Trial Lover 25 (Patreon)

Main Story 24 - Cat Cafe

RAW

“This is the place.”

“Hagikubo Nyafe... no doubt about it.”

Since we used a map app, we were able to get to Hagikubo Nyafe without getting lost. It has a distinctive white exterior, and the words [Hagikubo Nyafe] written in soft font and black letters on the wall. Hiori takes a photo of the exterior with her smartphone.

“I took some wonderful photos.”

“That’s good. Then, shall we enter the shop?”

“Yes.”

We enter Hagikubo Nyafe.

Looking at the price list at the reception, it seems that the price is determined by the length of stay: 30 minute course, 60 minute course, and 120 minute course. Is there a free course with unlimited time on weekdays? According to Hiori, the cat cafe she went to with Hazuki-san was also time-based. Apparently, this is a common form of pricing at cat cafes.

We choose the 60-minute course because it seems like a long enough time to play with the cats and relax, and we pay the fee.

After washing and disinfecting our hands, we enter the cat room where the cats are.

This cat room has a calm atmosphere. There are many cats inside. Some cats are crossbreeds, while others are branded. Some cats are being petted by visitors, some are playing with other cats, and some are relaxing on cat towers and cushions.* (T/N: I don’t get what ‘branded’ means.)

“Uwaaa...!”

Upon witnessing the sight of so many cats, Hiori makes a cute sound. Her eyes sparkle as she looks at the cats.

“There are so many neko-chans!”

“That's true. As expected of a cat cafe.”

“Isn’t it?!”

Hiori is excited because she loves cats. The cats are cute too, but the current Hiori is even cuter. Also, the way she calls them ‘neko-chan’ is also nice.

When I look around the cat room, I see several customers. I see women playing with cats with toys, and men lying on the floor relaxing with cats.

“Oooh...”

A woman sitting on the sofa, wearing black Gothic Lolita outfit and a black cat ear headband, is playing with a black cat. Wasn’t there a heroine who looked like her in an anime I watched before?

“Nyan.”

I hear a cat meowing nearby, so I look at my feet. Then, I see a brown tabby cat next to Hiori. Hiori says “Ara,” and the brown tabby cat snuggles its face on her leg.

“What a cute brown tabby cat-chan.”* (T/N: I think I’ll choose ‘cat-chan’ as the way Hiori calls cats, the ‘neko-chan’ above is a one time thing because there’s Akito’s comment.)

“That's right. At that time when I confessed too, a white stray cat was approaching Hiori, but I wonder if Hiori has the predisposition of being liked by cats.”

“I wonder? But, even when I meet a stray cat-chan for the first time, they often let me touch them if I approach them gently.”

“Isn't that quite a predisposition? If it were me, if I meet a cat for the first time, it often runs away even if I approach it slowly.”

“I see... Ara.”

“Na~u.”

As it makes such a cry, the brown tabby cat gets between Hiori's legs. Since Hiori is wearing a long skirt, the brown tabby cat's face is hidden by the skirt. If it looks up, it will be looking up at Hiori's underwear.

Hiori laughs elegantly, “Fufu.”

“She's a bit of an indecent cat-chan, isn't she? She's a cat-chan though, so it’s fine.”

“Maybe it likes Hiori.”

If this cat is female, I’ll think of this cat as Himura-san transformed into a cat.

* (T/N: I’m unsure if I should use he or she or it when referring to cats, Hiori likes cats, so it doesn’t seem like she’s going to call them ‘it’ but... sigh... I’ll use ‘she’ if Hiori says it out loud. In Akito’s monologue, I’ll use ‘it’.)

“Shall we sit on the sofa too?” (Akito)

“Yes, let’s.”

We go to a nearby sofa and sit down next to each other.

By the way, the brown tabby cat that was between Hiori's legs is following us. When Hiori sits down on the sofa, it jumps next to her. It places its front legs on Hiori's thighs,

“Nyan.”

And let out a cute meow. It really likes Hiori.

Hiori looks at the brown tabby cat and smiles kindly.

“That’s fine.”

Hiori taps her own legs, and the brown tabby cat gets on top of Hiori's leg and sits in a catloaf position.

“Na~u.”

“I'm happy you like me. Good girl~”

Hiori pets the brown tabby cat from its head to its back. When she does, the brown tabby cat meows cutely and its expression turns relaxed. It’s tail is up and swaying.

“Nya─...”

I hear a very low cry, and immediately after that, I feel something touch my right leg. When I look at it, I see a black and white eight-split cat snuggling its head on my right leg. That gesture makes it so cute. But, this cat... its ears are folded. That means, it's a Scottish Fold, I guess.

* (T/N: I googled it. Hachiwari Neko - eight-split cat. Basically the color on its face is split in the shape of japanese 8 (ハ). I have a lot of trouble with this word, so please praise me.)

“You want to sit on my lap?”

“...Nya.”

The  eight-split cat lets out a dandy meow that is a big gap from its cute appearance as it gets on my lap. Then, it rolls around on it. That sensation feels so good. I know that my cheeks are loosening.

“A cat came to Akito-san too, I see. Is it a Scottish Fold?”

“Yeah. It's really cute. Its voice is dandy though.”

“Fufu, a cat-chan that has a wonderful gap, I see.”

“Nyan~”

The brown tabby cat snuggles its head around Hiori's stomach.

“Maybe it's jealous?”

“Might be. Also, I saw its butt when it raised its tail, it’s a female.”

“I see.”

After knowing that it's a female, this brown tabby cat begins to look more and more like Himura-san transformed into a cat.

The eight-split cat sitting on top of me also raises its tail, and when I look at its butt... there is a fine thing there. You are a male, huh? Let's get along as fellow men.

“Akito-san. Since we’ve come all the way, let's take a photo with the cat-chans. It seems it’s okay to take photos as long as we turn off the flash.”

“I see. Then, let's take a photo of each other and send it through LIME.”

“Yes, let’s.”

We take out our smartphones, make sure the flash is off, and take a photo of each other with our cats. Maybe it's because the brown tabby cat is sitting on her lap, Hiori has a gentle smile on her face, just like she did when I fell in love at first sight.

I send the photo of Hiori that I took through the LIME chat screen. Right after that, Hiori also sends me a two-shot photo of me and the eight-split cat. I knew that my cheeks loosened, but to think I had such a soft smile on my face. I save it to my smartphone.

“So I was smiling like this.”

“Yeah. It's similar to the smile that made me fall in love at first sight.”

“...I see.”

As she murmurs that, Hiori's smile turns slightly red. I wanted to take a photo of her face with my  smartphone, but she might not like it, so I stopped.

“If you’re fine with me, shall I take a foreground shot of you and the cat sitting on your lap?”

A female clerk makes such a suggestion. I’m sure it’s because she saw us taking pictures of each other with our smartphones.

After consulting with Hiori, we decided to have her take a photo of us with her smartphone.

Following the clerk's instructions, Hiori and I lean in close to each other. As a result, my arms and legs are touching Hiori. I can clearly feel her warmth even through the clothes.

“Then, I’ll take it~. Okay, cheese.”

Right after the clerk says that, I hear the sound of a shutter click.

‘How is this?’ The store clerk says as she shows us the photo she just took. The photo shows not only me and Hiori, but also the cat on each of our laps. Also, looking at the photos like this, I can see that we lean in pretty close together.

“I think it's good. What does Akito-san think?”

“I think it’s good too. Thank you very much.”

“No, no. Then, please enjoy yourselves.”

The clerk bows slightly and walks towards the reception desk.

I have Hiori send me the photo through LIME, and I save it in my smartphone album. If I have this much, it seems like I'll be able to clearly remember today no matter how much time passes.

“Nyao~n.”

“Fufu, it’s purring. This brown tabby cat-chan really likes me, isn’t it?”

Hiori says with a gentle smile and a gentle tone of voice. As she pets the brown tabby cat's body, Hiori’s smile becomes one of happiness. To think you are being petted while she is giving you such a cute smile. I'm jealous of you.

“...I want to be a cat too.”

“You want to be a cat-chan?”

“...Eh, did I just say it out loud?”

“Yes, clearly.”

Hoori laughs, “Fufu.” I know she's not making fun of me, but it’s kind of embarrassing.

“I'm jealous of the brown tabby cat who you are petting with a cute smile, that I accidentally...”

“I see. ...Well then, please wait a moment. Cat-chan, I'm sorry about this...”

Picking up the brown tabby cat, Hiori slowly stands up from the sofa. She puts the brown tabby cat down on the sofa and leaves the cat room. I wonder what Hiori came up with.

“...Nyan.”

The brown tabby cat is relaxing in the place where Hiori was sitting. I was sure she was going to follow Hiori until they reached the door that leads to the reception desk. I wonder if it’s staying put there because it can feel Hiori’s lingering scent and warmth.

──Don.

The eight-split Scottish Fold sitting on my lap gets down on the floor and walks towards the nearby cat tower.

“Nyan!”

Then, this time, an American Shorthair cat gets on my lap and relaxes. I'm happy that another cat comes here so soon. I pet it on the head, and it cries “Nyaon”. I take a photo of the cat with my smartphone.

“Sorry to have kept you waiting, Akito-san.”

“Welcome back. Hio...ri?”

Seeing the scene unfolding before my eyes leaves me speechless.

What the? Isn’t the one standing in front of me wearing a white cat ear headband Hiori?! What’s going on?

“W-what's going on? What’s with that cat ear headband?”

“I borrowed it from the reception desk. Actually, this shop... rents out cat ear headbands for people who want to feel like cats. It was mentioned on its homepage.”

“I see.”

What an interesting and great service this cat cafe has.

Come to think of it, there was a Gothic Lolita woman wearing a black cat ear headband earlier. That headband may have been borrowed from the reception.

Hiori holds out a brown cat ear headband toward me.

“You can't turn into a cat-chan, but I think you can feel like one if you wear this.”

“...I got it. I’ll try it on.”

Hiori also wears a cat ear headband after all. I don’t know anyone other than Hiori here, so I probably won't have to worry about being made fun of.

I take the cat ear headband from Hiori and put it on my head.

“Is this okay?”

“Yes. It's cute. Nyan.”

It seems like Hiori is already feeling like a cat. Very cute. If Himura-san was here, she would definitely writhe in agony.

“That’s good to hear. It looks good on Hiori too.”

“Thank you very much. I'm going to pet the cute Akito cat-chan’s head. I washed and disinfected my hands, so it's okay.”

Hiori smiles kindly and pats my head gently. Not only her touch, but her warmth also felt so good. I can understand why the brown tabby cat won't leave Hiori.

Also, since she's leaning forward a bit, I can see a glimpse of Hiori's chest. My heart is pounding.

“How is it, Akito-san?”

“...I feel like a cat. Thank you.”

“Fufu, that's good to hear.”

“I'm starting to feel like patting Hiori on the head too. I'm going to go to the reception desk and wash and disinfect my hands.”

“I understand.”

I temporarily leave the cat room and wash and disinfect my hands. Perhaps because I am wearing a cat ear headband, the store clerks are glancing at me.

When I return to the cat room, I see many cats gathering around Hiori. Hiori is wearing a cat ear headband, so it feels like she's the queen of this cat room. The brown tabby cat properly keeps its place on Hiori's lap.

“Hiori. I washed and disinfected my hands. I'll pat you on the head, okay?”

“Yes.”

I reach out my right hand, gently place it on Hiori's head and begin to slowly pat it. Today too, Hiori’s hair is so soft and comfortable.

“How is it, Hiori?”

“It feels good... Nyan.”

As she says that with a smile, Hiori makes her right hand into the shape of a cat's paw. There is no cat in the world cuter than her.

“Cat Hiori is really cute. So much that I want to take a photo of you.”

“I’m fine with it if you would let me take a photo of Akito-san in cat ears. Akito-san is cute too after all.”

“Of course.”

After that, we take photos of each other wearing cat ear headbands with our smartphones, and take two-shot photos of us sitting on the sofa.

After the photo session is over, we interact with various cats while still wearing our cat ear headbands and spend a soothing time together.

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