Vol. 7 - Chapter 378 - Cat only monster's dungeon!
"Yahooo, <Cat-Dun>!"
Lana, who was at the lead, threw her hand in the air, showing how happy she was with her body expression. She unwittingly did a 'hurray' pose. I could relate with her feelings in fact. I had done the same many times in the game.
It wasn't just Lana, other members also followed the suit. Oh no, I couldn't lag behind them!
"I understand your feeling but please step aside. Don't block the way for the upcoming please."
Sierra rebuked me just when I copied others. Hearing her words, I turned around to see a party of 5 girls. Ah damn, they all gave me strange looks!
"Hahaha, please. This way, senpai. Oh, and be careful about your footing."
"H-Huh? Thank you."
I swiftly switched to my gentleman persona and opened the pathway for them. Phew That was so close.
The tall model-like girl in the lead, which I presumed must be the party leader, kept staring at me til the end with her body shaking... there's no way my gentlemanly act was seen through, right? Yes, I might be imagining things.
Everyone immediately moved to the side as the team of senpai left with brisk steps.
"They must be thinking what kind idiotic group we are."
"It might just be your imagination."
Sierra rubbed her forehead, though I think the situation was still in control. It shouldn’t be the first time someone has shown their enthusiasm. I am sure there must have been a time when senpai experienced it.
"Alright, that should be enough. Let's start our exploration."
"I agree!"
Look, even Lana is all fine and dandy.
"Meow!"
"Meow-Meow~"
"Nya~"
"S-So cute. Zephyr, they are so cute."
"I know."
I nodded as I gazed at the direction Lana pointed out. It was the gathering of over 10 monsters. White cat, black cat, brown cat or brown tabby case, single colour fur, calico, brown and white---all of them were standard sized, cat-type monsters.
With their appearance, it wasn't hard to guess that this dungeon was very popular between girls. I could bet all money with eyes closed that there must be a hardcore cat enthusiast hidden among the developed side.
The small cats have already hooked the interest of members present. This was the 'default scenery' in this dungeon.
<Solitary Kitten DUngeon> was quite a peculiar dungeon, you would see a group of cat type monsters purring or making meow noises like this along the path, like some sort of attraction in the amusement park.
Whether you walk, turn around or halt on your steps, the mew-meow sound was there to accompany you at every turn. There were also gimmicks where cats jumped out of the treasure chest (Alias - Cat-o-Trap. If you get caught, you will receive damage. But there were times where they would lick you and heal you.)
When a cat left the group towards the path, battle began. Cats you would see coming out of the group were treated as active monsters. But since they were just part of this adorable scenery, girls were clearly having their fill staring at them. It was like a fence-less zoo (Cat only edition)? This was all.
"S-Sierra-dono. You think we can take them back home?"
"It should be with taming skill."
"Tame...... I recall there is tame skill among knight's other abilities."
"Don't get carried away in the excitement, Ester. Let's first ask Zephyr."
"Y, You are right."
I was right next to them so their conversation fell into my ears as well.
No, that won't work. Ester's <Princess Knight> jobs indeed include skills related to <Knight>, so she could tame the rideable monsters. But the question was, would she?
"Z-Zephyr-dono. There's something I need to discuss."
"No."
"But I haven't said anything yet!?"
SP were priceless resources to make her the strongest attacker. I would never allow even a single SP to be put into tame skill. When it was the time to make a choice, she had chosen to become the strongest attacker.
So, I could only wish for her to endure this temptation. With that, I quietly slipped from that place
"Cats are cute, right?"
"Yeah, but I have Karua, so I'm not swayed by them."
"Really, Rika?"
"O-Obviously. Karua has made so many plushies I am already content."
"Don't you want to try petting them?"
"I-I don't."
On the other side, Rika and Karua were having some sort of psychological conversation. But why did Rika look like a mouse cornered by the cat? I quietly took my exit.
"Lulu loves all of them! There is no such thing as high or low in cuteness! Love them all!"
"I share the same view-desu! Once a great person said---Cuteness is justice!"
"So Lulu is justice huh. I see, that's quite a philosophical statement."
"Celia-san is really like those grandmas who spoiled rotten their grandkids when it comes to Lulu-san huh. Your eye don't capture anything at all."
I heard Lulu and Pamela's excited voice. On the other hand, Shizu jabbed at Celia's good-for-nothing remark. Though the person herself seemed unfazed. These four joined Eden around the same time, so they were in the same party for a while during their exploration.
They both were good friends so Shizu doesn't hold back on her jab, while Celia ignores them. Both of them are the game makers of their party after all. So the friendship should have budded between them.
"So Celia is saying cats here are not cute-desu?"
"What blasphemous remark!?"
"No, of course I think cats are cute. And when Lulu joined the picture, the cuteness just exploded off the roof. Don't you think so, Shizu?"
"Please don't lump me together with yourself. But must I say, this is really a picturesque---no, cute-esque scene."
The discussion of cuteness dominated the scene. <Eden> sure has many cute things lover after all. In fact, It wasn't just us, there were also other senior big sisters enthusiastically talking about cats as they walked down the path.
Sometimes, the scenery cat would turn into active cat-type monsters, jumping at those big sisters, causing them to shriek. Though their scream for most part was just acting. They were playing around.
Speaking of them, the cat monsters would chase you for a while but when they lost their target, they once again left the road and became part of the scenery. It's really a mystery why no one tries to defeat those cats, eh?
It might not just be Eden; perhaps the whole world of girls is a place that loves cuteness. A dungeon that boasts overwhelming popularity among the girls.
I think it's about time to move on to our schedule.