Well, of course, as someone who had been deathly afraid of cockroaches in her past life, there was no way in hell Mimi was going to do this new daily quest!
Meanwhile…
"Nooooo! Mimiiii!!!" Emilia gasped as she stumbled upon the scene of the crime.
A hundred scratches… Individually, each one wasn't much. But together…
The couch looked utterly destroyed! Like it had been mauled by a gang of very determined, very tiny bandits. One spot even had a fluffy little tuft of stuffing poking out!
"Meoww!"
Mimi meowed as if to say she was sorry, her tail tapping nervously against the floor.
Though honestly… it was only fifty percent her fault! The rest? That was on the system!
Yes—definitely the system's fault! It made her do it!
Emilia sighed, pressing a palm to her forehead. She shook her head, then reached down and gently patted Mimi on the head.
Huh? No punishment?
But… more pets?
What's going on?!
Did Emilia just forgive me this easily?
Mimi froze for a moment.
Emilia gave a small laugh. "Actually, it's my fault for not preparing a scratching pole for you," she said with a smile. "You need your daily claw maintenance, right?"
Oh, right!
Because, after all, Mimi was a cat. And it was a cat's nature to scratch things for nail upkeep.
Besides… what's done was done. There was no "unscratching" the couch.
"Don't worry, I'll have someone fix this later," Emilia said.
"No, actually…" She paused, tilting her head. "Now that I think about it, the way you scratched it… isn't it kind of like a work of art? Wow! So if you like, you can keep destroying it, Mimi!"
WHAT???
Mimi blinked in shock.
Wow…
Was it really this easy to get away with crimes when you were cute and fluffy?
Well… if she said so…
Alright!
"Meow!" Mimi chirped.
Then she turned back to the couch and went at it again, carving fresh claw marks and sending more stuffing puffing out into the air like tiny snowflakes.
Meanwhile, Emilia stood there grinning ear to ear, admiring Mimi's so-called "artwork."
[Ding!]
[Emilia thinks your work of art looks great! Keep scratching!]
[Bond with Master +1 point!]
[Progress to Bond Level 2: 11/100]
[Evolution point +0.01!]
[Progress to next evolution: 0.11/1000]
________________
Half an hour later, after her morning "exercise session" of painting the poor couch with fresh claw marks, it was finally time for breakfast.
She wondered with great anticipation what they would feed her. Earlier, Emilia had promised her the best-tasting breakfast in the entire kingdom, and that promise alone had Mimi buzzing with excitement, her whiskers twitching.
Coud it be… some steak that's better than wagyu A5?
Or some Salmon?
Or at least, some juicy grilled chicken?
Knock, knock!
A soft, sweet voice called from outside. "Milady, your breakfast is ready. Would you like to have it now?"
"Yes, Lina, you can come in!" Emilia replied.
The door opened, and in stepped the maid, carrying a large breakfast tray.
Ohhhh! MAID!
Mimi's eyes instantly lit up.
As a fan of anime and anime-style games in her past life, of course she loved cute maid girls! And the ones in Arventia were straight out of her fantasies.
Lina, Emilia's personal maid, was absolutely adorable! She had silky blonde hair that curled softly at the ends, a frilly white apron over her neat black maid dress, and a delicate headband perched on her head like the final touch of perfection. Her gentle, doll-like face could melt hearts, and even the way she carried herself—graceful and poised—was mesmerizing.
Best of all, she was carrying two trays—one big and one small. Obviously, one was for Emilia, and the other was for Mimi!
Lina walked toward the table and carefully set Emilia's breakfast down.
"Milady, here's your breakfast."
Mimi hopped onto the table at once to get a better look.
Ooooooh!
It was an English-style breakfast!
Two sizzling sausages and two perfectly golden sunny-side-up eggs. A small pat of butter gleamed on the side, waiting to melt over two slices of crisp, toasted bread. A generous spoonful of beans sat nearby, completing the hearty plate.
And for dessert—ice cream!
In a small glass cup sat two scoops, one pure white and the other rich brown. Vanilla and chocolate! A divine pairing!
Mimi's stomach growled just from looking at it.
She crept closer, nose twitching. Sniff, sniff.
Mmmmmhhhmm~~~!!! Absolutely delicious! Even her tail was swaying in delight, brushing against the air in approval.
She couldn't wait to sink her teeth into that meat.
But wait—this was Emilia's plate. Mimi's promised "best food in the whole kingdom" had yet to appear.
And then—
As Lina placed a smaller plate in front of her, Mimi froze.
Eh?
Mimi was utterly confused.
What… the heck is this?
On the plate sat a horrifying mound of wet food—probably some unholy mash of mystery meat, minced into sludge and drowned in a questionable brown gravy. To make matters worse, it was garnished with a single decorative leaf, as if that would magically disguise the atrocity and make it look like some kind of gourmet delicacy.
But the worst part…
Nestled among the chunks of meat was a tiny fish head, its cloudy eyes staring directly into Mimi's very soul.
AHHHHH!!!!
WHAT IS THIS NIGHTMARE?!
Seriously?!
"Here, Mimi, this is your breakfast!" Emilia said cheerfully. "Hehe, how is it? I asked Lina to find the best-tasting brand of cat food just for you! Try it—you'll love it!"