Volume 3 Chapter 93 The Traces Continue
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
The cat Beastmen were Ninini.
”Nyaa… ah… Gah, gah…!”
”Kian?”
Sarah stepped closer, her face suspicious, eyes narrowing.
Kian kept his Windsong Blade pointed at the female adventurer, and with a sharp voice, answered briefly.
”She’s under protection. This woman ──Ms. Ninini.”
”Eh!?”
”Gah! Ggh… y-you… Kian, Kinya…?”
Her thick Western-accented common tongue echoed, rough and urgent.
Sarah rushed forward, eyes wide with shock.
”──! Oh, no! Sorry, sorry! We didn’t mean to attack──you suddenly lunged at us. Please don’t move. We’ll fix you right away!”
”Ms. Sarah! Cloth!”
”Thank you!”
Kian slowly sheathed his sword, steadying his breath.
Ninini, already battered from the start, looked worse──scuffed and torn, a true wreck after Kian’s hit.
Serena supported her, while Sarah fixed her bones and began healing.
The ragged, labored breathing of the cat Beastmen──*huff… huff…*──gradually softened, her expression easing a bit.
”I’m sorry. I… I didn’t know it was you, Ms. Ninini. I just──”
”…Kian… Why are you… here…?”
”I came to help.”
”Huh…? Hm?”
”It may sound crazy, but we’re here to help you. We’re the rescue team from the Adventurer’s Guild, East End branch.”
Sarah’s voice clear and confident.
Ninini fluttered her black ears, sniffing quietly, slightly amused but guarded.
”Rescue… thank… y-you-nyah…”
”Where are the others? This shelter──Ms. Vestacia built it, right?”
Kian’s question made Ninini try to answer, but she suddenly doubled over with a dramatic fit of coughing──gagging loudly.
Blood and drool dripped from her thin lips.
”Kian… first, we treat her. Hold on.”
”Got it.”
”Nyaa… I’m… fine, really. More important ──Rean, Vest… Lyr, too. They can’t teleport and… are somewhere else.”
”Chat can wait. Ms. Serena, Could you heat up some water for us?”
”Mm.”
”I’ll gather some branches and dry grass for the fire. After that, let’s prepare a light meal.”
Kian said as such, but Ninini pushed away Sarah’s arm and clung to Kian’s feet like a vine.
”Hey, no time for eating-nya! Rean and Vestacia… *hic*… were taken by the Beastmen-nya! Please, you have to help them-nya!”
* * *
According to Ninini, after teleporting here to chase Rean, they caught up to him in a rubble-strewn plaza and managed to protect him.
Rean seemed too exhausted to stand, as if all strength had left his body.
Vestacia, ever oblivious, started lecturing him on the spot, but Ninini finally stepped in, suggesting they find a place to rest first.
It was only then that they realized Lyritisse, who usually calmed Vestacia and played the peacemaker among their strong-willed group, had not caught up with them.
”I must’ve been careless-nya… Probably, the teleportation array got damaged-nya.”
”Ms. Lyritisse is already being taken care of by us. She’s receiving treatment from the Guild staff at the ruins on the other side.”
”R-really-nya!?”
Ninini, wrapped in bandages like a mummy, leaned forward.
As Serena handed over a bowl of bean and dried meat oatmeal, Ninini sniffed the air and snatched the bowl with a “Thanks-nya!” before eagerly digging in.
”Mmm, delicious! I haven’t eaten in so long, but you, as always, make such good food-nya! I prefers Lyr’s cooking, but I think yours is a close second-nya!”
(Guess I’m still no good with Lyritisse…)
Kian thought to himself, maintaining a smile as he urged them to continue.
”So, what happened after you set up the shelter?”
”She’s still chewing! Can’t you wait just a little? …Alright, Ms. Ninini, here’s the medicinal broth. It might make you a bit drowsy, but it should help the pain.”
”Thanks-nya!”
”Did you fight?”
Kneeling by the campfire, Serena asked simply.
Ninini swallowed her food, set her spoon down on her knee, and began to share.
”No, not that day. Rean passed out… According to Vest, his life force was fading, and his temperature dropped dangerously low. It felt like camping n*ked in the dead of winter. Cold blood reaching the heart was a deadly risk. So, Vest decided to snuggle up next to him.”
”And then you were attacked, right?”
”That’s right. The attackers were all armored and wielded short spears. It happened less than an hour after we jumped into the fray. There were about ten of them──terrifyingly strong. I couldn’t protect Vest… Rean stepped up to fight, but got stabbed in the stomach. Vest was crying as he shielded him… I… I…”
Ninini pressed her lips together tightly.
A few seconds of silence passed.
After a few sparks popped from the campfire, Ninini let out a resigned breath.
”I ran away. I thought it was over. I failed as a brave ‘Lion’s Companion’…”
”Ms. Ninini, fleeing isn’t shameful. Had you fought valiantly and died, Rean and the others wouldn’t have a trace left, and you wouldn’t have been able to rescue them. Because you’re alive, we have this information. I think it was a wise choice.”
”Kian, I thought you were just some weird guy with no clue… but it turns out you’re actually pretty nice-nya.”
”Well, someone almost ended you there.”
”That was Sarah’s kick to start with, right?”
”Ugh… Y-Yeah. That’s right. I’m sorry.”
”Can’t let Sarah be the only one apologizing. I’m sorry too.”
”Don’t worry about me, just focus on them. Even though I was the one who launched the surprise attack thinking they’d come back──it’s all on me, no worries.”
Ninini shrugs off the smile and suddenly tears into the thin slice of pork roasting over the fire, tossing it into her mouth with nonchalance.
The fat drips and sizzles as it hits the ashes. That rich smell fills the air.
Serena, who’d been silent, suddenly leans forward, eyes blazing with urgency, and asks,
”Anything else you remember about the attackers? Just──medium armor, short spear, that’s it?”
”Hmm… Nine times out of ten, Beastmen. Likely a black panther tribe… or maybe, just like you, Wolfmen. This whole area’s within the domain of the Hairkin Races, and beyond the forest, there’s the ‘Storm Herd’ camp. They’ve got senses sharper than a blade──any careless move and I’d be spotted instantly.”
”I see…”
”Hey──are you part of the ‘Storm Herd’ or something?”
Ninini’s piercing feline eyes narrow, staring Serena down.
Her gaze feels like a blade.
Serena shakes her head, small and quick.
”I was abandoned by my tribe. I guess they don’t see me as one of them anymore.”
”Nya… I──… I see. Sorry for asking.”
”It’s fine.”
Kian turns back to Ninini, a calm resolve settling in.
”After this, we’ll track down Rean and Ms. Vestacia. From what you’ve said, we’ll probably need to negotiate at a Mercenary camp… Anyway, contact Ms. Priscilla. Have her set up a safe teleport route or open a Spiritual Vein gate for us. Ms. Ninini, stay here and wait with Serena.”
”Why? I’ll come too.”
”There’s talk about the ‘Storm Herd’ camp. Meeting Wolfmen there? Absolutely not. No way in hell.”
Kian’s voice is firm. But Serena, defiant, shakes her head with quiet determination.
”Your personal feelings didn’t matter. What worried me more was the thought of rough warriors attacking Kian and Ms. Sarah. If I went, even though I were exiled, I was still the daughter of the leader, Glen. Surely, they wouldn’t just turn me into a pincushion with crossbow bolts.”
”But…”
”Kian, if you stay behind, then what’s the point of me going? I want to come along!”
”I’m going too!”
As Ninini grabbed her dagger, she sprang to her feet with a determined bounce.
She placed her hand on her tightly bandaged waist and glared down at Kian.
”I’ve been scouting the area. I can guide you until we get through the forest! Besides, there’s no way I’m just going to sit around while our friends are captured!”
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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