On this rare holiday, Luke is enjoying his leisure time in the living room with Yerna.
Sitting upright at the table, he has taken out a snack he likes and turned on an interesting video.
He thought that watching such videos might help alleviate or resolve Yerna’s fear of the TV, so that intention was slightly involved.
The videos primarily featured cats.
He could study their instincts and practice what states he might find himself in.
Moreover, cat videos were something Py also quite enjoyed.
Perhaps he felt a sense of kinship, as he resembled cats in many ways.
Sometimes, he would cling to his own swaying tail, sit on Luke’s head, or playfully poke at the tips of Luke’s ears, making them twitch for no reason. When lying down, he would sometimes climb onto Luke’s face.
Anyway, he remained quiet and focused while watching the videos, so it was comfortable for Luke.
Thus, occasionally he would simply play a video while reading a book.
At least it was a relief that Py didn’t bother him during the Super Magic League.
Luke couldn’t turn his head side to side to match eyes with Yerna, who was hugging him from behind, so he looked up instead and said, “There’s something to watch, and we’ve got snacks. How’s the tea?”
“It’s the best. The aroma is really nice.”
“Then, it looks like we have quite a nice tea party, doesn’t it?”
“Absolutely.”
The tea Luke made was indeed excellent.
Now, Luke was the one cooking, cleaning, and even doing laundry.
Even if it wasn’t necessary, he stubbornly insisted on helping out as a way of repaying the kindness he received.
Moreover, it was quite cute to watch Luke, with his small body, skillfully handle household chores.
As such, Yerna’s responsibilities at home were steadily decreasing.
It’s definitely very convenient.
It felt as if a fairy maid had appeared in his household.
Like in the fairy tale where a grateful fairy does the housework each night and disappears.
“How very fairy tale-like.”
Perhaps Luke too wanted to follow that fairy tale, since he enjoyed them. He even went so far as to call himself “Luke Illus.”
While Yerna was fond of Luke, he reached over the table to grab a piece of snack and brought it to his mouth to crunch down on it.
The exquisite blend of savory and sweet flavors was outstanding.
Indeed, the food of this era could be deemed the best in terms of “flavor.”
And he didn’t forget to offer some to Yerna.
Yerna opened her mouth wide and accepted the snack, breaking into a cheerful smile as if she found Luke adorable.
“Is it really that tasty?”
“Yeah, it’s even better since Luke gave it to me.”
“…I doubt that’s the case.”
Since he hadn’t done anything special with the snack, after all.
Luke redirected his gaze to the antics of the cats on the screen.
By the way, the more he watched, the less he understood the numerous peculiar behaviors of the cats.
“I’ve truly pondered this for a long time, but what on earth are cats thinking as they live their lives?”
Luke had had experience raising a cat once.
To be precise, it had been a beast in cat form.
“Right, the memories are gradually coming back.”
He could certainly retrieve memories through related experiences.
“How amusing. To recover memories while watching cat videos.”
Though somewhat anticlimactic, what did it matter? The return of his memories was a benefit, after all.
His memories began with scenes of raising that creature.
He hadn’t originally brought the beast, resembling a cat, as a material for a chimera.
He thought the species could provide good research material and planned to capture and raise a young specimen without a “mature” individual nearby.
Its racial characteristics allowed it to adapt easily to any environment.
It exhibited a kind of growth akin to “evolution,” which at the time seemed well worth researching in Luke’s eyes.
Given the right circumstances, perhaps “immortality” could be a possibility…
Thus, Luke started raising it.
However, it seemed that the creature had come to believe it was indeed a cat, as it progressively began to behave more like one.
It would knock experimental concoctions or books off the table for no reason, leap onto the in-progress incantation papers leaving inked paw prints, and place insects or small animals on one side of its head.
An ancient beast thought of itself as a cat in this dimension.
Eventually, it received the name “Levi” from Renie.
So, it lived on as the “cat Levi.”
From the lack of notable growth thereafter, it seemed it had adapted to such a situation.
This realization had led to the understanding that the essence of something lies in how it defines itself.
Just as Levi defined its identity as a cat rather than a beast, Luke decided to define himself as Luke Illus rather than a chimera.
By doing so, he would surely become “Luke Illus.”
“Yes, it must be so.”
Even if he could never revert to this form.
While watching the antics of the cats on the screen, Luke wondered if he had done such things himself and brought the cup of tea to his mouth.
“Honestly, hitting a mobile or rolling a tuft of fur is genuinely fun. I can’t precisely pinpoint why, though.”
Though still unable to read the thoughts of cats, he now understood a little bit about their actions.
In the end, it was simply enjoyable.
After one video finished, Luke looked up at Yerna and asked, “Yerna, have you ever raised a cat?”
“Well… I don’t know…”
“What do you mean by ‘I don’t know’?”
Seeing Luke look up at her with an expression that suggested confusion over her answer, Yerna thought to herself.
“Similar to what I’m currently raising.”
Rather than raised, they were cohabitating.
For now, at least.
“I haven’t raised one. I raised a puppy once a long time ago.”
“A puppy… I see.”
Luke nodded.
Indeed, elves living in forests since time immemorial had kept dogs for protection.
Additionally, humans also kept dogs for hunting purposes.
“Oh, but does Ru dislike puppies? You’ve been watching only cat videos.”
Luke nodded, as if to confirm that, and said, “I don’t really like dogs. They’re big and look fearsome. Quite aggressive.”
“Huh? That’s not true… There are plenty of small, cute ones.”
“Hmm, well, if they’re puppies, they’d all be small and cute. But when they grow up, they become almost as big as me… they can get quite scary, can’t they?”
Luke shared his mental image of “dogs.”
That is, he was thinking of the fierce, agile, and strong-looking dogs used for hunting.
All dogs five thousand years ago would have been like that.
“Luke, that’s not the case.”
“But there are small dogs even when they grow up.”
“Where on earth can you find a dog that stays small when it’s grown?”
“Look it up, it’s true.”
Skeptically, Luke searched for “dogs” in the search bar.
And when the results appeared, Luke couldn’t help but be surprised.
“No way.”
Suddenly, an overwhelming number of dog pictures in various forms began pouring out.
Sizes, fur types, face shapes… each was unique.
They all looked like different breeds.
Even Py mimicked the sound “Hmm” as he stared intently at the monitor, then imitated the sound of a barking puppy with “Woof woof!”
It seemed there was no significant meaning in the spirit language.
“Are all these ‘dogs’?”
“Yes, exactly. Is it your first time seeing them?”
Yerna tilted her head in confusion at Luke’s reaction.
“I’ve only ever seen dogs like this in my lifetime…”
“…Really?”
The type Luke pointed to was classified as a vicious breed.
Slim, powerful, and sturdy, it was a large breed primarily kept for hunting or guarding.
“Oh.”
Yerna let out a gasp, struck by one thought.
What kind of situation did Luke find himself in to see dogs?
It seemed likely he was confined in a research facility that had restrained children and people of his age.
It would evidently require a level of security that was quite high.
Thus, selecting dogs as one of the security measures to secure such a facility was highly probable.
Moreover, if it were a correctional facility housing many people, it would be very efficient to have trained guard dogs to prevent escapes.
From Luke’s perspective, dogs would seem nothing but fierce and fearsome.
Amidst this, Luke suddenly snapped his fingers as if he realized something.
“Ah! This is perhaps what you call ‘photo synthesis’?”
“…Huh? Photo synthesis…?”
When Yerna asked in confusion, Luke proudly smiled and explained.
“I learned about it a few days ago. Shirud introduced me to it. At that time, I never thought the photos of cats using magic could be manipulated; they seemed so realistic that I believed it right away.”
“What does that even mean?”
“Hahaha! I almost got tricked there, didn’t I?”
“And honestly, it’s unlikely that such a small dog could have grown this big. This must be a photo of it when it was a puppy. Haha, one can never believe anything until they see it.”
Luke laughed heartily at Yerna, waving it off as if it were quite the amusing joke.
“That’s certainly true; since cats haven’t changed at all, how could dogs have changed so much? It must be synthesized.”
Indeed, while cats from five thousand years ago and modern cats didn’t appear to have changed significantly in appearance, there shouldn’t be so many subspecies born out of dogs.
Satisfied with his speculation, Luke grinned proudly, and Yerna spoke up.
“…Lu, you know that’s not synthesis.”
“Hahaha, can’t let go of that stubbornness, can you? I’m not fooled!”
“…”
He must really need to show him for him to believe it.
Perhaps I should show him for real.
Oh, speaking of which, I heard Ru’a Eraast is raising a puppy at home.
Maybe I should ask her to bring it over.
