Compared to the extremely shaken Hitori, Chisato was remarkably calm.
He had no ulterior motives; he just wanted to see Hitori's reaction.
Now that his goal was achieved, he was satisfied and needed to address some unfinished business from the small storage room earlier.
"Hitori, do you remember what we talked about before?"
"What, what did we talk about?"
"Forgot so quickly?"
Chisato frowned slightly, feigning dissatisfaction.
"I'm sorry…"
Hitori, too nervous to breathe loudly, lowered her eyes and apologized.
"It's alright. Since you fainted earlier, let me repeat it."
"Yes…"
"First of all, you agreed to be my cat. I look forward to your cooperation in the future."
Hitori placed her hand on Chisato's outstretched hand, allowing him to hold it gently and shake it.
She asked a question she was very concerned about:
"Um… what does being a cat mean exactly?"
She remembered that Chisato didn't explain this in the small storage room.
"It means the literal sense. In the future, you can come and go from my home as you please."
"I might cook for you sometimes, and if you want to sleep, you can come to my bed."
She could actually do that!
"I… I want to be Suzumiya's cat!"
Hitori raised her hand firmly, afraid that if she hesitated, he might change his mind.
"Good."
Seeing Chisato smile, Hitori felt a bit braver.
"About the collar you mentioned before, do I need to wear it?"
Chisato asked in return:
"Do you want to wear it?"
"I'll do whatever Suzumiya says."
"…"
Such a compliant answer was quite tempting.
Chisato rubbed his chin.
"Well… you don't need to wear it outside. Only wear it when it's just the two of us alone."
"!"
Hitori visibly brightened up at this suggestion.
She thought about the dream she had led the previous night, where Chisato seemed to enjoy a similar play.
Wearing a collar with a thin chain around her neck, and walking her around the living room, both of them had a great time.
"Hmm!"
She covered her face, feeling embarrassed about her own excited anticipation.
After the dream, she felt something had changed, though she couldn't pinpoint what exactly had changed.
Chisato watched her.
"Hm? Is that a yes?"
Hitori quickly cleared her jumbled thoughts and nodded.
"Alright, let's talk about our future."
"F… future!"
Hitori's voice wavered.
The word "future" was too heavy for her.
Since she was a child, many people had asked her about her future goals, what she wanted to do, and similar questions.
Her answers were always disappointing.
She wanted to stay home all the time and didn't want to work outside.
And now, almost no one asked her about "the future" anymore because those who asked had become disappointed, and her parents wouldn't either.
They often said, "As long as you're happy."
But now, Chisato suddenly brought up this topic. Was he also going to ask about her plans for the future?
She didn't want to disappoint him. Should she lie to get through this?
"Hmm, do you have any plans for your future?"
Oh no!
Hitori's face turned pale, her eyes wandering as her brain worked at full speed.
She didn't want to be looked down upon, didn't want to disappoint him, didn't want him to realize the lazy cat he just accepted was someone who only wanted to stay at home.
So, she decided to tell a white lie.
"I… I want to be a scientist! Or an astronaut!"
After saying this, Hitori's forehead was covered with fine sweat.
Naturally, Chisato's previously calm expression was bewildered by her overly formal response.
"Ha?"
It was too obvious! She was caught lying!
"I'm… very sorry!"
Hitori tightly closed her eyes and knelt on the sofa to apologize deeply.
"…"
Chisato felt a slight headache and decided to quickly convey his thoughts to her and end the conversation.
"Hitori, what do you think is essential to live in this society?"
"Eh?… Food and water."
"That's not wrong, but these things can be translated into something more practical and universal: money."
Hitori nodded, not fully understanding.
"In this society, most things derived from basic necessities like clothing, food, housing, and transportation can be achieved with money."
"Money can't buy time, but if used wisely, it can save a lot of time, which can then be used to improve yourself or do things you want to do…"
Hitori understood what Chisato was saying but couldn't grasp the exact meaning behind his words.
Also, Chisato looked so handsome while speaking seriously…
She subtly brought her knees closer together in her kneeling position.
"… In short, for me now, the long-term goal is to become a wealthy person with a huge fortune, and the short-term goal is to earn money and move out of my current small apartment as soon as possible, away from the glue guy."
"To achieve all this, Hitori, I need your help."
Though she didn't understand what the "glue guy" meant, she understood the rest and nodded without hesitation, unable to refuse Chisato's request.
However, after agreeing, a worry tugged at her heart. She feared that Chisato in reality might ask her to do things she didn't want to do, just like in the dream.
If he said something like that, even if she was unwilling, she wouldn't be able to refuse.
Worried, Hitori heard Chisato say:
"So, Hitori, just keep being yourself, focus on finishing your band activities, and that's all I need from you."
"Eh?"
"Eh, what?"
Chisato ruffled her hair.
Hitori felt sweet but still found it hard to believe.
She had prepared herself for the worst, thinking Chisato might be like the jerks shown on TV, making her work as a streetwalker to support him.
"You just said 'help,' and that's all I need to do?"
"Yes, that's all."
Chisato pushed her tousled hair behind her ear.
"Continuing to do what you enjoy is the greatest help to me. As for the rest, don't worry about it. Leave it to me."
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