La Luna decided to abandon the usual way of searching. With a few quick leaps, she sprang onto the rooftop beside the alley—and soon spotted Itefeil.
“Meow!!”
La Luna let out a loud, sharp meow, and Itefeil immediately turned her gaze toward her.
“La Luna?”
Itefeil stared in surprise at La Luna on the rooftop. Why had La Luna, who’d been resting outside just a moment ago, suddenly run up there and let out such a piercing cry?
(I have to get her out of here. Now.)
“Meow, meow, meow!”
La Luna leaped over to Itefeil, bit down on her pant leg, and desperately tugged her toward the other end of the alley. Itefeil was completely baffled.
“La Luna, what are you doing...? Don’t mess around. I’m busy... Hm?”
Itefeil heard a lot of footsteps rushing toward her. La Luna was still gripping her pant leg, so Itefeil quickly checked the terrain around them, scooped La Luna up, and hid in a corner. She pulled a pile of dry grass nearby over to block the corner.
“Don’t make a sound, okay?”
Itefeil made a “shh” gesture at La Luna, and La Luna obediently closed her mouth.
Before long, the footsteps outside grew louder, and several burly men appeared at one end of the alley.
The men looked familiar to Itefeil. As they drew closer, she recognized the scar on the bald head of the man leading them. Wasn’t that Rigamis—the man she and her team had caught making an illegal deal outside the city not long ago?
What were they doing here?
Itefeil had a vague but unsettling feeling about this.
“Damn it! Where is she?!”
The group searched around, but they didn’t see Itefeil anywhere in the street.
“You little punk, you dare lie to me?!”
Rigamis felt like he’d been played. He grabbed the short, sleazy-looking man beside him.
“B-Boss! Big bro! I swear I’m not lying! I really did see that Itefeil woman come in here! I... I’d stake my life on it! They must be hiding somewhere!”
The sleazy man trembled all over with fear. Rigamis lifted him clean off the ground with one hand. Rigamis’s arm was almost as thick as the man’s waist. If he got punched, there was no way he’d survive.
Rigamis flung the sleazy man aside, then ordered his men to search the area.
As they gradually searched the surroundings, Itefeil took a deep breath. She hadn’t brought a weapon when she left home today, and she’d forgotten to take the dagger she used for self-defense out of her uniform earlier. If they found her, she’d be unarmed and outnumbered. She was confident in her skills, but Rigamis was a genuine Forest Level warrior, and nearly all his men—except for the sleazy one—were Earth Level. Even with magic, she couldn’t face so many opponents head-on when they were all in the same league strength-wise.
Itefeil regretted getting overconfident and putting herself in such a dangerous situation.
What should she do?
La Luna was frantic too. She could hear Itefeil’s heart pounding wildly and guessed that Itefeil had no way to escape. If they were discovered now, it could mean death.
Clack...
“!!!”
One set of footsteps drew closer. The power inside Itefeil began to stir. If they found her, she’d charge out and fight them to the death!
Soon, the footsteps stopped right in front of the haystack. Itefeil was poised to spring into action—then the stench of urine drifted in from outside the pile...
“......”
Itefeil quietly breathed a sigh of relief. As the footsteps faded farther and farther away, she let the power coursing through her body settle. But she frowned at the liquid seeping in beneath the hay.
(Shit. I’ll put up with this tonight. Once I’m out of here, I’ll find a chance to kill you bastards!)
Itefeil forced down her anger and pinched her nose, trying to breathe through her mouth instead. She really didn’t want to smell something this foul.
Compared to Itefeil, La Luna felt like she was about to suffocate. She desperately wanted to rush out and claw the person who’d pissed on the pile!
After a while, the men gathered together again.
Rigamis’s irritable voice rang out once more.
“Are you bunch of useless bastards?! You can’t even find one person?!”
“Boss, there’s nobody in this alley at all. That punk must be lying to you, messing with us. What’s a police inspector doing alone in a place like this in the middle of the night?”
A few of his tougher underlings immediately offered their opinions, insisting that the sleazy man had to be lying to them.
Rigamis had been thinking the same thing. Now that his men had said it out loud, he became more and more certain.
“Fuck! Brothers, take this punk back with us. We’ll give him a real welcome tonight!”
“B-Boss, please! I saw her come in with my own eyes! She couldn’t have gotten away! Look again, just look again!”
“Look again, my ass!”
One of the men grabbed the sleazy guy and punched him in the stomach.
“Ugh...”
“You dare lie to us? You’re in for it tonight!”
......
Once the group’s footsteps had faded into the distance, Itefeil finally relaxed.
But La Luna sensed that they hadn’t gone far. In fact, they were still right outside the alley. She felt a surge of alarm.
“Are they all gone?”
Itefeil quietly pushed aside the pile of hay reeking of piss. After making sure there was nobody in the alley, she finally poked her head out and let out a sigh of relief.
“Come out, La Luna.”
La Luna slowly came out of the corner, then suddenly darted off in another direction.
“La Luna?”
Itefeil paused, then ran after her. She had no idea what La Luna was trying to do. But just as Itefeil was about to catch up, La Luna suddenly sped up and opened a wide gap between them.
?
“La Luna, if you keep this up, I’m leaving without you.”
Itefeil turned away, pretending to be annoyed. Sure enough, La Luna quickly followed behind her. Itefeil spun around and lunged, but missed; La Luna instantly put distance between them again. After this happened several times, Itefeil gave up on the little trick and simply chased after La Luna.
Meanwhile, on the street at the mouth of the alley, a group of burly men stood there feeling like complete idiots.
“You fucking bastard! You’re dead tonight!!”
