“Meow, meow, meow!!!”
Realizing she was unable to move, Little Mi panicked. She struggled with all her might, but no matter how hard she tried, her body remained immobile.
“If you keep thrashing around, I’ll really have to hurt your master,” Shirley continued to whisper like a demon into the cat’s ear.
The cat finally settled down. Her meows were now filled with grievance, and she didn’t dare struggle again.
“Good girl. That’s exactly how a helpless little kitty should behave.”
Shirley went even further, giving the cat’s head a few rubs. It felt incredibly soft.
“What are you doing to my cat!”
Witnessing the entire scene, Anis naturally couldn’t stand it. She strode forward to confront Shirley, completely unaware that she had already fallen into a trap!
“Oho, instead of retreating when you see me, you’re actually walking toward me? Interesting.”
A wicked smirk curled the corners of Shirley’s mouth. She pointed at Little Mi and said playfully, “Don’t put up a useless resistance. You wouldn’t want your favorite pet cat to get hurt, would you?”
“You—!!!”
Anis grit her teeth in anger. This was an outright threat!
Shirley sat on the edge of the bed and patted the empty spot beside her. “Come over here.”
Anis felt a chill in her heart as fear surged through her once again. She hugged her body tightly and took several steps back.
“Don’t be afraid. It might hurt a little at first, but don’t worry. I’ve practiced my technique many times. It’ll be over soon!”
Shirley opened the medical kit and began pulling out various tools. Seeing the scissors and syringes, Anis’s legs couldn’t help but tremble.
‘Is all this really necessary just to apply some medicine?’
“Found it.”
After rummaging through everything, Shirley finally pulled out a piece of pure white gauze.
She looked at Anis, who had almost backed into the wall, and said gently, “I’m not asking you to take off your clothes. It’s just medicine. Is this really necessary?”
‘Applying medicine? It better be just that!’
This time, Shirley wasn’t wearing the ruby necklace. If Anis tried to sneak attack her while she was applying the medicine…
Anis didn’t dare think about it.
But Shirley wouldn’t just hand over the medicine to her. Was there a way to ensure her safety as much as possible…?
It seemed there was. It might be a bit ridiculous, but it would at least give her some reaction time!
Anis’s gaze fell on the cat. Little Mi looked pitiful, her glass-like eyes glistening with tears.
She had to save the cat.
Anis made up her mind. She pulled a thick witch’s robe from the rack and put it on.
Under Shirley’s surprised gaze, Anis walked over, grabbed a pillow, and lay down.
“Fine. Hurry up and get it over with. It better not take more than two minutes.”
Anis crossed her arms over her chest and tilted her head to the right. She looked at neither Shirley nor the cat, lying there like a resigned salted fish, letting Shirley do as she pleased.
“Hmph… honestly, Anis, can’t you even look at me?”
Shirley grumbled, but her hands had already started moving.
She removed the bandage from Anis’s eye, washed a towel in warm water, and gently dabbed at the injured eye socket.
“Ngh…”
The pain made Anis’s body tremble uncontrollably, but she grit her teeth and endured it.
“Meow…”
The trapped cat seemed to have a look of heartache in its eyes. However, Anis didn’t look back because a second wave of pain hit, forcing her to close her eyes.
As the old ointment was cleaned away, a burning sensation from the swelling began to spread. A strange itching and aching tugged at her heart, leaving her with a bizarre feeling of wanting to scratch it but being unable to reach.
While she struggled against the swelling pain, a cool sensation washed over the heat. It was more comfortable, but it startled Anis.
“Guh…”
She couldn’t help a soft moan.
Besides that, she could hear Shirley’s rapid breathing. She sounded… excited?
‘Pervert.’
What she didn’t know was that in Shirley’s eyes, the scene was entirely different.
To the side was the cat—the emotional pillar of Anis’s life—bound hand and foot like a helpless husband. Beside her was the girl who was a hundred percent unwilling but forced to accept this oppression because her emotional bond was being threatened.
And then there was Shirley herself, suppressing an urge to bully her even more, focusing only on changing the dressing.
The bed beneath them was like a vast canvas for infinite imagination.
‘Anis looks so cute trying to endure being bullied. I really want to bully her a bit more. She’d probably cry for a long time, wouldn’t she?’
‘No, no, focus!’
Shirley took a deep breath, forcing her attention back to the bandaging.
To distract herself, she started chatting.
“Anis, does the wound still hurt?”
“It’s fine. Are you done yet?”
“Almost.”
Their meaningless conversation ended quickly.
‘I need to find a topic.’
Shirley remembered a novel she’d read—the one taking the offensive must find a topic the other party is interested in. That was the fastest way to build favorability.
It seemed she had to tell her about that matter. This was Shirley’s real purpose for coming.
“Anis, how is your strength recovery going?”
Anis remained silent for a moment. Instead of answering, she asked a question of her own. “Is there work?”
“Yes.”
Shirley finished the bandage and ended the treatment, but she didn’t get up. Instead, she leaned over Anis, who was flushed and breathing softly. “The northern mine sent a request for help to the manor. They say a bear has broken into the mining area.”
“The bear is extremely cunning. It always manages to avoid the guards patrolling the mine and attacks the miners. Several people have already been injured.”
“Can the guards not catch it even once?” Anis opened her eyes, meeting Shirley’s gaze.
“They encountered it once, but they were no match for it. The bear’s fur can resist arrow punctures, and it can smash through iron armor with a single swipe of its paw. The guards are no match for it at all.”
“Is there any magic reaction from eating magic crystal ores?”
“Very weak.”
Anis searched through the information from the original book in her mind. ‘If I remember correctly, the amount of magic crystal ore that bear consumed wasn’t even as much as Little Mi’s.’
Only its fur’s defensive power was enhanced. As for its aggressiveness, considering those guys at the mine were wearing light iron plate armor, the strength of an ordinary adult bear could punch through it.
Overall, the threat level wasn’t high. Combined with Little Mi’s help, it would be no problem to handle.
Then there was only one thing to consider.
“No problem. I’ll handle it. But… how much do you plan to pay me?”
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