Chapter 616

Chapter 616: A Small Catman with Big Dreams

Night grew deeper as Xiaomi carried a basket and walked briskly toward her home.

Just as she reached her door, a burst of noise from next door made her sigh.

Taking a few steps forward, she saw—under the moonlight—a yellow-and-white–furred Catman holding a wooden sword, practicing his swings against a wooden post while muttering “hng—ha—hey!”

At a glance, it almost looked convincing.

Unfortunately, the dull thuds of the wooden blade striking the post made it painfully clear how weak the blows actually were.

It lacked any real impact.

Xiaomi stood there watching for a while.

The Catman, however, was fully immersed in his “combat training,” completely unaware of her presence.

Or perhaps he noticed and simply didn’t care.

Finally unable to hold back any longer, Xiaomi called out.

“Aike!”

Hearing his name, Aike’s movements froze, he turned toward the voice, and upon seeing who it was, wiped the sweat from his forehead.

“Oh, it’s you, Xiaomi, off work already?”

After tossing out that casual line, Aike stopped paying her any attention and turned back to his training.

To him, this practice was far more important than chatting with Xiaomi.

Besides, he still had a quarter of today’s self-assigned training left to finish.

He needed to hurry.

That attitude, however, clearly struck a nerve and Xiaomi snapped.

“Aike, you blockhead! You big dummy! Catmen aren’t suited for fighting! How long is it going to take for you to understand that? The boss is your uncle—wouldn’t it be great to work in his restaurant as a kitchen helper?”

“I don’t want to!”

Aike replied immediately, irritation written all over his face.

“I don’t want to be a kitchen helper, and I definitely don’t want to be a server!”

His fur practically stood on end as he shouted.

“I’m going to become a brave warrior! No—better yet, I’ll join His Majesty’s guard and become one of the Emperor’s protectors! Just wait and see—I will succeed!”

Looking at Aike, who was overflowing with confidence, Xiaomi honestly couldn’t understand where that blind faith was coming from.

As his childhood friend, she felt it was her duty to dump a bucket of cold water over this foolish dreamer.

“Stop dreaming! Catmen don’t have strength, and our bodies aren’t built like other beast races. Becoming a warrior is impossible—let alone joining His Majesty’s guard!”

Aike didn’t buy it at all, and waved her off impatiently.

“Enough already. I’ve heard this so many times my ears are growing calluses. Go home and sleep—don’t interrupt my training!”

Seeing his irritated expression, Xiaomi felt her anger spike.

Then suddenly, an idea flashed through her mind.

“Oh, right. His Majesty came to the restaurant today.”

Aike, who had been about to turn back to training, stopped dead in his tracks.

His cat ears twitched twice as he turned around, suspicion written all over his face.

“Xiaomi, don’t think I’ll fall for that so easily.”

“Who’s lying to you? If you don’t believe me, go ask the boss.”

That line instantly boosted her credibility.

Aike’s eyes lit up as he rushed over.

“His Majesty really came?! Wait—what did His Majesty go there for?”

“To eat, obviously.”

Xiaomi lifted her chin proudly.

“See? Working at the restaurant is great! You get to see His Majesty! Starting today, I’m a Catman who’s seen the Emperor with my own eyes—and I even talked to him several times!”

Aike pouted, clearly jealous.

But after recalling something, his spirits immediately soared again.

“So what? His Majesty patted my head before—he was super gentle! I’m definitely going to get stronger and join the Emperor’s guard. Then I’ll get to see His Majesty every day!”

“Y-you stubborn idiot! I’m done with you!”

With that, Xiaomi stormed off, cheeks puffed with anger, not looking back even once.

Left completely confused, Aike noticed the basket she had left behind and hurriedly called out.

“Hey, Xiaomi! Your basket!”

Before he could say more, her voice drifted back from afar.

“Keep it, idiot!!”

Blockhead, big dummy, idiot—he’d been scolded again for no clear reason.

Aike scratched the back of his head in frustration.

Then he picked up the basket and instinctively sniffed.

A tempting aroma wafted out, instantly lifting his mood.

Opening it, he found several rice balls inside.

They were made from leftover rice and sea-fish meat from the restaurant.

Since it was his uncle’s food anyway, there was no need to be polite.

Aike devoured the rice balls in a few bites, then licked his fingers, still wanting more.

Soon after, he grabbed his wooden sword again, ready to resume his training.

But the moment he turned around, the figure before him made his entire body stiffen.

“U-uncle? Why are you here?”

Standing there was the Catman chef—the one with three claw scars across his left eye.

The chef glanced at Aike calmly and sighed softly.

“Drop that piece of wood and come with me.”

Aike’s heart tightened.

“No! I won’t give up! I’m going to keep training and become a powerful warrior!”

Hearing Aike’s shout, the chef paused.

“Come with me. I’ll teach you our races’ way of fighting.”

For a moment, Aike’s exhausted brain failed to process those words.

He instinctively assumed his uncle was just trying to persuade him to give up, like Xiaomi.

But before he could refuse, he froze completely.

“Huh?!”

Wait—was he hearing things?

Not only was his uncle not telling him to quit, he was offering to teach him combat techniques?

It sounded unreal—like a dream.

As Aike wrestled with that thought, his uncle’s impatient voice drifted over.

“How long are you going to stand there like an idiot? My patience is limited. Give me a few more minutes and I might change my mind.”

That brought him back to his senses.

Realizing this probably wasn’t a dream, Aike jolted awake and rushed forward.

“I-I’m coming! I’m coming! Uncle, you’re not allowed to take it back!”

And so, a tiny seed was planted.

As for whether that seed would take root, sprout, and one day bloom into flowers or bear fruit—

Only time would tell.