Chapter 12: The female lead is carried to the bath by the club president...
"You're still too young; it's not suitable for you to carry heavy loads."
President Fukuzawa explained to Yoriichi with a serious expression why he brought the cat over, leaving me speechless. I'm a kitten, not a fat orange cat. The president's reason was truly beyond words.
Yoriichi looked up with her beautiful eyes, seemingly confused as to what this had to do with taking me away. However, the tall, silver-haired man beside her had already calmly moved on to the next topic.
“I am Fukuzawa Yukichi, you can call me teacher.”
“…Teacher…” Yoriichi responded subconsciously. President Fukuzawa’s usually sharp eyes softened, and he reached out to hold Yoriichi’s hand, saying very solemnly, “From now on, I will take care of you and Kagura.”
Suddenly having his hand taken, Yoriichi's usually vacant eyes widened slightly upon hearing Fukuzawa Yukichi's promise, and his youthful face, which had never shown much emotion, finally showed some change.
I was quite surprised to see this. You know, Yoriichi usually only shows obvious emotional changes when he mentions his brother, Kokushibo. But now he also shows obvious emotional fluctuations when facing Fukuzawa Yukichi. I have to say, he really lives up to his reputation as the president.
Or perhaps the president gives off a fatherly vibe, and I always feel that Yoriichi will become a president-obsessed person after Ranpo!
President Fukuzawa continued walking forward, holding Yoriichi's hand. I obediently leaned on the president's shoulder, quite pleased with this situation. It was definitely a good thing for Yoriichi to have more ties. The president was far better than Yoriichi's scumbag father.
Soon, Yoriichi and I arrived at President Fukuzawa's house. Entering the rather rustic and elegantly decorated residence, I suddenly remembered that Edogawa Ranpo was now living with the president. If the other party just glanced at me, no secret would be kept. Was my plan to transform into a cat, deepen my relationship with the president, and then become his apprentice going to fail?
Fortunately, things weren't too bad. As he entered the entrance hall, President Fukuzawa said that a child he was taking care of named Ranpo had gone to Kyoto to solve a case and was not home at the moment. He would introduce him to Yoriichi when he returned.
Let Ranpo go to Kyoto to solve the case with peace of mind. Presumably Yosano Akiko accompanied Ranpo. Since the detective agency is still in its early stages, the fact that the president is not by Ranpo's side as usual means that she must have a case to handle.
The startup phase is always this tough. Even the president has to travel around. I really hope everyone in the detective agency can be in place soon so that the president can stay in the agency and provide support instead of having to personally take charge like he is now.
Upon entering the living room, President Fukuzawa reluctantly took me off his shoulder, gave me a quick pat before placing me on the ground. He then told his newly minted disciple to make himself at home and not to be shy before heading to the kitchen to prepare dinner.
I was shocked that the company president could cook, but upon closer inspection, it wasn't surprising.
Putting aside the past, after adopting the very childish Ranpo, no matter how serious he appeared on the surface, he definitely turned on his fatherly side. It was absolutely impossible for him to let his adopted child eat unhealthy takeout every day, and he couldn't expect Ranpo to cook either. So it was obvious that President Fukuzawa would personally cook for his own child.
I wonder what the club president will make? I want to eat dried fish!
I stared longingly in the direction where President Fukuzawa had left, missing the dried fish he had fed me before.
Yoriichi bent down, picked me up, and whispered, "Does Uta like you, teacher?"
"Meow, I love it! The president is such a good person!" I answered honestly. I really like President Fukuzawa. Actually, it's not just about his good character, but mainly because his cat-petting skills are amazing. I can't wait to be petted again.
Yoriichi smiled, a rare occurrence, and said in strong agreement, "I like you too, teacher. You're a lot like the song!"
I was horrified. I had absolutely no idea how I resembled President Fukuzawa. We had absolutely no resemblance in appearance or personality.
"When the teacher said he was taking care of us, he meant it, and he would hold my hand tightly like in the song, which was very heartwarming."
Yoriichi's explanation made me realize something, and I thought it wasn't so bad. Although I knew it was unlikely, I still sincerely hoped that the president held a greater place in Yoriichi's heart than Iwakatsu. The president, Fukuzawa, with his noble character and care for his subordinates, was far superior to that jealous person who wished Yoriichi didn't exist.
Soon, President Fukuzawa brought over two steaming hot omelet rice dishes. I remember Ranpo really liked omelet rice, so the president must make it often; it must be delicious.
I jumped onto the table, my mouth watering at the aroma of the omelet rice. I looked up at Fukuzawa Yukichi and made cute meowing sounds, hoping he would let me try some. However, the president didn't care whether I could understand him or not and said to me with a serious face, "You can't eat this. It's not good for cats to eat human food."
Although I understood what he was saying, I continued to meow at him to avoid revealing the truth, and even put my little paws on his hands. The president looked at me helplessly with his light green eyes, and the corners of his lips unconsciously turned up slightly. This was probably a sweet trouble for him.
“Songs aren’t cats.” Yoriichi said very seriously, which made my body freeze instantly. I didn’t expect my friend’s betrayal to be so sudden.
Fortunately, President Fukuzawa misunderstood and said just as seriously, "I know that Ka is your friend. Precisely because she is an important friend, she needs to be taken good care of and cannot be taken lightly."
He took out a small dried fish and held it to my mouth, it seemed he was determined not to let me eat the omelet rice.
If you don't want to eat it, then don't. I really like the salty and sweet flavor of dried fish. I ate it with relish from his hand. The president patiently fed me, taking out one dried fish after another so I could eat to my heart's content.
I ate more than ten small dried fish and felt that was enough. Seeing that I closed my mouth and stopped eating, President Fukuzawa patted my little belly and said, "Are you full? Do you want some water?"
I was really thirsty after eating so much dried fish, and I was still hesitating whether to nod and risk being exposed when the president handed me a glass of water and slowly fed it to me, letting me drink it all in one gulp. I finally believed what Mori Ougai said during the group incident; it turns out it was true. The president really does like talking to cats.
President Fukuzawa is truly amazing at taking care of cats. It's not like he's a novice at all. He's incredibly gentle when feeding them dried fish or water. He's definitely a top-notch cat owner. Those cats that run away at the sight of him are really missing out.
President Fukuzawa fed me until I was full before he even had time to eat the omelet rice in front of him, which was almost steaming hot. Full and satisfied, I lay lazily on the table, exposing my little belly that the president would rub every now and then. I felt so comfortable that I didn't want to move at all.
Yoriichi, who had already finished the omelet rice on his plate, tilted his head and looked at me. "Does Uta really like rubbing her belly?"
As he spoke, he reached out and rubbed my belly. To be honest, it wasn't as comfortable as the president's rub, so I couldn't help but turn over and refuse to let him touch my belly again.
Fukuzawa Yukichi chuckled softly at my performance, then said to Yoriichi with a serious expression, "Be gentle when you rub my belly, or it will hurt. I'll teach you how to rub it in a bit."
I was speechless. Why did President Fukuzawa teach his students the art of petting cats instead of assassination skills as the first lesson?
It seems the club president only got to pet a cat for the first time in his life today. Has he forgotten all the days when cats rejected him? Now he can easily pass on his cat-petting experience to his apprentices. If you have a cat-dislike complex, don't mislead others! You'll never be able to pet a real cat!
Thankfully, the incredibly awkward cat-petting tutorial I had imagined didn't happen. Because I was bored after eating and drinking my fill, I couldn't help but start the traditional feline skill of chasing my own tail in circles. Then, I accidentally ended up in President Fukuzawa's plate, getting covered in rice grains and ketchup.
President Fukuzawa, who was eating, saw an extra cat on his plate and his expression of almost sweet annoyance returned. He picked me up and told the student, "Yoriichi, take the dishes to the kitchen. I'm taking Uta to take a bath."
Yoriichi hesitated and said, "The song is by a girl, isn't that inappropriate?"
"So you're a girl. No wonder you're so well-behaved." President Fukuzawa looked at me with gentle eyes, then said with an honest expression, "It's alright, Kagami won't mind, right?"
Covered in ketchup and rice grains, I was completely resigned. I let out a weak "meow" and waved my little paw at Yoriichi to indicate that I didn't mind. Anyway, I'm a cat now, so what's a bath? I wouldn't mind sleeping with the club president at all.
The closer I get to the president now, the less likely he will reject me when I turn back into a girl. Although this isn't very friendly to the president, I have to be a little cunning in order to learn his sword-drawing technique, which is so fast that you can't even see the sword being drawn.
Once Yuanyi understood what I meant, she stopped stopping me. President Fukuzawa then carried me to the bathroom to wash my body.
Thanks to my cooperation, the bathing process was quite simple.
The club president put me in a basin of warm water to wet my fur, then lathered up soap and rubbed my whole body with it. Finally, he stroked me from head to toe with the soap suds, then washed me again with warm water and that was it.
Because President Fukuzawa was so gentle when he bathed me, I felt so comfortable that I almost fell asleep the whole time, but I forced myself to stay awake and didn't dare to sleep at all.
Although I can maintain the transformation technique while asleep as long as I have chakra, I easily and unconsciously cancel this ninjutsu in my sleep. If I accidentally turn into a girl in front of the club president, that would be a real mess.
When I opened my eyes, I suddenly realized that I was no longer in that bathroom, and President Fukuzawa, who was gently wiping my fur with a towel, was also gone.
Seeing the familiar Tsugikuni residence in front of me and Tsugikuni Iwakatsu practicing kendo with sweat pouring down his face not far away, I suddenly realized that I was dreaming again.
I've already gone to the Bungo Stray Dogs world, so why am I still having dreams that connect with the dreams of a jealous person in the Demon Slayer world?
I haven't learned President Fukuzawa's swordsmanship yet. I'm afraid I'll be running around in circles again after being beaten by Kokushibo Tsugikuni!
I'm dreaming right now, but has this already revealed itself to President Fukuzawa in the real world?! Yay! The president's reputation is so easily ruined!!!
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