Chapter 23: Got Myself into Big Trouble

“Hey, I… me? Waaah.”

The girl looked at Aimoer with a confused expression, clearly having lost some of her ability to think from that collision.

“Waaah… I was patrolling around here. You can call me… call me Ling.”

The girl blushed, stammering as she spoke.

She reached out and gently pushed against Aimoer, her movements so soft it was easy to mistake it for her acting spoiled.

Right now she was tilting her head, whimpering uncomfortably.

“C-can you get off me first? Waaah—”

Ling twisted uneasily, but the range of motion was minimal, as if she were afraid of hurting Aimoer.

‘Looks like this one’s a pushover. Maybe if I press a little harder, she’ll just give in.’

From that perspective, her difficulty level was pretty low.

As for looks, you could call her cute.

She seemed like a good kid worth getting to know deeply.

“If you want me to get off, you bumped into me pretty hard just now. It’s still hurting a bit. Don’t you think you owe me something?”

Aimoer stroked her face and keenly picked up a scent unique to kittens from her.

Combined with a few cat hairs peeking out from between her armor, it was conclusive—

This one wasn’t patrolling at all.

She was clearly here to slack off and pet cats.

“And besides, you have a pretty strong smell of cat on you. If the Captain of the Guard found out you were slacking off here…”

Aimoer grinned maliciously.

She stood up from Ling, rubbed her aching chest—though two big cotton cushions had absorbed some impact, the iron armor still hurt quite a bit.

“Well, I’m not that bad of a person. In short, just apologize to me.”

Aimoer leaned against the wall and watched Ling get up from the ground, dust off her armor, and then give Aimoer a very sincere bow.

“Waaah… I-I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to block your way.”

With a face full of grievance, Ling stood in front of Aimoer, head bowed and fingers twisting together.

She occasionally glanced up cautiously to gauge Aimoer’s reaction, afraid of doing something wrong and upsetting her further.

“Sigh, is that all? It feels so half-hearted.”

But Aimoer still wouldn’t let it go.

She fixed her disheveled hair while licking her lips with a mischievous smile.

“When you apologize, you’re supposed to show your belly. Just bowing like that—are you trying to brush me off?”

“Eh… eh? Waaah—”

“Don’t want to? Ah, well, then there’s really no sincerity at all.”

Ling was clearly torn.

She lowered her head, letting out whimpers of either shame or discontent.

After a while, she lifted her head to look Aimoer in the eye, then her pupils suddenly dilated as she instinctively stepped back a few paces.

“Y-you’re Miss Aimoer?”

“Oh? You know me?”

Aimoer looked at her with surprise, a trace of wariness flashing in her eyes.

In an instant, she had imagined dozens of potential crises and countermeasures.

Sensing the subtle shift in Aimoer’s mood, Ling kept retreating until her back hit the wall opposite.

She swallowed nervously.

“Well… my sister wanted to find you. Waaah.”

Aimoer curled a faint, interested smile.

She quickly approached, pinned Ling against the wall with a palm slam.

“Sister? Who is your sister? How does she know my name?”

“I… I don’t know. My sister just told me to find you… D-don’t bully me… waaah—”

Ling lightly placed her hands on Aimoer’s shoulders and pushed outward weakly.

Her face was flushed, her slightly moist eyes filled with helplessness, and she kept letting out cute whimpers.

Whether she was afraid of hurting Aimoer or naturally this weak, Aimoer barely felt any force behind her hands.

It was more like coquettishness than resistance.

“So, you want to take me to see your sister?”

“Waaah, is that okay?”

Ling looked at Aimoer with a pleading expression, which only made Aimoer want to tease her more.

“Then, show me your belly and beg me.”

“Waaah—don’t be like this…”

“Well then, I’m leaving.”

Aimoer turned as if to walk away.

Before she had taken a few steps, Ling grabbed her hand.

“I… I’ll do it, okay? Waaah.”

Ling’s slender ears turned red.

She removed her armor, lifted her shirt up and bit it, then covered her eyes with one hand and begged in a muffled, low voice.

“Waaah… p-please… waaaah—”

The more she spoke, the redder her face became.

She was so embarrassed she wished she could flee the scene, but compelled by her sister’s request, she obediently lay on the ground.

Ling parted the fingers covering her eyes and peered through the gaps at Aimoer.

She saw Aimoer crouch down with a satisfied expression, reach out, and rub her soft, white belly.

The feeling was wonderful—like a warm little cushion.

Aimoer hummed a tune as she rubbed it a few more times, completely ignoring Ling’s dissatisfied whimpers, and only stopped after a few minutes.

“Ah, what a great feel. Since you’re so sincere, I’ll reluctantly agree.”

In truth, Aimoer was also curious about who this sister was.

Though this young elf wore armor, her skin was remarkably well-maintained, clearly not from an ordinary family.

Moreover, when she rubbed her belly, she’d caught a faint floral scent.

Ordinary elves definitely wouldn’t have such a smell.

‘Looks like I’ve hooked a big fish this time.’

Aimoer thought to herself.

After Ling finished adjusting her clothes, she followed her out of the alley and into a ordinary civilian house.

Ling reached out, and intricate magical patterns appeared on the door.

With her finger pressing the center of the formation, the door swung open on its own.

Aimoer warily walked in after her.

At first glance, the house wasn’t particularly special—compared to ordinary elf homes, it just lacked a bit of lived-in warmth.

Ling casually closed the door, walked to the center of the living room, pulled back the carpet, took a token from her waist, and pressed it into a groove on the floor.

In an instant, the floor of the house blazed with light, and the two were swept away.

By the time Aimoer came to her senses, she was standing in front of an incredibly vast and luxurious manor.

Aimoer stood frozen, watching Ling naturally open the door and walk in.

She swallowed hard before slowly following.

She had guessed this young elf’s background wasn’t simple, but she hadn’t expected it to be this formidable.

A manor this large—even Aimoer, who in her past life prided herself on being well-traveled, had never seen anything like it.

Except for the top-tier elf nobles, she couldn’t imagine who else could afford such a place.

‘Did I really land in hot water?’

Aimoer muttered under her breath.

The moment she recalled her earlier rude behavior toward Ling, she swallowed nervously.

‘If I bullied a young lady of this caliber, will I be wanted nationwide and have my limbs sold off?’

While Aimoer was lost in wild thoughts, Ling had already led her into the central mansion and stopped before a door.

“We’re here. Um… my sister is inside. Waaah.”

Ling knocked lightly on the door.

Only after a lazy yet cold voice of permission came from within did she open the door for Aimoer.

And behind that door, what awaited Aimoer was—