28 – Pains

As soon as Alan and Celia arrived at the shop's front yard, they found two men and a woman running on the bridge.

One of the men, a tiny elf with a quiver on his back, pointed at the shop. "I told you, I saw the rabbit coming here!"

"I can hear you already!" The other one, a large, muscular man with a mace, grumbled. "You don't have to tell me so many times!"

"But I'm not lying!"

"Maybe we're too late." The only woman in the group chimed in. She carried a magic staff and had cat ears on her head. "Look, some adventurers are already there. Or are they just shop patrons?"

"You guys saw that rabbit coming here too? We've searched all over this shop and its surroundings but can't find it." Alan told those people when they entered the front yard.

The three adventurers exchanged glances.

"Is that true?" the elf asked.

Alan showed them the contents of his backpack. "If we had found it, we would have brought the rabbit with us."

"Yeah, that's right!" Celia also showed them the contents of her bag, but her act was a bit over the top. "We looked all the way to the bathroom corners and couldn't find the golden ass."

"What you guys said is right." The elf scratched his hair, then faced his two friends. "Let's go back, then."

The cat mage sighed while the big man grumbled. "Because of you, I was in a hurry to finish my pie! I can't enjoy it!"

"Noms! I told you not to wander off!"

Everyone's attention was drawn to the source of the voice. Ivan came out of the house while chasing the rabbit. He managed to catch his pet in no time. Upon seeing the three adventurers, that boy froze. And then, he ran back to the shop.

"We did look for that rabbit but really couldn't find it." Celia gave a nervous laugh. She averted her eyes from the three adventurers. "T-that boy is smart enough to hide the rabbit from us! Ha ha ha…."

Celia's laughter grew fainter, then disappeared altogether. Alan wanted to slap his own forehead because of that girl's terrible acting.

"Lying is something bad, you know?" The cat mage massaged her nape.

"So, you guys hid it?" The elf asked and immediately slapped his forehead. "Of course, you hid it so no one else would take it. Why am I stupid?"

"Your stupidity is above average." The mage sneered.

"That announcement didn't mention that we can't take the rabbit from anyone else." The large man swung his mace with a broad grin on his face.

"If we have to fight…" Celia gulped. "Please don't kill them, Al. This happened because of a contest."

Alan glanced at his partner. "I can't promise you, Celia. If they threaten our lives, then I have no other choice."

The big man was about to charge, but Alan shot an earthen needle projectile at him.

"Arrggghhh!" That big man held his crotch and knelt down. Then, Celia hit his face with the blunt bottom of her spear.

Alan winced at that incident as if he felt the same pain. He had been aiming for the gap in the belly of the big man's armor. But he missed the target because the distance between him and that person was quite far.

But apparently, it's even more effective. In a short time, Celia had landed a solid combination hit on her opponent's face. The big man could do nothing but continue to hold his manly part.

The other two did not stand still. They jumped back onto the bridge to prepare for their ranged attacks.

However, before they could do anything, Alan fired another needle projectile.

"My boob!" The cat mage held her bleeding right chest.

"What about your boobs!?" The elf didn't shoot and instead checked on his friend. "Are they deflated as I said!?"

Suddenly Haruna came from the air and kicked the elf in the back of the head, causing him to fall unconscious. The incident was so fast that it made the cat mage stunned. She didn't have time to react when the rogue punched her in the chest.

"My other boob!" This time she held her left breast after rolling backward because of that strike.

Haruna then slammed her knee into the mage's face, forcing the cat woman to faint.

"Don't kill them!" Celia pleaded.

Haruna was already picking up a knife at her waist.

The female rogue then glanced at that female fighter. "If you keep doing that, you will be the one who will kill your opponent."

Even though the big man was helpless, Celia was still hitting him with the spear's bottom.

"Aah…" Finally, she did stop. But his opponent's face was already covered in blood. She grimaced and muttered, "F-forgive me."

Haruna then jumped in front of Alan, winked, and hissed. "You're welcome."

Alan was silent. He still couldn't trust this woman. What if she has other intentions?

"What the heck happened?" Igor, who had just left his shop, was bewildered to see the bodies lying in his yard and on the bridge.

"You don't have to worry." Alan turned around, preferring to talk to the shop owner instead of Haruna. "What did you bring with you, sir?"

Apart from wearing a backpack, Igor also carried something wrapped in black cloth, maybe about twice the size of a baby. "These are some spare parts. I was thinking of helping you build the propeller while on your land. Well, I can't carry all the pieces, though. It will be too heavy."

"You don't have to do that," Alan responded. "But thank you. Let me carry it if it's heavy…."

Igor took the spare parts bundle away as Alan went to get it. The shop owner corrected his glasses and spoke in a more serious tone. "This must be handled with care. Not just anyone can do it."

"Okay..." Alan didn't know how to respond.

On the other hand, Celia bowed to Ivan with a bright smile. "May I touch it?"

"Sure." The boy slightly stretched his rabbit, which was covered in black cloth.

"All right, Noms." The female fighter stroked the rabbit's head gently. "Don't make Igor worry anymore, okay?"

The white rabbit just winked its eyes.

"Guys." Haruna pointed at the other end of the bridge. "Trouble is coming."

Two armored city guards were running toward them.