Grrr, grrr…

Even though the situation left me reeling, my body betrayed me with its honesty. After all, yesterday's meal was nothing more than a rotten fish. Compared to that, the bowl of porridge in front of me now felt like a banquet from the heavens.

"Meow… meow-meow…"

The gazes of my fellow prisoners were blatantly fixated on me. Understandable. With the pitiful scraps they usually received, how could they ever feel satisfied?

"Sabu lai sa…"

The snake captain straightened herself, her cold voice slicing through the air as she addressed the prisoners.

"Lok ke si."

I didn't understand her exact words, but judging by the way the prisoners froze, tails bristling in fear, it was undoubtedly a threat.

The meaning seemed clear enough: Don't mess with her… or her food.

The snake captain shot me a faint smile, her expression unreadable, then turned and left.

I watched as the cage door was locked again and followed their departure with my eyes until they completely disappeared from view. Even then, I didn't touch the porridge in front of me.

She spoke to those catfolk earlier, didn't she? And judging by their reaction, they understood her perfectly. That meant…

Leaning back against the cold bars, my gaze shifted to the three fellow prisoners sharing the space with me—two women and one man. Though their eyes were glued to the porridge in front of me, the fear in their expressions was unmistakable. Their shoulders trembled, rendering them motionless.

"Meow… cough, cough!"

"Cough-cough, meow…"

The huddled couple appeared sick. Their labored breaths and sporadic coughs made it obvious.

The third one, though...

Perhaps calling her "the third one" sounded rude, but I didn't have much room for concern right now.

The younger female catfolk, with tea-colored hair and faintly glowing dark eyes, appeared healthier. Unlike the others, she didn't seem to be sick, though her attention was just as fixated on the bowl of porridge.

If their illness was airborne, then it was already too late to avoid it. All I could do was tread cautiously and hope for the best.

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Fixing my gaze on the healthier catfolk, I raised my bound hands and gestured for her to approach.

Come here.

Her ears and tail perked up in surprise, clearly not expecting this gesture. She hesitated, torn between curiosity and fear, but I wasn't in the mood to let her linger.

Hurry. Don't you want to eat?

I waved my tied hands more insistently, pointing at the porridge in the bowl.

"Meow, meow!"

She seemed to understand my meaning but remained wary, her eyes darting nervously around the room. She was likely checking to ensure the crew had truly left.

I was sure they were gone. I wouldn't be doing something so brazen otherwise.

"Meow."

Finally, she moved closer. Her eyes stayed glued to the food, and as she crawled nearer, the growls of her stomach grew louder and clearer.

"…Nya, nya? Meow-meow?"

Now at my side, she didn't immediately grab the bowl. Instead, she hesitated, pointing at the porridge, then back at me, her movements careful and polite.

I had expected her to snatch it and devour it recklessly, yet her manners surprised me.

Her hands, resting over her modestly heaving chest, appeared slender and humanlike, save for the subtle twitching of her ears and tail. And, of course, the quiet meows she couldn't seem to stop making.

Indeed, she wasn't human.

Marveling at this, I straightened up and leaned closer to the girl.

"Meow? Meow?"

Startled by my movement, her shoulders quivered. The lingering threat of the snake captain's earlier words seemed to weigh heavily on her.

I pointed at the porridge, then at my own mouth.

"Meow… meow?"

No, no. That wasn't my meaning…

I gestured with my bound hands—pointing at myself, then at her. Finally, I emphasized my mouth and forced out a clumsy, broken sound:

"Teach me… your language."

It was the first time I had ever spoken in the language of the demonfolk.