With the staff’s mediation, that stupid dog girl and I finally reached a temporary truce. But the scent of gunpowder in the air hadn’t dissipated at all. We glared at each other, let out a simultaneous huff of defiance, and turned away.
‘Bad luck, why do I have to go to the bathroom again… and with this person on the same path!’
I clutched my art bag and quickened my pace, deliberately leaving her behind. I silently complained to myself: ‘I need to stay far away from this unlucky person to avoid getting into more trouble!’
For some reason, there was a woman ahead looking over here sneakily.
But I didn’t pay much attention; at the moment, all my focus was on distancing myself from that idiot.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw that she had indeed slowed down as well, deliberately keeping her distance from me. She seemed to be muttering something under her breath — undoubtedly nothing good.
‘Whatever, just ignore her!’
I was just thinking about rushing to the restroom ahead to completely escape this unpleasant atmosphere when a scream suddenly echoed from behind. It was followed by the dog-eared girl’s angry, tearful shout:
“Stop! Give me back my ‘Night Howler’! You thief!”
I spun around to see a figure wearing a hat sprinting past the dog-eared girl. Clutched in their hand was the digital tablet she had been carrying at her waist! The dog-eared girl was stumbling as she tried to give chase, her face a mask of panic and rage. Her brown eyes, usually so full of energy, were now brimming with tears, and her ears and tail drooped helplessly.
‘A robbery?!’
My heart leaped into my throat. The thief was running right toward me! I was directly in his path!
‘Should I stop him? No… no way! It’s too dangerous! I’m just a weak cat girl, and he’s an adult! Besides… should I really do it for the idiot who just slandered me? Why should I take a risk for her?’
Logic screamed alarms in my head. My claws trembled slightly with fear, and my body instinctively wanted to dodge to the side.
Just then, the dog-eared girl’s desperate, tearful voice reached me again, piercing my ears like a needle: “That’s… that’s Night Howler! My most important partner! I bought it with the prize money from my first competition… Please… give it back…”
Her voice was no longer arrogant. There was only helplessness and pleading, like a child who had been robbed of her favorite toy.
‘Her most important… partner…’
That phrase touched me for some reason. I remembered the pen display Ning Dongya had given me — the one I had let gather dust before finally picking it up again… To an artist, a tablet really was like a partner.
‘Dammit!’
Seeing the thief about to rush past me, the image of that panicked, tear-streaked dog girl’s face and the words ‘most important partner’ intertwined in my mind. Even if she was an idiot, even if she slandered me…
‘I can’t just stand by and watch!’
At the exact moment the thief brushed past me, I don’t know where the courage came from, but I closed my eyes and slammed my art bag against his feet!
“Argh!”
The thief clearly hadn’t expected anyone to act. Caught off guard, he was tripped up thoroughly. He lost his balance with a cry of pain and tumbled forward. The digital tablet flew out of his hand!
“My ‘Night Howler’!” the dog-eared girl screamed, lunging desperately toward the fallen tablet.
I also fell to the ground from the counter-force, a stinging pain radiating from my elbows and knees. But I didn’t have time to worry about that. Seeing the thief struggling to crawl back up and reaching for the nearby tablet, I lunged forward and used every ounce of my strength to hug one of his legs, refusing to let him succeed!
“Let go! You brat!” the thief shouted in a rage, trying to break free by kicking wildly with his other foot.
‘It hurts!’ I felt like my bones were about to be kicked apart, but I grit my teeth and refused to let go. I didn’t know where this sense of justice was coming from, but I couldn’t let him steal it! I absolutely couldn’t!
“Somebody! Catch the thief! Help!” I screamed at the top of my lungs with a tearful voice, hoping to attract attention.
The dog-eared girl finally picked up her tablet and clutched it tightly against her chest, as if she were holding a long-lost treasure. Seeing me struggling with the thief, her face turned pale with fright, but she immediately joined in the shouting. “Help! Catch the thief!”
Our cries finally drew the nearby staff and contestants. Several sturdy men rushed over and worked together to subdue the struggling thief on the ground.
With the danger gone, I finally let go and slumped to the floor, completely drained of strength. My elbows and knees throbbed with pain — likely scraped raw. My clothes were covered in dust, leaving me looking like a total mess.
“Hey! Are… are you okay?” The dog-eared girl, still clutching her tablet, ran to my side. Her voice trembled with the lingering fear of the ordeal, and her eyes were filled with worry and concern. Her previous arrogance had vanished without a trace.
“I’m… I’m fine…” I answered breathlessly. Seeing her holding the tablet so tightly that her knuckles were white, the slight bitterness I felt from her earlier slander mostly dissipated. I endured the pain and handed her the tablet belonging to her that had been kicked aside in the chaos. “Your Night Howler…”
She carefully took the tablet and checked it over. After confirming it wasn’t damaged, she let out a long, sobbing sigh of relief. Then, completely ignoring her image, she plopped down right next to me, buried her face in her knees, and her shoulders began to tremble.
“Ugh… I was so scared… I thought… I thought I really lost it…” Her voice came out muffled and thick with emotion. “It was… it was my most important…”
Looking at her like this made me feel a bit uneasy. This girl who was usually so aggressive actually had such a vulnerable side.
“O-okay, you got it back, didn’t you?” I clumsily patted her back, trying to comfort her. “It’s okay now. It’s okay.”
She sobbed for a good while before her emotions finally began to stabilize. When she looked up, her eyes and nose were red, making her look like a pathetic little puppy. She looked at my disheveled state and the obvious scrapes on my arms, a flash of guilt and awkwardness crossing her face.
“Hey…” she sniffled, her voice still a bit raspy, though she tried to put on her usual front. “That… th-thank you… and… sorry you got hurt…”
***
After some time passed, the matter was finally settled.
Watching the thief being taken away and the crowd disperse, I breathed a sigh of relief. Once again, it was just the two of us.
She paused for a moment as if she had made up her mind. Turning her head away so she didn’t have to look at me, she said in a fast, mumbled tone, “I, Night Howler: Blood Moon Fang, don’t like owing favors! You… you helped me get Night Howler back, so I… I’ll treat you to dinner! Consider it reimbursement! You’re not allowed to refuse!”
Although her tone was still awkward, the sincerity in her eyes was impossible to hide.
Looking at her acting tough despite clearly being grateful, I suddenly felt that this stupid dog girl wasn’t so annoying after all.
Whatever, considering how pathetic she was being.
I rubbed my aching elbow and answered softly, “Oh, alright then.”