Inside a dimly lit room, I sat upright at the table, waiting for the meeting to begin. With little else to do, I began opening the status windows of those around me, starting with the guards standing watch at a distance.
'As expected of a meeting with the emperor.'
The guards here were clearly stronger than the ones patrolling the palace halls. Then, as my gaze settled on a guard in a white mask, I noticed something unusual.
'Another outlier.'
Like Valeslina, I decided to mark her as an outlier, since her abnormally high level made her incomparable as a reference point. Finished with all the guards, my eyes then shifted to the woman seated at the table.
---
Shira Elun'dar
Level: 87
Mana Capacity: 56,013
Occupation: The Grand Tamer; Member of Celestial Order; Executive of the Lun'Serai Tribe
Strength: 15
Intelligence: 324
Agility: 19
Dexterity: 18
Vitality: 19
Skills: Chain of Murmurs
Tamed Beasts: 316
---
Aside from her modest level but unusually high mana capacity, something else drew my attention.
'Does she own a zoo or something?'
She's clearly a beast tamer, but the number of beasts under her is unusually high. Then again, this is the first beast tamer I've seen in this world aside from Sophia, so I don't really have a basis for comparison. I then focused on her Tamed Beasts section. Immediately, a list appeared with small icons beside each name.
---
...
\[Symbol] Embra
\[Symbol] Mathilda
\[Symbol] Myra
...
---
A name stood out to me.
'Mathilda?'
I glanced back at the masked guard, the outlier.
'It's indeed Mathilda.'
Realizing this, I took a closer look at her status window and then noticed that I had overlooked something crucial.
---
...
Occupation: Beast (Cernunnos), tamed by Shira
...
---
It turned out this outlier was a beast and was actually tamed by the woman at the table, Shira.
'To think I had missed this.'
Ever since venturing outside with Sophia, I had developed a habit of checking people's status windows only by level and mana capacity, thinking that was all that mattered.
'I guess occupation can be important too.'
Now then, I've gained valuable information, or more specifically, a potential source of information.
'I need to find a way to make a connection with Shira.'
Knowing she is a senior beast tamer with impressive job experience, she might have a lot of useful knowledge about beasts that Sophia and I were unaware of.
'Okay, Interaction Footprint is important.'
Since I'm practically a zero-experience beast, with a stellar record of level 1 as my portfolio, there isn't much I can offer beyond making myself known to them first. I began looking around the room, thinking about what I could do to make myself stand out but still not appear improper.
'I wonder if waving my paw is enough.'
I decided to do just that. I began raising my paw, but then.
'Hm?'
I noticed the beast, Mathilda, seemed to flinch the moment I raised my paw, even backing away slightly afterward.
'Oh wow.'
For me, that was enough of a statement; it's a clear rejection.
'If her beast itself doesn't seem to like me, I guess I'm not exactly welcome for a connection.'
Although it's a bit saddening to see, it's still understandable. If some random person came to me wanting to connect without offering anything worthwhile in return, I would probably decline them as well.
'Ha... I guess it is what it is.'
Knowing I had nothing better to do, I decided to just curl up and wait for the meeting to be over during my travels in dreamland.
As I inched toward the door of my unconscious realm, everyone abruptly shifted.
'Oh?'
Those who were sitting began to stand, and those already standing slightly bowed their heads. From the sideline, a man moved past the table before taking his seat on the empty chair, directly facing me. He had smooth, slightly long, dim yellowish hair tied back, with piercing golden slit eyes set on a soft-looking face with wrinkles around his eyes that made him appear to be always smiling. He wore a casual but dignified formal uniform with a minimalist design.
Even without a crown, his identity was clear to me.
'So this is the current emperor of the Maurya Empire.'
Already taking his seat, he then glanced around the room, as if inspecting everyone one by one. After that, he glanced at the table, specifically at me. We made eye contact.
Even though he's an emperor, I wasn't afraid to look him directly in the eyes. My reasoning was simple: in this world, I'm a cat.
'There shouldn't be a rule against cats directly gazing at the emperor.'
This was the conclusion I reached after several days of discussion with Sophia about the empire's rules. A few minutes passed as we simply stared at each other. From this alone, I could tell that this man was not a simple person, especially after inspecting his status window, specifically, his skill.
---
Eyes Of Discernment
Class: Mid-tier
...
---
'That effect....'
After reading the skill effect and noticing how he had been scrutinizing me for some time, I could tell he had already figured out my secret.
'As expected of an emperor, to think he had figured out I'm not a cat.'
***
'It's a cat.'
That's Grigori's conclusion after scrutinizing the supposed nine-stroke beast in front of him. From the moment he entered the room, he had already made sure to inspect everyone with his rare bloodline ability, Eyes of Discernment. Even at a glance, he could immediately recognize Shira's eight-stroke beast, which was disguising itself as one of his specialized squad in the room.
But the cat, 'I can't tell the difference at all.'
His bloodline ability, Eyes of Discernment, was unique to the Kalashnikov family. It allowed him to perceive what he considered the 'truth' in this world, enabling him to see through disguises, illusions, and even detect lies in a person's speech. Unfortunately for him, no matter how much he pushed his bloodline ability, the cat in front of him appeared as just a simple house cat.
'What an incredible concealment ability.'
For Grigori, this was the first time something like this had happened. Even during his encounters with creatures specialized in disguise, he could easily see through them. That's because when a being tries to appear as something they are not, it carries slight errors that are easy to discern with Eyes of Discernment.
Grigori let out a quiet sigh, trying to calm the growing tension in his mind.
'Now, the only thing left is to determine whether this beast is a nine-stroke.'
Even with his exceptionally potent concealment ability, there remains a chance that this beast is still an eight-stroke.
Grigori gestured with his hand, signaling the attendees near him, including Shira, Valeslina, and Sophia, to sit. Once everyone was in their places, he announced to the room:
"Let's begin."