In the darkening forest, I found a strange animal that seemed to be as weakened as I was.
I was captivated by its bizarre appearance. No matter how many times I looked, it had a woman’s head. Its fur was a yellowish-orange, and it was characterized by long black hair.
Perhaps worried about me, who wasn’t returning, everyone approached.
“Arisugawa, what are you doing? What, what is this creature?”
Sharin, peeking from behind, exclaimed in surprise. Following her lead, everyone uttered similar words. It seemed to be a completely new race that nobody had ever seen before. I shook the shoulder of the Man-faced Cat lying in front of me.
“Hey, are you okay?”
Then, as if sensing the surrounding commotion, it slowly began to move. Upon noticing my presence, it’s eyes widened in surprise, and it stepped back.
“Ah, good, you seem energetic.”
Then, the Man-faced Cat glared at me and started talking in a low voice.
“Who are you? You’re from the Adventurer’s Guild, aren’t you?”
It crouched low, its fur bristling, looking as if it were about to pounce at any moment.
“No, no, that’s not right. We’re just travelers. We don’t intend to fight, look at us.”
After glancing at us, she relaxed her guard and sat down on the spot.
“It seems so. And aren’t you all in terrible shape? What happened?”
I told her we met an Elf. Of course, I made it seem as if we were somehow at fault.
“Oh, that’s unfortunate. Lately, there are more scoundrels trying to invade the forest.”
The Man-faced Cat continued.
“We rarely go where people are. But somehow, information about our existence leaked out and reached the ears of a noble, so a high bounty was placed on us.”
It was likely this Man-faced Cat that was the reason the town’s adventurers were in such a frenzy.
“So that’s why you were being chased.”
“That’s right. I can usually drive off any ordinary adventurer, but there’s a dedicated Centaur hired by a noble, and he’s tough. They keep chasing me.”
This means there’s a possibility that the tough Centaur is still lurking around here.
“Hey, do you know a safe place to rest nearby? We’re injured like this.”
“Then let’s go to my village. This way.”
I didn’t know if I could really trust her, but right now, I had no choice but to accept the Man-faced Cat’s help.
