The commotion had subsided somewhat.

  It wasn't that the attendants and guards outside hadn't come anxiously to check on what was happening inside.

  However, this time the King himself declared briefly but powerfully, "I'll explain later," so they couldn't press further and tactfully withdrew.

  After finally calming down, Amashiro, realizing he could travel between Earth and Tusita, tried going back and forth several more times to confirm, and discovered several facts.

  First, no special incantation seemed necessary to summon the door.

  He tried ridiculous spells like "Soja, ?ffne dich (Open, Soybeans)" and "Open Wheat," but the door still opened without difficulty.

  Then he tried just shouting "Ei!" while concentrating on 'open' in his mind—and the door appeared.

  Apparently, as long as he had the will to summon the door, he could.

  Next, he tried moving around on Earth, but this didn't work.

  If he could suddenly move to public places, he could only foresee a future of being reported as a paranormal phenomenon or going viral on social media and getting flamed, so he first tried moving within his apartment—but the door wouldn't appear.

  Instead, he could freely move from Earth to Tusita, and from Tusita to Tusita.

  It seemed he could move to places he'd visited.

  He confirmed he could open doors from Earth to both the reception room and interrogation room, and move between the two rooms.

  He probably could also move to the corridor where Garundel and the others had screamed, but if he controlled access and generated doors there too, things would get too big, so he refrained.

  Of course, the experiments were conducted after ordering no one to enter or leave the interrogation room without separate orders, so Garundel and the others' nerves barely maintained peace.

  One concern was that Earth and Tusita's timelines seemed greatly misaligned or intertwined.

  At first he was puzzled, thinking time on Tusita flowed many times faster than on Earth, but after repeated trips, he realized that wasn't it. He gave up on his smartphone's clock, which seemed unreliable on Tusita, and brought an analog clock from his apartment to Tusita.

  After experimenting with several trips using it—

  He thought perhaps time slowed on whichever side he wasn't present, or he "went back" through already-elapsed time when moving, but that seemed too far-fetched.

  Incidentally, he estimated the time ratio at about 1:8.

  At this ratio, even if he spent a full day on Earth, only 3 hours would pass on Tusita, and vice versa.

  "Interstellar jumping... or is this what they call 'spacetime transfer'?"

  Was this the domain of science fiction or fantasy?

  He felt he could no longer distinguish.

  Interstellar jumping with just his body... that alone would make Earth's scientists foam at the mouth and faint.

  And on top of that, traveling through time too?

  If this got out...

  He'd be abducted to some scary facility, treated as a guinea pig.

  Ultimately dissected...

  'No, let's stop with unnecessary delusions. I'm already overwhelmed with what's in front of me.'

  However, no matter how he thought about it, this was too convenient for him.

  Spending a whole day on one side while only creating a 3-hour gap on the other would be a tremendous advantage depending on how it was used.

  ...Though there was no guarantee his lifespan wouldn't be consumed 8 times faster.

  This time, after staying on Earth for over an hour feeding the cats and changing their water, when he came to Tusita, Rashion was nowhere to be seen in the room.

  "Oh? Where's Rashion?"

  "He had work and reluctantly left. He said, 'Save some treats for me!'

  Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.

  Really, what a childish king. It's quite troublesome."

  At Isha's words, which could be taken as either complaining or flirting, Amashiro wondered about that.

  Though it was a brief observation, Rashion had shown himself to be quite king-like, and could that robust giant body really be called "childish"?

  "Hm? Come to think of it, I haven't seen any other Felinoid besides you all...

  Are all Felinoid men that size? Is Norgaar on the smaller side?"

  The moment Amashiro asked, the two looked at him with expressions that said "What?"

  The next moment, Isha began giggling, and Norgaar's pink nose tip turned red.

  A sign of excitement from anger.

  "That's not true! Big Brother's the one who's abnormally huge!"

  "Ah, thought so?"

  No wonder—even in his previous life, Rashion was huge, or rather, a giant cat weighing twice the average male cat's 5kg, to the point where his regular vet said, "This is worth reporting to an academic conference. Please put him on a diet."

  But he wasn't just a fat cat—his body length was also twice the norm.

  "Ahaha... Brother-in-law, please don't be angry. It's understandable that Father would think so.

  And Father, please don't tease Brother-in-law too much. Even Brother-in-law is on the taller side among Felinoid."

  Indeed, Norgaar seemed close to 180cm, so he couldn't be called short.

  The comparison target was just too extreme.

  "To think that adorable Norgaar grew into such a fine, handsome young man.

  Father is so happy. Come here, let me give you a hug."

  "No way! That's creepy!"

  While parent and child caused their shameless ruckus, Queen Isha giggled and tore open another stick. Several empty sticks already lay before Princess Asha, who'd been enjoying treats alone.

  "But... I'm curious, is that really so delicious?

  Honestly, it doesn't seem suited to human taste buds and I've never even tried it, so what's it like?"

  He'd keep quiet about the fishy smell that didn't whet his appetite at all.

  That's what Amashiro thought.

  When they were enjoying it so deliciously, criticizing the smell by human standards would be disparaging Antero preferences.

  ...Truth be told, the tuna jerky cat treat he'd once tasted was surprisingly good... but he'd keep that to himself too.

  That felt like it somehow involved his own dignity.

  "If I said it's a taste you can't forget even after reincarnation, would you understand?

  Not just us Felinoid, but all our subspecies—Lionea (lion beastmen), Furani (tiger beastmen), and Leopa (leopard beastmen)—I think everyone is powerless before this taste."

  More unfamiliar nouns were flying around.

  'Well, since she said Felinoid "subspecies," it must refer to beastmen of feline species other than cats.'

  Amashiro decided to think of it that way.

  If he kept traveling to Tusita, he'd eventually meet them, and could be introduced then.

  "I see. So this castle has many of those... subspecies folks?"

  "That's right. This Felideria is a country mostly comprised of Felinoid and Canisade.

  That Garundel you met earlier is Canisade, and his adjutant Payalka is Fene, a Canisade subspecies."

  "Huh... I see.

  Then I wonder if dog chu-ru would appeal to them too.

  But the one box I brought might not have been enough.

  It doesn't seem nearly enough just for you all.

  Should I buy a lot more later? But buying too much in bulk might be...

  Should I try a wholesaler... Ow?"

  Amashiro felt a prickling at his fingertip as he pondered how to purchase in bulk.

  Did static electricity spark... he wondered, when something abnormal that hadn't been there before entered his vision.

  "Huh...? Am I seeing things? I don't think I'm presbyopic yet...

  No wait, what's that?"

  "What is it?"

  "Norgaar, you definitely brought just one box earlier, right?"

  "? Obviously. You only brought one box."

  "That's what I think too, but..."

  Even rubbing his eyes and looking again, the situation before him didn't change.

  "Why is there another identical box next to that one?"

  "Huh?"

  "Oh my?"

  "WHAAAAT?!"

  Next to the chu-ru box sat another identical—no, still unopened—box.

  Rashion, who'd hurried back to the reception room after finishing work, heard that Amashiro had temporarily returned to Earth and that another chu-ru box had appeared, and was speechless.

  "Appeared?"

  "Yes."

  "Where's Father?"

  "He said he had to care for us over there and returned temporarily.

  He said we could eat those treats until he comes again with more preparations later, but to leave one stick just in case."

  While wondering when "later" would be, Rashion's hand unconsciously reached for the treats—

  SMACK.

  —Which Isha mercilessly slapped away.

  "My Queen?"

  "Dinner will be served soon. Please restrain yourself, Your Majesty."

  "Just one of these wouldn't..."

  The corners of Isha's blue eyes turned up sharply.

  "Are you a child?!"

  Facing Queen Isha, who declared this with tremendous force, Rashion flinched slightly and muttered:

  "You still hold a grudge about me eating alone over there..."

  "Oh my, did you think you wouldn't be resented after doing such a thing?"

  "Big Brother, I don't think so either."

  Usually, grudges over food run deep, but since this was something they thought unobtainable in this world, they seemed to hold it even deeper.

  But that couldn't be helped—I was the only one who could go... thought Rashion, when Isha delivered another blow:

  "So. U. Ve. Nir.

  That's a thing in the world, you know?"

  "I'd appreciate it if you didn't read people's minds."

  "Enough of this silly talk. Let's go.

  We shouldn't keep the meal staff waiting too long."

  "But the Princess ate so much..."

  "My! Your Majesty, surely you're not the type to squabble with your own child over treats?"

  "Urgh..."

  He couldn't argue with that.

  Watching the Queen rise from the sofa with elegant movements, he couldn't complain further.

  However, he couldn't help asking about something else that concerned him.

  "But when and where will Father come?

  If someone finds him again, there'll be another commotion."

  "He said, 'I'll calculate the time difference and try to arrive in this room around this time tomorrow.'

  Since this room is the royal family's private chamber, let's instruct them to refrain from other access except for morning cleaning.

  He said he'll signal with the bell when he arrives, so I don't think anyone will see him."

  "But knowing that old man, he might miscalculate the time and meet a maid during cleaning..."

  "We'll deal with that when it happens, Brother-in-law Norgaar."

  Looking at Isha's gentle smile, Rashion felt complicated feelings, wondering if his beloved queen actually had nerves bolder than his own.

  The next day.

  Ring-ring, ring, ring, ring, ring-ring.

  The bell in the royal family's reception room, which should have been empty, rang.

  Normally this would be a paranormal phenomenon or emergency, but today specifically there'd been orders from Her Majesty the Queen, so the attendant on duty dispatched a messenger to His Highness the King's Brother as commanded.