Nekomata - Confusion

The boy waited for the traveler anxiously outside the forest. A long time had passed, just when he thought the traveler was already eaten by the monste
r, he saw a man walk out of the forest with a cat sleeping in his arms.
"Did you meet the monster?" The boy rushed to him. He peeked at the cat in his arms, confused about what really happened in the forest.
"It's nothing but a rumor. There is no monster in the forest, but I found a little cat who had lost its way."
"But..."
"If the monster is real, how could I come back alive?" The traveler adjusted his hat and squinted his eyes under the brim's shadow, resembling some kin
d of cunning mammal.
The boy was only half-convinced, but could not find any reason to reject him as the traveler looked completely unscathed.
If this weak-looking man can come out of the forest alive, this place shouldn't be as dangerous as the rumor suggests, should it?
"It was nothing but a rumor spread by poachers to scare the villagers off. Don't worry." The traveler gave the boy a pat on the shoulder and headed awa
y with the cat. He seemed to be mumbling something though. "Ouch… You little one hit me really hard."
Little one? Does he mean that cat?
What a chaotic day, the boy thought. But he started to think about what the traveler said. What are monsters? And what makes a human?
Can monsters really live like humans and refrain from eating them?