Unlimited Ambition

"Hmm, I've never heard the doctor mention it. I'm just guessing, but..."

"I understand, no need to say anything more."

"So, Mr. Sakamoto, you should keep up the good work."

“I know, and also, my name is Wright Baldwin. Not Sakamoto Pharmaceutical.”

“Is there any difference? Mr. Sakamoto is Mr. Sakamoto.” Nana’s smile was as bright as the morning star.

"Is that so?" I smiled, a rare occurrence for me. "Looks like I'll have to put in a little more effort."

The next day, Nana started showing off her summer uniform from Shiding High School, which she'd somehow managed to find somewhere. She twirled around in front of the mirror.

Then, she ran up to me, who was sitting on the edge of the roof drinking tea, and asked, "How is this outfit?"

"Hmm, it fits perfectly," I said.

"No, no, not this!" Unexpectedly, Nana seemed quite agitated. She jumped up and down, throwing a tantrum at me.

"What's that like?" I asked.

"Is she any different from the other students?" Nana asked.

“It seems… there’s not much difference.” I said, echoing what Nana said.

This comment, which wasn't exactly a compliment, made Nana almost jump for joy. She hugged me tightly and said, "Mr. Sakamoto, I love you the most—" Then she immediately pushed me away and said, "I forgot that Mr. Sakamoto sheds fur and will get your school uniform dirty."

"What are you doing?! I'm not a cat anymore, why would I shed fur?!" (Think about it yourself)

Just then, the professor rubbed his eyes and walked over: "What are you doing, making such a racket so early in the morning..."

"Ah, Doctor." Nana seemed to want some praise from the Doctor, so she ran over and struck a few poses as if showing off. Then she asked, "How does it look?"

The professor seemed unresponsive, only noticing Nana's appearance before asking, "Nano, are you going out?" He appeared to have completely forgotten that Nana was supposed to go to school today.

“Going to school, Professor? Oh, right, breakfast is ready, and lunch is in the microwave. Just heat it up a bit and you can eat.” Nana said, putting on her shoes. “Mr. Sakamoto, thank you for waiting. We can go now.”

"Is Sakamoto leaving too?" the professor asked.

"Yes, we need to go to work to support our families, isn't that what we said back then?"

"Huh? Does that mean only the Doctor is left?" The Doctor seemed very unwilling.

"There's nothing we can do about it, but don't worry, Mina and I will be back as soon as possible," I tried to comfort her.

"So what time will you be back?" the doctor asked, still looking very reluctant.

"After school, plus the journey home, and grocery shopping... I'll try to be there before five o'clock," Mingo said after calculating.

"Huh?! Isn't it completely dark then?!" the Doctor exclaimed, then lay down on the ground and rolled around, throwing a tantrum: "No, no, no! Absolutely not! Doctor, I don't want to be alone for so long!"

"But Doctor—" Nono reached out her hand, as if trying to comfort the doctor. But the doctor grabbed her hand and pulled it away.

"Huh?!" Nao let out a cute groan.

To be honest, I've seen plenty of these kinds of R-rated scenes. That brat often disregards Mingna's feelings and alters her body all the time. For example, he'd press a switch, and her little toe would turn into a USB port; or her fist would fly out like a rocket; or a hidden door on her forehead would open, and pastries would pop out.

It's a little scary to think about. Also, Nana looks so pitiful.

Honestly, if I were treated like that, I would have rioted long ago. Even if I was flailing my arms and legs, I could still manage a frantic, wild scratching. I would definitely fight her to the death.

But Nana didn't see it that way. Usually, with her incredibly good temper, she would forgive the professor's pranks. Even if she was angry at the time, she'd be back to normal within half an hour. What a kind soul!

I rolled my eyes: "Hey kid, shouldn't you stop already?"

As a result, the little brat not only ignored me, but also rolled around on the floor to the other side of the corridor.

"Ah, um... Doctor, I'll buy you new snacks when I get back." On the other side, Nana had given up on persuading the brat and was now trying to solve the problem by bribing him.

The kid didn't react, seemingly because he thought the price was too low.

"Besides that, I'll also buy you shark fin soup to eat." Nana continued to raise the price.

The little devil still didn't react.

“Mr. Sakamoto…” Nana looked at me with pleading eyes.

"Fine, I'll just add a little more. Anyway, I'll get paid in the middle of this month," I replied.

“Then let’s add another serving of strawberry milk,” Nana said.

The kid seemed to think the price was about right, so he rolled back, stood up with a "click," and said to Nana, "So, how about the Akutagawa Prize?"

"Huh?!" Nao was instantly shocked: "What have I done to deserve this?!"

"So, what is the Akutagawa Prize?!" I asked.

"It's practically the highest-level award for new writers in Japanese literature," Nana explained.

"Hahaha, no problem at all. That level of stuff can be taken care of in no time—by the way, the royalties should be pretty good, right?" I laughed, patting the kid's head as I said this.

"Huh? Is Mr. Sakamoto any good? —Speaking of which, Mr. Sakamoto is just a cat, can he really write?" Nana asked from the side.

“Absolutely no problem! Speaking of which, I’m quite the erudite…cat. Human knowledge is a piece of cake for me,” I said.

"Is that so? Mr. Sakamoto is amazing." Nana was so naive; she believed me when I said that.

"Then, Sakamoto, you can take the Akutagawa Prize." The professor seemed to think that continuing this commotion wouldn't lead to anything, so he let Nana and me leave. Speaking of which, that little brat leaning against the door, watching us leave with such longing eyes, actually looked rather pitiful.

And so, Mina and I chatted as we walked toward the school.

"Speaking of which, what kind of job did Mr. Sakamoto find?" Nana suddenly remembered to ask this question.

"It's a teacher. The one at the school you're going to," I said to her with a smile.

"Mr. Sakamoto..."

"what?"

Lying is not a good habit.

"...Damn it, even at a point like this, you still don't believe me?"

"But how could a cat possibly have the ability to teach humans?"

"It's a philosophy class, which means I'm teaching you how to be a person from the perspective of an elder!"

"Huh? Does the school offer that kind of subject?"

“It wasn’t there before; I asked the principal to add it.”

Is this okay?

And so we walked and talked, until halfway there, when suddenly Mingnai’s expression changed drastically, as if she had remembered something. Then she pulled me into a side alley.

"What are you doing, Mina? Class is about to start," I said to her with a hint of displeasure.

"Um... Mr. Sakamoto, actually, actually I..." Nana's face turned bright red, as if she were very shy. Speaking of which, the Doctor's settings are really detailed enough, completely like a normal person.

But, Nana, what exactly do you want to say to me with that hesitant look? Could it be that—Nana, you've been attracted by my charm and suddenly had the urge to "do that" with me?

To be honest, I don't really dislike this situation. Besides, being trapped in a cat's body for so many days has made me a little impulsive. Seeing your shy look, Nana, I'm starting to lose control.

But, one last question.

"Nano, speaking of which, did the Doctor really set up that kind of function for you?"

"Huh?!"

Seeing the bewildered look on Nana's face, I knew I'd misunderstood. I rolled my eyes, not scared at all. Anyway, a good kid like Nana definitely wouldn't understand what I meant.

"So what's wrong? We'll be late if you don't tell us."

"Yes, that's the wind-up key on my back. Isn't it strange that someone saw it..."

"This... um, it should be fine. Look at the people on the street, not many of them noticed you. I'm wearing cat ears and a cat tail too, so what's there to be afraid of?"

"But...that's different. Mr. Sakamoto is a cat..."

"Aren't you a robot too? And if you say I'm a cat again, watch out or I'll bite you."

"But I want to appear as ordinary as possible. If people treat me like a robot, wouldn't my school life be ruined?"

"Hmm... don't worry, just follow my instructions when you get to school. I promise you won't be treated like a robot," I assured Nana, patting my chest.

"Then I'll have to ask you, Mr. Sakamoto. Please make sure I look as ordinary as possible. Please, please." Nana clasped her hands together and pleaded with me like this.

"Don't worry, I've got your back." I smiled knowingly.

Chapter Nine: Someone said I was being cute. Cute my ass!

I took Mina's hand and we walked happily toward Tokisada High School. Unlike my relaxed and carefree expression, Mina seemed anxious and dissatisfied, as if she had done something wrong. Several times, if I hadn't been holding her back, Mina would have run away because of her guilty conscience.

"Relax, don't worry, I'm here," I kept telling Nana. But it didn't seem to have much effect. Perhaps because of my cat experience a few days ago, Nana's impression of me remained: a lazy, gluttonous cat who talks a lot of nonsense. It's normal that she doesn't trust me.

"Damn it, this should make you look at me in a whole new light!" I thought to myself, a wicked smile spreading across my face. "Hehehe, hehehehehe..."

Having been a ruler for 4.6 billion years, I understand a little bit of power politics.

"So, these cat ears and tail are just my hobby. Come on, everyone, let's all shout together: Meow~"

During the usual self-introduction before class, Gu Yi didn't mention her surname, given name, or occupation—instead, she immediately legitimized the cat ears on her head and the cat tail behind her. She also called herself a rather unconventional and unique "Gu".

Immediately afterwards, comments followed: "Ah, so this is what they call 'cute,' right? Although it's a little... well, you know... for a young boy to act cute like this is a bit... well, it doesn't seem completely unacceptable..."

That's about the level of sound quality.

Of course, there were others who responded to me. A girl with long, straight black hair and glasses, who looked like she had no personality, stood up and then meowed.

Hmm, surprisingly cute.

"Ma, Mai-chan?!" Next to her, a girl with brown hair looked at the long, straight black hair in surprise.

Ah, is her name Mai-chan? What a nice name. Let me check the attendance list. Hmm, Mizukami Mai, is that her name? She's also the class monitor. She's a quick learner.

Besides, the girl next to her was also quite noticeable—I'm not talking about the idiotic thing I just overheard her saying hello in Indonesian—but rather, the girl looked so much like someone—like a high school version of Mikoto—or rather, Mikoto from Stupid Sakamoto.

I almost rushed out and hugged her just now—if I had, it would have been terrible. I would definitely have been fired for molesting a female student. I would have been fired on my first day of work—and then Nana would probably hate me, and I would have been kicked out—and before that, that brat would probably have turned me back into a cat—and then I would have starved to death.

Immediately afterwards, I felt a chill and temporarily gave up contact with this classmate.

Besides the girl who looks very much like Mikoto being deported, the girl with blue hair and pigtails is also someone to watch.

The moment I uttered "Meow," the girl seemed to have a switch flipped, radiating an ominous aura and muttering lines like, "This guy is a total uke." Although her voice was too soft for her classmates to hear, it was no problem for me, now that I had regained my angelic powers.

What exactly is this "beast"? A top-tier beast? Is it some kind of powerful creature? Or a humanoid creature that looks like a cat? Or a feline that looks like a human?