"Mashiro, what's wrong?"
After reaching the area near their apartment, Mio suddenly noticed Mashiro had stopped walking for some reason.
"I think... I hear a cat." Mashiro looked around while speaking, seeming to search for the source of the sound.
Before long, she locked onto a cardboard box by the roadside.
The two approached the box.
Mashiro crouched down and carefully opened it. Inside was a small calico kitten—yellow, white, and orange. It was the one that had been meowing.
They could see its pretty fur was already soaked by the rain, clinging to its body. It occasionally let out a pitiful mew.
Mashiro gently stroked the kitten's little head, then turned to look at Mio. Her meaning was already crystal clear.
"Let's take it back first. If we leave it here, it won't last long."
"Mm."
Mashiro nodded seriously, then carefully picked up the kitten and held it in her arms.
After sending Mashiro back to the apartment, Mio braved the rain again to visit a nearby pet store and buy some cat food.
Since she didn't know much about raising cats, Mio described the kitten's condition to the staff and had them help select appropriate food, while also asking about important care tips.
By the time Mio returned to the apartment, Mashiro had already used a hairdryer to dry the kitten's fur. It looked much cuter than its earlier bedraggled state.
"Here, let it eat something." Following the staff's instructions, Mio poured out some cat food for the kitten.
Perhaps because she had [Animal Affinity], the kitten showed no wariness toward her, letting Mio's hands stroke its body freely.
Feeling the kitten's soft fur, the corners of Mio's mouth curved into a pleased smile.
She actually quite liked cats. She'd just never owned one, only going to cat cafes to pet other people's cats.
Though she did have a pet—a turtle named Iron Dummy.
The reason she'd gotten a turtle was out of curiosity about whether she'd outlive it, or if it would outlive her.
Turns out, in a way, the turtle had outlived her first.
Just as the two were feeding the cat, they heard the door open. Sengoku Chihiro walked in lazily, and upon seeing the cat, curiously came over. "Where'd you two find a cat?"
"Picked it up on the road. With that heavy rain outside, we couldn't just leave it there."
"If I remember right, this apartment allows pets, but you'll have to take care of it yourselves. Don't count on me."
"Even if Chihiro-sensei didn't say it, I already knew that."
Chihiro narrowed her eyes at Mio. "Why do I feel like you're thinking something really rude?"
"Not at all. I was just thinking about what to make for dinner."
Chihiro, who'd originally wanted to bicker with Mio a bit, instantly became agreeable the moment she heard "dinner." It was as if nothing had happened.
After all, a girl's gotta eat.
Besides, Mio's cooking was seriously good—even better than most restaurants.
After Chihiro's retreat, Mio turned her attention to Mashiro. "Mashiro, do you want to keep the cat?"
"Mm." Mashiro nodded while stroking the kitten.
"Then let's keep it!"
Though she'd never raised a cat, she could learn.
Hearing their conversation, Chihiro turned her head, saying somewhat helplessly, "You really do spoil her."
Chihiro could already tell—her cousin was seriously dependent on Mio. Heck, even she herself had developed a bit of dependence on Mio.
After all, with Mio around, there were many things she didn't need to worry about.
Mashiro paid no attention to her cousin's words. Instead, she turned and planted a kiss on Mio's cheek—mua—then immediately refocused on the kitten.
Having been suddenly attacked, Mio wasn't as surprised as she'd been initially.
For her, this had already become normal. Mashiro seemed to have adopted this behavior as her way of expressing gratitude.
The root cause was that Mio had previously made Mashiro kiss her so many times for task reasons.
Though she'd mentioned it many times, Mashiro showed no signs of changing, so Mio just let her do as she pleased.
"Oh right, since you've decided to keep the little guy, have you thought of a name yet?"
"Cake!" Mashiro answered without hesitation, as if she'd already decided on the name long ago.
"I knew it. Let's go with that then. From now on, you're Cake!"
Hearing Mio's words, Cake lifted its head and meowed.
After dealing with dinner, Mio returned to her room and began researching how to raise cats.
Though Mashiro was the one keeping the cat, she couldn't even take care of herself, let alone a cat.
So the responsibility of cat-raising would ultimately fall on Mio.
"Host really does spoil Shiina Mashiro~" The system's voice suddenly rang out, nearly startling Mio.
"She's helped me out a lot. What's wrong with spoiling her a bit?"
"I've helped you plenty too, so why don't I see the host spoiling me?"
"You've got some nerve saying that." Mio rolled her eyes without any regard for appearances. If it weren't for the system, she wouldn't be living in constant fear every day.
"Ehehe~"
Initially, Mio thought the system had popped up because there was a task. But after realizing it was just bored and wanted to chat, she couldn't be bothered to engage with it.
Thanks to [Shiina Mashiro's Photographic Memory], Mio didn't spend too much time researching cat care.
After memorizing all the important points, she once again transformed into a merciless writing machine.
She finally finished the manuscript for the Immortal River Grand Prize before midnight tonight. All that was left was to send it to the designated email and fill in her contact information.
She just didn't know if she'd win an award.
The actual results would take over a month to find out.
Just as Mio was wondering whether to use her remaining time to work on doujinshi or rest, she heard the door open.
Mashiro walked in.
Seeing Mashiro alone, Mio asked with some confusion, "Mashiro, where's Cake?"
"In my room. Asleep."
"I see." Mio sighed with a bit of disappointment. She'd wanted to pet Cake.
Seeming to see through what Mio was thinking, Mashiro walked over to her side, grabbed her hand, and placed it on her own head. With unusual seriousness, she said, "Touching me is the same."
"The host's heartbeat has accelerated. The host's conquest rating with Shiina Mashiro has increased by 1 point."
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