the way he treated the cat girl, I was sure even the innkeeper would look the other side.

  Trapped, his eyes darted to the cat girl, and I knew immediately what he intended. He was going to use her as a shield. I moved to slice his arm before he could reach her, but he was faster. He grabbed the cat girl and hurled her straight at me. I killed the fire instantly, stopping just in time to avoid hurting her.

  “Aah!” the cat girl cried as she crashed into me.

  “Damn you noble bloods!” the man yelled as he ran away.

  When the cat girl slammed into my chest, she started crying hard and clung to me. I froze, unsure what to do. After a moment, my hand moved on its own, slowly patting her head. The man had already run off, but I didn’t care anymore. I just stayed there and decided calming her down was much more important.

  “Uh, it’s over now. You’re safe…"

  “Th-thank you… if… if you weren’t here—” she cried through her sobs.

  “It’s okay, it’s okay, he already went and—”

  I paused as I remembered the dense mana around me. I quickly spread it back out, thinning it and letting it fade without drawing more attention.

  “I... I...” she was still struggling to speak.

  “Fine, fine. Well done,” Midori said, tapping my shoulder.

  “I have to admit it,” Aoi added, touching my other shoulder. “That was truly impressive.”

  At first, I thought they were just praising me. I was wrong. They grabbed my shoulders and pulled me back, while yanking the cat girl away from me. When she suddenly hissed at them, my heart nearly stopped. These jealous idiots were about to push her into full feral mode.

  “Let go of me, nya! You’re hurting me!” she wailed.

  “Midori. Aoi. Let her go. Right now!” I snapped, giving them a sharp glare.

  After tugging at the girl by both arms for a while, they finally decided to let go.

  “Hey,” I said, leaning down to the girl while she was wiping her tears. “What’s your name?”

  “Nanya,” she muttered.

  “...Huh?”

  “Nanya.”

  My eyes went wide. The thing I feared had happened. They somehow pushed her back toward her wild side, and she had completely forgotten how to speak. I turned to Midori and Aoi.

  “What did you do to her?! Now she’s only meowing?”

  “No,” the cat girl said, “my name is Nanya.”

  “Your name’s… Nanya?”

  “Yes?”

  “That’s such a cute name!” I blurted, then tried to swallow the words back in midair.

  “All right,” Midori said, pushing her from behind. “You can get back to work now.”

  “Yeah, yeah,” Aoi said, helping to push her away faster. “Go clean up here and there, you know how it is.”

  “B-but... I was going to thank him—”

  “You’ll thank him later.” Midori nearly shouted.

  “Ah, it’s fine,” I called out as they kept pushing her away. “No need to thank me, really.”

  In all this chaos, four guards suddenly burst through the open door, armored and hands on their sword hilts. Ahead of them was the big, sobbing man from this morning. When his eyes met mine, he nearly cried again but managed to hold it back.

  “You,” he said, pointing at me with a trembling hand.

  “Who… me?” I asked, looking around with blank eyes.

  “Yes, you!” he said, turning to the other guards. “Go on! Arrest him, and… his wives! Whoever’s with him!”