Wanted: Purrfect Cat Guy 42 Too Good To Be True

The man was actually acting like a doting owner!

It was so unfair!

Why did she choose her human based on fighting ability when she only needed someone who can feed her?

At least Tarou knew where his priorities lie. Mina begrudgingly swallowed a piece of meat while looking at Tarou. The grey mouse was beaming while digging into his food with wild abandon.

Noticing that Tarou was about to look at her, Mina nibbled on the last piece of meat, trying her best to look as composed as possible. From her peripheral view, she could see the mouse hesitate but she paid him no heed.

'Let him seethe. He deserves it!' she thought, still bitter over the treatment Tarou received from his human.

"Boss," Tarou squeaked while pointing to a shady area close to the gates, "Nightmare and the horses went that way."

Mina looked at the grey mouse who acted coy. This creature must have his wits back after stuffing his gluttonous self. If it were a normal day, she would have ignored Tarou but it wasn't. She is as curious as he is if it's possible to jump through time.

After swallowing the last bite, she groomed her paws and motioned the mouse to follow her. As instructed by the general, she took extra care to stay out of sight. The general must have issued the warning for a reason and she didn't want to cause trouble.

When they arrived at the area Tarou pointed at, Mina quickly spotted Nightmare. To her surprise, the animal was prepped for a journey.

"Nightmare!" Mina meowed while pa.s.sing through a row of horses to reach the black stallion who stood by himself under the shade.

The animal acknowledged her with a low-pitched guttural sound. Mina rushed quickly towards him, afraid that the horse will leave soon.

"Nightmare, where are you going?" Mina asked with a concerned meow. Before Nightmare could answer, Mina heard a series of squeals and grunts from the horses and she had to look back to see what was going on.

Dust rose as the horses stomped on the ground. In between, she could hear a frightful squeak shouting "Boss!"

"Tarou," Mina said with a sigh when she spotted the mouse who finally made his way to her side.

"Boss, I really hate..." Tarou started squeaking with spite but stopped abruptly. The mouse seems to have detected a familiar presence and curbed his tongue.

"Hate what?" Mina asked as if to goad the tiny creature. She could feel her horns growing out of her furry head but she couldn't help it.

Tarou looked up to Nightmare and then back to Boss, "running around. I hate running around." Mina studied Nightmare but it seems like the stallion was not offended as Tarou tried to cover up his blunder.

As if sensing that the cat and mouse pair were staring intently at him, Nightmare sat down and crouched lower. Mina studied the horse first before asking him again where he was going. Nightmare stared back at them before grunting one word, "Around."

Mina was caught off guard.

'How do you propose a trip to a horse?' Mina gazed back at Nightmare and then to Tarou who seems to be expecting to see how she worked her magic.

"I...we need your help," Mina stuttered in a barely audible meow. Nightmare looked at her as if prompting her to go into more detail. "We need to find something in the forest."

"That's a long way from here," Nightmare replied with a series of grunts. Mina wracked her brains trying to figure out how to make the stallion agree to make the trip.

"It's important," she added sincerely after realizing that she had nothing to offer the animal. If she were human, she would have just stolen the horse. But right now, she was a cat and she needed Nightmare's to help her.

The horse chewed on something while mulling over her proposal. After taking almost forever to finish chomping his food, Nightmare replied.

"You can hop on. It's on the way."

Mina stared at the horse. Nightmare made it sound as if they just need a ride back to the stables. Before Mina could reply, Tarou, who seems to have recovered from all the running, squealed.

"Boss! You're the best! I knew you'd make it work!"

'But I did not even do anything,' Mina thought while feeling dumbfounded. She never thought asking Nightmare a favor would be that easy.

***

After Mina and Tarou found a comfortable position inside the saddlebags, Nightmare stood up and walked towards the open gates. Mina antic.i.p.ated difficulties in asking Nightmare to bring them to the forest and in getting out of the manor. To her surprise, they did not encounter any hiccups. Not with Nightmare, not with the gates, not even with how to stay seated while on horseback.

When Nightmare stepped out of the gates, she could hear the one of the guards question if they should stop the horse and bring him back inside. If the guard rushed to stop them she would have felt better. But an older guard shot him down quickly before explaining the circ.u.mstances.

"Nightmare maybe the general's horse but he is a free horse. He gets to roam around on his own."

Despite the guard's words, Mina couldn't shake off the unease she felt in her bones. It was as if someone prepared everything for them.

As the horse disappeared, a strange figure peered out of the windows.

"Those animals will have an exciting adventure," the old man said while looking outside.

The younger man beside him followed his line of sight before asking in a worried voice, "Will they be safe?"

"We will know when Nightmare returns," came the old man's reply.