Chapter 50

Chapter 50: Blue Star – 4

Perhaps the Maine Coon’s miserable, practically unbearable appearance was simply too tragic. Even the other two cats gradually put away the schadenfreude in their eyes.

They exchanged glances and tacitly shifted their attention from the Maine Coon to the Theater Master.

After all, neither of them wanted to provoke someone capable of tormenting the Maine Coon until it was completely powerless to fight back. The two cats still had their wits about them and hadn’t yet suffered any mistreatment themselves.

As the saying goes, when you can beat someone, don’t waste time talking. Just go ahead and do it.

But when you can’t beat them… well, in that situation, it’s better to reason things out. After all, humans have that saying… what was it again? Oh, right! A gentleman uses words, not fists!

And so, the two little cats, who considered themselves rather refined and cultured felines, obediently sat down where they were. They earnestly attempted to negotiate a peaceful resolution with the Theater Master.

Naturally, when faced with such polite little cats, the Theater Master acknowledged their good manners and approach to handling matters.

And then—

He smiled pleasantly and rejected their request for peace. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“What’s so great about being pets?”

The Theater Master spoke to the little animals as though he were genuinely concerned about their well-being.

“Wouldn’t it be better to become my puppets? That way, you could remain beautiful forever. You could even appear in my theater productions and play various roles!”

The little animals, who were now too frightened to move at all: …?

Especially the two cats.

Even the tips of their upright ears were trembling slightly.

What the hell?

Are you serious? Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“Isn’t becoming my puppets a wonderful thing?”

The Theater Master clarified that he was, in fact, completely serious.

“By becoming my puppets, you’d have the opportunity to perform in my theatrical productions! Aren’t you touched?”

The little animals, who didn’t dare move a single muscle: …

“Meow, meow… (I think…)”

The Ragdoll nervously licked the tip of its nose.

“I think you simply haven’t fully understood the benefits of becoming my puppets~”

The Theater Master suddenly stood up. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

His gaze swept around the shop. Under the terrified watch of the little animals, it eventually…

Settled on the employee.

Hmm—

He had already collected quite a number of human puppets at the Snow Village Hotel, but he didn’t have many animal puppets yet…

Why not use one of the employees as an example for these little animals? That might help overcome their psychological resistance.

The Theater Master’s eyes immediately lit up.

As for what would happen if the little animals watched the demonstration, learned that being controlled didn’t hurt at all, and still refused…

Well, there was nothing he could do about that. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

He would simply have to make each of them “willing” one by one.

Heh—

Didn’t his true self like fluffy little creatures?

Well, there would certainly be enough fluffy creatures this time!

He refused to believe that the next time he encountered that damned fox spirit, who still stubbornly wanted to seduce his true self and entertain the ridiculous fantasy of a toad lusting after a swan, his true self would still fall for it after he brought out all these fluffy little creatures!

The more he thought about it, the more reasonable his plan seemed. Even his gaze became noticeably gentler.

For once, he actually offered the employee a reassuring smile.

“I’m only going to turn you into my puppet first to give these little fellows an example. There’s no need to be afraid. It won’t hurt at all, and it’ll be over very quickly… By the time you open your eyes again, you’ll be a puppet qualified to perform in my productions. Isn’t that a much more prestigious position than whatever you’re doing as a shop assistant?” Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The employee, who had absolutely no desire to participate in any theatrical performance: …?

Just as the Theater Master was about to take control of the employee—

“Wait! I know something! I have information! Very important information!”

The employee practically shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Don’t do anything to me! I’ll tell you everything!”

Oh?

The Theater Master raised an eyebrow, genuinely intrigued.

He gestured for her to continue. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“You must have come here because of that special item, right?”

The employee pressed her lips together, her eyes carefully studying every change in the Theater Master’s expression.

The Theater Master immediately became displeased.

Wasn’t the employee supposed to be giving him information?

Why was she trying to pry into his business instead?

“I don’t like people who don’t keep their promises.”

And so—

Before the employee could utter another word— Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

At a mere upward glance from the Theater Master, her eyes suddenly became vacant and clouded.

In a numb, steady voice, she began spilling out all the information like beans pouring from a bamboo tube.

“There’s an S+ rank special item in the central area of the Ghost Domain. The reason we’ve appeared here, and even the reason this place is going to be enveloped by the Ghost Domain, is because that special item is gradually awakening.”

“Our boss has already taken the ‘King of Dogs’ to the central area to participate in the competition for it. As for me and the other employees, we’ve merely been stationed here as a checkpoint to intercept unaffiliated forces like you.”

So that was what was happening?

The finger the Theater Master had been tapping against the back of his hand suddenly stopped.

An S+ rank special item…

For the first time, the frivolous smile disappeared from his face. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“Do you know what kind of item it is?”

“I don’t know the specifics.”

The employee answered promptly.

“All I know is that this item seems to be related to something like spatial abilities.”

Space?

Come to think of it, wasn’t the skill his true self had drawn also related to space?

Thinking of this, the Theater Master poked Night Jiujiu again.

Night Jiujiu, upon learning that an S+ rank spatial-type special item had appeared on the Theater Master’s side: …? Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

【Do you still have enough Death-Substitute Puppets?】

She sounded genuinely sincere.

【Otherwise, should I work overtime and make another eighty or a hundred of them for you, just in case?】

Heh. Woman!

The Theater Master felt that he had completely seen through his true self.

After sending Night Jiujiu a message conveying a smile, the Theater Master, hoping that his true self would reflect on just how important he was, unilaterally decided to pretend he hadn’t received her message.

He extracted a map of the Eastern Region from the employee’s memories. After confirming the route leading to the central area where the competition was taking place, he finally released his control over the employee and leisurely stood up.

After all, the Theater Master considered himself a reasonable person. Since the employee had indeed provided valuable information, and having one more puppet—or one less—wouldn’t make much difference to him, he didn’t mind sparing her this once, given his good mood. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Besides, improving his template still required someone to help “publicize” his achievements.

And just after the Theater Master stood up…

Was he finally leaving?

Even the Maine Coon sitting on the sofa quietly perked up its ears.

Just as all the cats were thinking about what kind of party they should throw to celebrate once the Theater Master left—

The foot he was about to step out of the pet shop with suddenly stopped and withdrew.

He turned around and cheerfully surveyed the cats once more. Eventually—

His gaze settled on the three most outstanding cats: the Maine Coon, the Ragdoll, and the Lionhead. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Hmm…

He had unilaterally pretended to blacklist his true self this time. Considering his true self’s temperament, even if he brought back that S+ rank spatial-type special item, she would undoubtedly still be angry with him.

He needed to prepare in advance and have a gift ready to appease her…

And what could possibly be a more suitable gift than the fluffy little creatures his true self loved?

Obviously, nothing.

As for which of these three cats his true self would like best…

Why not just bring all three before her and let her choose?

And if his true self didn’t like them, the remaining cats wouldn’t go to waste either. They could simply become his puppets! Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Feeling that he had considered every possible detail of his plan, the Theater Master nearly applauded himself.

With great satisfaction, he pointed toward the three little creatures.

The three cats, who now “willingly” followed behind the Theater Master as they walked out of the pet shop: …SAVE ME! SAVE ME! SAVE ME!!!

And at the very moment they left the pet shop—

The previously perfectly intact pet shop suddenly disappeared from the street.

The employee and the little animals hid in terror for quite some time. Only after finally confirming that the Theater Master wasn’t coming back did they dare relax.

“That scared me to death!”

Her face deathly pale, the employee collapsed directly onto the floor. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The other little animals also breathed sighs of relief. After this ordeal, even the cats and dogs that normally couldn’t stand one another suddenly found each other looking considerably more pleasant.

However…

“Meow meow meow? (Who was responsible for luring pedestrians here earlier?)”

“Woof! Woof! (Exactly! Come out!)”

“Meow meow meow meow meow! (You were supposed to lure in food, not send us to our deaths! Damn it, which idiots were responsible? Get out here! I’ll rip your heads off!)”

“Woof woof woof woof! (And us dogs! We’ll tear you to pieces too!)”

…

Just as a bloody reckoning was about to break out, the employee suddenly froze, her expression turning bewildered. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

“It’s over!”

She suddenly remembered something extremely important.

“If the boss comes back and finds out those three have been taken away…”

The little animals, who had also fallen silent in an instant: …

The cats and dogs responsible for luring in customers: …QAQ

Looking at the increasingly vicious expressions on the faces of their companions, who no longer bothered hiding their murderous intentions…

“Please don’t rip out all my fur!”

… Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

The employee no longer had the energy to save those poor little creatures responsible for luring customers.

After thinking it over for a while, she finally used their contractual connection to contact her boss, her expression grave.

“My lord, we’ve encountered a tiny little problem here… I promise, it’s really just a tiny little problem!”

The pet shop owner, after listening to the employee’s explanation: …

Ha. Hahaha—

Well, that certainly was a tiny little problem. 🙂

However…

After checking the time, the pet shop owner decided to continue waiting for the right moment. In the end, he merely responded with a quiet acknowledgment. Original translation by Lhaozi, read at lhaozitranslation.com

Since that person’s objective was also this special item, there was no need to worry about not encountering him again soon.

His expression darkened. He casually patted the enormous, hideous hound standing beside him, his gaze gradually turning sinister.