A long, slender hand gently caressed his back. Enveloped by the sweet scent, Strawberry gave in more easily than usual, rubbing his head against the source. Food. Gimme food.
“Mmm. Strawberry, you’re still as adorable as ever. I missed this soft, velvety fluff so much.”
There was only one reason Strawberry welcomed Diana: her visits meant escaping the storage room and, more importantly, feasting on delicious food.
He hadn’t eaten a single bite all day, waiting for her to arrive. Honestly, it felt like Chesif starved him on purpose just because Diana liked feeding him.
He decided to forgive her out of the kindness of his heart. After all, it was a thousand times better to skip a meal and eat something tasty than to fill his belly with that bland slop they usually served.
But not everyone was thrilled about this reunion.
“Diana. Am I not worth a warm welcome too?”
“Fufu, Chesif, really. What are you going to do with all that jealousy?”
“You don’t like it?”
“…I-I think it’s kind of cute, actually.”
The hand that had been petting him slipped away. At some point, Diana had scooted over to sit right next to Chesif, a shy smile blooming on her lips.
Their hands slowly crept together and locked fingers. Then she tilted her head and gently rested it on his shoulder. It was practically glowing pink between them.
“Why didn’t I hear from you this time?”
“Work’s been busy. I couldn’t find the time… Were you missing me, by any chance?”
“Yeah. Next time, at least write to me.”
“I will. …Don’t tell anyone, but truth is, I missed you a lot too, Chesif. Ahem.”
“I’m honored.”
Ugh. Seriously? Strawberry watched their little romance show unfold, thoroughly unimpressed.
“Ah! Strawberry, come here.”
As if she’d just remembered him, Diana patted her knee. He had zero desire to wedge himself between the lovey-dovey pair… but then she started pulling out snacks. That changed everything.
He hopped right into her lap. He could feel a sharp glare burning into him from somewhere, but he didn’t care. The blueberries were too good to resist.
He crammed three or four into his mouth at a time, sweet juice bursting across his tongue.
Now this… this is the taste of the mortal realm. If he were a dog instead of a cat, his tail would’ve been wagging like crazy.
“He eats so well, but why doesn’t he gain any weight? He’s way too skinny.”
“He’s a super active little guy. Nothing to worry about.”
Strawberry ignored the nonsense. Instead of wasting breath swearing at them, it was better to eat one more berry. He quietly focused on the meal in front of him.
“Oh! I brought a gift for you too, Chesif.”
“This is…”
“Chocolate cookies. I baked them myself. Not sure if they’re your taste, but…”
“I’m sure they are. You’re good with your hands. Thanks. I’ll enjoy them.”
Strawberry’s ears twitched. Chocolate cookies? Just hearing those words made his mouth water.
He acted like he was still absorbed in the blueberries. What he was really waiting for was the moment they got distracted by each other.
Diana unwrapped the cookies and held one up to Chesif’s lips. He obediently opened his mouth. The bite-sized cookie slid right in. And as it did, her fingertips brushed against his lips.
“Ah!”
Her face turned bright red at the soft, plush sensation on her fingers—but then she suddenly cried out in shock.
“S-Strawberry! You can’t eat that!”
Strawberry had stolen the bag and already devoured a cookie in a few greedy bites. It all happened in a blink.
Whoa. That’s sweet.
Even in the chaos, he calmly evaluated the flavor. Sweeter than expected. Chesif didn’t seem like the type to enjoy sweets much—probably wasn’t to his taste.
Diana came rushing over, horrified, and snatched the bag away. Her pink eyes shimmered, on the verge of tears.
“Cats aren’t supposed to eat chocolate…! Strawberry, are you okay? You’re not hurt or anything, are you? Ah! This isn’t the time to panic—”
She fumbled in a flurry, hands trembling as she reached for him.
Strawberry knew perfectly well that chocolate was dangerous for cats. But considering he’d eaten himself silly on fruit and scarfed down salty, spice-drenched food with zero side effects, he figured it was probably fine.
And if it wasn’t, well—he had insurance.
“You have to promise not to eat that again. Okay?”
A soft blue light shimmered from Diana’s palm. It was cool and gentle, with just a faintly salty scent. He wasn’t hurting anywhere, but he could feel his stamina returning, energy surging through him.
So this is divine power…
He stared, transfixed, at the mystical, sacred glow. And with it, a suspicion he’d quietly harbored grew crystal clear.
Just as I thought.
The first spark of doubt had flickered after his initial meeting with Diana ended without incident.
Pink? Is that even a natural eye color?
The unease hit him late. Sure, he’d heard that rare eye colors existed even in the modern world, but eyes that vivid, that crystal-clear shade of pink? He’d never seen or even heard of such a thing.
He tried to brush it off. Maybe in a medieval world, that’s normal. But the little tidbits he’d picked up only made the sense of disconnect grow.
Priest. Divine power. Church of the Sea God. Astot Empire. The Cursed Duke…
Each time he saw Diana, he learned fragments of what passed for common sense in this world. And with them, a single theory started to take shape.
Their encounters added up, and now—finally, today—he could no longer put off the conclusion he’d been avoiding.
This place wasn’t Earth.
***
“You’re really okay, right? If anything hurts, you have to let me know, Strawberry.”
“Meow.”
Her fingers tickled the top of his head, gentle as feathers. He had no idea how she expected a cat to tell her that, but he answered anyway. Her face brightened immediately.
Wanting to comfort her, he climbed into her lap and curled into a ball. He looked around for any leftover fruit, but the bowl was empty. Guess he’d already cleaned it out.
“I’m sorry. That got way too hectic, didn’t it?”
“No need to apologize. It’s my cat that caused the trouble—I should be the one saying sorry. That was a gift too… such a waste.”
Chesif bent down and picked up the crumpled cookie bag from the floor. The contents had completely shattered in the chaos.
Diana shook her head, unconcerned.
“It’s fine. I can just bake more.”
“Then I owe you thanks in advance. Not just for the cookies—you even healed my cat. I can’t let that go unrewarded. Is there anything you want?”
“Want…? Just being treated like this is more than enough. For someone like me, just a lowly priestess, it’s more than I deserve—”
“Diana. I’ve never met a priestess as impressive as you. And…”
Rustle. Their conversation cut off as the soft sound of fabric brushing against fabric drifted through the air.
“The person I admire this much could never be ordinary. Don’t you think?”
“U-uh…”
…Strawberry gave a sharp flick of his ears and immediately leapt off her lap. Nope. That’s hell.
Diana didn’t even look at the cat who’d made a clean escape. She was too busy blushing, her gaze lowered. After a brief moment of hesitation, she reached out and took Chesif’s hand first.
“Thank you… for saying that.”
“Don’t mention it. You looked down today—I just wanted to help. Did it work?”
“…Was it that obvious?”
“Yeah. You had worry written all over your face. Is it about Duke Laufe?”
Strawberry had planned to slip away into a quiet corner to avoid any more of their romantic back-and-forth—but Chesif’s words froze him in his tracks.
Duke Laufe. A name Diana had mentioned once in passing. Also known as—
“You really do see through everything, don’t you, Chesif? Yes. The Duke’s curse has worsened.”
The Cursed Duke.
Even though he’d come to terms with the fact that this was another world, terms like “gods” and “curses” still felt completely foreign. Maybe that was why, among all the noble names Diana had mentioned, only Laufe stuck so firmly in his mind.
“I can’t lift the curse by myself. All I can do is try to hold it back, keep it from spreading… But even that’s not working anymore.”
Diana’s face was etched with worry. It was the kind of expression that tugged at your heart just to look at.
“Diana.”
“As a servant of Thalassa, I can’t ignore his suffering. It’s my duty—my purpose. But… but I…”
And just like that, her expression crumbled.
Strawberry blinked slowly, simply watching her unravel.
