The Crescent Moon in the Starry Forest is just a Giant Kitten~

Meeting Humans (3)

The day after I made a contract with Harold, I visited him, purring happily. When I meowed at the sight of the goat, signaling my desire for milk, Harold said:

“That’s not how it works, Crescent.”

Harold, who was working in the field with a straw hat on, put down his hoe and tried to explain to me:

“I didn’t say you’d get milk every time you came here. I said I’d give you milk when I summon you, and you respond to my summons.”

“Meow…”

I let out a dejected meow.

Harold sighed, smiled, and said, “I guess I have no choice.” He removed his hat and went inside the house. He was probably going to get some freshly squeezed milk for me.

Excited, I followed him, but my large body made it hard to fit through the door, so I tried to push my head in.

Though my head appeared too large, it was mostly fluff, making it seem twice as big. By squeezing, I managed to get my head through. My skin and fur were stretched tight around the doorframe, causing my eyes to squint and my fangs to show. My whiskers were tugged, and it hurt.

“My house is fine, but don’t stick your head into the door of a stranger’s house. You’ll give someone a heart attack.”

Was my face that scary? I pushed my head further, and with a pop, I got inside, my fur fluffing back up to its usual cuteness.

“Don’t make me laugh,” Harold said, half laughing, half exasperated.

Harold’s house was cozy and filled with things, but not messy. Books were the most abundant, but the small kitchen was also packed with food and spices, hinting at Harold’s love for cooking. The handcrafted wooden furniture had a rustic charm, and there were paintings that he might have done himself. Harold seemed to be a man of many talents.

“Here you go, Crescent.”

Harold returned with a familiar ceramic container and poured its contents into my mouth. Though it was just a mouthful for me, the milk was slightly sweet and delicious.

“Since you’ve had your milk, how about working a bit? I’d like to take a walk in the forest. Can you guide me so I don’t get lost?”

(Ugh…)

The word ‘work’ made me instinctively want to refuse, but I’d already had the milk, so I reluctantly agreed.

Harold packed his backpack with a water bottle, food, and some paper and pens and quickly got ready to go.

Meanwhile, I tried to pull my head out of the door. I braced myself and pulled, making my face scrunch up comically. Harold laughed again.

Finally, with another pop, I freed my head and groomed my fur. I couldn’t stand having dirty or messy fur.

“Ready? Let’s go.” Harold said.

When I finished grooming, Harold started walking toward the dense forest, talking to me as he went.

“Humans like us don’t have inherent magic power, but creatures like you, Crescent, are born with it, right?”

(Umm…)

Not sure, I tilted my head. I might have a little, but not enough to use magic without magic stars. Animals or plants turned into magical beings might have swirling magic within them, enabling them to use magic without additional stars.

“I know little about the magical creatures of this forest. Some fairies and magical beasts are friendly to humans and appear before us often, so we know a bit about them. But such species are rare.”

Harold spoke while navigating the rough forest path with the ease of a young man.

I followed, glancing around. The forest was full of life: bright bird songs, mysterious owls watching us—probably magical beasts or fairies but not very strong—beautiful flowers, and strange poisonous ones. Even tiny mushrooms would run away when noticed.

Oblivious to the moving mushrooms, Harold continued his explanation.

“Humans can use magic if they have magic stars and know the spells or magic circles. High-level magic requires longer spells or more complex circles and often multiple magic stars, making it harder to use. But talent isn’t as crucial as knowledge and precision.”

I squashed a moving mushroom under my paw and frowned at the sticky residue on my paw pad. Gross.

“A ‘skilled wizard’ is someone who can memorize and chant long, complicated spells accurately or draw magic circles without error. Or someone who can develop new magic.”

I tried to wipe the sticky residue off my paw on the ground. Yuck, mushroom juices…

“Are you listening?”

Harold looked back at me.

(I’m listening, I’m listening. You’re talking about magic, right?)

After wiping my paw again, I resumed walking beside Harold.

Unlike humans, I didn’t need to chant spells to use magic. I just needed to eat magic stars and imagine fire to burn down the wooden man.

Maybe spells and magic circles were necessary for humans, but not for us magical creatures, fairies, or magical beasts.

“Look over there, Crescent.” Harold pointed ahead.

There were twisted trees that seemed to be coiled around something.

What’s that?

“That’s the wreckage of a carriage. It’s been here for decades, with only the metal framework remaining.”

Harold seemed to know this place well.

Several carriage wrecks were entwined with the surrounding trees, which had grown like serpents around them.

“Here’s a sword. And this is the tip of an arrow. The wooden shafts must have rotted away.”

Harold pointed to a sword ensnared by thin branches and a small arrowhead embedded in a tree trunk. Swords and arrowheads, like the carriage wrecks, were scattered all around.

It was as if humans had fought the forest and lost.

“Greedy humans have sent armies to clear this forest many times, aiming to take the rare creatures, food, and stars from this forest.”

Harold touched a tree coiled around several swords and continued.

“But this forest is alive. It accepts anyone but spares no one who tries to destroy it.”

The trees in this area haven’t turned into magical creatures like the tree elder. They’re probably just ordinary trees without consciousness. But when human armies came to destroy the forest, they must have sprung into action and wiped them out. So, this is what it means for the forest to be alive, huh?

“It seems like this forest operates under the notion that it belongs to everyone, allowing people to take what they need for survival. I cut down trees to build my house and clear fields, but as long as it’s on a small scale, it seems acceptable to open up the forest.”

So, it’s not like humans are forbidden from entering. As long as they don’t cause major destruction, they’re allowed to live here.

“What a mysterious forest. My curiosity knows no bounds.” Harold said with an excited tone, sounding almost like a boy. I wonder if having so many unknowns makes life enjoyable.

Just then, something sparkly and fluttery came flying toward us from among the trees.

Peering closely, we saw they were fairies, little girls with butterfly-like wings commonly seen in the forest. Although translucent, they emitted a faint glow as they giggled softly, coming towards me.

I wonder if I’ve met these girls before. Or is this our first encounter? Their dresses and hairstyles are all different, but I don’t remember the appearance of every fairy I’ve met.

“Oh, how rare. Timid fairies coming so close like this. I’ve spotted them from afar before, but they usually flee right away.” Harold said softly, trying not to startle the fairies, with an amused smile on his face.

Instinctively, I wanted to catch them as they fluttered around, but I resisted, afraid of squishing one and dealing with that weird juice again. I trembled with my forelegs, fighting the urge.

“It’s as if they’re welcoming Crescent,” Harold said with a laugh, contrasting my rather ominous thoughts. He seemed genuinely delighted by this unusual sight.

The young fairies all gathered around me, placing tiny flowers near my ears.

(What are they doing? It tickles.)

As I reflexively tried to shake my head, Harold said, “It’s probably a sign of welcome… but your fur is so long, Crescent, it’s getting buried.”

Harold seemed a bit disappointed, but I didn’t really care. Still, their welcoming gestures suggest that they might be fairies I haven’t met before. While I don’t often come to the edge of the forest, perhaps they live around here and find a big kitten like me intriguing.

But when the fairies fluttered around my nose, their wings tickled.

“…Fe.”

Unable to hold back, I took a deep breath and then let out a loud sneeze, “Achoo!”

The fairies squealed and were blown away.

(Oh, sorry.)

As I licked my nose, the sight of the fairy girls had vanished.

“Oh…”

Harold looked sympathetically in the direction where the fairies had disappeared.

“It’s a shame they left. Crescent, it’s rare for those timid fairies to come so close.”

(Hmm…)

I scratched the area around my ears, where the fairies had placed flowers, with my hind leg, while Harold muttered, “You don’t seem to care much,” under his breath.

With that, we continued walking for a while. Eventually, we reached a slightly open area where the bright sunlight poured in abundantly.

(Lovely…)

I adore basking in the sun. Whenever I find such open spots in the forest, I can’t resist lying down. Squinting my eyes, I let out a soft ‘meow’ and rolled onto my back, relishing the warmth of the sun on my belly.

As the sunlight bathed my belly, it felt pleasantly warm. I love the sun…

“As expected of a cat. Maybe I should take a break too.”

Harold chuckled as he watched me, then sat down on the ground and took a brown water bottle from his backpack. It looked stylish, made from sewn animal hide.

“Would Crescent like a drink too?”

Harold asked, patting my belly.

(No, thanks. That tiny bit of water isn’t enough.)

I replied with a meow and closed my eyes contentedly.

—

When I woke up from my nap, Harold was still asleep, leaning against my large belly.

But as soon as I shifted, Harold woke up too.

“…Oh dear, I got sleepy watching you nap so comfortably, Crescent.”

Getting up, Harold looked troubled as he said this.

“At this rate, if all we do is nap and bask in the sun, we won’t make much progress exploring the forest. Maybe having a cat as a work partner wasn’t such a good idea.”

“Meow.”

Even I know cats don’t work.

And so, as Harold had predicted, we hardly made any progress in exploring the forest that day and ended up returning home as dusk fell.

I made sure to properly escort Harold home, and he praised me for not getting lost even in the dim light.

However, it seemed that he still had some concerns about my capricious and independent nature.

“I was delighted at the thought that with a giant cat-like Ganpi, exploration would progress smoothly, but it’s not that simple, is it?”

As Harold sighed with disappointment, I murmured to myself once again in my heart, “Well, cats don’t work, after all.”