Chapter 11: Distrust Shouldn't Be That Hard

The day was starting to dawn, and the forest was growing quieter. However, it was a completely different scene inside the small, odd house in the middle of the woods.

Trad had hoped the cat would calm down after their conversation, but as soon as he gave the creature some space, it tried to escape again. Trad quickly caught him, but this time, by his white tail.

Instinctively, the cat flinched and scratched Trad's hand, which made him angry once more. The creature was also growing more nervous. He clearly didn't like having his tail grabbed.

Both of them, unable to control their impulses, began to spar around the house, knocking things over in the process. Trad had thought he would easily catch the cat, but the cramped space made it hard for him to move properly.

He ended up with several scratches on his arms, forehead, and cheek. The cat was taking full advantage of its agility, and Trad was also yanking at its fur in retaliation.

But when Trad accidentally brushed against the lantern, causing it to swing and flicker, the cat immediately darted towards it, preventing it from falling. He sighed in relief once he had it safely in his paws.

"Fine, fine!" the creature exclaimed. "I'll help you, but don't destroy my house!"

"Hm... you really care about your home, huh?" Trad muttered, glancing at his scratched arms. "But it's hard to trust you after all that."

"Don't act like I didn't have a reason to do that!" the cat shot back.

"But you didn't really have to!" Trad sighed. "But... if you actually help me, I'll forgive you."

"It's not like I did anything that needs forgiveness…" the cat sighed again. "But if I agree to help you, what do you want me to do?"

"As I said, you just need to help me escape from here."

"Escape? What do you mean by escape? Escape from what? From who? Are you a criminal?"

"No! I mean, how am I supposed to get out of this forest?"

"The same way you entered."

"...Well..." Trad thought about the path he'd taken with Uwnrien until he ended up here. "I don't think something like that is possible."

"Why? How did you get here?"

"I would have a hard time explaining it…"

"Are you hiding something?"

"No… I'm just saying, I don't even think I could explain how I ended up here."

"Are you sure you're not a criminal? What do you plan to do once you escape? Commit crimes again?" The cat gave him a disapproving look.

"I told you I'm not one… Anyway, I just want to go back home." Trad paused, subtly catching himself.

How was he supposed to return? Trying to explain what happened to him before arriving here was already hard enough, and actually doing it felt like an impossible task.

But he knew that standing still wouldn't do him any good.

"Alright," the cat said, clearly annoyed. "I don't want to keep talking to someone like you," he added arrogantly. "I've already noticed you don't know anything about this place, right?"

"You sure are cheeky," Trad sighed. "But you're right."

"Doesn't matter," the cat said dismissively. "I'll make sure to take you far from my house."

"I'll take that as a favor from you," Trad responded with a grin.

As the morning arrived, the cat left the house with Trad following him.

"Argh..." Trad stretched, feeling relief after finally leaving the suffocating house. "How do you manage to live in such a small place?"

The creature gave him a pointed look, clearly unimpressed. "Come on," it said, taking a few steps forward.

"Wait…"

The creature stopped and turned around when it noticed Trad had hesitated.

"Where is my bag?"