"Meow?"
After the little catgirl finished eating the roasted meat Ethan had thrown over.
She tilted her head and watched him roast a new piece, her eyes glowing. She clearly wanted to eat, but she didn't dare come closer.
At the same time, she seemed to still want to maintain that special catlike pride.
So while licking her little paws that still carried the aroma of roasted meat, she occasionally raised her head to steal glances at Ethan. She looked like she wanted the meat, but didn't want to admit it. Absolutely adorable.
Sizzle~
The meat juices dripped into the campfire.
Even the smoke rising carried the fragrance of juicy meat. The catgirl twitched her tiny nose, inhaling the aroma drifting through the air, licking her small mouth nonstop, looking like she was starving.
"Do you want more?"
Ethan raised the roasted meat in his hand toward her again.
The catgirl nodded harder this time, and she even took two small steps beyond the fog, revealing her mysterious figure.
Ethan finally got a clear look at what had been hidden inside the mist.
The little catgirl had a human-like appearance and was wearing animal hide.
He didn't know what hide.
But aside from the four little paws on her limbs that hadn't fully developed into human form yet, her entire body was almost no different from a human.
If he had to point out differences, then maybe it was that her arms and legs were unusually slender, and there was a long furry cat tail behind her.
"Heavens!"
'Who could look at such an unbelievably cute creature and stay unmoved?'
Ethan quickly held out the roasted meat. This time he didn't throw it. He wanted to see whether she'd come over to eat it from his hand.
Sure enough, the catgirl moved a little closer, but she still didn't fully trust him.
She stopped cautiously at a spot one step away from him.
Then she reached out her little paw, trying to hook the roasted meat out of his hand. Ethan didn't move.
He knew that to earn the acceptance of a cat, or in this case a catgirl, you needed absolute patience.
Pop!
The catgirl's claw finally hooked the roasted meat.
But when she tugged, it fell to the ground instead, and that scared her half to death.
All the golden hair on her head and the fur on her tail stood straight up, and she leapt backward in a panic.
Her whole back arched up.
She looked ready to attack or flee at any moment.
"Pfft!"
Ethan chuckled, then understandingly took a step back, "Don't be scared, I won't hurt you. Go ahead, eat!"
"Meow~"
The catgirl meowed softly.
Only then did she gradually relax. She tilted her head and stared at Ethan. After a long moment, making sure he had no ill intentions, she stepped forward again and hooked up the meat.
Then she started devouring it.
"Sizzle~"
With no one turning the roasting meat on the fire, juices dripped nonstop.
Ethan was afraid the meat would burn, so he quickly stepped forward.
The catgirl immediately tensed up again.
"Meow!"
"I'm roasting the meat for you," Ethan pointed at the meat quickly and explained, "It has to be turned, or it'll burn!"
"Meow~", The catgirl lifted an eyebrow.
"Yes! If you roast it, it burns."
Ethan had no idea whether she understood human speech. Regardless, he pointed at the meat, trying to express what he meant.
The catgirl finally lowered her head again to eat.
Ethan stepped forward to the campfire, continued roasting the meat, and acted as if he had no intention of approaching her at all. He didn't even look at her much.
This let the catgirl, who had been stealing glances at him nonstop, slowly let down her guard.
[Catgirl accepts your presence: Intimacy +2]
'So tsundere!'
But seeing the intimacy rise again, Ethan felt a quiet joy.
The pace of the relationship wasn't slow at all.
Before, there had been a long-haired stray cat he used to see at his door, extremely beautiful, coming every day for food.
Ethan fed it for half a year. After a long time trying, the little wild cat finally let him pet it.
That one time, Ethan was so happy he didn't sleep the whole night.
All that effort for just one stroke.
But in that moment, Ethan felt… It was totally worth it.
"Want more?"
The moment he saw the catgirl finish, Ethan offered another piece of roasted meat.
The catgirl paused in her paw-licking. In the end she couldn't fight the temptation of roasted meat and reached out her paw to hook the new piece.
But Ethan was mischievous.
This time he didn't extend his arm fully. He held the meat only halfway out in front of him.
At this distance, if she wanted to eat, she would have to step closer.
Sure enough, the catgirl hesitated. Her eyes looked pitifully at the roasted meat.
But she clearly didn't want to get too close to a human. Her tail stuck straight up and twitched rapidly. That alone made it obvious she was struggling.
But Ethan had patience.
He didn't urge her. He just quietly held the meat, waiting…
At last. The catgirl couldn't resist the temptation.
She lifted her little foot and took half a step toward Ethan, then stared at him for a long while. After confirming he wasn't a threat and wasn't moving in her direction, she suddenly rushed forward—
Whish!
She snatched the meat away.
Then once again happily wagged her tail and devoured it.
[Catgirl has approached you closely enough: Intimacy +2]
'Intimacy reached 5.'
Ethan's eyes lit up. He could finally tame her.
He had literally dreamed of having a cat. And finally, finally…
His chance had come.
Just as Ethan prepared to tame her, he saw a system prompt.
[With only 5 intimacy, you have only a 10% chance of taming the target. Especially for creatures like catgirls who are both cautious and proud, if taming fails, she will realize your intentions were suspicious and run far away, making it impossible for you to find her again.]
[Attempt to tame?]
'What, the success chance is that low?'
'Only one chance in ten, and only one attempt!'
If he failed, the catgirl would run away, and the chance of meeting another catgirl tomorrow was slim.
But if he didn't try today…
Ethan looked at the catgirl's round belly, she was full, and he knew.
If he didn't seize the chance now, once she finished this piece of meat, she would probably leave, and finding her again tomorrow would be difficult.
'What should I do?'
'Should I gamble or not?'
Ethan opened his intermediate backpack to check whether he had anything else that could raise intimacy.
But just then, he suddenly spotted a treasure.
'If I use this to tame the catgirl…'
'The success rate will soar.'
He would gamble.
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