Shinobinekoden: A Ninja Catgirl’s Tale

   "So how do you want to proceed from now on, dark elf? Perhaps you are capable of maintaining this realm of shadows for longer than I expected, but that won't help you much against me. I believe you've also realized that your chances of killing me are very slim, let alone capturing me alive; otherwise, you wouldn't have threatened Rina's life. But do you truly believe that's a solution? If I were you, I wouldn't be so sure, because as long as you can't keep this skill activated indefinitely, killing Rina means losing your own life. You might think I'm bluffing because, in our previous fight, I haven't been very serious, but I assure you that when I'm truly angered, there's no room in my mind for sympathy or admiration, my only goal being to eliminate all those who have wronged me..."

   From Lucy's speech and the determination in her gaze, it was quite clear to Yara that the situation had once again become serious, so she set aside the questions that had arisen in her mind for another time and began to think of a solution herself to get out of this impasse.

   Yara couldn't deny that Lucy could indeed pose a threat to her life despite her own much higher level, Lucy's skills and tools being very unpredictable. While blackmailing Lucy with the life of the captured lionkin girl might buy her some time, it couldn't be a long-term solution and she didn't expect Lucy to continue making concessions if the situation became too dangerous for her. At least that's how she would proceed; she wouldn't sacrifice herself for anyone.

   "Damn it, why did the situation have to become so complicated? My job was just to protect Marquis Olsen's brat, not to capture lionkins and catgirls... Yes, why do I have to complicate things so much? The simplest thing would be to say that I just found Silas unconscious, and after thoroughly investigating the area around him, I found no trace indicating the direction the attackers took. And if someone doesn't like the explanation, so be it. It's not like Marquis Olsen is the only one with ties to the Great Church...", Yara finally decided, tired of wracking her brain over a matter from which she had almost nothing to gain.

   "I think we can come to an understanding. How about we proceed as if we never met? I'll take Silas and return to my comrades, and you two can go back where you came from...", Yara proposed, thinking that Lucy had no reason to refuse.

   Hearing what Yara said, Lucy didn't hastily agree, as if she accepted Yara's idea, not only would she have to leave Silas alive, but she wouldn't be able to gather more details about those who ordered the capture of the lionkins. Well, perhaps Silas could be spared because he had already paid for the harm he caused Rina, but if she couldn't get her hands on those who worked for Marquis Olsen to interrogate them, she would have to return to the lionkins' village with her tail between her legs. Would Rina's grandparents think less of her?

  'No, it would be best for me if Yara would just drop everything and leave. But how can I convince her? Ugh, I know too little about her relations with Marquis Olsen to do that...', Lucy lamented in her mind, not wanting all her work to go to waste.

  "Not a bad idea...", Lucy eventually said, hoping to keep Yara off guard. "But I'm curious, how did you end up working for Marquis Olsen? Are relations between humans and dark elves that good? Or did he pay you a lot?", Lucy continued, aiming to find a way to persuade Yara to defect.

  "Not quite. The situation was that Marquis Olsen needed competent and discreet bodyguards who weren't affiliated with the Adventurer's Guild, and I needed someone with connections to the Great Church, so I made a deal with him...", Yara briefly explained the situation she was in.

   "The Great Church? What do you want from them?", Lucy asked again, her intuition telling her she was getting closer to a solution to her problems.

   Confident that Lucy couldn't jeopardize her affairs and perhaps also out of a desire to unburden herself, Yara didn't hesitate to provide more details.

   "My younger brother was stung by a Craniskorpid, and the only ones who have an antidote that can fully heal him are the priests of the Great Church. Even though he's always been a nuisance, I promised my father before he died that I would take care of him, so I'm obliged to do everything in my power to save him..."

   "So, if I can get hold of an antidote for you as potent as the one in possession of the priests of the Great Church, are you willing to abandon the marquis?"

   Upon hearing Lucy's words, Yara didn't seem too enthusiastic because she didn't believe the catgirl in front of her could obtain an antidote very soon, imagining that Lucy most likely intended to take advantage of her unusual skills to infiltrate the Great Church to steal it.

   "Yes, but I don't see how you can get it so quickly. Are you trying to tell me that your class is a High Priestess?", Yara joked, aware that Lucy couldn't have that class.

   "What do you think?", Lucy asked, pointing to her cat ears. "Anyway, I have some very rare potions given to me as a gift by my teacher in my storage space. I'm sure there's a suitable one among them. Just give me a moment to check...", she continued, then she opened the Ninja Shop interface and began to search for a very powerful antidote, effective against all types of venom.

   'Hmm, Ninja Snake Venom Antidote, Ninja Poisonous Mushroom Antidote... Ah, here it is, the Ninja Universal Antidote, effective against any type of poison or venom. I think that includes Craniskorpoid venom or whatever that creature is called... But it's so expensiveee... It costs 10,000 points, almost a quarter of my wealth. I could eat a cake daily for over three months with that amount...'

   Although she hesitated for a few moments when she saw the price, Lucy eventually bought the antidote (mentally crying at the disappearance of 10,000 points), and a very feng-shui-looking (in Lucy's opinion) vial made of jade appeared in front of her.

  "Fortunately, it seems I have a very powerful antidote in my possession...", Lucy said, taking the vial in her hand and placing it in front of Yara. "Don't look at me like that, you can test it if you want...", she added, seeing Yara's skeptical look.

   Yara didn't doubt that what the catgirl held in her hand was an antidote, but she didn't believe it was powerful enough to neutralize Craniskorpid venom.

   "Well, I have a device with which I can measure the quality of items. As long as it's an Epic-grade antidote, we can make a deal...", Yara took the vial in her hand without much hope, thinking that the only beneficial effect of this testing would be that the catgirl in front of her would be excited for a few extra seconds.

   Taking out a device similar to a magnifying glass from her storage ring, Yara began to analyze the antidote vial without much haste, but when the words "Ninja Universal Antidote, Mythic grade" appeared before her eyes, she hurried to analyze it again.

   "Tell me, was your teacher perhaps some kind of deity?", Yara asked, seeing that she obtained the same result.

   "Ah, no. What deity? I have no connection with any deity...", Lucy denied Bastelia as Peter did to Christ, not wanting her origins to be known by people she didn't fully trust.

   "Okay...", Yara said, noticing how Lucy's tail was flicking rapidly from side to side and remembering that cats usually twitch their tails when stressed.

   "So, what's the situation? Is it good enough?", Lucy asked, wanting to bring the conversation back to the antidote.

   "Not only is it good, it's too good. This antidote is Mythic-grade. To create something like this, you need divine powers..."

   Since Lucy had no idea how common divine stuff were, she didn't intend to discuss too much the origin of the antidote with Yara.

   "I have no idea. Maybe it fell from the sky and my teacher found it... Anyway, now that you've seen it's good enough, I suppose you agree to stop working for the Marquis..."

   "Yes, but it's way too expensive for me. If it was Epic-grade, I could give you all the money now, but for something like this..."

   "Huh, who said anything about money?", Lucy interrupted Yara, slightly amused by her humble attitude.

   "So... you want to give it to me as a gift?"

   Thinking about this possibility but also considering Lucy's attitude up until then, Yara couldn't help but wonder if the catgirl in front of her had certain intentions for her.

   "Not exactly. Let's say you'll owe me a favor... Anyway, now that we've reached an agreement, stop this skill and release Rina. I think she must be worried sick...", Lucy said impatiently, believing that reuniting with Rina was more important than haggling with the young dark elf woman.

   "Don't worry. She fainted a long time ago due to lack of mana...", Yara tried to reassure Lucy. Yes, how can someone worry when unconscious?

   Unfortunately, her words didn't have the effect she expected but only succeeded in provoking an angry glare from Lucy, so Yara hurried to deactivate the skill before Lucy could lash out.