* * *
Perhaps nobles like him see us lesser creatures as insignificant.
Still, I didn’t find it unpleasant.
“If there’s a Duke, does that mean there’s an Emperor too, or something?”
I mumbled, and Sangbong raised an eyebrow skeptically.
“Hyung, just admit it—you’re not really from the city, are you?”
I flicked his nose lightly, teasing but without hurting.
“Excuse me, but I’m a true city boy through and through.”
Actually, yeah, I was bluffing.
I’m from the city, technically—but I’ve never lived here before.
Seeing my grin, Sangbong just shook his head.
“A duke is just a title for show.”
“For show, to whom?”
“To other pure-breeds, mostly. He’s from an old noble family and pretty popular among them.”
Sangbong pointed to a magazine I’d picked up somewhere and used as a trivet.
“You know, that magazine you’re always reading.”
On the cover of the magazine Sangbong handed me, there was the blonde nobleman I’d glimpsed that afternoon, flashing a dazzling smile.
So that’s what people mean by “golden” looks.
His polished face still gleamed, despite stains of some unidentifiable soup.
“Wait, how did I do that to his face?”
I brought the magazine close, pretending to wipe off his face, as if my life might depend on it.
I mean, what if he actually came after me someday?
“You’re killing me!”
Sangbong laughed, clutching his stomach.
He often got a bit glum because of his skin condition, but he was at that age where even rustling leaves could make him smile.
Whoever raised this little creature probably didn’t know he’d hop into a stranger’s lap or even climb onto my lap uninvited, only to freak out in surprise once he realized what he’d done.
He’s pure charm, that one.
I was tickling Sangbong’s belly, halfway forgetting the Duke, when suddenly, there was a loud crash outside, and the sound of a commotion filled the air.
“You dog-faced brat!”
Wait… even in a world of dog-eared folks, “dog-faced” was still an insult?
I wanted to ignore it, but the voices were loud, their words crude.
“How dare some mongrel try to mess with me?”
Mongrel, mongrel.
Since coming to this world, I’d heard that word more times than I could count.
It didn’t bother me, but I knew that most who were called mongrels would react with shame or rage.
It’s a curse so common it’s on par with a swear word. I was tired of hearing it.
This area was known as the “slum,” far from the glitzy city center and just past rows of quaint, painted houses.
Here, they’d built shabby apartments for those of us without a place to go.
If you went just a bit further, you’d cross into another district.
For a shut-in like me, that was unimaginable.
All I knew was that this was a world for former pets.
Beyond that, I was just trying to survive each day.
I reassured Sangbong, whose eyes had gone wide with fright, and headed outside.
There, a burly man was threatening a young woman, pressing his against the wall.
“Damn brat, I’ll kill you!”
The completely dark alleyway corner.
As I focused with wide eyes, the outlines of two people became clearer.
The man, unable to control his anger, was striking the wall forcefully, as if trying to crush it with his foot.
Above his head, sharp, pointy ears began to emerge.
Soon, his prominent fangs and hooved feet were visible, as well as a tail with fur only at the tip.
A wild boar of the complete species. It was a breed I had never seen before.
While it wouldn’t be surprising if someone kept a wild boar as a pet, what caught my attention was something else.
Amidst the poodle’s hair, a brown ear peeked out, still visible despite his efforts to hide it, and his shoulders, bruised but not yet healed, were clearly visible in the darkness.
Though my senses had become uncomfortably sharp since turning into a cat, they were still useful in situations like this.
“Hey.”
The man, who had turned around, had bloodshot eyes.
Startled by my sudden appearance, he initially seemed taken aback but quickly sized me up and appeared more confident than before when he noticed my ears and tail.
He gripped the poodle’s delicate arm tightly and asked, “Who are you?”
The poodle’s fragile arm was on the verge of being crushed.
Not having any real plan other than to stop him, I casually approached him.
“That’s none of your business. What are you doing, causing a racket in the neighborhood?”
“You’re the one who doesn’t know what’s going on. Just go on your way. Go home and sleep it off.”
Oh, and who woke me up?
I clicked my tongue, exasperated, and crossed my arms.
“I was sleeping just fine before you started yelling. How are you going to make it up to me?”
Perhaps displeased by my crooked smile, the wild boar suddenly snapped, raising his voice.
“Make it up? Are you crazy? Who do you think you’re talking to, some half-breed mongrel telling a full-blooded species what to do?”
He shook his fist at me in threat, so I raised my fist in return.
Of course, my fist wasn’t much of a threat, as I had my middle finger raised.
“I’m both a half-breed and a mongrel, but do you know where you are talking like that? Huh?”
Unfortunately, it seemed that my “rules” weren’t considered insults in this world, because the wild boar cast me a confused look.
However, as I stubbornly held up my finger, it seemed he realized I was trying to insult him.
“Where do you think this is? Huh? Damn, even if everyone in this neighborhood came out, I’d still win. I’d win.”
How childish.
The swaggering pose seemed convincing, but his chubby body and sour face looked like that of a local troublemaker.
I stepped closer to the wild boar, glancing around at the lights slowly flickering on in the residential houses and the residents peeking out cautiously.
As expected, the wild boar grimaced at the sight of my black fur.
I grinned at him, trying to look as mean as possible, lifting only one corner of my mouth.
Shall I show him what a curse and a threat really look like?
“Hey, stop raising your voice. Huh? If a flowerpot falls on your head here, no one will help you. Because everyone here heard you calling me a mongrel.”
Without realizing, I had extended my claws.
Scrape!
“Ahh!”
My sharpened claws, prepared for moments like this, scratched the wild boar’s arm that was holding the poddle.
The wild boar screamed, tossing the poddle aside, and I swiftly caught his and leaped over the fence.
“Hey! You thieving cat!”
His loud voice echoed.
The small poodle, quick on his feet, hooked his arms around my neck and nestled close, saving me from tumbling off the fence.
From atop the fence, I glared down at the wild boar with piercing eyes.
“Do you know? This neighborhood doesn’t even have a guard. Rumor has it that a black cat lives here and brings bad luck.”
I kicked a shard of glass from the fence, letting it fall right above the wild boar’s head.
While he flailed, blinded by the shards, I quickly dashed away.
From one fence to the next. I ran and ran until the heat in my body finally dissipated.
“Hyung.”
As I caught sight of Sangbong, looking bewildered at the sight, I decided to ignore him and carefully placed the poodle down by the warm spot on the floor.
My shoulders ached.
As expected, running over 30 minutes carrying a grown woman, no matter how light, was a strain.
“…Thank you.”
The poodle, who had kept his head lowered in silence all the way here, looked up with tears brimming in his eyes.
“It was nothing.”
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