I Became the Cat in the Academy.

The next morning.

"Mmmnh..."

Sia blocked the sunlight coming through the window with both hands.

Then softly, slowly,

She very carefully raised herself, anxiously making sure not to wake the baby cat Chii, who was sleeping soundly in her arms.

- Myaaang...

"Hehe."

Though her whole body ached, probably from staying up all night nursing Chii, worried something might go wrong again...

Seeing them making sleep-talking sounds with such a peaceful smile...

Her efforts hadn't been in vain.

Chii was okay now.

She had protected this small life.

She felt relief and warmth spreading in a corner of her heart.

- Myaa.

"Hehe."

"Oh."

Sia looked again at the baby cat, still purring in her arms.

Curled like a shrimp sleeping in the duck-down hood, showing off all of Chii's cute and precious charms.

But in Sia's gaze, there was something she absolutely couldn't ignore.

Among all of Chii's soft and fluffy body parts, the place boasted unrivaled squishiness.

- Plop.

The cat's toe beans.

"...Just a little."

Sia gulped.

And started gently stroking Chii's front paws.

Though it was unfair to Chii.

When else would she get to touch these precious things?

With such self-justification, Sia thoroughly enjoyed Chii's toe beans.

Soft.

They were incredibly soft, beyond comparison to anything else.

And what about the smell?

Like a countryside puppy, a subtle and cozy scent tickled Sia's nose.

To think they had kept such a pleasant thing all to themselves.

For the first time, she felt a bit resentful toward Chii.

"Hehe."

Of course, she was joking.

- Myuuu...

"Hehehe..."

When she gently pressed Chii's paw pads,

- Pop, pop.

A soft and cute sound slowly echoed.

The strange yet pleasant feeling was oddly addictive.

...Come to think of it, since Chii is a cat, it makes sense that it's "neko-liar" (peculiar).

"Hehe."

Sia quietly chuckled at her own ridiculous pun.

Surely, she wouldn't have thought of such jokes before.

It seemed like many things had changed since meeting Chii.

"Hmm..."

After laughing quietly to herself like that,

Sia looked around the room, which had become messy from the commotion at dawn.

The small glass bottle lying on the floor reminded her of her decision from last night.

"Strange."

It was strange.

Though they'd only met a day ago.

Though they were just an animal.

To be able to feel such affection.

To be able to change herself this much.

"Really strange."

It was strange.

For Chii, who was just one of many cats,

She had given them her home, food, and affection.

Moreover, she had given them her research achievement that took 13 years of hard work,

One that she wasn't even sure she could achieve again.

But...

Squish, squish.

- Pop, pop.

...For all of that to be repaid by these tiny toe beans.

Ha.

This is too unfair.

"..."

But it didn't matter.

It doesn't matter.

After all.

"In relationships, the one who cares more always loses, right?"

In Sia's heart, Chii had already become

An irreplaceable existence.

"Chii, aren't you happy living with big sister too?"

- Myaong.

"Yes, yes."

Sia smiled brightly.

She had the illusion that Chii had responded to her question, calling her 'big sister.'

- Myaong.

"Meat... nyaang..."

However, that wasn't the reality at all.

- Ding ring~ di...

While Sia was indulging herself doting on Chii,

Her phone suddenly started ringing.

It was an alarm indicating that work time was approaching.

"...Oh no."

Sia turned off the alarm at incredible speed as soon as it sounded.

She pressed it so hard that the phone nearly cracked under the pressure.

Animals are sensitive to sound.

And how much more so for a baby cat?

They would surely wake up.

Therefore, Sia's quick judgment to turn off the alarm could be considered correct, but

The phone seemed to have different thoughts.

- Beep, beee...

The phone, which had been suddenly struck just for ringing its alarm at the scheduled time,

Disappeared into darkness without even being able to utter its final words.

'... I'll have to buy a new one later.'

It was the tragic end of the latest smartphone that wasn't even a month old.

What a shame.

......

......

"What should I do..."

Sia was now

In the greatest dilemma of her life.

The current time was 7:20 AM.

It was getting dangerous to not head to work soon.

But Sia found it hard to leave.

- Myaong, myaong...

"Bad Sia. Give me back my tuna can!"

"..."

Because whenever Sia tried to move away even slightly,

Chii would make such sad crying sounds.

"Ugh, what should I do..."

She couldn't take Chii to the academy either.

As a prestigious institution, Pudding Academy prohibited pets from entering.

That bald dean was already desperate to overwork Sia. She couldn't give him a reason to scold her.

But who was Sia?

She was a professor at that prestigious academy.

"...Alright. Let's try this."

As if a good idea had struck her,

Sia brought out her going-out bag and started emptying all its contents.

Then she carefully slipped the still soundly sleeping baby cat Chii into the bag.

"...How cute."

From the bag,

Two small fluffy ears poked out and twitched.

Even though their sleeping place had changed, they were rolling around making sleep-talking sounds, clearly enjoying themselves.

It was impressive how deeply they were sleeping, to the point where they probably wouldn't notice even if someone carried them away.

After watching this cute sight momentarily, Sia closed the bag with the zipper to ensure Chii wouldn't feel stuffy.

"Perfect."

They say that some people try to sneak their pets onto planes overseas by putting them in bags and pretending they're stuffed animals.

Though it seems like it would be easily discovered, surprisingly, it often goes undetected.

...Of course, that's assuming the animal stays still.

Chii is smart.

They'll know to stay still and pretend to be a stuffed animal without any explanation.

Or they might just keep sleeping like that.

"Good."

After casting several spells on the bag to make sure Chii wouldn't be uncomfortable,

Sia carefully opened the front door.

"Shall we head to work today?"

In the midst of her repetitive daily life,

Sia carefully carried this small gift that had been given to her.

Then walked forward.

Taking very careful steps,

Worried that the bag might shake and wake them from their sweet dreams.

"Phew..."

And when she opened her eyes, Sia was standing in front of the academy's main gate.

It was because she had used 'Teleport,'

One of the highest-ranked magics.

"It really does drain a lot of energy..."

High-ranking magic takes an enormous physical toll each time it's used.

But Sia used teleport without hesitation.

All because of her single-minded determination not to wake Chii.

... That's right.

She was simply whipped.

'Maybe I can play with Chii on that lawn later...'

And Sia's doting continued as she passed the academy's lawn.

'It would be perfect to hang Chii's photos there.'

As she passed through the main entrance.

'Ah, I want to work with Chii on my lap.'

Even until she reached the faculty office and sat at her desk.

"Oh, Professor Sia!"

"...Ugh."

Coincidentally,

What interrupted Sia's thoughts was none other than...

The most disliked of the disliked,

Who always went around with a frown and got angry over nothing.

The bald dean.

"W-what is it?"

"...Did you forget about contacting me at dawn? About the barrier repair construction."

"No, why now of all times..."

Sia glanced at her bag.

Fortunately, Chii was still sleeping soundly.

Since it was early morning and other professors weren't around, she didn't have to worry about someone touching the bag.

"Now, now. What are you saying? The barrier issue is more urgent than anything else. If we don't start the meeting quickly..."

"Let's start right now!"

If she could finish the meeting and return quickly, there wouldn't be any problems.

Having made this judgment, Sia hurriedly grabbed the dean's hand and ran to the meeting room.

Tap tap tap-

So hurriedly that she didn't even notice the small change that had occurred in her bag.

......

......

And.

In the empty faculty office,

The zipper on Sia's bag slowly started to open.

- Ziiip.

A snow-white ball of fur popped out through the gap with a boing!

It was Chii, the white cat with distinctive cute ears that kept perking up at random times.

Having just woken up, they looked around with drowsy eyes before startling in surprise.

- Myaong?

After being momentarily confused by the suddenly changed surroundings,

Chii carefully tip-toed out of the bag and disappeared into a corner.

Translator's Corner

Thank shark for giving me motivation to add tags to the novel.

-Ruminas