Chapter 8: Nii-san Get a Girlfriend?
Homura returned home with his little cat Haru, opened the door, put down his things, and turned to look at the little one who was standing still, calling out, "Come in! Don't stand outside."
Hearing his words, Haru hesitated and moved her steps slowly, walking into the house. Homura shouted again, "Sagiri, I'm back! I'll introduce you to our new family member later!"
===
Sagiri's Room.
Sagiri: "..."
"!!!"
"What!?" Sagiri became flustered, "New- New family member?"
'Could it be?! Did Nii-san get a girlfriend?' Thinking wildly, she completely lost her composure.
"No, no, it's not possible..." she whispered to herself, raised her head, and looked at her room door, trying to overcome her fear of the outside.
Then, she took a brave step forward, opened the door, and ran out!
===
"Oh, by the way..."
Homura was about to say something when he heard a *bang* sound, which startled him, and Haru's fur stood on end as she jumped to the wall, emitting a low growl.
Listening to the clanging sound above, Homura was puzzled.
'What happens with Sagiri?'
"No, you can't! You can't do this, hmm?" Sagiri stormed down the staircase, but when she opened her mouth, she looked bewildered.
Where was her brother's girlfriend? There was only her brother!
Still lost in thought, she then noticed the little cat.
"A cat... a cat?" Sagiri muttered to herself and then realized that the new family member was this little cat. She instantly turned red and hurriedly ran back to her own room.
Homura stared in amazement at the magical scene that had just happened, feeling a bit confused.
"What's happening, Haru? Am I dreaming?"
"Oh my god! What's going on?! Sagiri actually went out!"
"On the first day, I came to this world, Sagiri went out!!!"
Homura felt like he had achieved an epic achievement, but unfortunately, there was no achievement system!
Haru had calmed down and was looking at Homura strangely.
She asked, "What happened? Who was that human just now?"
Only then did Homura snap out of it. He looked down at her and with a strange smile on his face, he answered, "Oh, that was my little sister. She usually never leaves her room, so I was happy to see her come out."
'Liar! Just by looking at your face, I can tell you're not just a little happy. You're extremely happy, and your smile is kind of creepy!' The little cat took a step back subtly, sensing danger from Homura's expression.
Homura couldn't laugh anymore when he saw the cat's subtle step back. He had a black line on his face as he said, "Why are you acting like that? You make me sad!"
Haru didn't answer but didn't relax her body either.
Homura was helpless and said, "Okay! I was just a bit too excited earlier, but I'm better now!"
"That child... usually never leaves her room and rarely communicates with anyone," Homura said with a distant look in his eyes. He then sighed, "Although I don't know how she came out today, it's a good start."
"Haru, from now on, we're family. I'll definitely make sure she comes out of her room. Can I ask for your help? Can you keep her company and play with her until she can come out on her own?"
There was a moment of silence.
"You humans really make it hard for me to relax," Haru said, with an indescribable emotion. "Leave it to me! We are... family, right?"
Homura picked her up and rubbed against her despite her struggles, saying with great emotion, "Mm~! You're such a cute little creature! This is so great~! It's so good to have met you..."
Feeling the warmth and hearing those words, Haru stopped struggling and leaned against Homura's neck, thinking the same thing...
'Yeah, it's so good to have met you...'
===
Placing Haru on the ground, Homura remembered the words that he wanted to say earlier but were interrupted by Sagiri.
"Oh, by the way, I want to give you a bath. Are you afraid of water?" Homura remembered that most cats were afraid of water, so he asked for Haru's opinion.
"!!!" Haru's fur stood on end again.
"Water! No, no, no!" Haru resisted and tried to run away, and Homura understood that he shouldn't force Haru.
"Okay, then I'll think of something else to help you clean up. It would be too much work for you to do it yourself," said Homura. He thought for a moment and opened the System.
'Oh? Is the Pet function available?' Looking at the icon that had changed from gray to color, Homura knew that he might have found a solution.
'By the way, has the System defaulted Haru as my pet?' Homura frowned slightly.
'As someone who understands Cat Language, I really can't think of Haru as a pet.'
'But forget it! Anyway, this little cat...is already my family!' Homura thought to himself and entered the Pet panel.
[Pet Name]: Haru
[Level]: 12
[Pet Status]: Satiety (80/100), Hygiene (30/100), Health (90/100), Mood (100/100)
[Skills]: Clean, Caress, Care, Train, Explore
===
"Huh?" Homura was surprised to see that Haru was already at level 12.
Could it be because Haru had trained with "Tora-nee-san" for a while?
He clicked on the Clean skill, and Haru's dynamic image jumped out, with a soap icon beside it. After recalling the usage method, Homura squatted in front of Haru.
"I'll try it out first to see the effect. Don't leave, okay?" Homura dragged the soap onto Haru's virtual image and moved it back and forth.
"What is this feeling?" Haru felt a lot more relaxed, and there was a sweet scent around.
"What did you do?" Haru asked in surprise. Homura had only been squatting in front of her, but she felt a difference.
"Haha! Just think of it as my special way of bathing you," Homura laughed. "Since you hate water, I won't use water. Just let me know when you want to clean up!"
Upon hearing this, the little one didn't say anything. He squinted his eyes and carefully felt it out.
"Yosh! Cleaning complete!" After speaking, he glanced at his own status.
[Level]: 1 (20/100)
[Energy]: 95/100
Homura pondered. Would skills that violate the laws of physics force him to use energy? Moreover, he gained experience?
He looked at the little cat in front of him who was scrubbing her face with her eyes squinted.
So this kind of recognition is also possible? As long as she feels satisfied with the skill he uses, he will gain experience?
That's really great!
"Come, let me help you take care of it!" As he spoke, he switched to the Care panel and operated it in the same way.
Looking at the 10-point increase in experience and the 5-point deduction in energy, Homura smiled contentedly.
[Pet Status]: Satiety (80/100), Hygiene (100/100), Health (100/100), Mood (100/100)
For the remaining skills, Caress would increase mood, Training would decrease mood, and as for Explore, he didn't know what use it had in reality.
He'll try it later! Now, he should go make dinner!