I Reincarnated as a Mob in a Depressing Erotic Video Game World. When I Saved the Main Heroine That Fallen Into Despair, Her Overwhelming Obsessive Love for Me Wouldn’t Stop. - Chapter 5

After that, I ordered a café au lait, and Ena ordered orange juice.

Lucky… or maybe unlucky… sadly, I don’t have any friends. I had saved most of the money my parents sent me, so I had plenty of cash in my wallet. It made me feel both happy and sad at the same time.

“Your drinks will be ready soon. Please feel free to play with the cats!”

Maybe she reacted to those words, or maybe it was just a whim.

One brown cat came over and let out a soft meow.

Then the cat rubbed its face against my calf.

“O-oh…!”

I came to this cat café for Ena’s sake, but cats really are cute.

I’m actually more of a dog person, but seeing them like this, cats aren’t so bad either.

The waitress was watching me.

“Hehe. That one is called Chayoshi-san! It’s very friendly and sweet, right~!”

“I-I see. So your name is Chayoshi.”

Chayoshi looked up at me with big, round eyes, and before I knew it, I picked it up.

Meow. Chayoshi let out a soft sound.

As if wondering what was going on, three more cats came over. One gray cat jumped up and landed right on my lap.

“Whoa…!? W-why am I suddenly so popular…?!”

Meow, purr. Mrrrow.

Surrounded by cats while holding Chayoshi, I was happy, but I also couldn’t move at all.

Thinking I should ask for help, I looked over at Ena.

“…Uu…”

She looked really sad.

For some reason, not a single cat had gone near her. Come to think of it, this happened in the original story, too. For some reason, Ena just isn’t liked by small animals.

“Ena. Do you want to pet Chayoshi?”

“Huh? I-is that okay…?”

“Of course. It seems really friendly.”

I gently set Chayoshi down on the table.

Chayoshi tilted its head while looking back and forth between Ena and me.

After a moment… Ena swallowed nervously and slowly reached out her hand toward Chayoshi.

“—Hiss!!”

“Eek!?”

Chayoshi suddenly hissed.

Ena jumped in surprise. Her shoulders shook, and her eyes filled with tears.

“…Uu. Why is it only me…”

“H-hey! You know they say cats are moody, right?”

“But… Shiruto-kun has so many cats on you…”

“Ugh…”

It hurt to hear that, and I couldn’t say anything back.

Before I knew it… I had about ten cats with me. Some jumped onto me, some clung to my arms, and some even hung from me. I felt like I had turned into a cat tower.

“Maybe… the cats don’t like me either…”

Saying that’s not true would be easy. But looking at the situation, it wouldn’t help. Bad comfort might only make her feel worse.

So, while still covered in cats, I said,

“Um, excuse me. Can I rent a cat toy?”

I remembered seeing that on the corner of the menu earlier.

The waitress smiled and quickly brought one over.

Then I looked at Ena, who looked completely down, and turned my eyes toward the wall.

“Look, Ena. See that one over there? That cat looks lonely.”

“…Y-yeah.”

“Can you go play with that one? As you can see, I’m kind of stuck.”

Meow, meow. Cats dangled and played around my arms… They’re heavy. I’m definitely going to be sore tomorrow.

After a moment, Ena picked up the cat toy from the table.

“O-okay. I’ll go play with it, then.”

In the corner of the shop, a white cat stood all alone.

Ena slowly stood up and walked toward the cat with careful steps.

“…H-hey, little kitty. It’s okay. I won’t hurt you…?”

Her voice and face were stiff with nerves… Somehow, that made me nervous, too.

The white cat looked wary of Ena at first, but when it gently shook the cat toy,

“Funya.”

“Ah… hehe. Does this catch your eye?”

It seemed the white cat was interested in the toy.

A deadly (?) cat punch hit the toy.

Ena’s face lit up with a bright smile. She quickly began to move the toy left and right. The white cat meowed and kept throwing punch after punch.

“Ehehe. Are you having fun, kitty?”

“Nnya.”

“Hehe, I see. Then big sister will play with you even more, okay?”

Ena smiled warmly, and the white cat focused only on the toy, playing with all its heart.

It was such a sweet scene. I felt like I could watch it forever.

“Here you go, kitty. Look, meow, meow, meooow!”

“—Hiss!!”

“Ah… I’m s-sorry!? I-I —Kyaaa… Hey, no! I-I’m not the toy! Ah, don’t touch there—”

…Damn it. I kind of wish I were a cat, too.