Looking at the egg in her hands, which resembled a rock, Yukinoshita Yukino pondered—was this an ostrich egg?
She hesitated, considering whether she should call the authorities. This didn't seem like an ostrich egg but rather some kind of rare animal egg.
That idiot next door had used a pressure cooker to boil it, and it actually exploded, yet the egg itself remained completely intact?
Naturally, she forbade Yazuki from setting foot in her apartment again.
Originally, she had refused to help him cook it, but fearing he would cause more chaos and scare the other residents (including herself), she reluctantly agreed to do it for him.
That guy even said he'd share half with her and mysteriously claimed that eating it would make her even more beautiful. He even hinted that it might help with… certain regrettable aspects of her figure—yeah, after hearing that, Yukinoshita's face immediately darkened.
"What a weird guy."
She muttered under her breath. Just now, she had also overheard—no, accidentally overheard—his conversation with the building's owner at the door.
Pouring plain water into the pot, she turned on the heat.
Then, she returned to the sofa and turned on the TV.
She wasn't sure how much time had passed when a sudden noise from the kitchen caught her attention.
As she approached, her face darkened—because the pot seemed to be shaking, as if something inside was moving around. She could even faintly hear some kind of noise.
Her expression instantly turned grim, there was a living creature inside this egg. She could imagine the life inside struggling in agony due to the high heat.
What should she do? She quickly turned off the stove and rushed to remove the lid.
"Ugh—"
Her face twisted in pain—she had acted too hastily and forgotten to wear oven mitts, burning her hand.
When she finally removed the lid, she saw the egg violently bumping around inside.
The next moment, the egg suddenly jumped out, bounced a few times on the floor, then rolled to a stop.
…Was it dead?
A wave of guilt washed over Yukinoshita. In a way, she was an accomplice to this tragedy. She bit her lip, she absolutely wouldn't forgive that idiot next door.
She cautiously reached out toward the strangely smooth egg.
…Cool to the touch? How could something straight out of boiling water cool down so fast?
Then, the egg twitched.
"Crack… crack…"
A faint cracking sound echoed as numerous cracks appeared on the eggshell. It looked like the little life inside was about to break free.
It's still alive—
This slightly alleviated Yukinoshita's guilt. She watched the egg with bated breath, wondering what would emerge from within.
"Huh?"
Yukinoshita's eyes widened.
Was the egg… glowing?
An illusion? Or was she seeing things? She rubbed her eyes.
No, it was definitely emitting a faint, soft white light.
"Crack, crack, crack—"
The cracking sounds intensified, and the fissures on the shell grew larger. Then, a radiant white light burst forth from the cracks, leaving Yukinoshita momentarily stunned.
This felt exactly like a scene from an anime, where some kind of magical creature was about to be born.
The bright glow grew even stronger, forcing her to shield her eyes.
"Meow~"
A cat's cry?
At the same time, the glow seemed to subside. Yukinoshita slowly lowered her arms and—her beautiful eyes widened in astonishment.
The eggshell had broken apart, revealing the creature inside.
Tiny and covered in silvery-white fur, with equally silver-white eyes—it looked like a kitten. No, even cuter than a kitten, perhaps it should be called a cat spirit.
"So… so… so cute~"
Yukino was completely mesmerized by the little creature's overwhelming cuteness. Then, the tiny cat spirit opened its adorable mouth and… ate the eggshell.
…It ate the eggshell.
Too, too, too adorable—carefully, Yukinoshita reached out and gently touched its tiny head.
The moment she felt its soft fur, her eyes blissfully narrowed.
Ahh, so soft—
So, this is how adorable kittens are born.
Kittens are actually egg-laying creatures~~ She hatched an egg and got a kitten!
Oviparous Animal?
Suddenly widening her eyes, Yukinoshita felt a bit dizzy. Her common sense had taken a severe hit.
"Meow~ meow~"
The adorable little creature had already finished munching on the eggshell and was now gazing at Yukinoshita with an affectionate look, letting out a beautiful, heart-melting sound.
"Meow~"
No, she was completely captivated. Yukinoshita had fallen for it, and unconsciously, she mimicked the sound from her own lips.
"Meow~"
The tiny cat spirit let out another charming call and staggered over to Yukinoshita, rubbing its little head against her.
"Wait here for a moment, okay~?"
It had just hatched, so it was definitely hungry and needed to be fed.
Yukinoshita immediately went to the refrigerator, took out some milk, poured it into a small bowl, and placed it in front of the little cat spirit.
Cautiously, it stretched out its pink tongue to take a small taste. However, the cat spirit stopped right there, it didn't seem to like it.
"You don't like it?"
Next, she tried offering cat food, but it still refused to eat. The little cat spirit then began to look weak, its once-bright fur becoming dull and dry. Yukinoshita started panicking.
What should she do? She had to take it to a vet immediately!
Hastily gathering her things, she carefully picked up the seemingly fragile cat spirit and rushed out the door. However—
"Meow~~~"
The previously weak little creature suddenly struggled out of her arms, jumped to the ground—landing with a slightly pained thud—then wobbled toward a certain direction.
That was the apartment across from hers.
At that moment, Yukinoshita suddenly remembered that this adorable cat spirit had hatched from the strange egg Yazuki had somehow acquired.
Her expression turned cold.
Such a cute cat… and he had almost cooked it. That terrible guy had actually wanted to eat this adorable little thing.
"Evil God..."
On the giant screen in Yazuki's living room, the latest episode of the anime he was following was playing. A beautiful goddess was troubled over an evil god that threatened the world.
"Anime and reality are completely different. In reality, isekai goddesses are all just a bunch of bitches."
Yazuki muttered cynically. The anime's isekai goddess was truly kind, unlike the ones he had encountered, who were all disgusting, manipulative bitches.
If he had met a kind goddess like that, he wouldn't have had to struggle so much. He probably could've gone home much sooner.
Suddenly, he sensed a chilling aura behind him. He looked up to see a beautiful face—wearing an icy expression.
"Is the egg cooked yet? No, wait, how did you get in here?"
"You didn't lock the door."
"I didn't lock it?"
Strange, Yazuki was sure he had locked it.
"Uh—"
Before he could finish speaking, a small black shadow leaped out of Yukinoshita's arms, startling him. When he looked again, he saw a snow-white kitten jump onto his table, knocking over his MP drink, and eagerly licking up the spilled liquid.