Shinobinekoden: A Ninja Catgirl’s Tale

   After realizing that everything she had seen was just a diversion orchestrated by Lucy to distract the archer's attention and that most likely she had already sneaked to his location, Rina breathed a sigh of relief. However, at the same time, she began scolding herself for letting her emotions control her mind.

   'Damn it! Both yesterday and today, I made a fool of myself in front of Lucy! If I continue at this rate, I don't think Lucy will ever rely on me in a critical situation. I've heard many times that when someone falls in love, their ability to think rationally decreases, but I didn't expect to find myself in the same situation...', Rina thought as she sat on the grass, intending to remove the arrow from her leg so that she could then consume one of the potions offered by Lucy while they were on the way, to heal herself.

   Since the arrowhead had come out on the other side of her leg, it wasn't very difficult for Rina to extract the arrow after cutting it with a knife. The entire so-called surgery took less than 5 seconds.

   "Ah!... Fuck!!! Why does it hurt more now than when it went in?!" screamed Rina, who lacked knowledge about adrenaline, specifically its ability to reduce pain, and she had tried to remain calm before extracting the arrow, not wanting to make any mistakes in haste that could worsen her wound.

   Once the arrow was out, Rina didn't waste time and immediately consumed a health potion. To her surprise, in less than half a minute, the bleeding completely stopped, this being clear evidence that the potion she had consumed was of much higher quality than those produced in her village.

   'This potion is truly amazing. At this rate, I think in 2-3 minutes, my leg will be completely healed.'

   Planning to go help Lucy since there was a chance that the archer wasn't alone and she might be overwhelmed, Rina consumed another potion to regain stamina, and as soon as she could step on the injured leg, she headed towards a 2-meter diameter rock well-sheltered by the massive roots of the tree she had taken cover behind, as she intended to shape it into a shield with her fists, capable of protecting her from other arrows.

   "Unfortunately, it doesn't seem to be the kind of rock that splits easily... Well, at least the shield will be sturdy...", thought Rina, immediately starting to pound the rock in front of her with her fists engulfed in flames.

   "Bang! Bang! Bang!"
   "Bang! Bang! Bang!"
   ..............................
   "Bang! Bang!

   "Booommm!!!"

   "Huh, what the heck was that sound?... Don't tell me... Oh no...", Rina said, filled with worry, when she heard the explosion caused by the archer to eliminate Lucy.

   After two minutes of punching the rock, Rina was so soaked in sweat, as if she had emerged from a lake, but the shield she was working on was far from finished. The rock she intended to use weighed around 150 kg.

   "Shit! I can't wait any longer! It's good enough as it is..."

   Fearful that Lucy might be injured, Rina decided to quickly head towards the explosion site, so she grabbed the piece of rock with both hands and after finding a position for the rock that would be as comfortable as possible for her and would protect her whole body, she started moving with small but swift steps to rescue her adorable loved one, resembling a knight clad from head to toe in heavy armor but left without a horse.

   ............................................

   'This is a real workout for the biceps. But seriously now. Not only are her arms very powerful, but they also have great endurance... Hmm, I'm afraid my waist will be in danger in the future...', Lucy thought as she saw Rina, who was about 200 meters away, slowly approaching, holding the carved rock in front of her.

   Not wanting Rina to be too stressed (and because she didn't want her girlfriend to have hands like a male bodybuilder in the future), Lucy sped up towards her at maximum speed, the dark elf she was pulling after her by one leg floating like a kite.

   Although the rock she was carrying didn't allow her to see in front of her, Rina easily realized that Lucy was heading towards her, because both her hearing and sense of smell were far superior to humans. Realizing there was no longer any danger, Rina tossed the rock from her numb arms, intending to sprint towards Lucy to check if she was okay.

   Unfortunately, due to Lucy's speed, there was no romantic scene where two lovers, after tossing aside all their baggage, run toward each other to meet in the middle, because by the time the rock hit the ground, Lucy was already in front of Rina.

   "Look, Rina! Your beloved has avenged you and punished the one who hurt you..." Lucy said proudly, the position of her hands clearly indicating that she wanted Rina to hug her.

   "Praise Bastelia that you're unharmed, Lucy!", said Rina, embracing Lucy. However, realizing that she was covered in sweat, Rina decided to end the embrace in less than 5 seconds, not wanting Lucy to get a bad impression of her.

   Honestly, Lucy found a beauty covered in sweat after an intense workout one of the most attractive sights, so in the moment she saw that Rina was embarrassed about her state, Lucy wanted to bring her down and cover her entire toned body with kisses. However, knowing that the timing wasn't right for such things, she decided to save it for another time.

   Wanting to shift Lucy's attention from her condition, Rina approached the dark elf Lucy had left two meters behind her, but she had to analyze him for a long time to realize he wasn't human, as his face was covered in blood and dirt.

   "Huh, it seems the archer is a dark elf. From what you said, the mercenaries were supposed to meet a group of humans. Could he have no connection to them? No, if he didn't, I don't think he would have any reason to be here because there's no dark elf settlement for thousands of kilometers...", Rina said, surprised by the identity of the one who tried to capture her.

   "Well, we'll find out after he wakes up..." Lucy said as she opened the Ninja Shop interface to buy some health potions and a bottle of vodka labeled Ninja Tongue Burner.

   "Wait, I remembered something. From what I saw, he has a storage space ring. Can we access its contents if we take it, or will we have to persuade him to take everything out?", Lucy asked, then leaned over and removed a simple steel ring from one of the dark elf's fingers.

   "Hmmm, in the village, there's an old man who knows about all kinds of magical devices. I think he can replace the dark elf's mana signature with someone else's. Plus, if the dark elf was acting as a scout for the group of humans, I don't even see how we can make him talk about his purpose before they arrive..." Rina replied, not believing that threats would make the dark elf collaborate.

   "Don't worry, Rina. Anyone will start talking if you serve them enough alcohol..."