Space-Time Inspector

Lily dives behind the couch, and before she does, she's already transformed into her werewolf form.

She crouches behind the couch, cautiously peeking out with half her head. Her silver hair spills onto the floor, and her furry, silver-white ears twitch alertly, as if she's ready for battle. Harry notices that the mysterious creature still has a strand of noodles and some vegetables hanging from her mouth, which completely ruins any sense of "dignity" she might have had. What's even more undignified is her next move: she points a trembling finger at the black-and-white cat at Harry's feet, her voice almost breaking into a sob. "A... a cat!"

"Meow?" The black-and-white cat tilts its head curiously at the new guest in the house. The single meow makes Lily shiver twice, but then the cat, with the grace befitting a feline, completely ignores her.

Harry stares in disbelief, his brain creaking as it processes the situation. He looks at Lily, who's acting like she's facing a mortal enemy. "You... you're scared of cats?"

"I... I'm not scared of cats!" Lily lifts her head defiantly, like a proud fighting dog. "I'm just... wary of them."

"That's the same thing!" Harry feels like his brain is about to short-circuit. He even forgets that he's talking to a werewolf-a werewolf he just met-and points at her in frustration. "Seriously! You're a werewolf!"

"I am a werewolf!" Lily seems to realize that her reaction is a bit embarrassing, and perhaps Harry's words have stung her pride. She musters her courage and sneaks out from behind the couch, pretending to return to the dining table but actually skirting along the wall to the other side of the living room. "Are you sure that cat's safe?"

"What's unsafe about it?" Harry casually picks up the black-and-white cat. "I've never seen such a well-behaved cat. Right, Roll?"

The cat immediately lets out a soft meow, looking utterly docile. Harry, pleased with this, gets up to fill the cat's food bowl and places it on the floor by the table: this is the cat's designated dining spot. He then points at Lily and introduces her to the cat. "This is Lily Anderson, a werewolf... Well, that probably doesn't mean much to you. Just know that she's our new guest. Your future meals depend on how much rent she pays, so be respectful, okay?"

The cat, as if it actually understands human speech, nods politely at Lily, who's still keeping her distance, before returning to its meal.

Lily seems to finally accept that the cat is harmless. She cautiously returns to the table but moves her bowl to the farthest spot from the cat. Then she suddenly remembers something. "What did you call that cat just now?"

"Roll," Harry looks down at his only "family" member. "Its name is Roll, with the 'roll' as in 'rolling over.'"

Lily's silver hair and wolf ears fade back to normal (Harry can't help but feel a bit disappointed), and she looks at Harry in surprise. "Why such a strange name?"

"This cat showed up at my place last year," Harry explains with a chuckle. "I have no idea what breed it is. This area is pretty remote, and stray cats and dogs are everywhere. Sometimes one or two sneak into people's homes, but this one decided to stay. I tried to chase it away a few times, but it didn't work..."

"So you named it 'Roll' in the hopes that it would roll away?" Lily asks, wide-eyed.

"Not exactly. It likes to jump onto my bed while I'm watching TV. Every time, I'd yell 'Roll!' to shoo it away. At first, it worked, but over time, whenever I yelled 'Roll,' it would come over and rub against me instead-this cat thinks its name is Roll. So now it's really named Roll."

Lily listens with wide eyes, then silently starts eating. After a moment, she mutters, "I feel like I've come to a very strange place."

Harry rolls his eyes: in this house, is there anything stranger than a werewolf who's scared of cats?

After dinner, it's already past nine. Roll's active hours begin, and the black-and-white cat proudly heads upstairs to patrol its territory. Harry leaves the dishes in the kitchen sink to soak, planning to wash them tomorrow. He lights a cigarette and sits in the living room, lost in thought-trying to make sense of the day's events and marveling at his own ability to adapt.

The werewolf is running around upstairs and downstairs, familiarizing herself with her new home in an almost rudely outgoing manner. Everywhere she goes, she sniffs the air as if memorizing the scents. Even though she's in human form, Harry can't help but imagine her with pointed ears and a wagging tail. Normally, he'd scold a tenant for being so nosy, but now he doesn't say a word: wolves marking their territory is normal, right? He just hopes that this werewolf's territorial instincts can align with human common sense, and that she remembers this is someone else's house and she's just a tenant. Given Lily's personality, that shouldn't be too hard.

After all, no matter what happens, Harry knows he's no match for this werewolf.

Is it really a good idea to invite a potentially non-human, high-powered being into his home?

As he calms down, Harry can't help but ponder this question. But in the end, he feels he made the right choice. And honestly... he's kind of looking forward to what happens next.

This is a very reckless mindset. A normal person should know to avoid danger, not eagerly dive into a mysterious new world that could kill them. But Harry's mundane, boring life has gone on for too long.

He likes watching TV, enjoys all sorts of bizarre and fantastical stories-this is the typical life of an unemployed, single, financially stable young man. While he's not delusional or overly bored with life, and his first reaction to a sudden "Yes" or "OK" dialog box on his computer would still be to pull the plug, none of that stops him from feeling a sense of excitement when faced with new stimuli. This is the most common form of curiosity, and while some people might back off when their curiosity is satisfied, others...

Well, they'd probably react like Harry.

And regardless, he still needs to be wary of that strange and dangerous bat. He doesn't know why he's being targeted by such a creature, but since it's already happened, he has to deal with it. Harry isn't one to run from reality; he'll actively look for ways to improve his safety. For example, keeping this seemingly strong and easy-to-talk-to werewolf close by.

"By the way, landlord, here's your rent!" Lily, after running around upstairs and downstairs (and screaming twice when she ran into Roll), finally remembers her current status. She cheerfully retrieves her wallet and counts out the rent, handing it to Harry. "As per your ad, three months' rent in advance. Oh, and how much for food?"

Oh, not only is she easy to talk to, but she's also a werewolf who pays rent on time-what kind of story has this kind of good fortune?

"Don't worry about the food," Harry notices Lily wrinkling her nose at the smell of smoke (those dog noses are sharp), so he quickly puts out his cigarette. "Having one more person won't make much difference. And stop calling me 'landlord' all the time. I have a name-just call me Harry."

"Got it, landlord."

"Call me Harry..."

"Okay, landlord."

"...Forget it. I'm going to bed. Make yourself at home, but don't go into the locked rooms. Everything else is fair game." Harry sighs and heads to his room. Lily also turns to leave, but halfway there, she suddenly remembers something else. "Oh, landlord, you're not going to sneak into my room at night, are you? It's just the two of us in this house... This is my first time renting from a single male landlord..."

Harry almost falls over, then turns to glare at this annoying werewolf. "For the sake of my own safety, I will absolutely not sneak into your room. You can rest easy!"