Chapter 26

"Ouch!" Diane rubbed her butt. "Why do I keep falling these days?" she pouted while looking at the small creature in front of her. "Oh, who are you, little guy?" Diane slowly approached the little creature. It resembled a bunny but with fluffier fur. The little creature's eyes glowed; it hopped backwards, seemingly avoiding Diane. Women always have a soft spot for cute things, and Diane was no different. She felt giddy inside and seemed to want to squish the tiny thing.

"It's okay, don't be afraid", Diane said while gently walking towards the little bunny. Suddenly, the little bunny revealed its white teeth and bit Diane in the arm. "Ouch!" she reeled her arm. The little bunny seemed to enjoy Diane reaction as it taunted Diane by pulling its tongue out. Diane's expressions turned sour, "Stupid shit, come here!" she chased the little bunny, but no matter what she does, the little bunny kept outmanoeuvring her. The little bunny kept taunting Diane, luring her somewhere away from the treasury.

"You're cornered now, you little shit. Now, be obedient and let me catch you!" Diane said with a scary look in her eyes. The little bunny seemed a little bit scared as Diane charges with her arms open, "Got YOU!" she yelled. But, the little bunny smirked; it jumped high, avoiding Diane's arms. The little bunny landed on top of her head before jumping off behind her. The little bunny let its tongue out, and it hopped back into the direction of the treasury. Diane pouted; she stood up and proceeds to chase the little bunny again.

===

"Urgh", I woke up feeling numb. I looked at my left arm, regretting I didn't rub any potion or ointment before I passed out. Better late than never, I guess, as I took out a potion that Davida gave me before and rub it on the burnt part of my body. "System, what's my NR now?"

"Master has only 5 NR remaining", informed the system. "Fuck!" I cursed. For having nearly 80 NR and being left 5 NR caused pain in my chest. "So, my only spell is useless now", I sighed. "You can replenish your NR quickly by buying items from the Fate Store or by levelling up into 2nd Grade Aura Master," said the system. "Yeah, right. 250 FP for a Fire Resource Card when I only have 68 FP, smart suggestion System. And, do you think it's easy levelling up into 2nd Grade Aura Master?" I sneered at the system. "Not necessarily," the system said, "Master currently have 82 FP due to defeating your doppelganger, the golem and the young lord."

"I see", I rubbed my chin, "I could just buy a Random Resource Card or some consumable items from the Fate Store. Which one should I choose?" Unconsciously, I managed to move my hand. "This quick?" my eyes widen, "She's a woman of mystery, huh? That Davida…." The burnt on my left arm started to heal as the numbness slowly goes away. While I was mesmerized by the effect of the potion, the sword beside me buzzed.

"What's wrong?" I held it in front of me. "Bzzt. Bzzt bzzt bzzt bzzt"

"Someone's coming?" I became wary, propping myself up, "I didn't sense anything, though. Are you sure?"

"Bzzt", it buzzed. I could feel it nodded at me. "Hmm", I pondered about it for a second, "I'll believe you." The sword buzzed happily as it pointed itself west. I readied my stance, preparing for any threats to come my way. What came, however, was a little bunny, cutely hopping towards the centre of the cave. "Huh…." Flabbergasted, I let down my guard. As soon as I did that, I heard a woman scream comes out from the tunnel.

"You little shit! Stay where you are!"

This voice seemed familiar. The figure slowly revealed herself, and I found myself holding back my laughter. It was Diane with messy hair. She looked frustrated, running towards the little bunny and trying to catch it only for the little bunny to jumped over her and provoked her. I let out a chuckle while watching this entertaining show that happened in front of me. It seemed Diane didn't notice me. "Should I help?" I asked the sword. It wiggled itself, seemingly amused. "Yeah, I should"

I observed how the little bunny moved before quickly moved towards its path. While the little bunny was busy taunting and provoking Diane, I appeared behind him and grabbed its ear. I flashed a smile at Diane, "Hello". Diane seemed out of it for a moment before slowly turning back and walking away. I saw her cheek went red and let out a laugh. "Laugh, why don't you!" She pouted, stomping her feet on the ground. The little bunny and I have the same thoughts as we laughed even harder.

After a while, the little bunny was tied up to Diane's waist, looking dejected. Diane smiled smugly at the little bunny before pinching its nose with her hand. "So, Davida and Duncan weren't with you?"

"Yeah", Diane said weakly. "But I'm pretty sure they're fine", she flashed a smile. Although she sounds cheery now, I'm sensing concern from her words. "Yeah, they are stronger than me, after all. If I'm fine, I'm sure they will be as well." Diane expression brighten before looking at the little bunny, "Why do you lead me away from the treasury, little guy?" The little bunny just crossed its arm and turning its head away. "Aw, you're sulking", once again; Diane smiled smugly at the little bunny.

"Treasury?"

"Yeah, I found a treasury full of gold." Diane nodded

"Hmm. Maybe the key to the caste is there."

"That's what I thought as well. But I found nothing. When I was about to give up…" Diane grabbed the little bunny by the ear and lifting it up, "This guy appears. At first, I wanted to pet the little guy, but it kept running away from me. And I soon realised that it was leading me away from the treasury, so I followed it. Who would've thought that the little cretin was hard to catch. I even used magic as well," she frustratingly said.

"I-I see… Then, how about we go back to the treasury? We can search better with two people instead of one."

"Sure"

"Lead the way."

The young man, the elf woman and a little bunny walked away towards the treasury.