Chapter 24: Becoming a Cat Butler

Irim, who had reached the vicinity of the village, suddenly changed direction for some reason and headed toward a lush, tree-filled area.  

When he had previously gone to raid the Claw Lizard Princess, he climbed a tree on his way back and found coconuts growing there.  

The trees growing in the world of Real were quite different from those in reality.  

They were excessively healthy, vibrant, and gave off a sacred aura.  

Perhaps because it was a fantasy game, the beauty of nature was maximized to evoke a mystical feeling.  

As a result, it was hard to tell at a glance what kind of tree he was looking at.  

To be honest, since Irim wasn’t particularly interested in trees, he probably wouldn’t have been able to identify them even if they were depicted realistically.  

After inspecting a few trees, he noticed that most of them bore apples.  

Apple trees were shorter than others, making it easy for regular players to pick and eat the fruit.  

It seemed like a considerate gesture from the game developers, as if to say, “Have an apple.”  

Irim grabbed a few apples, stashed them in his inventory, and moved on to another tree.  

It was a massive tree, its trunk so thick it would take several people to wrap their arms around it.  

Its branches spread out in all directions, covered with leaves as large as an adult’s face, making it impossible to see what was higher up.  

Irim grabbed the tree trunk with both hands.  

Thanks to the strength of a lizard, he clung tightly to the tree and quickly climbed up.  

Irim ascended without pause, carefully inspecting every nook and cranny of the tree.  

But there were no fruits to be found.  

Is this a bust?  

With that thought, he was about to climb down when, on a whim, he decided to scale all the way to the top.  

And there, he discovered something unexpected.  

It was a bird’s nest.  

Inside the nest were five bird eggs, each the size of a duck egg.  

Irim checked their information.  

[Mayonejo Egg]  

Freshness: High  

Description: An egg from a bird named Mayonejo. By adding a small amount of sugar and salt and mixing well, it turns into mayonnaise.  

“Wow.”  

In reality, such an absurd setup would be unthinkable, but it was possible in the game.  

Making mayonnaise from eggs was accurate, but it typically required only the yolk, along with lemon juice and cooking oil, and vigorous whipping at an incredible speed.  

At home, people used electric whisks or blenders to make mayonnaise, but doing it by hand required serious effort.  

Yet, these Mayonejo eggs only needed sugar and salt mixed in to become mayonnaise—what a convenient feature.  

Looking closely, the game has placed convenient features for cooking in various elements.  

Other players might not notice, but for Irim, who had been cooking with determination from the start, this realization hit home.  

If that was the case, there were surely similar considerations for other professions in this world.  

Games are really something incredible.  

Irim felt a renewed sense of awe for the game’s greatness.  

After climbing down, he checked the tops of other trees as well.  

There, too, he found Mayonejo eggs.  

In total, he climbed several trees and collected 50 Mayonejo eggs.  

For some reason, the Mayonejo birds that laid the eggs were nowhere to be seen.  

Finally, Irim gathered 300 giant leaves from the trees.  

Fully prepared to complete his quest, Irim finally entered Tirko Village.  

 ***

“Here, try this.”  

Irim held out some royal jelly to the baby kitten.  

The kitten was still sprawled on the ground, weak.  

“Come on.”  

Irim brought his hand close to the kitten’s mouth.  

The kitten sniffed the royal jelly with a few sniffs.  

Mio~  

Letting out a feeble cry, the baby kitten opened its mouth and extended a short pink tongue to lick the royal jelly.  

Lick, lick.  

One lick, two licks, three licks.  

With each bite of the royal jelly, life returned to the kitten’s eyes.  

After eating about half, it shakily stood up and sat upright.  

From then on, it buried its face in Irim’s hand, eagerly devouring the royal jelly with even more enthusiasm.  

In no time, the kitten finished the royal jelly, licking Irim’s palm clean.  

The rough sensation of the baby kitten’s tongue against his hand didn’t feel bad to Irim.  

After eating all the royal jelly, the kitten looked at Irim and let out a loud cry.  

Mio~  

A message appeared alongside the cry.  

[Profession Quest – Weakened Baby Kitten]  

– CLEAR! –  

Reward: Pet ‘Secretive Baby Kitten’  

||?  

Having never played a game like this, Irim wasn’t familiar with the concept of pets.  

So, he took it at face value.  

“So, this little one becomes my pet? The quest reward was this?”  

He had been chosen.  

Chosen by the kitten to be its butler.  

It was something that happened in reality too.  

Some people casually fed stray cats, only to wake up one day and find their home taken over by the feline.  

And these cats in the game were doing the exact same thing.  

As Irim stood there, dumbfounded, another message appeared.  

[You have acquired the pet ‘Secretive Baby Kitten.’ Please name the pet.]  

“Huh? Um… what should I name it?”  

Irim’s face flushed with excitement.  

Truthfully, he didn’t mind being chosen.  

He loved dogs and cats dearly but couldn’t keep them due to his circumstances.  

The thought of raising a cat, even in a game, thrilled him.  

His heart raced.  

As Irim pondered names, the baby kitten let out another loud cry.  

Mio~  

“Mio?”  

[Would you like to name it ‘Mio’?]  

It felt just right.  

“Yes.”  

As Irim answered, the message disappeared, and the pet’s status window appeared.  

Pet (PET): Mio  

Species (TRIBE): Cat  

Level: 1  

Health: 100  

Attack: 10  

Defense: 10  

Agility: 10  

Affection: 10/100  

Satiety: 10/100  

Title (TITLE): None  

Equipment (EQUIPMENT)  

Weapon: None  

Armor: None  

Accessory: None  

Skills (SKILLS)  

Passive: None  

Active: Press-Press F  

Irim burst into laughter, “Pfft!” when he saw the active skill section.  

An active skill called Press-Press? That’s too adorable.  

He checked the skill details.  

[Press-Press F, Active]  

By gently pressing on the owner’s body with its front paws as if giving a massage, it restores 50 health to the target. 

Consumes 50 of the cat’s satiety.  

“Wow.”  

A pet that could restore its owner’s health?  

Irim’s jaw dropped.  

It seemed Mio was a healer.  

[Pet ‘Mio’ has been bound to you. The pet can be summoned or sealed at any time. Summoning and sealing functions can be used by willing it.]  

It was a very convenient feature.  

But Irim had no intention of sealing Mio away.  

He gently petted Mio’s head and said, “From now on, I’m your owner.”  

Mio~  

Mio responded happily, leaping up and clinging to Irim’s pants.  

Using its claws, it climbed up like it was scaling a tree, then settled comfortably on Irim’s head, belly down.  

Meanwhile, other players watching the scene went wild.  

“Look over there, look! That baby kitten is so cute. Did you see it climb up that guy’s body? Kyaaa!”  

“I’m losing it, seriously.”  

“I almost had a heart attack from the cuteness.”  

“Amazing. So adorable. I want to raise a kitten like that too.”  

Hearing the players’ comments, Irim felt secretly pleased.  

What parent wouldn’t be happy when their child is called cute?  

On the other hand, some players tilted their heads in confusion at the sight of the kitten.  

“Huh? Isn’t that the sickly kitten from before? It’s all lively now? I thought it was going to starve to death.”  

“But why is it sitting on that guy’s head?”  

As the players raised questions, a refined woman’s voice came from somewhere.  

“Could it be a pet?”  

All eyes turned toward the voice.  

There stood a stunningly beautiful woman with waist-length blonde hair and blue eyes.  

Her attire was no different from other players, but the aura she exuded was extraordinary.  

There was an inexplicable mystical quality about her.  

The woman was hiding her name.  

As everyone’s attention focused on her, she spoke again.  

“It’s a game, after all. Doesn’t it make sense that there’s a pet system?”  

“Oh… that could be it. But aren’t pets usually something you buy with real money?”  

“Or maybe with in-game currency somewhere.”  

“Guys, haven’t you realized by now that this game is very different from typical ones?”  

“Tch, true. But how did he tame a stray cat? That thing didn’t react no matter how much you petted or fed it.”  

The players buzzed with their opinions.  

Meanwhile, Irim moved away from the crowd with Mio.  

The woman watched Irim’s retreating figure with a subtle smile.  

As expected, there’s something special about him.  

Her gaze shifted to the players gathered in small groups, discussing the pet.  

The woman, hiding her identity as a guide, was none other than Letisia, one of the game’s administrators.  

All administrators in Real had a duty to make the game world, which lacked information and felt unwelcoming, more accessible.  

By the way, what kind of dish will he teach Rozelan? 

Should I secretly watch?  

Letisia slipped into an empty alley.  

In an instant, her form vanished like a lie.  

She had shed her physical body and returned to her in-game setting as a transcendent being.  

***  

On his way to the restaurant, Irim was reading system messages related to Mio.  

[By increasing affection, growth is possible. Affection can be raised by petting Mio, feeding it, or gifting it weapons or armor. However, it dislikes being touched when it’s annoyed, won’t eat when full, and won’t accept gifts it doesn’t like.]  

“Wow. Truly a cat.”  

Its whimsical nature was perfectly true to reality.  

Irim gently stroked Mio, perched on his head, while rummaging through his inventory.  

“What should I give you? You perked up after eating royal jelly, so maybe you’ll like honey too?”  

Irim took out some honey and offered it to Mio.  

As expected, Mio went crazy for it, devouring the honey entirely.  

Mio~  

It cried out, as if demanding more.  

Irim pulled out three more jars of honey.  

Mio ate those in the blink of an eye too.  

A pleasant message appeared.  

[Mio’s affection has reached 100. Mio’s level has increased to 2.]  

[Learned the skill ‘Nyang-Nyang Punch F.’]  

[Nyang-Nyang Punch F, Active]  

Swings its front paws 20 times at lightning speed, dealing 1.5x attack damage. Consumes 40 satiety.  

[Learned the skill ‘Gather F.’]  

[Gather F, Passive]  

Once per day, brings 1–3 items needed for the player’s profession.  

“Oh!”  

Mio had gained two new skills upon leveling up.  

“Haha. Nyang-Nyang Punch, huh?”  

It was a skill that screamed “cat.”  

Still, the skill itself didn’t seem bad.  

Gather F would bring items needed for the player’s profession while offline.  

Since Irim was a Chef, it would likely bring cooking-related items.  

What will it bring back?  

He was quietly excited.  

Before he knew it, Irim had arrived at Rozelan’s restaurant.  

He opened the door and stepped inside.  

Rozelan, who had been idling at an empty table, approached Irim warmly but froze in place.  

Her gaze was fixed on Mio, sitting on Irim’s head, trembling with excitement.