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Chapter 14 – The cat’s plan fails
After lunch, I went to the inn and paid for a few more nights there.
Then, I simply relaxed and waited for the night to fall.
And after that…
Fishing time~
A powerless cute girl roaming the streets alone at night.
If that isn’t a juicy bait for kidnappers, then I don’t know what is.
I wonder how many I’ll catch this time?
Hehehe…
Come out, come out wherever you are…
…
The moon is quite pretty tonight.
Even the stars are visible.
Very much unlike a modern city.
It’s nice.
…
It’s taking a bit to find my prey…
Or to get found by it…
But I’m patient…
…
Hmm, I wonder if that cursed guy regained his voice yet?
I’ll go ask someone tomorrow.
…
Come on…
Where are the kidnappers?
Last time, they jumped out at me as soon as I turned the corner!
Since the werewolf is not a threat anymore, there’s no need to stay inside at night!
So where are they?!
…
“Oh… hello.”
It’s a patrolling guard.
But not the one I know.
“Hmm? What are you doing this late, miss?”
“Shh…”
I put a finger on my mouth and gesture him to be silent.
He seems confused.
“I’m playing a bait.”
“You are… what?”
“The kidnappers! I look like a juicy target to them… so when they come, I beat them up and bring them to you!”
Heheh…
Are you amazed, Mr. guard?
I’m basically risking my life to keep order in the city!
“That’s… umm…”
Why are you so unsure?
Do you think I can’t handle them?
It’s fine!
“I don’t think that will work.”
… huh?
What?
“Why not…?”
“Well, it might, but…”
“But…?”
“I don’t think anyone will think of someone who fought a werewolf and survived without a scratch as a juicy target.”
…
The…
…
But…
…
Dammit!
He’s right!
The word has already spread.
It wouldn’t be strange if these criminals also heard about it.
Moreover, even if they don’t recognize my face, I’m pretty much the only person wearing an outfit like this.
They simply have to stay clear of a girl wearing a cat outfit and they are fine.
…
“Umm… miss?”
What is it?
Do you find it strange that my knees and palms are on the ground now?
Or do you want to laugh at this fool who didn’t realize such a simple fact?
WHICH IS IT?!
AAAARGH!
DAMMIT!
I’M AN IDIOT!!!
After headbutting a stone building enough times, I headed back to the inn and slept.
When I woke up, I had some breakfast, I headed to the guild to ask about the mute werewolf issue again.
Still hasn’t spoken a word, they said.
That’s a little concerning.
What if he never regains his voice?
That would really suck for him…
And it would be quite annoying to get any information out of him too.
It’s not even possible to make him write his thoughts since his reading and writing skills are poor.
Stupid low literacy rate…
Anyway.
I’ll have to give up on my cashcows… ahem, capturing kidnappers.
I mean…
In theory, I can just get different clothes and continue trying to bait them.
But that would mean putting myself in actual danger.
At that point, it wouldn’t be easy money anymore.
It would totally defeat the point of all of this.
So… I’ll give up for now.
Well…
On the other hand, I haven’t gotten the chance to use my item bag yet.
I think this is the perfect opportunity to do so.
Let’s hunt some wolves again!
Hello Mr. gate guard no.2.
I still don’t understand how your shifts work, but whatever.
My goal is to find out just how many wolves I can cram into this bag.
How many wolves are equal to two tables and five chairs?
Well, it should definitely be better than that cart.
Let’s go.
And that’s the first pack down.
Hmm…
It’s way too easy compared to the werewolf or a horde of his summons.
Just a scratch is enough for the poison to kill them.
And they are so slow, they might as well be standing still.
Maybe I should try to take on a more difficult monster.
Yeah, since I’m rank E, there has to be something better for me now.
…
Hmm?
It’s that scent again…
The one I… totally didn’t mistake for the werewolf last time.
The one that smells like the wolves, but a little different.
I bet it’s some sort of variant or a stronger version of these wolves.
Let’s find out!
I put the last of the wolf corpses into my handbag and dashed in the scent’s direction.
And I found exactly what I thought I would.
A wolf bigger than the others featuring much darker tone of fur.
It looked like the werewolf summon.
Except it was even bigger.
“Grrr, WHOOF!”
Well, it still barks like a dog.
But, I bet it’s much stronger than them!
Yes, this will be a worthy challenge!
Let’s do this!
Jump forward.
Swing my claws.
Scratch his face.
The wolf let out a pained howl and dropped to the ground.
A few seconds later, he died.
…
Or maybe not.
It was no different from the normal wolves.
Damn…
I’ll really have to look for a harder quest in the guild.
There ought to be something worthy, right?
Maybe something like ogres or wyverns?
Or a dungeon to conquer?
…
Huh?
Since when am I a battle crazed maniac?
Look for something stronger to fight?
Seriously…
I bet that’s also the effect of cat soul.
I should be more careful…
I loaded the black wolf into my bag and headed back.
On my way to the town, I killed a few more wolf packs and added them to my collection.
At the end, I collected seventeen normal wolves and one black.
More wouldn’t fit inside the bag.
I guess that’s the limit for now.
But since the capacity is based on my magic, it’s going to get bigger as I level up.
What a convenient tool…
I’m surprised it only cost two gold coins.
Or actually, it was even cheaper than that, wasn’t it?
Back at the eastern gate.
It seems like gate guard no.2’s shift didn’t end yet.
I wonder if gate guard no.1 gets enough sleep working like this…
…
Hmm, maybe I should ask for their names.
Nah, it’s easier to remember like this.
As soon as I enter the city, the surrounding people gaze at me.
But unlike the first time when I came here, it seems like they want to do more than just staring.
Stay away!
Don’t come and talk to me!
I don’t care how grateful you are!
And don’t try to pat me like an animal!
Argghhhh!
I jumped away.
Then, I did a double jump and landed on top of a nearby house.
People usually don’t walk around on roofs.
A flawless escape plan, I must say.
Just jump around till I get to the guild.
Jump, Jump, Ju-
Crack.
…
The roof tile broke.
…
Why did the roof tile break?
Are you telling me I’m fat?
Or was the tile just too fragile?
…
I-it’s fine, right?
I just have to pay the reparations and…
“Hey! What’s going on?!”
A man with dust on his head emerged from the house.
The anger spilled out of him like water.
The situation didn’t seem fine at all for me.
It…
Might have been a good thing I joined the subjugation party.
The man was really angry I broke his roof, but it wasn’t as bad as I feared.
Naturally, he ended up lecturing me to not stomp on other people’s property…
But since I was something like the city hero, he let me off after I paid him reparations.
…
That also means most of my money disappeared again.
Housing sure is expensive…
Ugh…
It’s all fault of those people trying to talk to me!
If they just left me alone, this wouldn’t have happened!
Anyway…
After all of that, I had lunch in a nearby diner before heading to the guild.
This time, I walked on the ground like a normal human.
But every time someone seemed like was about to approach me, I threw an angry glance at them.
That seemed to take care of it.
People went back to staring.
Nobody approached me again.
Yep, that’s good.
“Miss, the guild master wants to have a word with you.”
As soon as I arrive at the guild, a receptionist tells me this.
W-what happened?
Did…
Did the poison kill someone after all?!
No, that can’t be…
…
Hmm, maybe it’s about my rank.
Harold DID say he would talk to the guild master about it, right?
…
W-well, let’s just hope for the best.
“This way, miss.”
I followed the lady inside.
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