Volume 3 Chapter 30 Ninini
Edited by: Kanaa-senpai
She was dressed in a white blouse and a short, easy-to-move-in skirt, with black tights to protect her legs.
She stood with her back to him, but even from behind, he instantly recognized who she was.
She was Lyritisse, of the top-ranked adventurer party ‘Lion’s Companion.’
Her usually neatly tied hair was now in disarray, as if she had just woken up.
There was no sign of the party leader, Rean, or any of the other members.
What could she possibly be doing, standing alone in such a place?
It was odd to avoid or ignore the path, so Kian approached and called out to her back.
”Good morning, Ms. Lyritisse.”
”────”
”Ms. Lyritisse?”
”────!? Ah, yes!”
Getting no response, he circled around to call out again, and the moment he did, life returned to her vacant gaze fixed on the ground.
Lyritisse, regaining her senses, looked around nervously before looking at Kian, and asked in a flustered tone.
”What was I… doing?”
”I was hoping you could tell me. From what I saw, you were just standing in the middle of East Street.”
”Standing… Ah, I’m so cold. My hair… I untied it before bed. These clothes… they’re what I wore yesterday…”
”Are you alright?”
”────!? Ah, yes, I’m fine~ Just a bit… I thought I’d feel the night breeze, so I left the inn. Sir Rean and the others mustn’t find out, so I should return now. Oops…”
The girl with flaxen hair tried to distance herself as if to flee, but stumbled and fell to her knees right there.
Her long legs, encased in black tights, and the white undergarments beneath were visible.
”Do you need a help…”
”No, I’m fine.”
She stood up, her face drawn with exhaustion.
A sweet scent of feminine sweat emanated from her body.
Upon closer inspection, her white blouse was also stained.
It seemed too unnatural for her to have just gone out to feel the night breeze.
After slaying vampires together in a village nestled among the mountains, Lyritisse had taken on the role of opening the teleportation gate in collaboration with the Adventurer Guild.
Later, she even opened a gate for him when he traveled to the Izerland fortress.
Despite being told by Guildmaster Friedrich to take a rest, he wondered if she had truly managed to get some time off.
From his observation, it appeared her life force was nearly depleted.
”Where is the inn? It should be somewhere on central street, right? Allow me to escort you.”
”No, it’s fine. I can make my way home… on my own.”
She pressed her hand to her forehead, shaking it as if suffering from a hangover.
It was clear she didn’t look well, but if she insisted she could return by herself, he had no choice but to respect her wishes.
Kian reached into his pocket, retrieving a vitality elixir made by Aliona, then gently placed it in her palm.
”Oh… what is this?”
”It’s a vitality elixir. You look utterly exhausted. There’s no charge for it; consider it a token of gratitude for the two times you used the gate to send me.”
”I cannot accept this. It smells expensive──surely it’s of great importance to you?”
She was a Rank 1 Adventurer, while Kian held a lower rank.
Surely, she couldn’t bring herself to take something from someone in a weaker financial position.
It was meddlesome of him, but he dawned on him that he himself was the one overstepping by offering the potion.
”Then, please just tell me the name of the inn. I shall inform Rean of your whereabouts.”
”…Sir Rean, you say…? …no, don’t! That’s… not a good idea.”
”What?”
”He is currently resting with Vestacia. I… please, just go. I’m begging you.”
”――――.”
With her hand so firmly pushed away, he had no choice but to leave her there.
He hesitated for a moment but eventually offered a light bow and said, “Farewell,” as he departed.
After walking several paces toward central street, he glanced back to see her seated flat against the ground as if she’d lost all support.
She hunched over, arms dangling limply, staring vacantly at her own knees or perhaps the earth beneath her.
’Well, she is not gonna die.’
”True. I should find Rean’s bedchamber without she, but doing so might reveal my abilities to Rean and the others. It’s an unbearable risk for a secret-keeper like me.”
Passing by the ‘Pumpkin Pie Inn,’ which belonged to Serena, he turned right.
He made his way onto Central Street and started towards the Adventurer’s Guild.
Upon reaching the front of ‘The Boar’s Trot Inn,’ a slightly slurred female voice echoed from the alley opposite the lively town street, “Hey, you!”
This time, he had been aware of her presence from the start, so he wasn’t surprised.
As Kian turned towards the alley, a black-haired cat Beastman appeared silently from the shadows.
With a soft “Yo,” she lightly kicked off the ground, spinning mid-air, and landed on Central Street where the moonlight reached.
A leap of several meters──it was a display of physical prowess on par with Serena’s.
The black-haired cat Beastman with a ponytail clicked her thief’s boots noisily as she approached Kian.
She wore a white shirt, brown shorts, and black stockings made from monster materials.
Her stance was that of a scout in an adventurer party; she was the last member of the ‘Lion’s Companion,’ a Rank 1 Adventurer party known to Kian, consisting of 4 members.
”Good morning, Ms. Ninini.”
”Hey, what are you doing at this hour?”
Her gaze was sharp, devoid of all emotion.
Despite her beautiful features, she exuded the intimidating presence of a seasoned assassin.
In her hands, she tightly gripped large daggers.
The handles were always positioned to obstruct the view of the blade’s length, maintaining a constantly elusive angle.
As Kian’s eyes flickered to the daggers, the cat Beastman growled, “Hey, you listening?” and with a deft twist, she thrust the blade of her right-hand dagger towards his throat.
”…just got back from a monastery on the outskirts of town. I came here to pick up some insect repellent.”
”Even the monks at the monastery are probably still asleep at this hour. You’re lying, aren’t you?”
”I’m not lying. Look, here’s the bottle of insect repellent.”
”Hmm?”
The Cat Beastman, Ninini, narrowed her eyes and said only that much before falling silent for a moment.
But she seemed to notice the scent of herbs coming from Kian’s body, and she clicked her tongue softly, retracting her blade.
Still, she didn’t attempt to put the knife back in its holder.
She was clearly on high alert.
”Back early, huh? You’ve gotten bold, Kian. Been tempting the Western Church nuns, have you?”
”Surprised. You still remember my name?”
”Every time you return, the rumors about you spread like dough rising. No way I could forget that. ──But…”
Ninini twisted her eyes and looked Kian up and down, as if scrutinizing him.
Her triangular ears remained erect.
”You, really Kian? I thought you were just some insignificant runt. But that body, that magic power…I’m getting a bad feeling about this.”
”Absence makes the heart grow fonder, they say. I’ve been training.”
”──”
The Cat Beastman stared Kian down with piercing eyes.
Every now and then, she twitched her nose, Kian’s vampire senses picking up something.
Somehow.
He felt like she was checking his body for bloodstains.
But apart from his nighttime escapades, he hadn’t done anything shameful.
It just made him uncomfortable being stared down with such hostility.
”Well…”
After a few seconds, Ninini seemed to decide Kian was just an ordinary Adventurer passing through, and she said curtly, pointing her thumb towards the central street.
”That creepy magic power…and that way you move, killing your presence so naturally…if you weren’t so suspicious, I wouldn’t have wasted my time. Ugh, I’m already late.”
”You’re looking for Ms. Lyritisse, aren’t you?”
”You know where that rascal is, don’t you!?”
”Indeed, I just encountered her in the middle of East Street. She firmly rejected my offer for assistance.”
As Kian pointed with his finger, Ninini sheathed her knife into its holder.
”No way! Good job, Kian. I’ve been searching for that vanished Lyr!”
”That’s fortunate. She seemed quite weakened, so you should hurry to fetch her.”
”She wasn’t there when I looked earlier… No, wait! I can smell something! It’s Lyr──no doubt about it!”
The feline Beastwoman exclaimed that and dashed ahead with quickened steps.
He wondered if she had dismissed him entirely──just then, she abruptly halted and turned back.
She rummaged through her pockets and pulled out a small pouch filled with silver coins.
”Oh, what?”
”My apologies. Information should always be compensated. Well then…”
With a flick of her wrist, she tossed the coin pouch and melted into the shadows of East Street.
Moments later, a booming voice echoed from afar saying, “Lyr! What on earth are you doing!?”
Kian shrugged lightly and tucked the pouch of silver coins into his pocket.
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Edited by Kanaa-senpai.
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