Kousuke was in his own divine realm, adjoining the Tower Management Layer, when he reached out to pet Kuro, his Black Cat, and mumbled.
“・・・・・・It looks like I’ll have to find you a wife soon.”
“Gah?”
Kuro, who had been gnawing on the bone-in meat (raw) thrown in front of him, turned around at Kousuke’s mumble.
Even with a tamed monster, it’s quite amazing to try to get its attention while it’s eating, but neither Kousuke nor Kuro seemed to notice.
Kousuke didn’t know exactly how long Kuro, the Black Cat, could live.
Furthermore, some believe that monsters kept as pets by humans have longer lifespans than wild ones due to stable access to food.
However, since there’s no accurate way to measure the lifespan of wild monsters, this remains purely within the realm of imagination.
It has been quite some time since Kuro became attached to Kousuke, and so far, he has been running around the divine realm energetically without any illness.
While Kuro is still energetic now, he might actually be getting old.
Kousuke isn’t knowledgeable enough about Black Cats to tell from their appearance, so he’ll have to make a judgment based on how he looks.
As Kousuke stroked Kuro’s neck while the cat finished the food he’d given him and began licking his face, Wanri, who had been silently watching, tilted her head slightly and said,
“Wouldn’t it be best to find a mate on one of the floors of the Tower?”
“Ah, you think so too, huh? But you know, he’s been here with me since he was a child. I don’t know if he’ll get used to his own kind.”
Kuro, who followed Kousuke and became attached to him, had been alone ever since, and Kousuke had never seen him with companions.
He didn’t know how Kuro, who had been living in the Management Layer ever since, would react if he were suddenly brought before his own kind.
To Kousuke’s anxiety, Wanri replied nonchalantly,
“I don’t think there’s any point in worrying about that. Besides, if you’re looking for a wife, getting along with his own kind is essential.”
Kousuke nodded in agreement with Wanri’s reasonable opinion.
Although Wanri could take on a human form, her senses were still strongly tied to her fox nature.
Given Wanri’s opinion, Kousuke decided to honestly follow her advice.
Kousuke stopped stroking Kuro’s neck, stood up briskly, and declared,
“Alright! Let’s go find Kuro a wife!”
As he said this, Kousuke’s right hand, for some reason, was patting Wanri’s shoulder.
“Wha, what!?”
“Come on, Wanri. Do your best for Kuro!”
Wanri, who had somehow been dragged into this, widened her eyes and, complying with Kousuke’s request, raised her right hand to the sky, saying, “Ooh.”
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An hour had passed since they came to a floor with wild Black Cats, bringing Kuro with them.
“……It’s no good.”
“It’s no good.”
Kousuke and Wanri looked at each other after saying this.
Their gaze then turned to Kuro, who was rolling around on the ground, playing (?) with the earth.
Even though they were in a wider area than his usual divine realm, he showed no sign of running off to play.
Seeing this, Kousuke put his head in his hands and sat down.
“This was a failure. I should have let him out on some floor earlier.”
Kousuke, fully admitting his mistake, sighed and looked at Kuro.
“Maybe I should have brought the wolves too… but that’s no good either.”
He considered letting Kuro hunt with the wolves but quickly dismissed the idea.
After all, the goal this time was to find Kuro a wife, and it was unlikely that any Black Cat would be interested in Kuro if he were with wolves, a different species.
Hunting with wolves would be meaningless.
As Kousuke sat with his head in his hands, Wanri patted his shoulder comfortingly.
“Older Brother, it’s too early to give up. There are still a few options.”
“Oh!”
Revived by Wanri’s encouraging words, Kousuke stood up energetically.
“So? What are those options?”
When Kousuke asked, Wanri began to explain, counting on her fingers.
The first option is to leave Kuro here and wait for him to eventually get along with others.
The second option is not to leave Kuro alone for a long period, but to let him gradually get used to it.
The third option is to give up on Kuro finding a mate himself and have Kousuke find a suitable Black Cat and get it to become attached to him.
Then, they would wait for the tamed Black Cat to bond with Kuro.
Each plan had its pros and cons, and it seemed difficult to make a decision right away.
As Kousuke thought this, his expression suddenly changed as if he had an idea.
“…There’s no need to choose just one, is there?”
“Huh?”
At Kousuke’s mumble, Wanri asked back with a puzzled look.
She wasn’t surprised by Kousuke’s words but simply hadn’t heard them clearly.
Kousuke shook his head and told Wanri it was nothing. Then, stroking Kuro’s neck again, he said,
“Kuro. We’re going to leave, but you can do whatever you want.”
When Kousuke said this, Kuro seemed to understand and wagged his tail.
Having confirmed this, Kousuke nodded and left the place with Wanri.
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Once they were out of Kuro’s recognition range, Wanri looked at Kousuke with a perplexed expression.
“Um, Older Brother, what are you going to do now?”
Wanri knew that Kousuke had intentionally left Kuro behind.
However, Kousuke had come to the same floor and had not returned to the Management Layer.
Wanri understood that Kousuke was planning something.
To Wanri, Kousuke replied with a smile.
“Of course, just as you said, Wanri, I’m going to look for a Black Cat that might become attached to me.”
Kousuke answered confidently, but he hadn’t expected to find another Black Cat right away.
The main objective had been to get Kuro used to being alone, and a new Black Cat was secondary.
Or so it was supposed to be.
“……Ah, what?”
“Older Brother….”
Kousuke tilted his head at the situation he found himself in, while Wanri looked at him with an utterly exasperated expression.
Kouhi, who was standing by, also had a similar expression to Wanri.
The object of Wanri and Kouhi’s gaze was a Black Cat that had become exceptionally attached to Kousuke.
Kouhi and Wanri had approached cautiously when they saw the Black Cat, but Kousuke had approached it with complete naturalness.
For some reason, the Black Cat seemed to have judged something based on this and suddenly pounced on Kousuke, licking his face.
Of course, Kouhi was ready to subjugate it, thinking it was an attack, but Wanri stopped her.
Wanri had realized that the Black Cat had no intention of attacking.
The current situation was the result of that.
It ended like a stroke of luck, but the result is the result, and they would accept it.
They didn’t know if Kuro would accept the new Black Cat he had become attached to, but it was certain that a new opportunity had arisen.
Everyone agreed that they should first see how compatible the new Black Cat was with Kuro.
It might be a bit late, but that’s how it is.
When Kousuke seriously tries to find something, this is what happens!
(He himself is completely unaware of it.)
The next chapter will start a new arc, and a certain character will appear again. (Probably.)
