The kitten didn't really have a place in mind, she didn't even know the name of the city let alone where would be best to "visit", but she wasn't worried. She didn't need to know the exact geography. Instead she just needed to know where the approximate centre of the feudal era city was.
People in power always worried the most about keeping themselves protected; it was natural to want to keep you and your family safe. That meant setting up shop in the most defensible position or, if holding back the danger isn't possible, the place it's easiest to run away from. In either case…
That was the centre of the city.
With that idea she didn't even jump up on the houses; instead she just headed in the opposite direction to the outer walls. Deciding to take in the settlement from a ground level view. Quickly realising it was just as bad as she thought it was when she was watching it from above.
She didn't believe every single noble was an evil irredeemable reprobate yet she also used to be a noble in her own race. She was never surprised when they were incompetent or lost sight of what their actual role was. Rarely is it the first generation but eventually they forget that they are meant to lead their people.
Instead they focus on bettering their own position. Completely ignoring the intentions behind noblesse oblige due to it getting in the way of their own goals in life - usually either lining their pockets or climbing up the social ladder. Those both often feed into one another as an example of a positive feedback loop.
One that she had consistently seen during her long life; not that she could blame mortals since (despite what they may tell you) "superior entities" also fell for the enticement.
"Nyehehe~."
That cat couldn't help chuckle.
All around there were just people trying to live their lives, certain people setting up stalls to hawk their self-made sandals or sell gigantic bags of rice, without worrying about anything else. It was a simple life with no rewards but it was their lives. A fact that made the kitten somewhat respect these people.
Humans were weak yet (somehow at the same time) hearty in how they could keep going no matter what their lot in life was. To them tomorrow was often reason enough to go on despite their sentience. It was different from animals who only knew how to survive and would never expect anything else.
These were people that knew there were people of the same race as them but were only born with a different spoon in their mouth. In all meanings of the word… It was unfair. There was no doubt that many of them could have done a better job than their lord if only they were given the same opportunities.
However, they'd never get those opportunities.
Still they continued on without grumbling since they had accepted the unfair nature of life. That was respectable no matter how you look at it - of course not every human accepted their lot in life and she could certainly respect that. She didn't accept hers either.
"COME GET YOUR CLOTHES REPAIRED!"
"Do you think the crime lords will let up on their fees next month?"
"GET THE BEST GRUB IN ALL OF JAPAN!"
"Who knows… Winter is through so we can hope."
"COME GET ANTI-EVIL SPIRIT TALISMANS TO PROTECT YOURSELF AND FAMILY!"
"What use is hope for poor shomin & peasants like us…"
"FRESHLY DUG UP BAMBOO SHOOTS!"
Some of the humans had wooden stalls, others just a blanket on the floor, others a straw mat and a few even had a cooking setup. Seeing just the vast difference between the "merchants" brought a smile to the kitten's face. Sadly all good things need to come to an end.
*BAM*
"Did you think you could just set up shop wherever you wanted and not get fuck up when you didn't even both paying your protection fee?"
Her fuzzy little ears twitched at the sudden shouting turning to see that one of the people on a quilt had been kicked over causing their clay creations to shatter. A shame. The person in question rubbed blood from the corner of their lips as they looked up to the three figures surrounding them.
That unfortunate seller was visibly trembling as they clearly didn't want to be there - their eyes shaking more than their body. They tried to either calm down the aggressor or defend themselves. Lifting their hands up towards the trio in a pitiful attempt to prevent them from approaching.
"B-but I did pay your protection fee."
"Aw~ well I don't remember it so it clearly wasn't enough!"
Lifting his arms up in a shrug while looking around. Getting a laugh out from his companions while the surrounding people soon joined in when his gaze began to linger on them. Meanwhile the person on the ground could only clench his fists
Unable to resist as the kitten was now shown the darker face of what she respected about the weak mortal communities.
Just when the apparent leader of the criminals was about to turn to his most recent prey; the sounds of people being ushered away could be heard. A pair of light chain armour bound men with pole-arms made for restraining rather than killing. Although they weren't afraid of using them to beat civilians aside.
Their presence was enough to make the silly humans run around like headless chickens, trying to get out of the way, leading to the little black cat needing to quickly jump up. Ironically ending up on the roof top despite her intentions. Still their reaction alone told her enough about the people who just came.
It didn't take the two long to reach the scene of the crime however that cat had no faith that these people would actually help the seller. If those "police" did their job properly… Those gangsters wouldn't have dared to so openly hustle the seller in the first place. A belief that was proven to be well placed.
"Well, well, well, what do we have here?"
"Seems like someone is causing trouble to me…"
Both of them soon stand behind the trio of thugs with their polearms either lazily resting on their shoulder or on the floor. All four of them turned to face the newcomers. That seller attempted to stand up using the wall at his back as a support; practically crawling up it while clutching his battered cheek.
They all seemed nervous with the evident leader of the punks resting a hand on the back of his head as he clearly took a respectful position.
"Nothing much, officers, we were just dealing with someone who didn't want to pay his dues."
"I-I already paid!"
Clearly fed up with the obvious lies that the assholes were using to set him up.
Unfortunately he wasn't among allies as the guard resting his pole-arm on the floor suddenly used it to restrain the clear victim. Encasing his neck with the U-hook at the end. Not caring that his forceful use of his weapon sent the poor man's head viciously against the wall with an audible thud.
"Tch did I ask you a question, criminal?"
"Should just pay what you owe so that we wouldn't need to get involved…"
The sound shook his head as he instead used his weapon's butt to slam into the unprotected abodemen of the civilian. His hands were busy trying to protect his neck from the hook by holding the pole. A fact that made him unable to resist as the butt made him lurch forward while releasing spittle from his mouth.
It didn't even end there as he ended up accidentally moving towards the pair again - giving the one restraining him a good enough excuse to once again slam his head against the wall. One didn't need to be a Cheshire level intellect to figure out they were experienced with this sadism. Knowing exactly how to make their captives feel pain.
|What a bunch of violent thugs.|
|You should show them what real fear is~.|
Snorting at her other self's thoughts as she looked down at the scene coldly.
Turning away to continue heading towards the middle of the city as the sounds of flesh hitting flesh soon began to echo through the street. Sounds of pained screams only barely discernible. That doing nothing to worry the kitten who sauntered away with just as much grace as ever.
Wagging her tails with amusement as well as zero guilt from letting that man get bullied; it simply wasn't her job to clean up after humans. Even back when Cheshire was the one in the control seat. The most they interacted with humans was as a business catering to all layers of class.
Additionally… Their "business" was not exactly squeaky clean with morally grey being the standard while morally black was the usual. So she wasn't about to act like a hero when she certainly couldn't find herself caring about what may as well be standard operating procedures.
Plus it wasn't as if she planned to let either group completely off the hook - she planned to at least skim some of their profit off the top. In her perspective she was still helping out the poor man. Just doing it a little later than he would have wanted.
Consequences?
There would be some even if she stopped the attack so she couldn't really be judged for taking the path that gives her the best personal result. Plus, at least this way the most he can expect is an increased number of visits as they try to recoup from their losses. If she repeated it a few times she may even be able to take care of them for good.
Whether that was her plan was another matter.
Finally she seemed to arrive at her destination as a decently grand (for humans) residence with a fairly frequent set of patrols. Additionally, there were plenty of wealthier looking people laughing joyfully or sitting on their porches. The road was paved while the police happily answered any questions the residents had.
That wasn't the only direct contrast to the "outer city"; however the wealth gap wasn't too important to the little black cat. What was useful was the fact that there were a lot of tall walls isolating the various home estates. Reminding the cat quite a lot of the Demon Realm though those demons were better organised.