Be careful with the laid-back beauty who took a liking to me. Otherwise, it will be too late! - Chapter 21: Cat Cafe

### Episode 21: The Cat Cafe

“Oh, you have some custard on you…”

“!” 

Saya took the custard off my lips with her finger and then popped it into her mouth.

“Yep, custard really is delicious.”

“Y-yeah…”

Eating from this close was awkward, so I asked Saya to step back a little as I finished my taiyaki. After we finished eating, we were finally ready to head to the cat café, but then we found something interesting and walked into a store selling miscellaneous items.

There was a section filled with cat-themed items like figurines and cups. Saya looked at everything with sparkling eyes.

“Hey, when’s your birthday, Hyuga?”

“August 1st. How about you, Saya?”

“October 23rd. I’ll definitely celebrate your birthday, and it’ll be a huge surprise!”

“Thanks, I’ll look forward to it. I’ll celebrate yours in a big way too.”

“Thanks, I’ll be waiting.”

Her angelic smile made my heart skip a beat. She was so cute I wanted to hug her, but I managed to hold back. I took a deep breath to calm down, but then Saya picked up a cat ear headband and put it on, showing it off to me.

“Look, cat ears!”

“!”

(Calming down is impossible…)

“If I wear these, maybe the cats will come to me…”

Saya seemed like she was about to buy the cat ears but put them back in their place and suddenly remembered something.

“Oh right, we were going to the cat café…”

***

We finally arrived at the cat café after stopping at several other stores. It was a cozy place with over 20 cats. We decided to stay for 30 minutes, with the option to extend our time for an additional fee. We both ordered café lattes since it was required to get at least one drink.

They offered to make latte art of our favorite cat in the café, and the result was adorable.

“These cats are so cute!”

Saya was excited by the latte art and took photos with her phone.

“This latte art is amazing.”

It was my first time seeing latte art, so I was impressed and took pictures too. While we were enjoying our drinks, occasionally playing with the cats that came by, Saya decided to buy some treats for them.

“Come here~”

Sitting on the floor, she called to the cats, showing them the small jar of treats.

Soon, several cats gathered around her, and she ended up with five cats surrounding her.

“This is so healing… I could stay here forever.”

Saya happily gave treats to the cats and gently petted them.

“Want me to take some pictures?”

“Oh, thank you. Please take a photo with the cats.”

Since she couldn’t take out her phone, I used mine to take several pictures of her with the cats. Meanwhile, two cats approached me, even though I didn’t have any treats.

(So cute…)

“Ah, Hyuga has cats too! Let me take a picture now.”

There were still three cats around Saya, but she took out her phone and took photos of me with the cats.

“No cat can compete with these adorable ones… Latte, Chocola, Custard…”

I was puzzled by her naming. “Huh?”

The store staff had told us the cats’ names, but I didn’t recall any being named Latte, Chocola, or Custard. I must’ve forgotten, or she made up the names.

“Are those really their names?”

“No, I made them up. What were their names again?”

I did remember, so I told her the cats’ actual names.

“Got it. Oh, I almost forgot, I got some toys.”

Saya stood up and returned a few minutes later with a small ball and a cat wand toy.

“Which one do you want?”

“I want to try the cat wand.”

“Okay, let’s switch later.”

I took the cat wand from Saya, and as soon as I waved it, cats came closer. Saya played with the ball, and seeing her having fun with the cats was so adorable I couldn’t help but take photos. She noticed and asked me about them.

“What kind of photos did you take?”

(So much for sneaking a photo…)

I showed her the pictures, and she asked me to send them to her later.

We enjoyed our time at the cat café, and after 30 minutes, it was time to leave. Saya looked at the cats with teary eyes, reluctant to part from them.

“How was the cat café?”

“It was wonderful. I want to come again.”

I was glad I had invited her. She seemed to have enjoyed it a lot.

We left the café and headed towards the food court for lunch. Saya let go of my hand.

“I need to go to the restroom for a bit, is that okay?”

“Sure, I’ll wait here.”

While she was away, I idly looked at a floor map of the mall. It was the biggest mall I’d ever been to, and though I was familiar with it, it would be easy for a first-timer to get lost.

(I used to think of this place as a maze when I was little—)

“Hyuga-kun!”

That wasn’t Saya’s voice… I turned around and saw Shiina running towards me.

“Shiina-san?”

She reached me and hid behind me.

“S-sorry… I’m being chased, or something like that. Can I stay here for a bit?”

“Uh, sure?”

I wasn’t sure what was going on, but it seemed like Shiina was trying to avoid someone. A few moments later, a boy from our school, Hagiwara, who I had seen with Shiina at the sweets buffet, came walking by, looking around as if searching for someone.

(We’ve never been in the same class, but his name is Hagiwara, right?)

He seemed like he was going to come our way but then turned and walked in another direction. Shiina checked to make sure he was gone, then stepped out from behind me.

“Thank you, Hyuga-kun.”

“I didn’t really do anything… but what—”

I was about to ask what happened with Hagiwara when I felt a menacing presence behind me. Turning around, I saw Saya standing there.

She had left me alone and found me talking to another girl. I thought she might be upset and hastily tried to explain.

“Saya, this is—”

“Jealous… You two stay here. I have something to do.”

With that, Saya walked off in the direction Hagiwara had gone.