“Xiao Mi?”
“Meow?”
Anis’s first reaction to the name was that it was quite plain.
Well, there was no helping it. As someone who was terrible at naming things, it was already impressive that she had come up with that much.
“You like this name? Don’t you think it’s a bit tacky?”
“Meow — “
To her surprise, the kitten actually shook its head!
“You can understand what I’m saying?”
She had heard that cats had the intelligence of a human toddler, but unless they underwent special training, it was difficult for them to understand human commands.
This time, the kitten in her arms didn’t react. It simply stuck out its tongue and yawned.
“I guess so. I’m probably overthinking it.”
Anis continued to ponder a name for the kitten. Since it liked the name Xiao Mi, she would use that as its nickname.
She needed to think of a formal name…
Anis sat at her desk, holding the cat, and took out a quill to scribble some words.
“For the surname, let’s go with the single character ‘Xia.’ And for the name…”
Anis stared at the character for “Mi” in a daze, and her right hand unconsciously wrote the character “Mi” meaning pervasive.
Xia Mi.
Upon seeing the name, Anis’s first thought was of a certain dragon.
The story of those two was truly heartbreaking.
“Since you already have the ability to grow larger, how about becoming a cat-dragon? Xia Mi?”
“Meow — “
The kitten — no, Xia Mi — seemed very happy. She stuck out her playful tongue and licked Anis’s collarbone to curry favor.
“Haha, that tickles…”
Anis shared an intimate moment with her pet. An unprecedented sense of healing made her mood lighten considerably.
“Xia Mi, Xiao Mi, let’s go to sleep!”
Anis crawled into bed with the cat, and soon, both human and cat drifted into dreamland.
The piece of paper, covered in writing that did not belong to this world, lay quietly on the desk.
***
The next morning, Anis woke up to a ticklish, fuzzy sensation on her cheek. She subconsciously raised her hand and gently rested it on the cat’s warm head.
“Hehe, my master, I love you~”
“Huh?”
Anis, who was still half-asleep, was jolted awake. She stared wide-eyed at the cat in front of her and reflexively asked, “Did you just speak?”
“Meow?”
The tabby cat, Xiao Mi, only gave a high-pitched meow. Her glass-like eyes were filled with confusion.
“Right, you’re just a cat. How could you talk? I must be dreaming…”
‘I have a kitten and now I want a cat-girl. I’m getting greedy.’
She decided to do something to clear her head.
Anis pulled open the bottom drawer of her nightstand. As she had expected, what had been inside was gone. The note she had written previously was flipped over and pressed under a cloth bag.
Besides her own writing, there was an additional line of elegant handwriting: “Thank you. I will come back again after some time. This is the fee for you.”
Anis picked up the cloth bag, and the sound of clinking metal immediately rang out. One gold coin and several silver coins spilled onto the bed — even more than the amount she had requested!
“This maid is good. She’s worth staying in contact with.”
Anis was very satisfied with the result. She pushed away the cat that had come over to sniff the coins and tucked the money away.
She already had a plan for how to spend it.
But before that, she needed to fill her stomach.
Rubbing her empty belly, she opened the unlocked door. A meal cart was parked quietly outside. When her finger touched the plate cover, she could still feel the lingering warmth.
“Meow — “
Seeing Anis enter the room with the tray, the cat couldn’t contain itself.
The moment she lifted the cover, a small black paw reached out!
“Don’t be in such a rush. There’s definitely something for you to eat.”
Anis hurried to pull the cat into her arms, letting her sit between her legs using her chest as a pillow. Then, she drew her Magic Wand and levitated a piece of rapeseed to the cat’s mouth.
Her meal consisted of a steak that was barely salted and a variety of boiled side dishes.
This actually worked in favor of the cat, who enjoyed vegetables.
She cut off a small piece of the steak and placed it in a corner of the plate along with a small portion of boiled vegetables before setting the cat on the table.
“Eat up. As long as I have something to eat, you won’t go hungry.”
The person and the cat shared the food on the plate. After they finished, Anis even wiped the cat’s mouth a few times as if she were taking care of a child.
She had to admit that in this caged life, the emotional value provided by raising a cat gave her a true sense of satisfaction.
“But this can’t go on forever. Now that I have Xiao Mi, the importance of food is self-evident.”
She received one fewer meal than Sherry every day, and each meal only left her eighty percent full.
It wasn’t even enough for her, let alone now that there was another cat to feed.
“The problem I’m facing is the same as the people in the territory…”
Anis pinched the bridge of her nose. It seemed she had to implement that plan as soon as possible.
She sat back at the desk and drew a simple sketch.
To obtain a large amount of fruits and vegetables in the winter, there were two solutions.
The first was like the northeastern region of the country from her previous life, where they stockpiled a large amount of “winter vegetables” before the season started.
Of course, that method wouldn’t work now.
The second method was to farm during the winter.
As long as the temperature was suitable for crops, enough vegetables could be grown even in the winter.
Her previous world also had a solution for this. Anis even decided to adopt foreign technology, considering that nobles placed more importance on aesthetics.
Looking at the completed proposal, Anis didn’t feel the usual excitement of finishing a task. Instead, a hint of timid avoidance appeared in her eyes.
Holding the cat, she leaned over the table and whispered, “Sigh, do I really have to go see Sherry? I don’t want to see her at all…”
But it would be difficult for her to obtain the necessary materials on her own, not to mention the permission to enter and leave the mansion’s courtyard, which she definitely didn’t have.
Without outside help, this task was impossible.
The head of the Fluenst family was currently in the Royal City on business, so the assistance of Sherry, who was acting as the head, became a crucial link.
“Meow — “
The cat licked Anis’s cheek as if to cheer her up.
“No, this concerns our food situation. It can’t wait.”
Anis seemed to have made a decision. She stood up abruptly from her chair while holding the cat. But just as she reached the stairs leading to the second floor, she realized something even more important.
“I’m sorry, Lady Anis. The head of the house has ordered that you do not have permission to go upstairs.”
The guard standing watch in the mansion blocked Anis’s path.