"That 'meow' means lunch, you know. And 'meow-oo' is breakfast, nya."

She's earnestly trying to explain my mistake, but… without paying close attention, who could tell the difference between those two meows anyway?

"You Nako tribe folk are amazing… cough, cough."

To use a language like this for normal communication? You might as well use it for secret codes.

"The amazing one is Renee-nya! You've already picked up a few sentences in our language in such a short time. Our tribal tongue is supposed to be really difficult!"

Hearing her words, I leaned back and let out a long sigh. The relentless echo of "meow, meow, meow" in my head made me painfully aware—learning the Nako language was sheer torment.

"Renee-nya, what tribe are you from nya? Sanguine? Hmm… but you have no fangs. Dark-elf? But your skin is too pale, and your ears don't match. Come on, tell me the truth nya!"

"No comment."

Even as she clung to my sleeve, shaking it insistently, I remained tight-lipped.

"Nya… you're so sneaky."

"Even if you make that teary-eyed face, I'm still not telling."

"Meow-oo!"

This girl was far too energetic. Given how little she eats, it's hard to believe she hasn't burned out. Or maybe Nako physiology is just naturally resilient?

"But I really want to know nya… After all, Renee-nya picked up the common tongue in under five days! And now you speak it better than I do nya!"

Her expression was a mix of frustration and admiration. She balled her fists, leaning forward with an earnest gleam in her eyes.

The truth is, most languages share a foundational structure. After learning from her, I didn't just stop there—I tested it out by eavesdropping on the Sea Sirens' chatter aboard the ship. Of course, it took me two days to figure out they were using a completely different dialect unique to their kind.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

"Could it be… Renee-nya is a monster nya!"

"I believe the word you're looking for is genius. And for the record, I'm not."

"Oh, right… wait, no nya! And now you're correcting me so casually, too!"

"Heh… you're something else."

I couldn't help but chuckle at her exaggerated reaction.

"Nyaa! Renee-nya just laughed nya!"

…

Noticing my unintentional smile, I quickly straightened my expression, a little startled at myself.

"Renee-nya doesn't smile much, nya…"

"...Mm."

It's not exactly the time for laughter, I thought. But instead of staying silent as planned, I reflexively murmured a faint "Mm."

"You know, sometimes I wonder…"

Her voice trailed off.

"Wonder what?"

"Do you want to know, Renee-nya?"

"You're the one who brought it up."

"Hehe, true nya… Heehee."

I wasn't praising you… Watching her giggle to herself, I bit back the retort forming on my tongue.

"Sometimes, I wonder… what it would've been like if we met outside, nya."

"What difference would it make?"

"Of course, it'd be different! If we'd met outside, I wouldn't be a slave, and Renee wouldn't look like this nya!"

She spread her arms wide, as if illustrating her dream, her eyes glimmering with wistful hope.

"We could've done so much more than we can here. And maybe, just maybe, Renee-nya would've smiled more often nya."