Horniness Is the Number One Driving Force

"Xie Wen, get up, meow! It's time to start training, meow!"

Amid a flurry of urgent calls and shoves, Xie Wen blearily opened his eyes, only to see a pair of large, green-glowing eyes bobbing beside him.

"It's morning already?"

Xie Wen let out a huge yawn, still feeling rather groggy. That was extremely unusual for someone who had spent over a month living a healthy, regular life...

"Hey... you didn't wake me up early, did you?"

Xie Wen grabbed Sanji Meow's furry cheeks and questioned him with a suspicious look.

Yesterday, to soothe Sanji Meow, who wanted to meet pretty older Palico girls, he had temporarily given up on explaining the concept of "another world." Instead, he had promised that even if they reached another continent, he would find a way to take him back somewhere with Palicoes. Only then had the little yellow cat settled down.

To meet those pretty older Palico girls as soon as possible, the little yellow cat had actually begun pushing Xie Wen to train, even volunteering to spar with him...

Unfortunately, Sanji Meow hadn't inherited the original Sanji's combat strength. Xie Wen had to hold back while sparring with him. On top of that, most hunter combat techniques were designed to deal with large monsters, so sparring with Sanji Meow felt rather awkward.

Still, Sanji Meow's help wasn't entirely ineffective. Palicoes had a considerable advantage in agility, after all, and his small body made his attacks harder to spot. That benefited both Xie Wen's reactions in combat and his practice with certain more delicate fighting techniques.

And judging by how Sanji Meow had volunteered to spar with him yesterday, waking him early today was absolutely something the little yellow cat would do.

Sanji Meow clearly had no intention of denying it. Instead, he planted his paws on his hips and declared confidently, "Don't worry, meow. I've already made you a special invigorating soup. It'll perk you up fast, and it's good for your body too, meow!"

"...Well, thank you so very much!"

Xie Wen snapped back, then vigorously rubbed Sanji Meow's little feline head.

Now that he had been pestered awake, Xie Wen couldn't be bothered to go back to sleep. Besides, the little yellow cat before him, now in "all for the ladies" mode, probably wouldn't let him off easily.

So, after giving Sanji Meow a thorough petting to vent his frustration, Xie Wen got up and crawled out of the cave. He looked up at the sky, where a few stars still twinkled, and sighed helplessly.

Looks like horniness is the number one driving force, whether you're human or a Palico...

Being woken up so early by Sanji Meow was annoying, but what could he do when the cat was so adorable-and such a good cook?

So Xie Wen magnanimously forgave Sanji Meow, blew on the hot soup in his bowl, and began taking little sips.

Sanji Meow really never exaggerated when it came to food. After just two or three mouthfuls of hot soup, Xie Wen felt his slightly heavy head clear at once. The soup's warmth also drove away the faint chill of the "morning," and he suddenly felt alive again.

He gulped down the rest of the soup, then ladled himself another bowl, still wanting more.

"If you had something this good, why didn't you bring it out sooner?" he asked Sanji Meow as he continued sipping. The cat was likewise holding a bowl, lapping up his soup.

"I didn't find much catnip to begin with. If I didn't want you to finish exploring this island sooner, I wouldn't spare any for you, meow," Sanji Meow answered, sounding pained at the expense. "And you can't keep eating this dish either, meow. Staying stimulated for too long will wear you out. I have to wait at least ten days before making you a second serving, meow."

"C-catnip?" The corners of Xie Wen's mouth twitched. "That stuff works on humans too?"

He knew catnip was edible, but he certainly hadn't known it could act as a stimulant for humans.

"Normally, it doesn't, meow." Sanji Meow wagged his head smugly. "But once I cook it, it does, meow."

Xie Wen thought it over. Palicoes could make meals with all sorts of buffs using ordinary meat and vegetables, so making an invigorating soup out of catnip seemed pretty reasonable too, didn't it?

Feeling rather ridiculous for continuing to dwell on something like this, Xie Wen downed the remaining soup in one gulp, then got up and began training far earlier than usual.

After finishing the remaining catnip soup, Sanji Meow carefully licked his little bowl and the soup pot clean several times over...

Apparently, he really was running low on catnip.

"I'll keep helping you practice fighting, meow!"

After finishing his "early" breakfast, Sanji Meow once again took the initiative and stood before Xie Wen.

Seeing Sanji Meow so enthusiastic, Xie Wen rolled his eyes speechlessly.

Previously, aside from going out to find ingredients, the little yellow cat had spent his time either sprawled on a tree basking in the sun or pouncing on bugs in the forest. Occasionally, he would pester Xie Wen to smooth his fur. Now, in his effort to find out when he could meet pretty older Palico girls, Sanji Meow seemed like a completely different cat.

Still... it certainly fit Sanji's character.

Hopefully, this really is just another continent in Monster Hunter: World.

Thanks to Sanji Meow's behavior, Xie Wen was genuinely looking forward to seeing what other Palicoes based on anime characters would be like...

Xie Wen remembered seeing a companion Palico named Kakarot in the game before. He had even given his own companion Palicoes names from Chinese characters, such as Sword Lord Twelve Regrets and Li Yuanba.

"An opening, meow! Neck Meat!"

While Xie Wen's thoughts wandered, Sanji Meow seized his chance, darted in front of him, and launched a backward-flipping kick at his chin.

Snapping back to his senses, Xie Wen hurriedly stepped back, letting the little black paw skim past the tip of his nose. At the same time, he reached behind his waist, unfastened Fresh Knife: White Calm, sheath and all, and swung it at Sanji Meow before him.

But Sanji Meow merely twisted lightly in midair, dodging Xie Wen's swing. The moment he landed, he launched another attack.

The man and cat traded blows in a flurry of thumps and smacks.

There was no denying that cats had an enormous advantage in flexibility and dexterity. Even though Xie Wen was far stronger and faster, Sanji Meow could still keep him occupied for a while, and even seize the occasional opening to leave a few claw marks on him.

Unfortunately, Sanji Meow was ultimately a cook, not a fighter. Though he seemed to possess the same kicking techniques as Sanji, his attack power was nowhere close. If Xie Wen hadn't been practicing his combat skills, he could simply have tanked Sanji Meow's attacks and traded blow for blow.

Even without resorting to that cheap tactic of overpowering him with superior stats, Sanji Meow was still no match for Xie Wen. After fighting for a while and realizing he couldn't hold out much longer, Sanji Meow decisively leaped backward to put some distance between them.

"That's enough fighting, meow. I'm going to explore a new area and gather ingredients while I'm at it, meow."

Without waiting for Xie Wen to respond, he shot into the forest and vanished.

If I don't hurry and run, that guy Xie Wen will catch me and kiss, sniff, stroke, and rub me all over, just like last night...

Sure, it feels pretty nice, but a kitty has his pride and dignity too. I won't let just anyone pet me whenever they want, meow!

My rotten luck... I'd barely been posting this book for two days when I suddenly caught a cold... Good thing I always keep a backlog...

It's just that every time, my backlog gets used up faster than I expect for all sorts of strange reasons... I can't take it!