"Commander, it time to get up, meow!"
Early the next morning, Sherwin was woken up by Hua Mei Meow pushing at his head.
He opened his eyes and glanced at the sky...
"It still so early..."
Sherwin lifted his head slightly, then dropped it back down, planning to go back to sleep.
"It already six o'clock, so Commander, you should get up now, meow."
Hua Mei Meow stubbornly kept pushing Sherwin head.
And as she spoke, Klee Meow and Sanji Meow, who had been lying on top of Sherwin, also woke up. As usual, they were sitting on him, grooming their fur.
As for Seijuro Meow...
After Sherwin gave him a bath last night, the samurai cat had a little tantrum, climbing onto the top of a nearby cabinet—making it very clear he wanted to distance himself from Sherwin.
Of course, given the noise now, even though he was sleeping up on the cabinet, he had still been woken up.
"I'm not like you guys. I can nap anytime, anywhere... Let me sleep a bit longer."
Sherwin kept his eyes tightly shut and pulled Hua Mei Meow into his arms, reaching out to scratch under her chin.
Normally, the tabby cat would love being petted like this, but this time she didn't show the slightest attachment.
With a twist of her body, she slipped out of Sherwin arms, then used her little paw to block his nostrils, urging him again, "I understand human routines very well. Commander, it perfectly fine for you to get up now, meow. You can take a nap again around noon, so get up, meow!"
Clearly, although Hua Mei Meow hadn't grown up in the military like Li Huamei, she had developed similar habits. In the face of such matters of principle, even Sherwin masterful cat-scratch technique couldn't sway her.
Unwilling to give up, Sherwin kept struggling with her for a while — which only brought the other three cats over to join the commotion...
Klee Meow joined purely for the fun of it. Sanji Meow was being his usual pain, and Seijuro Meow was clearly getting revenge for being "bathed" the night before.
With things like this, it was obviously impossible for Sherwin to keep sleeping. Helplessly, he got up.
"So, why did you wake me up so early?"
Sherwin didn't believe for a second that Hua Mei Meow did this just because she wanted him to follow her routine.
"Of course it for training, meow!" Hua Mei Meow put one hand on her hip and declared confidently,
"Commander, didn't you say it yourself? This world is quite dangerous, meow. Even though I'm not very good at fighting, improving even a little is still an improvement. It better than regretting it later, meow!"
She paused for a moment, her gaze sweeping over the other Felynes before continuing, "Everyone the same, meow."
"Hua Mei sis is right, meow!" Sanji Meow immediately voiced his support. Then... "I'll go make breakfast for everyone, meow!"
"Klee... Klee... mmm..." The little ragdoll blinked slowly, suddenly let out a big yawn, then curled up on the pillow, "Klee still feels sleepy, meow... Sherwin big brother said that kids need to sleep more, or they won't grow tall, meow..."
(=ω=)
Only Seijuro Meow nodded with a pleased expression. "Miss Hua Mei is right. I think so too, meow."
Truthfully, Seijuro Meow had long thought that Sherwin was too indulgent toward Klee Meow, Sanji Meow, and himself. Look at the other Hunters—who doesn't schedule daily training for their Felynes? Only Sherwin treats his Felynes like children he raising…
Of course, that not to say other Hunters don't care about their Felynes. But compared to Sherwin way of treating them like family—or even like kids—other Hunters regard their Felynes more as comrades or partners in battle.
Though Seijuro Meow did enjoy this kind of "pampering," he had to admit the danger level in this world was even greater than the one they came from. That why he worried that Sherwin indulgence might one day cause Klee Meow and Sanji Meow to become a burden in critical situations.
Still, Seijuro Meow personality made it hard for him to voice his concerns directly to Sherwin, and he couldn't bring himself to drag Klee Meow or Sanji Meow into harsh training either.
So instead, he simply continued to hone his swordsmanship in silence—along with the unique power of Haki in this world.
In fact, with Sherwin subtle influence gradually affecting Seijuro Meow, after spending more time together, he probably would've been able to voice his advice eventually.
It was just that—if Sherwin and the two little cats didn't cooperate—he still couldn't force them.
But Hua Mei Meow was different. Having inherited Li Huamei personality, she was decisive and firm in her actions—and when it came to training Klee Meow, she was tough enough to follow through. More importantly, she was very good at it…
"Klee, didn't you say you wanted to help the Commander, meow? If you slack off like this, when you run into a powerful bad guy, you won't be able to beat them, meow." Hua Mei Meow glanced at the little ragdoll pretending to sleep and spoke slowly, but pointedly.
Klee Meow, curled up in a ball, twitched her ears and quietly peeked out with one eye from between her arms, looking over at Sherwin.
"..."
Sherwin had initially wanted to say a few words in defense of the little ragdoll, but Hua Mei Meow was already glaring at him sharply from the side.
That look on her face… it weirdly reminded him of his homeroom teacher back in elementary school—and the Hunter instructors from the inherited memories. His expression stiffened in that moment without even realizing it...
And Klee Meow misunderstood it completely.
"Klee Meow wants to get stronger! I want to help big brother Sherwin beat the bad guys, meow!"The little plush jumped up and declared seriously.
(=`ω=)
Sherwin was genuinely moved.
"Don't worry, Admiral. Klee Meow is still young. I'll be careful with the intensity, meow,"Huamei Meow spoke up again, seeing that Sherwin was about to soften.
And so, the great Hunter was once again handled completely by his Felyne companion...
As for Sanji Meow, who had run off earlier—it wasn't that he was trying to escape training. Whatever the beautiful big sister Felyne said was like an imperial decree to the little yellow cat. He truly just wanted to make everyone a delicious breakfast to boost training efficiency.
When it came to the Felynes' training, Sherwin honestly couldn't be of much help. Instead, Huamei Meow and Seijuro Meow discussed and tailored specific training plans for the other two Felynes.
Just like Huamei Meow said, she was indeed careful with the pacing. The training intensity for Klee Meow and Sanji Meow wasn't too high, so Sherwin had no objections.
Come to think of it, he had once considered summoning a parent Felyne who could keep the mischievous little ones in check—but he didn't expect that even he would end up being disciplined along the way...
Sherwin shook his head with a helpless smile, then began his own training.
Though he had always been indulgent toward the Felynes, Sherwin had never gone easy on himself.
Even though his current strength had reached a bottleneck that wouldn't improve without intense battles, he still carved out time each day for training. So really, today was just another day of getting up a little earlier than usual.
Huamei Meow actually understood Sherwin situation quite well. Last night, while he was giving the Felynes a massage, they had talked about it.
The reason she had dragged Sherwin out of bed that morning was to have him lead by example—so that Klee Meow would be more willing to participate in training.
At the same time, she was using him as a role model to establish her own authority in front of the little plush, so the little one would behave more obediently.
All of this—Huamei Meow took the initiative to explain to Sherwin during a break in breakfast...
As expected of the Scarlet Flame Tigrex—her leadership was no joke.
And as for Huamei Meow coming over to "plead guilty" to him, what could Sherwin do?
Of course, he chose to forgive her.