Chapter 6
The sewer rat was startled and immediately raised its head.
The moment it noticed Cecilia staring down at it, it became furious.
「You human!」
Its speech was rough and gruff, just as one would expect from an animal living in such harsh surroundings.
「Get lost! I’m busy!」
「What did you say?」
Nagi, who had been listening to their conversation, opened its mouth threateningly.
「Want me to make you free forever inside my stomach?!」
Eek!
The sewer rat covered its face with its tiny, rice-grain-sized paws and immediately crouched down, begging for mercy.
「No! P-Please spare me! Please spare me!」
「Don’t, Nagi. You’re not even hungry.」
Nagi glared at the sewer rat with its bright yellow eyes as a warning, then hid itself beneath Cecilia’s skirt again.
The sewer rat tidied its fur as though preparing to serve an honored guest, then politely answered.
「There are five humans, and they’re all asleep.」
With the exception of dolphins and crows, most animals were not intelligent enough to lie.
Deep wrinkles formed between Cecilia’s eyebrows.
「They’re asleep? All of them?」
「Yes. They drank some water that smelled strange, and then they all f-fell asleep.」
If it was water with a strange smell…
Cecilia could easily guess what it was.
The sewer rat glanced nervously at Cecilia, then hurried away before she could even thank it.
Holding the loaded gun in her hand, Cecilia opened the creaking door wide.
“The people outside are all asleep. We have to leave now. I’ll go first, so follow me.”
The women silently exchanged glances.
When they helped one another to their feet, Cecilia hurried out of the room.
At the end of the dark hallway, she could see a staircase leading downward.
They had only been trapped on the second floor.
But even more surprisingly, the place was an ordinary family home.
Below the broken, decaying wooden railing, the living room came into view.
Just as the sewer rat had said, all the thugs sitting around a round table had their heads resting against it, unconscious.
Empty liquor bottles were rolling around underneath the table.
Above their heads, a dusty incandescent light bulb flickered.
Damn…
Her mouth went dry from tension.
Keeping an eye on the women following behind her, Cecilia lowered her upper body as much as possible and descended the stairs.
The front door was locked.
Without hesitation, she changed course and headed for the window beside it.
Fortunately, the window opened smoothly.
A light drizzle was falling from the night sky.
It was quite a distance to the ground, but there was a pile of garbage directly underneath, so she didn’t think she would be hurt if she jumped down.
「Cecilia! I’m here!」
Ruby had already flown to a nearby rooftop.
He raised his beak and called out to Cecilia.
Cecilia hooked one leg over the window frame.
Then she realized what was about to happen and firmly instructed the women, whose faces had gone pale with fear.
“I’ll jump down first. Come down one at a time. I’ll catch you from below.”
After saying that, Cecilia took Nagi, who had been hanging from her leg, and wrapped the snake around her neck.
She threw herself downward.
The pile of garbage that caught her exploded with a violent thud.
“Ugh…”
Her lower back hurt a little, but just as she had expected, she wasn’t injured.
Afterward, she spread her arms and caught the women one by one.
But before she could catch the last woman, a gunshot that seemed capable of tearing apart her eardrums shattered the silence.
“They’ve found us! Run!”
The women screamed and scattered.
The thugs also threw themselves out of the window in an instant and began chasing after them like beasts that had caught the scent of blood.
“You crazy bitches! Where do you think you’re going?!”
Cecilia’s white hair was especially noticeable in the darkness.
“Stop right there!”
When she noticed the thug rapidly closing the distance behind her, she pushed herself harder with both legs and raced out of the alley.
But her pursuer had a gun.
As the muzzle pointed toward the back of Cecilia’s head, Ruby screamed.
「Cecilia! A gun!」
Bang!
The gunshot rang out.
Cecilia reflexively closed her eyes.
At the same time, something large and warm wrapped around her and fell down together with her.
When the sound of a dog barking came from somewhere, the thug cursed and ran away.
Without even having time to feel relieved, Cecilia hurriedly got up and checked the person who had taken the bullet in her place.
This person…
Surprisingly, it was the same blonde woman who had been sitting by the door.
Blood was pouring from her thigh where the bullet had entered.
The woman groaned in pain, pressing her head against the rain-soaked ground.
If the constables come, they’ll check her identity.
Then they’ll find out that I’m alive, and my husband will learn about me.
The sound of barking was getting closer and closer.
There wasn’t even time to think.
Cecilia slipped her arm underneath the woman’s armpit, helped her stand despite the fact that she could barely support herself, and hurried away.
The woman was easily twice Cecilia’s size.
Cecilia had no idea how she managed it.
But simply thinking that she might be caught by Davion made some superhuman strength rise from deep within her body.
Ruby guided them from the sky, showing Cecilia the way back to the inn.
When they arrived, the inn was noisy and bustling.
Perhaps a traveling band had come to town, because all the guests had gathered on the first floor, playing guitars and singing.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Cecilia returned to her room and firmly locked the door.
But just as she was about to lay the woman on the bed and examine her wound, something slipped from the woman’s head and fell onto the wooden floor with a soft thud.
It was a long blonde wig.
Huh…?
Hidden underneath it was short, dark-brown hair.
Still holding the wig in her hand, Cecilia blankly looked down at the man lying on her bed, breathing heavily and struggling for breath.
Nagi and Ruby had already settled beside him to watch the spectacle.
Together, they said,
「It’s a male.」
「He’s a male.」
They both looked at Cecilia.
「Oh, Cecilia picked up a new male.」
