I opened a cat café in Edenbar on the 6th district.
I thought it was too early to buy the entire building, so I decided to lease it for now.
The commercial shops are clustered together and are connected to the street, making it easily accessible. Of course, the rent is quite expensive, but it’s something I have to endure.
I don’t have much time. If I open a shop in a corner, it would take ages to gather customers.
In fact, it’s a prime location that’s hard to secure even with money, but thanks to Bolt introducing me to the property owner, I was able to get it. Since coming to Vestia, I’ve been benefiting from Bolt in many ways.
After leasing the building, it was just a matter of sourcing the necessary items and finishing the interior.
“Welcome.”
“Oh my, the atmosphere here is nice. The cat people are wearing maid outfits. What is this place about?”
“It’s a cat café. It’s a space where you can enjoy drinks while playing with cats.”
The first floor is a typical cat café.
It has a spacious area where the cat people can lounge around and customers can sit and relax. You can enjoy the space after paying an admission fee.
The drink menu consists of simple tea and coffee that anyone can make. It’s not easy to immediately find staff and ingredients.
Still, the prices are slightly higher than those at regular cafés. That’s because I need to make a profit on the drinks.
There is one product that’s more important than those drinks.
“Warm milk is 1 silver…? Manager, why is this milk so expensive?”
“Oh, that’s a drink for the cat people.”
“Are you saying I need to pay for milk to give to the shop staff?”
“It’s just a way to quickly bridge the gap with the cat people. You can use the café without purchasing it.”
“Hmm…”
A woman in thought.
One of the cat people approaches her, lies down on the floor, and starts to lick her hand playfully.
“Meow.”
“Oh, I guess you must be hungry. Alright, just one warm milk for 1 silver, please.”
“I will bring you fresh milk.”
This is the kind of place where you can hang out with cats on the first floor.
The main attraction is the second floor.
“Hey, over there. Just there.”
“Is it cool here?”
“Ah… it’s nice. It’s the best. I’ve never had such a cool massage.”
“Yeah, the manager had a very clever idea.”
A space filled with fragrance.
Customers lying comfortably on beds.
The cat people are kneading their backs.
The second floor is a massage area linked to the first floor.
By increasing the affection of the cat people, you can be chosen to receive a massage on the second floor. They give back massages by kneading.
Of course, the price is extra.
As a massage, it’s much more expensive at 20 silver.
A vicious double-pricing structure.
It seems like it wouldn’t be very popular, but that’s not the case at all.
Just seeing pretty data fragments raises the desire to spend money. And the chance to get a massage directly from a cute staff member?
That’s something I absolutely cannot resist.
There are already regular customers who have started touching every cat person, declaring they want to collect them all.
Moreover, there are times when competition among customers flares up.
“Ron is definitely the cutest.”
“What are you talking about? It’s obviously Nero. Don’t you see her sleek, shiny black fur?”
“Pfft, you must not know what you’re talking about. How can you say that after looking at Rona’s fluffy tail?”
“Your taste really is terrible. Right, Nero?”
“Meow~”
Let them chatter among themselves.
Nero and Rona rolled around with happy expressions, munching on the treats given by the customers.
Using customer money to feed the staff and keeping the treat money as income is basically a money-making machine.
Seira approached me as I looked around the shop with satisfaction.
“I can’t believe what I’m seeing.”
“Haha, as long as it’s a compliment.”
“Not you, them. What on earth is it about that makes humans throw money at it?”
Seira posed a very fundamental question.
Cats are the pinnacle of pet adorability. The saying that if they weren’t cute, they would have gone extinct is not without reason.
Humans pour money into trying to get just a little attention from such finicky creatures. Even when they act grumpy, if a cat rubs against their face just a little, they’re over the moon with joy.
“You really don’t get it. That’s the whole point of keeping cats.”
Even after saying that, Seira still gave the impression that she didn’t understand. It was the difference between humans and beastmen.
Just then, Bolt entered through the shop door.
“Hey, Carami. I’ve finished everything you asked for.”
“Is that so? That was much quicker than I expected. You did it anonymously, right?”
“Of course. No one will know that you’re the manager.”
“Thank you.”
“Honestly, your business sense keeps impressing me more and more.”
While Bolt and I exchanged words that only we understood, Seira sent me a suspicious glance.
“What scheme are you plotting this time?”
“It’s nothing much. Just…”
I looked over at the shop being constructed across the street and said,
“People really do love to compete.”
Two weeks after opening the cat café.
The shop has stabilized quite a bit.
I’ve hired staff and can now offer high-quality tea and coffee, and I’ve brought in a few more cat people.
The expressions of the male customers who thought, ‘Finally, a complete collection. There are no longer any regrets here,’ were quite entertaining to watch in real time.
However, they still keep returning and are eager to charm the new cat people.
I hinted slightly that for the newcomers, giving into them easily is a cat’s shame. The rest they would figure out on their own.
Customers of all ages keep coming regularly. I thought it was a pretty ordinary tycoon operation.
“Hey, is the manager here?”
Until one day when I heard a commotion outside.
A group of middle-aged women stood outside the shop.
“What’s going on?”
“Are you the manager here?”
“Well, I guess so, but who are you?”
“We’re a beastman protection group!”
There’s an unchanging truth that exists since ancient times.
Groups with ‘~ protection’ in their name are generally abnormal. It gives off a chill.
“I know everything. They say you’re abducting cat people and abusing them!”
“Excuse me?”
“You’re abducting those poor souls and making them do your bidding. You call yourself a human after doing that? Do you have no blood or tears?”
“…?”
What is this?
Did I make another mistake?
Letting a beastman slave go is considered abandonment; bringing in a street cat could be deemed abduction.
I reluctantly checked the shop. While the customers looked confused, the cat people, showing no sign of friendship, were lying on the floor, munching on their treats.
Is that how a person who has been abducted acts?
“Oh, I wish someone would abduct me~”
If a pretty noona or a cute girl would abduct me, I would have no wishes left. Just being fed and given a place to sleep. Huh?
“The ones involved seem to be fine, though?”
“They’re timid and can’t express their feelings properly!”
Damn, it’s a cat mom.
I’ve messed up.
It would be best to avoid escalating things here and to smooth things over.
“Well, I’ll let that slide… What do you want?”
The moment I opened up negotiations, the expressions of the women changed entirely.
What they were angry about just a moment ago was all a build-up for this. It felt like watching a segment from WWE.
“Release those kids and give them their freedom!”
“That’s called abandonment, you know? You would get caught.”
“What kind of abandonment is that! It’s giving them freedom!”
Huh?
My thought process got tangled for a moment but quickly reorganized.
So let’s break this down one by one. Groups with ‘protection’ in their title generally spout nonsense as their passive ability. They’re a collective that forcefully pushes their ridiculous logic disguised as reasonable arguments.
Here lies the crux.
Their fallacies and Vestia’s bizarre values intertwine.
In a world where freedom = abandonment is the norm, the beastman protection group’s abnormal way of thinking thus becomes normal in my standards.
Minus times minus equals plus!
“Right, exactly. You’re a hundred percent right, ma’am. How is not releasing them abandonment? It’s a good deed to give them freedom.”
“Uh? Uh… Y-yeah. This is going better than I thought.”
Finally, I meet someone I can communicate with.
Isn’t this the same feeling Archimedes must have had when he shouted Eureka?
“So, you’re going to release them?”
“No, that’s not possible.”
But right now, I can’t do that.
I need to make money.
“You’re saying you won’t release them? Then at least give me the adoption fee and responsibilities!”
The cat moms finally revealed their true colors.
You bring in ragged, dust-covered cats and then assert ownership now that they’re healthy and beautiful? If they were so precious, you should have cared for them earlier.
You cannot convince me otherwise.
“Persi, come here.”
I called Persi, who had been sitting like a proud princess. Persi is the most popular cat person in our shop.
When she was a stray in the alley, she was just a shabby vagabond, but after getting cleaned up, she became beautiful like a princess.
“What’s the matter, manager?”
Ah, manager.
That sounds nice.
Anyway, that’s not the important thing right now.
“These ladies want to take Persi with them.”
“Eh?”
“They want her returned to where she came from. If Persi wants to go, I will send her with you.”
“Miss, don’t stay cooped up in a place like this. Come with us, okay?”
The existence of cat moms in this world is shocking, but the environment is different from Earth.
What I’m saying is…
“Do I look like I want to? Why would I follow you ladies?”
“Huh?”
Here, the cats can talk.
Persi narrowed her eyes sharply.
“I remember your faces clearly. You came to the alley sometimes and took my friends away, didn’t you? No one came back after being taken away by you ladies. Where did all of them go?”
“W-what are you talking about? I think you’ve mistaken me for someone else…”
“Don’t try to wriggle out of this. You cannot fool our noses.”
Cat moms flinched.
Their pupils shifted sideways.
Looking back, the cat people inside the shop were staring at them sharply. The dozens of cat eyes glinted menacingly.
“Hmm, since it seems you want it, I will release the cat people as you requested. However, if anything happens, I won’t take responsibility. They’re not my staff.”
“Okay, okay! Ah, no. Alright then. Our kids seem to be doing fine, so this time I’ll let it slide. W-well then.”
The cat moms quickly exited the shop. They scrambled and stumbled several times in their rush to escape.
Is it the influence of misfortune?
Well, I decided to interpret it as luck from my perspective.
“Manager, there’s a big problem!”
Just yesterday, Persi, who had seemed so composed, ran to me in a panic.
“What’s wrong all of a sudden?”
“B-b-outside… outside…!”
I went outside with the staff. Across the street, where construction was happening, a new shop had opened.
[Dog Café]
“You opened a dog café knowing we had a cat café! This is a blatant provocation!”
“Manager, shouldn’t you go and say something?”
“That’s right! Go and give them a piece of your mind!”
“Haha… I’m a bit timid about that…”
The cat people looked at me with disappointment, and there was nothing I could do.
That’s also my shop.
