01x05 - Shironeko to Shoujo

[bunniefuu]

Absolutely not.

Why don't you understand, Uncle?

I want to see the world
outside the forest.

Do you want to go
to the human kingdom near the forest?

No, I don't want to go there.

I want to find a place
where no one has ever seen a cat.

I'll claim it as my own territory.

I've told you many times.

It's very dangerous outside the forest.

Besides humans and bears,

there are all kinds of magical beasts.

In the mountains to the east, there are…

I've heard this so many times
my ears are ringing.

But…

No.

To leave the forest,

the biggest obstacle is Mr. Wing.

But I won't give up.

No matter how long it takes,

I'll keep trying to persuade Mr. Wing.

Uncle.

No.

Please?

No.

Uncle…

No.

I really want to go.

I said no.

Fine. You win.

Does that mean I can go?

But I have one condition.

To keep track of your location
at all times,

I'm going to put a mark on you.

Is that okay?

Of course.

I'm off!

Seriously.

Yes. Awesome.

I can finally leave the forest.

I'm going to find a territory of my own.

[THE CAT AND THE DRAGON]

[THE WHITE CAT AND THE MAIDEN]
This must be the place.

The mountains Mr. Wing mentioned.

I heard there are magical beasts here
scarier than bears.

It might be dangerous,

but I might find a great territory.

In that case,

I'll fill my belly
and get my strength up first.

But…

I've been eating nothing but mice
since I reached the grasslands.

I'm sick of them.

Over there…

I'm sure there are birds and squirrels.
Maybe even some fruit.

This is better than I expected.

Well then,
the most efficient way to hunt is…

A human girl?

But I didn't sense her presence at all.

She completely hid her presence.

Who on earth is she?

Well done!

She's an excellent hunter.

But falling from such a height…

Is she okay?

She's really tough.

You're being too reckless.

Look, you're all injured.

The cat talked.

Did I hit my head and go crazy?

I don't think so. I'm really talking.

Wait. Can cats normally talk?

Of course we can.

My parents and my siblings
can all talk too.

I see. So cats can talk.

By the way,

isn't your hunting method a bit extreme?

You'll get seriously hurt one day.

It's fine. I'm strong.

No. It's still too reckless.

You should at least be more efficient.

But I don't know any other way to hunt.

This works well enough.

Didn't your parents teach you?

I don't have parents. I'm an orphan.

An orphan…

One isn't enough.

I need enough meat for everyone to eat.

So you have others you live with, right?

Yes.

How many of them?

Six children and a priest.

This kid…

Hunting isn't easy,
yet she's teaching herself how to do it

just so her family can have a full meal.

That's eight of you including you, right?

The number is right,
but we aren't counted like animals.

I'll help you catch a few more.

It's fate that we met here.

You can hunt? Even though you're a cat?

I hunt precisely because I'm a cat.

We cats are excellent hunters.

That's amazing.

White Cat, you're really good at hunting.

It was nothing.

I had to have at least some skill

to get Mr. Wing to agree
to let me leave the forest.

But I still have to run away
if I encounter a bear.

But one day,

I'll definitely be able to defeat a bear
on my own, just like that hero.

Well, what are you doing?

The prep work.

If I can finish this today, I'll make soup
and we can eat it all at once.

Soup?

I know that kind of dish.

A long time ago,

a cat living in town recommended it to me.

Right.

Hey, White Cat.

Do you want to come
to my house for dinner?

Sure! I'm in.

Big sister.
- Big sister.

Big sister, welcome back.

I'm home.

A cat.

It's a kitty.

There's so much meat.

The cat is carrying meat.

White Cat, are you helping my big sister?

That's so impressive.

I'm not just helping.

I hunted all of these myself.

The cat talked.

Of course we can talk.

All of today's prey

was caught by this cat.

Well, I caught a bird too.

Gally, did you go hunting again?

You get hurt every single time.

Didn't I tell you to stop doing that?

Good. It seems she has a guardian.

No, well…

Don't worry about me, Father.

I didn't get hurt at all this time.

She's lying. Her nose is all scraped up.

It seems you've taken
good care of this child.

Thank you so much.

I only helped
because she's bad at hunting.

Then she offered to treat me to some soup.

I see.

Her soup is delicious.

You must try some.

Wait, Gally.

I'm not done talking yet.

Father, I have to go make the soup.

No, at least hear this before you go.

I want you to change
that mindset of yours.

She's getting scolded.

If I were her guardian, I'd scold her too.

Kitty.

It's so white. Its fur is so smooth.

Hey, do you like being petted on the head?

Stroking your back must feel good too.

What about your neck?

I'll pet your tail.

They're just children.

I'm an adult.

Playing with children

is a mature cat's duty.

Is this whole tail just fur?

Does this hurt?

Wait, don't pull my tail!

Everyone, the soup is ready.

Coming!
- Coming!

Here, this is for you, White Cat.

It has been a while since I had soup.

Let's eat.

It's so good.

Your soup is definitely the best.

I prepared a bowl with a milder flavor
specifically for you.

Is it still too hot?

This girl

isn't just someone who can't hunt.

She's someone who can make delicious soup!

All right, everyone.

It's almost time for bed.

Go get ready.

Okay.
- Got it.

Mr. Cat Sith.

If you don't mind,

could we talk in my room for a bit?

Is that a magic key?

That's right.

Father, were you an adventurer?

Yes.

Though some of these belonged to friends,

I used to go on adventures
to all sorts of places.

Of course, I've also been
to the forest where you lived.

I see.

I see. So you're looking
for a new territory?

Yes.

I spent dozens of days
finally convincing Mr. Wing.

You're talking about the Imperial Dragon
that protects you, right?

But the mountains are dangerous.

It takes a lot of effort
just to cross this mountain.

Actually, you could take a detour.

But there might be
a good territory in the mountains.

I'd miss it if I did that.

That makes sense.

In order to find a territory
in these mountains,

I need to build up my strength now.

Why don't you stay here for a while?

You seem to really like Gally's soup.

The children love playing with you too.

The soup…

If I could have that soup every day,

I might even be able
to beat a forest bear.

Besides,

that girl's hunting method
is a major problem.

She's really terrible at hunting.

I'd like to fix the way she hunts.

Well then, I'll stay here for a while.

Please make yourself at home.

Just now, the moon seemed
to go dark for a second.

Yes.

No way.

It must be him.

Mr. Wing is way too overprotective.

I told you I'm fine, Uncle.

The people here are all very kind.

White Cat.

Wait. What's going on?

Are there more children now?

The cat talked.

Of course we can talk.

Let me pet your tail.

Stop it. Not the tail!

All right, everyone. It's about time.

Good morning, Father.
- Good morning, Father.

Today, let's learn subtraction
with large numbers.

Yes.
- Okay.

See you later, kitty.

What exactly is the situation here?

It's because we have
private lessons today.

I see.

Wait. Don't you have to attend?

I've already learned it all,
so I don't need to.

Then what do you do
while they're in class?

I work as an adventurer.

If I go to the guild,

I can earn money by taking on jobs
that can be done right away.

With your way of hunting,

you probably won't catch anything.

Listen.

There are also jobs like gathering
plants and fruits, okay?

Why would they hire an adventurer
for something so simple?

Aren't there plants
in the grasslands and forests?

Those places are dangerous for humans.

Only those who can protect themselves
can go there.

And can you protect yourself?

Because I can use magic.

The priest taught me.

He used to be an adventurer.

He can use all kinds of magic.

He saw my talent for magic
and made an exception to teach me.

I see. But I have a question.

Why don't you use magic to hunt?

Because I only know expl*si*n Magic.

expl*si*n…

What?

That's the Adventurer's Guild over there.

It's so small.

Shouldn't a guild be bigger and flashier,

with a lot of people going in and out?

Only the guilds
in the royal capital are like that.

The royal capital?

The king and many great people live there.

There are also many residents.

Of course the scale
is different from here.

I see.

Since there are fewer people here,

a small guild is enough.

Don't say things like that
once we're inside.

Is today a school day?

Yes. Are there any good jobs?

Yes. One just came in
that's perfect for you.

You're the only adventurer here.

The others all came earlier.

Are you going to work in the mountains?

I don't go to dangerous places like that.

Today, we're going to the area
where we first met.

Is there anything dangerous there?

There are Giant-Clawed Locusts,
Razor-Clawed Moles, and so on.

All kinds of creatures.

Aren't those just bugs and moles?

That's true, but they're huge.

And they're extremely fierce.

Though I can handle them myself.

Humans really are weak creatures.

Found it.

This is the grass we're gathering today.

I've seen it before.

It grows in the forest too.

This grass is usually used for medicine,

but you have to pull it out whole.

If it's damaged, it loses its value.

Ideally, we should pick
as much as possible,

but it's such a hassle and hard work.

Why don't you just use magic?

I told you. I only know expl*si*n Magic.

I have an aunt who loves eating bulbs.

I heard she invented this magic
just so she could dig them up.

Magic sure is convenient.

Can't you use it too?

I can only use expl*si*n Magic.

Hey, White Cat.

Can you use your magic to help me?

What? No way. That's exhausting.

Come on.

I'll give you an extra serving of soup.

Soup…

Well, all right then.

It's a deal.

Okay, this should be enough.

Let's head back.

Is this really enough?

I have to carry it all back myself.

It's already heavy enough.

With this much,

we can buy food for several days.

Giant-Clawed Locusts.

One, two…

There are three of them.

If they charge,

I'll hold them off in the front.

You support me with your magic.

Leave it to me.

I'll show you

the only magic I can use.

What the heck?

Done!

What on earth are you doing?

Didn't I tell you?

I can only use expl*si*n Magic.

At this level of power,
I can fire them consecutively.

About 20 times or so.

It'd be great for hunting monsters,

but I blow them to smithereens every time.

Even the parts I need turn to dust.

You need to practice your magic more!

I try, but I just can't get it right.

I've heard of people struggling
with a lack of mana.

But this girl's problem

is that she's too powerful.

And yet, she only knows expl*si*n Magic.

Hey, I'll teach you cat magic.

Teach me cat magic?

That's right.

But isn't cat magic
only for the king in the royal capital

and other important people to learn?

Can I learn it too?

It should be fine, right?

Magic is so convenient, White Cat.

Whether it's guild work or hunting,
everything has become so easy now.

Thank you, White Cat.

Teach me more magic tomorrow, okay?

Sure. No problem.

Wait, no. That sounds like a hassle.

Isn't it more convenient to use magic?

It'll make hunting much easier too.

Maybe we could have meat
in our soup every day.

We finished early today
because we used magic, right?

If you can do all sorts of things
with your own power,

don't you think that's convenient?

Don't you?

Fine.

If it's just a little bit
in between doing chores.

It's a deal then!

I'll definitely turn you
into a first-rate mage.

Just teaching me a few
convenient spells is enough.

I was wondering
why he stayed here so long.

So he made a human friend.

He said he was going to claim
new territory in a strange land.

What's wrong, White Cat?

It's nothing.

It seems there are more humans
who can earn our trust

than I had imagined.

Come on. Let's practice.

Wait until I've finished cooking dinner.

After that, he stayed by the girl's side.

Eventually, they became
irreplaceable best friends.

But that's a story for another time.

[FOXTAIL NIGHT]

[IT'S MR. WING! THE FESTIVAL WAS FUN!
THE OPERA AND FIREWORKS WERE GREAT!]

[THE CATS RAN TO MR. WING.
HE SMILED AND WAGGED HIS TAIL.]

[I'M GLAD YOU'RE SAFE. BE CAREFUL!
WE'RE FINE! UNCLE WORRIES TOO MUCH.]

[NO MATTER WHAT,
HE ALWAYS WORRIES ABOUT THEM.]