Chapter 4: Guided by the Catgirl Maid

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー

When Keita opened his eyes, he was in an unfamiliar place. As he raised his body, his surroundings came into view. It was a room about the size of a four and a half tatami mat room, with iron bars right in front of him. A faint light beyond the iron bars was the only illumination. On top of there being absolutely no objects, a subtle chill was drifting through the air. To make matters worse, it smelled slightly musty.

Right next to him, Hina was sleeping quietly. He did not know why they were in a place like this. What he could recall was his memory from just before. The white light, the smoke that covered the two of them, his consciousness breaking off…

Looking closely, Hina was in her school uniform. He was the same.

Where on earth is this? It is just like a dungeon.

The reason he could not help but think so lay also at his neck. Keita touched it gently. A chilly, hard sensation. It was probably the same as the thing attached to Hina. A thick, black metal collar was fitted onto her. There was no slit or anything. He tried pulling his own as a test, but there was nothing he could do. Hina, who had been sleeping, groaned.

"Hina, Hina, are you okay?"

Keita shook Hina with a somewhat small voice.

"...Nnn, Keita?"

Muttering that, Hina blinked her eyes. Seeing Keita, she turned her face sideways. Hina, who had been staring intently toward the iron bars, looked back at Keita again.

"Keita."

"What is it?"

"Where exactly is this place?"

"I don't know."

Keita helped Hina raise her body. Applying her hand to her forehead, Hina began to speak in drops.

"...We were in the classroom until just a moment ago, right?"

"That is true, but..."

"Besides, what is this thing, I wonder."

"Probably a collar, I think."

"A collar..."

The sound of a door opening could be heard. There was even the sound of footsteps of someone coming.

"What should we do, Keita?"

"...We have no choice but to try talking to them. Assuming our words get through, that is."

"Yeah."

Right now, thinking about the worst-case scenario would not help anything. All they could do was wait. Keita and Hina stared toward the direction from which the footsteps were drawing closer, intensely enough to drill holes. As the sound grew louder, the dimly lit interior gradually brightened into an orange color.

"It’s a cat."

"Cute..."

The one who appeared holding a lantern was a petite girl wearing a maid outfit. However, she had cat ears and two tails. Her appearance was almost unreal.

Wait... is that the real thing? No matter how I look at it, it is not a fake. Her tails are swaying back and forth, too.

Keita was taken aback by the girl who still possessed an air of innocence. If anything, curiosity won out. Because a piece of a world that could only be felt in fantasy (an alternate world, so to say) was now right in front of his eyes. The girl pointed the lantern toward Keita and the others.

"...I do not like you, nyaa."

She actually said ‘nyaa.’

The girl puffed out her flat chest pompously. The tails that had been swaying stood straight up on end. However, no matter how hard one tried to look at it, she could only seem like a child trying to act grown-up at a school play. Even though they had not spoken yet, her impression of him did not seem very good.

"Where is this place?"

Keita asked as politely as possible. He did not know if she was a child or not, but there was no need to go out of his way to sour her mood. There were various things he wanted to ask, but for the time being, he wanted to know where this was.

"Haa... I will explain that to you later, nyaa. Man, you are going to meet Milady, nyaa. For the woman, since she is just an extra, she is going to work in this mansion, nyaa."

She decided things for Keita and Hina on her own.

"W-Wait a moment."

"Complaints are not accepted, nyaa. While you are wearing that collar, you cannot disobey, nyaa. If you disobey… You will die, nyaa."

The girl's emerald green eyes glared sharply at the two of them, Keita and Hina. Because of her face and stature, it was not scary at all, but the content of what she was saying was definitely dangerous. Keita, who did not want to die yet, decided to obey quietly. The girl pulled out a bunch of keys with a jangle from the pocket of her maid outfit. Setting down the lantern, she unlocked the iron bars.

"An order, nyaa. Follow Suu, nyaa."

Suu? Is that this girl's name?

Before he could even finish that thought, Keita's body began to move on its own.

Woah, what is this?

His own will was not working.

"Where are we going?"

"Haa, what a noisy guy, nyaa—Double Zipper."

Suu held the lantern again and commanded. Instantly, he became unable to utter words. His lips stuck together as if hardened with adhesive, and his breathing was on the verge of going strange.

"Mnn? Mnn! Mnn!"

Beside him, Hina, who had been silent until now, seemed to have similarly become unable to speak. Suu looked at the state of Keita and the others with cold eyes. Turning on her heel, she went back the way she had come.

The bodies of Keita and Hina followed after her as a matter of course. The three of them climbed a spiral staircase within the light of the lantern. Eventually, an iron door appeared at the end of the stairs.

It was opened by Suu's hand. It looked like some kind of hallway. It was pitch black. In the window located directly in front of the exit, snow could be seen falling silently, illuminated by the lantern. However, Keita did not feel particularly cold. Rather, it was warm.

Suu headed somewhere without hesitation. Like baby birds, the two of them, Keita and Hina, followed.

This place is considerably huge...

He could not speak, and his legs and arms would not listen to him, but his neck turned freely. They were already passing in front of several doors. Furthermore, when they came out from the basement just now, it had not been the edge of the hallway.

They stopped in front of a particularly large double door, the dead end of the passage.

"Woman, you are up to here, nyaa. ...Follow the maid behind you, nyaa."

"...This way."

When did she...! Hina!

There had been absolutely no presence. By the time Keita looked toward Hina with only his neck, both of them had already turned their backs and started walking away from him. The two of them went down the stairs located near the door. The maid's face could not be seen, and he could only tell that she had silver hair.

ーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーーー