Chapter 40
Ruan looked at the elaborate relief carved on the body part, which was said to be made based on an ogre’s shinbone.
Centered on two figures on the handle, decorations with snow and sword motifs extended to the part that held the paper roll. The composition was so harmonious and organic that it looked like a single sculpture piece that was originally in that form, rather than something made to be used as a lint roller.
Moreover, all the sculptural elements that made up the carving were so beautiful that it almost felt sacred.
It had a visual that made one think it would receive a mythical grade rating if this were a possession story with a system window.
The depiction of the figures was especially masterful. Ruan couldn’t imagine how such delicate details were possible on a lint roller handle.
The folds of clothes and strands of hair seemed like they would move if you blew on them, and the exquisite features of the figures, despite appearing stoic at first glance, conveyed their affection for each other so clearly…
‘Wait a minute.’
Ruan slowly examined the eyes, nose, mouth, and overall form of the figure he had been admiring.
‘Why does this… look like our Grand Duke?’
Startled, Ruan looked at the sculpted figure again, hoping he was mistaken. But looking again didn’t change the distinct, slightly cold features of the finely carved man.
Whether he looked closely or did a somersault while looking, this was undoubtedly the other face of the giant cat currently rolling around on Ruan’s bed.
‘Which means…’
Ruan’s eyes rolled towards the figure carved opposite the cat-like figure.
Neatly tied curly hair. Familiar clothing design. Slightly drooping eyes and a gentle expression resembling a certain tearful administrator of Reinke.
It was a very familiar appearance to Ruan.
Because… it was the face he had been seeing in the mirror for the past few months.
Looking at the two figures who appeared to be lovers with a deep and touching narrative despite having no actual contact, Ruan made a decision.
‘When the dwarves arrive, I need to start by discussing the items and themes for production…’
With a chill at how close this bizarre scandal came to spreading from the North to the capital, Ruan picked up the dwarf-made lint roller.
Although it was a work that beautifully carved his and his cat’s romance to the point of seeming sacred… it was still a prototype of a dwarf-made monster product. He needed to test its performance.
‘Well… it feels better in hand than I expected?’
Somehow, despite the impressive relief carving, the handle fit snugly in his palm.
Curious, Ruan looked at the handle and then rolled the lint roller over the blanket.
The lint roller, with just the right weight, moved stably and smoothly. It was worlds apart from the creaky roller Ruan had made, which often became one with the blanket and needed force to roll.
‘And most importantly…’
Ruan looked down at where he had rolled the lint roller.
The blanket, which the long-haired giant cat had rubbed its entire body against, was spotless without a single embedded hair after just a couple of passes with the lint roller.
‘Usually, I would have had to use quite a few sheets, and even then, the embedded hairs wouldn’t come off easily…’
Its performance was as outrageous as its excessive visual design.
It was like the Platonic ideal of a lint roller. Ruan was astonished by the perfection he never expected to find in a mere lint roller.
‘Is a master craftsman a master no matter what they make?’
Ruan started rolling the lint roller with the feeling of someone who takes another bite to confirm if it’s real after being shocked by how delicious the first bite was.
Every time the lint roller passed, the black fur disappeared cleanly.
Indeed, its performance could only be described as mythical grade. Though why a lint roller needed to be mythical grade, he wasn’t sure, but it was nonetheless.
As he was rolling the lint roller, marveling at why dwarf-made products were so highly regarded, Ruan suddenly felt an intense gaze watching him.
There was only one other creature that could be in this bedroom at this hour besides Ruan, so the owner of that gaze was obvious without checking.
Turning his head towards the direction of the gaze, he saw the Grand Duke, whose cat face was as strict, solemn, and serious as ever, staring intently at Ruan’s hand rolling the lint roller.
Just as he had done throughout the making of the lint roller prototype.
‘He’s going to hunt the lint roller again and interfere with cleaning.’
Just as Ruan was about to make a “shoo” sound to deter the cleaning-interfering cat, he realized that the cat’s eyes, looking stern even with one cheek’s fur flattened from lying down, held a fierceness beyond just eyeing a toy.
Ruan had seen the Grand Duke with such eyes before.
Like when… Ruan had incurred the Grand Duke’s wrath by insisting on brushing him.
And at such times, the Grand Duke would only calm down after destroying the brush that had been thrust at him.
‘Which means.’
Ruan looked down at the lint roller he was holding.
‘The lint roller is in danger.’
It was such a masterpiece that its identity as a lint roller was almost in jeopardy, but that made it all the more important not to let it be destroyed.
And.
That’s how the incident occurred.
The Grand Duke swung his front paw towards the lint roller. At that moment, Ruan moved his hand to protect the lint roller. As a result, the Grand Duke’s cat punch hit…
Ruan’s hand directly.
“Ouch!”
Ruan immediately looked down at his hand, which was stinging with pain. The Grand Duke’s claws must have been out, as there were clear claw marks on the back of his hand.
If there was one fortunate thing, it was that the Grand Duke somewhat controlled his strength when with Ruan. If it had been a full-power cat punch, Ruan’s hand bones would have been shattered.
Thanks to the Grand Duke’s controlled strength, Ruan’s hand only had scratch wounds from the claws. Even those seemed deeper and larger because Ruan had moved his hand while the claws were embedded.
Having lived with cats all his life, Ruan, for whom being scratched intentionally or unintentionally by cats was a daily occurrence, quickly calmed down.
‘It’s… a bit deeply gouged, but… this much is nothing…’
However, the Grand Duke, hearing his assistant’s cry and seeing his assistant’s hand oozing blood a beat later, couldn’t remain calm.
When Ruan finally looked up, the Grand Duke…
Was frozen with his tail puffed up.
* * *
After unintentionally injuring Ruan.
The Grand Duke became severely dejected.
Originally, when in cat form, the Grand Duke’s default was to walk proudly with his neck stretched out and chest puffed up. But now, this Grand Duke was walking with his head lowered, body lowered with his legs partially retracted, and tail dragging behind him, looking so pitiful.
No matter how many times Ruan said he was fine, that it was nothing, the Grand Duke remained in this dejected state, seemingly unable to shake off the shock. He looked dejected right to the tip of his tail.
And… this state continued until the next day.
Ruan looked sympathetically at the Grand Duke, whose face was strict, solemn, and serious, but somehow deflated.
‘Really, I’m so used to this.’
For Ruan, this was an extremely ordinary and truly inconsequential event.
Who lives with cats and never gets scratched by their claws? It was an unavoidable part of cats being cats, something you had to accept if you wanted to live with them.
His body had reset due to the change, but when he was Kim Ha-jin, he often lived with cat scratch marks here and there.
Moreover, the Grand Duke hadn’t intentionally scratched Ruan, nor had he developed a habit of scratching. So it really was all fine.
But… even though the scratched human said it was okay, seeing the cat so dejected…
Ruan truly found the dejected cat pitiful and sympathetic.
However, as this state persisted for a while.
Another thought began to creep in.
Namely…
‘Now… maybe he’ll let me trim his claws?’
Managing a cat’s claws was quite important.
Not just to prevent unintentional injury to people, but also for the cat’s own sake. If the claws grow too long, they can become ingrown, and there’s a risk of injury from getting caught on things.
Of course, cats do manage their own claws through scratching. But often that’s not enough, so it’s good to help manage a cat’s claws.
Naturally, Ruan, as the caretaker, had been eyeing the Grand Duke’s claws all along, but…
The Grand Duke was not a cat who would ever willingly give his paws to Ruan. Until now, Ruan could only longingly look at the Grand Duke’s paws.
‘But… somehow now… might it be possible?’
