IDRNG 08

Chapter 8

I had no idea what to ask first, so I just stood there with my mouth slightly open, staring at Himong.

Himong shook his head at me, then padded over to the sofa and plopped down.

“Come over here, meow. Himong has a lot to talk about with Ailebeth-meow.”

I also had plenty to say to this working-cat with a bald spot on the back of his head.

When I shuffled over and sat down on the sofa, Himong placed his soft, rice-cake-like front paws firmly on the table.

Then, for all the world like an interrogating detective—despite being a cat—he began questioning me.

“That dungeon, was it the same one Ailebeth-meow cleared in the previous dimension?”

“That’s right! The dungeon I cleared before—right at the point where it was about to be fully cleared—suddenly a gate opened!”

I jumped up in protest like a falsely accused suspect.

Himong nodded slowly, as if he had figured something out.

“I knew it, meow…”

“What do you mean ‘you knew’? You know something, don’t you?”

“Himong looked into it, meow. It seems the reason dungeons have appeared in this dimension… is because of Ailebeth-meow.”

“What? Because of me? Why? What did I even do? I didn’t do anything!”

“This dimension, meow… is newly created and very unstable. And on top of that, an impurity called Ailebeth-meow has entered it, hasn’t it?”

I was speechless at the rude cat who labeled me an “impurity” with such a cute face.

This world was the setting of the novel I read in my previous life, and it had only just begun.

And I was an “possessor” who had entered this world—an existence that did not belong to the original story.

In that sense, I really was an “impurity.”

And according to Himong, because that impurity happened to be me, the dungeon I once cleared had manifested here.

So all my hopes that it wasn’t my fault were meaningless in the end.

He was saying I was the cause of all this mess.

So I was the villain ruining my sweet second life.

How does that make any sense?!

I grabbed my hair in frustration.

“Does that even make sense? Even if I possessed a body, how can there be dungeons in a romance fantasy novel world?!”

“Then why did you possess a body in the first place, meow? You know how much headache people like you give to the Dimensional Management Bureau, meow?”

“Don’t blame me for that! Do you think I chose this? I died and woke up here—what was I supposed to do?!”

“That, meow, is not something Himong can help with.”

Himong shrugged like a civil servant dealing with an annoying complaint.

Ugh, this irritating cat…

Do you even understand what possessors go through?

It’s not easy adapting to a new world without being discovered.

I wanted to grab him by the scruff and demand to speak to a superior, but as a civilized person who loves animals, I barely held myself back.

More important than that was what would happen to my life from here on.

“If the dungeon appeared because of me… does that mean more dungeons could appear?”

“That’s possible, meow. This dimension is still unstable, so even Himong doesn’t know what might happen, meow.”

“What do you mean unstable?”

“You said this is the world of the novel Ailebeth-meow read, didn’t you? A dimension created like that is naturally unstable, meow.”

“So once it stabilizes… no more dungeons will appear?”

“I actually asked the Director about that, meow. He said that seems likely, meow.”

For the first time since Himong appeared, he said something hopeful.

I crawled across the table and grabbed Himong’s paws.

“Then when does it stabilize? Can’t it be done faster?”

But the heartless cat shook off my hands.

“That is not something anyone can control, meow. The world will fully form once the novel it is based on is completed, meow.”

“So if things follow the novel… the world stabilizes when the story ends?”

“That’s right, meow. Only after the novel ends does this dimension truly begin.”

Himong said this nonsense with a solemn face.

So basically, the world only stabilizes if everything proceeds exactly like the original story.

The problem was that the novel Butterfly Garden’s Secret Meeting still had a long way to go before ending.

“What if a dungeon break happens before that? What if a main character dies?”

“Then this world will never stabilize, meow.”

“…Oh no.”

We’re doomed.

My second life is ruined too.

No matter how I thought about it, there was no solution.

How was I supposed to prevent dungeons that could appear anywhere, anytime?

If one appeared on a deserted island and exploded there, both the world and my life would be over.

So this is my fate, huh. I should’ve just died yesterday.

I collapsed onto the sofa and sobbed.

“Ailebeth-meow.”

Himong called my name more seriously than ever before.

When I didn’t respond and kept crying, he gently placed his soft, damp cat-paw on my hand—the one I had tried to grab earlier.

“Don’t worry, meow. If a gate is detected, Himong will notify you, meow. You just have to stop the dungeon before it breaks, meow.”

Could you stop saying such irresponsibly confident things, you incompetent junior civil servant cat?

“Notify me? What, you expect me to clear it alone?”

I asked flatly, and Himong’s ears drooped.

He grabbed my hand tightly like it was a lifeline and looked up at me with big pleading eyes.

My hardened heart melted instantly.

Too cute. Way too cute.

Before I knew it, my lips curled up, and Himong immediately noticed.

With even more exaggerated sadness, he continued:

“If this dimension doesn’t stabilize properly, the Director will scold Himong, meow. Himong might lose all his fur, meow…”

“Hey, that’s too much. How am I supposed to clear dungeons alone?”

“Ailebeth-meow can do it, meow. Himong believes in Ailebeth-meow.”

This carefree cat…

No matter how adorably he says it, it just means I’m the one doing all the dangerous work.

I almost flopped back onto the sofa again, but then I remembered yesterday’s dungeon situation and straightened up.

Wait. Maybe I won’t be alone.

I was not the one who defeated Lanier yesterday.

That meant someone else was inside the dungeon—someone Awakened who could kill monsters.

And the gate had sucked me in when it first opened, meaning the dungeon was already 99% cleared.

If dungeons appearing here were a dimensional error caused by me, then I had no idea what kind of dungeons would appear in the future—or in what state.

But if I only had to deal with the dungeon boss like yesterday, maybe I could manage.

Even if I was now living as a weak noble lady, in my past life I had been among the top-ranked S-class Awakened.

I already knew all dungeon strategies. Unless it was one of those S-class dungeons where both the boss and the attacker die together, I could probably handle it.

Whether I could or not, I had no choice but to try if I wanted to protect both Himong’s fur and my sweet second life.

“Alright. I’ll do it. But you have to tell me the moment a gate opens.”

“Leave that to Himong, meow!”

The chubby cat meowed confidently, though he was extremely adorable and not at all reliable.

Even if I handled the dungeons myself, there was still the problem of the original story.

The engagement announcement at the Butterfly Garden was supposed to be the opening scene of the novel, but that had already been derailed.

I quietly held onto Himong’s paw as he tried to pull away.

“About the story having to proceed as written… does it have to be exactly the same?”

“As long as the main events involving the protagonists happen properly, it should be fine, meow.”

“Really? That’s a relief.”

Next week’s banquet was supposed to be when Hayden and Lariénne’s engagement would be announced.

That would mark the true beginning of the story.

I just hoped nothing went wrong that day.

“Can you tell in advance when the next dungeon will appear?”

“No, meow.”

Himong lowered his head and answered gloomily.

The little bald spot right in the middle of his round head looked especially tragic.