Chapter 131: Nora

The kitten instantly snapped around, sinking its tiny teeth into her finger with a grumpy nip, its tail fluffing straight up into the air as it glared fiercely at Sora.

"Ouch! What the hell!"

Sora yanked her hand back, glaring at it with indignation.

Ever since this tuxedo-patterned black cat had set foot in the shop, it had repeatedly picked fights with Kim Sora. Even though Kim Sora was the very person who always filled its bowl with food, trying to pet its fur even a little was never an easy task.

Kim Sora was entirely convinced that this cat simply clashed with her destiny!

"I literally just touched you for a second, you naughty cat! Kei, there is definitely something wrong with this cat when it comes to me!"

The kitten paid her zero mind, lowering its head right back down to continue eating. Its tail swished back and forth in a leisurely and cheerful manner, completely unbothered by the human beside it.

"Ha ha ha..."

Kei couldn’t help but chuckle.

Looking at its pitch-black fur accented with white patches and those shimmering golden eyes, he suddenly thought of another feline from his memories and blurted out,

"Let’s name it Nora."

True enough, the moment those words left his lips, a weight lifted from Kei’s chest, leaving him feeling somewhat at ease.

"Nora? This cat’s name?" Kim Sora asked curiously.

"Yeah." Kei gently stroked the cat’s head. "I used to raise a cat just like this back then. The only difference was that its fur was completely white."

"Did that cat have the name ’Nora’, too?"

"That’s right."

Kei’s voice slowed down. "Nora was very pretty and extremely attached to its owner; it was an exceptionally well-behaved cat. But one day, it wandered off and never came back."

Sora fell silent.

Kei had never told her about this before.

It was just a cat, yet Kei had held onto that regret for a long time because it had slipped away during a moment of carelessness on his part. Every time he spotted a white cat out on the street, he would instinctively pause, hoping it would turn around to look at him and that Nora would come back to his side.

And now, another cat had found its way to his doorstep amidst a storm, a well-behaved little kitten with sleek fur.

Perhaps this was destiny.

"From today on, your name is Nora, then." Kei bent down to scoop the cat into his arms. "Stay here with me for the time being."

And this time, don’t suddenly disappear on me again, Nora.

Nora replied with a very faint meow, then buried its face deeply into his chest, cheerfully transferring all of its loose fur straight onto Kei’s clothes.

Kim Sora watched the scene unfold, feeling her heart soften just a fraction.

Just a fraction, because this cat still thoroughly deserved a good spanking!

"Alright, since we’ve adopted it, we have to go buy its supplies!" Sora instantly sprang to her feet. "Feeding bowls, cat litter, toys, food, blankets, a grooming brush... there are still so many things!"

"Do we really need that much?" Kei asked in a daze.

"Of course we do!"

Sora dragged Kei out shopping.

Kei had initially only intended to pick up a few absolute essentials, but he was soon hauled by Sora from one specialty store to the next. Nora was placed inside a specialized pet carrier and carried on Kei’s back, occasionally popping its head out to gaze around with curious golden eyes.

The two of them bought every imaginable type of feline utility.

A dainty little pet bed lined with ultra-soft, pure white plush fur, two large bowls for food and water, a massive bag of cat food, mouse-shaped toys, wool yarn balls, and even a scratching post that Kei couldn’t for the life of him understand the necessity of, but Sora insisted on purchasing anyway.

She argued that without this scratching post, the cat would wreak absolute havoc on the sofa inside the shop!

Sora even picked out a small, pale pink collar adorned with a tiny bell for Nora. When shaken lightly, it let out a crisp, pleasant jingle.

"This cat simply has to wear it," Sora declared with resolute determination.

Hearing the bell, Nora immediately turned its head to glare at her.

Sora froze.

"Don’t look at me like that. This is purely for your own safety, heh heh heh..."

Nora averted its gaze, refusing to dignify this foolish human with another glance, which prompted Sora to clutch her chest with the wounded expression of someone who had just suffered yet another betrayal.

Kei chuckled all the way back.

By the time they returned to the shop, night had completely fallen.

Sora collapsed heavily onto the sofa, exhausted to the point of being entirely disinclined to move. Nora trotted briskly over to inspect its new bed, then curled up tightly within it as though it had lived there for ages.

Kei set the bags of supplies down on the floor, watched the kitten for a moment, and turned to instruct Sora,

"Sora-nim, I’ll leave Nora in your care, then. Just take care of it when I am working on my room."

"Huh? Why me?!"

"You’re the one who bought the most stuff for it."

"But..."

*But this cat hates Kim Sora so much it won’t even let her touch it!* Kei really knew how to back people into a corner!

Without giving Sora a chance to protest, Kei scooped Nora up and deposited her straight into her lap. The kitten let out a tiny yawn before curling into a neat ball right within Sora’s embrace.

Sora looked down at the cat, her expression instantly melting.

This wretched little furball only listens to Kei, just look at how obediently it behaves around him!

"Fine... just for today."

Kei didn’t press further, merely offering a soft smile before striding briskly toward his workshop.

He still remembered Hwang Do-Hyun’s request vividly.

Most hunters belonging to the Zootopia Guild possessed the ability to shift into beast forms. The Purification Ring could help shield them from negative status effects, but once transformed, a tiny ring could never possibly fit over a massive beast’s paw, were they expected to wear a collar and hang rings off it instead?

If this issue couldn’t be resolved, no matter how effective the Purification Ring was, it would remain entirely useless to them in the heat of combat.

Kei pushed open the workshop door, flipped on the lights, and took a seat before his crafting desk.

Scattered across the tabletop were a few metal scraps, a handful of herbs, and several half-finished blueprints.

He stared at them for a long, quiet moment before murmuring,

"A necklace... an anklet... or perhaps a type of item that can attach directly onto the body?"

Out on the shop floor, Sora was clumsily coaxing Nora into eating a bit more food.

Back inside the room, Kei picked up his pen and began sketching the very first blueprint for equipment tailor-made specifically for beast-transformation hunters.

Little did he know, Hwang Do-Hyun’s seemingly absurd request would end up unlocking an entirely new avenue of crafting for the Craftsmen of this world.