Chapter 13 | But It Is a Cat

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After completing the reception and alcohol disinfection, it was time to meet the cats.

“Fuwaaa… amazing. There are so many cats… look Ikki, they’re all really cute.”

Her voice was small because there were other customers and many cats around, but it was still bouncy with excitement.

She seemed to be unable to contain her excitement, looking around and giggling.

In the past, I don’t think I would have thought it possible.

I couldn’t help but smile when I saw her looking so cute and busy all by herself.

“Which one is the cutest?”

“Mmmmmm… What a mean question…”

It was funny to see her look of utter bewilderment.

The clerk handed me a picture of a cat in the store, which I looked at, looked up, looked at the cat, and looked at the picture again.

It was just a casual question, but she seemed to be really puzzled.

“Well, well, well… Let’s just sit down for now, shall we?”

I pull Rinka’s hand, who is still staring at the photo, and sit down on the sofa seat.

“Nooo… I can't decide!”

Beside Rinka, who was lamenting a bit, a Persian cat with beautiful silver fur jumped on the desk in front of where they were seated.

The overwhelming presence of the “king of cats,” as they are called. The word “beautiful,” not “cute,” fits him well.

In fact, they could not take their eyes off the cat.

“Cats aren’t just cute, are they?”

“Oh, the cat is licking with his tongue.” [TLN: Gave up on this sentence]

As the two were dismayed, the Persian cat left before they knew it.

The presence of a Persian cat was enough to put me off, but this is a cat café. This is a cafe where you can interact with cats. What I am trying to say is that there is a standard beverage here.

The drink is a latte with detailed latte artwork, which is supposedly aimed at the popular Instagram image.

I have seen some of the latte artwork taken here, and it is amazingly perfect, and I felt it was not the work of humans.

A few minutes after I ordered the latte art, a female waitress about the age of a college student brought it to me with a smile.

“This is our signature latte art.”

The latte art is gently and carefully placed on the table so as not to ruin it.

“Please be careful, it’s very hot.”

Rinka ordered cocoa and I ordered a latte.

Each of us had a different cat on our cups.

Rinka’s was a plump cat perched on the rim of her cup. I’ve seen that somewhere before…

And mine was a cat that looked like it was relaxing in a bath.

After admiring the cat for a while (and taking lots of pictures, of course), we decided it was only a matter of time before it collapsed and we decided to have a drink.

“Uuu, I can’t do it.”

Apparently, he felt it was too good to break up this cat by himself.

“Well, I’ll break it down for you. Give me that.”

“No, no! What a terrible thing to do!”

“It would be worse if you didn’t drink.”

“I didn’t say I wouldn’t drink it!”

“Well, do you want it?”

“Of course I do. I’m going to drink it now.”

I brought the cup closer to my mouth, but my hand was shaking.

I thought it would be better to break it down and drink it first, but I didn’t dare to drink it.

She put the cup in her mouth with a sense of trepidation.

She looked a little disappointed, but her mood soon changed as the cocoa seemed to taste just the way she liked it.

Naturally, she drank it without breaking it up first, so there was white cream around her mouth.

It was quite a cute sight. I would love to take a picture of it.

“Look, Rinka. Smile for me.”

I pointed the lens of my phone at her and she responded with a beaming smile.

Of course, she still had a white mustache around her mouth.

“How’s it?”

“Heh, just tell me!”

I showed her the picture I had taken with good intentions.

As expected, she was flustered and embarrassed.

“If this happens, I will break Ikki’s latte art too!”

“You’re supposed to drink it after it’s broken down, right?”

“Uu, Ikki is always like that…”

While we were fussing about something or other, the time had come.

Rinka was out of her seat when I paid the bill, so I paid for Rinka’s portion as well.

“I made you pay for Rinka’s portion of the bill. How much was it?”

“It was free.”

“There is no way that’s true. I’ll pay for it, okay?”

“Well, I got some good shots today, so let me pay for them.”

“Hmm, it’s not free after all. But I feel like I’m only making Ikki pay.”

“It’s all right.”

“I’m not okay. It’s not okay. I don’t feel good about it.”

I don’t think it is necessary to be so concerned about it since I am paying for it on my own, but it seems that is not the issue. So let’s take something more valuable than money.

“Here.”

“What?”

“Give it here.”

I point my finger to my cheek and hold it out in front of her.

She seemed to know what was being asked of her and looked around to make sure no one else was around.

I felt something soft touching my cheek.

“I guess this is a steal.”

“It feels too cheap, somehow.”

“No way. It’s the most valuable thing in the world to me.”

“Hey, I want to do more, can’t I?”

“We’ll talk about it later.”

I take her hand and start walking.

It is late in the evening. It was not a good idea to stay out too late, so after a few kisses, we called it a day.

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