Free Web NovelChapter 89: Ojou-Sama
A Cat Cafe? Really?
Judging by how Kichiro was acting, Hajime could’ve sworn that they were about to do something questionable but apparently not.
Pika Pika Cat Cafe had a childish feel to it due to the vibrant colors of its exterior. The walls were yellow, the brick roof wore a bright shade of red, and there were bright blue outlines that ran on the edges of the shop. In front of it was a wooden signpost that listed the entrance fee to the cafe. Two neatly lined up wooden potted plants adorned the walls in front, giving the somewhat artificial-looking house a more natural setting. frёeωebɳovel.com
"Pardon the intrusion." There was a sudden turn of Kichiros demeanor as he gently removed his shoes and sheepishly entered the Cat Cafe. Shoichi, right by Kichiro’s tail, followed in the same manner, respectfully bowing down by the entrance before stepping foot inside.
The interior of Pika Pika Cat Cafe had the same aesthetics as its exterior counterpart. It had the same gradient of bright yellow, red, and blue, with countless wooden cat trees that ran beside the wall and almost up the ceiling. There were also wooden planks that connected the wooden trees together so the cats would have more room to run through.
"Kichiro, welcome!" A girl in her late teens waved at Kichiro in a cheerful and pleasant manner while carrying a pristine white tabby cat in one of her arms. Her flaxen, platinum blond hair was tied back in a ponytail with a red scarf wrapped around it, and she wore a thick leather apron in front of her pale blue dress. Her eyes were deep black pools, almost tar-like in color due to how black they were— a superfluous contrast to her ivory white hair.
Attached to her brown leather apron was her name tag with the name Miyu on it. A refreshing atmosphere surrounded her, emphasized by the cuddly cats that roamed all over the place.
"Ah, Miyu-san, how are you doing? Is Auntie around?" One could tell that Kichiro was forcing himself when he asked that question. He managed to let it out in a sort-of natural way though and Miyu wasn’t all too conscious about his body language.
"She went out for a bit, to restock on supplies," Miyu responded, setting the tabby cat down before giving it a nice rub on the chin.
The cat then slowly made his way to Kichiro, sniffing out the bag he brought with him.
"Kichiro, why don’t you let her out now? She’ll love it," Miyu asked since she already knew the contents of the covered bag he was carrying.
"You had more cat trees than last year, is business going well?" Kichiro asked, to which Miyu nodded with a warm smile plastered on her refreshing face.
Without further ado, Kichiro uncovered the huge cloth that covered his hand-held bag. To Hajime’s surprise, it was actually a pet carrier with a cat inside. The cat was a Persian, with its fluffy, pillow-like appearance and black and white fur.
Even Shinji, who rarely showed any expression on his face, opened his mouth in shock as he realized that Kichiro was carrying a cat all this time ever since they arrived at school. He wasn’t surprised that there was a cat in the pet carrier, but rather, he couldn’t believe that he brought a cat on the school trip and he wasn’t caught.
Now that Hajime and Shinji thought about it, the cat didn’t let out a single ’nya~’ throughout the whole trip, not even once. If it did, then they’d have caught onto it before they reached Tokyo.
"Would it be all right if I leave Ojou again this year?" Kichiro asked. It’s not like his cat needed the permission though since she was already going around frolicking with the other cats.
"Sure, no problem. She’s popular with the customer so they look forward to her visits as well. How about you just leave her here? We’ll take good care of her." Miyu teased just when Ojou approached her, rubbing her whole body on her leg and turning around to do it a second time.
"Wait, her name is Ojou?!" Shoichi was asking the right questions since Ojou literally meant ’young lady’.
"Yes, her full name is Ojou-sama," Kichiro proudly answered as if that wasn’t the weirdest thing one would name his or her cat. "And no, I’m not going to leave her here for long. Same arrangement as last year, I’ll take her back as soon as the school trip is over."
Kichiro then crouched and rubbed Ojou’s back. "I’ll be back soon, okay? You go have fun."
With a satisfied purr coming out of her mouth, Ojou then went back to her group, paw-punching other cats while they chased around balls of yarn.
"I did not expect that... not at all," Hajime commented, relaxedly seating himself in the far corner of the room so no one would bother him. A few seconds later though, he was already overrun with cats leaning on her legs, up his shoulders, and one up his head. "Well, that escalated quickly," He said to himself. He didn’t dislike it though since the cats were fluffy and warm to the touch.
"Me neither. Imagine naming your cat ’ojou-sama’," Shinji continued reading his novel as he too seated himself in another corner. The cats didn’t leave him alone either and together the two of them became two bona fide cat trees.
"Your friends?" Miyu asked Kichiro, eyeing Hajime and Shinji since they were too quiet than normal.
"Groupmates. We couldn’t separate from each other so I let them tag along as the leader."
"I see," Miyu clasped her hands together before handing Kichiro and the others the menu. She didn’t really have to force them to order anything since they’d already paid the entrance fee (thanks to Kichiro who treated everyone) and that’s why she didn’t say anything when they received the menu.
Hajime cleared his throat before waving his hand in a casual manner. "It’s my treat this time," He said without hesitation, thinking that he could finally take advantage of the perks he received for his bodyguarding duties.
