Unlikely Relationship between Cat and Divine Beast

When a pet dies, aren’t they supposed to wait beyond the rainbow bridge?

Though I wasn’t expecting a river of pet milk or trees bearing treats, I never imagined that such a bleak cityscape awaited.

After sending off his black cat, Kamangi, in tears, Baek Rokdam fell asleep.

But upon waking, he found himself in the afterlife for pets.

Unlike what he imagined, the gray buildings stretched endlessly, a harsh and lifeless world beyond death.

Before he even had a chance to be disappointed, he was thrust into grueling labor and unrelenting hardships.

One day, amidst his exhausting life, he stumbled across a tiny egg on the street.

Thanks to his gift of seeing things others couldn’t, he noticed that this seemingly ordinary rock actually held life within.

Unable to just walk past, he picked up the egg…

“So, could I ask why the kitten over there keeps glancing this way?”

But it seems that three divine beasts are searching for the egg I possess.

* * *

After work, I found myself hiding unintentionally as I eavesdropped on the divine beasts I’d encountered.

Instead of using the grand front gate, I couldn’t understand why they kept prowling near the back entrance.

“Ugh, this is maddening. I can feel something’s here, yet there’s nothing around.”

Oryeong, staring at the ground as if it was his sworn enemy, ran his fingers through his hair in irritation.

He looked like he could be in a hair conditioner commercial.

“Didn’t those cursed elders steal it?” asked Hoseong, shaking his head.

“Not a chance. You know how pathetic that ‘egg’ looked.”

‘Egg.’

Surely, they aren’t talking about… my egg?

My mouth suddenly went dry, and a nervous heartbeat thudded in my chest.

Reaching into my pocket, I felt the small, round form of the egg.

Thump, thump.

A faint but undeniable heartbeat pulsed beneath my fingers.

This must be what they’re looking for.

What do I do?

Should I just step out and hand over the egg?

This was the first real crisis I’d faced since reincarnating in this strange dimension.

I pressed down on my heavy legs, preparing to run.

Three, two, one… just as I swallowed, steeling myself like an Olympic sprinter, Dimitri’s low voice echoed through the alley.

“So, could I ask why the kitten over there keeps glancing this way?”

The three divine beasts’ gaze zeroed in on me.