Chapter 252

What?

This cry……?

I turned my eyes from the village scenery and looked in the direction where I heard the cry.

At the end of my sight, there were two cute little cats snooping around.

-Meow meow.

-Meow meow.

One was a white cat with black spots, and the other was a combination of light brown and white.

Perhaps because they lived in a cold area, they had thick fur, and they were very cute as if I was looking at a small fur doll.

The two cute guys stole my attention in an instant. I turned my body completely toward the bottom of the hill and looked closely at the cats.

-CREEP…

-CREEP…

The two little cats kept prying around me, agonizing between curiosity and vigilance.

I was well aware that moving hastily at times like this only raises vigilance. I slowly lowered my posture while trying to suppress my desire to stroke them quickly.

I sat completely on the floor and waited in a relaxed manner. The two cats, who had been looking at me for a while, approached me little by little.

They smelled me from a little distance and looked around me. They were close enough that I could reach them if I raised my hand, but I waited for them to make the move.

Out of the two, the black spotted cat took courage first. He rushed up to me, put his feet on my knees, and looked up at me with sparkling eyes.

It was as if asking, [Can I sit on your lap?]

With the corners of my mouth raised, I nodded slowly.

Jump!

A black spotted cat jumped on my leg. After making himself comfortable, he turned his head and looked around as if he was amazed by the comfort.

By the time I felt that the alertness had almost disappeared, I moved one hand and carefully stroked the cat’s back.

-Nyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa….

At first, he trembled with surprise, but he quickly got used to my touch. Soon after, he took a comfortable position and completely left himself to me.

‘Haha, look at this cute guy.’

The soft and warm feeling on the lap made the smile on my face stay for a while.

-SNEAK…

This time the brown cat crept up.

He must have been jealous of his friend’s pleasant appearance, so he secretly pushed himself onto my lap. Then he looked at me and cried.

Meow. Meow.

“Do you want me to pet you, too?”

I gently patted the brown cat with the other hand.

As soon as my hand touched him, he stopped crying and made an expression filled with satisfaction.

“Yes, yes, good boy.”

I also felt a strange sense of satisfaction just by stroking the two cats in my arms.

The wind from the top of the hill was very cold, but the softness and warmth on my lap filled all over my body.

When I was having such a happy time, I suddenly felt another presence close to me, and unlike when the two cats appeared, this one felt bigger.

When I raised my head to see the identity of the unknown presence…….

“……… Huh?”

A short bewildered sound came out of my mouth.

If anyone looked at the sight in front of me right now, they would have probably had a similar reaction to mine.

It was a normal-looking cat which most Koreans commonly called a Cheese cat.

But the problem was…

It was too big.

When I first saw it, it was so big that I thought it was a tiger.

‘Were cats this big?… Come to think of it, I think I heard that cats in cold regions are big…….’

Nyaaaaaaaa

It was clearly the sound of a cat crying, but there was such a deep echo that I doubted myself once again whether it was a tiger.

But there was something that was even more suspicious than that.

While I was lost in thought, the giant cheese cat came up to me. As it got closer, I flinched because it felt bigger, but as soon as I saw his eyes, the anxiety I felt for a while disappeared cleanly.

The eyes were glittering like jewels.

There was no animosity or vigilance in those eyes. Rather, I felt at ease looking at him.

Meow!

Meow!

The little cats in my arms cried as they looked at the big cheese cat. They seemed to know each other.

The big cheese cat stared at me.

It was quite different from the reaction of ordinary animals or Demon beasts. It seemed as if an old man with a lot of experience was trying to judge the opponent with his eyes.

As I watched the cheese cat with a mysterious atmosphere, the other side moved first.

Nyaaaaaaaa

The big cheese cat lowered its head slightly and pushed its face toward me. I went blank because I didn’t know how to react, but I raised my hand unconsciously and stroked the back of his neck.

-Mea… Mea…….

– Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

The cheese cat purred with its eyes closed. The big size really made the sound more of a machine running.

As my confidence grew with his favorable response. I showed my petting skills that I honed after taking care of demon beasts, to my heart’s content.

Meow! Meow!

Meow!

The small cats in my lap also cried for petting.

“Okay, I’ll pet you guys, too.”

I was so busy that I didn’t have enough hands to stroke the cats. Before I knew it, the big cheese cat also completely left itself to me.

As I got immersed myself in the cats that surrounded me and lost track of time, I heard Lia’s voice.

“Sihyeon! Where are you?”

“Oh! I’m here.”

When I informed them of my location using my voice, Lia and Diur came to where I was.

“I’m sorry, Sihyeon. It took too long, right? I’ll show you to the accommodation quickly……?!”

“What?”

The two looked at me and the cats and opened their eyes in disbelief. I just reacted nonchalantly, thinking they were surprised by the large size.

“Maybe it’s because it’s cold here, the cats are really big.”

“…….”

“…….”

I asked with a confused expression at the sight of Lia and Diur, who seemed speechless.

“Hmm? What’s wrong?”

“Huh… What Sihyeon is holding right now is not just any cat.”

“……?”

“To the Dragon demons, they are like the guardian deity of our village. They’re called [Karshi].”

“……what?!”

I hurriedly removed my petting hand in amazement, but at the same time as I lifted my hand, the cheese cat who was enjoying the comfort turned its head and looked at me.

“It was so good. Why did you stop nyaaa?”

“……?!?!”

The Snow Mountain behind the Red Scales village. It was said to have been a volcano that erupted a long time ago. It was said that the Dragon demons in the past were attracted to its great power and settled down here to build a village.

And running free on the snow mountain with powerful pure flames was their guardian deity [Karshi].

Karshi in the shape of a cat was enshrined as the guardian deity of the village and considered sacred…….

“That’s all I know.”

Ryan concluded the long explanation. Listening to his story, I asked with a serious look.

“So the existence [Karshi] is sacred to the Dragon demons, right?”

“Yes, of course, it’s a wonder for other demons, like the fairies on the farm”

“It’s not easy for even the Dragon demons living here to meet Karshi. There is a myth that if you happen to meet one after climbing a mountain, you will have great luck.”

Diur, who was next to me, added an explanation.

“Hmm. It’s not easy to meet…”

Ryan and Diur explained what kind of existence the cats were.

But these guys who are revered as guardian gods and mysterious beings are now…….

-Meow meow.

-Meow meow.

“Papa Papa! The cats are so cute. Can’t we take them to the farm?”

The two little cats were busy playing with Speranza.

While the big cheese cat…….

“Is your hand plucking flowers? Pat me quickly, nyaaaa!”

“Ugh… yes.”

He was in my arms and enjoying the petting. No matter how much I looked at it, there was no such figure of a guardian deity.

As if he had read the absurd feelings in my eyes, the bewildered Diur stuttered and said as if making excuses.

“It’s true, really, Karshi is not easy to meet. They have a lot of vigilance, so you can only watch from afar…….”

The moment he said they were wary.

The cheese cat showed its stomach and lay comfortably in my lap. I couldn’t find any sense of vigilance.

At that sight, Diur went silent and bowed his head.

On the other hand, Lia looked calm compared to Diur.

“I guess you’re not that surprised, Lia?”

“At first, I was very surprised. It was my first time seeing Karshi up close like this.”

“What about now?”

“Now, well… Since Sihyeon has shown so many amazing things that this feels like a natural thing rather than a surprising one.”

Ryan nodded his head as if he understood what Lia meant, and I felt embarrassed and scratched my head.

– Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Despite what was happening around, the big cheese cat turned around in my lap.

Suddenly, I decided to ask directly why this happened.

“Excuse me… guardian deity?”

“Nyaa… Were you calling me nyaa?”

“I heard that you don’t show yourself to others. Can I ask why you come to me all of a sudden?”

The cheese cat raised its head and replied in a tone of annoyance.

“Isn’t that obvious nyaa? I felt a strange energy that I’d never felt before. So, It’s natural to be curious nyaa.”

“Strange energy?”

“Sniff! I can feel the energy of a large bundle of fur, the noisy ones with wings, the sweet energy of the forest, and the weak wind nyaaa.”

I quickly understood what the cheese cat was saying. It seems like he felt the energy of the demon beasts that were related to me.

“At first, I was worried that another strange guy came nyaaa. Fortunately, I’m relieved that you’re not a bad guy nyaaa.”

Another strange guy?

I noticed something in the cheese cat’s words and asked a question urgently.

“Was there any other strange guy here beside me?”

“Yes nyaaa. Unlike you, he had an unpleasant  energy nyaa.”

“Is this guy related to the strange actions of the Yakums?”
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