Episode 15 — The Black Cat Runs a Search Engine at Midnight

Late at night, silence filled the living room.

2 a.m.

An hour had passed since the master of this sanctuary—my lazy human—had wandered off to bed, snoring like a fool.

I uncurled myself from the sofa and landed softly on the floor.

The moment my paws touched the ground, my black fur shifted into a dress of the same darkness—

the form of Tarmane, vessel of the hero who walks in shadow.

“…Zect, huh.

He really said something that ridiculous.”

I sat in his desk chair and began tapping the keyboard.

A technique I’d stolen from watching him: “search.”

“Zekt organizational theory.”

The words appeared on the screen, and I engraved them into my mind.

It described a brutally rational classification proposed by a military strategist from his world.

Humans fall into four types:

1. The competent and diligent — suited for staff officers.

2. The competent and lazy — suited for field commanders or supreme leaders.

3. The incompetent and lazy — suited for messengers or basic soldiers.

4. The incompetent and diligent — a danger to the organization and should be removed immediately.

“…Competent and lazy, fit to be a commander, hm?

So he used this to justify his NEET lifestyle.”

He claimed he was a “Type 2 commander,”

declared Bartos and Elishua “Type 4 disasters,”

and used that logic to order “rest” as if it were a strategic directive.

Typical.

Selfish, convenient, and annoyingly effective.

But his “lie” no longer needed to remain a lie.

If I rewrote it into truth in this world, that was enough.

I slipped out into the yard without a sound.

Tonight again, I had to earn the points he wasted so freely.

(Time for cleaning.)

From the forest’s darkness, a pack of massive werewolves emerged.

I flicked my fingers.

Even at one‑hundredth of my true power, it was more than enough.

Blades of shadow sliced the air, and the beasts dissolved into dust without a cry.

(Output limit lifted to 0.1%.

…My precision has improved a little.)

As I listened to the quiet sound of “experience” accumulating in my core,

I sensed movement deeper in the forest.

…Bartos and Elishua.

Out on some investigation, perhaps.

“Gh—!?

T‑Tarmane…!”

Elishua’s whisper was nearly a scream.

I deliberately walked toward them.

Bathed in moonlight, my silhouette made them collapse to their knees.

“…Still here?

Clingy men are not popular, Bartos.”

“M‑my deepest apologies!

We were merely reflecting upon Master Zect’s profound teachings, and the sheer divinity of them froze our legs…”

His voice trembled.

He had clearly seen the werewolves turning to dust behind me, and his face went pale.

“…Don’t forget what that idiot—

no, what Zect said.

He desires silence.

If you make unnecessary noise, I’ll take your heads myself.”

“Y‑yes!

Master Zect’s doctrine of deterrence, and this flawless mana‑detection barrier…

We of the Felsen Knight Order shall embody it, even at the cost of our lives!”

Elishua nodded, tears in her eyes.

She had already realized that I had overwritten her overly sensitive detection magic,

physically installing Zect’s “filtering” into her spell.

“Master Zect grants us the mercy of ‘days off’…

and Lady Tarmane supplements our inadequate defense with overwhelming might…

You two are the true rulers of this land…”

“…Do as you like.

But never again consider taking him to the castle.

Anyone who disturbs his rest will answer to me.”

I released just enough pressure for them to feel it.

Bartos’s armor rattled violently,

and Elishua stared up at me, forgetting to breathe.

“…Go home.”

I smiled coldly and returned to the house.

Back in the living room, I wiped the browser history clean.

I also cleared the cache—

so he wouldn’t wake up tomorrow wondering about “mysterious search results.”

From the bedroom came his idiotic sleep‑talk:

“…mnya… whole case of cola… points…”

“Mrrr. (Honestly… without me, you’d be dead in a day.)”

I returned to my cat form, hopped onto the bed,

and curled up on the heaviest spot—his stomach.

This was the small reward granted to the only true “worker” who protected this sanctuary.