Klee Was Super Strong, Meow!

The fact that the fiery-red Summon Ticket had summoned Klee caught Xie Wen somewhat off guard, but it also made sense.

After all, as the Great and Famous Mountain-Burning Adeptus, she had always been closely associated with fire. Even the original Klee's Vision was Pyro.

So, did that fiery-red Summon Ticket actually mean... a rate-up for fire characters? Or was it simply restricted to a fire-character pool?

With so few examples to go on, Xie Wen could only speculate about how the Summon Tickets worked for now.

"A... a little lady, meow..."

While Xie Wen was silently analyzing his guesses, Sanji Meow's conflicted voice sounded beside him.

Xie Wen looked over and found that Sanji Meow's expression was just as conflicted as his voice, and he was looking at Klee Meow in front of him with an equally complicated gaze.

"Hello, big brother, meow."

The cheerful Klee Meow broke into a huge smile and greeted Sanji Meow.

"Little Klee, you're just too cute, meow!" The conflicted expression instantly vanished from Sanji Meow's face. He took a dessert he had made out of his bag and eagerly offered it to her. "Would you like some fruit cake?"

Xie Wen casually stepped between the two cats. Giving Sanji Meow a disdainful look, he introduced him to Klee Meow. "His name's Sanji. He's the chef cat in charge of cooking. Little Klee, you should probably keep your distance from him."

"What's with that look, meow?!" Sanji Meow's fur instantly bristled. "I'm not a pervert, meow! I like older Palico ladies. I don't think of little Klee that way, meow!"

"Really?" Xie Wen's eyes were full of distrust.

An exasperated Sanji Meow wanted nothing more than to smash the cake in his hand into Xie Wen's face.

Luckily, Klee Meow reached out a paw and tugged on the hem of Xie Wen's shirt, asking in her sweet little voice, "Big Brother Sapphire Star, can Klee have a piece of cake, meow?"

"Of course you can, meow!" Sanji Meow shoved Xie Wen out of the way and offered her the cake. "You can have as much as you like, little Klee. Big Brother Sanji will make it all for you, meow!"

"Thank you, Big Brother Sanji, meow."

After thanking him, Klee Meow did not take the cake right away. Instead, she looked at Xie Wen.

"That's right. Whenever you want something to eat, just ask Sanji. We're all companions here, so there's no need to be so polite." Xie Wen gently patted Klee Meow's little head, then added, "Also, just call me Xie Wen."

"Okay, Big Brother Xie Wen. Klee understands, meow."

Klee Meow nodded with her eyes narrowed happily, then accepted the cake from Sanji Meow and began eating with delight.

Meanwhile, Sanji Meow sidled up to Xie Wen again, pawed at him twice, and asked quietly, "Little Klee is still so young. You're not planning to make her fight, are you, meow?"

Before Xie Wen could answer, Klee Meow looked up from her cake and protested loudly, "Don't underestimate Klee! Klee is super strong, meow!"

"Relax." Xie Wen had already given Klee's safety some thought. He pointed at the Flame-Flame Fruit beside them. "With that, we'll have a basic safeguard for her."

He could certainly keep protecting Klee Meow and never let her fight, but with her personality, she would never be happy that way. Besides, judging by the original Klee's talents, Klee Meow was definitely among the very best Palicoes-or bomb cats, to be precise. Xie Wen had no reason to waste her talents.

That made giving Klee Meow a Logia Devil Fruit, especially the Flame-Flame Fruit that suited her so well, the best solution.

Of course, that was assuming Klee Meow wanted to eat it.

"Meow? Is this strange fruit... for Klee to eat, meow?" Having finished her cake, Klee Meow approached the Flame-Flame Fruit and sniffed it curiously. Then she exclaimed in delight, "This fruit actually smells like fire, meow!"

With that, she opened her mouth to bite into the Flame-Flame Fruit, but Xie Wen reached out and stopped her.

"Meow?" Klee Meow looked at Xie Wen in confusion and asked pitifully, "Isn't it for Klee to eat, meow?"

"Of course it's for you." Smiling, Xie Wen scratched Little Plushie under her chin. Only after she began purring comfortably did he explain, "But there's something I need to tell you first. This fruit tastes really awful..."

Although a Devil Fruit took effect after just the first bite, who knew what would happen if someone ate it and then spat it out? Klee Meow knew nothing about how Devil Fruits tasted, so he had to warn her first. If the taste made her back out, Xie Wen could accept that too. She was only a kitten, after all, and he had no intention of forcing her in any way.

So Xie Wen told Klee Meow everything he knew about Devil Fruits.

"So, do you still want to eat this fruit?" Xie Wen asked softly, continuing to scratch her chin.

A troubled expression appeared on Klee Meow's face...

"After eating it, I can control fire and turn into it, meow? That sounds so fun..." Klee Meow was clearly interested in the Flame-Flame Fruit's powers, but...

"Does it really taste that bad, meow?" Klee Meow looked at Xie Wen pitifully, as though hoping he would say no.

"I haven't actually eaten one myself." Xie Wen shrugged and answered honestly, "But everyone who's eaten a Devil Fruit says so... wait..."

He rubbed his chin and tried to remember...

Maybe it was different for animals?

In the original manga, Chopper had apparently never said that Devil Fruits tasted bad. Given his circumstances at the time, though, that was hardly convincing evidence.

Unable to decide, Xie Wen suddenly turned to Sanji Meow. "Sanji, do you think you could make a Devil Fruit taste good?"

Sanji Meow rolled his eyes and answered, "I've never tasted a Devil Fruit either. I wouldn't even know where to start with seasoning it, meow."

"Tsk. Looks like your cooking skills aren't all that impressive." Xie Wen found it easy to criticize when he was not the one doing the work.

"What would an amateur who has to cheat just to roast meat know, meow?!" Furious, Sanji Meow unleashed a flurry of kicks against his shin.

While the man and cat traded barbs, Klee Meow finally lost the battle against her curiosity and carefully nibbled a bite of the Flame-Flame Fruit...

"Meeow... it really does taste awful, meow!"

Klee Meow's adorable little face instantly scrunched up. Luckily, she still remembered what Xie Wen had just told her. Rather than spit out the unbearably foul pulp, she forced herself to swallow it.

"Klee never wants another bite, meow..."

After struggling to swallow the pulp in her mouth, Klee Meow kept her little face scrunched up and spoke to Xie Wen with tearful eyes.

"Then don't eat any more." Xie Wen kicked the remaining Flame-Flame Fruit far away, then tenderly picked up Little Plushie. Stroking her fur, he comforted her softly. "You only need one bite of a Devil Fruit to get its powers anyway. It's fine if you take your time learning to use them. We're going to be on this island for quite a while yet."

Soothed by Xie Wen's expert cat-petting skills, Klee Meow's expression soon relaxed, and happy purrs rumbled in her throat.

"Oh, right. I heard you mention something called the Knights of Favonius earlier. What's that?" Xie Wen asked as he petted her.

Xie Wen had asked Sanji Meow about his life before coming here. Although his personality was the same, his background was completely different: he had simply been an ordinary chef cat. But Klee Meow's words when she appeared suggested that she might be different from Sanji Meow.

"The Knights of Favonius are a super amazing organization that only the very best Palicoes in Mondstadt Village can join, meow! Klee is their youngest knight!" Little Plushie told Xie Wen proudly.

"Mondstadt Village..." After hearing Klee Meow's explanation, Xie Wen did not know where to begin. "Your grand master wouldn't happen to be called Jean, would she?"

"Meow? Of course our grand master is Granny Cat." Klee Meow tilted her head and answered with a puzzled expression. Then her ears twitched, and she muttered thoughtfully, "But everyone seems to have always called her Granny Cat. Klee has never heard Granny's actual name, meow..."

"Come to think of it, the Granny Cat in our village was the same, meow!" Sanji Meow suddenly chimed in.

"Uh... your village wouldn't happen to be called Germa, would it?" Xie Wen could not help asking.

"What kind of weird name is that, meow?" Sanji Meow rolled his eyes. "I'm from Cocoyasi Village, meow."

Oh... the village from the first game. Having finally heard a familiar name, Xie Wen breathed a sigh of relief... although he had no idea why he felt relieved.

After thoroughly enjoying Xie Wen's petting, Klee Meow finally jumped out of his arms and began trying to master the Flame-Flame Fruit's powers.

"Whoosh-"

A small flame appeared on Klee Meow's little paw. After twisting a few times, it quickly took on her own shape. Then the flame transformed into Dodoco, Xie Wen, Sanji Meow, one after another...

Finally, she even created a life-sized Rathalos above their heads. Every scale and claw was clearly visible, and his constantly beating wings and occasionally moving eyes almost made them forget that he was actually made of fire.

"It doesn't seem that hard, meow?"

Dispelling the flames, Klee Meow tilted her head and looked at Xie Wen innocently.

Xie Wen: "..."

I actually haven't played much Genshin Impact. I quit before Sumeru and didn't even finish the Inazuma storyline. These days, I only occasionally watch a promotional video or some story clips.

When I was thinking about a bomb cat, the first character who came to mind was Klee, followed by Jinx...

Yep, I was aiming to have them cause trouble for the protagonist later on.

But since the early stages still needed a little time to develop, I ultimately chose the better-behaved Klee Meow.

As for Jinx... we'll see how things go later.

For now, though, the plan is to have only one Palico for each role, so the chances aren't very high. Or maybe I could move her into the sniper-cat role?

But I already have several candidates for the archer-or rather, sniper...