IFTV. Pet Spinoff

I Favor the Purebred Longhaired Cat.

『… Just when will father have the time to look Lily’s way…?』

Our owner, Lily-sama listlessly watched us as she whispered those words. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to understand human speech, but I didn’t need to in order to interpret the emotions she displayed.

Concerned, I urgently called out to the others, “Hey, everyone… Hey, Claire-sama, you wake up too.” I was a normal black cat with short fur and no real distinguishing characteristics.

“… What is it, Rei? I was in a wonderful dream surrounded by delicious strawberries.” Claire-sama, who had been napping, made her annoyance apparent as she reluctantly opened her eyes. She was a purebred cat with luxurious golden fur. It was unfair how elegant she appeared even as she groomed herself with her paws.

Lene, who had just finished helping Claire-sama groom chimed in, “Fufu, Claire-sama, you really do like strawberries don’t you.” She was a dog of a mixed breed and had long chestnut colored fur. Now that she had finished assisting Claire-sama, she warmly watched over us from a short distance away.

And finally, Misha said, “So? What is it, Rei? Did something happen?” Like Claire-sama, Misha too was a purebred cat but she had long silver fur. In a different way, she too watched over us from a short distance away, but that didn’t mean that she had a cold personality.

The four of us were pets owned by the Lilium family. It seemed that the humans had different names to refer to different breeds or pedigrees, but none of that mattered to us pets.

“Lily-sama seems kind of down…” I explained.

“She’s always been shy and timid, this is but par for course.” Paying no heed to my concerns, Claire-sama once again made her annoyance apparent as her tail shifted from side to side. She was just a little grumpy having been woken up from her nap.

Incidentally, the reason we referred to her as Claire-sama was due to the noble aura that seemed to overflow from within herself. Misha had a similar air to her, but it couldn’t be compared to that of Claire-sama’s.

“Do you really think that? I think Rei-chan is right.” Lene responded to Claire-sama’s words, offering me a sympathetic nod before she continued, “Lily-sama seems even more down than usual…”

“Yeah, she hasn’t played with us at all either.” Misha cleaned her whiskers as she agreed.

“See? Something must be wrong!” I said, this time with Lene and Misha’s backup.

“I’m not so sure.” Claire-sama, still seemingly disinterested, stifled a yawn before she continued, “It seems to me that if you just snuggle up to her leg and give her a cute meow, she’ll perk up.”

Hm? Could it be?

“I see how it is, gotcha. How did I not notice…” I spoke with an audible grin.

“So you’ve got it? Alright then hurry and cheer her―” Before Claire-sama could finish, I interrupted,

“Claire-sama, you’re jealous aren’t you.”

“No I’m not!?” Claire-sama’s elegant furs stood on end as she quickly denied my words.

No, no, no, I understood. She was just being shy. “Don’t worry, Claire-sama, I don’t need you to spell it out for me. There’s no way that I’d abandon you and go off on my own. Yes, yes, let’s both return to our cage for an intense bout―”

“Could you just shut it!?” I wanted to finish that sentence, but Claire-sama silenced me with a sharp hiss.

Deeming it unwise to tease her further, I brought us back to the main topic at hand, “Well, putting the jokes aside, it wouldn’t be good to leave our owner like this.”

“… Well, I suppose you’re right. We do owe our comfortable lifestyle to her after all.” It appeared Claire-sama had finally come around.

“That said, what should we do?” Lene pondered.

“Rei, don’t you already have an idea?” Misha urged me to speak.

As the three looked at me expectantly, I said, “Let’s make this a group effort.”

　◆◇◆◇◆

“Hello, Lily-sama.” I let out a meow as I approached her legs. As I did, Lily-sama returned a smile.

『My, Rei-san, what’s the matter? For Rei-san to approach Lily of her own accord, how unusual…』

As per usual, I couldn’t understand what she was saying, but she did seem happy. She seemed happy, but still not quite her usual self. I didn’t intend to brag, but I was Lily-sama’s favorite pet. To get such a weak reaction even though I was the one to approach her was a clear sign that something was off.

I jumped up onto the sofa that Lily-sama sat on and took a more aggressive approach, rubbing my face into her.

『You’re quite the attention seeker today, aren’t you… Perhaps it would be better if Lily did the same…』

Even as she pampered me with pats, Lily-sama’s eyes seemed stare far into the distance. It looks like I failed.

　◆◇◆◇◆

“Good day, Lily.” Claire-sama greeted Lily-sama.

『My, Claire-sama, even though you normally stick to Rei-san like glue… First Rei-san, now you too? How mysterious.』

“Hmph, I really don’t understand what you’re saying, but I feel strangely upset.” Even as she complained, Claire-sama continued her approach. She didn’t do anything in particular, but simply leaned into Lily-sama.

『To think that even Claire-sama wants my attention. Does Lily really appear that weak right now? That’s no good, Lily needs to do better than that…!』

With that, Lily-sama slapped both of her cheeks with her hands.

“What is it that has you so on edge?” Claire-sama expressed surprise at Lily-sama’s extreme actions, “There’s no reason to fret, all you need to do is provide us with food. So long as you do that, you are already doing a wonderful deed.” Claire-sama offered comforting meows.

『Yes. Lily will try even harder!』

I still couldn’t understand what Lily-sama said, but it appeared that Claire-sama’s meows hadn’t reached her. And so, Claire-sama’s attempt also ended in failure.

　◆◇◆◇◆

“Lily-sama~!” Lene offered an excited bark.

『Oh? Lene-san too. These are… Lene-san’s doggy treats?』

“Snacks please!” Lene used her entire body to grab Lily-sama’s attention. Sly, Lene, very sly.

『Haha. Okay okay, wait just a bit now. It’s quite strange though, for Lene-san to come and beg for treats like this. You’re almost just like Rei-san.』

I didn’t know what she was saying, but for some reason I felt insulted. Lily-sama, how dare she. She’ll pay for this later!

“Lily-sama, please cheer up!” Lene continued her appeal.

『Yes yes, here’s your treat… When exactly was the last time I shared a meal with my father…』

After she offered Lene her treats, Lily-sama once again looked off into the distance. It seemed Lene’s attempt didn’t cut it either.

　◆◇◆◇◆

Finally, it was Misha’s turn. With bated breath, I watched over Misha to see what she would do. She seemed to ignore Lily-sama and instead hopped onto a nearby desk. Then, she dragged something with her mouth to Lily-sama’s side.

“…”

『… Misha-san? What did you bring my smartphone here for?』

“…” Misha maintained silence. It’s not as though our words would reach Lily-sama either way. It seemed Misha was trying to overcome the communication barrier, making her appeal solely with her eyes.

『… Misha, could it be that you’re telling me to call him?』

“That’s right.” Though she shouldn’t have been able to understand, she offered an affirming meow.

『… But Lily, how would Lily even start the…』

As Lily-sama showed hesitation, Misha grabbed Lily-sama’s hand and dragged it on top of the phone. Among us pets―Unlocking the Smartphone―was a high level technique that only Misha was capable of.

『Ah… Wait, Misha-san!』

“…” Disregarding Lily-sama’s words, Misha-san used her paws to dexterously input numbers. It seemed this smartphone allowed humans to communicate even at a distance, and Misha was trying to connect a call.

『… Lily? Did something happen?』
『Ah… father! Uhm, I’m sorry for calling so suddenly…』
『Don’t worry about that. Did you need something?』
『Uhm… Next Saturday there will be parent teacher interviews, father, if you aren’t too busy―』
『Next Saturday? I understand. Please inform your teacher that I’ll be there.』

In response to the voice that came from the smartphone, Lily-sama appeared surprised.

『You’ll really come…?』
『What sort of parent wouldn’t attend their own child’s parent teacher interviews? Or would there be a problem if I do come?』
『No, of course not! I’m so happy, thank you very much!』
『It’s a tad strange to be thanked for something so simple, Lily. Well then, I’ll be working late today too so…』
『Okay, I understand. Goodnight, father.』

Even after the call ended, Lily-sama appeared to be in disbelief. Worried, the four of us gathered around her to check up on her.

『～～～!!』

Lily-sama suddenly lunged at the four of us and began rolling on the floor. Claire-sama struggled to try and escape, Lene gave a gentle motherly smile, and Misha had given up and just stared into the distance. Me? I had a feeling things would turn out this way, so I had escaped.

『Father said he’ll come!』

I still didn’t know what exactly happened, but it appeared that Lily-sama had cheered up. Really, what a troublesome owner.

“Good job Misha.” I congratulated her.

“It was just a coincidence.” But she simply tried to shrug it off.

“Don’t say that, that really was quite impressive.” Even Claire-sama backed me up.

“Yes, you did wonderfully!” Lene offered her support.

“…” Misha shyly turned to face the other way and began licking her arm. She really isn’t honest.

Our supper that night was more luxurious than normal, and for the next while our owner remained in a great mood. Perhaps too cheerful, she chased us around for a while, but I’d rather forget about that, so I won’t go into the details. Really, what a troublesome owner.

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Translator Comment: Since this was a bit of a venture in a variety of ways, I tried taking a bit of a different approach to translation as well and adapting the format to be something western readers might be more accustomed to. It’s late at night and I was in a bit of a rush to get this out while the excitement was fresh, but hopefully I did okay with the translation still…

A fun fluffy story… I wish I could be Lily’s- COUGH. Don’t mind me.

I Favor the Villainess