Chapter 13: When You Meet A Cat, You Need To Pat Its Head

IN THE SAME NIGHT AT SOMEWHERE IN REMANTIA

"Argh!" "Arghh!" "Gaaahh!"

"It's fast... Gah!!"

"Run!!!! Kaahh!"

Inside a cave, a group of bandits is trying to defend themselves from a mysterious person. The attacker runs very quickly until their eyes can't follow their movements. And in the blink of an eye, the bandits are killed one by one with slits and stabs on their necks.

After killing the remaining bandits, the attacker walks to the treasure area and loots the gold bars inside it. Then, the attacker approaches the dark part of the cave.

"Don't be scared. It's me."

"Onee-chan!!!"

The attacker opened its mask and revealed its face. The cat and fox beast children who were scared at first became very happy when they saw its face.

They knew that the person who saved them was a beastwoman.

"I'm scared, onee-chan... Huaaa...."

"Me too... Huaaa..."

"It's okay, it's okay. You're safe now."

"Thank you, onee-chan..."

"Uhuhuhu...."

After she opens the cage, the children get out of there and quickly hug her while crying. Surrounded by crying kids, she pats their heads gently.

"Onee-chan, we can go home, right?"

"Of course. I'll take you back to the village."

"Hooray..."

She brings them exiting the cave and when they reach outside, there is a man with a horseless wagon waiting for them.

It is a 'Wind Wagon', a wagon carried with the wind element, and the man is the coachman of it.

Then, she lifts them into the inside of the wagon.

"Onee-chan, are you not coming?"

"I still have something to do here. So, I'm sorry."

"No..."

"It's okay. He is a good man, he will bring you home."

"Yes, onee-chan..."

She still wants to stay and doesn't want to go with them. She tries to make them not worry by saying that the coachman can be trusted. Then, she approaches the coachman and talks to him.

"To Misdaras, right?"

"Yes, here's the payment. And when you arrive, give this letter to the gatekeeper."

"Understood."

"Stay safe, onee-chan!!"

"You too!!"

The coachman finishes his business with her and then he flows wind element into a magic ball in the front of the coachman's seat. The wagon rises into the air and flies to the night sky as the children wave their hands to say goodbye to her.

Then, she takes a white urn from her bag and speaks to it.

"Where will you bring me to?"

VELDRAN, THE NEXT DAY

"Ah... A coffee in the morning is amazing!"

"Yes, this is delicious too, Motegi-sama."

After that hot session last night, we both woke up a little bit late. Because we still didn't have any groceries and household needs at home, we decided to take a day break from adventuring and went shopping. We also stopped by a restaurant to eat breakfast and enjoy a cup of coffee. We continue to spend our time walking around the city while holding hands together.

Because I already knew Hazewynn's story of how she became a slave in the past, I was very cautious when we went out like this. So, I maxed out my perception with [Temporary Boost] to prevent some bad guys from kidnapping her again.

This trick works because I can feel there is someone who is following us since we're in the city until we return home.

"I know you're following us, show yourself!"

After I said that, I heard a voice from the bush and a sound of footsteps behind me. When I turn around, I see a person wearing a brown hooded cloak in front of me. Then, the person opens the hood and reveals the face.

"It's you..."

"I'm glad that you're curse is gone."

"Do you know her, Haze?"

Noticing her round cat-like ears and her long tail which had the same purple color, I knew that she was a beastkin.

However, the thing that surprised me was Hazewynn and her seem to know each other.

"I met her the night before Visto family was arrested."

"Ah..."

**********

Many illegal slave traders ran their businesses by kidnapping demihumans, including elves and beastkin, and sold them as slaves.

When that panther woman went to the Visto family mansion to release the beast slaves, she came across Hazewynn and told her to escape. But Hazewynn declined because she was still under a curse and couldn't leave the house so that panther woman escaped alone.

"So, can you tell us your name and what you want?"

"Yes. My name is Chantal Bouscat, from the Indigo Panther tribe. I'm here to ask you to train me."

"Train you?"

"Yes!"

"But, why me?"

"I already knew that you're the only one who can lift her curse. So I'm sure that you're a strong man and I also want to be strong as you are."

"Umm..."

Motegi was surprised when Chantal asked him to train her. After she explained her reason, he became confused because he thought that he wasn't as strong as she said.

Especially, the one who asks him is a beastkin, which is a race that has superior physics to humans. Even though they can't use magic, they can manipulate elements to enhance their bodies and some of them are also known as strong martial artists.

"Alright, I'll train you."

"Thank you very much."

"Yes, sure. And by the way, my name is Motegi and she is Hazewynn."

"Yes. Nice to meet you, Motegi-san, Hazewynn-san."

"Nice to meet you too."

"Nice to meet you too, Chantal. Um...you call me Haze if you want."

"Yes, Haze."

Motegi then remembered that he had the [Temporary Boost] skill, so he thought that it wouldn't be a problem for him to fight her. He could also learn some fighting moves from Chantal and maybe he could also copy that with [Copier]. That's why, he accepted her request.

"Can we start the training, Motegi-san?"

"Yeah, of course. But we need to go somewhere else. This is not good a place to do training."

"You're right, Motegi-sama. We will disturb the neighbor if we do it here."

Even though his house has a spacious land, his house is still close to the neighboring buildings. Of course, with the noise that they will make in the training, it will be impossible for them to do that there. So they need to find somewhere quiet and far from the settlement area.

They go to the grassland outside of the city which only takes about less than 5 minutes walk from their house.

"Well, let's begin, Motegi-san!"

"Yes, I'm ready!"

Arrived there, they took a short break before Motegi and Chantal began their battle. Knowing that the fight will be wild, Hazewynn moves away from them and watches from afar.

"Lightning Bullet!"

"Haaah!"

"Fire Bullet!"

"Haaah!"

Chantal took off her cloak and then attacked Motegi using two daggers in her hands. On the other hand, Motegi attacked her with magic.

Panther tribe are known for their exceptional hearing and their incredible speed, which is considered the fastest among the beastmen. They also have lightning elements, which they can use to enhance their body and make them even faster. Because of these abilities, most of them are working as assassins or thieves.

But, Motegi is always prepared for this situation. He already boosts his speed to the maximum so his eyes can easily follow her movements and he knows where she will attack.

"Fire Bullets!"

"Haaahhh!!!"

"They are fast... Amazing..."

During that fight, Chantal keeps attacking Motegi while gradually increasing her speed until it reaches the maximum, but any of her attacks can't hit him. Motegi also keeps shooting multiple elemental spells to her and she also can dodge it all.

Hazewynn who sees their fight can only amazed by how fast they are.

"Hah...I was right. It's the first time I have met a human who can follow my movements. You're indeed strong, Motegi-san. "

"You too, Chantal. But we're not done, aren't we?"

"Of course. I still have some more!"

"Bring it on!"

Encouraged by Motegi's words, Chantal finally uses her enhancement technique. She flows lightning element inside her body, creating yellow-colored electrical flow around her body, and when it's done, she attacks Motegi with her enhanced speed.

"Haaahhh!!!"

"Whoa! That's fast!"

"Not yet!!"

"Good, now take this! "Wind Slash!"

Even though Motegi could still follow her movements, he realized that Chantal was faster than before. When he praises her, she gets more excited and continues to attack him relentlessly.

"She is faster than me... And Motegi-sama still can follow her. Incredible!"

The state of the fight that has become faster and faster makes Hazewynn can't even follow it anymore. She is astonished by her movements, she thinks that maybe she won't win against her if she moves like that. She is also amazed by how Motegi can predict her fast movements.

"Not yet!!"

"I know. "Earth Spikes!!"

"Kuh! Hmm? No!!!"

Motegi fired earth spikes towards Chantal and once again she was able to evade it. However, one of the spikes managed to disconnect the strap of her sling bag and made it fall to the ground. Motegi saw her face was frightened and when he saw there was something inside that bag, he thought that it could be important stuff for her. So, he stops his attack and tries to save her bag.

"Float!"

Motegi used a "Float" spell to prevent it fell the ground. A white circle appears and her bag is floating just before it touches the ground.

"Huh...I made it."

"Ah!! It's safe!! Thank you, Motegi-san!!"

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean it."

"It's fine. It's safe already."

She quickly took her bag and checked the thing inside her bag. She was relieved when she knew it was still in one piece and thanked Motegi for saving it. He apologized to her because it wasn't his intention to hit her bag. But she didn't bother it because her thing wasn't broken.

**********

I see Chantal holding something and both of them stop their fight because of that. I don't know what happened and why they stopped, so I walk towards them, wanting to get their explanation.

"What happened? Chantal? Motegi-sama?"

"No...it's nothing. I just cut off her bag's strap."

"Hmm?"

"It's fine, Haze. It was just an accident."

"Ah, I understand."

However, even though they say it is fine, I feel uncomfortable because the atmosphere is awkward and gloomy. Then, I start to think that maybe I'm the one who makes it like that.

"Umm...Motegi-sama, can I return to the house? I forget to bring some snacks for you, so let me prepare it."

"Ah, yeah, you can go."

"Yes, thank you, Motegi-sama. I'll be back!"

"Okay!"

I decided to return home and make some snacks for them while leaving them to finish their problems.

**********

"Is that someone important to you?"

"Yes..."

"And that's your reason to become strong?"

"Yes..."

Motegi noticed a small urn inside Chantal's bag when they fought earlier. Judging by its appearance, he knew that it was a funerary urn. He thought maybe the cremated ashes inside were the proof of her guilt and her weakness. He also thought that she wanted to become stronger to prevent the same thing happened.

Then, Chantal says something that makes him shocked.

"He had the same curse as Haze."

"What?"

As a race that is proud of its power, beastmen were trained to explore the labyrinth since they were kids and at the age of young adult, they participated in a fighting competition for the new king and queen. Chantal, who had already reached B-rank at that time, was considered the strongest female in her tribe and became the favorite to win it. However, Chantal secretly harbored feelings for her own protégé from her tribe, which she also considered as her little brother. Unfortunately, he was eliminated in the first round.

Knowing they couldn't be the king and queen, they decided to run away and Chantal didn't participate in that competition. However, their happy days were short-lived because her protégé was kidnapped. After she searched him for so long, she knew that he had become a slave to a female mayor.

When Chantal confronted her, the mayor made him fight Chantal, and she was forced to knock him. Enraged, she didn't listen to his protégé's plea and beheaded that mayor in anger. When she turned on him, she was shocked that he had already died. Knowing that she had killed him, her rage became uncontrollable and she couldn't stop her tears.

So that's why she always brought his ashes to remind her how foolish she was.

"I'm sorry for that."

"Thank you."

"So, that's why you become an assassin?"

"Yes."

After that incident, she became depressed and her mind was filled with killing desire. For that reason, she became an assassin to eliminate all the illegal slave traders in Remantia and free all the demihuman slaves. However, it didn't help her depression getting better.

When she met Hazewynn in the Visto family mansion, her trauma came back after she knew that she had the same curse as her protégé.

"So, how do you know that I can lift Haze's curse?"

"I passed by Meldine's house that night and I saw you two walking together."

When Chantal saw him and Hazewynn, she knew that he was the one who successfully did it. At that moment, she thought that he could be the only person to make her stronger and cure her depression.

"I'm very honored if I can help you. But it's not your fault that he died, so you shouldn't blame yourself for that."

"But I killed him. I took his life with my hands."

"It's a curse."

"Curse?"

"Yes, you are still bound with your guilt. You become depressed because of your own way of thinking. You need to forgive yourself and move on. Live for your own sake, that's the only way to lift this curse."

"But..."

Motegi thought that she wasn't at fault when her protégé died. From his perspective, that kind of situation didn't give her a choice because the result would be the same, which is someone's death, and it could be his protégé, herself, or both. So, he thought that if she chose to kill that mayor and her protégé died, it was inevitable.

Even though he didn't have right to say that, Motegi knew if she kept feeling guilty, it would be a burden for her.

"You did a good job, Chantal."

"Motegi-san..."

"Good girl..."

"Hiks...hiks... Thank you very much, Motegi-san."

Motegi pats her head, implying to her that she already worked hard enough. Chantal was surprised by this and tears started coming out from her eyes. She wiped the tears with her hands as she gently smiled at Motegi and thanked him. Then, she realized it was his words that cured her, not his power.