"Ow! What the…?" A piece of coarse sisal rope from the scratching post stung my foot. The entire hallway leading into the living room was littered with the stuff.

When I got into the living room, I realized why. The scratching post that I had only recently purchased was in shambles, torn to shreds down to the wooden post. All the rope that was supposed to have been wrapped around it was cut to snippets on the ground.

And the perpetrator was lounging inside the cardboard box.

"Cresta, this was supposed to last you months!" I put a hand on the post and felt the claw indentations she punctured into.

"I couldn't help it. As soon as I started scratching, it just came apart," she said.

I gulped hard.

Those were some serious claws she got there. At least she had the box. Buying the scratching post turned out to be a two-in-one deal. It wasn't too bad. Aside from the mess she made, the rope was easily replaceable. It would just take some time putting it back together.

Cresta watched as I swept the shredded pieces of rope. Her tail whipped back and forth, eyes trained on the broom like she was about to pounce on it. I distinctly remember cats had a habit of shaking their hips right before lunging— which Cresta was doing right now.

"No… Stay. The broom isn't a toy, Cresta. I need it to clean," I scolded.

Her ears drooped and tail went limp like a wet noodle. I guess that would be her bored demeanor. She sat up in the box with a frown.

"Now I feel kinda bad for making the mess to begin with. Do you need help cleaning?" Cresta asked.

"I appreciate the offer, but I wouldn't be doing my job if I let my tenants work," I said.

"Hehe. Your busybody nature reminds me of Tarcosa. He's always got to be doing something or he'll get restless." She shut her eyes, reminiscing about the past and other world.

Whenever Cresta spoke about Tarcosa, it was with a mix of reverence and affection. For a king and an assassin, they sounded particularly close. Not that I was jealous or anything.

From what little I was briefed, Tarcosa was Mage-Lord and High-King of Granieda, a being who was as powerful as he was benign. I pictured a tall and imposing man, with a face full of white hair, holding a magic staff. Like something right out of an anime. Stern and terrifying as his visage appeared in my mind, Cresta's loyalty to him was a testament that he was a good and hardworking ruler.

A stark contrast to me.

"He sounds like someone I can learn a lot from, given my uh… lazy past. To be honest, I wasn't always like this. I'd rather be in my room, playing games from morning until I knock out. Having to look after people might've changed me a bit." I finally got all the shreddings into the dust pan, but just as I was about to dump it into the trash bin, Cresta came over to open the lid for me to empty into. Her radiating smile almost made me forget to move.

"'It's a good thing people can change,' is what Tarcosa once said to me. You remind me a lot about him," she said.

"If you put it like that, I guess I have no choice but to accept the compliment." I grinned.

As I deposited the trash into the bin, she kept her head low in front of me. I moved left, and she darted left. I juked right, and so did she.

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"Pet me!" Cresta demanded.

"Seriously? This is embarrassing for me, too, you know!" I put the broom and dustpan aside, but my hand refused to move despite the invitation.

Cresta pouted, grabbed my hand, and forced it onto her head.

"Ah~ It's relaxing to have your hand on my head. Okay, I'm done. Thanks, Akira!" She dove right back into the box like nothing was out of the ordinary, leaving me with a racing heart and a million thoughts racing through my head.

Damn cats. Couldn't read their minds at all.

After taking care of the routine chores, I retreated to the bathroom for a nice rinse and soak. The dormitory was originally designed with a western style in mind. I just couldn't get used to the jarring change in culture. Professor Markel was kind enough to allow renovations to be made, and I was able to get a Japanese-style bathroom constructed. Now I had a shower space separate from the bath for me to rinse first, then take a nice, leisurely soak afterwards.

They were also willing to transform the communal bath in the same way. One side of the bath was lined with showers, and on the opposite side was an enormous pool, steaming with water. It had become the spitting image of a sento bathhouse. I thought it would be a great way to introduce my tenants to a bit of my culture. There were even shower stalls for those who wanted more privacy.

Sure it was more work on my part to clean every other week, but I couldn't feel more right at home.

So, while Cresta was enjoying her nap in a cardboard box after eating another fat meal of burgers, I went to avail myself of the communal bath. Now was a better time than any before the dorm got anymore tenants, and I'd have to go back to using my own bathroom.

As I sat down next to a shower to begin rinsing myself, the door leading into the baths slid open.

"Akira! I wanna take a bath with you, too!" Cresta shouted, naked from head to toe.

"Cresta?!" I turned away and covered my eyes, but her chest and the blonde stubble between her legs were already burned into my mind. "Why are you in here, and why are you naked?"

I could hear her giggling and didn't need to see to know she put her hands on her waist.

"It's a bath! Of course, I am! What's the matter? Never seen a girl naked before?" she teased, hovering above me so close I felt her body heat emanating to me.

"If you need the bathroom, I'll shower later—" I got up to leave, but powerful hands pushed me back into the seat with ease.

"C'mon, what's the big deal? I hear you mumble to yourself about having someone wash your back all the time," she said.

This was definitely a big deal to me… Wait a minute.

"What do you mean, you hear me mumble to myself? Have you been watching me bathe?" I asked, turning around to face her but getting an eyeful of her chest instead.

I whipped back to face forward, but the damage was already done. My little buddy was reacting, and there was nothing I could do to stop it.

Cresta began massaging my shoulders, loosening all the knots I had and making me too weak to resist. My head was still in full control, but another part of my body wouldn't at this rate. I had to hold strong. I shouldn't be having filthy and lewd thoughts of my own tenants. That could only lead to trouble.

"I like sneaking into your room. It's fun. Sometimes you don't even know I'm there!" she said.

What.

"No, Cresta— You definitely shouldn't be sneaking into a man's room! There's no telling what you might see," I fired back.

"Oh? And what might that be?" Two hands suddenly began to lather my back with cold gel. Waves of static shocks coursed through my body as I tried in vain to keep my other head in check. Then two mounds of fat pressed against my back when she moved onto my front.

Her deft, feline fingers worked through every nook and cranny on my body. I kept my hands and towel firmly over my groin, hoping she didn't accidentally invade there. But it was a double pincer move with a pair of breasts and hands assaulting me. I wasn't going to last

Then the shower head hissed on and sprayed me with freezing cold water.

"Sorry! I forgot to turn the dial," she said.

"No need to be sorry. Everything worked out fine." I let out a stale breath and sighed.

A sense of relief washed over me along with the frigid water. My little buddy had settled down. I had become enlightened and reached nirvana. Nothing could lead me astray anymore.

…Until Cresta sat up straight on the adjacent seat and looked at me expectantly.

"What are you waiting for? Get to it, caretaker Akira!" the assassin ordered.