Chapter 18: A Cat Is Fine Too

Satisfied with my choice of name, I released Pumpkin from my Inventory, at which point he reappeared on the ground next to me. The friendly cat seemed completely unruffled by the brief time spent in storage, and busied himself by chasing his own tail, spinning in circles all the while. That kind of behaviour was more often associated with dogs, though I’d also seen it in another cat before. Oddly enough, that one had been orange, too, so maybe there was a genetic component behind such strange mannerisms?

I let Pumpkin have at it, for what felt like a solid five minutes, before he dropped to the ground, tired out by chasing his own behind. That gave me an opening to pick him up, draping the tuckered out feline across my shoulders, with his head leaning against the right side of my face. I could’ve taken him back into town in my storage, of course, but by doing it this way, I could establish a proper backstory for how I met him. It might even head off a few problems down the line, as the last thing I needed was to be accused of stealing someone’s pet again; people were unlikely to be as lenient with me in adulthood, as they’d been when I was five.

Moving on from my childhood misadventures, the walk back into town was comparatively calm. I hadn’t headed very far into the woods to begin with, so it only took a few minutes before I could see the fence again. Guardsman Spike was still there, protecting the front gate, though he was currently sitting on the fence, smoking from a tobacco pipe: it must have been break time.

“Back already, young man?” Spike chuckled when I was less than a metre away, without ever turning his head at that.

“How’d you know it was me?” I asked at once, wondering if Soldiers had access to detection skills that didn’t require line of sight.

“Same footsteps,” came the rather more mundane answer. “This place isn’t that busy, it’s not hard to keep track of three very different ways of walking.”

“I see.”

Perhaps I’d been underestimating the locals, I considered, as I let myself back into town. I’d yet to see anyone over Level 3, either personally or in Will’s inherited memories, which, when combined with everything I’d read indicating Allensward as being a small, sleepy town, had led to a general assumption of indolence. Spike’s echolocation trick was impressive, something I doubted was nearly as simple as he made it sound. It was the kind of thing someone didn’t learn without a good reason; the kind of oddity that marked a combat veteran, now that I thought about it a bit more. Pumpkin, perhaps sensing my disquiet or merely wanting to play, decided that was the best time to take a nip out of my ear.

This story originates from Royal Road. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

“Ouch!”

I flicked his ear with a finger in return, prompting a low growl; though not another bite, as I hadn’t flicked him that hard. I heard a few giggles from the side at that; turning my head, I saw a young child, not yet in her teens, pointing and staring at Pumpkin with starstruck eyes while her mother tried to pull her along on their daily errands. It was such a typical reaction, across two very different worlds, that I couldn’t help but laugh.

[10 EXP gained.]

Then, all of a sudden, I wasn’t laughing anymore. I kept walking, because suddenly coming to a halt in the middle of the street would have looked supremely odd, but I also called up my status sheet for a second opinion on what just happened.

[Will Swindell

Class (True): Level 1 Soldier of Fortune

Class (Public): Level 1 Soldier

Experience: 10/100]

True to expectations, everything was the same, barring a single, innocuous line near the top, right below my name and Class. Unfortunately, whilst I could now see my Experience bar, and the 10 XP that I just gained, there was no indication from the System as to why. Engrossed in speculation as I was, I nearly reached the Orphanage before I snapped out of it; that was the most familiar route, after all, eighteen years of muscle memory making me follow it automatically, even after I’d aged out of state care. Thankfully, I wasn’t far off the main street, and all it took was a slight turn for me to head towards the Inn instead.

“What’ll this get me?” I asked the elderly innkeeper up front, who was definitely displaying a gag name somehow, placing the remainder of my worldly coin on the desk in front of him.

[Inne Keeper - ???]

“Is this your first night out all alone?” He asked in return, eyes twinkling through thick brows, round spectacles and a bushy beard, his manner strangely similar to certain depictions of a magical headmaster.

He even had the right attitude, completely ignoring my initial question to redirect the conversation along his preferred line of thought. Still, I bit back the harsh reply that first came to mind, in favour of a stoic nod and slight breath in, just quick enough to suggest a hint of nerves. Nine Gilt wouldn’t go very far at the best of times, so if he wanted to see me as a down on my luck youngster and give me a discount, I wasn’t going to complain.

“I see. I see. Hard times indeed, for a strapping young lad like yourself to be travelling alone.”

Pumpkin yowled from his place on my shoulder, drawing the Innkeeper’s eye as though annoyed at his exclusion.

“Not completely alone,” he amended. “Good, very good. A pet is often a source of unconditional love, something rarely found amongst supposedly higher species. Keep him close, won’t you?”

“That’s the plan,” I replied quickly, trying not to think of how he was sounding a bit like a nonce. “The price?”

“Hmm? Oh, yes. Three nights, room and board included for yourself and your feline friend.”

That was roughly what I’d been told by the Blacksmith, as far as value went, so I didn’t argue and let him scoop away the last of my inheritance, before bolting upstairs as soon as he handed me my room key. I had a lot to think about, after all.