The Former Poor Elf’s Alchemy and Potion Shop - 30: A Kitten

30: A Kitten 

It was just a normal afternoon at the alchemy shop. 

Since we offered free drink samples, the shop had practically turned into a café. 

Lately, we’d been getting a steady stream of customers who just wanted to try Royal Milk Tea at least once in their life. 

In the midst of all that, a very special customer arrived. 

“Mii, mii.” 

Huh? A kitten. 

A tiny, snow-white kitten. 

“Kyuu, kyuu!” 

Pom suddenly jumped out from the back and stared intently at the kitten. 

“Little kitten, where’s your mother?” 

“Kyuu, kyuu, kyuu?” 

“Mii.” 

Pom shook… well, if Pom *had* a head, Pom would’ve shaken it. 

So, the kitten had gotten separated from its mother. 

It was at least three weeks old—its eyes were open, and it could walk just fine. 

We had milk for the Royal Milk Tea, so… 

“Want some milk?” 

“Myaa!” 

I poured some into a dish and placed it in front of the kitten. 

It sniffed at it first, stretching its tiny neck forward. It then started lapping it up. 

A cat’s tongue is rough, like a brush. Which apparently helps them drink. 

Pom was fascinated. It was watching closely the entire time. 

Once the kitten finished drinking, it started playing with Pom’s outstretched tentacle. 

It batted at it with its tiny paws, got up close to inspect it, and just generally kept busy. 

After a while, it got sleepy and started dozing off. 

It curled up against Pom and fell asleep. 

Pom was basically acting like a waterbed. 

Looking very smug, Pom stayed perfectly still. It let the kitten rest. 

The older girls in the shop found the whole thing fascinating. 

Some of them squealed in delight. Both Pom and the kitten were showered with affection. 

Meanwhile, we were busy handling customers. 

The kitten kept sleeping. 

Every so often, it would wake up, wander around for a bit, then come back and doze off again. 

It repeated that cycle over and over. 

Luckily, Pom kept an eye on it the entire time. 

Even when we were busy, we could relax knowing it was being watched. 

Eventually, closing time came. 

But the kitten didn’t leave. 

And its mother never came to pick it up. 

—

That night.

After bathing with Sharo-chan, we all went to sleep. 

The kitten slept with Pom. 

—

The next day was the same. 

It ran around the shop, played, then took naps. 

—

Two more days passed before we finally got word about the kitten’s owner. 

Someone in the neighborhood had reported a missing white kitten. 

The information came from the shop’s regular customers. 

I picked up the kitten and headed to the owner’s house. 

Pom followed along, looking worried. 

This area was part of the commercial district. It meant most of the houses belonged to fairly well-off families. 

Compared to them, our shop was a humble rental—definitely the poorer side of things. 

“Excuse me.” 

A woman answered the door. 

“Oh my, hello! Ah, a white kitten—Marie-chan!” 

Ahh, so the kitten’s name was Marie-chan. 

We already had a Marie-chan at the shop, but now there were two. 

I handed Marie-chan over, and the woman invited me in for tea. 

And so, the kitten safely returned home. 

That should’ve been the end of the story… 

But ever since then, since we lived nearby, Marie-chan, her mother cat, and the lady started visiting our shop all the time. 

Cats are cute, so that part’s fine. 

But the lady really, really liked Royal Milk Tea. 

She came by often just to drink it. 

Royal Milk Tea wasn’t cheap. 

Honestly, I wanted to charge her for it. 

But since we officially offered free samples, I couldn’t exactly start charging just one person. 

It was… a poor person’s dilemma. 

Either way, Pom and Marie-chan became good friends. And now they often played together at the shop.