Ketsue’s level-up is progressing smoothly.
It seems he has realized on his own that [Spirit Magic] is more efficient than cat punches, and he continues to annihilate monsters from afar with his attack magic.
The sight of the little kitten still asking for healing magic is too cute, so I ended up indulging him more than I should.
As a result of his efforts, Ketsue’s magical power has increased significantly, and he can now easily handle high-consumption fire magic.
For some reason, fire magic doesn’t cause spreading flames inside the dungeon, so I’ve been letting him use it freely.
“Meow!”
“Alright, good job. You’ve really gotten stronger, Ketsue.”
The fairy cat Cait Sith, Ketsue, has been growing steadily, to the point where he can now wipe out groups of goblins in no time with fire magic.
Although he has perfectly mastered the four elemental magics, he’s not great with Light Magic. On the other hand, he seems to have a decent affinity with Dark Magic—perhaps due to his nocturnal nature as a cat.
When he hides in the shadows and suppresses his presence, even I, a high elf, find it difficult to locate him.
I’ve made sure to teach him that if a large magical beast or a dangerous monster appears, he should immediately hide in my shadow.
“Once you master [Life Magic], you’ll be able to live much more comfortably.”
When I scratched behind his ears, he narrowed his eyes and purred.
As a reward for defeating the goblin group, I handed him a cookie, and the way he delicately nibbled on it was adorable. While he doesn’t mind cat-specific snacks, he clearly loves sweet treats like a proper fairy.
Every night before bed, he insists on having honeyed hot milk.
Although I initially prepared a pet bed for him, he eventually started sneaking into my bed, so it’s no longer in use.
Unable to reject this small, helpless being seeking warmth and affection, I’ve ended up continuing to sleep with him, offering an arm pillow.
However, his habit of sucking on my fingers as he drifts off to sleep has left me rather baffled.
“No, seriously, stop that! We can’t awaken instincts that shouldn’t be awakened here…!”
Lately, since his teeth have been growing, he’s started to nibble gently on my fingers instead, which has been a relief—though I won’t admit it openly. I’m not looking to develop a sense of maternal instinct here.
Exploring the dungeon while carrying a small kitten has been a slow and leisurely process.
Kittens his age are supposed to spend their time eating, sleeping, and playing. His meals and naps every few hours are a necessity, so I’ve been taking longer lunch breaks and wrapping up our explorations by 3 p.m.
Using a safe and comfortable area designated as a “safety zone” that I learned about from the spirits, we spend our evenings relaxing.
Ketsue, the fairy kitten, has completely adjusted to Japanese flavors and grown into a bit of a foodie. He seems to enjoy watching me cook, often peering at me intently as I work with the frying pan.
Maybe it’s because he knows he occasionally gets to taste-test.
“Shall I make potato salad today? Steak might still be a bit tough for you, so maybe ground meat… meatballs, perhaps.”
After using Purification Magic to thoroughly clean up, I got started on dinner.
Using some of the plentiful deer and boar meat I had in stock, I decided to make meatballs.
“I like a crispy texture, so let’s try using lotus root instead of onions.”
I wasn’t sure if I’d find it, but I managed to locate some pre-cooked, sliced lotus root at the Summoning Magic convenience store.
“This is great—super convenient. Pre-cut veggies are the best!”
Since I prefer to skip unnecessary steps, I rely heavily on pre-prepped vegetables and ready-to-use root crops. Bamboo shoots, burdock root—anything with a troublesome prep process is always better in pouch form.
“If meatballs are the main dish, let’s pair them with pasta. I’ll make some meat sauce from scratch using canned whole tomatoes.”
Although it’s a bit more effort than using store-bought sauce, the flavor of this world’s magical beast meat is far superior, so it’s worth the trouble.
I used a budget kitchen gadget to finely chop carrots, garlic, onions, and shiitake mushrooms. It’s a small container with a pull-string mechanism that efficiently dices ingredients.
I sautéed the mixed ground meat in olive oil, added the chopped vegetables, then thickened it with flour. After that, I poured in consommé soup and the canned tomatoes to simmer in a large pot.
Seasoning it with salt, sugar, and ketchup to taste, I let it cook down to perfection.
I made a larger batch of the meat sauce to store for future use—it’s incredibly versatile.
As I fried the meatballs in a skillet, I boiled potatoes for the potato salad.
Instead of sausages, I opted for shredded, boiled horn rabbit meat. When cooked, rabbit meat has a texture similar to chicken breast and pairs well with potato salad.
I seasoned the mashed potatoes with consommé powder, salt, and pepper, then mixed in the rabbit meat, cucumber, carrot, and sliced apples before coating it all with plenty of mayonnaise.
“Meow! Meow!”
“Hm? What’s up? Hungry already?”
As I finished mixing the potato salad, Ketsue started clamoring at my feet.
True to his love for mayo, he must have caught its scent. Scooping a little salad that had stuck to the edge of the bowl, I held it out to him.
“Want to try? It’s just potato salad.”
“Myaa!”
To my surprise, he seemed to like it. Holding my finger with his tiny paws, he licked it clean with enthusiasm.
“Really? You like it? Well, that’s good, but… it tickles a bit.”
I taught him to wait for more instead of giving in to his demands right away. Left unchecked, he might’ve buried his entire face in the potato salad bowl, so I quickly stored it in my [Item Box].
“Hold on! I’m boiling the pasta now!”
As the pasta cooked, I set the table.
For Ketsue, who prefers to eat together, I set up a small folding table and placed two cat-friendly plates on it—one for potato salad and another for meatball pasta.
After boiling the pasta al dente, I tossed it with the meat sauce in a skillet, adding the meatballs for extra heartiness.
“Meow!”
“Alright, alright. Almost there. Let me cut it into bite-sized pieces for you.”
Using kitchen scissors, I cut the pasta into smaller portions and crumbled the meatballs for Ketsue.
“Done! Dig in!”
“Myaa!”
Ketsue’s chatter has increased recently.
While still just a kitten’s meow, his demands and emotions come through clearly. His attempts at “Gohan” (food) and “Umai” (delicious) have been especially impressive, earning him praise from my cousins when I sent them a video.
“Is it good?”
“Myaa!”
“Good to hear. But your face is a mess.”
Ketsue enthusiastically responded while chowing down on the meatballs, his face smudged with meat sauce. Despite the mess, I couldn’t help but melt at the sight.
Satisfied, he switched to the potato salad, diving face-first into the bowl and emerging covered in mayo.
“I’ll definitely need to teach him how to use Purification Magic properly soon…”
Smiling wryly, I popped a meatball into my own mouth. The combination of lotus root and meat was delightfully textured, and the slightly sweet meat sauce paired perfectly with the pasta.
The potato salad was just as reliable in flavor. Tomorrow, I think I’ll make sandwiches with it.
“Umai!”
“You’re quite the charmer, aren’t you? Want seconds?”
I couldn’t help spoiling him until his tiny belly was adorably round.
