In Love With the Strongest Man
Translator: Shizukuku
Editor: Helen
Read at Watashi wa Sugoi Desu!
Arc 3 True Identity
Extra: A Day in Akane’s Life
Morning came early for Akane, an incubus who had chosen the form of a cat.
“Akane, I’m about to get up.”
“Mew…”
“Do you want to sleep a bit more?”
“Mmm…”
Akane’s special pillow slowly slipped out from under his buttocks. Losing his pillow made it a little harder to sleep, but he managed to doze off again by rolling onto his back with his belly facing upwards.
—Three hours later.
“Meow…”
Morning came early for Akane (for the second time). He noticed that his special pillow, Servant Number One, was gone. He was a treacherous person who had left the cute little Akane behind.
“Purr, purr, purr…”
He stretched out on the bed with a groan. Getting up to search for a pillow, he found the pillow the humans usually used and began to knead it leisurely.
“Mew… Mew…”
It had a nice softness. Even Akane, the softness connoisseur, agreed.
As he kneaded absentmindedly, a satisfying little indentation formed. He curled up and tried to fit into it.
“Purr, purr…”
It was soft and had a nice pillow smell, which was very pleasant. Especially with the warmth of the sun and the distant sound of birds singing.
“Mew…”
—Around noon.
Morning came early for Akane (for the third time). After enjoying a good night’s sleep, he went for a walk.
Akane usually decided his daily walking route based on his mood, but today, even though he wasn’t in the mood for it, he decided to go out into the garden. Though he had originally intended to wander around the mansion, an unusual presence emanated from the landlord’s bedroom, prompting him to head in a different direction.
It made his fur stand on end and made him cower. It was a warning, a threat that there would be no forgiveness if he approached.
In other words, they were in the middle of mating.
Even a cute cat like me was being threatened.
The landlord’s possessiveness toward Servant Number One was terrible. It was inevitable that an incubus, faithful to his selfishness and hedonistic desires, would want to join in the mating of others.
However, Akane had no desire to join them. Even if he was asked to, he would refuse. Akane was just a cute cat and didn’t harbor lustful feelings towards humans.
However, even though he knew that, Akane was fed up with the relentless intimidation that was being directed at him without mercy.
“Mmmew…”
There was no pillow in the morning, and now it was noon and Servant Number One was nowhere to be found. He was getting a little irritated. Normally by this time, he would have finished his lunch and be napping in the lap of his hot water bottle and petting attendant.
“Mrow…!”
Akane rolled over. He purposely searched the garden for a slightly damp spot with more dried leaves and rolled around in it. Fine leaves and twigs got tangled in Akane’s long fur. Quite a bit of mud was also stuck on him.
“Meow.”
If he did this, he would be brushed more carefully than usual tonight. It was necessary. He had to remind Servant Number One that neglecting Akane would mean more work. As the one who commanded humans, it was his duty to be merciless, a duty he took to heart.
…As he pondered some suitable excuse, a servant arrived with Akane’s meal.
“Meow, meow.”
It had been prepared an hour before Akane woke up from sleep, so the temperature was just a little cooler than when it was freshly prepared. The steamed meat was slowly placed on a plate for Akane, according to how fast he was eating it. The food was just to Akane’s liking.
Akane usually had no choice but to eat in time with the moving hot water bottle, but when he was alone, he was happy to have his meal prepared at just the right time.
“…Mrow.”
However, he stopped after eating about half of his usual portion. Somehow, his appetite wasn’t good. He decided to save the rest for dinner.
After Akane pressed his paw against the knee of the maid who was in charge of shredding meat, she bowed her head and silently left.
“…”
“Pardon me.”
Another maid came to take her place and pulled out a cat toy.
“Meow!”
Akane was greatly satisfied with the maid’s skillful handling of the toy. He played to his heart’s content.
—Around evening.
He spent his time practicing scaring humans by suddenly staring into corners, training how to scratch the door cutely to expand his territory, and reviewing the pronunciation of words he had recently learned to speak.
Boring, meow.
By the time he could pronounce Mew-ka as Mewka, Akane was slumped over on the bed. No matter what he did, it was all somewhat boring. The pillow did not fit him, and he kept tossing and turning on the bed.
“——!”
Suddenly, Akane’s triangular ears perked up. He leaped off the bed and went to the door, pacing back and forth before abruptly returning to the bed.
Just as he sat back down, paws tucked under his chest, with a look that said, “I’ve been here the whole time,” the room’s door clicked open.
“Akane, are you here?”
“Meow!”
“There you are— hey, the bed’s covered in mud…!
“Meeeooow!”
You have to explain something to this cute little Akane before coming onto the bed!! With that feeling in mind, Akane leapt at the human he had been waiting all day for.
Spinning around their feet while repeatedly headbutting, he let out a purr that sounded like rolling thunder.
The human who served as Akane’s dedicated pillow, Servant Number One, hot water bottle, and petting attendant— Shuka squatted down and lifted him up with gentle hands. Akane knew that Shuka was careful not to drop him, especially since his arms were more battered than they used to be.
So Akane climbed up on his own. He climbed his arms and sat with his upper body on his shoulders. Akane was a cat of action who could not wait for a careful cuddle.
“Hsss!! Fuhnyaahh!! Mrraahhh…! …Kwahh!!”
“Eh. I-Is it still smelly…?”
“Hmph… Kwahh! Mew-ka, it’s smelly, meow…”
“I guess a light bath wasn’t enough?”
Akane clung to Shuka’s brown hair and covered his nose. The intimidating pheromones from the scary man felt like something was baring its fangs just by being near him.
Technically, one didn’t perceive it as a smell, but Akane didn’t know any other word to describe the sensation other than ‘smelly.’
[Stay away from this person. Don’t touch them if you value your life.]
It was as if Shuka had that written all over his body. It was written in bold letters and in warning colors of yellow and black.
It was as if he were proclaiming himself to be a creature carrying poison, yet he was the only one unaware of that fact. Being intimidating to the extent of making a weak incubus like Akane suffer greatly.
Still, Akane had no intention of leaving. He tucked in his claws that seemed about to spring out and bravely challenged himself to get used to the intimidation.
“Hmph… Kwahh!”
“Should I take another bath then…?”
Shuka’s hand gently stroked Akane’s throat. Despite it being difficult to exert force with his hand, Shuka continued to stroke Akane in the way he loved.
It was hard not to decide that he was willing to endure a little intimidation for the sake of his comfortable stroking.
“I’m sorry about today, Akane. I made you feel lonely.”
“Mrow. Akane’s fine now, meow.”
“Is that so?”
Before he knew it, Akane found himself held in Shuka’s arms. The warmth from the comforting stroking made his throat purr softly.
“I’ll make it up to you. After this, we’ll take it easy—”
“Mrow?”
Having been acquainted for quite some time, at this moment, Akane realized that something was off. Without him realizing it, Shuka’s arms had wrapped around his back and belly— firmly securing him in place.
“Let’s take a bath together, Akane. We need to clean that mud off and wash the sheets too.”
“Meeeoooww?!”
Akane disliked bathing when he was dirty. The normally sweet Shuka would be merciless and scrub him vigorously at times like this.
When Akane was first found, he was battered from being attacked by monsters in the Dead Forest. Shuka had carefully washed his wounds to prevent them from festering, which left a slight trauma.
“Meeeeoooow! Mew, meow…!”
“Why are you so dirty? Let me check for any wounds.”
“Meowww…”
That day in the bath, Akane recalled words like ‘you reap what you sow’ or ‘just deserts’ while emitting weak whimpers.
—However, by the next day, he had completely forgotten.
[End of A Day in the Life of Akane Extra]
