“Hmm?”


    I made a weird noise. I didn’t notice that my sigh came from that deep inside.


    “I just remembered a friend.”


    She seemed a little bit surprised.


    “What’s their name?”


    “Lily.”


    She seemed a little bit dissatisfied with that answer. I couldn’t pinpoint the reason though.


    “A female friend?”


    I laughed. Everyone thought like that in the beginning. I guess that was expected.


    “Nah. That’s just his nickname. He didn’t really like his name so that’s what we called him.”


    “What’s his actual name?”


    I just shrugged.


    “He never told me and I never asked.”


    She raised her eyebrows.


    “You never asked your friend’s name?”


    That was also a reaction I was used to.


    “If he wanted me to know, he would have said it. Everyone has sore spots. It is not a good idea to poke around those areas if you want to keep being friends. If you are a good friend they will open to you anyways.”


    “But he didn’t.”


    Aw. Harsh. Rude. Insulting. But kind of fair.


    “Maybe I wasn’t a good enough friend.”


    I said, trying to pass it by joking.


    “Where is he now?”


    My face turned sour. Even years of experience handling your emotions couldn’t allow you to control every feeling you had. I clicked my tongue before answering:


    “Dead.”


    Our road after that was mostly silent which gave me time to organize what I learned from her so I can relay them to my team. When we finally reached the town I was sleeping on my feet. I just collapsed on the bed when I finally got inside the room I was staying at. I don’t exactly know how long did I sleep but considering my dry throat and numb arm I slept on, it was long. I wiped my body and cursed the fact that this place didn’t have a proper bath. This town already didn’t have many places to stay and I was staying at the shittiest one. But… I shook the bag that held mana stones. It was heavy. Calling it a sack seemed more appropriate. If I could find a place to sell even half of them I probably wouldn’t have to worry about money for a long time. Of course, I didn’t have that many places to spend that money. This town was relatively newly founded and didn’t have interesting things I could buy.


    “It would be nice if this place had an alchemist so I could wake up Larve earlier.”


    I actually tried to search for the revitalization potion when I held the pouch Blanche gave me. Considering just how many potions both she and I consumed in that 4 days I thought she wouldn’t notice one going missing if I just yoinked one away. But even with auto-search it had, it didn’t come out. Looks like she didn’t have one either.


    “It is kind of creepy and risky for you to come like that, Kitty. Especially since you are not me or Morrigan. The door is open, just come inside”


    This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version.I said as I looked at the door.


    “Fuck off, Poyraz. I am not good at this hiding shit. Forget it! What happened? You haven’t contacted us for 4 days! Also-”


    Arslan came inside. His tone was furious but when he saw me he stopped and his eyes traced me from the top to the bottom. His attire was different from the last I saw him. He wore a light yet sturdy-looking chest plate. His forearms till his elbow and arms were covered with armor yet his upper arm was fully exposed. With my experience with magical items now I could feel that both the chest plate and gauntlets were magical in nature. He looked restless, bags under his eyes supporting it. I could easily guess the reason why: He was ready to fight to the death with a Silverfox.


    “I had been with Blanche Silverfox. We conquered 3 dungeons in 4 days. I am still fucking tired.”


    He looked surprised, his hands slowly reaching towards the twin swords he carried at his wrist. Did he think I was going to turn on him? Or did just the name Silverfox make him so nervous that he found solace in touching his weapons?


    “I have so many things to tell you. But I need to eat first.”


    “You can eat with us. In the hideout.”


    I noticed that he didn’t let go of his weapon. He also noticed that I was looking at his weapons.


    “Let’s go then.”


    Hiding in plain sight was even easier than people thought. Human minds only noticed some things when they were looking for them. That’s why a beastkin like Arslan could move around with just a hood in this racist town.


    “Hideout changed again?”


    I said as I noticed it was taking a little bit longer than before. Of course, I noticed that he was taking the long way and making the road as complicated as possible. I just hoped that it was just in case someone could follow us rather than him being suspicious of me. The fact that he didn’t give me an answer also was worrying. We were some distance away from the town.


    “Hey. I didn’t betray you guys or something.”


    He stopped when he heard me.


    “You look… Well fed.”


    I raised my eyebrows.


    “What the hell that was supposed the mean?”


    “I saw the weapons and mana stones you had in that room. Also, the power I feel from you increased drastically. Tell me, why did she give you that much if you just met her?”


    …


    I see. It was a logical conclusion so I couldn’t blame him.


    “Yeah, she bought m- What the fuck, let me stop my sentence!”


    I shouted as I dodged the blade aimed at my eye.


    “Really? Do you really fucking think I am stupid enough to just admit I sold out so easily if I really betrayed you guys!”


    I didn’t pull my weapon. That would just escalate the situation. I just stayed at the distance created between us by my dodging his blade.


    “The guards! She doesn’t like them! There is an inner conflict between her! She is hiding something! She is trying to gain my loyalty against them!”