Since it was an open government department, Shade was not stopped when he entered the courtyard.
Looking up, he immediately spotted the Blue-Gray Shorthair Kitten basking in the sunlight atop the piled-up abandoned metal shelves on the eastern side of the yard.
"Am I really this lucky today?"
The weather was still gloomy. Even though it was nearly eleven in the morning, there was little sunlight. The cat lay squinting on a metal sheet supported by the shelves, only opening its eyes to look at Shade after he approached.
"Mia, absolutely no meowing."
Shade warned Little Mia on his shoulder, who was clearly about to start radiating hostility. Then he lightly clapped his hands, signaling for the cat above to jump down. With Mia not causing trouble, Shade's affinity with cats was remarkably effective. Though it was the first time the cat had seen him, it perked up energetically after seeing him clap.
It stared down at Shade with wide eyes for a moment, then flicked its tail and hopped down along the stacked metal sheets and shelves. It trotted over to his feet, narrowed its eyes, stretched out its neck, and rubbed against his trouser leg.
Shade cautiously crouched down and picked up the cat. Mia on his shoulder immediately began making a low "grrrr" sound in her throat. This was how she tried to intimidate something when she was not allowed to meow.
"It'll be leaving soon. We'll go eat something delicious at noon."
Naturally, Shade had not forgotten to comfort his own cat. He stretched out his free left hand and, in an awkward posture, patted Mia's little head on his right shoulder. Only then did she settle down, though she still glared fiercely at the Blue-gray Shorthair Cat, which was a size larger than her. The