In this world, there are many unanswered questions.
Such as, what happened before the big bang?
Or, what is the meaning of life?
Or...
"Let me go! Let me goooo!"
... how in the world did this happen?
"Meow!"
What?
You know the answer to that question?
Well, that hardly matters, because you can't tell me!
To me, it might as well be the same level of mystery as the meaning of life!
"Meow...?"
Well, never mind...
...
You know, I thought your storage ability can only store inanimate objects.
Does a girl transformed into a fog also count as inanimate?
Or can you actually store people...?
That's scary.
Aren't you the most terrifying kidnapper in the world?
Even I wouldn't be able to do anything against that.
"GAAAH! MAASTEEEEER! MASTERRRRR!!!"
And this girl is loud.
Jeez.
To make someone this obsessed...
That charm is really evil.
"Meow...?"
Nothing.
I'm just shocked.
That's all...
...
Actually, what are these wires and stuff?
How did you prevent her from turning into a fog again?
Is this some skill-jamming technology?
Or rather, curse-disabling?
That's incredible, isn't it?
"MAAAST-"
"Shut up!"
That's right.
Be startled by my cat soul.
Stop your whimpering.
It's really annoying.
"You... are you Spectre?"
"Ugh... W-why do you care!"
I guess that's yes.
Ah, man...
How long will it take to remove her curse?
What do I even do to remove it?
Do I touch her?
Or can I just be near her?
I still don't know what exactly weakened Ignis' curse.
"Kuro... can I bring the others here?"
"... meow."
...
Well, a nod is a nod.
No matter how unwilling you seem.
I bet you worry about revealing your secret base to too many people, huh?
Well, besides me, Ignis already knows about it.
And I mean...
Even if she were to tell someone that the cats are controlling this city's underground, who would believe her?
She would look like one of those tin foil hat-wearing fanatics.
"Okay... let's bring them."
Oh, but...
It's the middle of the night, isn't it?
I doubt I can just enter the school grounds to fetch Mable.
And I feel like I should let Cana rest a bit.
She seemed really worn out.
"But it's a little late now... let's bring them tomorrow."
"Meow."
For now.
Let's go to the inn and sleep.
"W-wait! Let me out of here! You can't do this to me!"
What are you talking about?
We're enemies.
Do you expect us to give you a room in a five star hotel?
Think again!
A brat like you needs to learn some modesty!
Look!
That small boy with empty eyes, who's holding his knees!
He sure got used to this place!
...
Okay, I went a little overboard.
Now I feel like a jerk.
Let's just go.
While ignoring the shrikes of a literal spectre, we walked out of the base.
Kuro closed the secret door and jumped on top of my head.
Though the fog was annoying, I didn't worry about it since it couldn't have been a hidden assassin anymore.
What a relief.
As I finally entered the inn and walked over to our rented room, I heard soft breaths on the other side of the door.
Not wanting to wake them up, I silently opened the door and slipped inside.
On one bed, I saw Ignis and Cana sleeping while embracing each other.
How nice.
...
No!
This time, I won't let dirty thoughts take over me!
They are just two friends who are glad to see each other again without any charm or curse.
That's right.
As a former adult, I need to lead by example and act like an adult!
Now...
Let's crawl into their bed and make this a threeso-
No!
My bed is over there!
Argh!
...
What is it Kuro?
Do I look like my brother now?
He was a serious skirt chaser.
I probably got infected.
Yes, it's all his fault.
Well anyway.
Good night.
I take off my dress and slippers before crawling into my bed and closing my eyes.
...
Awoken by a distant scream.
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I open my eyes and rise up.
Looking around the room, I see Kuro and the two girls still asleep.
The darkness outside the window tells me it's still night.
What is this?
Who dares interrupt my sleep?
Well, if I didn't have my headband, I might not have even heard it, but still.
What happened?
Listening closer, I made out more than just one voice.
And they vary in volume, which means they aren't even near each other.
What is this about?
Why are there people screaming in the middle of the night?
Is the city being sieged like with the werewolf?
I hope not...
I got up and walked over to the window.
Putting my ear on the glass should give me a better idea of what's going on outside.
"Gaaaah! Where is that cat?! I'll sever its head and present it to master!"
"S-someone help me!"
"Haha, you look like the perfect specimen! Let me take a closer look!"
"Hey, are you alright?!"
"What's going on?!"
"Oh it must be nice being a human, huh? Let's change that!"
"T-this guy appeared out of nowhere!"
"Sufffeeeer...! For maaasteeer!"
A mixture of everything.
I couldn't tell what was going on outside.
But it seemed like a mayhem.
And...
That last voice.
I recognize it.
It belongs to the girl who was supposed to be locked up in Kuro's base.
"Kuro! Ignis! Cana! Wake up!"
I woke everyone up in a hurry.
Kuro woke up right away and Cana followed after rubbing her eyes.
It took a slap to wake up the heavy sleeper that was Ignis.
"Whoat?! Why did you s-"
"Something is happening!"
I quickly put on my dress and slippers and opened the door.
The others noticed my serious attitude and followed me.
Once we got to the inn's main hall, someone was waiting for us there.
"Oh, there you are. Master was right about waiting for you here."
A tall woman sat in one of the chairs.
She looked at us through her long wavy purple hair, which covered her right eye.
Her left foot resting on top of her right knee, her hand holding her chin and the black dress gave her the impression of elegance.
...
I didn't notice her at all.
How is that possible?
She has... no odor...?
"The heck are you! And what do you mean by master?"
Ignis was the first one to speak up.
As always.
"Oh, aren't you two the ones who betrayed master?"
"Mast- wait, you mean that guy?!"
"Such a cruel woman you are... betraying master and then not even-"
"Meow!"
Kuro interrupted her.
"W-what! That cat?!"
And she got really startled.
She even stood up from her seat.
Her haughty demeanor nowhere to be seen.
...
Now that I think about it...
I saw her in one of those cages in the cat base.
How did she escape?
I thought Kuro's prison was impossible to escape from!
Did 'that guy' help her escape and put his curse charm on her while he was at it?
...
Also, where did she get that dress?!
It's nothing like that rag she had!
"Tch! I guess I'll have my revenge right away then!"
She waved her hand and Kuro jumped in front of us to intercept whatever was going to come.
...
But nothing did.
She merely held her hand forward and looked at Kuro with angry eyes.
...
"Is that how it's gonna be? Then let's see just how much you can hold!"
I got confused, as did the other two girls.
But seeing as Kuro wasn't even responding, I figured she must have done something.
Well, I don't intend to just idly wait here!
She's obviously the bad guy here, so let's knock her out for now.
I circled around the room and tried to approach her from the left.
But before I could have reached her, I ran into something and bounced back.
"Gha! Wh-?!"
A giant shield blocked my way.
Kuro's shield.
"Meow!"
"Ohoh, are you sure you have time to protect your little friend?!"
Protect?
I see...
So her attacks are invisible.
And I shouldn't get close to her.
Got it.
I'll back out.
I jump back to the other girls as the shield disappears again.
The staring contest between the mysterious woman and a cat continues.
But it's quickly broken by a third party.
"Sun strike!"
"Gyaaah!"
Ignis shoots out a spell toward the woman and she barely dodges it.
"Y-you brat! How dare you interrupt my revenge?!"
"Shut up! This is really stupid! What are you even doing?!"
I'm with Ignis on this one.
What kind of battle is this?
"Meow! Mreow?"
Kuro turns around and looks at Ignis.
"Huh? What is it? ... you want me to...?"
"Meow!"
Kuro points to his tiny cat nose.
"O-oh! I see! But I..."
"Meow!"
And then spits out a weird masquerade mask at Ignis.
It's orange and has cat ears-like patterns on top of it.
"Is this... enchanted?"
"Meow!"
"... alright then, I'll take care of her!"
...
Okay, what are you two even going on about?!
And what's with that mask?
"Go on! I'll deal with this stupidly oversized pair of meat sacks attached to a woman!"
Whoa, what a way to call someone.
Why does everyone care about boob size so much?
Also...
Is this cliché really happening?
When party members split off one by one to fight an enemy?
Hmm...
Actually...
I'm the protagonist, right...?
That means I'll get to punch the final boss...
In other words 'that guy'...
Well, I approve!
Let's go!
Good luck, Ignis!
"Meow meow!"
"You think I'm letting you get away?!"
"Sun strike!"
A good way to say 'yes, you are', Ignis.
I like it.
"Gnh! This brat!!!"
Ah, all of her previous elegance is gone.
Well, I guess she IS a villain, isn't she?
This kind of attitude is better for a villain.
But anyway...
From what I gather, that mask is supposed to protect her from whatever the invisible attacks are, right?
Well, sure...
I just hope you are strong enough Ignis!
Show us you aren't only good at cowering in fear from Mable and my Panther soul!
We left the building with Ignis covering us.
But as soon as we did, another person showed up.
"Ahh, here you are you little piece of shit! Time for revenge!"
A guy completely covered in beard and messy hair staring daggers at Kuro with crazed eyes.
This one was also imprisoned in the cat base.
Well...
Let the gauntlet begin...?