Throne Of Cards

A New Ally

It seemed she had been robbed of something really important to her, and she was pursuing the culprit. She then saw a stranger being assaulted, and stopped to help him despite this.

On top of that, she even wasted her time healing him and watched over him until he woke up, and then repeated her earlier question and deemed that sufficient compensation so he wouldn't feel indebted to her.

It was far beyond the level where you could say she wasn't upfront about things. It was the first time in his life he'd seen someone so absurdly considerate.

From her perspective, there was absolutely nothing to gain from interacting with him. On top of losing her target, she spent precious time healing him. Considering this, it could be said that she'd actually sustained a great loss here. She had every right to criticize him, and he would accept all of it.

But in the end, she didn't do that, nor did she ask for an apology. Why? According to her, it was because saving him was all part of her self-serving plan.

"Living like that, you're going to lose everything."

He stood up with those words and patted his dirt-covered jersey. The filth made his well-used jersey stand out, but it had sustained no real damage. And most importantly, all the pain from his beating was completely gone. He rotated his shoulders and stretched his legs as he confirmed his condition, once again realizing just how absurd magic was.

And also how abnormal the girl was, having done this much for him and demanding next to nothing in return.

"―Hey, wait up!"

As she looked around at the spot where the alley connected to the main street, a voice called out from behind her. Smoothing down her hair with her hand, she seemed annoyed as she turned around.

"What? We've already said everything we needed to say, so we no longer have anything to do with each other. We're merely strangers whose paths intersected for a moment."

"Don't say such heart-rending things! And even if you intended to end things, I think it's far from over."

Her eyes were cold as he approached as if clinging to her. Some part of him thought this scene was very much like a boy pursuing a girl who'd given him the cold shoulder, but he pressed on, spreading his arms to block her path.

"That thing's important to you, right? Let me help you find it."

"But you don't..."

"It's true that I haven't a clue as to the culprit's name, background or fetishes, but I at least know what she looks like! A pretty girl with a snaggletooth and striking blonde hair! She was shorter than you and flatter too, and maybe two or three years younger, but I was like really―?!"

It was a bad habit of his to become tense and speak at extreme speed when he was at his wits' end, a habit that was clearly on display at this very moment. Frankly, even he himself was repulsed by this.

―There was too much unnecessary crap like chests and fetishes.

It seemed as though Mohan was about to embark on a journey of self-reflection, full of strain and regret. His back was soaked with cold sweat. His arms were in a dreadful state due to the sweat from his palms and armpits. He was besieged by heart palpitations, breathlessness, dizziness, anemia, nasal congestion and migraines as he stood there.

He'd driven himself into a corner, and what saved him was,

"―You're a strange guy."

The girl's voice, her finger on her lip as she slightly tilted her head, as though looking at some exotic animal. She stared at him as if appraising him and then,

"Let me just say this, I can't offer you anything in return. I'm completely broke."

"It was all stolen, you see."

"Relax, I'm basically broke as well."

"There's nothing reassuring about that, though"

Consciously ignoring the intermittent interjections, Mohan vigorously struck his chest.

"And I don't need a reward or anything. I just want to thank you."

"I haven't done anything to deserve your thanks, you already repaid me for the healing."

She remained stubborn to the very end.

Her obstinate attitude made Mohan smile bitterly as he continued, "If so,"

"I'm helping you for my own sake too. My objective is, yeah, that. I wanna do some good deeds!"

"Good deeds?"

"That's right, if you do a whole lot of them, you get to go to heaven when you die. It's basically my dream life, lazing about all you want, living as self-indulgently as you please, and it's like it's just waiting for me. That's why you have to let me help you."

He didn't really understand what he was saying himself, but he said what he wanted to. He looked as though he'd just accomplished some great task, but the girl seemed rather pensive. However, the cat on her shoulder started poking her cheek with its paw.

"I'm not sensing any malice, wouldn't it be best to take him up on his offer? You don't have any leads, and you can hardly search the whole capital."

"But... I"

"Your stubbornness is definitely cute, but it'd be foolish to lose sight of your objective because of it. I don't want to think of my own daughter as a fool."

The cat shrugged its shoulders as it provoked her, causing her to raise her eyebrow. The next several seconds were filled with strangely erotic 'Ahh's, 'Uhn's and 'But's, but in the end,

"―I really can't give you anything, you know."

Saying this, she took his outstretched hand.