Light Novel Chapter 46

エミルート (Emi Ruuto, lit: Emi Route) is the forty-sixth chapter of the light novel series of The "Hentai" Prince and the Stony Cat.
==Plot==
Youto feels a sense of dizziness as the world shakes around him. He reflects on how time inevitably moves forward, and how humans are solitary beings at their core, only able to see things from a subjective position, filtered by personal opinion; each person lives in their own world, and two worlds can never become one.
When the dizziness passes, Youto finds himself together with Emi at a university gate, having just sent Tsukushi off to her entrance exam. Arriving late, Tsukiko joins them, holding a familiar book marked with "#7." She waltzes into the university gate while the security guards are on break. When Youto tries to stop her, she acts coldly, refusing to talk to an "obstinate" senpai like him, claiming that he never listens to her, even "the one time that she begged."
Youto decides to follow Tsukiko in. Surprisingly, she walks into the empty guard's office, where she makes some kind of call. Returning, the security guard spots Youto and Emi and runs towards them. Just then, an ambulance flashing its lights arrives nearby, distracting the security guard. A patient is transported into the ambulance laying on a stretcher, and upon a closer look, Youto realizes it is none other than Tsukushi.
Youto follows them to the hospital and listens from outside as the doctor talks to Tsukiko about her sister's apparently incurable condition. Tsukiko then speaks as if Tsukushi had taken the exam many times, telling the university professor who had come along that Tsukushi would never participate in afternoon exams, and would sneak home like nothing happened. This time, Tsukiko had called the ambulance early so she couldn't get away. Her statements understandably confuse the professor.
After the conversation, Tsukiko passes Youto without acknowledging his presence. The cat statue stop the hill comes to Youto's mind as he realizes that as a last resort, he can pray for Tsukushi's happiness using his own. He resolves to do something about Tsukushi's illness as he turns to leave.
The Saturday practice for the track and field club takes place as always, but none of the club members are able to focus, having learned about Tsukushi's state. Mai reflects that she seemed to be trying really hard to make memories with everyone recently, often inviting them to skate or hang out.
After practice, Youto visits the Tsutsukakushi household, where he finds Tsukiko walking around towards the back gate, wearing high-laced boots and carrying a plastic bag. When Youto approaches her and tries to strike up conversation, she remains cold, showing anger through cat-like gestures. Only when they arrive at the back gate does she finally speak, revealing that she was searching for an intruder, but she believes that they are no longer here. She expresses regret at missing the opportunity to capture this intruder, indicating she had previously tried and failed.
Not understanding what Tsukiko means, Youto acknowledges her anger and asks her for a chance to talk things through. Tsukiko brings out the black cat that Youto gave her as a birthday present, asking him if he thought a relationship where one only receives is a proper one. Shoving the gift into his arms, she argues that their relationship is not equal, because even though she wants to do something for Youto in return for what he has given her, he never listens, no matter what she says or does.
She declares that until they become "equal," she will not give up on Youto — if he continues to "pray like always," she will "revert it back to normal." With this, Youto finally comes to understand what Tsukiko meant.
Later, Youto meets up with Emi at her church. She shares her fears of being watched by a hooded man, mentioning that even right this moment, she feels the man's presence. When Youto turns back to look, the man is in fact standing there. He wears the usual hood and carries a black cat puppet, one of his eyes hidden by his bangs. However, Youto soon notices something different about him — he is crying.
The man addresses Youto directly, saying, "I hate you." He elaborates that he despises Youto's carefree demeanor and "easy-going eyes," which lack sorrow, grief, or hardship. However, asserting that it is for Emi's happiness, he reveals that the world they inhabit is trapped in a repeating time loop, all because of "that man."
He explains that this is the "eighth time" the events of their world have repeated. Each time, Youto has "failed" by "paying too large of a sacrifice." He cryptically states, "I listened to these words of mine, just like you did. I pushed myself away as well. That is why I became myself, and came to talk to myself." He claims that he can no longer show himself in front of himself, but one day, Youto will certainly find himself in front of himself as well.
He explains that Tsukiko's subconscious wish to know everything in Youto's stead has made it so her notebooks that document his every action carry over to the next loop, which is how she retains her memories and become aware of the loop itself. He then adds that he has also been observing the notes himself: at the beginning, he struggled to differentiate between the notes for each loop. However, after the third time, Tsukiko started to number them, and always hid them in the same location in her room.
Alas, the man bids farewell, urging Youto to tread down a different path than him. He stoops down as if praying for something, and turns to look at Emi with eyes filled with sadness, before finally walking away.
Later, Youto finds an item that the man has left behind — a black cat puppet. It is a plush toy with an oddly familiar design, and it contains a recording device inside. When Youto presses the play button, he hears a dandy, baritone voice:
*Just when do you plan on giving back the stony girl what she is missing?
*I wanted to talk with you. About the evil family god, the family god who possesses, and the family god who always brings misfortune. It should be something interesting to you, right?
*Eventually, a problem related to the main house will occur. Why not make sure that your stance is solid when that time arrives?
However, the same voice soon comes from behind Youto. It was Emi's father, who Youto immediately realizes is possessed by the Cat God. He tells Emi to wait as he takes the Cat God to the back of the chapel. It claims to have come with important information, but Youto immediately kabe-dons the Cat God and goes in for a kiss to scare it off, hallucinating the image of a girl to distract himself from the fact that he is kissing a middle-aged man.
Moments later however, Emi receives a phone call from what sounds like her actual father, speaking in Italian. After the call ends, Emi tells Youto that her father wanted to tell him about Tsukushi's sickness, and wants him to "do what he needs to do."
Youto ponders Emi's father's motive, suspecting that he might be working together with the Cat God. Regardless, he stands up to face the hill with the cedar tree, where the cat statue resides. However, Emi lets out a sigh, calling him an idiot for "going for another loop." Ordering Youto to listen to her, Emi suggests that they convince Tsukiko, or the loop will never end. However, Youto believes that there is no way for them to come to an understanding — he wants to do everything he can to save Tsukushi, and the fact that Tsukiko disapproves is a difference in lifestyle that cannot be mended.
Hearing this, Emi tells Youto to recall his hospital visit. Then, Tsukushi admitted that she wanted to end the curse of the bloodline with her generation, by living and dying as herself, free from the legacy of the Cat God. When Youto asked why she didn't tell anyone, she simply answered, "Because I am an Onee-san after all!", acting like a grownup.
Listening to Youto's relay of this exchange, Emi says that Tsukushi probably wanted an equal relationship, where her pain belongs to herself only. However, Youto objects, voicing his frustration, "You can't keep the pain to yourself and still say you're part of an equal relationship. Waiting for the other person is just—"
Youto stops when realizes the parallel between his own words and Tsukiko's, finally understanding her. With a sigh, Emi remarks on how long it has taken him to understand. Youto concurs, feeling truly deserving of his "pumpkin" title.
However, although a crucial step was made by Youto, the reality is that he had done so too late — Tsukushi's illness worsens by the day, and he had already made Tsukiko angry. The current Youto is running out of time, but only the current him. Alas, he arrives at the decision to once again pray to the Cat God, restarting the loop once more, but before doing so, he approaches Emi with a request.
==Characters==
==Navigation==