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

Meeting Humans (1)

After getting to know the centaurs, I started hanging out with them occasionally. Centaurs are really fast, so it’s fun to play tag with them.

The children, including Ades, enjoy playing with me. On the other hand, the adults humor me, but they’re kind to me despite our different races. Even the muscular centaur guys, who might seem intimidating at first glance, would play with me if I asked.

While centaurs are cautious and exclusive, they don’t seem to be wary of me, a young cat from another race.

“It’s already dinner time. Wanna join us, Crescent?”Ades turned to me as his mother called him from afar.

‘Crescent’ is the name they gave me because of the white crescent mark on my chest. It’s an easy-to-understand and beautiful name, and I like it too.

“Meow.”

I meowed shortly, shaking my head, declining Ades’s offer. I wasn’t particularly hungry, so I decided to go for a walk instead.

“Alright. Come and play again sometime. We’ll be waiting!”

After giving me a tight hug, Ades returned to his mother. It seems he still hasn’t given up on the idea of keeping me, but his mother’s permission remains elusive. Well, if Ades did keep me, his mother would end up taking care of me in the end, so I understand her reluctance.

Since I love freedom, I happily bid farewell to Ades and started walking around freely.

By the way, centaurs primarily eat fruits and nuts. Despite their robust bodies, perhaps due to their horse part, they seem to be herbivores.

(Where should I go today?)

The forest is vast, and even though I wander every day, there are many places I haven’t visited. Thinking about it, I realize I’ve never been outside the forest.

But even for a curious little cat like me, going beyond the forest where I was born and raised is a bit scary. I know some things about the outside world, like the fact that there are many humans out there, but not much else.

I also know that the Starfall Forest is surrounded by five countries. One of them is the land of the Dragon folk with creatures as big as dragons.

But meeting a dragon is a little scary. I’d be intimidated by someone I couldn’t overpower in size.

(Avoiding the dragon’s country, let’s just go to the edge of the forest for now.)

The dragon’s country is to the north, so let’s skip that and head west. Since the western edge is closest to where I am now, I decided to go there.

Once decided, I began trotting through the forest. Along the way, I encountered a herd of deer and a mischievous fairy-like creature that jumped on my back, startling me and causing me to accidentally squash it. It vanished like sand after being squished, so I guess it died. Sorry.

Arriving smoothly at the western edge, I peeked out from between the trees to scrutinize the outside world. It’s spring now, so there’s hardly any temperature difference between the warm forest and the outside.

When I momentarily stepped outside the forest, I saw wide stretches of calm plains dotted with scattered patches of flowers blooming and butterflies fluttering about. It was surprisingly peaceful, with a hint of triviality.

(Funny, it’s boring out here.)

Since there was no one around, I decided to walk along the perimeter.

(I wonder if there are any humans around?)

Realizing that the outside of the forest isn’t so scary, my curiosity surfaced. I want to meet humans now.

Before I knew it, not far from where I was, I spotted a small cabin near the forest. Although it’s called a cabin, it’s quite large, giving the impression that someone might be living there.

(Maybe someone lives here?)

Excitedly, I raised my tail and approached the cabin stealthily. I peeked through the cabin window.

Inside, there were three human men in matching uniforms, sitting in chairs and chatting. One was sharpening a sword, while the other two were sipping drinks from cups.

(Is this where they live?)

Peering inside with wide eyes, I suddenly blocked the light coming through the window, catching the men’s attention. They noticed the anomaly and glanced at me.

Then, upon seeing me, they screamed in terror.

“Uwaaah!? What the!?”

“A monster from the forest! It’s huge!”

The men hurriedly stood up, grabbed their weapons, and stepped outside. However, seeing my enormous size again, they seemed to think that swords wouldn’t be enough to handle me. Their faces turned pale, and in panic, they searched their pockets.

“Th-this is why we have magic stars for emergencies. If we eat this, we can use magic.”

“Yeah. It’s a precious star, but if not now, then when?”

Each of them took out a purple star, seemingly preparing to put it in their mouths.

Fearing that they might attack me, I let out a “Meow” to appeal cutely. I didn’t want to get hurt.

“Meow.”

“What… what is it…?”

The men were still wary, so I rolled over to show my belly.

“Eek!”

But even just rolling over seemed to scare them, and they gasped and took a few steps back. My plan to ease their caution by showing my belly had failed. Unlike sirens or tree spirits who easily let their guard down, humans weren’t used to strange creatures like me, so it seemed difficult to make them less wary.

“It looks like a big kitten…”

“Don’t let your guard down. No matter how cute it looks, a monster is still a monster. Forest creatures are dangerous.”

“And it’s huge…”

The men seemed scared of me, so I slowly got up and turned to leave. I’d had my fill of seeing humans for today, so I decided to call it a day.

“Meow.”

I looked back and meowed again, hoping they wouldn’t attack from behind, and then I trotted back into the forest.

“What was that…?”

“I don’t know.”

The men stood there in stunned silence for a while.

After that, I walked along the edge of the forest for a while. The scenery was mostly the same, with meadows stretching out around me. Because the forest had many dangerous creatures, it seemed humans didn’t build villages right next to it.

(What was with those men earlier?)

I didn’t really understand humans, but were those three living in that little cabin? Is that what they call a family? They seemed about the same age, so maybe they were brothers.

(Are they soldiers because they were wearing matching uniforms?)

Compared to my knowledge about the forest, my knowledge about humans is quite limited, but I do know some things. For example, people who protect their country and fight are called soldiers.

If they were soldiers, that place might have been a lookout post. Humans want the stars that fall in the forest, so they might be watching to prevent ordinary people from taking them or to keep monsters from leaving the forest.

But these are just my speculations, and as a cat, it doesn’t really matter to me.

I continue my walk, humming happily. The weather is nice today.

Though this forest is warm all year round, it does rain occasionally. I don’t like getting wet, so I dislike the rain.

As I walk, I suddenly catch a scent I don’t usually smell and stop in my tracks.

It smells like the time I set the tree spirit on fire. Smoky.

Following the scent, I head into the forest. The smell is faint for now, so if something is burning, the fire must be small. But if it spreads, it could turn into a forest fire.

After walking for about five minutes, I discover a small wooden house. It has a chimney, and smoke is coming out of it, so the smell I picked up must be from there.

The house is in a small clearing, with some tree stumps around it, suggesting the owner cleared the area themselves.

Next to the house is a small garden, and on the opposite side of the garden are three tethered goats. One of them is a kid, with no horns and fluffy fur on its legs. It’s pretty cute, though not as cute as me.

The owner of the house is outside, splitting logs with an axe, his back turned to me. He looks older than the men from the cabin.

His hair has some gray in it, but he’s well-built and seems quite youthful. Probably not an old man yet.

He’s wearing a white shirt, brown pants, and boots.

(Is he a woodcutter?)

In this dangerous and easy-to-get-lost forest, I’ve never seen a human woodcutter before.

(And he’s even built a house in the forest)

There are some humans who take risks, despite the danger from monsters or mischievous fairies.

As I watch the unfamiliar man from a distance, he seems to sense my presence and turns around.

When he sees my size, his eyes widen in surprise.

“Well, this is surprising. I didn’t hear any footsteps.”

However, his voice was rather calm. He seemed more composed than the men in the cabin I met earlier.

Despite my size, I can walk quietly. Thanks to my paw pads acting as cushions, I can move almost silently if I tread carefully.

The man facing me had a well-defined face. His short, sandy-colored hair was casually brushed back. He had a beard, but it was well-groomed and didn’t give off an unclean impression.

His skin had wrinkles, but he looked youthful and also had an air of dignity.

Maybe it’s an animal instinct, but when I confront someone, I can sense their strength and presence. This man felt superior to me.

If I were a wide yet shallow clear spring, this man would be a deep, clear blue spring. Unlike me, where the bottom is visible, his depths are unfathomable.

Sensing instinctively that he was a superior opponent, I took a step back.

Seeing this, the man smiled.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intimidate a little kitten.”

The way he spoke, as if addressing an ordinary kitten, left me puzzled. Sure, I’m a kitten, but I’m big, you know?

He didn’t seem like a woodcutter, and perhaps he was confident in his combat abilities, but still, he should have been a bit more cautious or scared.

The man looked at me with his deep blue-green eyes and said.

“You’re the giant cat, Gyanpi, aren’t you?”